The Parallel Shadows: White Supremacy in the West and Caste Supremacy in India

 

The Parallel Shadows: White Supremacy in the West and Caste Supremacy in India

In an increasingly globalized world, discussions about discrimination often focus on race or caste as isolated phenomena. Yet, beneath the surface, striking parallels emerge between white supremacist ideologies in the West — particularly in the United States — and caste supremacist attitudes in India. Both systems, rooted in notions of inherent superiority and inferiority, have historically justified oppression and continue to fuel resistance against efforts to level the playing field. This article explores how both groups decry affirmative action (or reservations in India) as “reverse discrimination” and selectively highlight underperformance among marginalized groups to perpetuate myths of lesser capability, intelligence, or work ethic — echoing the justifications once used to defend slavery.

Historical Foundations: Myths of Inferiority

White supremacy in the West didn’t emerge in a vacuum. During the era of transatlantic slavery, enslavers propagated the idea that Black people were inherently inferior, biologically suited for subjugation. This “myth of Black inferiority” portrayed Africans as less intelligent, more primitive, and naturally subservient, making slavery not just economically expedient but morally defensible.

Enslaved individuals were seen as wearing a “racial uniform” that marked them for exploitation, with pseudoscientific arguments claiming their supposed traits made them ideal for labor-intensive roles. After emancipation, these ideas intensified, evolving into Jim Crow laws and segregation to maintain white dominance.

Similarly, India’s caste system has long entrenched hierarchies based on birth, with upper castes (particularly Brahmins) viewing themselves as superior. Dalits (formerly “untouchables”) and other lower castes, including Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), were historically deemed impure and fit only for menial tasks. This system, predating modern racism, shares ontological roots with white supremacy, where discrimination is cyclical and self-reinforcing.

As Isabel Wilkerson argues in her book Caste, both caste supremacy and racism function as hidden structures of domination, with white supremacy in the U.S. mirroring the “Caucasian caste” that enforces solidarity to secure privilege.

In India, caste manifests in servitude and disproportionate incarceration of Dalits, much like racism’s impact on Black Americans.

These parallels aren’t coincidental. Both ideologies rely on descent-based discrimination, where one’s birth determines worth. Efforts to equate caste with race have been debated globally, with Dalits pushing for recognition at forums like the UN, arguing that caste supremacy is a form of racism.

While differences exist — caste is more fluid in some contexts than race — the core mechanism of exclusion through perceived inferiority binds them.

Affirmative Action as “Reverse Discrimination”: A Shared Refrain

One of the most telling similarities is the backlash against policies aimed at rectifying historical injustices. In the U.S., affirmative action — designed to address systemic racism — has been lambasted by white supremacists as “reverse racism.” They claim it unfairly disadvantages whites, promoting a colorblind narrative that ignores ongoing white privilege. Phrases like “it’s OK to be white” have been co-opted to frame affirmative action as anti-white discrimination, echoing broader supremacist rhetoric. Critics argue it violates meritocracy, but this often masks resistance to challenging white supremacy’s hold on power. Even post-civil rights, “respectable” white supremacist ideas adopt reverse discrimination frames to delegitimize such programs.In India, caste-based reservations for SC/ST communities — quotas in education, jobs, and politics — face analogous attacks. Upper-caste opponents, often embodying caste supremacist views, decry them as “reverse casteism,” arguing they compromise efficiency and merit by favoring the “undeserving.” They claim reservations perpetuate division rather than dismantle caste, with some asserting that SC/ST beneficiaries are inherently less capable, thus lowering standards.

This mirrors the U.S. narrative: both frame equity measures as unfair advantages, ignoring centuries of exclusion that created the need for them in the first place.

Data, however, debunks efficiency losses, showing reservations often enhance representation without sacrificing quality — yet the myth persists to preserve upper-caste privilege.

On platforms like X (formerly Twitter), anti-reservation discourse amplifies these caste supremacist arguments, often under hashtags like #EndReservation and #FightForMerit.

Users frequently share examples of candidates with negative or low scores securing positions via reservations while high-scorers are denied, claiming this proves reservations reward “birth over worth” and push beneficiaries toward “lifelong shame.”

Common refrains include calls to “stop rewarding birth” and assertions that reservations undermine meritocracy, leading to inefficiency and a lack of dignity for all involved.

Influential accounts highlight stories of general category successes without quotas to argue that the system punishes talent, framing reservations as a “permanent seat” rather than a temporary ladder.

Others label anti-Brahminism or criticism of upper castes as “reverse discrimination,” drawing parallels to broader caste politics and votebank strategies.

These online echo chambers reinforce the narrative that reservations are a form of “new-age reverse casteism,” often ignoring socioeconomic contexts and portraying them as tools for division rather than justice.

Politicians in both contexts exploit these divisions. In the U.S., resistance to affirmative action aligns with broader anti-Black policies; in India, caste politics fuels anti-reservation sentiments, uniting upper castes against perceived threats.

As one analysis notes, these arguments serve as a “smokescreen” for maintaining hierarchy.

Weaponizing Performance to Reinforce Inferiority

Both ideologies selectively use data on “poor performance” to imply innate deficiencies. White supremacists historically cited enslaved Blacks’ supposed laziness or low intelligence to justify slavery, postulating that freedom would expose their “inferiority.”

Today, this evolves into claims that affirmative action admits “unqualified” minorities, whose underperformance “proves” racial hierarchies. Such narratives ignore structural barriers like unequal education and bias, instead blaming victims.In India, caste supremacists point to lower academic or professional outcomes among SC/ST groups as evidence of lesser capability, arguing reservations “prove” their point by promoting the unprepared. This overlooks systemic discrimination: unequal access to resources, prejudice in evaluations, and intergenerational trauma from caste oppression. Studies show that disparities stem from “unequal treatment” rather than inherent traits, yet the rhetoric endures to undermine reservations. Just as slavery’s defenders used pseudoscience, modern caste supremacists wield anecdotal “evidence” to argue that SC/ST communities are less hardworking or intelligent, echoing the racial justifications for bondage.These tactics aren’t just rhetorical — they perpetuate cycles of marginalization. In both societies, extractive capitalism thrives on such divisions, with racism and caste supremacy fueling exploitation.

Why These Parallels Matter

Recognizing the similarities between white supremacy and caste supremacy isn’t about equating experiences but understanding shared mechanisms of power. Both systems rely on myths of inferiority to resist change, framing equity as oppression. In the U.S., caste-like racism persists in incarceration and wealth gaps; in India, caste discrimination mirrors Jim Crow in exclusion and violence. Global migration has even exported caste to places like the U.S., where South Asians report ongoing bias.Dismantling these requires confronting the myths head-on. Affirmative action and reservations aren’t perfect, but they’re essential counters to entrenched privilege. As debates rage — from U.S. Supreme Court rulings to India’s reservation expansions — acknowledging these parallels can foster solidarity across borders, challenging the hierarchies that divide us.

Note: Views expressed are based on historical and sociological analyses; this article aims to inform, not endorse division.

The Unwitting Allies: How Western Liberals Fuel India’s Right-Wing Ascendancy

 

The Unwitting Allies: How Western Liberals Fuel India’s Right-Wing Ascendancy

In the glittering diaspora hubs of Silicon Valley, New York, and London, upper-caste Indian immigrants — often Savarnas — project an image of cultural vibrancy and progressive assimilation. They light up Diwali lamps on public streets, advocate for diversity in boardrooms, and decry Western racism with fervent op-eds. Yet, back home in India, many of these same individuals and their families champion policies that entrench caste hierarchies, vilify inter-caste unions, and stoke xenophobia against Bangladeshi migrants. This chasm isn’t mere personal inconsistency; it’s a systemic hypocrisy that Western liberals, in their earnest embrace of multiculturalism, unwittingly amplify. By shielding these voices from scrutiny, they provide ideological cover and material support to India’s right-wing ecosystem, allowing it to flourish unchecked.

The Mask of the Model Minority

At the heart of this dynamic lies the Indian diaspora’s selective identity politics. Upper-caste Indians, who dominate the skilled migration pipelines to the US and Europe, arrive as “model minorities” — highly educated, economically successful, and culturally “exotic” enough to fit neatly into progressive narratives. They leverage affirmative action critiques in the West while opposing India’s reservation system that uplifts Dalits and Adivasis, revealing a profound double standard rooted in caste privilege. 

In Silicon Valley, these “tech bros” rail against American xenophobia, yet fund campaigns in India that demonize Muslim “infiltrators” from Bangladesh, echoing the BJP’s anti-migrant rhetoric.This isn’t abstract ideology; it’s lived duplicity. 

Consider the everyday: In India, a Savarna household might maintain separate utensils for their lower-caste domestic help, enforcing untouchability under the guise of tradition. Abroad, that same family sues employers for discrimination, invoking the very civil rights frameworks they undermine at home.

As one observer notes, Indian Americans often lean left domestically — supporting Democrats and social justice causes — but pivot rightward on India, backing Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda without a hint of irony.

This paradox isn’t accidental; it’s a survival strategy in a globalized world where caste networks provide economic lifelines, from H-1B visas to venture capital.

Cultural Celebrations as Cultural Imperialism

The hypocrisy sharpens during cultural displays. In the US, Diwali has evolved into a spectacle of fireworks, street block parties, and corporate sponsorships — often with little regard for noise complaints or environmental impact. If a neighbor objects, cries of “cultural erasure” ring out, bolstered by allies in city councils and media. Yet, in India, the same diaspora remits funds to families and organizations that protest public namaz (Muslim prayers) as “public nuisance,” filing petitions to ban them from streets and parks. God forbid a Hindu festival faces similar curbs; it’s decried as “appeasement politics.”This selective outrage isn’t isolated. South Asian feminists in the West, many upper-caste, amplify Palestinian solidarity or Black Lives Matter while ignoring caste atrocities or anti-Muslim pogroms in India.

Priyanka Chopra, a Bollywood icon and diaspora darling, embodies this: She headlines global women’s rights panels yet remains silent on the Gujarat riots that killed over 1,000 Muslims in 2002, under Modi’s watch as chief minister — a silence that shields right-wing narratives abroad

Western Liberals: Enablers in Progressive Clothing

Enter Western liberals, whose well-intentioned multiculturalism becomes a Trojan horse. Eager to atone for colonial sins, they celebrate Indian “diversity” without interrogating its caste-infused underbelly. Invitations to TED Talks, university panels, and Democratic fundraisers flow to these diaspora figures, who frame themselves as authentic voices of the subcontinent. In doing so, liberals launder right-wing ideas: Modi’s “digital India” gets applause as innovation, not surveillance; yoga retreats ignore the erasure of Muslim heritage sites.This support isn’t benign. Diaspora remittances — $100 billion annually to India — often channel into BJP coffers, funding campaigns that suppress Dalit activism and queer rights.

Tech CEOs of Indian origin lobby against H-1B reforms in the US, citing their own immigrant struggles, while their Indian counterparts push “citizenship amendments” that sideline Muslim refugees. Western liberals, by amplifying these stories without context, normalize the narrative that India’s right-wing is merely “cultural conservatism,” not ethnonationalist authoritarianism.

The irony peaks in minority protections. These immigrants demand safeguards against Islamophobia in the West — rightfully so — yet fund groups that lobby against caste discrimination bills in California, arguing it “stereotypes Hindus.”

Abroad, they play the “garib” (poor immigrant) card for sympathy; in India, they embody the elite, ensuring lower castes remain outsiders. As one X user laments, this is the diaspora “bending backwards to find redeeming values in Hindu fascists,” all while Western enablers applaud the performance.

The Ripple Effect: Thriving at Home, Empowered Abroad

The consequences for India are dire. Emboldened by uncritical Western acclaim, the right-wing doubles down: Reservations are branded “reverse discrimination,” inter-caste marriages face “love jihad” laws, and migrants are scapegoated amid economic woes. The diaspora, safe in their suburban enclaves, exports this toxicity via WhatsApp forwards and Zoom fundraisers, eroding secular fabrics without personal risk.Yet, cracks appear. Younger, intersectional South Asians — Dalit activists and queer Muslims in the diaspora — are challenging this hegemony, demanding accountability.

Western liberals must listen to them, not the high priests of hypocrisy

In the end, true allyship demands discomfort: Scrutinize the Savarna abroad as rigorously as the migrant at the border. Only then can progressivism dismantle the very hierarchies it claims to oppose — before India’s right-wing, fattened on Western goodwill, consumes the pluralism both sides purport to cherish.