In my observation, except when it comes to marriage and close/intimate social interaction, nobody really cares about a person's caste in most scenarios (ex: at work or while doing business or when met on the streets). But then, when it comes to social interaction, poverty can also be an aleinating factor. Further, most(but not all) brahmins are vegetarians and most (maybe all) dalits are non-vegetarians. Similarly alcoholism. Such cultural differences can also segregate people. I have seen that even in the center of Bangalore, our whole street is filled with Brahmins basically because the owners do not want their houses to be "desecrated" by non-vegetarians and drunkards. I do not subscribe to the extreme idea of "desecration", but if I had to rent a house and if I had a choice, I would rather have a vegetarian and non-alcoholic for a tenant.
My two cents - instead of looking up to equality from Brahmins and the elite, the Dalits should form their own snobbish cults (like brahminism if you like) and play with elligibility to be part of these cults. If they are smart in marketing such a cult status, they will be on an equal footing with brahminism. That way they can find their own victims to take advantage of. Leave the brahmins alone and let them practice their own 'cults'... Don't victimize yourselves to an age old trick of snobbish birth. Every person who tried to break the cult of brahminism ended up forming his own cult (obviously of "lower class?" like Basaveshwara).
