Inequality and Caste-Based Crime in India

Abstract

Using data from the National Crime Records Bureau and National Sample Survey data, this paper uses a spatial regression technique to examine the effect of intercaste inequality on caste-based violence in India. Our results show that when the socioeconomic gap between the upper and lower castes decreases, upper caste violence against the lower castes increases. This result is interpreted as the upper castes reacting to changes in threat perception caused by changes in the relative positions of these two groups.