India Human Development Survey reports the caste system still alive and well in India
Few people in India are married to someone from outside their own caste
Only 5% of marriages in India are between two people of different castes, according to data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), conducted by the National Council for Applied Economic Research and the University of Maryland. The survey asked married women whether their birth family belonged to the same caste as their husband's family. A third of rural respondents and a fifth of urban respondents admitted to practicing untouchability.
MPRC Faculty Associate Sonalde Desai was cited briefly in an article about the survey's findings, published this week in The Hindu. Dr. Desai is a senior fellow at the National Council for Applied Economic Research and a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland.