dalits in india: discrimination and development

International Research Journal of Human Resources and Social Sciences Volume-1, Issue-3 (August 2014) ISSN: (2349-4085)

A Monthly Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International e-Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories. International Research Journal of Human Resources and Social Sciences (IRJHRSS) Website: www.aarf.asia. Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

DALITS IN INDIA: DISCRIMINATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Harshil Sharma

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to examine the lives of Dalit people in 21st century. Dalits are excluded

and discriminated in the society from decades but the state has provided safeguards for

them. So the study tries to focus mainly on two sectors education and employment sector

where positive discrimination has been provided by government to analyze the state of

Dalits. The main objective of the paper is to provide evidences which can show that caste

based discrimination is still prevailing in India. Also an attempt is done to access

reservation system of India and what lessons can be taken from international experiences

regarding the affirmative actions. The study utilizes the available data and literature to

analyze the aforementioned objectives.

Key words: Dalits, caste system, Economic Exclusion, Discrimination, Affirmative

action.

1. Introduction

Dalits (people belonging to schedule castes and schedule tribes) constitute about 25% of

Indian population as per 2011 census of India. They are considered to be the weakest

section of the Indian society who were and still are denied certain educational, social,

economical and political rights for centuries, having been negatively discriminated against.

(Thorat,2009). This situation is largely responsible for their low literacy, poverty, low

educational attainments, indebtedness and overall backwardness. (Kulkarni, (2008),

Chalam (2011), et.al)

Government of India has already taken numerous steps since Independence for the

upliftment of Dalits which can be enumerated as:



a. Anti-discriminatory measures include enactment of the untouchability offence act,

1955 and the Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribes Prevention of Atrocities (POA) act,

1989. Under this act practice of untouchability and discrimination in public places and

services is treated as an offence and provides legal protection to the Dalits against violence

and atrocities by the higher caste.

b. India also has a caste based Affirmative action programme for development of low

castes

(Namely reservation policy in educational, employment and political spheres of the

economy) have lays special emphasis on raising the level of this under privileged and poor

sector of the society.

Though practice of untouchability is banned in India under Untouchability of offence

act,1955 but practice of untouchability is done not only at a large scale in rural areas but

traces of caste based discrimination can be found in urban areas as well. These

discriminations can be noticed in places such as schools, colleges, private firms,

government organizations and even in household works. (Teltumbde (2010), Thorat (2009))

Common beliefs among masses is that „reservation system is a plague for the society which

is holding India‟s growth‟ and form the perspective that Dalit section of society has

developed and need not need any kind of reservation for upliftment.

This study tries to focus on current state of Dalits in 21st century. In view of these

perceptions of common masses as well as developmental processes initiated by the state

and central government it becomes necessary to ascertain the impact of these programmes

on the scheduled castes of India. This study will try to find answers to the question that why

even after enactment of so many programmes Dalit communities still live in constant fear,

threat and uncertainty of their future and livelihood.

This paper will focus mainly on two sectors where reservations or positive discrimination is

applied namely Education sector and Employment sector. Both education and employment

are considered to be the most basic steps towards upliftment and development of Dalits.



These are two the sectors identified by the government to uplift Dalits as well as helping in

eradicating poverty from a major section of the society. So the main objective of our study

is to analyze the problems faced by Dalits in both education and employment sector; even

after having a particular quota of seats reserved for them.

In the first section we will try to explain the historical significance of the caste system in

India and why it is still able to maintain its strong hold over the Indian society. In the

second section we will proceed towards one of the main objectives of the paper i.e.

education sector where we will explain high dropout rates in primary as well as secondary

level and try to provide evidences of discrimination in this sector against Dalits. Then we

will try to establish link between education and employment to show that high level of

education leads to higher probability for a Dalit to get employed. In the third section we

will talk about the discriminations faced by a Dalit in so called developed „urban private

employment sector‟ where caste based discriminations are always denied.

In the fifth section we will try to assess the affirmative action adopted by India in the form

of Reservation policy and in the concluding section we will try to suggest some of the

alternative strategies which have been adopted by different nations which have been

successful.

2. Historical evidence

The Indian society is characterized by a high degree of structural inequality based on the

clutches of caste system. It is a division of society traditionally based on the occupation and

the family background whose traces can be found in oldest available written evidence like

Rig Veda, Bhagwad Gita and Laws of Rishi Manu (Thorat, 2006).

In India caste system is divided in five separate classes. The highest class in Indian society

is that of priests and teachers, the Brahmins followed by warriors, the Kshatriyas. Third

ranked are those who fall in farmer and merchant class called the Vaishyas followed by the

labour class called the Shudras The fifth group was seen as being low enough to not

deserve being placed in the caste system, called Bhangi(untouchables) (Vithayathili, 2012).



The fourth class Shudras were with passage of time combined with the fifth class and they

together came to be known as Dalits, often referred in the Indian culture as untouchables,

these were the people who have the most harsh and most unjust restrictions (Desai and

Kulkarni, 2005).

„No collection of wealth must be made by a Shudra, even though he be able to do it; for a

Sudra who has acquired wealth , gives pain to Brahmans‟- The laws of Manu, chapter 10,

verse 129, pg. 430

Going by the Marx‟s concept of primitive accumulation of capital, the dvija castes

(Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas) had the right to education, assets, weapons etc. Thus,

naturally, they accumulated capital over a period of time and augmented the value of their

human capital. As untouchables were denied accumulation of wealth it leads to deprivation

of Dalits. (Chalam, 2011)

Various retaliation and revolts have happened in history for upliftment of Dalits which are

well discussed by S.M Michael(2007) who emphasized on main Dalit movements and

leaders from past of India. Major movements were Mahar movement in 1948, Jyotirao

Phule in Poona founded the first Non-Brahmin organization „Satyashodak Samaj‟ in 1883,

Buddhist conversion movement started by Dr B.R Ambedkar in 1956, who is known as

father of Dalits in India, Formation of Dalit panthers in 1970 and latest examples is

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) formed in Uttar Pradesh. It has its roots deep in history, and

even today it governs life of not even the Dalits but also other general. the castes were first

listed systematically in 1931 census of India, the term „Schedule Caste‟ was applied to

those castes for the first time in the government of India act of 1935.The division of castes

constitutes one of the most fundamental features of India‟s social structure. In Hindu

society, caste divisions play a part in both actual social interactions and in the ideal scheme

of values. Members of different castes are expected to behave differently and to have

different values and ideals (Deshpande S, 2010).

3. Dalits and Education



2001 census of India indicated that only 37.41% of the Dalit population has acquired the

most elementary skills in reading and writing. In 1981, less than 30% of rural Dalit children

(5-14 yrs.) were found to attend school (India 1993.1989). That is, Dalits are among the

least literate social groups in the country. Deshpande (2011) comprised data and concluded

that the illiteracy has been declining from the last two decades for all the social groups in

rural as well as in urban areas but the discrimination in education sector is quite visible

through various evidences in the subsequent parts of this section.

3.1 Quality of schooling

In the purview of education, since independence the proportion of plan resources allocated

for the education sector has not only been meagre, but has also declined considerably. The

general quality of schooling at primary stage is extremely poor. Basic educational

infrastructure as well as minimum basic amenities are absent in a significant proportion of

schools, especially in the rural areas. Though data on predominantly Dalit schools is not

separately available, still it has been observed that ‟quality of inputs and the functioning of

schools especially those which had a large percentage of SC and ST students left much to

be desired‟[India 1988:303].Obviously, this will adversely affect the first generation

learners (Nambissan 1996).

Kurrien underlines in particular the detrimental effect the deficiencies in schooling have on

early learning of children from poor and illiterate backgrounds [1983:179-80]. It is also

shown that providing Dalits with learning opportunities as well as pedagogic supports to

acquire specific language, numerical and other competencies, they are likely to be better

able to academically cope with rigours of formal school.

3.2 Social Discrimination and Economic constraints

Besides this, a crucial dimension of school experience is the nature of social relations that

influence daily routine of teaching, learning and peer interaction- known as „hidden

curriculum‟. It gives the distinct message of social inferiority through the following

experiences shared: to sit separately, orthodox teachers correcting exercises from far, not

being allowed to answer questions, not allowed to touch blackboards or to learn Sanskrit



language as it was considered the key to the Vedas, being refused drinking water or served

in broken cups, made to dine separately, etc. [India 1969, Joshi 1986, Roy and Singh 1987].

Dalit children are also affected by the teacher‟s perceptions about the mental abilities of

Dalit pupils as well as stereotypes held about these communities. Interpersonal relations of

Dalit children within schools are constrained powerfully by the dimension of caste.

Example: confine friendships to those belonging in the pollution boundary. All of this

suggests the social prejudices and negative stereotypes held by the school community,

proving to be traumatic for those at the receiving end (Nambissan, 1996).

Economic constraints are translated into the inability of families to provide adequate

resources to meet direct and indirect costs of educating children. Schemes offering financial

assistance are both limited in coverage of Dalit pupils and inadequate in terms of the

amount that is extended as scholarship. The implementation and monitoring of schemes like

„free books‟ and „free uniforms‟ is pervaded by bureaucratic delay and apathy that they

often prove to be relatively ineffective (Nambissan, 1996)

A careful reading of a few studies suggests that support and encouragement for education in

Dalit families is shown by the financial support extended by parents to children for the

pursuit of education even under adverse conditions is a concrete indication of their positive

attitudes towards education (Nambissan, 1996)

3.3 Outcomes from schooling

So the outcomes from schooling have been pretty dismal. The large magnitude of drop-out

of children from schools and their relatively low achievement levels signals that very few

Dalit children actually reach high school. For every 100 Dalit pupils in class I in 1980 there

were barely 4 pupils in class XII [Nambissan: Table 10]. NSSO data (42nd

round) also

validates this point. 49.62% children leave school between classes I and V, 67.78%

between classes I and VIII, and 79.88% fail to reach even class X.In XI, majority of

students seem to opt for arts, rather than science and commerce; restricting the range of

future options available to them [India 1993B]. It is likely to have a direct impact on the



future of Dalit youth (Nambissan, 1996). And their future with respect to higher education

is what we go on to discuss now.

3.4 Higher Education

Dalits representation in the higher educational institutes is hardly visible. This fact is the

outcome of the unequal educational facilities distributed on the basis of caste hierarchy.

Dalits who come at the bottom of the caste hierarchy are the one who suffer in each and

every context. It becomes a serious problem when a group of people cannot access the

educational institutes for higher studies just on the basis of caste and if somehow they enter,

they are discriminated by the other groups who belong to the upper caste and rich

background. This inequality in education further leads to affect the performance of students

, these inequality transform into occupational inequality where better jobs are occupied by

the selective group and weaker section are left with inferior jobs.

The evidence shows that even today the Dalit‟s are at the bottom of the educational

pyramid. Only 7.7% of SC‟s and 2.3% of ST‟s are enrolled in higher education [MHRD

1997]. The proportion of Dalits in highly reputed institutes like IIT‟s and IIM‟s is very less.

The evidence shows that shortfall in admission ranges from 45-65% in SC in almost all

IIT‟s [LokSabha secretariat 1998-99]. These shortfalls in admission clearly show the case

of equality vs. excellence, on one hand there is a rule of equality in education and on the

other hand this evidence shows that only excellent, high status, people on the top level of

caste can survive in these reputed institutes. It shows the selective nature of these institutes.

Although a small percentage of Dalits appear in these institute only because of the policy of

reservation.

3.5 Relation of Education and Employment sector

Education of Dalits and their participation in the workforce are interdependent on each

other. To engage in highly reputed jobs one has to have a good educational background.

Due to caste discrimination and exclusion which Dalits have faced, it becomes difficult for

them to gain knowledge from the environment which is against them. This deliberate



exclusion is a form of active exclusion which results in passive exclusion i.e. exclusion

from job as job needs better educational qualification. (Sen, 2000). One major reason that

the Dalit does not enroll their children into school is because of the financial constraints

faced by them and they want their children to engage in non-school activity.

As per the national sample survey (1999-2000), 90% of prime age Hindu men were literate

over the age of 7 years and as against only 67% of Dalit were literate. Only 4% of Dalits

were graduate as compare to 24% Hindu men. As a result, these Dalits are being passively

excluded from the labour market because of their low levels of human capital. If the

educational base of a person is low then he cannot get into a job which demands high

efficiency. So, the issue of employment cannot be separated from aspects of educational

qualification.

4. Dalits and Employment Sector

After studying the link between education and employment in previous section let us now

bring our focus to employment sector. We will keep our focus on urban sector exclusion

from employment opportunities as there is a common belief that the present day inequalities

are a result of past discriminations which are mainly confined to rural areas. There is a

common notion that labour markets in urban area contain no evidence of caste based

discrimination. So this section of the paper will try to find evidences of caste based

discrimination in urban employment sector of India.

The characteristics of caste system contain compulsory occupations fixed for every caste

and exclude one caste from undertaking the occupation of another. This majorly involves

labour immobility and about caste related factor immobility i.e. occupational immobility

which operates in Indian markets by having restrictions on land, labour, credit, inputs and

services necessary for an economic activity. (Thorat (2012), Thorat and Attewell (2007))

4.1 Major employments in low grade jobs

Evidences from government of India,(2001) in Michael, (2007) show that SC and ST

concentration in lower level jobs were very high in services of central ministries department



Group „D‟ (excluding sweepers) jobs having 19.9% of SCs and 7% of STs as compared to

the 11.29% and 3.39% in Group „A‟.

In the country‟s capital Delhi in 2011 the percentage of SC employees in govt. of N.C.T

Delhi is 50.2% in Group „D‟ as compared to 14% in Group „A‟.(census of employees in

govt. of Delhi and autonomous bodies,2011).

It has been well documented that certain menial professions like sweeping and scavenging

are traditionally not taken up by the Non SC/STs due to the notion of them being polluted

and unclean. Despite the rhetoric on empowerment of the SCs and the STs and the

existence of extensive laws and provisions, not much has been achieved in actual terms.

4.2 Denial in opportunity to work in urban labour market

In the urban sector as discussed by Ashwini Deshpande (2011) recruiters have a “taste for

Non Dalits”. This concept clearly indicates that Dalit having almost same qualifications as

his counterpart Non Dalit has a significantly low chance of getting the job. Evidence related

to this theory can clearly be observed in a comparative study in Indian labour market

conducted by Thorat and Attewell (2007) which focused on jobs in the highly educated

segment.

They responded to advertisements of job opening in various English newspapers like Times

of India, The Hindustan Times and The Hindu and they responded specifically only to

private sector firms. They also avoided highly specialized jobs and which required many

years of experience. Main focus was of the select that a university graduates might be

eligible for within the first few years after graduation. Applications to apply to these jobs

were sent and similar looking resumes had just one difference in their applicants name i.e. a

Dalit and a Non Dalit. No explicit mention of religion or caste background was made in any

application. In matched applications sets were made where one person was named a high

caste Hindu family name and second candidate was a low caste Dalit name and the third

candidate a Muslim name.

A total 4808 applications were applied to 548 advertisements for 66 weeks. The results

clearly showed evidence of Caste based and religion based discrimination. Appropriately

qualified Dalit candidates had odds of 0.67 successful response as compared to that of



upper caste applicants and those of Muslims were a meagre 0.33. Both the results were

statistically significant too. This study clearly captured the discrimination faced by highly

educated Dalit at the first stage of the job search process in urban, formal, private sector

labour market.

Another similar kind of study was conducted by Siddique (2009) in Chennai during 2006

for jobs posted online. Here two resumes were sent for a total of 523 jobs one with a high

class name and the other again with a low caste name. Results showed high caste applicants

had a 20 percent higher chance of being called back.

A study by Deshpande (2011) in 3 big universities of Delhi i.e. JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru

University), DSE (Delhi School Of Economics) and JMI (Jamia Milia Islamia) also

suggested evidences of discrimination in a Dalit getting placement as compared to his Non

Dalit counterparts mainly because of the perception that a Non Dalit aspirant is considered

to be more sharp and productive as compared to a Dalit. The expected time to get placed for

a Dalit student was longer than his Non Dalit counterpart.

Results of both Siddique (2009) and Thorat and Attewell(2007) can be questioned based on

the purposive thinking of companies that a Non Dalit is more productive than a Dalit but as

we clearly saw that all the applications were exactly same in characteristics so caste based

discrimination cannot be declined in urban private sector. So we can clearly find evidences

of denial of working opportunities for a Dalit as compared to a Non Dalit.

4.3 Differential in wages offered to a Dalit and Non Dalit at the equivalent post

Economic exclusion includes the discrimination in labour market which consists of wage

and hiring based discrimination. A popular belief is that these caste based discrimination is

confined to the rural areas and urban markets have no mechanism of caste discrimination.

but, this is not the reality, various works have tried to uncover the truth that there is a

significant amount of caste based discrimination which prevails in the urban area even in

this era of modernization and the caste has its strong hold even today.



Madheswaran and Attewell,(2007) in their work have examined the inequality in

employment, occupation and earnings between SCs/STs, OBC and other forward caste

Indians and then statistically decomposed those gaps into separate components, one

explanation of difference in factors such as education and the other representing

discrimination in employment and wages which resulted, is that of marginal wage effect to

education are significantly positive and monotonically increasing with the education level

but the NSS data from 1983 to 2000 shows that SCs-STs have lower returns to education

than rest, an additional year of education of SC-ST yields a smaller increase in wages as

compared to non-SCs-STs. Unequal access to education which leads to inefficient human

capital and high incidence of illiteracy among SCs explains a significant portion of their

lower earnings (Deshpande, 2011). All this is happening during the liberalization phase of

Indian economy when there is compelling evidence to indicate that premium to education is

increasing in the formal sector.

Further, Banerjee and Bucci‟s (1994) analysis resulted that SC migrants displayed a greater

propensity than non-SCs for the on-the-job search in the formal sector but not in the

informal sector even after the reservation policy in the formal sector. The reason for this

was the low earnings for SC in the formal sector. The above evidences suggest that caste is

still a very important determinant in not only hiring but also in paying wages.

Despite highly impressive growth rates, India‟s exclusionary economic and social structures

continue to place obstacles for several groups in access to key opportunities. Caste in India

therefore is the source of stratification and responsible for a host of outcomes even after

controlling for other factors. Thus, poverty rates, educational endowments, entrepreneurial

wherewithal are all lower among SCs and STs.

Despite having a long history of policies in India there is no comprehensive data-based

analysis of the impact of these policies (Sahoo, 2009). Through various literatures in further

sections, we have tried to assess the problems in the affirmative action‟s in India and from

various countries experiences, trying to figure out the remedies which can more broadly

resolve these problems if applied to India and look at the need of extending these actions to

the private sector.

5. Assessing Affirmative Actions in India



22.5% of quotas in all the state run institutions and jobs at all levels of governance have

been provided under the article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Indian constitution to the Dalits. This

includes jobs in central government; in state government; and in public sector units, such as

the telephone corporations and public sector steel mills. Since government is the largest

formal sector employer, accounting for over 56% of all jobs in India. These actions have

been made to provide employment, to increase representations and improve the relative

status of Dalits. Study of Thorat and Senapati (2006) shows positive impact of reservation

policy on participation of work force in public sector. Same way Niranjan Sahoo (2009)

supported the above argument that affirmative action‟s have considerable effect in

improving these marginalised groups and has been clear that without the implementation of

these quotas Dalits would have remained inadequate and far from what it is today. Desai

and Kulkarni(2008) analyzed large NSS data of over 100,000 households for each of the

four survey years 1983, 1987-1988, 1993-1994, and 1999-2000 and to see the effect of

affirmative policies on the educational attainment of children and young adults aged 6-29

which showed that the gap between Dalits and others have reduced in terms of attaining

primary education. In terms of positive effects, it has also been seen that southern Indian

states are having comparative advantage over northern states in terms of the effects of the

affirmative policies especially in higher education Kancha Ilaiah (2006) and Sahoo (2009).

We cannot overemphasize the effects of the affirmative policies because it has not attained

what it should have because of its various flaws and it raises a number of issues which we

will see in the preceding part.

When B.R Ambedkar formed Reservation policies they were going to stay for 10 years but

due to ineffectiveness they are still prolonging even after 63 years of independence.

Galanter (1984) has done a comprehensive assessment of affirmative action programme and

has found out that despite weak implementation, now the access of education and job

spread wider in the caste spectrum but this spread has been limited to the „creamy layer‟ of

the Dalits.

One of the flaws of India‟s reservation policy has been inefficient and ineffective

implementation. As Ashwini Deshpande (2008) says in order to increase its efficacy, it has

to be less mechanical: provision of quotas should be seen as the beginning of the

affirmative action, not its end, as in the current practice. Secondly, Government‟s role



doesn‟t end with the implementation of a policy; it should also be monitored to see its

effect, the proper implementation which is the problem with affirmative policies in India,

are not being monitored, and if these are evaded no penalties are there, no monitoring of

how many seats have been filled and if not what are the reasons for the vacant seats, what

happens to the recipient after getting the benefit. Further, SCP and NCSCST have been

setup for special planning of funds allocated by the government for Dalits but the amount

allocated for them is consistently decreasing even after rise in Dalit population in India

(Ramotra, 2009).

We can also notice that Reservation policy has been implemented only to the government

sector, where also its outcomes are limited in approach. As the Indian economy is

privatizing, restricting affirmative action‟s to government jobs and education in India

would gradually make it redundant (Deshpande 2008). Private sector is out of its domain

which makes it even more limited in the approach.

6. Suggested Remedies through International Experience

Some scholars, in fact deny that true caste systems are found outside India but affirmative

action for marginalized population can be witnessed in various parts of the world.It is

important to recognize how flexible, adaptive and contextual affirmative action has been in

different parts of the world. It is not a precise constitutional or legal arrangement of

universal application, nor is it a fixed formula for governmental action transportable from

one country to another. Yet it has a core feature - wherever it may function and whatever its

terminology, it involves focused and deliberate governmental intervention that takes into

account of the reality of discrimination to deal with and to overcome the problems

associated with it (Sachs, 2006). These remedies are used to correct the imbalances in

access to resources, employment, education, in political participation, etc. between different

sub-groups of the population in different countries around the world (Thorat, Negi, et al

2006).

In developed countries like the United States of America, where the non-agricultural sector

comprises of more than 90% of the workforce, the focus is mainly on affirmative action

policies for the labor markets. But besides the above, legal and affirmative action policies

also cover education, housing and government contracts for construction, and purchases of



goods from minority businesses. On the other hand, in developing countries like Malaysia,

in addition to affirmative action for labor market and for social needs like education and

housing, etc.; the affirmative action measures are extended to agricultural land and capital

markets because substantial portion of population in Malaysia is engaged in the agricultural

sector. So evidently, measures in economic spheres vary from country to country (Thorat,

Negi, and et al. 2006).

Affirmative action in India in the form of quotas or preferences is simply a means to

increasing employment and income. These do not touch the issue of disparity in wealth

distribution. The privatizing of Indian economy would make affirmative action redundant,

if we only restrict it to government jobs and education. It must be extended to cover the

entire economy for it to be meaningful as seen in the case of United States of America and

Malaysia. We can see from the experience of other countries that affirmative action policies

can take more creative forms other than quotas (Deshpande, 2008). In some cases without

fixed quotas, goals and targets are fixed, which are to be realized in some specific period.

These fixed goals or targets are either made legally mandatory or compulsory. In some

cases, they are also pursued with other non-legal actions; example, withdrawal of

concession or incentives for not fulfilling the goals, on part of the firms (Thorat. Negi, et al.

2006).

Supplementary measures which hold crucial implications for the success or failure of the

affirmative action should be made an integral part of the program. Some of these are

remedial teaching, counseling, attempts to lower the incidence of drop outs; skill enhancing

programs, etc. which would end up ensuring that the benefits of entry into prestigious jobs

and educational programs are fully utilized (Deshpande 2008).

Moreover, for the effectiveness of affirmative action, it should contain self-liquidating and

self-perpetuating features; that is, as it becomes stronger at entry level, it should be

gradually lowered at later stages. For this, strict monitoring of outcomes and some sort of

enforcement machinery, with penalties for non-compliance is essential (Deshpande 2008).

Example, Federal Contract Compliance in United States of America and Fair Employment

Agency in Northern Ireland (Thorat, Negi etal 2006).



In India, in addition to the above given supplementary measures, "outside the box"

measures that go beyond the scope of current Affirmative Action program must also be

considered (Deshpande,2008). 'Reparation and compensation' strategy must also be

considered. These are to be specifically used as a payment for the denial of property rights

and other rights in the past, resulting in lack of access to income earning assets, education,

and other rights causing intense deprivation to the excluded and discriminated groups

(Thorat, Negi, Aryaman 2006). Example, free, compulsory and good quality primary

education, vigorous expansion of non-farm employment, land reforms wherever feasible,

subsidies/support for Dalit business/self-employment. All these will benefit a much larger

section of Dalits than being benefited by the current Affirmative Action program. The

current program and the supplementary measures can strengthen and reinforce each other

(Deshpande 2008). Thus, along with addressing present discrimination, it is also necessary

to compensate for the wrong done in the past (Thorat, Negi, Aryaman 2006). The costs to

all these measures have to be weighed against the benefits of integrating into the

mainstream around 160 million Dalits. It is the need of the hour to unleash this vast but

suppressed reservoir of talent (Deshpande 2008).

7. Concluding Remarks

“TURN IN ANY DIRECTION YOU LIKE, caste is the monster that crosses your path”

-Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, India‟s foremost crusader for dignity and civil rights

After finding enough evidences of caste based discrimination in education as well as

employment sector and assessing policy measures we can clearly see stigma of caste has

still not left India from its clutches. The fact that certain low castes are thought to remain

disproportionately poor, despite these legal safeguards, is often attributed to the group‟s

low level of education or to their concentration in the economically weaker sectors i.e. in

low grade jobs.

It is essential to note that even the lowest paid government job today usually requires a

minimum of matriculation or high school education. The discussion above of the poor

enrolment of Dalits and large proportions of drop-outs imply that the majority of them are

unlikely to be in a position where they are able to even compete for jobs that are “reserved”

for them.



Other than these there is a special allocation of planned funds in proportion to the

population of the Dalits which is called Special component plan (SCP). Latest data reveals

that in 2008-09 Rs. 22,939.40 crores were allocated for development of SC‟s and ST‟s.The

Scheduled castes development corporation (SDSC) started in 1979 to assist central

government to invest share capital of SC finance. (Chalam, 2011).Reservation Policy

which is discussed in quite detail in this paper is one of the most critical steps for upliftment

of Dalits. This policy is often criticized and negative image develops in minds of Non Dalit

population regarding this policy that economically well of Dalits take the reserved seats due

to which „unfavorable gains‟ are given to Dalits but this set of population fails to realize

that only 20% of Dalit population which is economically well off takes benefits of this

reservation policy and 80% still are in dire need of this positive discrimination. Also

Reservation policy is needed to be extended to private sector for upliftment of marginalized

groups as is indicative from the international experience. (Thorat and Senapati, 2006,

Thorat, Negi et al 2006)

So our society needs a change in mindset as attitude of Non Dalits can help in improving

the social relations prevailing in the society. Also lack effective implementation, it is

essential so that the benefits reach the low caste communities.

Equal opportunity is very much necessary for development of Dalits in India. If a

particular set of society is not economically well off so aid from government is very much

required for their upliftment. Through the prevailing policies and guidelines conditions can

be improved, SCP funds and the AA programme can help in formulation of a strong anti-

discriminatory framework, free and compulsory good education, arresting drop outs at

middle and high schools is essential. Also, preferential treatment given to Non Dalit must

be completely done away with.

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