India: Society's reactions to a marriage between a high caste man and a low caste woman, whether they would be shunned, and how the children would be treated
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 13 August 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND32417.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Society's reactions to a marriage between a high caste man and a low caste woman, whether they would be shunned, and how the children would be treated, 13 August 1999, IND32417.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad606c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on society's reactions to a marriage between a high caste man and a low caste woman is scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
In the past fifty years, the federal government (the Centre) and various state governments have passed legislation and pledged financial assistance to encourage and promote inter-caste marriage:
In 1937 the Arya Marriage Validation Act "recognized the legality of inter caste marriages and marriages with converts to Hinduism among the followers of Arya Samaj" (The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 18 Apr. 1999).
1n 1946 the Hindu Marriage Disabilities Removal Act "legalized intermarriage between the subdivisions of the same caste and those within one's gotra and pravara" (The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 18 Apr. 1999).
In 1949, the Hindu Marriage Validating Act was passed to remove all barriers to inter-caste marriage (Bhaskarananda 1994, 46, 8n; The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 18 Apr. 1999).
In late July 1998 the Welfare Minister for Gujarat state pledged an increase in financial assistance from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 to "promote inter-caste marriage and social harmony" (Rediff on the Net 24 July 1998).
On 3 February 1999 the Chandigarh-based English language daily newspaper, The Tribune, reported that for the current year the Punjab government had earmarked Rs 70 lakh to "tackle the menace of untouchability" by encouraging inter-caste marriage.
At the end of March 1999 the Bihar Cabinet in Patna decided to increase the "incentive amount given to women wedded outside their castes" from Rs 5000s to Rs 25,000, which would be "deposited as fixed deposit" in the wife's name "for a long period" (The Times of India 25 Mar. 1999). According to The Times of India, this move is "aimed at promoting inter-caste marriage and also aimed against the dowry system" (ibid.).
At the end of April 1999 Dr. Kamla Varma, Social Welfare Minister of Haryana stated that the state government was providing a grant of Rs 25,000 to newly-wed couples if either of the spouses belonged to a Scheduled Caste (The Tribune 29 Apr. 1999).
Despite these laws and government policies, society's reaction to inter-caste marriage will vary, depending on the religious community to which the couple belongs, their social status or class, whether they live in a rural or urban setting, and the state of residence. According to K.L. Sharma, editor of Caste and Class in India, for example, "no other state is apparently as divided as Bihar on the basis of caste" (1994, 6). The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, available in the Ottawa and Toronto Documentation Centres, provides information on the caste systems in southern India, the northern plains of India, and central India in its article entitled "Social Differentiation" (348-356).
Please note that the caste system is not restricted to the Hindu community but can also be found amongst the Christians, Sikhs, Muslims and Jews of India (Rupa 1992, 3; Encyclopedia of India 1994, 76). According to C. Rupa, author of Reservation PolicyMandal Commission and After, "Such was the stranglehold of the caste system over Indian society that even a change of religion did not bring about a total break from the system. Muslims, Jews and later Christians and Sikhs often formed castes or sects analogous to castes" (1992, 3).
While there are four main castes in Hinduismthe Brahmins (priests/intellectuals), the Kshatriyas (warriors), the Vashya (traders) and the Sudras (labourers/peasants (Hinduism and Islam 1997; Bhaskarananda 1994, 23-25; The Economist 8 June 1991; The Seattle Times 3 Dec. 1997)there are thousands of sub-castes (ibid.; Rupa 1992, 3). More than 100 million Indians, known as Dalits (Untouchables), remain outside the caste system all together, finding themselves at the very bottom of the social ladder (The Seattle Times 3 Dec. 1997; The Economist 8 June 1991).
"Each [Hindu] person is born into an immutable social category [caste] [which] often dictates an individual's occupation, status and world view." (The Seattle Times 3 Dec. 1997). The caste system is endogamous, i.e,. members marry within their own caste and sub-caste (The New Encycloapedia Britannica 1989, 348-49; Encyclopedia of India 1994, 75-76). According to The Economist, there is a "moral code, unique to each caste. Breaches of the moral codesuch as changing occupations or, most heinous of all, pro-creation with another casteare punishable by rebirth as an untouchable, or worse" (8 June 1991).
The Research Directorate was able to find only one example of inter-caste marriage since January 1999. In mid-March 1999 The Tribune reported that a Jat Sikh was allegedly killed by her father for marrying a boy of a different caste (17 Mar. 1999). A case was registered against the father under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (ibid.). A March 1991 incident from The Times of India was reported in The Economist: a girl from the "powerful" Jat caste in a village 100 miles from Delhi had tried to elope with a Dalit boy; both were badly tortured and killed by the villagers.
In Hindu society, "the basic duty of every individual is determined by his caste" (Hinduism and Islam 1997), and according to Kenneth J. Cooper, "Indians distinguish caste through a variety of signals. Skin color, manner of dress, surname, occupation and village can all denote caste," adding, however, that "in the big cities, increased social mobility has begun to weaken the caste system" (The Washington Post 5 Sept. 1996). An 8 June 1991 article in The Economist adds that
for rural Indians, caste shape almost every aspect of life: the food they eat, and who can cook it; how they bathe; the colour of their clothes; the length of a sari; how the dhoti [cloth worn by a Hindu man] is tied; which way a man's moustaches are trained and whether he can carry an umbrella. Nothing is left to chance.
Although the Centre (federal government) formally outlawed the caste system almost 50 years ago by banning discrimination based on caste in the 1950 constitution (The Washington Post 5 Sept. 1996; The Seattle Times 3 Dec. 1997; The New Encyclopaedia Britannica 1989, 356), "it survives in varying forms, particularly in villages where more than 70 percent of the people live" (The Seattle Times 3 Dec. 1997; Encyclopaedia of India 1994, 76).
In the 19 July 1997 Rediff on the Net article entitled "Made in Heaven?," the article's author, Shobha Warrier, concluded:
If there is an increase in the inter-community and inter-caste marriages in Madras, it is not because society has become more progressive or sympathetic. But because more and more women have started moving out of their confines, are meeting people. Many are earning and this financial independence gives them the confidence and strength to brave pressures. Statistics show that generally 'unconventional' marriages occur among people who are in the same profession (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Bhaskarananda, Swami. 1994. The Essentials of Hinduism: A Comprehensive Overview of the World's Oldest Religion. Seattle: Viveka Press.
Caste and Class in India. 1994. Edited by K.L. Sharma. K.L.Sharma, "Introduction: Some Reflections on Caste and Class in India." Jaipur: Rawat Publications.
The Economist. 8 June 1991. "The Reincarnation of Caste."
Encyclopedia of India. 1994. Vol. XVIII. Manmohan Kaur. New Delhi: Rima Publishing House. (Punjab volume).
The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. 18 April 1999.
Hinduism and Islam. 1997. (Excerpts)
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1989. 15th Edition. Vol. 27. Edited by Philip W. Goetz et al. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.
Rediff on the Net. 24 July 1998. "Social Welfare Ministry Renamed, Undertakes Massive Upliftment Project."
_____. 19 July 1997. Shobha Warrier. "Made in Heaven?"
Rupa, C. 1992. Reservation PolicyMandal Commission and After. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd.
The Seattle Times. 3 December 1997. Dexter Filkins. "61 Slain as Violence Rocks the Caste System in India."
The Times of India [Dilli/Delhi]. 25 March 1999. "Patna: Incentive For Inter-Caste Marriage Hiked." http://www.timesofindia.com/250399/25mpat8.htm> [Accessed 11 Aug. 99]
The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 29 April 1999. "Haryana Gesture to Widows."
_____. 17 March 1999. "Killed for Marrying Out of Caste."
_____. 3 February 1999. "Punjab to Encourage Inter-Caste Marriages."
The Washington Post. 5 September 1996. Kenneth J. Cooper. "India's Majority Lower Castes are Minor Voice in Newspaper."
Additional Sources Consulted
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998.
The Encyclopedia of Religion. Various dates.
The Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1992.
India Today [Dilli/Delhi]. Weekly. January-April 1999.
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Various dates.
The Hindu [Chandigarh]. Daily. 30 October 1998-present.
Resource Centre. "India" country file. January 1999-present.
Electronic sources: Internet, IRB Databases,