> fair skin thing is nonsense Well it is a stereotype, and they are often true, but not always. eg, in TN, the average brahmin or upper class individual will b

> fair skin thing is nonsense Well it is a stereotype, and they are often true, but not always. eg, in TN, the average brahmin or upper class individual will be fair-skinned while the lower class one would be dark skinned. I guess up in the North, this does not hold. > but certain states like Tamil Nadu banned surnames for this reason. The govt did not ban it. It was more a social movement where one was looked down upon (and even discriminated against for showing they belonged to the higher castes). That's why there are still folks who continue to keep 'Iyer' in their name.