The link between discrimination and slower poverty reduction for historically disadvantaged people in India

Image courtesy: Sarvedeep Singh Arora for Oxford Policy Management, Jharkhand, India (2023)

The origins of caste divisions, dating back over 3,000 years yet still relevant in contemporary India, lie in an occupational structure that divided people into four varnas with ascending levels of ritual standing. Outside the traditional ordering and hence relegated to the bottom of the social hierarchy it implied, were the Dalits, formerly called ‘untouchables’.

Even though the many discriminatory practices which were part of the observance of ‘untouchability’ have been outlawed since the 1950s, people from the Dalit community still endure forms of symbolic discrimination and social exclusion rooted in the ritual origins of caste. Scholars have found discriminatory practices against the community were still prevalent in most of rural India around the turn of the 21st century, and these practices are common even in large cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Discrimination suffered by people from the Dalit community notably includes ‘symbolic’ derogatory acts of humiliation, such as slurs, enforced separation, or denial of access to public facilities. It also takes the shape of economic restrictions that preclude or hinder Dalits’ access to certain occupations, services, resources, or activities. Until now, no  systematic connection between the living standards of Dalits and the prevalence of symbolic discrimination against them has been established. However, if a link does exist between the two, it would be crucial to take this into account when designing poverty alleviation programmes as well as policies aimed at improving the economic standing of Dalits. This research aims to address this information gap.

The research investigated the links between the living standards of Dalits and the prevalence of symbolic discrimination against them. How often do material deprivation and imposed social disabilities come together for those at the bottom of India’s caste hierarchy? Are more casteist environments also characterised by larger material deprivation for Dalits and/or larger economic inequality between Dalits and others? How have these patterns evolved across space and time?

Measuring ‘symbolic’ discrimination: The Dalit Discrimination Index

In order to examine the links between discrimination against Dalits and poverty levels at a state level, we first developed two indices to measure the intensity of discrimination against Dalits and, more broadly, adherence to caste norms across geographical locations. Both indices were based on answers to questions asked in the latest round of the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS-II) conducted in 2011/12. This is a nationally representative household panel survey which , in addition to many other socioeconomic outcomes, collects detailed information on social norms and relations, including some questions on caste-related attitudes.

To analyse whether these indices were associated with the evolution of various welfare indicators over the long run, we combined them with widely used data on living standards from the National Sample Survey (NSS) and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) covering a period between 1983 and 2021.

We focused on the measure of discrimination against Dalits – the Dalit Discrimination Index (DDI) – since the DDI’s relation to the economic disparities between Dalits and others was conceptually more straightforward (as adherence to certain caste norms does not necessarily indicate discrimination against Dalits). However, both indices lead to closely aligned state rankings, so that results for the Casteism Index are qualitatively similar.

Link between symbolic discrimination and economic disadvantage faced by Dalits

The overarching conclusion from this research was that the link between the symbolic discrimination and economic disadvantage faced by Dalits has significantly strengthened over the last few decades. While the state-level indicators of Dalit discrimination measured from the recent India Human Development Survey were, initially, inversely correlated to Dalit deprivation and disadvantage relative to other groups, over recent years this correlation has increased markedly and has become positive.

In effect, while the difference in consumption poverty rates between Dalits and others declined for India as a whole between 1983 and 2011, this was not the case when looking at states with high DDI values. Similarly, between 1992 and 2019/21, it is only for high-DDI states that we observe an increase in relative Dalit disadvantage in terms of the NFHS wealth index capturing ownership of durable goods, housing characteristics and access to services.

Note: High-DDI states/Union Territories (1983 boundaries) include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Medium-DDI states are Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Punjab. Low-DDI states are Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal and Kerala.    

The disquieting consequence of these trends and of the fact that high-DDI states have been relatively ineffective at reducing poverty overall, is that an increasing share of those living in poverty in India are Dalits living in environments where discrimination against them is especially prevalent (see Figure 2). This highlights the fact that despite legal protections, not only do Dalits still suffer discrimination linked to their social identity, but this is more pervasive where they are also more likely to live in poverty. Dalits thus face a double barrier to enjoying a dignified life in these contexts.

Figure 2. Dalit Poverty as a share of the total poor

Note: Figure based on MRP consumption per capita from NSS, expressed in real 2004/05 terms using deflators based on CPI-AL and CPI-IW. Poverty lines are Tendulkar lines,

However, this does not mean we can jump to conclusions about causality. The reasons for persisting poverty in India are complex, and the descriptive nature of this exercise does not allow us to conclude that prejudicial attitudes towards Dalits have been the key driver (or even a cause at all) of the different economic trajectories of Dalits across states. The fact that, in the past, there was a negative correlation between the DDI and Dalits’ living standards reminds us that there are many other factors at play. Additionally, the geographic clustering of high-DDI states implies that they could share other potentially relevant common characteristics.

However, the large and widely documented impact of caste norms, networks, and identities on various economic outcomes, and the large number of economic restrictions associated with untouchability practices, mean that it is not implausible that these practices have hampered the access of Dalits to the opportunities for economic advancement enjoyed by others. Capitalist development is typically portrayed as led by ‘free markets’ with no concern for identities, but as the distribution of its benefits is being shaped by pre-existing caste-based social structures, it is crucial that this is factored into the design of future poverty alleviation programmes in India.

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.55158/DEEPWP23