Caste, Class, and the Great Indian Middle Class Deception

Walk into any gathering in urban India. Ask people about their class. From the autorickshaw driver's son studying engineering to the tech guy driving a BMW, almost everyone will say "middle class."

After watching this for years, I've realized there are actually three very different groups all claiming the same label. They have nothing in common economically. But they all desperately want to be called "middle class." That safe spot between "poor" (which everyone wants to escape) and "rich" (which makes people uncomfortable in India).

But here's the thing. Who gets to claim "middle class" without anyone questioning it? That's where caste comes in. Your surname decides whether people accept your middle class identity or keep asking "but how did you really get here?"

Why I'm Writing This

I need to be honest upfront. I come from a family that went from actually being middle class to being past middle class. I refuse to say "upper middle class" because if we use that term, even Ambani would call himself upper middle class compared to Jeff Bezos.

The income ranges I mention later (₹5 lakhs to ₹20 lakhs) are just rough guides. I know ₹15 lakhs in Mumbai is very different from ₹15 lakhs in Indore. These aren't scientific categories. They're patterns I've observed.

Also, I'm not talking about families earning ₹3-4 lakhs. They're not claiming to be middle class. They know their reality. I'm talking about people earning ₹40 lakhs in Gurgaon still calling themselves "simple middle class people." That's the delusion this blog is about.

Caste and Class Are Not Separate

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said it best: "Caste is not a physical object like a wall of bricks or a line of barbed wire which prevents the Hindus from co-mingling and which has, therefore, to be pulled down. Caste is a notion; it is a state of the mind."

Caste isn't just about being rich or poor. It's about who gets trusted. Who gets opportunities. Whose kids get mentored. Who gets questioned. Your surname predicts all of this before you even open your mouth.

Important Note:

The three groups I'm describing have huge internal differences. "Climbing Middle Class" includes both rich OBC families with land AND first-generation Dalit professionals starting from zero. These are completely different experiences. A Yadav family in UP with ₹12 lakhs and acres of land is nothing like a Dalit engineer in Bangalore earning the same but with no family backup.

Same way, "poor upper caste" isn't one thing. A Brahmin priest's family earning ₹4 lakhs faces real poverty. Their traditional respect doesn't pay bills anymore. But they still have a surname that doesn't make people suspicious.

These are broad patterns. Reality is messier.

The Three Groups

1. The Inherited Middle Class

These are mostly upper caste families who've had stable jobs for 2-3 generations. They earn ₹8-20 lakhs, but that's on top of property worth crores, networks everywhere, and knowing how everything works.

What they have:

Grandfathers were teachers or clerks when those were good jobs
Family names that sound "right" to HR managers
Uncles and cousins in useful positions
English that sounds natural, not learned
Knowing which school is "good" and which isn't

What they claim: "We're simple middle class people." While sitting in a 2BHK their grandfather bought for ₹15,000 that's now worth ₹2 crores. Their struggle is keeping their status, not building it.

2. The Climbing Middle Class

OBC families, some Dalit families, people who used reservations and new economy jobs to climb up. They earn ₹5-15 lakhs, but every rupee is first-generation money with no safety net.

What they face:

Constantly proving they deserve to be there
Learning corporate culture that was designed for upper castes
Trying to explain their new life to family back home
Kids confused about whether they're their economic class or their caste

The daily reality: Ambedkar said: "Lost rights are never regained by appeals to the conscience of the usurpers, but by relentless struggle."

That struggle isn't just political. It's every day. It's having your middle class status accepted without someone adding "but through quota, no?"

Example - The Real Climb:

Meet Sunita (not real name, but real story). Father was a cobbler in a Rajasthan village. She was first in her family to finish school. Walked 8km daily to college. Studied under streetlights. Got into civil services through reservation. Now earns ₹8 lakhs as a district magistrate.

But she still sends money home to support parents and younger siblings. She still hears comments about her background. She still works twice as hard to prove she deserves to be there.

Her batchmate Rahul (also not real name) came from a trading family. They took a ₹3 lakh loan against their property for his coaching. Same job, same salary. But Rahul's success is seen as natural. Sunita's is always questioned. His background is never mentioned. Hers always is.

That's the difference.

The Poor Upper Caste Question:

Yes, there are poor upper caste families. The priest's son who can't afford coaching. The family that lost their land generations ago. Their poverty is real.

But here's what they still have that a poor Dalit doesn't:

A surname that doesn't make people suspicious
Caste networks that can help once they get any foothold
The ability to fit into elite spaces without extra scrutiny
No one asking them if they "really deserve" to be there

Economic poverty plus caste discrimination is not the same as economic poverty alone. This is why "economic reservation" arguments miss the point. Caste discrimination doesn't end when you get money. It follows you into boardrooms, housing societies, and marriage negotiations.

3. The Delusional Elite

Upper caste families earning ₹25+ lakhs, usually with inherited property too. Can afford luxury without stress. Multiple properties. International schools for kids. Foreign vacations.

What they have:

Wealth built over generations through land, business networks, professional monopolies
Networks that open doors before money becomes relevant
The right accent, mannerisms, references

What they claim: "We're middle class, not rich. Rich people are Ambanis. We just live comfortably."

Meanwhile their kids' annual school fees (₹8 lakhs) exceed what actual middle class families earn in a year. But their caste networks validate this delusion. Nobody questions when a Sharma earning ₹40 lakhs calls himself middle class.

The Reservation Debate

Let's talk about what everyone thinks but won't say openly.

The Upper Caste Argument: "Reservations prevent merit. What about poor upper castes?"

The Reality:

Poor upper castes exist. Their poverty is real. But poverty plus caste stigma is different from poverty alone. A poor Brahmin and poor Dalit both lack money. But only one also faces:

Bias from their surname before they speak
No caste networks to fall back on
Active discrimination regardless of income
Generations of enforced illiteracy in family history
Constant questions about deserving their position

This is why "economic criteria only" sounds fair but isn't. Caste discrimination doesn't disappear when you get a job. It determines who gets mentored, promoted, heard, trusted.

What Reservation Actually Is:

Reservation isn't poverty alleviation. It's about representation. It's about making sure institutions aren't 100% upper caste. It's about creating enough Dalit bureaucrats, professors, and judges that they're not tokens but a critical mass that can change how institutions work.

The Constitution doesn't say "help poor people." It says "adequate representation." Big difference.

The Medical College Example:

Three students. Same NEET score (550/720).

Priya (General): Father is a doctor, mother is a teacher. ₹5 lakhs spent on coaching. Access to previous papers through dad's network. Three mock tests weekly. Still needs management quota (₹25 lakhs). Claims "I got in through merit."

Akash (SC): Father is a railway pointsman. Studied under kerosene lamp. Borrowed books. Traveled 50km for each mock test he could afford (₹200 each). Same score as Priya. Gets in through reservation. Hears whispers: "Quota student."

Rajesh (Poor Upper Caste): Father is a small priest. ₹4 lakhs family income. Can't afford coaching. Studies hard. Doesn't get in first attempt. Succeeds second time through general category. Nobody questions his belonging. Nobody whispers about quotas. His upper caste networks help him navigate the system in ways Akash struggles with years later.

The Merit Question:

Some say: "The system rewards final scores, not struggle."

Fair. But then let's be honest. We're not measuring intelligence. We're measuring the outcome of a rigged race where some people start 100 meters ahead with coaches, while others start with broken shoes.

Real merit would mean leveling the field first, then measuring. Until we remove the ₹5 lakh coaching barrier, the network advantages, the information gaps, what we call "merit" is just inherited privilege with good branding.

Reservations are a crude fix. But necessary until we actually create equal opportunity.

The Rug Pull Problem

The most disturbing trend: successful people from marginalized communities who either attack the policies that helped them, or worse, keep using those policies while blocking others.

Two types:

Type 1 - The Abandoners: Use reservations to succeed. Then turn around and say "reservations should end" or "caste doesn't matter anymore." Usually to get accepted by elite circles who love hearing this from them.

Type 2 - The Hoarders: Successful families keep using reservations generation after generation. Grandfather used it legitimately. Father benefited from both reservation and dad's new status. Grandson is economically elite but still carries a caste certificate.

The Hoarding Problem

Coaching Capture: Walk into IAS coaching in Delhi. Many reserved category students come from families where parents are already officers or executives. These families can afford ₹3-5 lakhs for coaching. The actually disadvantaged candidate doesn't even know these opportunities exist.

Medical Dynasties: Three generations of doctors, all through reserved seats. Now own private hospitals. Meanwhile rural health centers in their community have no staff.

Corporate Theater: Companies hire from the same pool of well-connected, English-speaking, urban reserved category candidates. Creates diversity on paper while keeping out genuinely marginalized voices.

Why Hoarding Happens

Type 1 Psychology:

Elite acceptance (nothing proves you've arrived like criticizing reservations)
Proving it was all "merit" to manage imposter syndrome
Identifying with class, forgetting caste barriers still exist
Wanting kids accepted without the "quota" label

Type 2 Psychology:

"My family earned the right to these benefits"
"We're best positioned to represent our community"
"These benefits should pass down like inheritance"

The Real Problem With This

Let me be very clear: elite capture of reservations is a genuine problem that needs fixing, not justifying.

The issue isn't that successful SC/ST families use reservations. The issue is the PURPOSE of reservations is being defeated.

Reservation isn't about helping individuals climb. It's about:

Creating representation so institutions aren't 100% upper caste
Building a critical mass so one Dalit officer isn't alone
Changing institutional culture by having enough people from marginalized backgrounds
Community uplift through institutional presence

When the same families monopolize benefits across generations, this doesn't happen. The rural Dalit kid stays stuck. The urban, third-generation beneficiary gets another advantage they don't need. The institution stays the same because the "diversity" it gets is just people who already fit in.

The Data Problem:

I should be honest. Exact numbers are hard to get. The government doesn't systematically track economic backgrounds of reservation beneficiaries across generations. What we know comes from small studies, RTI responses, and what we can see:

Smaller studies suggest 60-70% of successful reserved category candidates come from families earning ₹10+ lakhs
Anecdotal evidence from premier colleges suggests 30-40% of reserved seats go to children of already successful professionals
Census data shows 80%+ of reservation benefits in higher education go to urban families

The lack of proper data is itself revealing. If the government wanted to target reservations better, they'd track this. They don't.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Here's where I'll say something that might sound contradictory:

Upper caste families pass down crores in property, businesses, and networks across generations. Nobody calls them hoarders. Nobody asks them to give up inheritance for equity.

So I understand why successful SC/ST families don't voluntarily give up reservation benefits. They're still facing discrimination in housing societies, boardrooms, marriage markets. Their economically privileged kids still hear "quota" in ways upper caste kids never do.

But. Understanding why it happens doesn't mean it's right.

The solution isn't asking marginalized communities to unilaterally disarm while upper caste privilege stays untouched. That's unfair.

The solution is:

Better targeting of benefits to those who actually need them
Creamy layer application that accounts for ongoing discrimination, not just income
Creating enough institutional representation that it becomes normal, not exceptional
Tracking data so we know what's working

Elite capture is real. The answer isn't scrapping reservations. It's making them work as intended.

Why Everyone Claims Middle Class

Because it's the only socially acceptable way to have money in post-liberalization India:

Upper Castes: "We're middle class" = avoiding acknowledging inherited privilege

Climbing Communities: "We're middle class" = claiming respectability and belonging

Elites: "We're middle class" = staying relatable, deflecting guilt about wealth

What Needs to Change

We need to acknowledge:

Historical advantages: Caste networks gave head starts that multiply across generations

Systemic barriers: Some communities need support to access what others take for granted

How caste and class interact: Your caste background shapes your class trajectory

Contemporary challenges: Globalization and tech are changing but not ending caste dynamics

The rug pull problem: How to stop successful individuals from blocking the ladder behind them

The Ethics of Success

When someone from a marginalized community reaches elite status, they choose:

Bridge Builder: Create more pathways for others. Advocate for better systems. Acknowledge the full story of how they got there.

Ladder Puller: Distance from origins. Attack systems that helped them. Align with traditional elites to secure position.

Real success isn't just personal achievement. It's whether your rise creates more opportunities or fewer.

The Way Forward

Real progress requires admitting:

"Merit" is never caste-neutral: What we call merit often means inherited advantages
Class mobility is shaped by caste: Your surname influences your economic path
Middle class identity is contested: Who gets to claim it without scrutiny shows power dynamics
Policy must address reality: Ignoring caste-class connections reinforces existing hierarchies

Final Thoughts

India's middle class obsession isn't just about money. It's about pretending we've moved past caste without actually doing it. We've just made privilege less visible, not less real.

The three groups I've described aren't just economic categories. They're different relationships to power and privilege in modern India.

Most troubling is watching people who climbed through caste-conscious policies now pull the ladder up. Or watching successful families hoard benefits meant to lift entire communities.

The questions we need to ask:

Are you middle class, really?
What advantages did your caste give you?
Now that you've succeeded, are you building bridges or pulling up ladders?
If you're using community benefits, are you giving back to that community?

Real middle class values aren't about claiming a label. They're about creating a society where everyone has genuine opportunity, regardless of surname or family history. That requires successful people to stay connected to their origins and committed to expanding access.

Not just for their kids. For the communities that made their rise possible.