[crossroadsguy]

I think that term previous person used is Marathi (I am not a Marathi speaker though).

> Are there terms in English I should look out for?

Not really. But you have more of contexts and where the questioning is going whether it's in a professional or personal setting - the line of inquiry.

If the person is taking a very shallow interest (or a misplaced interest) in knowing where your roots are, who your ancestors were and possibly specifically asking names of your parents or grand parents (maybe profession as well) then you might want to treat it as at least suspicious on these lines.

[saagarjha]

In Hindi I think the term is "jaati" (with the question being the same).

[crossroadsguy]

Yes. Jaati, jaat. "Kul" as well. People often ask "kis kul se ho" - "what lineage you belong to" - it's supposedly a politer way to ask someone's caste.

And in the region, your last name (sorry, it's just a knowledge I picked up while growing up) is endemic to, it's called "jaayat" or "jaait".

> In Hindi I think

I assumed you are either not Indian or not from that region in the North.

Also, what I meant by saying there are not really terms one should look out for is in professional setups, at least these days, caste is not asked openly but indirectly.