Q. Is caste disappearing in urban India? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Model Answer: 

Urbanization has weakened traditional ritual purity-pollution hierarchies, yet caste has not disappeared; rather, it has adapted into modern structural networks of social, economic, and political capital.

1. Facets of Caste Dilution in Urban Spaces

• Occupational Secularization: Market forces and service economies prioritize skills over hereditary occupations (e.g., IT, retail, gig economy).
• Spatial Anonymity: Shared public infrastructure, dining, and transit erode ritual distance and untouchability (e.g., Metro networks, food courts).
• Legal and Civic Assertiveness: Urban literacy and access to judicial machinery empower marginalized groups against overt discrimination (Articles 15 and 17).
• Emergence of Class Stratification: Modern consumerism and professional identities partially cross-cut traditional ritual status.

2. Mutations and Resilience of Caste

• Spatial Segregation: Urban rental markets and gated communities practice covert exclusion based on caste and dietary habits (e.g., Thorat’s housing discrimination audit).
• Digitalized Endogamy: Matrimonial algorithms and community platforms modernize sub-caste exclusivity (e.g., IHDS data showing ~5% inter-caste marriages).
• Corporate “Caste Capital”: Informal caste networks dominate private sector hiring and boardrooms lacking affirmative action (Satish Deshpande’s study on meritocracy).
• Ghettoization of Sanitation Labor: Manual scavenging and municipal sanitation work remain strictly caste-coded (e.g., 90%+ Safai Karamcharis from Dalit sub-castes).
• Urban Community Mobilization: Caste associations and community bhavans serve as urban networks for political lobbying and resource pooling.

Caste in urban India has evolved from an overt ritual hierarchy to an invisible, institutionalized social network, requiring comprehensive anti-discrimination housing laws and economic democratization to overcome.