My first week at Duke, a Brahmin woman told a room of Indian students that her undergrad college in Blore has a wall where men urinated. And that the wall had a line demarking the area upto which Dalits could pee. She explained it as 'reservation' befitting 'quota' students. 1/ https://twitter.com/nytopinion/status/1283149798389043200

Everyone in the room laughed. So I told myself that she was joking and I shouldn't be upset. Rest of my time at Duke, I actively avoided being in the same space with that person. She works at a Big 4 consulting firm now. Others who laughed that day work in Silicon Valley firms.2/

I was 21, just beginning to figure out my coursework, career options and life in a foreign country. Added to that pressure was the constant 'reservation' jokes, North Indians swearing 'chamar' at everything and anything, and feeling like an alien at 'Indian/Bollywood' parties.3/

That evening was not some harmless jokes. That is how Indians assert upper caste pride in social settings, find camaraderie with other casteists, and remind Dalits of the social hierarchy.

It's an uphill task but we will take on casteism of desi diaspora.Thank you @YashicaDutt.