India, Oct. 5 -- I have seen the professional anti-caste intellectual. S/He arrives. S/He speaks. S/He refers to Ambedkar. S/He cites John Rawls. S/He quotes Michael Foucault. S/He invokes Habermas. S/He discusses Gramsci. S/He condemns Brahminism. S/He explains graded inequality. S/He teaches the sociology of untouchability. S/He publishes an article on Dalit dignity. She/He claims to be "Ambedkarite," or "neo-Ambedkarite." S/He receives applause.

Then he goes home.

And at home, caste returns. Not as theory. As marriage. Not as discourse. As family. Not as structure. As bloodline. Not as an institution. As surname. Not as history. As inheritance. Not as oppression. As preference.

And suddenly, the revolutionary theorist becomes a tra...