Promoting Intercaste Harmony Through Sports

Contact between members of different social groups might have the potential to reduce prejudice and promote intergroup harmony. However, little rigorous evidence exists on the conditions under which this might be the case. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of cricket teams in rural India to study the impact of members of different castes either playing on the same team (collaborative contact), or in rival teams, on cross-caste prejudice and interaction. The study found that collaborative contact between cricket players of different castes reduced prejudice toward members of lower castes and increased cross-caste interaction.