Vidya, Veda, and Varna: The influence of religion and caste on education in rural India

This paper argues that Vidya (education), Veda (religion) and Varna (caste) are inter-linked in India. It examines whether, and to what extent, the enrolment of children at school in India is influenced by community norms such as those of religion (Hindu or Muslim) or caste (Scheduled or non-Schedul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of development studies 2005-11, Vol.41 (8), p.1369-1404
Main Authors: Borooah, Vani K., Iyer, Sriya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caste
Children
Correlation analysis
Education
Estimation
Households
India
Religion
Religions
Rural areas
Schools
Social Stratification
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Summary:This paper argues that Vidya (education), Veda (religion) and Varna (caste) are inter-linked in India. It examines whether, and to what extent, the enrolment of children at school in India is influenced by community norms such as those of religion (Hindu or Muslim) or caste (Scheduled or non-Scheduled). The econometric estimates are based on unit record data from a survey of 33,000 rural households, in 1,765 villages, from 16 states of India. The equation for the likelihood of being enrolled at school is estimated separately for boys and for girls and, in each of the equations, all of the slope coefficients are allowed to differ according to whether the children are Hindu, Muslim or Scheduled Caste. The main findings are that the size of the religion or caste effect depends on the non-community circumstances in which the children are placed. Under favourable circumstances (for example, when parents are literate), the size of the community effect is negligible. Under less favourable circumstances, the size of the community effect is considerable.
ISSN:0022-0388
1743-9140
DOI:10.1080/00220380500186960