A recent post by Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Anuradha Tiwari, featuring the caption “Brahmin genes,” has sparked a heated debate about reservation systems in India. The CEO of the content writing agency JustBurstOut shared a photo of herself sipping coconut water and showcasing her arm muscles, which quickly went viral on X, amassing 5 million views and over 26,000 likes by Sunday morning.
The post has elicited a range of reactions regarding caste and reservation. One user on X pointed out that, according to the Manusmriti, Tiwari should be staying at home rather than working and sharing her achievements online. They wrote, “According to the Manusmriti, girls should stay at home all the time, take care of their husbands, and do nothing else. But because of the constitution, you’re flexing your triceps on Twitter and living life your own way. So go ahead and thank Babasaheb Ambedkar for that.”
In defense of Tiwari, another user commented, “Here, a so-called oppressed individual might label you as a ‘Manuwadi’ and accuse you of being casteist simply for identifying as Brahmin, claiming you’re an oppressor due to your background.”
Tiwari responded to the backlash with another post, stating, “As expected, a mere mention of the word ‘Brahmin’ triggered many inferior beings. Tells a lot about who real casteists are. UCs get nothing from the system—no Reservation, no freebies. We earn everything on our own and have every right to be proud of our lineage. So, deal with it.”
Tiwari has been vocal about her views on reservation in several posts. She criticized the focus on reserved categories, arguing, “General category should have confidence that this country belongs to them as much as it does to Reserved category. Current politics is focused only on Reserved category. It’s extremely unfair to hardworking GCs. A nation can never thrive by betraying its hardworking people.”
In another post from August 2022, she shared her frustrations about the reservation system, saying, “I am a general category student. My ancestors have passed me down 0.00 acres of land. I live in a rented house. I couldn’t get admission despite scoring 95% but my classmate who scored 60% & comes from a well-off family gets admission. And you ask me why I have a problem with reservation?”
