Most upper caste guys arent like that, especially when they are not in India. But some idiots bring that disgusting “superiority” complex with them. I too suffered under a south Indian (Madrasi as well call them back home) upper caste prof during engineering undergrad.
So you think it’s possible that I really was experiencing this guy’s hangups about caste? I’ll tell you something - it definitely bugged me. It must be awful when the whole society looks down on you like that. I can see why the Indian “untouchables” might be motivated to convert.
BTW, you mention that you had a south Indian professor. Why do you make that regional distinction? Is the caste system more a feature of the south than the north?