We need a reformation: Caste salience must fall for India’s social capital to rise
Live MintOver the past year, I have devoted several columns to drawing attention to how inadequate social capital in our hyper-diverse society is a fundamental cause of many of our socioeconomic problems. Neither judicial diktats nor government action can lift Delhi’s smog unless Indian society builds the necessary stock of social capital. The fundamental reason for India’s social capital deficit is the caste system—specifically, the segregation of people, over the past 70 generations or so, into a large number of communities that do not inter-marry or inter-dine and tend to monopolize specific economic activities. Whether we frame the challenge as one of forging an Indian nation, creating an egalitarian society or building social capital, it essentially boils down to dealing with caste-community divisions.
History of this topic
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