Like race in the US, caste is the dark underbelly of Indian politics and society. Skin colour is not its primary basis, but the caste system resembles racial stratification in several other ways. Traditionally, castes were birth-based groups organised in a vertical hierarchy. The upper castes had the higher professions; the lower castes – now called the “other backward classes” (OBCs) – were peasants and servants; and the Dalits, placed at the bottom of the social scale, were restricted to menial jobs. Upward mobility in the caste system was highly limited. Tradition was supported by coercion, if violated.

When India became independent, its leaders wanted to attack the centuries-old caste system. They developed a two-track strategy. Universal franchise was the first pillar of the strategy. The underlying assumption was that, since the OBCs and Dalits constituted a majority of thepopulation, universal franchise would end up addressing the concerns of the plebian orders. Affirmative action was the second pillar. Seats were reserved for Dalits in the legislature, bureaucracy and educational institutions. Centuries of degradation had produced collective guilt in the upper tiers of the polity and so spurred corrective public action.