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Mon, 11th Feb 2008  New Delhi: The latest on cyberspace---people are increasingly bonding around their caste identities.
And for that matter castes, sub-castes, the Brahmin group and among them the Iyers, Iyengars and many more, are bonding.
But the urge to bond among your own is not restricted to Bramhins alone, exclusive groups among Dalits are also budding on Orkut.
Dalit angst flows freely. They share the collective history of exploitation that, they believe, non-Dalits cannot understand.
Says a Dalit, "It is to integrate all Dalits because the Dalits are not a homogenous group. So while all Dalits share something, they are also different. It helps us at a local level and also at a global level."
The burst of caste consciousness in the netspace is unprecedented.
Even unforeseen considering that there are perhaps as many anonymous people out here concealing each atom of their identity.
Brahmin with Brahmin and Dalit with Dalit; these groups mirror the concerns of matrimonial ads.
Well almost in the netspace assertion and anonymity go hand in hand.
"It is an identity that is almost on its way out. People are looking for their roots and embracing their identities almost defensively," says sociologist Ashish Nandy.
It is an unprecedented warfare on a massive scale of caste in the net now.  | 
