The second reason forged caste identities can’t be dismissed as another usual Indian vice is that these pieces of easily obtainable paper make the point sadly few have done in the quota debate: the assumption of total congruence between deprivation and caste has been questioned authoritatively but to absolutely no effect as far as political action has been concerned. As this newspaper has always argued, as opinion polls published in this newspaper have conclusively shown, a great majority of the better-off wants targeted action for the socially disadvantaged—people are just not sure that caste is the right marker. As caste identity becomes increasingly purchasable, those doubts will grow.