[ryandrake]

> And asking all kinda of private background questions in order to judge someone's social standing and treat them accordingly is intrusive and bigotted.

This also happens in the west and it's not caste-related. Go to a suburban barbecue or something, and observe: people will ask what you do for a living, which neighborhood you live in, how long have you been living here, where did you originally come from, and so on. Often they are doing this kind of small talk just so they can figure out where you are on the social totem pole.

[mmcnl]

I often ask these questions as well, and mostly it's just to find something common, doesn't have anything to do with the social totem pole.

[hef19898]

Sure, small talk is fine. Only that under the Indian caste system the consequences, and intentions, are much more sinister and severe.