Is caste withering away in urban India? Substantiate your argument with suitable examples.

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Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Caste is not withering away in urban India but adapting: anonymity, market jobs, education and reservations weaken purity rules and occupational ties, yet political mobilisation and spatial segregation sustain it. Only about 5-6% of urban marriages cross caste lines, and disadvantaged castes remain concentrated in slums and peripheral areas.

**Introduction**

Urbanisation and constitutional equality challenge caste, but evidence shows caste’s persistence and adaptation in urban India. The Constitution’s Articles 15 and 17 promote equality, yet caste remains embedded in social and political life, especially in urban contexts.

**Evidence of Caste’s Persistence and Decline**

1. **Uneven Rural-Urban Transformation**: Caste, class, and gender interplay unevenly; ==Recent Bihar caste violence⟦1⟧== highlights ongoing feudal structures and subaltern resistance. Urban anonymity weakens some caste barriers, but social segregation endures in housing and workplaces.

3. **Economic and Social Factors**: In fast-growing cities like Hyderabad, much urban work remains informal, and informal labour markets often recruit through caste networks, limiting mobility. The shift from hereditary occupations to market jobs weakens caste’s occupational role but informal sectors maintain exclusion.

4. **Youth and Caste Consciousness**: Caste awareness persists among general-category university youth⟦3⟧, showing social cleavages endure despite urbanisation. Surveys indicate only 5-6% of urban marriages are inter-caste, reflecting slow erosion of caste endogamy.

**Way Forward**

1. **Holistic Empowerment**: Empowerment must go beyond reservations, including skill development and entrepreneurship for Scheduled Castes and OBCs to reduce economic disparities.

2. **Legal and Social Reforms**: Strengthen urban social integration, affordable housing, and education to reduce caste-based exclusion. Promote inter-caste interactions and reform political candidate selection to focus on merit and development agendas.

**Conclusion**

Caste hierarchies persist and adapt⟦4⟧ in urban India; constitutional ideals require sustained, multi-dimensional efforts to dismantle caste discrimination and promote inclusive urban development for a just society.

Is caste withering away in urban India? Substantiate your argument with suitable examples.

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