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.