Dual Pricing & Discrimination
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) does not mind whether or not you resent discriminatory pricing when you travel to India as a foreign tourist. Especially the backpackers! They just want your money? No?
India's historical monuments are maintained by the ASI, who, for the purpose of generating extra revenue, had put in place a policy of dual pricing for entry tickets to the monuments.
So, if you look like a foreigner, based on your skin color or appearance, they will, for example, charge you $12.5 while the domestic tourists will pay just $0.33.
Backpackers & Ethnic Minorities
This dual pricing has been a boon for those Bangladeshis and Pakistanis who looked and sounded indistinguishably the same as India's domestic tourists. But for those ethnic minorities from northeast India, who look East Asian, the dual pricing has been a source of morbid racial discrimination.
While Indian society already has the dreadful caste practices of discrimination, can't the ASI generate revenue – for the maintenance of the monuments – in ways that will not give the people a feeling of additional discrimination? It looks like the ASI is taking one step forward and two steps backward.
If you're a backpacker, you'll notice the said dual pricing at work. However, if you happened to be one of those for whom their travel agencies have already paid for their tickets, you'll likely be blissfully oblivious and taking selfies. Haha. :)