8/14    Is it ok to ask an indian guy/gal what his/her caste is?  Or is that
        considered a taboo topic?  I'm just curious about what this person's
        pecking order is back in india.
        \- i think it is pretty tacky. might be ok if you know the person
        pretty well and are talking about "growing up in india" or something
        like that, but other i dont think you should. you can however often
        tell from the last name. --psb
           \_ Esp. south indian last names and some north indian names.
        \_ Brahmin.  Trust me.
           \_ Yeah Brahmin's are at the top. They are the best! - Brahmin.
        \_ brahmin, kshtryia, vishia, shudra, where brahmin's are on top.
           Some basic rules are:

           1. Upgrades are available only for women via marriage. A lower
              caste woman marrying an upper caste man gets upgraded to the
              man's caste. (This is a progressive rule that is not yet
              accepted by orthodox hindus)

           2. Upgrades are not available for men. A lower caste man
              marrying an upper caste woman, downgrades the woman's caste.

           3. Downgrades are always possible based on behavior (ie being
              born into a caste does not qualify you for permanent membership
              in that caste). If your behavior deviates from the norm for your
              caste you will be downgraded, usually to untouchable which is
              lower than the lowest. (This is a generally accepted rule by
              all but the most bigoted and orthodox brahmins)
           \_ Are you a brahmin?
              \_ yes. -tjb
        \_ [lengthy un-asked-for crap deleted]
           I believe that psb is right, most of the people in India are not
           brahmins and are pretty sensitive about this fact. Many of the
           people you'll meet in this country are brahmins (at least by birth)
           so they won't be as sensitive. In the past only brahmins had the
           qualifications to immigrate to this country in large numbers, but
           in recent years that's changed.
                \_ You are an idiot.  Most intelligent people from India that
                   I had met don't care about their former caste.  Currently
                   in India itself it is very advantageous to be one of the
                   lower castes because there is affirmative action for them.
                   It is currently next to impossible to enroll in a good
                   university as a Brahmin or a Shatria.
                        \- this is misleading. --psb
                           \_ I am getting this straight from my indian
                              friends.  Where do you get your information,
                              psb?
                \- this last comment really isnt true. immigrants from
                differnt parts of india and at differnt periods of time
                have had very differnt characteristics. e.g. since the 60s
                most of the bengalis [men] are civil/mech/electrical
                engineers. there was also a large influx of indian doctors
                starting in teh 70s. this is not at all true of the people
                from say the punjab are who came over in the earlier part of
                the century ... i believe many of them worked in the agri-
                cultural sector. --psb
                \_ Are you a brahmin?
                   \_ i think he's from a uniquely american caste known
                      as "admin".
                      \_ Generally those of a lower uid are of higher caste.
                          \_ that's because of their closeness to
                             God^H^H^Hroot^H^H^H^Hnirvana