04 December 2012, 06:19 PM IST
The demands by the Pattali Makal Katchi (PMK) for a probe into inter caste marriages involving dalits has not come as a surprise given the deep animosity and the growing fissures between the backward caste and the dalits in Tamil Nadu. The PMK, which champions the cause of Vanniyars, a backward community, is apparently trying to tap into the resentment and prop up its sagging political fortunes. In fact the recurring caste clashes in the state indicate that casteism is on the rise despite the growing consensus on inclusive growth by the mainstream Tamil parties.
But why is it that political parties in Tamil Nadu, with its progressive social reform movement and relatively higher levels of industrial development, still try to use caste identities to move up the political ladder? Shouldn't the political domination of the Dravidian parties for close to half century weakened casteism, if not completely decimated it? Why do caste identities reassert themselves with such vigour? Why is economic development apparently strengthening caste identities even as class identities get weakened with the growing power of the market economy?
To answer these questions we should be able to measure the hold of caste in society. But this is difficult given the subtle ways caste is subsumed in tradition and culture. But a tangible measure of the strength of caste factor would be extent of inter caste marriages which is not only vehemently opposed but even violently challenged by most communities across the country.
Fortunately we haves some idea of the inter caste marriages from the numbers of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Though the sample size is not too large it still gives a good indication of the levels of inter caste marriages in the different states and in the country as a whole. The most recent one in 2005-06, which has been used in a recent study shows that only one tenth (9.9% of the total) of the marriages are inter caste in the country as a whole. This supports the anecdotal evidence which indicate that though such marriages are on the rise they are still too meagre to make any substantial impact.
But what is more revealing is the substantial regional differences in the popularity of inter caste marriages which indicate the unequal progress in the erosion of casteism in the different states. In fact it even provides some explanation about the increasing animosity between the communities in states like Tamil Nadu where the share of inter caste marriages was just 2.6% of the total which is about one fourth the national average.
One striking aspect of the spread of inter caste marriages is the sharp differences across the different regions. Predictably its most substantial gains are in the North East, with its dominant tribal culture, and the industrially dominant and more developed Western region with around 17% of the marriages of the inter caste variety. Share of inter caste marriages in the other regions hover in the 8-11% range which is close to the national average.
But what is more striking is the substantial differences in the share of inter caste marriages in even broadly similar states. For instance if we look at states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, where left political parties held power for a long period, we find large disparities. While Kerala and Tripura had the highest share of inter caste marriages with the numbers at a respectable 21.3% and 17% respectively it was marginally below the national average in West Bengal with the share just 9.5%.
Similarly in the case of the Eastern region the lowest share of inter caste marriage was in Bihar (4.7), which remains embroiled in caste wars and identity politics and the highest in Orissa (13.9%), where the face off is between the more inclusive regional and national politics.
If one looks at the Western states the largest inroads of inter caste marriages is not in the more industrially developed states of Maharashtra (17.7%) or Gujarat (13.7%) but in Goa (28.4%), dominated by the tourism industry and with its long term exposure to Portuguese culture. In fact the state had the highest share of inter caste marriages across all Indian states.
But the most substantial disparities in the share of the inter caste marriages is in the northern states. At the lower end are states like Jammu and Kashmir (1.9%) and Rajasthan (2.3%) and at the higher end are high income states like Haryana (17.3%) and Punjab (22.5%). In central India the highest share of inter caste marriages was in Uttar Pradesh (8.6%) which was more than double that in state like Madhya Pradesh (3.5%) and Chhattisgarh (3.2%).
These trends in the states reassert the view that industrial development, higher incomes and regional culture do have an important role in the growth of inter caste marriages and the weakening of casteism. But apparently there are also other important unidentified factors which do play an equally important role.
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