Annual Meeting 2019 Abstract Submission Title: Do ‘Caste’ and ‘Religion’ still Matter in India? An assessment of ‘Untouchability’ and Socio-Economic Outcomes by Socio-Religious Groups in Uttar Pradesh (India) Author Harchand Ram Doctoral Student Centre for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD) School of Social Sciences (SSS) Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Phone No: +91 7506541092 Email:
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[email protected] Abstract: This paper examined some critical research questions: do ‘Caste (word identical to Ethnicity)’ and ‘Religion’ still matter in India in terms of the socio-economic standing of the households? Does Untouchability still exist in India? These questions have been and continued to occupy a considerable space in political and socio-economic debates in India. In spite of more than six decades of welfare policies, and major political mobilization among lower castes in the state, our findings suggest huge Caste inequalities in terms of critical socioeconomic indicators such as Education, Consumption Poverty, Wealth and Landholding distribution where Hindu Dalits and Muslims Dalits are in disadvantageous position. The practices of Untouchability towards the Dalit Muslims by Upper Caste Muslims and Hindus are quite clearly evident in this survey. This study is first to identify Dalit Muslims and measure their socio-economic status vis-a-vis Hindu Dalits and other upper castes in Hindu and Muslim Religion in India. Do ‘Caste’ and ‘Religion’ still Matter in India? An assessment of ‘Untouchability’ and Socio-Economic Outcomes by Socio-Religious Groups in Uttar Pradesh (India) Background and Rationale This paper examined two critical research questions: do ‘Caste1’ (word identical to Ethnicity in the Global Context) and ‘Religion’ still matter in India in terms of the socio-economic standing of the households? Does Untouchability2 still exist in India? These questions have been and continued to occupy a considerable space in political and socio-economic debates not only in India but across the world.