The Lottery of Birth: On Inherited Social Inequalities

by Namit Arora

An egalitarian ethos has not been a prominent feature of Indian civilization, at least since the decline of Buddhism over a thousand years ago. All people, it is believed, are created unequal, born into a hierarchy of status and dignity, and endowed not with universal but particular rights and duties. This has greatly amplified the unfairness of accidents of birth in shaping one’s lot in life. Despite a long history of resistance, such inequalities have thrived and mutated, including under European rule, modernity, and markets.

Starting with the deeply moving stories of three writers, Arora explores the origins, persistence, and textures of inequalities rooted in the lottery of birth in India—of caste, class, gender, language, region, religion, and more—and their intersections in daily life. Blending scholarly rigor with moral intelligence, these essays engage with the Bhagavad Gita; the legacies of Ambedkar and Gandhi; Indian modernity, democracy, and nationalism; linguistic hierarchies; reservations; violence against women; identity politics; and much else that today weighs on Indian minds.

Genres: Nonfiction, India, Politics, History, Sociology, Philosophy

300 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2017

About the author

Namit Arora chose a life of reading and writing after cutting short his career in the Internet industry. Raised in north India, he lived in Louisiana, Northern California, Western Europe, and travelled in scores of countries before returning to India over two decades later in 2013. He is the author of (1) Speaking of History: Conversations about India's Past and Present (with Romila Thapar), (2) Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization, (3) The Lottery of Birth, a collection of essays on inequality, and (4) the novel A California Story (US) / Love and Loathing in Silicon Valley (India). His web home is shunya.net.

Reviews

[Priyanka Nena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Namit Arora, scores rank 190 all India rank in IIT and gets his admission in IIT,Kharagpur. Everyone rewards him for his academic merit. But author, Namit Arora says he didn’t deserve all the thunder and applause. But he says he can’t take much credit for it. And analyses his own success and says his success was not his own but being at the right place at the right time made him achieve it. So he says in his case, born in an upper caste household, inheriting privileges of being born there , his parents having university degrees added to his advantage. His birth in the family was entirely random. And therefore he inherited decent place in the hierarchy of status and dignity. So here comes why the title “lottery of birth” and because of which he never faced any caste discrimination, any social or physical restrictions on account of gender , nor was troubled by his sexual orientation, no malnutrition, no physical or mental disabilities etc. So what bothered him was lottery of birth where people’s world success or failure was because of accidental inheritance of caste,class,gender,region,religion and other inherited inequalities. So this book contains essays written by Namit Arora on topics. I will write about few of them-


1)He talks about Dalits,who had been ostracised by the society, also untouchables,shudras and says they were denied education, made to do menial jobs and sites example from Mahabharata where Brahmin teacher Dronacharya tricks his low caste disciple Eklavya who is a better student in archery, to give him gurudakshina (thumb) in order to not compete with high class Kshatriya Arjuna . In High caste telling , there are praises of Ekalavya for his obedience towards his teacher rather than saying Dronacharya as a biased teacher. Today caste remains most imp factor in social life. Caste is still seen as an identitity.

2)Namit Arora talks about transgenderism. Hindu mythology and scriptures uphold caste hierarchy and accept transgerderism though not socially desirable. While Mughal rule supported Hijra (minority group).But the British found them as most polluted people and called them as criminal tribes and took away the legal right to collect alms from peasant households. Author gives example of a person called Revathi what she had faced in life because of being a transgender, how she had been banished from the family and the society.

3)About varnasystem- the arrival of Indo-Aryans - they had encountered long settled communities, which were divided based on occupation such as guilds which were not hierarchical, hereditary. And the culture of indo aryans became dominant and they introduced three Varnas(color) Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas . They added a fourth varna - shudras(labourers and artisans) . Later, highest purity points went to upper classes in the Varna system and lowest to workers associated with dead bodies, human waste, tanneries, butchery etc and considered them as outcastes, gave rise to rigid caste system. This led to trampling of basic rights to shudras (oppressed). The cleaning of other peoples shit by hand, tanneries became entirely hereditary and became natural place in the caste hierarchy, bonded labour, sexual exploitation were common too. In order to move up the caste hierarchy lower caste group have also started imitating the ways of life of upper castes (sanskritisation) . Even though government has provided affirmative action ,though people have become financially better than their previous generations, they’re still considered as low castes(because of deeply entrenched caste system).

4)Reservations- reservations are really important in India that has embraced western models of economic development built on capital, professional education that amplifies the advantages for social elites. And so reservations are still a valuable instrument of social justice without which India can not achieve its full promise of democracy. The initiative to reserve women seats in legislatures and parliament has extensive support of upper class elites, but has vehemence against caste based reservations.

5)Decolonising the mind- how British controlled us- author mentions “ economic and political control can never be complete or effective without mental control”. Indians are heierarchy bound wrt Indian literati(English sitting atop like Brahmin and our languages sitting low), we accord a higher caste to the British and subconsciously elevate their literary culture, though it serves as lingua Franca ,it’s not the language in which the Great Indian novel can be written today unless all the social classes across the country read, write, talk, think, dream in that language.

Unless we tackle this social evil in the country, any kind of development - technological or economic can never bring any change. period.

The author quotes Buddha’s dharmic duties-
“It is proper to doubt. Donot be led by Holy Scriptures, or by mere logic or inference ,or by appearances, or by the authority of religious teachers. But when you realise that something is unwholesome and bad for you, give it up. And when you realise that something is wholesome and good for you, do it... be prepared to let go of even the most profound insight or the most wholesome teaching. Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence.”

[Chhavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific collection of accessible, incisive essays. A few thoughts:
*I wish they'd make this required reading at the high school level in India
*The book covered a lot of theory I'd studied in sociology classes (and as a journalist who covers development I keep abreast on some of these issues) - so I was interested, but also in familiar territory. I can see how someone approaching the whole Dalit and caste trope for the first time would find it hard to incorporate into their world view...especially our "caste-blind" elite classes.
*I loved the chapter on the Gita and why it became a codified 'Holy' text as well as how flawed the arguments in it are, and how they undergird the caste system.
*After reading this, I've ordered Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste; I didn't realize how his politics were subverted by others, to the detriment of so many: women, lower castes, everyone who's marginalized actually.
*I appreciate that he addressed his own biases and privilege so very openly. As we know, transparency engenders trust.
So, all in all, it was an easy read with really accessible arguments and opinions. I was already familiar with about two third of the theory, so I'm rating it lower than a 5. But, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see privilege and counter it.

also posted on Amazon. I wish they'd cross post automatically

[Anirudh Jayaraman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad I read this book. Hopefully, it has started me on a path to further educating myself on merit, caste, privilege, gender, religion and more. I might very well have to revisit ideas from this book and read other referenced sources to even begin to digest the content in this collection of essays. The fact that these ideas brought me face-to-face with the shock of a clouded sense of self-awareness, is saying something about the power this book.

[Himanshu Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The path of development, in which growth and equity command equal attention, always require understanding of the social justice. The truths of social justice is hard to fathom but deserve a deeper scrutiny. The Lottery of Birth navigates through mazes of the identity, gender, justice and equality with a lucid prose. The book will definitely help young minds in developing critical sensibility and more judiciously assess many injustices of our society.

[Kathleen]

Reading this book made me smarter. Arora's essays are so timely and relevant. After I'd finish each one, I found that its topics related to many conversations in the news, at my workplace, among family and friends, or in other articles or books I was reading. I also found it so interesting to read about race relations or workplace prejudice or sexism in India and then compare it to my American experiences. Namit Arora straddles these two cultures and countries with understanding, awareness, and aplomb, and his vast reading and knowledge base assert his credibility. There's so much to digest here, and so much to savor.

[Karthik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeper look at the skeleton of India's caste system, it's origin, its source of strength, its derivatives and it's ever growing symbiotic relationship with the socio-political structure of our country.

[Rick Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lottery of Birth: On Inherited Social Inequalities by Namit Arora

Notes & Summary:

In this work, Namit Arora, argues that worldly success is often a natural lottery determined by luck and accidental inheritance rather than pure merit.

For this, he identifies three barriers that discourage Indians to practice an egalitarian order

a) Belief in a Just World
b) Moral Communities
c) Ideology of the Dominant Class

For these three, the author shares examples from his life experience of inequality in India.

1) In the first chapter, the Author turns to Omprakash Valmiki’s memoir Joothan: A Dalit’s Life. Valmiki was born into the Chuhra caste, also known as Bhangi, whose members were historically assigned degrading and physically demanding labor: sweeping roads, cleaning cattle barns, removing waste, disposing of dead animals, working during harvests, and serving upper-caste communities such as the Tyagi Brahmins. Valmiki’s memoir reveals a world defined not only by material hardship, but also by daily indignity, social segregation, and the crushing burden of caste from childhood onward.

This is a saddening story and reality of Life for millions of Indians born in lower caste, it is also another reason, why I write a lot about caste, as the lack of belief in equal rights is largely missing as a personal belief in India.

While reading, Thomas Sowell’s Empirical Study of Affirmative Action, I noticed the large benefits of affirmative action did not reach the people who are in desperate need as it is captured by the well off people within the castes. Sowell encourages for combination of early intervention programs and apprenticeship to help, rather than filling a quota/number system. This is evident by the positions filled in judicial upper court and IIT/IISC faculty. Unfortunately, this conversation in India, is politicized rather than encouraging to seek evidence, to what works.

To share an example, in Tamil Society,Chakkiliyars [b] known as Arunthathiyar used to be leather workers, some centuries ago as farmers, landowners, but many of them got trapped, during the transition, from perhaps a respectable status of a leather worker to a farm slave (pannaiyal) or to a sanitation worker. This explains the social trap in which the Chakkiliyars were caught. In terms of discrimination, the Middle Class Tamil families, have the strongest caste consciousness, such as refusing to share food, associate closely, or treat people from these groups with respect continues to reinforce these old hierarchies, even in modern urban spaces as Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.

2) The second chapter, The Terrain of Indignities is based on Ajay Navaria’s short stories. Navaria’s protagonists are mostly Dalit men who have entered the urban middle class through education, talent, and sometimes the help of reservations. But Indian cities do not fully allow an Indian to liberate himself from his caste.

Instead, caste reappears in quieter and more psychological ways, in offices, rental housing, business dealings, and everyday social interactions, where people try to identify one’s caste through surname, skin color, family background, customs, or visitors to the home. This reminds me of Chennai city, caste comes up in rentals, vegetarian or non-veg is an easy way to filter? The city offers anonymity and a certain self-respect, but it also produces a constant fear of being found out. Through these stories, the author shows that caste in modern India has not disappeared; it has simply changed form, becoming more subtle, urban, and inwardly wounding.

3) The third chapter to Beyond Man and Woman: The Life of a Hijra is based on A. Revathi’s autobiography. Revathi, born as Doraisamy, felt from childhood that she was feminine and was repeatedly mocked, beaten, and humiliated for not behaving like a boy. At school she was bullied and punished, and at home her brothers beat her for bringing shame to the family. As she grew older, she discovered the hijra community, where for the first time she found recognition, affection, and a language for who she was. But this new life was also filled with hardship: she had to flee home, survive through begging and vulnerable labor, endure violence, and struggle against the rejection of both family and society. Through Revathi’s testimony, the author shows how gender nonconformity in India is not merely misunderstood but often punished with cruelty, exclusion, and deep emotional suffering.

4) In chapter architecture of inequality, the author says, An egalitarian ethos has not been a prominent feature of Indian civilization for at least a thousand years, when Buddhism began losing ground in South Asia. The dominant Hindu sensibility has long held that all men are created unequal, constituting not a single moral community, but separate moral communities. They possess varying natural rights and duties. I noticed this as well, which is why I wrote, Why India needs a new political theory for modern world [a].

Overall, the author gives a broad historical account of caste, how hierarchy became deeply rooted in Indian society, how varna and jati hardened over time into hereditary and endogamous divisions, and how untouchability came to be justified through ideas of purity, karma, destiny, and scriptural authority.

The chapter argues that caste is not merely an old custom but a durable structure of inequality that has long denied dignity, mobility, and equal humanity to those placed at the bottom

5) In Chapter of, The Dance of Indian Democracy, the author examines how Indian democracy has tried to address inherited inequality, especially through reservations. He argues that democracy in India could not become meaningful through universal suffrage alone, because in such a deeply stratified society the upper castes would still dominate political power and representation. Drawing especially on Ambedkar, The author presents reservations as an attempt to make democracy socially real rather than merely formal, by giving historically subordinated groups a fairer chance in public institutions, legislatures, and state power

6) Next, The Author shares Caste Privilege, where he asks readers to recognize caste privilege in the same way that many now speak of race privilege or gender privilege. In this, the author shares, that upper-caste advantage often hides behind the language of merit, normalcy, and respectability, making it harder for beneficiaries to see what they have inherited. Read alongside Arora’s introduction, the essay asks us to notice how advantages such as education, social respect, cultural confidence, English fluency, and freedom from humiliation are often treated as personal achievement even when they are also products of birth and social location.

While, an Indian being born into an upper caste is embedded with structural benefits. There is no denying in that, when we compare him with a Dalit.

Certainly, He is right that the starting line is unequal. However, he missed observing, Unequal starting points do not eliminate meaningful differences in effort, discipline, intelligence, courage, judgment, sacrifice, or persistence.

The upper caste Indian might still squander, plenty of examples exist in many domains, Anil Ambani might be the most popular example for Indians. There are also many examples of Indians who began with very little and still rose through exceptional diligence, discipline, and ability. Arokiaswamy Velumani, who built Thyrocare Technologies into a billion-dollar company, is one such example.

In this, I want to synthesize what I learnt from Thomas Sowell, who emphasis on focusing on, "prerequisites for the prerequisites", if a child cannot access quality primary schooling, a reserved IIT seat is irrelevant. So, I believe Indian society will advance further, when we widen access to the conditions that produce excellence.

7) Moving on, We are introduced to Chapter Moral Universe of the Bhagavad Gita. The author argues that the Gita is far too revered and that its moral core is deeply troubling. He suggests that many readers defend it through habit, piety, nationalism, or selective interpretation, while overlooking its instrumental view of human life and its problematic ethical framework. In his judgment, it should not be treated as an unquestioned guide to moral life.

8) In Page 134, We are introduced to Chapter Delhi: The City of Rape?, where the author examines how public discussion of sexual violence in India is often distorted. He argues that many people fixate on the image of stranger-danger in public space, even though sexual violence is more often committed by familiar men in homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. The author therefore shifts the discussion from sensational fear of the city to the deeper structures of patriarchy, caste, and everyday power that shape gender violence

The India's rape crisis is sad and heart-wrenching issue.
Many Indian women share personal frightening stories. This occurs, when they are traveling through India public transportation in form of experiencing groping to assault.

Since 2000 and to 2024 Kolkata Rape, the average Educated Tamil's response to this is to take extreme measure. This ranges from immediate castrating or public hanging of these men. In many instances of this horrific crime, the rage is valid, however; the law enforcement takes justice in their own hands, conducting encounters (public emergency shooting) on the suspect, without due process, forgetting court system exists.


9)The author introduces decolonizing My Mind, an essay on English in India and the linguistic hierarchies created by colonialism. Drawing on Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and the colonial language debates, The author argues that language is not just a neutral medium of communication. English became a tool of power, prestige, administration, and self-definition, while Indian languages were degraded as backward or insufficient. The result was not only political domination but mental colonization, in which many Indians learned to see their own languages and cultures as inferior.

This is contestable, I think there wasn’t a strong culture to translate the know-how, college curriculum into local languages as well. This was not a priority of the government, since 1947 in India. Because of this, the local languages of India are not treated fairly in technical, professional careers, but English’s advantage enabled large IT service jobs for entire India.

I don’t believe that Indian languages are backward. I think, it was hard for them to keep up with the newer constant R&D of the West, ranging from many fields, knowledge kept adding up, developing, improvising, while the local Indian culture, languages did not keep up with the pace, for example, a Tamil speaker mixes with English as fillers, because there wasn’t an effort to introduce newer vocabulary and keep up. Lastly, In terms of Indian-languages, there isn’t an effort to show how certain vocabulary, way of communication is only possible within local language such as Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu?

I also notice the large effort of BJP party and new writers for decolonization as an ideology. I believe, this is mistaken, the approach needs to move towards synthesizing know-how, process, knowledge as much as possible and keep up with the pace of development across the world, from Japan, Germany, France, US, UK.

10) Next, In the Tenth Chapter, What Do We Deserve?, where he asks a fundamental moral question: for our talents, learning, and labor, what rewards can we fairly claim as truly our own? This essay challenges the comforting belief that success naturally belongs to those who worked hardest or were most deserving. In line with the book’s introduction, the author, emphasizes that luck, upbringing, timing, social privilege, inherited opportunity, and unchosen ability all shape life outcomes. The chapter therefore pushes the reader to think more critically about merit, reward, and moral desert.

I think, the author stretches this so far, by putting it all on luck and not giving credence to merit, I think there are certainly structural inequalities present in India through various forms such as caste, socio-economic status, being born in a family, access to resources/tutor, finances. However, the author Namit had to be disciplined, study, pass his exams, get good scores and was able to get into IIT. Simply put he made the effort, and he did get through merit, while also I acknowledge the broader social inequalities present.

11) In the eleventh chapter, We are introduced to Ambedkar in the Indian Imagination. Here the author argues that Ambedkar still has not received his due in mainstream Indian thought, especially among upper-caste Indians. Arora presents Ambedkar not only as a leader of the oppressed, but as one of the greatest architects of modern India: a thinker of liberty, equality, fraternity, secularism, dignity, and social justice whose relevance extends far beyond caste politics. The essay suggests that refusing to engage Ambedkar honestly has limited both moral and intellectual emancipation in India.

12) In the twelfth chapter, Author introduces The Rationalist and the Romantic, an essay on Arundhati Roy’s introduction to Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste. He explains that the Navayana edition brought Ambedkar to new readers, but also provoked discomfort and criticism, especially among Dalit writers and activists who saw in it a familiar pattern of caste-elite mediation, appropriation, and self-promotion. The author does not dismiss these reactions. Instead, he treats them as serious reflections on power, knowledge, authorship, and who gets to frame radical texts for elite audiences.

13) In the thirteenth chapter, the author introduces On the Politics of Identity. This essay weighs both the strengths and the weaknesses of identity politics. Arora acknowledges that identity politics can simplify, confine, and sometimes become illiberal, but he also argues that it remains a necessary source of shelter, resistance, voice, and solidarity for marginalized groups. He further points out that identity politics is not only practiced by minorities, but by dominant groups as well. For that reason, the answer is not to dismiss identity politics altogether, but to navigate it more thoughtfully.

14) In the fourteenth chapter, The author introduces No Saints or Miracles: Revisiting the Idea of India, his engagement with Perry Anderson’s The Indian Ideology. Here he revisits Indian nationalism through Anderson’s sharp critique of figures such as Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Bose, Ambedkar, and Mountbatten. The essay takes seriously Anderson’s argument that Indian intellectual life has often been too comfortable with nationalist mythmaking. The author presents Anderson as provocative and sometimes flawed, but still valuable for forcing a harder rethinking of Gandhi, caste, Partition, and the moral self-image of the Indian nation.


[a] https://rickrejeleene.me/Tamil/posts/...

[b] S. Gunasekaran's The Chakkiliyars in India
https://www.jstor.org/stable/48643384

[c] Goodreads review and Notes from Thomas Sowell's Empirical Study on Affirmative Action:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Usha Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This unique collection of essays takes the reader through the varieties and degrees of inequality that persist in Indian culture. Beginning with the experience of the personal, the first three essays in the book review life from the perspectives of Dalits and Hijras, those who are held back due to their caste or gender identities. From there, the essays take on a broader view, providing thoughtful and incisive analysis into India’s systems of structural inequalities, where they came from, and why they persist. The author examines how religion, politics, history, and socioeconomics often serve to reinforce injustices meted out against caste, class, and gender. What makes this book absolutely unique and powerful is that the author interrogates his own background and personal history even as he considers the lives of others, comparing and contrasting how the systems of inequality have differentially privileged or burdened himself and others. It’s this honesty and sensitivity which give the book not only a penetrating depth but also a moral force to be reckoned with. Any reader interested in contemporary India will deepen their understanding by reading this book.

[Renuka Govind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays written by Namit Arora for 3 Quarks Daily. Section 1 of the book covers caste and gender equalities. This according to me is the strongest part of the book. The very first essay on Joothan is an eye opener and Namit Arora has analyzed it beautifully. After reading this essay, now I am looking forward to read Joothan. Another essay in this section Beyond Man and Woman tries to look at life of transgenders in India and their place in society. I was left wanting more after finishing this particular essay.

Section 2 covers inequality in India with a special focus on history of caste and historical social ramifications of it. Author has looked at multiple works such anthropology to religion. The essay on Bhagvat Geeta was particularly interesting as it made me look at certain characters from a different perspective. I have always been skeptical about the character of Parshuram, now I have become skeptical of Krishna as well.

"Indeed, the arguments that Krishna employs to persuade Arjuna to fight often seem cold, too distant, manipulative, and even warmongering—unlike the rest of the Mahabharata which comes across as decidedly anti-war." These lines show the kind of arguments author has used to debunk Geeta. He has successfully questioned the sanctity and place of Geeta in today's India.

Section 3 and 4 of the book were weakest for me. The essay on Delhi being a city of rape did not fit in with rest of the book. Some of the other essays, specially Decolonizing My Mind and On the Politics on Identity, I felt there were certain gaps in my knowledge as they felt more of a commentary on other works. The strongest essay in this section was on Ambedkar and how upper caste Indians needs to read more of him while looking at him as an intellectual as well as Dalit savior.

All in all, it was a good read and it gave me list of other books and works that I will be on the lookout for.

[Appu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays exploring social inequality in India, rooted in the caste system. While the Constitution guarantees formal legal equality, caste-based discrimination and prejudice persist. The author highlights this reality through three book reviews: Omprakash Valmiki’s “Joothan”, Ajay Navaria’s “Unclaimed Terrain”, and A. Revathi’s “The Truth About Me”. These books shed light on the Dalit and transgender experience in India. The author’s efforts to promote these lesser-known works are commendable, and I’ve added “Joothan” to my reading list.

Similar to Ambedkar, Arora identifies the Hindu religion and scriptures as the source of social inequality. He closely examines the Bhagavad Gita, which teaches duty without passion. However, in the Gita, duty is understood as fidelity to the requirements of one’s caste. The philosophy of doing one’s duty without worrying about the consequences of such actions is deeply problematic. This will allow individuals to justify any action in the name of duty; be it duty towards an ideal, an office, or a superior. For example, Nazi war criminals tried to justify their actions by saying that they were doing their duty. However, the Nuremberg Tribunal rejected this argument. Arora concludes that the Bhagavad Gita is “an overrated text with a deplorable morality”.

Arora argues that the concept of merit enables India’s privileged minority to tolerate extreme social and economic inequality. He believes that mere equality of opportunity in an unequal society only perpetuates existing inequality. Reflecting on his own life, Arora credits his middle-class upper-caste professional family’s emphasis on education and learning for his qualification for IIT and postgraduate studies in the USA. To break the cycle of inequality, Arora advocates for policies like reservations to ensure equality of outcome.

This collection includes several essays exploring Ambedkar’s thoughts. A lengthy review essay critiques Perry Anderson’s Indian Ideology. Anderson dismantles the mythology surrounding India’s struggle for freedom and its experience as an independent republic, exposing contradictions within the “idea of India”. While India’s intellectual class initially dismissed Anderson’s book, Arora suggests that Indians should engage with his ideas.

These essays are remarkably lucid, offering fresh insights into longstanding issues. They stem from deep reflection and extensive reading.

[Sagar Chamoli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Completed 70%. An average read.

[Vibhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed the way I think