Institutional discrimination also exists within South Asia itself. Ever see how some wealthy Indians treat poor ones or somebody of a lower caste? In any case, this thread is veering way off course.

I'd hardly call having a seat changed on a mid-range flight a nightmare. With silver status, the passenger could eat in the lounge during the connection. I am a vegan myself and have always had my meal boarded-after flying Emirates for over 10 years. Can't say the same for any other airline.

On a flight last week I ordered a raw vegetarian meal and the flight attendants thought the meal had not been boarded as there was no "hot" meal to go with the tray. They "found" it soon thereafter upon realizing that the salad was the main meal. EK's raw meals are incredibly uncreative--just cut up vegetables---but sometimes it is better to eat a lighter meal than a regular vegan one. For somebody that is just veg--they always have extras as half the plane on many flights are vegetarian. Again in the worse case, waiting for 6 hours to eat in the lounge is not the end of the world.

My seat changed o flight this month from DXB to DAR due to a downgage of aircraft. I check my seats a few days before to ensure that the aircraft type is still the same. In any case, it was not a problem as many people--including myself were upgraded to business as Y was oversold.