Daily Mirror Part 5 | Language Above Caste

Daily Mirror Part5A Poisonous Poison

Language Above Caste: Sugar-Coated Casteism at the State Level

(Series: Casteism — A Boon or a Curse? My Reflections)

When you leave your district and enter a new state, something magical—and confusing—unfolds:

Your caste identity shrinks,

and your state identity expands.

Suddenly, you are no longer:

Brahmin, Modi, Gupta, Kushwaha,Yadav,  Banjara…

You become:

UP wale

Bihar wale

Marathi manus

Gujarati

Tamilian

Bengali

For people of another state, your language becomes your introduction.

Your accent becomes your identity.

Your caste moves to the background.

But this is only half the truth.

Because inside your own state, caste still breathes—

softly, sweetly… and sugar-coated.

1. Identity Shifts: The Power of Language

Cross into Karnataka, and every North Indian becomes “Hindi people.”

Move to North India, and every South Indian becomes “Madrasi.”

Come to Mumbai, and people judge first by:

language

mother tongue

accent

surname (later)

Language becomes a bigger umbrella,

and caste becomes a small compartment inside it.

A new hierarchy emerges:

State > Region > Language > Caste

It looks like progress.

It feels like equality.

But within each linguistic group, the old patterns survive.

And new divisions are added:

higher income group

middle income group

lower income group

Sometimes, even your own relatives may ignore you because introducing you means revealing your background.

2. Inside Your Own State: Where Sugar-Coating Melts

Outside your state, you are “one of us.”

Inside your state, the micro-identities return:

surname

sub-caste

lineage

village

family history

People don’t ask:

“Aapka naam?”

“Aap kidhar se?”

They ask:

“Aap kaun jaat?”

Suddenly, the mask falls.

The same person who saw you as a “fellow North Indian” in Mumbai

now wants to know your sub-caste when they realise you are from their region.

This is the dual nature of caste at the state level:

Unity outside. Division inside.

A Personal Incident

Two friends from the same broader community visited my home and met my elderly Nani.

One touched her feet.

The other simply joined hands.

Ironically, he was the same person who always touched his relatives’ feet in front of us—just to make us do the same.

After that day, I quietly stopped touching his parents’ feet too.

Small behaviours often reveal big truths.

3. Government Jobs vs Private Jobs: Two Different Worlds

Caste behaves differently depending on where you stand.

Government Sector

Here caste is:

a label

a category

a gatekeeper

People whisper constantly:

“Iska category kya hai?”

“Merit ya reservation?”

“Transfer kis zone mein milega?”

Even success stories carry a caste footnote.

Private Sector

Private companies follow one rule:

“Work speaks louder than surname.”

Skills matter.

Delivery matters.

Teamwork matters.

Market pressure kills open prejudice.

But even here:

friend circles form by language

comfort zones by culture

leadership choices by familiarity

Bias becomes polite.

Prejudice becomes invisible.

Equality is professional, not always personal.

4. When Language Creates Unexpected Brotherhood

A migrant in another state experiences a rare miracle:

People who would never sit together in their home village

become close friends in another state

because they share:

mother tongue

food habits

festival memories

childhood songs

In a small rented room in Bengaluru,

a Brahmin, a Dalit, an OBC, a trader caste, a nomadic caste—

all eat together because they belong to the same state

and have no one else.

Migration melts caste walls

in ways education sometimes fails to do.

5. When Identity Confuses You: Who Am I Today?

At different places, different identities take charge:

At home → caste matters

In your city → surname matters

In office → skills matter

In another state → language matters

Online → talent matters

One person carries five identities every single day.

It makes you ask:

“Who am I when labels fall away?”

“Who am I beneath language and caste?”

State-level casteism reveals a deeper truth:

You are many things to many people…

but your real identity is something else altogether.

6. My Reflection

State-level casteism is tricky.

It does not shout like rural casteism.

It does not hide like urban casteism.

It sweetens itself.

It adjusts itself.

It camouflages itself.

You feel welcomed — but observed.

You feel included — but categorized.

You feel respected — but evaluated.

This is caste at its psychological best:

Not hurting your body,

but testing your identity.

Here I learned:

Caste weakens when you travel.

Caste rises when you return.

Language connects,

but caste corrects.

And now we move to the final layer—

the most liberating, yet the most revealing.

To Be Continued…

Part 6: Nation Above Caste — The Global Filter and the Real Identity

Coming Soon…

Disclaimer:

This blog shares personal reflections and real-life observations.

The intention is not to target, hurt, or generalise any caste, community, region, or state.

The purpose of this series is to promote awareness, empathy, and meaningful social understanding.

Any resemblance to events or individuals is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Regards

Rakesh Kushwaha

Writer • Educator • Storyteller

Daily Mirror Series – A Poisonous Poison