Son preference has created an imbalance in the marriage market in India. A large number of men engage in a futile search for brides. A cross-sectional analysis based on the Indian census of 1931 finds a strong regional effect in gender bias and marriage rate for men. This can be interpreted as the effect of cultural norms. The north has son preference and also a high proportion of single males. Bringing caste into the story adds a new dimension and shows the upper castes have a strong gender bias and also a higher share of never-married men. (p. 20)The source is an article in The Economic History Review (2014) by B. Gupta.
It seems that hypergamy does not help upper caste men, at least in this context.
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