Indians Recall The First Time They Experienced Casteism In Their Lives

Each time a discussion on the caste system pops up, the panicky upper-caste elites rant about affirmative action and how they’re the real victims of casteism by reservation. Dipped in ignorance, their privileged heads think that caste-based discrimination does not exist anymore.

Proving these deluded species wrong yet again, here’s a thread on how subtly casteism still (very much) exudes itself in everyday realities. A Twitter user, who goes by the handle @Shalakaa12, posed a question for people who have faced the brunt of such callous discrimination.

How old were you when you, for the first time realised that there exists something called 'casteism' and you are at the victim end of it?
— Shalakaa (@Shalakaa12) December 2, 2022

And the replies are full of thought-provoking real life experiences.

https://twitter.com/ShrewdAlchemist/status/1599022491686432769?s=20&t=VSN1Q2xg2Ui-6d_AgU9hIw

15. When my class teacher asked the SC students to show our SC certificate. In front of the whole class. I was naive so I did show it but after that everyone's behavior changed towards me despite my exam performance being the same.
— Tara Nibbana (@HinduSherni69) December 2, 2022

Later she chose a Punjabi Khatri over me for the captain of her house, despite this fellow being worse than me in academics, sports, extra co-curricular.

All this makes more sense now; no "Guru" is casteless.

(2/2)
— Dr Jhotaa Singh (@DrJhotaa) December 4, 2022

You see this?

Really for Brahmins like me there is no vivid memory because caste is ingrained in every aspect of life

And made to believe we are victims because of reservations

Took 25 years to unlearn this propaganda https://t.co/HwtqYeotIy
— தோழர் Guppy (@guppystweet) December 3, 2022

At 11 my first music teacher never let me touch the tambura, few others who joined much later than me got to play it. I didn't realise until many many years later that the difference was that those kids wore caste markers on their forehead. https://t.co/we5RxN9lEq
— Vinay Kumar (@bahudari) December 3, 2022

How can I forget that incident!

It was a horror.

I was in 4th std. It was a lunch time jokingly I said one silly bad word to Brahmin student, the student complained to Brahmin teacher.

The teacher beat me brutally, my back was full of blood.

I couldn't even tell my parents! https://t.co/pB7SBsHSuz
— Dr. Bharatashree V M🇮🇳 (@Bharatashree) December 3, 2022

I dropped that dream after 8 years of mindfully learning it. I decided I didn't want to go through the traumatic experience all my life.
— NotVaan (@SavageLeeCooper) December 3, 2022

When i was in 2nd standard listening to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar nonstop geete from my dad mobile and he was telling me about who we are, who we were and how Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar uplifted our lives by his huge amount of knowledge. https://t.co/M4F0CsopUj
— Thanks Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. (@Sirius14_10) December 3, 2022

When I was 8 and my cousin told me the boy she loved since 3rd grade refused to marry her because he was a Brahmin. https://t.co/0NwJHYf353
— Shaitaankinaani (@HannahHannahfan) December 4, 2022

WTF.

Have known it for long enough. But first time it shook me was at age 14.
A bunch of 15-16 year old forward caste boys advised another 16 year old Baniya boy to "have fun with me" because "SC ladki hai, use and throw material hai". In effect, abetting him to sexually harass me. https://t.co/sSgD26ICil
— Vanshikaaaaaaa (@vanshika_bhagat) December 3, 2022

So I was studying in a big private school in my city, like an expensive CBSE school, I was in class 7th, and this upper caste boy asked, "tumne yaha admission kaise le liya tum to chamar ho na" the day I realized what it means to be a lower caste in this country. https://t.co/AbccdkzKTx
— Rahul (@thewarriorpoet7) December 3, 2022

My geography teacher Brahmin approached me out of context and told me not to be friends with a Brahmin friend of mine. I used to score decent marks and i wasn't in any trouble. For years i didnt realise and used to think it was some fault of mine.
— SP (@suganyaPN) December 3, 2022

I was in class THIRD and at a Pooja in a Brahmin’s neighbours house. Pujari was tying thread on childrens’ wrists and simply didn’t tie it on my wrist.
I was clueless at what happened and asked my parents later, they didn’t discuss it then but I knew something is different for me https://t.co/cJ9uw4akGh
— Effacing_one (@Effacing_Richa) December 3, 2022

https://twitter.com/thatdalitgirl/status/1598933087907631104?s=20&t=VSN1Q2xg2Ui-6d_AgU9hIw

How does it matter which caste one belongs to? Why is it even a question? How does it matter? What difference does it make? The idea of purity and impurity is simply nauseous and meant to legitimise a hierarchy that does not exist.

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