How Does Caste Shape Vulnerability to Violent Crime in India?

This paper studies a key aspect of improved living standards: freedom from violence. Using data from a nationally representative sample of nearly 37,000 households (IHDS 2011 and 2005),I document the specific vulnerability of historically marginalised Scheduled Castes (SC), Dalits, to attacks/threats. In 2011, a scheduled caste household is around 40% more likely, on average, to report attacks/threats than any “upper caste” group, even in within-village comparisons, and with various controls including for reported attacks/threats in the previous survey round. The evidence suggests that historical social divisions and present-day economic insecurity are closely related to this pattern. A scheduled caste household is more likely to report attacks/threats relative to others, in especially those villages where discriminatory caste traditions are practised, or where living arrangements are caste-segregated within the village. Places where less-wealthy high-caste households experience slower (faster) economic growth during 2005-2011 see significantly more (less) violence differentially against scheduled castes. The patterns I report are consistent with the hypothesis that economic insecurity among social elites may fuel violence against minority groups.