ABSTRACT

A sense of inadequacy and frustration is shared by many Indians on their country’s lack of gravitas in world politics. The present chapter argues that ‘the Caste System’ works like the Operating System (OS) in a computer. Political, military, and diplomatic leaders are blamed for the country’s underwhelming performance whereas they all are mere ‘apps’ rendered tardy and inefficient by the archaic OS. Culture and traditions that the caste system shaped over millennia continue to adversely affect India’s economic and military capabilities as well as its technological and industrial base. The practitioners of statecraft and scholars thereon are guilty of ignoring this vital domestic determinant of India’s quest for power, prestige, and status.