What is Casteism?

Casteism (जातिवाद) is the practice of discrimination, bias, or prejudice against individuals based on their birth into a particular caste group.

It means:

1. Treating people as superior or inferior solely based on their caste.
2. Denying equal opportunities in education, employment, or social interaction based on caste.

Caste influences Indian politics in significant ways:

• Political parties give election tickets considering the caste composition of voters.
• Voters sometimes vote for candidates of their own caste, not based on their work.
• Caste-based vote banks are actively cultivated by politicians.

However, there are positive outcomes too: Caste-based politics has also given marginalized communities (Dalits, OBCs) a political voice and led to better representation through reservations.

Casteism hurts democracy because democracy requires equal citizenship. When caste determines opportunities rather than merit, it violates the constitutional principles of Equality and Justice. The Indian Constitution, drafted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, explicitly prohibits caste-based discrimination under Articles 15 and 17.