Social Disadvantage and Child Mortality in India: 1993–2019

The last three decades witnessed extensive changes in the organization of economic and political life in India. However, social change has been slower, if not stagnant. This is reflected in slow improvements in measures of human development, particularly in health (Drèze and Sen 2013). Although democratic pressures, mobilization by social movements, and people’s quest for a better life have exacted expansions in social welfare provisions (Sinha 2015; Drèze and Khera 2017), inequalities of caste, class, gender and social status continue to constrain opportunities (Thorat 2010; UNDP and OPHI 2021). In some cases, there have even been setbacks, such as the increased marginalization of Muslims in Indian society (Farooqui 2020).