There can be little doubt that one of the worst abominations of Indian society is caste-based discrimination. And although this discrimination is banned under the Constitution, its roots go back so far into the past that 60 years of changed laws can hardly grapple with ingrained prejudices. The problem is in mindsets and societal insult, both blatant and subtle, as much as in legal obstacles. The belief in caste runs so deep that people apparently even ask for preferences when they go to sperm banks.

Nor do many Indians feel any shame or embarrassment when they do this — the caste factor it seems is so deeply ingrained, that discrimination is just shrugged off as acceptable behaviour. This disdain for the “lower castes” is seen at its most despicable when the argument about reservations comes up. Almost the entire middle class components of the upper castes — higher than the listed Scheduled Castes and Tribes at any rate — rise in revolt and to be honest, in a revolting manner. Words like “merit” are thrown around as if there is no way there can be any “merit” in a lower caste person.