experiencing caste as a privileged indian

this is a very personal walkthrough, and i’ve avoided talking too much about the casteism my family has faced to respect their privacy. instead, i’ve focused on my own experiences around this topic because it’s rarely spoken about from a creamy layer perspective. this is more of a rant to give insight to people who believe caste is a thing of the past or that caste and class are the same. they overlap, but they are NOT the same. i’m extremely passionate about this topic and have so much more to say, but for now, i just wanted to post this and move on. to learn more, i’ve linked some resources you can watch or read for deeper insight into the topic.

[I am from the ST category, not OBC. Here, the term “creamy layer” has been used as a substitute for economically privileged.]

ig: dontmisimi

[dontmisimi]

The real problem isn't reservations. It’s that our country doesn't have enough opportunities for bright students in general. Take NEET as an example: in 2023, over 2.1 million students competed for just 120, 000 MBBS seats. That's less than 6% of applicants getting in. Even if reservations didn't exist, the majority of students (from all categories) would still miss out.

What we really need is more seats, better colleges, and accessible resources for everyone because removing reservations won't magically solve the problem. Reservations aren't about unfair advantages, the literacy rate for SCs is 66.1% and for STs it's 58.4%, compared to 82.2% for upper castes. Without reservations, these inequalities would only deepen.


I know it can feel frustrating when someone with a lower score gets in, but we have to consider the systemic hurdles marginalized students face. Most NEET qualifiers (over 85%) come from private coaching institutes, which many SC/ST students simply can't afford. And even with reservations, they make up less than 15% of students in top institutions like ITs and AllMS, despite having a 22.5% quota. That tells you how much harder they have to fight to even get there.

Rather than targeting reservations, we should push for real solutions: more seats, better colleges, and equal access to resources.
Blaming marginalized groups for a broken system only distracts from the real problem.

[Arpit_Explains]

Castism is still deeply rooted in our society but people pretend like it's long gone. Thanks for speaking the truth.

[shrizztea]

People don't want reservation but will openly discriminate people on the basis of their caste

[nirav]

Finally, some of the younger generation of SC/ST people are speaking out about caste discrimination without hiding their caste identity. So much respect for you girl🙇keep talking about this.

[_crimson_]

As a privileged person who is from ST, I have seen people criticize me for getting benefits of reservation even though I belong to a pretty well to do household. And honestly, they are right in that feeling that this is unjust because i dont need those reservations. However, the hypocrisy starts when I see those very people say things that are so discriminatory.
I scored 97% in my 10th boards and have been good academically. One day a friend of mine (who didnt know yet that I wasn't from gen) was talking bout how people from ST and SC are so laid back and dont bother studying and how they are so disgusting living in villages and getting married at 15 (this is a just a part of the many things she said)and then she had the audacity to tell me that "oh you're good at studies because youre from general na?" And i was so miffed at how they were talking that i couldnt even tell them I was from ST because they would have ditched me then and there(Mind you, this same friend was always one of the low graders that barely passed and she was from gen so idk maybe she forgot about the term "potential").
So yeah, people say they dont want reservation because discrimination no longer persists and the same ones do shi like this.
They need to understand that discrimination isnt always in stuff like not letting people sit next to them and other things but also in the little things they do. Get rid of your discriminatory mindset first then talk bout getting rid of reservations

[harsh.w]

I am a Rajput, most of my close friends are Brahmins and Rajputs. This was sheer coincidence, we became friends first and asked each other's castes like years later. A friend of ours, a very studious one at that, achieved almost 100% in all the exams he tried, be it competitive or school exams. Later I got to know he's from a lower caste, but the man wanted to prove himself and he did. That he got in on merit 100%, no special treatment, Really surprised me that he was driven to prove himself so bad, can't imagine the remarks he had heard. Not from us, anyway. Still a close friend to this day.

[purnangshupaul]

It takes courage for a 20 something to talk about her caste openly, especially when media stays mum and parents tell you keep your mouth shut about it forever. We need more people like you who wear their caste as a badge of honor. In my opinion, this video is more relatable than an upper class Brahmin lecturing people about casteism.

[aditigawli]

I felt so validated after watching this. As a "creamy layer" lower caste person, there aren't many places where out internal struggles and experiences are talked about. Despite our economic privilege we still experience caste in though in a less sinister way. Thank you so much for talking about it, it must have been really hard to decide if you want to talk about it or not on such a public platform which can lead to people further dissect you.

[MindfulReacts]

Soft casteism 😢 - I want to share something that happened two years ago when I was preparing for NEET. I was staying with two roommates who were from upper castes.

My surname is unique in the sense that no one can tell from it that I belong to a lower caste.

One day, one of my friends found out my caste from the caste section on my NEET application form. He said, “Bro, you’re from a lower caste? We didn’t know that.
Then they said bro This caste type thing used to happen in the past; we don’t believe in caste anymore.

But yeah, my grandparents still follow it. They say people from your caste work in our fields, but they don’t enter our home. Even for drinking water, we pour it from above.
But we’re educated now, and we don’t do such things. Only my grandparents did this”

(I come from a good family, was preparing for NEET, and was living with them in the same room, sharing the same status. Yet, I felt so embarrassed and inferior just because of the words they used to remind me that I’m ‘lower’ and they are ‘superior.’)

Then they added, “Bro, we eat with you, we eat food prepared by you, we don’t practice casteism.
But if my grandmother knew I ate with you, she would definitely scold me.

words made me feel like they were doing me a favor by eating with me.

This is what soft casteism looks like.

That day, I realized how words can be more dangerous than swords.

Later, I sat alone and cried. I thought about my ancestors and how much they must have endured. I thanked Ambedkar Ji for his contribution and for giving us the strength to stand up today.

[xoxogossipgirl_]

i feel like caste is not talked abt much (how discrimination is still rampant) all i heard was how things are so much better and trust me most ppl are still ignorant. we need to keep having these conversations. soo glad u made a video abt it. lots of love

[natebaer]

Casteism is deeply rooted in indian culture and history but over the years it's meaning has been morphed to support the narratives of political campaigns and for creating an illusion of superiority over the others. There are a lot of minorities who still need the reservation as a means of economic upliftment but the general public need a deeper level of understanding of the same.
Kudos to you for discussing this matter

[diwedi__]

I'm a Brahmin and I don't support caste system. Before ending the reservation, we have to fight against the caste system collectively. Caste based discrimination is very dangerous for our nation.

[jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaz]

dude ive literally never seen anyone talk about this or met anyone whose parents had given them a diff surname to shield them from casteism, like ive literally lied to so many people about why my surname is diff from my parents', dude this video healed something in me THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO

[hallofsilence]

I am ST
Leave in ruler India
And yes
Nothing has changed, mere ko aaj bi discrimination face karna pad ta hai

[shreyamellark]

the topics, research and analysis in your last couple of videos are incredible!! please keep posting!! we need such voices in the indian yt scene!!

[random]

This video is highly researched, and I truly appreciate the effort that you put into studying and presenting information about casteism and reservations in such a thoughtful manner. As someone from an oppressed class, I feel proud to see someone tackling this important issue especially that someone is from the ‘lower class’.

Blatant hate and caste discrimination on social media is so very real. I even stopped using Instagram and Reddit for the same reason. Interestingly, the same people who do this discrimination usually cry out on the internet when they see racist posts or videos against Indians.

Thank you for making this video, and please keep up the great work!

[namankapoor]

The funny thing is caste discrimination will never leave India. Even if the entire lower caste population disappears (hypothetically), some other caste would take the lable of being the new 'Lower Caste'. Humans just need a reason to discriminate among themselves. Caste discrimination/reservation is never a issue of economic status, it's a issue of morality.

[arnavarora-bdel]

Is this the beginning of Indian breadtube??? Am I at the forefronts of witnessing one of the coolest channels ever?

[invincibleflavors]

This is so my experience. I am sc with a changed surname and preparing for NEET. My friends on the other hand have no idea about my caste and I often hear them passing casteist remarks and stating how unfortunate they are to be born in an upper caste family. It used to break my heart and I always thought that I'll be taking something away from them if I get selected and they didn't. I discussed it with my father as well and all though he is a DSP yet he faces discrimination from his seniors and folks and he told me to take up every opportunity that I get to make my career. I know that I'll never be able to tell my friends about my caste because of my fear of judgement and discrimination.

Edit: Let me adress a few things here for people who don't understand my point. Even if reservation is removed, 98% of you general caste peeps still won't get a government college but I yet don't see enough people holding the government accountable. Although I do understand student's frustration but removing reservation will still keep you frustrated plus you'll have no one to bash when you don't get selected.
You're never truly gonna understand caste based discrimination until you are someone from a marginalized category. Having financial success does not mean a person is entirely free from caste-based discrimination. Like I mentioned my father facing discrimination, my uncle's office colleagues not wanting to eat at his house, my cousin sister who wanted to be identified as who she is but latter changed her surname because of the bullying in school are just few examples of discrimination amongst the so called "creamy layered" society. And don't even get me started about 'ch*mar' being an offensive swear word thrown around by people just so casually as if it's not someones literal caste. If it wasn't for reservation I would wouldn't even be able to speak up in front of upper caste people.

Not being able to open up about my caste to my friends was less about NEET and more about the fear of being looked down upon and social segregation. Many of you might argue that you'll never discriminate but I can't help but notice caste being mentioned everywhere, from nasty but huge influencers like Rajat Dalal to Instagram bio mentioning "proud kshatriya". Don't get me wrong it's great that you're proud of who you are but then why are you making me feel so inferior that my only way out is to change my identity.
I hope that I made myself clear and if you just wanna talk about reservation and never caste discrimination then you can cry about it forever. Even foreigners see and sometimes even mock India for it's rigid caste system (like pewdiepie) but Indians are still either participating in it or just being downright ignorant. If you're still pissed about NEET then hate the game, not the player.

[prachi]

you dont know how much of a mental support this video has provided to me, coming from a similar place like urs I literally have no one to talk about this, All I just wanna say is THANKYOU! THANKYOU! for speaking up for urself, for me and several like us trapped in this toxic caste culture which is indeed very mentally draining, best wishes to u <3