51茶馆

Ashwini Deshpande, Professor and Head, Department of Economics, and Founding Director, Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA) at 51茶馆, talks about her recently published research paper that focuses on the role of discriminatory social norms on early childhood development.

While acknowledging the progress India has made in the fields of health and development, Professor Deshpande underlines a stubborn problem that nearly one in three children under the age of five is stunted. She emphasises that stunting is not just about being shorter than average. It reflects long-term undernutrition, causing lifelong consequences such as affecting the overall health, learning capabilities, and ability to earn a living in adulthood.

Further diving deep into the study, Professor Deshpande points out that what makes this problem more troubling is the fact that it is not shared equally. Children belonging to historically marginalised caste groups (especially Scheduled Castes, also known as Dalits) are more likely to be stunted than children from socially dominant upper-caste families.

At a surface level, these differences can be explained in purely economic terms such as poorer families have limited access to factors contributing to a child鈥檚 growth: nutritious foods, cleaner environments and healthcare. However, this explanation is incomplete because even after accounting for poverty and access to services, large caste gaps in child health remain. This poses an even deeper question: 鈥淎re social hierarchies themselves shaping children鈥檚 bodies and futures?鈥�

Professor Deshpande鈥檚 research, in collaboration with Professor Rajesh Ramachandran from Monash University, suggests that the answer to the above question is 鈥淵es鈥� and that history and geography play a crucial role in child health and growth.

Here鈥檚 an insight to the research work of Professor Deshpande and Professor Ramachandran.

A Historical Boundary with Modern Consequences

To understand the role of geography, the study looks at the Vindhyas, a mountain range that cuts across central India.

For centuries, the Vindhyas marked the southern edge of what was considered the heartland of Hindu society. North of this boundary, caste hierarchies and practices such as untouchability became deeply embedded over time. South of it, social systems evolved differently, shaped by distinct histories, political movements, and challenges to caste dominance.

This historical divide matters till date. The data from the survey shows that caste-based discriminatory practices, including social exclusion and unequal treatment, are far more prevalent in northern and central India than in the south.

Here, the researchers ask an important question: whether these differences in the social environment also show up in children鈥檚 physical growth?

A Stark Pattern in the Data
The researchers first documented the scale of the problem using the nationally representative data on child health from India鈥檚 National Family Health Survey. The data suggested that across the country, Scheduled Caste children are about 50 per cent more likely to be stunted than upper-caste Hindu children. On average, these children are considerably shorter for their age, a sign of chronic deprivation.
However, these gaps are not uniform across India. The central and northern plains have the worst outcomes concentrated in them. These are the regions that also report the highest levels of caste-based discrimination.

Many districts in these areas report more than 40 per cent of Scheduled Caste children being stunted. In contrast to that, Southern India showcases relatively lower stunting rates overall and smaller caste-based gaps.

The said geographic variation provides an opportunity for deeper analysis. However, Northern and Southern states in India vary in terms of language, culture, socio-economic development, and several other dimensions. Thus, an overall comparison between these two regions would not adequately capture the role of caste-based discrimination. Hence, the researchers focused on families living close to the Vindhyas (just north and just south of the) range, within the same state. This allowed the researchers to compare the children who live in broadly similar economic and administrative settings but are exposed to different social environments shaped by history.

What Did the Researchers Find?
The results are striking. For upper-caste Hindu children, living north or south of the Vindhyas makes little difference to their chances of being stunted. But for Scheduled Caste children, it matters a great deal. Those living south of the Vindhyas are significantly less likely to be stunted than those living just north of the range.

This is to say that the benefits of the southern context are not universal. They specifically help children from groups that have historically faced caste-based exclusion. This strongly suggests that differences in social practices rather than climate, geography, or general prosperity play a key role in child health.

To be sure of this, the researchers tested other explanations. Could it simply be about income? The answer they found was 鈥楴O鈥�: accounting for household wealth does not eliminate the pattern. Could it apply to all disadvantaged groups? Again, NO: the researchers did not see the same north-south divide for groups that are poor but were not traditionally subject to caste discrimination.

Why Does This Matter?
Childhood stunting is a serious health issue which is deeply shaped by social institutions. The research findings show that discrimination and exclusion can quite literally get ‘under the skin’, shaping children鈥檚 bodies from the earliest years of life.

Reflecting upon the study and its findings, Professor Deshpande says, “History may not be destiny, but it casts a long shadow and children pay the price with deficits that carry over into their adult lives.”

The study suggests that policies that focus only on food, sanitation, or healthcare, while essential, are not enough. In order to give every child a fair start, India must also confront the social hierarchies that continue to disadvantage some children simply because of who they are and where they are born.

– Edited by Priyanka (Research and Development Office)
This blog has been adapted from the original research article, available here: