I think for most part, this is what Indians want to believe. Even the folks on this thread. When I was a kid in school I didn't think the caste system existed in "modern" India because it wasn't something I spent any time thinking about. Caste and religion didn't matter to me in my every day interactions, didn't factor into any decisions I made, therefore it didn't matter to others either. Or so I thought. That's privilege speaking. These things didn't matter to me because I had never suffered because of it. But they do exist, and Indians need to accept that.

Why you might find people being defensive on this thread is that it might feel galling to be talked down to by Americans on this subject. The Indians on this thread, like me, have never thought about caste and yet they’re being told to stop being casteist, to fight casteism etc by people who found out about it 10 minutes ago. For others, being told about casteism makes them feel bad because it’s a reminder that India isn’t as great as it could be, it’s not the land of equality and opportunity that we’d like to believe it is.

Not saying they’re right to feel that way, because we must do our part regardless of what others say. But it just gives you their perspective, so you might understand.