Inter-caste marriages in India

The inter-caste marriages have been gradually gaining acceptance due to increasing education, employment, middle-class economic background, and urbanisation. According to the 2011 census, 5.8% of the marriages in India are inter-caste marriages.[1][2]

In India, inter-caste marriages were publicly encouraged and supported by the incumbent government under Narendra Modi by the offering of financial encouragement to those who marry people from lower castes,[3] C. N. Annadurai, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,[4] and social activists such as Periyar E. V. Ramasamy,[5] Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu and Manthena Venkata Raju. In the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the Government offers a cash award for inter-caste couples.[6] The Supreme Court of India has also declared that inter-caste marriages are in the national interest and a unifying factor for the nation[7] and there has never been a bar on inter-caste or inter-religion marriages in India.[8]

In 2017, the Prime minister Narendra Modi started a scheme in which 2.5 lakh rupees will be given to inter-caste couples if one of them is a Dalit.[3]

Statistics and surveys

According to the 2017 Study conducted by the Indian Statistical Institute, inter-caste marriages are more frequent in Rural areas (5.2%) than Urban areas (4.9%). The Survey also found that the inter-caste marriages are more common among poor people (5.9%) than rich people (4.0%). [1]

According to the Studies conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research in 2016, about 5% of the marriages in India are inter-caste marriages. Mizoram had the highest number of inter-caste marriages, where about 55% of the marriages were inter-caste marriages and Madhya Pradesh had the lowest number of inter-caste marriages, where only 1% of the marriages were inter-caste marriage.[9]

According to a survey, the education of the husband’s mother has a significant effect on inter-caste marriages. The probability of inter-caste marriages was found to increase by 36% with a 10 year increase in education of the husband’s mother.[10]

See also

References
  1. Tish Sanghera (22 October 2020). "Inter-caste marriages depend on education level, but not that of the couple". Business Standard. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  2. thehindu.com: 'Caste no bar', in words if not in action
  3. "Modi government push for inter-caste marriages; offers Rs 2.5 lakh for marrying Dalit". Financial Express. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  4. "Love in the time of caste". The Hindu. 2013-07-27. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  5. Anita Diehl. (1977). E. V. Ramaswami Periyar. A study of the influence of a personality in contemporary South India, Scandinavian University Books: Sweden. ISBN 91-24-27645-6.
  6. bbc.com: India: Cash reward offered for inter-caste marriages
  7. "Lawyer's Collective". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10.
  8. "Infochange India".
  9. Prachi Salve and Saumya Tewari (11 May 2016). "Mizoram Has Highest Number of Inter-Caste Marriages in India With 55%". The Wire. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  10. ARKA ROY CHAUDHURI, TRIDIP RAY and KOMAL SAHAI (20 October 2020). "Chances of an inter-caste marriage go up if groom's mother is educated, study". Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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