A Society of Half-Truths — We Believe in Caste, Yet Fear to Talk About It

Whenever you sit among your friends, colleagues, or relatives, you often hear this being said—“Arre bhai! We are in the 21st century now. Who observes caste anymore? Everyone is educated, everyone is modern, everyone is equal.”

To the ears, this sounds immensely comforting. It feels as though a centuries-old curse has vanished into thin air overnight. But is this the whole truth?

Just close your eyes for a moment and ask your conscience:

• If a marriage is to be arranged for a son or daughter at home, what is the very first and non-negotiable condition? One’s own caste and gotra (clan / lineage)!
• If there is an election in a village, neighbourhood, or municipal corporation, what do people ask first in hushed tones? “Who is the candidate from our community?”
• If a new officer is appointed in a government office, university, or corporate institution, why do colleagues try to decipher their caste from their surname over sips of tea?
• Who are the people creating pages in the name of their respective castes on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to produce vulgar songs and reels glorifying ‘pride’, ‘clout’, and ‘muscle-flexing’?

This is the ‘half-truth’ of our society. The most fatal and contagious disease of our society is that the very caste we live in every fibre of our being from morning to night, we flatly refuse to acknowledge in public forums just to appear civilised and secular!

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The New Mask of Modernity and Intellectual Hypocrisy

We often harbour the illusion that having an expensive iPhone in hand, speaking a few sentences of English, or strolling through air-conditioned malls and pubs means that society has become modern.

The author, N. Singh, confronts us with an exceedingly bitter and ruthless truth: Caste has not ended; rather, it has worn a sophisticated mask of modernity and higher education over its ugly face.

1. Formal Law versus Informal Practice: Legally, Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution prohibit any discrimination on the grounds of birth, caste, and gender. Yet, in reality, caste functions as the strongest invisible thread in informal recommendations, personal contacts, and nepotism.
2. Spewing Venom into Tender Young Minds: In school morning assemblies, we make children take the pledge that ‘all Indians are my brothers and sisters’, but the moment that child steps across the threshold of home, they watch their parents and elders spew casteist slurs and prejudices. This double standard creates a terrible psychological hypocrisy (cognitive dissonance) within the younger generation.
3. The New Vocabulary of Dominance: The discrimination that was once visible in the form of ‘untouchability’ is now being reproduced anew under the guise of sophisticated terms such as ‘merit’, ‘cultural fit’, or ‘background’.

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‘Half-Truth’ versus ‘Whole Truth’: Society’s Double Standards

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Bitter Truth from the Book: N. Singh’s Philosophical Dissection

Right in the preface of his book ‘Ginti Se Satta Tak’ (From Numbers to Power), author N. Singh tears this social hypocrisy to shreds, writing:

“Society conceals only that which affects it the most. We are living in a society where speaking the whole truth is the greatest crime. Here, a half-truth is safe; the whole truth is dangerous. In the context of India, we say that the country is changing, but is society changing? We say that caste is ending in India, but is it really ending? If caste had ended, why would it be mentioned in jobs? Why would Articles 15 and 16 be needed in the Constitution? If caste had ended, why would its arithmetic be calculated in elections? If caste had ended, why would its name be asked in marriages? The truth is that ‘caste’ is still alive today—it has merely put on a mask of modernity over its face. This book is an attempt to tear off that very mask.”
— N. Singh (Ginti Se Satta Tak, p. 11)

The author further exposes the limitations of human nature:

“Man possesses the capacity to recognise goodness, but has limited courage to embrace it. It is this limited courage and incomplete moral evolution that repeatedly leads society towards division… If we can accept that the problem does not lie merely with ‘others’, but within all of us, then perhaps we could begin a more honest dialogue. For the first step towards change is not pointing fingers at others, but ruthless self-reckoning.”
— (Ginti Se Satta Tak, pp. 12–13)

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The Path to Liberation from This Hypocrisy: Three Revolutionary Steps

1. Honest Self-Admission (Radical Self-Honesty): The foremost prerequisite for treating any illness is that the patient must admit they are sick. We must muster the courage in our drawing rooms to acknowledge that casteism is deeply entrenched in our subconscious.
2. Social Encouragement for Caste-Neutral Marriages: As long as relationships of roti-beti (dining together and intermarrying) remain imprisoned within the four walls of caste, caste can never be eradicated. Young people who enter into inter-caste and inter-faith marriages must receive protection and respect from families and society.
3. Intellectual Boycott of Caste Pride: Being born into a particular lineage or clan cannot be an individual’s personal achievement. Waving the flag of caste on one’s vehicles, clothes, or social media must not be considered ‘greatness’, but rather ‘mental backwardness’.

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A Question for Reflection (The Message of the Book)

Will we be able to leave behind an India for our future generations where a young person does not have to tether themselves to a caste peg to gain self-respect and identity?

To read an authentic chronicle of this uncomfortable, unsettling, and naked reality of our society, studying N. Singh’s book ‘Ginti Se Satta Tak: Bharat Ka Ankaha Yuddh’ (From Numbers to Power: India’s Untold War) is essential for every conscientious person who is not in the habit of averting their eyes from the truth.