[hawk_]

I know this is a caste thread, but there might be a more general issue at play here - a mediocre person may not be able to recognize a talented person, a good solution or a good design. Not putting mediocre people on interview panels would be way higher on my list before getting to cultural or discrimination issues. I am almost inclined to bet that more talented people are less likely to discriminate anyway based on race caste etc... because they don't have the same insecurities.

[throwaway987978]

A mediocre person may also be threatened by someone they see as being more talented. They will fight against having that person on their team with them because it makes them look worse.