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Is Only Fair Lovely in Indian Politics? Consequences of Skin Color in a Survey Experiment in Delhi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Amit Ahuja ,
Susan L. Ostermann  and
Aashish Mehta
Amit Ahuja*
Affiliation:
University of California at Santa Barbara and University of California at Berkeley
Susan L. Ostermann
Affiliation:
University of California at Santa Barbara and University of California at Berkeley
Aashish Mehta
Affiliation:
University of California at Santa Barbara and University of California at Berkeley
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Amit Ahuja, Department of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA. E-mail: aahuja@polsci.ucsb.edu
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Abstract

Adoration for fair skin color and bias against dark skin color are strong in Indian society. The theory of colorism suggests that, irrespective of a voter’s own phenotype, voters prefer lighter- to darker-skinned candidates. And yet, a substantial number of dark-skinned politicians get elected into office in India. In the first systematic study of voter preferences for candidate skin color in India, we conducted a survey experiment in which respondents were randomly administered one of three treatments based upon candidate skin tone: fair, wheatish (medium-brown), and dark. We find only weak evidence for colorism in the sample as a whole—the fair candidate is supported more than the dark and wheatish candidates, but at only marginal significance levels. This is because color preferences are heterogeneous amongst respondent groups. Dalits and the poor, groups that are darker relative to other groups and have been politically mobilized, exhibit much stronger support for dark candidates than other groups, consistent with a desire for descriptive representation. Amongst those who do not belong to these two groups, including dark respondents, the fair candidate finds more support than the dark candidate. This shows that even in the absence of skin color-based electoral appeals, skin color can emerge as an implicit marker of politically mobilized identities, and that this mobilization can undercut colorism.

Keywords

skin colorrepresentationelectionsIndian politicssurvey experimentscasteclass
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , September 2016 , pp. 227 - 252
Copyright
Copyright © The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

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