Gopal*, a young judicial officer in north India, says caste continues to shape both formal and informal life inside the judiciary, affecting recruitment, everyday interactions and career advancement.
He told DW that many colleagues assume he is less capable than his upper-caste peers. Although Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates often score well in written exams, Gopal says they are frequently marked down in interviews, which lowers their final rankings and in turn influences promotions, postings and the assignment of responsibilities.
Dalits, recognised as Scheduled Castes under India’s Constitution, have long faced social exclusion. They accounted for about 16.6% of the population in the 2011 census and are eligible for affirmative action such as quotas in education and government jobs.
Caste dynamics, Gopal says, are not confined to formal procedures. Informal conversations can carry assertions of caste pride, marital and social networks among judicial staff typically follow caste lines, and colleagues often try to infer his caste from the absence of a surname. He recalls that even a judges’ association election was contested largely along caste lines.
Legal protections against caste discrimination exist, but Gopal argues they have limited effect in professional settings. He recommends expanding affirmative action to cover promotions and establishing institutional complaint mechanisms — modelled on workplace anti-harassment bodies — to address caste-related grievances.
Gopal stresses that discrimination has not disappeared but adapted. Practices like food-based segregation and pressures toward endogamy persist, he says, effectively reproducing caste hierarchies within the service. He doubts significant change is likely in the near future.
*Name has been changed to protect the interviewee’s identity.
This piece is part of DW’s special coverage of Dr BR Ambedkar’s 135th birth anniversary and Dalit History Month.