Caste has become a mechanism to endorse one's superiority, says Suraj Yengde

Speaking on issues faced by Dalits during a session at the India Today Conclave South on Friday, Suraj Yengde, an Ambedkarite PhD fellow at Harvard University, said caste has become a mechanism to endorse one's superiority.

"In India, caste has become a mechanism to endorse one's superiority. When someone challenges this superiority, the person receives a violent death," Yengde said.

He said that since Independence, caste has been central to the formation of India's republic.

"The first five cabinets of the central governments had no Adivasi leader in it. This is the casteism that we have inherited," he said.