As a millenial brown dude I can definitely see this happening. Basically all the feedback I got growing up was that white (and some Asian) people cannot handle the spice in our food which is why it was often made fun of (along with Mexican food). A lot has changed since then but there is an innate reflex to tell white and some East Asian friends and colleagues to be careful with it and it’s hard to break. No one wants to see another person get ill from their food simply because their digestive tract is not accustomed to it.

It’s very similar to the reflex that makes me stop my toddler from eating anything with spice but then she actually likes it and I’m like oh yeah, that tracks, you’re a mini version of me 😆.

I will say that palates universally have broadened in the past few decades. When I was growing up it wasn’t uncommon to see people (even grown adults) physically recoil, make faces or pinch their noses in the presence of Indian food and a lot of folks have really stepped up their game since then.

The nature of endogamy is such that, in my experience, the first preference is that their family member marries someone of a similar South Asian background and social standing. Marrying someone Indian outside of those bounds is the next preference and then marrying someone non Indian. In all of these categories colorism is at play.

Think of medieval clans using marriage to form ties or to consolidate wealth and influence via marriage. Marriage is seen almost as utilitarian with individual wants and needs set aside for the collective.

It’s an ancient way of thinking and I don’t doubt for a second that it’ll be eradicated with time as it has been in many parts of the world that successfully defeudalized who did not have to deal with foreign occupants further entrenching a feudalistic mindset.

Colorism predates the modern era in nearly all cultures.

During the Elizabethan era England, women used Venetian Ceruse, a mixture of white lead and vinegar, to paint their faces and necks chalk-white even though it caused hair loss, skin corrosion, and muscle paralysis.

In the early phases of globalization and during the great divergence, white/Western societies began to see themselves as the nobles of the world and their colonies as the inferior laborers. Essentially, it is what you’re describing but on a global scale. This further entrenched colorism globally.

Reversals of this mindset have only happened in the past 75 years.

Yash, who plays Ravana, and Sai Pallavi, who plays Sita, are both South Indian and not typically considered fair skinned. Sai has particularly spoken out against colorism in Indian film industries.

The caste system is not based on skin color. That was a misreading of ancient Indian texts by colonizers in the 1800s. There are darker skinned people of an upper caste background in South India and vice versa in North India.

It is based purely on pedigree / who you are born to.

The caste system is medieval feudalistic bullshit that needs to be eradicated in all forms from every society.

“The British class system is so complex, so riddled with microscopic nuances and unspoken rules, that it functions essentially as a caste system. It is not about how much money you have; it is about an intricate tribal code of accent, vocabulary, and behavior that is almost impossible to learn later in life.”

Anthropolgist Kate Fox: Watching the English

“Class is a skin on the back of caste… In England, the class system is so rigid, so tied to ancestry, accent, and birth, that it functions essentially as a caste system”

Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent

“Nevertheless, the essential point about the English class-system is that it is not entirely explicable in terms of money. Roughly speaking it is a money-stratification, but it is also interpenetrated by a sort of shadowy caste-system; rather like a jerrybuilt modern bungalow haunted by medieval ghosts.”

George Orwell: The Road to Wigan Pier.

The real answer is that the right side of the political spectrum has lost many of the major conflicts in recent history (civil war, ww2, segregation) - though this is absolutely not true globally. Theres no way to know for sure but we may perceive history very differently if those conflicts had different outcomes. Ultimately, history is written by the victors.

By winning these conflicts “liberals” have been able to shape reality according to their vision but the problem is they’re so used to winning now that they’re not (ideological) battle ready and some conservatives are just itching for some big wins and the oppurtunity to drag us all back into the stone age.