The question of whether caste is disappearing in urban India has engaged sociologists from M.N. Srinivas and André Béteille to Satish Deshpande. Evidence suggests that while some overt ritual manifestations have weakened, caste has adapted rather than vanished, assuming new forms in urban settings.

Arguments Suggesting Decline:

• Anonymity of city life: Occupational identities replace caste tags in workplaces.
• Modern occupations: IT, finance and services are relatively caste-neutral in recruitment.
• Weakening of purity-pollution: Shared eating spaces, public transport and housing reduce ritual distancing.
• Inter-caste marriages: Rising in metros, though still under 6% nationally (IHDS).
• Education and mobility: Reservation and private education have created a Dalit and OBC middle class (e.g., DICCI entrepreneurs).
• Constitutional and legal framework: SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, reservations in education and employment.

Arguments Showing Persistence:

• Housing segregation: Studies (Thorat, Sukhadeo) show landlords in Delhi, Mumbai refusing Dalit and Muslim tenants.
• Matrimonial choices: Caste columns dominate matrimonial websites (Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi).
• Political mobilisation: BSP, RPI, Jat, Patidar and Maratha agitations show caste as political capital.
• Workplace discrimination: Reports of bias in hiring and promotions; underrepresentation of SC/STs in judiciary and media.
• Everyday humiliation: Rohith Vemula (2016), Payal Tadvi (2019) cases in premier institutions.
• Digital-age casteism: Online abuse, caste-based trolling.
• Sanitation work: Overwhelmingly done by specific communities, manual scavenging deaths continuing despite legal ban.

Sociological Insight:

Béteille noted caste's "harmless" cultural residue; Deshpande argues the upper castes have become "caste-less" by projecting themselves as merit-based, while lower castes remain marked. Srinivas's "Sanskritisation" and later "westernisation" show adaptation rather than disappearance.

Conclusion:

Urban India has weakened caste's ritual grip but retained its structural and social influence. Meaningful eradication requires substantive equality, affirmative action in the private sector, education reform and cultural transformation, aligning with the constitutional vision of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.