Recently, many have been discussing caste issues in Kerala due to Dalit rapper Vedan’s powerful voice. I came across several reactionary videos attacking Vedan and his caste politics. So, I decided to structure the argument myself and present it clearly, in the hope that this will contribute to a more reasoned discourse.
Argument Structure:
- We should act by prioritizing large suffering communities.
- The Dalit community suffers due to both historical and ongoing caste-based oppression, which has denied them economic and social capital.
- This lack of capital persists even when formal caste identification is removed, because social markers (like name, skin tone, language, and geography) remain.
- Even if caste discrimination ended today, Dalits would still lack social capital.
- Social capital can be compensated only through caste-based politics.
- Caste-based politics has proven effective in addressing such structural disadvantages.
- Therefore, we should act by prioritizing caste-based politics.
Defense of Premise 1:
This premise is essential because I often hear people cite anecdotes about their Brahmin friend who is poor and feels excluded due to Dalit political activism. I acknowledge that such individual cases exist. But when a political movement delivers tangible benefits to a large, historically oppressed community, isolated incidents cannot override its larger moral and political necessity. To argue against caste-based politics on those grounds is like saying we shouldn’t arrest rapists because someone was once falsely accused. The correct approach is to ensure your Brahmin friend receives appropriate economic support—not to dismantle a movement that uplifts millions.
Defense of Premise 2:
The Dalit community suffers due to both historical and ongoing caste-based oppression, which has deprived them of both financial and social capital. Financial capital includes money and assets. Social capital includes things like fluency in English, polished behavior, cultural exposure, understanding how institutions work, and networks of mentors or influential people. While most people acknowledge historical oppression, some question whether caste discrimination still exists today. But studies like Ashwini Deshpande’s show that 25% of Indians admit to practicing untouchability. Resume audit studies show that candidates with Dalit-sounding names get significantly fewer callbacks than equally qualified upper-caste candidates.
Defense of Premise 3:
Caste discrimination rarely depends on someone explicitly stating their caste. Instead, it operates through markers like name, skin color, geography, accent, and body language. A well-known field experiment by Sukhadeo Thorat and Paul Attewell (2007) confirmed this: Dalit applicants with identical qualifications received far fewer interview callbacks than upper-caste applicants. So, simply removing caste from certificates and applying economic reservation won’t stop discrimination or compensate for the lack of social capital.
Defense of Premises 4 and 5:
Even in the imaginary scenario where everyone becomes perfectly moral overnight, economic reservation would still only address part of the problem. The structural lack of social capital would remain. That can only be addressed through conscious caste-based politics that aims at representation, visibility, and dignity.
Defense of Premise 6:
Caste-based politics has shown real results. Studies have shown that political reservations for Scheduled Tribes significantly reduced rural poverty and improved public service delivery. Similar benefits have been seen for Scheduled Castes—in education, employment, and access to basic services. These changes don’t just benefit individual politicians but entire communities.
Conclusion 7:
Given all this, caste-based politics is not only morally necessary but also empirically effective. Fighting caste discrimination without caste consciousness is to ignore the very structure that enables it.
A Dialogue Between Vignu and ChatGPT
ChatGPT: I understand that caste discrimination has existed historically and left deep wounds. But if we’re trying to build a future where people aren’t judged by caste, shouldn’t we move beyond caste identities instead of reinforcing them through politics? Isn’t caste-based politics just keeping the caste system alive?
Vignu: I’ve already addressed this. Even if caste discrimination ended tomorrow, Dalits would still lack the social capital that was historically denied to them. Caste-based politics is the only way to restore that. When enough Dalits achieve representation in respected institutions—universities, bureaucracy, media, and the arts—they gain the cultural and social capital needed for dignity. Once that happens, caste politics may become unnecessary. But dismantling it now is like quitting medicine halfway through treatment.
ChatGPT: But why assume that only politics can build social capital? Why not focus on economic upliftment and quality education for all poor people—Dalit or not? Wouldn’t that build social capital without reinforcing caste divisions?
Vignu: Because those who already have a head start always win in the market. Dalits are underrepresented in positions of power not because they lack brilliance, but because they lack inherited financial and social capital. A poor Brahmin and a poor Dalit child do not start from the same place. The Dalit child is still more likely to face exclusion based on name, language, or geography. Economic measures help, but they don’t fix social disadvantage.
ChatGPT: Fair. But isn’t caste-based politics often messy? There’s tokenism, symbolic politics, and sometimes it’s just about vote banks. Shouldn’t we work instead on building broad class-based coalitions—Dalits, Muslims, OBCs, and even poor upper castes—based on economic struggle?
Vignu: That’s like asking for unity without addressing the inequality within. The working class in India is already divided by caste. Social and economic capital are caste-distributed. Caste is not just an identity—it’s the structure of inequality. Tokenism exists, yes, but the solution is better representation, not erasure of caste-based politics.
ChatGPT: One final concern. Isn’t there a risk that long-term focus on caste will lock future generations into caste identities? What if Dalit children grow up thinking they are only Dalits and not doctors, artists, or leaders in their own right?
Vignu: I don’t want them trapped in caste identity. I want them to understand why they started behind—and to rise without shame. Caste-based politics helps Dalit youth see that they’re not inferior; they were excluded. It also helps upper-caste youth understand that their privilege isn’t just merit—it’s partly inherited. That’s not division. That’s truth. And truth leads to dignity.
ChatGPT: You’ve convinced me. I came into this debate skeptical. But now I see that caste consciousness today is the only honest path to caste irrelevance tomorrow. Social capital doesn’t grow from good intentions—it grows from representation, dignity, and power.
I don’t know whether it’s that easy to convince ChatGPT or is it just because the the topic is so obvious.
Reductio 
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