Poverty and Social Exclusion in India : Dalits
This brief is based on a Poverty and Social Exclusion in India.Caste is perhaps the oldest form of social stratificationin India.After independence, the Indian Constitution abolisheduntouchability and the erstwhile untouchablescame to be known as t...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/473741491913290955/Issue-brief-poverty-and-social-exclusion-in-India-Dalits http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26336 |
| Summary: | This brief is based on a Poverty and
Social Exclusion in India.Caste is perhaps the oldest form
of social stratificationin India.After independence, the
Indian Constitution abolisheduntouchability and the
erstwhile untouchablescame to be known as the Scheduled
Castes(SCs).The situation of Dalits has undergone dramatic
transformation over time.While caste has had significant
implications for poverty and other welfare outcomes, this
note focuseson two arenas—education and the labor market.Our
analysis based on the National Sample Survey(NSS) data
suggests that there has been expansion in education among
Dalits, but not at the samepace as among the upper
castes.Micro studies continue to document discrimination
against SC students. In the labor market, Dalits remain
largely in casuallabor. Education is considered a panacea to
poor labor market outcomes and overall it has positive
effects for all men.It would nevertheless be naïve to
dismiss the changes in caste dynamics, more so over the past
two decades. Attendant to the economic changes, social
movements asserting the power of Dalits have swept some
states and have given Dalits a sense of political voice and
agency. In sum, we find that despite localized changes,there
have been modest changes for Dalits in the aggregate. |
|---|