The New Caste System in India
Nov 21st, 2007 by craigdos
Anyone who knows anything about India knows that the much famed caste system is long history. Right? Well, formally at least. Remnants of the caste system are very much real and a part of today’s new India. Yesterday, I found what I consider to be a remnant of a society that once had a formal caste system.
Despite warnings from family and friends, I took the Bombay train yesterday to go downtown. Rickshaws only go around the suburbs, and cabs take extraordinarily long because of traffic.
When I bought my ticket, there were two options; 1st class for about $50 INR, or $5 INR for 2nd class. Asking around, I found out that there were very few 1st class cars, and they were neither cleaner, nor equipped with air conditioning. In fact, the only real difference to the 2nd class cars was the price, which made them slightly less crowded, and the key: filled with a crowd that could pay 10 times the price.
Later that evening, I went to a movie with my cousin, and we went to a fancy theatre (”Multiplex”) where each ticket was $200 INR, which for me was $5.50US, but extremely expensive for India. The theatre was completely over the top. When I walked in, I counted 11 flat screens showing ads, new upcoming movies, show times, etc. The floors were glassy marble, and the interior was incredibly nice. Way better than most theatres I’ve been to in Seattle.
After the movie, we went for a snack at the little restaurant next to the theatre, and again, it was really overdone for a small eatery. The bench seats were leather and really soft like a nice couch, and the whole place was done up like a piece of contemporary art. The food was again, really expensive, and pretty ordinary in terms of taste, quality and portion.
I’m realizing that India has another way of explicitly separating out classes; with pricing. The upper class here pay premium prices for services, not for better service, but for the feeling of extravagance and exclusivity, and the company of those who also want that feeling.
I later realized that I’m comparing my life here (mostly extreme upper class) to my life in the US (just regular upper class). So maybe if I lived the life of the Hilton sisters, I’d see the same thing. However, I don’t think so…
To give you an idea, think of it this way: Imagine paying $3000 for a Seattle-NYC Business class plane fare, but the only difference is that you’re surrounded by other $3000 consumers, and that they leave out every third seat (but don’t make yours any bigger, or the service any better) so there are less seats to be purchased. Or imagine going to McDonalds, but paying $50 for the same “Value-Meal”: not because the food is any higher quality, but so that the tables are only filled with people who can afford a $50 burger.
Pretty crazy.