How was wealth accumulated in higher castes of India?

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Caste can be understood as a form of social capital. If members of any social group have even slightly better access to any kind of economic resources, that advantage has a general tendency to continue (if not magnify) over time unless the larger social structure itself changes. There are many different ways that this happens, but they mostly relate to all kinds of positive and negative discrimination in land, employment, education, housing, etc.

An October 2021 article in The Print has visualized data showing how Brahmins have higher levels of education, knowledge of English, and many similar advantages. As Brahmins generally marry other Brahmins, these kinds of advantages are passed on from generation to generation. This is in addition to the direct inheritance of material wealth, and all of these tangible and intangible advantages tend to reinforce one another.

For a more detailed analysis of how caste in India influences economic advantage, see the 2018 article in World Development "Caste and development: Contemporary perspectives on a structure of discrimination and advantage" by David Mosse.

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