Inter-caste marriages depend on education level, but not that of the couple
Only 5.8% of Indian marriages were inter-caste, according to Census 2011 , a rate unchanged over 40 years. Whilst in other countries an increase in education levels correlates with a decrease in endogamous marriages--marriages within a specific social, ethnic or caste group for the purpose of entrenching community boundaries--the education levels of individuals in India appear to have no bearing on the likelihood of marrying someone from a different caste, according to a new study. The education level of the groom’s mother is the leading determinant of an inter-caste marriage: The better educated the groom’s mother, the higher the chances of an inter-caste marriage . These are the findings of a 2017 study by the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, which used data from the latest round (2011-12) of the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS-II) to examine the impact of education on one of India’s most resilient caste-based practices. Read Complete Article Business