The caste system and Hinduism have fostered a spirit of escape from reality and a resignation to evil and injustice that have hindered economic, political, and social progress in India for centuries
I think this is on the "hilariously racist" side of things. Either that or it's no longer considered taboo to pelt condescending insults at someone's culture in what should be a neutral and objective text.
I wonder what people would think if huge parts of Western culture were dismissed as an "escape from reality". Even if those things have done a lot of harm, there are better ways to condemn them.
Lots of people in America pursue escapism. Many people enjoy D&D primarily because you can be a wealthy, strong, valiant, attractive hero - and it's hard to get that in real life. Similarly, few people seem to enjoy games about bookkeeping and holding down a steady job and managing debt - because you do that IRL all the time. Sim City for example may be different, but I'm pretty sure most SC players aren't mayors of magical cities either.
I was talking with a coworker from Mexico a while back, and mentioned the Snowden thing. She felt that it didn't matter, because from her perspective of course the government is terrible and corrupt. Why would you expect something else? That sounds like resignation to evil and injustice. I can see a caste system doing that to people if the existing government does. Not sure why Hinduism comes into it.
As another example, in America, if you start out wealthy because your family was wealthy, you can probably stay wealthy. Just don't screw up. And even if you do screw up big time you should be able to pull out of it. Or you could be in one of the few high-paying jobs that doesn't involve over-leveraging yourself with, say, law school debt. But how many people get to be pro ball players or movie stars? This is a vanishingly small segment of the population. There are opportunities out there for relatively unskilled and worthless people to get high-paying positions, but these are probably snapped up quickly by the sons of rich men.
The lifestyle outcomes of a skilled tradesman or tech worker generally isn't going to be more than middle class. A mortgaged home, a new car with monthly payments, a big TV on credit - all of which ends up costing twice as much as the sticker price because of interest. If you keep steady you might make it, but one mistake can drive you into bankruptcy if you're not completely on top of it. Multiple generations of hardworking tradesmen, carefully husbanding their resources, handing down as much as possible, can result in a generation of well-off children. But will these children, who did not have to work hard for their wealth, be able to keep it? This is, I think, one of the only places where you can see mobility from middle class to upper class.
The lifestyle outcomes for an unskilled laborer or clerical worker are a tiny rented apartment, a beater of a used car, typical tech like computers and cell phones that are this culture's bread and circuses. Even if you don't make any mistakes, the occasional vagary of life (medical bills, a car repair) can drive you into bankruptcy and you're helpless to stop it. People probably die in debt, unable to escape poverty, and their children are no better off than they were. Unless the parent makes a lot of effort improving the plight of the child and gets him lodged firmly in the middle class through education, hard work, investment, and risk. But because of that risk, some will fail anyway. And in the face of the parent's failure, will the child be willing to give up his life to try again, for his child? Certainly sometimes, but not always.
All of which, is to say, our economic system fosters a spirit of defeatism and escape from reality seems very attractive.
TL;DR: Upward mobility is difficult but becomes easier as you rise in economic status. Downward mobility is the inverse, less likely as you rise. Coupled with the grand economic inequality in American society, an overwhelming majority have reason to feel defeatism.
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