We investigate the impact of community power on the practice of untouchability - the avoidance of physical contact – by upper and backward caste Hindus vis-à-vis ‘scheduled’ castes (SCs) in rural India. We hypothesize that an upper or Other Backward caste (OBC) household's propensity to practise untouchability is determined not solely by its own characteristics but, crucially, also by the inter-group distribution of resources across both caste and religious divides, via political contestation over behavioural norms. Our model predicts that greater collective resource endowment (power) of SCs, or that of Muslims and Christians, will reduce the likelihood of an upper caste or OBC household practising untouchability. A marginal redistribution of power from OBCs to upper castes may reduce it as well. Greater power of the combined upper caste and OBC bloc will increase it. Identifying a community's power with its population weighted land share, we find associations consistent with these predictions in data from the India Human Development Survey 2011–12.

我们调查了印度农村上层和后层种姓印度教徒与“预定”种姓（SC）相比，社区权力对不可触摸行为（避免身体接触）的影响。我们假设，上层或其他落后种姓（OBC）家庭倾向于不接触家庭的倾向不仅取决于其自身特征，而且至关重要的是，还取决于种姓和宗教分歧的群体间资源分配，通过对行为的政治竞争规范。我们的模型预测，SC或穆斯林和基督教徒拥有更大的集体资源end赋（权力），将减少上等种姓或OBC家庭实行不可接触性的可能性。从OBC到上等种姓的权力再分配也可能减少这种权力。上层阶级和OBC阵营的联合力量将增强。通过以人口加权土地份额来确定社区的力量，我们发现与《 2011-12年印度人类发展调查》中的数据相一致的关联。