I am glad the reality is changing and would like to see more progress in this regard, but the recent trend seems to suggest otherwise.
Problem is the word "trend" is simply what we see from the media. On the ground reality can be drastically different.
Paragraph in bold is a wishful thinking. The caste system is embedded into Hinduism, and it is not going away as long as majority of your population are still considering themselves as Hindu.
So tell me how its embedded and where it is embedded? Is it doctrinal/dogma/codified/required blind following? Or is it interpretative from clearly man made social norms, applicable for a time period under certain conditions (but has been warped and distorted for various reasons)? If the former a violent revolution/overthrow is needed...no choice. If the latter, education is the better bet.
I believe its the latter given how many Hindus with education since the 19th century (and examples go way before that actually) have been fighting the ideological basis of Caste on a discrimination front from within the Hindu world itself.....and their efforts are paying off slowly.
Discrimination will always persist for a long time, but it can be mitigated with economic growth. It is simply too much of a complicated problem to deal for a govt by micromanaging. Best to create a COMMON legal framework, enforce that to the best of ability...and focus on enabling economic opportunities for the poor masses.
The 40+ years of suffocating economic rule from 1947 to 1991 trumpeted its own horn that at least it was creating a "secular" "equal" society through a fanciful notion of a grass roots revolution....
Problem is that this only sounds good on paper....and it was not backed up by any meaningful quick mass literacy campaign. The literacy rate of India only grew by somewhat large amounts starting in the 80s and 90s and continues to this day (adult literacy is about 75% now and youth literacy is above 90% - whereas for most of India's independence they were dreadfully low).
It is this combination with the greater economic freedom (relatively speaking to before) that is doing much more for social equality than the 40 years that preceded it.
When you ask time and again why the newer generation of India is more "conservative" instead of liberal - that is really not the case....because the truth was simply quite suppressed before...so an "aura" of high nosed liberalism existed among certain elite, some who you still see today even on this forum....and they get "shocked" and angry about their skewed vision being rocked when the masses and neo-middle class start giving loud opinions of their own and clamour for their economic and political space and rights - mostly on the basis for absolute equality instead of favouritism and nepotism.
It is in India's workplaces where the barriers are broken down, not in some office of a politician sitting in Delhi complaining about "communal riots". In call centers, factories and other workplaces, there is much more going on IN PRACTICE than what the media likes to latch onto and project IN THEORY. Person by person, bit by bit, stereotype by stereotype....which then has a multiplier effect.
I personally know of low caste and Dalit workers in call centers and universities....the caste issue for them simply comes well after being able to gain economic livelihood and meaningful dignity. It will take a much longer time for such social divisions to be erased all together at every level, after all even in Japan...many had and continue to have a social complex against the Burakumin "caste" well after it became an affluent society.....but the worst forms of discrimination were tackled by sheer economic and education policies. The rest will have to come with time. We are not going to do a cultural revolution like China, that is out of the question....what we will do is continue to increase education rates in quantity and quality....and keep increasing the economic opportunities for everyone as much as possible.
I am a firm believer that its economic/education conditions that promote and enforce Caste.....and not the other way around. I base this on previous caste fluidity/non-issue that existed in golden periods of Indian civilisation where Caste was more interpreted as stratification of labour by inherent virtue rather than a birthright.
The statement in Italic Bold is true to a degree, but there are many conflict versions of reality, otherwise, how you are going to explain the fact there are furious debates among Indian members about India's reality?
That is simply the nature of India. Its like taking medieval Europe and uniting them suddenly in year "X" into one country after much earlier continuous turmoil and time distance from previous inherent domestic unity. You think X + 70 years is suddenly going to be a quiet organised affair? That will simply be the time things will probably be at its most noisy given there was an artificial silence imposed on it for the 1st 40 years in the hope that will make people unaware of the real issues that govern any matter of society. Ignoring and wishing away the problems is not going to solve anything....and is actually way more dangerous....and it almost led to a bankrupting and even collapse of India.
We do not have the relative homogeneity of China....nor are we a developed country like the US that can look down its nose and afford to be snobby about details of democracy and interpretation of human rights...that is just the reality of the situation.
So India will truly be the first massive non-homogenous country (in fact probably the most diverse country in the world) that goes through development to become an affluent one via its own methods that it will keep changing/reforming as time goes by. If parts of it seem confusing/negative and suspicious to outsiders....so be it. Thats the reality of India....and frankly we are concerned about many other things daily much more than the perception of outsiders for the most part.
Don't get me wrong, I wish the best for India and its people.
Its why I am engaging with you in the first place.
Anyway bro dont you think we have strayed off topic enough? This is China-Vietnam thread. You are welcome to start another thread where we can discuss this further....or if mods/members are fine with it continuing here....i guess we can do that too.