Modern Asian Studies 52, 2 (2018) pp. 492–531. C  Cambridge University Press 2017 doi:10.1017/S0026749X16000391 First published online 10 November 2017 Caste and Cross-region Marriages in Haryana, India: Experience of Dalit cross-region brides in Jat households * REENA KUKREJA Global Development Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada Email: kukreja.reena@queensu.ca Abstract This article, based on original research in 75 villages in the North Indian state of Haryana, examines long-distance marriages of its dominant-peasant caste men with low-caste (Dalit) women from other parts of India. The male marriage squeeze caused by the female deficit in Haryana has led to this breach in the rules of caste endogamy in matrimony. These marriages and the gender status of such Dalit brides are situated within the context of polarized caste relations, caste contestations, and caste violence against local Dalits in Haryana. Long-distance alliances, through fabricated, high-caste identities of the brides, tactically circumvent prohibitions on local inter-caste marriages and provide legitimacy to continued, local, unequal hierarchies of caste relations. Intersecting oppressions of caste, gender, and patriarchy exacerbate gender subordination within both the home and community for Dalit cross-region brides. Caste-exclusionary behaviours and discriminations are strategically employed to assert caste supremacy and subdue women’s resistance. The caste stigmatization of these brides carries over to their children who face inter-generational discrimination in daily interactions and marriage prospects because of their ‘diluted’ Jat identity and low-caste status. The article provides examples of Dalit brides’ agency through resistance strategies. Introduction Since the mid-1990s, the male marriage squeeze caused by the female deficit in North India has led locally rejected bachelors from states * I gratefully acknowledge Paritosh Kumar, Mike Mason, Abigail Bakan, and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this article. I am indebted to Urmila Kukreja for making me pursue my focus on Dalit brides in cross-region marriages. I am thankful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canada Doctoral Award 752 2014 2052, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi, India, for funding this research. 492 terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X16000391 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 3.236.252.114, on 21 Apr 2021 at 20:54:10, subject to the Cambridge Core