Anthropometric evidence of Indian welfare and inequality in the 20th Century

The major aim of this research is to contribute new ideas and insights regarding Indian welfare and inequality from 1900 to 2000. Using mean height and coefficient of variation in height of various groups – defined by region, caste and religion - welfare and inequality were investigated. Moreover, to study contemporary welfare, body mass index was used in the final chapter. The overall welfare of Indians did not change considerably from 1914-74. There was no significant improvement in Indian welfare. Furthermore, inequality of heights existed in India both between genders and castes. Gender inequality in India was worse compared to other parts of the world pointing to the role of cultural factors like son preference. However, the overall level of height inequality is lower than expected for Indian society that is influenced by a rigid caste-system. The final chapter explores the dangerous combination of an already existing high proportion of malnutrition among vulnerable groups, and an alarmingly increasing proportion of overweight and obese population among elite groups in India using quantile regression