India’s Brahminocracy Minority’s Rule
India’s Brahminocracy
Minority’s Rule in the World’s Largest Democracy
India likes to call itself the world’s biggest democracy, and technically, that’s true. But when you scratch beneath the surface, you find a power structure that doesn’t look very democratic at all. Out of a population of about 1.41 billion in 2025, a tiny caste minority the Brahmins, just 3 to 5 percent seems to dominate the country’s most powerful spaces: politics, bureaucracy, and the judiciary. That’s where the term “Brahminocracy” comes from, and it’s hard to argue with when you look at the numbers.
What the US called it out about Brahiminocracy
The conversation took an unusual turn internationally when Mr. Peter Kent Navarro, a US trade advisor, bluntly accused Indian Brahmins of profiteering, while the majority struggled. He even tied it to India’s oil trade with Russia, calling the country a “laundromat for the Kremlin”, and pointing fingers at Brahmins for reaping the benefits. Indians were understandably furious at the sweeping claim, and it also hits a nerve. Moreover, Navarro wasn’t just talking about foreign policy, but he was highlighting a caste imbalance. Similarly, Most Indians know that this cast imbalance exists, but it is rarely discussed abroad.
A long history of dominance over Minorities
This imbalance didn’t start yesterday. For centuries, Brahmins held a privileged position that was legitimized by religious texts and carried into colonial administration.
The 1911 British census pegged them at just 3 percent of the population, but they managed to secure most government and educational posts.
By 1916, the “Non-Brahmin Manifesto” in the Madras Presidency accused them of monopolizing 85 percent of civil service jobs. Resultantly, that was what which sparked movements like the Dravidian struggle in the south, demanding a fairer share of power and representation.
Independence and the Constitution in 1950 promised equality, but caste hierarchies proved stubborn.
Affirmative actions, or reservations helped to some extent, but they didn’t erase Brahmin dominance in the upper echelons of power.
The present reality
Look at the data today and see how lopsided it still is:
• Around 70 percent of top government jobs are held by Brahmins, along with 63 percent of senior civil service roles.
• About 72 percent of state chief secretaries come from Brahmin backgrounds.
• In the courts 56 percent of Supreme Court judges and half of High Court judges are Brahmins.
• In Parliament Brahmins account for roughly 37 percent of Lok Sabha members and 36 percent of Rajya Sabha members.
• Nearly half of governors, ambassadors, and top IAS officers are also from Brahmin families.
It’s not just a question of who’s smart or who studied harder. These numbers reflect deep rooted networks of privilege and access that majority of the population simply doesn’t have.
One of the biggest steps this year was the government’s decision to finally bring back caste enumeration in the national census. For decades, India has avoided officially counting caste beyond the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
This means debates over representation often relied on outdated or patchy data. Bihar’s 2023 caste survey already gave us a glimpse of the imbalance: OBCs and SCs together make up over 80 percent of the state, but they are badly underrepresented in government jobs. On the other hand, upper castes are far more visible in elite positions than their numbers justify.
A national caste census could expose the scale of inequality across the country. Some states may use the data to push for more reservations, and the long-standing 50 percent ceiling on quotas could come under pressure. It’s no surprise the idea has sparked heated debates among those who benefit from the status quo who fear losing ground.
The silence around privilege Brahmins
What’s striking is how often India’s political and media class avoids discussing Brahmin dominance. When Navarro made his comments, the immediate reaction was to dismiss them as ignorant or offensive. But the numbers don’t lie. Denying or brushing it off doesn’t make the reality go away. The discomfort shows how sensitive the subject still is. It is because questioning caste privilege threatens the very foundations of power.
In the US, “Boston Brahmins” once referred to an elite class, but that was mostly about wealth and family background. In India, Brahmin privilege has been something much more entrenched. It’s written into history, ritual, and institutions. That’s why the conversation feels heavier, and why any challenge to it stirs so much unease.
Breaking out of this pattern isn’t going to be easy. It’s not just about changing who gets elected and who sits on the bench. It’s about dismantling the hidden networks that reproduce privilege, generation after generation.
That means opening up education and opportunity more widely, but also being honest about the way caste still works in daily life.
The caste census could be a turning point. If it gives people hard data to back up what they’ve always known, it might push politics in a new direction. Besides, marginalized groups are already demanding a fairer share. Hence, with greater awareness, it’ll be harder for the old structures to stay hidden.
India can’t keep calling itself the world’s biggest democracy while a small fraction of the population controls the levers of power. Until the Brahminocracy is acknowledged and addressed, democracy in this country will remain incomplete. The promise of equality in the Constitution was never meant to be symbolic. It was meant to ensure that every community has a seat at the table and not just the privileged few.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
