Wow. Lots to analyze here... here goes nothing. #THREAD https://twitter.com/Profdilipmandal/status/1358264946921005056

Right off the bat, racism. Like, wow, eye-popping racism.

Both racism and colorism are serious problems in modern India. We are getting more than a taste of that here. Unacceptable.

Caste and class -- These are two overlapping things (jati and varna). Seems the objection here is the allegation that Meena Harris has no proper varna according to some Hindu texts. So, a few thoughts on that...

According to some of these same texts and popular understanding of many Hindus in history, all caste Hindus lose their caste when they cross the ocean. Let's not dwell on the implications of that for Dilip's caste. Moving on...

Dilip seems to define caste here specifically as the four varnas. Last I checked, about 25% of modern Indians were Dalits, the preferred name for those formerly known as untouchable.

So, are no Dalits Hindu? Hinduism's numbers are dropping rapidly it seems.

The man butchers the MLK - untouchable quote / story. And during #BlackHistoryMonth to boot. Such a shame.

Folks, read up on this. It's a lovely moment of growth and solidarity.

The "our internal matters"... This phrase is usually invoked to talk about India and internal state matters. Is that at issue here? Or are we talking about Hinduism, which is not confined to or defined by the modern nation of India?

The answer is that we are talking about Hindu nationalism, a political ideology. Its proponents use and abuse Hinduism as a cloak, to attempt to shield themselves and their hateful ideology from criticism.

It's an inappropriate tactic, and it isn't working.

The "you just can't acquire a caste." More or less true now, although historically that's exactly how most Indians got caste.

The details here are fuzzy, but over hundreds of years, thousands in some areas, groups were integrated into the varna system. There was negotiation.

Let me end with two prejudices I see here.

There's sexism, the breezy dismissal of female lineage and a woman defining her religious identity.

There's casteism and an embrace of a system of inequality.