Despite constitutional abolition and legal protections, caste continues to structure everyday social relations in India. The illusion of a post-caste society, often espoused by neoliberal and developmentalist narratives, fails to confront the deep-rooted material and symbolic violence perpetuated by caste hierarchies. This endurance is not accidental but systematically reproduced through socio-economic institutions, electoral politics, and cultural representations.

The reconfiguration of caste in urban India, often mistakenly interpreted as its dilution, in fact reveals its adaptability. In cities, caste may no longer determine residential patterns as overtly as in rural settings, yet it significantly influences marriage networks, access to social capital, and employment. Even in the formal sector, dominated by meritocratic rhetoric, caste continues to shape hiring practices and workplace dynamics—albeit more subtly.

One of the most insidious developments is the co-optation of anti-caste language by dominant-caste elites in academia, NGOs, and political discourse. Concepts such as “diversity” or “inclusion” are frequently deployed without addressing the structural violence of caste. Dalit and Bahujan voices are often tokenized or silenced under the guise of civility and institutional decorum.

The resurgence of anti-caste assertion—seen in movements like Una, Bhima-Koregaon, and campus-based activism—signals both resistance and the continued centrality of caste in Indian political life. Yet, state surveillance and criminalisation of Dalit activists under anti-terror laws (e.g., UAPA) expose the deep unease of the Indian state with radical critiques of Brahmanical hegemony.

Addressing caste today requires a multidimensional strategy: land redistribution, proportional representation in both public and private sectors, curricular reforms that centre Dalit-Bahujan epistemologies, and a reimagining of social relations that goes beyond token liberalism. Legal reform must be accompanied by political will and epistemic justice.

In conclusion, caste in India is not an anachronism but a living, evolving structure of power. Any vision of social justice or democratic transformation must foreground the annihilation of caste—not as a symbolic gesture but as a material and epistemic imperative.