Corporate Brahminism and Tech Work: Caste in a Modern Indian Profession

Abstract

This article investigates caste dynamics within the information technology (IT) industry in Chennai. While there has been considerable commentary on the dominance of ‘upper’ castes within the industry, significantly less has been said about how ‘upper-casteness’ is retained and reinforced. In exploring everyday forms of upper-caste assertion, this article unpacks constructions of ‘corporate Brahminism’ on the IT office floor. Moreover, by analysing the experiences of employees from a broader range of caste backgrounds, it highlights spaces of resistance in the industry, underlining the relationality of caste in privileged sites of work within the modern economy.