A 2013 research report published by researchers from
the University of California, Santa Barbara and Berkeley revealed that
more than half of the prospective brides contacted by the researchers
through matrimonial websites
expressed an interest in potential partners belonging to caste groups
other than their own.
The willingness to go beyond the caste was found
to be higher among less affluent upper caste women and more affluent
scheduled caste women. However, this willingness was motivated by the
opportunity to climb the social ladder by marrying an upper caste man or
improve the economic prospects through intercaste marriage.
The study tracked online matrimony websites
for caste preferences and reports that anywhere between 20% to 60% of
users choosing to say “caste no bar” in their profiles. However,
researchers learnt that stating “caste no bar” does not mean that the
users discounted caste when shortlisting profiles.
