Volume 25 - Article 17 | Pages 545–564  

The potential impact of intermarriage on the population decline of the Parsis of Mumbai, India

By Zubin Shroff, Marcia C. Castro

Abstract

The Parsis, a community of Iranian descent, are an important ethno-religious minority group in India. Over the past few decades this group has shown a sharp numerical decline. The Parsis in India are endogamous and children of women married outside the community are traditionally not accepted within the fold. This paper appraises the potential role of female intermarriage in Parsi population decline. Population projections were made under various assumptions of fertility and inter-marriage scenarios. Results show that given current fertility, acceptance of children of intermarried women would have a negligible impact on stemming the population decline, which is chiefly driven by extremely low fertility.

Author’s Affiliation

• Zubin Shroff - Harvard University, United States of America EMAIL
• Marcia C. Castro - Harvard University, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Space, race, and poverty: Spatial inequalities in walkable neighborhood amenities?
Volume 26 - Article 17

Similar articles in Demographic Research

Does the women’s employment–fertility U-shape emerge at the local level? Evidence from Italian municipalities
Volume 55 - Article 27    | Keywords: female employment, fertility, gender-equilibrium framework, Italy, local demography, local demography, low fertility

Educational pairings, partners’ economic resources, and second births in Austria
Volume 55 - Article 26    | Keywords: Austria, couples, cure model, fertility, hypogamy, second birth

Projection of family life courses of the descendants of immigrants in England and Wales using microsimulation
Volume 55 - Article 24    | Keywords: England, family, fertility, fertility, microsimulation, migrants, migrants, partnership, population projection, second generation, third generation, United Kingdom, Wales

Social and economic inequalities in adult mortality in India
Volume 55 - Article 16    | Keywords: adult health, adult mortality, India, low-and-middle-income countries, mortality inequalities

A personal perspective on the history of the World Fertility Survey and The Demographic and Health Surveys Program: An interview with Tom Pullum
Volume 55 - Article 6    | Keywords: Demographic Health Surveys, fertility, fertility, health, mortality, surveys, World Fertility Survey