Chapter. II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1. Introduction: An attempt is made in this chapter to review the relevant literature which could serve as a necessary empirical, theoretical and intellectual backdrop for the present study. It pertinent to note here that for an empirical study such as present one it is rather imperative to place it in the context of existing empirical and theoretical knowledge to contextualize the findings of the present study. A review of literature as the present one could also enable one to identify the gaps in the empirical literature in the context of which the findings of the present study could be taken as warranted in filling up of those gaps. Such a review would also enable the researchers to apprise themselves of the theoretical approaches and orientations that are in vogue in the study of the phenomenon under investigation as well as acquaint themselves with the methodological tools, techniques and approaches that have been employed in its study. It is also assumed that a review as such as the present one would provide the researcher the requisite intellectual and empirical insights and inputs in approaching the phenomenon being investigated into. Lastly, it is hoped that such a review would also provide necessary, textual and the recall backdrop against which the findings of the present study can be more relevantly and meaningfully analyzed and interpreted. It is contemplated that a review of literature should focus on the issues that have been already addressed in the empirical as well as theoretical literature focusing on the phenomenon under investigation pretending to the causes, the extent, the nature as well as the determinants. At the same time it should also take stock of the perspectives approaches and orientations on the
1
one hand and methods, tools and techniques on the other, employed in the in the study and the analysis of the factors and issues stated above. A good review of literature should aim at the thematic classification of the studies focusing on diverse issues pertaining to the phenomenon under investigation and analyze the major findings that could be taken as extending the limits of our knowledge about the phenomenon instead of ending up as a mere survey of literature published on the in subject. It is precisely owing to these reasons an attempt is made in this chapter to analytically a focus on relevant literature pertaining to movements of philosophers and socio-political thinkers, provisions of Indian constitution, Government policies for equality and social justice, etc and their impact on scheduled castes in general and scheduled caste elites in particular. However, it needs to be mentioned here that in a doctoral thesis as the present one completed under the constraints of time and resources it will not be possible to do enough justice to the richness of the literature and as such, few of the significant studies made in the relevant literature published are covered in the review of literature. 2.2. Review of Literature: The collected secondary literature is reviewed as under. Ravi Babu and Chandrashekharayya1 (2015) published a paper entitled ―Education Status and Its Impact on Development of Scheduled Castes: An Overview” in „International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development‟. The paper aims at studying the educational status of scheduled castes and contribution of different factors responsible for their status improvement based on review and synthesize the findings of the earlier studies based on secondary source of data. Majority of Scheduled Castes are having low literacy status which in turn causes for backwardness with low income, landlessness, poverty, etc, in spite of affirmative action with various education as well as development programmes. Hence, all educational and development 2
programmes should be planned for social inclusion which constitute significant proportion of India population. Mohan2 (2006) writes a research paper entitled “Dalit in Modern Andhra in the Perspective of Education, Social Inequality and Social Change” in edited book- Dalits in India: Past and Present edited by R.M. Sarkar, on the Education, Social Inequality and Social Change of Dalits in Andhra Pradesh. The paper analyzed the origin of scheduled castes in Andhra Pradesh. The role of Brahma Samaj in upliftment of Dalits is also described. The paper discussed on the participation of Dalits in freedom struggle. The paper concluded with remarks that still there is inequality of Dalits in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Jay
Lakshmi3
(2014) published
“Relevance
Of
Ambedkar‟s
Contributions In The Upliftment Of Modern Days Dalits And Women” in „IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science‟. Dalits, a modern term for untouchables in India, are underprivileged people in all social, economic, cultural and political fronts of our society which led to their misery, discrimination, exploitation and oppression by the caste dominated social stratification of India. The Constitution of India classifies Dalits as Scheduled Castes (SCs). They are the people who cultivate the land, mend the shoes, wash the clothes, clean the toilets, scavenge the dead animals or unknown human bodies and do all types of menial works, but share the stigmas of untouchability and are frequently denied the chance to eat, smoke and even seat with the members of upper castes. They often use separate wells and tube wells from those maintained for others. These pitiable conditions of Dalits were seen and addressed by some eminent social and political philosophers like Jyotiba Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar and others. Dr. Ambedkar, borne in a poor Dalit family became the first Law Minister of India after independence and the chief architect of Indian Constitution. The text prepared
3
by Dr. Ambedkar provided constitutional guarantees and protection for a wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens. Ambedkar incorporated several Articles in the Indian Constitution for the upliftment of the Dalits and women which included the provision of equal status to Dalits with other segments of society, abolishment of untouchability and discrimination against them, provisions of fundamental rights to all, equal protection of laws, voting rights and reservation in education, jobs, promotion and political fields to them. Besides these several programmes in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, stipend etc. are being provided to Dalits by the States. This is all due to the provisions of Constitution drafted by Dr. Ambedkar. Therefore he may be regarded as the God Father of Dalits in true sense. Tardalkar4 (2012) writes on “Economic Life of Dalits in Pune City” in „Golden Research Thoughts‟. In the traditional Indian social system many of the castes were ascribed particular occupation. Such a relationship between castes and occupations were particularly rigid in the case of the polluting castes i.e. Untouchables. And such occupations were considered impure. An untouchable could not change his occupation within a rural setting. Migration to towns and cities enabled him to have a certain measure of change in the occupational pattern. In this paper the author studied the economic life of Dalits who were mostly migrated from villages to Pune city. Sangeeta Krishna5 (2013) published a paper entitled “Higher Education and Dalit Women: The Question of Access Inclusivity and Equity” in „Golden Research Thoughts‟. Education is a powerful instrument of social change, especially for a society in which the majority are deprived, marginalized and excluded. Education is a corner stone of economic growth and social development and a principal means of improving the welfare of individuals.
Today in the fast-growing knowledge economy, education
particularly, higher education, is a prerequisite not only for competitive success
4
but for sheer survival as well. This is especially so in the case of marginalized groups, which are deprived of the material means of production. For coming out of the state of marginalization and getting involved in the new economy, knowledge and skills acquired through modern formal education is essential. For the marginalized, higher education is not only a means of seeking better economic opportunities but also an effective instrument for social liberation. Thus, higher education is significant, both for its ‗intrinsic‘ value and instrumental role. Lenin6 (2014) writes on “Dalits‟ Condition and Practice of Untouchability in Early Twentieth Century Tamil Nadu” in „Indian Stream Research Journal‟. The Hindu social system is socio-religious. The social institutions are intimately connected with religion. The religious books, the repository of social codes, are considered to be of divine origin. This system is infallible and indisputable to the majority. The society is so rigidly graded that those at the top of the social ladder—the Brahmins are inalienably vested with the authority of learning, teaching and interpreting the shastras, By distorting the interpretation of the shastras and stamping the later accretions with divinity, they ascribe to themselves congenital superiority, which has resulted in an intricate, illogical and irreligious system of descending inferiority and ascending superiority complexes in the society. The caste system, intended originally for social cohesion, and as a device for labour division is inelastic and birth based. It has given rise to innumerable endogamous groups and to a section regarded as outcaste, unsociable and untouchable. Such a social system militates against any change even through an evolutionary process. It resulted in the pathetic condition of the Dalits and a strict observance of unotouchablity for centuries in Tamil Nadu. Prem Chowdhry7 (2009) published an article “First Our Jobs Then Our Girls: The Dominant Caste Perceptions on the „Rising‟ Dalits” in
5
„Modern Asian Studies‟. In the post-colonial shifting of material, legal and ideological bases, some of the given patterns of relationships between individuals and caste groups have changed and weakened because of the introduction of new, parallel and alternative structures of relationships. This change has left the dominant caste groups feeling palpably insecure in relation to the dalits. While delineating this relationship, this article seeks to argue that the cases of dalit and dominant/upper caste members‘ elopement and marriage represent a high point in the ongoing conflictual relationship between them, as these are viewed as forms of dalit assertion. Although many caste groups and communities are involved in inter-caste marriages and associations that defy customary norms and caste practices and have no social acceptance, it is in relation to a dalit and non-dalit association or marriage that certain aspects, which impinge on wider issues, come to the surface more pronouncedly. For the dominant caste groups such associations remain the most viable and potent issues to garner a wider collective support, cutting across class/ caste/ community and age divide. These cases are selectively made a public spectacle by the dominant caste groups to settle wider issues at stake verging on contemporary political and economic interests. Gail Omvedt8 (2010) writes on “Caste in the Census” in „Social Change‟. Because the census originally took up caste questions during the colonial period, the idea that such classifying and categorising was used for the purpose of domination took hold. In independent India there was a refusal to use caste in the census. This did not in any case lead to any lessening of caste divisions and conflicts; atrocities on Dalits have continued; new life seems to be coming in the brutal traditionalism of many khap panchayats. The caste structure is being transformed in an era of globalization, but survives in changing form. However, for purposes of understanding a complex social structure of inequality in order to transform it and formulate policies that will eventually annihilate caste, it is necessary to gather information, and the census
6
is the best means for that. The method should be self-identification: there can be a simple question and people can respond (if they don‘t admit to caste they can say ‗none‘ or ‗Indian‘ or ‗mixed‘). The record of mixed (from mixed marriages) will also be useful in monitoring the decline of casteism. Uttam Kumar Sikder9 (2012) published an article entitled “Socioeconomic Deprivation of Dalits Households in Rural West Bengal, India: A Village Based Study” in „Global Journal of Arts and Management‟. The Dalit People of India have been the widely oppressed Caste for more than three thousand years. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule,called father of Social Revolution have been used the term 'Dalit' in early 19th Century to describe their as the most oppressed and broken victims of the Caste ridden society. Two groupings of historically disadvantage people viz. SCs and STs that are given express recognition in Constitution of India is Dalit Society, in other word Dalit=SCs+STs .During the period of British rule in the Indian sub continent then are known as Depressed Classes. Indian Dalit comprises nearly 25% of total population. The SCs and STs make up among 15% and 7.5% respectively of the total population in India. The proportion of Dalit in the Country's population has steadily risen since independence in 1947 and had to face social and economical challenges. Since independence, Dalit have benefited by the ―Reservation‖ policy in the economic (Government job), education and politics (i.e. in the share of the sets of Member of Parliament, Assembly) where is an integral part of Constitution through the effort of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar regarded the father of the Indian Constitutions. In spite of the implicit provisions made for the Dalit under Article 340 of the Indian Constitution, the fact is that only 1.2% of the rural populations of the SC are the age of category of 20 and above is Graduate. The similar figures for STs are just 1.1%. Whatever reasons the ‗Reservation Policy‘ do not able to improve change the socio-economic scenario of Dalit. This is the main reason of the repetition of the ‗Reservation Policy‘ after every 10 years by the government of India .In my paper I wish to
7
take up a study of the nature of Socio-Economic deprivations of the ‗Dalit‘ mainly in the context of rural West Bengal where the system of local government were introduced as a platform for participatory development and decision making process through Panchayats Raj system. Ragi and Sindhe10 (2014) writes on “Dalit Movement and Social Change in Gulbarga District” in „Golden Research Thoughts‟. Dalits were faced discriminated, exploited and suppressed due to their lower caste since centuries and Dalit movements were organized at the National and State level to emancipate Dalits by different leaders. After independence, Dalits were assured equal rights and privileges like reservations, etc. Hence, an attempt is made to study whether the Dalits were achieve social change and for this purpose, a survey of total 400 Dalits was made using interview schedule in Gulbarga district of Karnataka. The paper analyzed the role of Dalit organizations in change and development of Dalits in Gulbarga district. Rukhsana and Asraful Alam11 (2014) published on ―Literacy Differentials among Scheduled Caste and Non-Schedule Castes in West Bengal, India: A District Wise Study” in „International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology‟. After independent there have been Indian State took a variety of Constitutional and administrative measure for socio-economic development of scheduled population in the county. Nevertheless there are wide variations in socioeconomic well being of Schedule and non-schedule Caste population in the country. Since independence there have been several reservations among the societal classes of India in different government and non-government sector. The aim of these reservations is to pull out the backward section of society and parallel them with mainstream of the society. Schedule Caste population, which make about one-sixth in country‘s population, have quite low level of literacy for Schedule Caste (SC) population. In addition, there are quite inter-state,
8
inter- district and inter-block variations. Major objective was to assess the regional pattern of literacy differential between Scheduled and non-Scheduled Caste population in the State of West Bengal and to examine the rural-urban differentials in literacy rate of Schedules Castes population and how these differ from that of non-Scheduled population. The present study has been based on mainly secondary sources of data. In 2011, literacy rate of Schedule Caste in the State was 61.16 percent against 77.08 percent for the general population. Literacy level for Schedule Castes female population was much lower than the general population. For this study various GIS and cartographic techniques including maps and diagrams are used to depict the spatial pattern of literacy attributes and their correlation. Dodamani and Biradar12 (2014) published their paper entitled “Problems and Challenges of Scheduled Caste Pre-University Students in Karnataka: A Case Study of Koppal District” in „Research Directions‟. Education exercises a determining influence on the socio-economic development and culture rejuvenation of the country. In term of socioeconomic and educational development, there is a large component of population, which is socially, educationally, and economically backward like scheduled caste/scheduled tribes and a large segment of the minority groups. Even though the constitutional provision is there in India, tribal children are denied their linguistic human right. This results in high dropouts and low achievement. But it is a matter of great regret that modern civilized man, who claims to be sufficiently educated, does not care to look into the socioeconomic and educational problems of the scheduled caste population in the backward regions of our country. The problems are delimited to education, economic and social. So, the present study attempts to know different problems of Scheduled caste students studying in PU Colleges. The study finds that there is a significant difference in problems of scheduled caste students studying in rural area and rather than urban colleges. The students both boys and girls of rural
9
schools face more problem than boys and girls of urban colleges. Again it is also found that, there is significant effect of sex in the problem of scheduled caste students in rural schools. Rural girl students‘ face more problem than the rural boys studying in PU Colleges. Suryawanshi and Dhande13 (2012) published on “Socio-Economic Development among Scheduled Caste: A Study of Mahatma Phule Backward Class
Development Corporation in Select
District
of
Maharashtra” in „International Journal of Social Science and Humanity‟. The ancient Indian social system divides the society into four broad classes. The same system was followed till India was invaded by the Britishers driving the British India. After India won freedom, the new constitution has offered equal opportunity for all. As a result of which the country witnessed some progress among the weaker section of the society. To boost the pace of development various efforts have been made by the governments in the country. After the western impact and the capitalist mode of production introduced in the country opened new areas of accommodation, adjustment and opportunities to the backward class in India.
The M.P. Backward Class
Development Corporation is one of such organizations aimed at the development of the socially backward class people in India. An evaluative research is made herein to assess the performance of the same in the light of the expectations of the beneficiaries as well as the Governement. Jodhka14 (2010) writes a working paper entitled ―Dalits in Business: Self-Employed Scheduled Castes in Northwest India” published by „Indian Institute of Dalit Studies‟. The paper focuses on Self-employed Dalits in business and small-scale entrepreneurship. Apart from reflecting on the consequences of expanding private sector, such as constriction of the space of historically marginalised groups in India; the paper addresses unsought questions of collective prejudice emanating from tradition which has not only
10
crippled their prospects in the markets but are known to shape their self-image and identification. It is argued that while the available data provides broader indications of the employment patterns yet questions related to the patterns of their social and economic mobility, kinds of barriers encountered in the process of setting up their enterprises remain unanswered. Indeed, it becomes important to explore the issues of how and in what ways caste matters in business and entrepreneurship, specifically in subtle mannerism and bias; varying from difficulty in getting enough supplies on credit, lack of social networks, absence of kin groups in the business and control of traditionally dominant business caste groups. These along with other social variables such as lack of social capital, make the Dalit situation in India more complicated and vulnerable to homogeneous categorization. The paper highlights that caste is a social and political reality that haunts the Dalit entrepreneurs and not mere past tradition or value-system that is found incompatible with contemporary market economy. Borooah15 (2012) published an article entitled “Social Identity and Educational Attainment: The Role of Caste and Religion in Explaining Differences between Children in India” in „Journal of Development Studies‟. The aim of this article is to gauge the size of the educational gap between children, aged 8–11 years, belonging to the different social groups in India. It is well established that educational attainments vary considerably between India‘s caste and religious groups with Muslims, Dalits (the Scheduled Castes), Adivasis (the Scheduled Tribes), and the ‗Other Backward Classes‘ (the OBC) being the most backward. Using data from the Indian Human Development Survey of 2005 – which tested over 12,300 children, aged 8–11, for their ability to read, write, and do arithmetic at different levels of competence – this study examines inequalities within social groups in the test scores of children to argue that inter-group comparisons of educational attainment should take into account not just the mean level of achievement of
11
the children in a group but, also, the degree of inequality in the distribution of achievements between children in the group. The article then proceeds to enquire why different children have different levels of educational achievement. The central conclusion is that, after controlling for a number of parental, household and school-related factors, children from all the different social groups, when compared to Brahmin children, were disadvantaged, in some or all of the three competencies of reading, arithmetic, and writing. However, this disadvantage was greatest for Muslim, Dalit, and Adivasi children. These children were disadvantaged with respect to all three competencies and their disadvantage embraced failure as well as success. Using a decomposition analysis, the article quantifies the ‗structural advantage‘ that Brahmin and High Caste children enjoyed over their Dalit and Muslim counterparts. Dag Erik Berg16 (2014) writes on “Scheduled Castes Policies in Interstate Perspective: Constitutional Power, Argumentative Practices, and Governance in India” in „India Review‟. The paper underlined the two approaches to governance (top-down and bottom-up) while reflecting on the comparative method. The author suggests that the study of policies should benefit from incorporating the concept of ―argumentative practices‖ so as not to take formal organizations and its law for granted. In the second section, it is argued that although India‘s federal structure should be conductive for interstate comparisons, there are significant limitations for bottom-up perspectives in an interstate comparison of Scheduled Castes policies. The subsequent sections therefore focus on top-down dynamics in the constitutional state. In the third section, the author emphasized the characteristics of the Scheduled Caste category and the extent to which it is subject to centralized control in the constitutional state. In the final section, the author discussed the constitutional rules of governance. The author then spell out the ways in which welfare has been conceptualized in the Constitution of India as a matter of
12
equality of opportunity, before focusing on the organizational structures at the central government. It is suggested that the ―Scheduled Castes Development Corporations‖ scheme provides one possibility to compare development policies at the regional level. Bryld17 (2001) published an article entitled ―Increasing Participation in Democratic Institutions Through Decentralization: Empowering Women and Scheduled Castes and Tribes Through Panchayat Raj in Rural India” in „Democratization‟. In the past decade good governance and decentralization have become two of the main development pillars, relied on by both international development agencies and the authorities in developing countries in the quest for successful development. In India steps have been taken to increase the participation of the weaker sections of society in new arrangements for decentralized local decision-making through rules of reservation. This article discloses the potential and the pitfalls of increasing participation through decentralization by analyzing the Indian Panchayat Raj system. It is shown how technocratic regulations are not sufficient to ensure genuine empowerment for all in democratic decision-making. The question whether decentralization can be justified as one of the main means to development remains to be resolved. Thachill and Herring18 (2008) published a paper entitled “Poor choices: De-alignment, Development and Dalit/Adivasi Voting Patterns in Indian States” in „Contemporary South Asia‟. The surprising loss of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led national government in India‘s 2004 general elections has been generally understood as a rejection of the National Democratic Alliance‘s campaign that celebrated a ‗Shining India‘ among voters who had not shared in the wealth produced by India‘s recent growth boom—especially Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe electorates. A close look at the empirical evidence demonstrates that Dalit and Adivasi
13
communities were by no means the homogeneous voting block portrayed in many post-election analyses. Nor did the BJP consistently lose in these constituencies.
Both
findings
undermine
the
currently
popular
conceptualization of Indian electoral and party behavior as identity-based or ethnic. Instead, the 2004 results confirmed a growing trend for these disadvantaged populations to vote for radically dissimilar parties across different states—from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), to the Congress, to the Bahujan Samaj Party, or indeed to the BJP itself—driven by plausible calculation of interests. Using national election data from the 1999 and 2004 elections, this paper examines the theoretical puzzle this divergent electoral behavior presents to both the comparative literature on cleavage-based party systems and the scholarship on caste and identity politics in India. The authors argued that at least some of this variance can be explained by the fact that differences in state-level conditions influence which of the array of strategies used by Indian parties to recruit Dalit and Adivasi voters is likely to be successful. The authors then analyze the specific puzzle of differential BJP success among Adivasi/Dalit communities. The paper concluded that the embedded nature of the BJP as a party with social movement characteristics, combined with the poor developmental performance of many Indian states for their most disadvantaged populations, opens a spatially and politically differentiated niche for a social-provisioning electoral strategy. Developing this strategy has aided the BJP in overcoming at least partially its legacy as a Brahmin-Bania party. Subramaniam Madheswaran19 (2006) published a paper entitled “Caste Discrimination in the Indian Urban Labour Market: An Econometric Analysis” in „Review of Institute for Social and Economic Change‟. The paper uses Degree Holders and Technical Personnel Survey of India to examine the wage gap between Non-Scheduled Castes/Tribes (NSC) and Scheduled Castes/Tribes (SC/ST). Separate wage equations, corrected for
14
selection bias, are estimated for NSC and SC/ST. The parameter estimates of the wage equations were decomposed into ‗endowment‘ and ‗treatment‘ components using the familiar Oaxaca Decomposition Method. A separate account was also made to analyze the interaction between occupational attainment and the wage differential using the extended decomposition method. The main conclusions from the econometric results are: (a) the endowment difference is higher and discrimination causes 15 per cent lower wages for SC/ST as compared to NSC; (b) the discrimination coefficient is negative in the public sector whereas it is positive in the private sector; (c) intra-occupational wage effects dominate. The higher endowment difference in developing countries like India implies that the pre-market discriminatory practice with respect to education, health and nutrition are more crucial than labour market discrimination. Chouhan20 (2013) writes on “A Study on Literacy and Educational Attainment of Scheduled Castes Population in Maldah District of West Bengal, India” in „Journal of Geography and Regional Planning‟. Literacy level and educational attainment are vital indicators of development of any society. In spite of many socio-economic securities provided to scheduled castes in the constitution and by the government, scheduled castes are still comparatively illiterates and less educated than general category. This could be attributed to a variety of reasons such as early age marriage, high female illiteracy due to importance to male child, child labour, superstition, dominance of higher castes, and deprivation from socio-economic status etc. Education is an important variable affecting demographic behavior concerning marriage, fertility, mortality, migration as well as participation in labour force. In a number of research studies, a clear cut negative relationship has been established between the educational level of women and fertility. The age of females at marriage is also affected by the educational attainment of females. Even infant mortality is found to be affected by the educational status of
15
mother. Thus there is a need to study on literacy and educational attainment of scheduled castes of Maldah district and to give suggestions for their educational development. Farhana Khatoon21 (2013) published an article entitled “A Regional Analysis of Literacy and Educational Levels of Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh” in „IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science‟.
Literacy is
a sensitive indicator of cultural advancement of an area. Literacy helps a social group to acquire a higher social status through the process of social mobility. The abysmally low rates of growth in literacy have been the result of faulty educational policy of British Government in India. The British policy of providing education to the elite resulted in neglect of mass education. The socio-economic base of education in colonial India was extremely narrow and the door of education was closed for the economically and socially deprived sections of the society. There is a wide disparity in educational opportunities between scheduled and non-scheduled population of India. The main objective of the paper is to highlight the literacy status of scheduled castes in Uttar Pradesh and present a district wise analysis. In this paper an attempt has been made to present the educational status of scheduled caste since 1911. The first two section of the paper is devoted to the analysis of scheduled caste education during British period. The subsequent sections dealt with impact of post independence efforts. In the last section an attempt has also been made to assess the sex disparity in literacy within scheduled caste and disparity between scheduled and non-scheduled population. We find that the percentage of literates within scheduled caste population is particularly small in the districts in which their population is high. Another interesting feature is that all those districts where literacy among general population is high, scheduled caste literacy are also high.
16
Pushpendra22 (1999) writes on “Dalit Assertion Through Electoral Politics” in „Economic and Political Weekly‟. The post-independence period has seen democratic institutions gaining greater legitimacy among the scheduled castes, who having grown conscious of their numerical strength in electoral arena, are exercising their voting right more forthrightly. This has liberated them from the role of passive voter-supporter in the overall environment of subjugation and subordination, to actively shifting their traditional party loyalties in favour of new parties espousing their interests. If the SCs in varying degrees have deserted the Congress, in various states, the growing class differentiation amongst them has resulted in the lower class Dalits opting for exclusively SC-based parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Left Front or the left-of-the centre regional parties. Yet, as the CSDS survey shows, though political institutions of Indian democracy have gained support of the SCs, there has been an erosion of their confidence in the political parties. This alarmingly signals that the support extended by the Dalits to the parliamentary system should not be taken for granted. Hiremeti and Sindhe23 (2011) writes on “A Sociological Study on Scheduled Caste Organizations in India” in „Research, Analysis and Evaluation‟. The paper focused on scheduled caste organizations in India. The scheduled castes are backward since immemorial years and many of the social evils are attached to these castes. To develop scheduled castes, many of the national level organizations were set up and to name a few, Dr. Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation, Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, National Commission for Safai Karmacharis, etc.
The authors have discussed the
activities of these organizations and welfare schemes for the scheduled castes in India. In his paper entitled “Educational Inequalities among Scheduled Castes in Maharashtra” published in ‗Economic and Political Weekly‟,
17
Wankhede24 (2001) stated that, despite a century old struggle for social and political reform and independence, literacy levels remain discouragingly low among substantial sections of the scheduled castes in Maharashtra. However, the rise in literacy rates has been marked by variations within the scheduled castes as borne out by census reports from 1961 onwards. The variations are based on levels of development, the migrancy factor and willingness to take on newer occupations, as well as traditions of hierarchy that continue to persist in the social system. Doddasiddaiah and Hiremath25 (2013) published an article entitled “Socio Economic Profile of Scheduled Caste Students in Secondary Education-A Sociological Study” in „International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention‟. Education is a real weapon to lead a life in this challenging and competitive society. Every human have his own aspirations in his life which is basically fulfilled by the education. The new sectors and upcoming skilled based jobs have been impacting on the educational system. The present paper entitled ―socio-economic profile of scheduled caste students in secondary education: a sociological study‖ seeks to probe empirically into the students studying in secondary education in Mysore city. This paper analyses the social and economic conditions of the students. The main objective of the study is to bring out the reality of the socio-economic conditions of scheduled caste students especially in secondary education system. The sample size of the present study is three hundred and simple random sampling method has been used to collect the primary data and it is also supported by the secondary sources. Shinde26 (2013) writes on “Scheduled Castes: Social and Gender Inequality” in „Indian Journal of Applied Research‟. Economic growth with social justice is the major objective of planning process and rural development in India. After Independence, no doubt, we have made remarkable progress in
18
the field of science and technology. As the issue of development of weaker sections especially the Scheduled Castes, we have made significant progress but the desirable out-come is still far away from the reality. In India the disparity between gender literacy is lower and this is also true within the castes. This paper is intended to examine education, health, government jobs, basic amenities like housing, drinking water, electricity, etc, based on secondary data. The prime motive of the study is to SC women are institutional problems of SCs including hour is to remodel or redesign our institutional arrangements through a radical structural change with emphasis on equity and equality of women as par with men in all spheres of social life. The study also highlights the areas of deprivation which need urgent attention of the government and policy maker towards the present situation. The implementation of various developmental schemes turns to lead stability and bring the weaker sections into main stream of the society. Rachna27 (2013) writes on “National Commission for Scheduled Castes-an Analysis of the Annual Report of National Commission for Scheduled Castes 2004-5 with Respect to the Development of Primary Education of the Scheduled Castes in India” in „International Journal of Educational Planning & Administration‟. The educational development among the scheduled castes is discussed with statistics. The Annual Report of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes 2004-05 is analyzed with special reference to primary education of scheduled castes in India. There is no denying fact that the commission has really accessed the steps taken by the Government of India regarding the primary education of Scheduled Castes in India and has helped the Government by suggesting various measures to be taken for the Scheduled Castes including various schemes and programmes in order to bridge the divide between Scheduled Caste children and other children in primary school. But still much remains to be done in order to provide primary education to Scheduled Caste children which form the base of the modern system of education. A holistic approach is required to analyse the decision making process related to attending primary school for an Scheduled Caste child which also includes factors outside educational sector related to the educational opportunities available to Scheduled Caste children. The commission should focus more and more on increasing demand for education including demand for text books, uniforms and mid-day meals for Scheduled Castes. The Commission should make efforts for a system of education in
19
which children are encouraged to themselves participate in the management of the schools in order to make schools more inclusive. The commission must inform the Government regarding the level of exclusion of Scheduled Caste children from education especially the primary education which is considered to be the base of the educational system. It should also organize various programmes of reaching out to the young children and parents and creating an awareness regarding the benefits of the modern education. Manju Mehta, et al28 (2008) published on “Personality Patterns of Higher Secondary Boys across Different Demographic Groups” in „Journal of Indian Academy of Applied Psychology‟. The raison d’etre of the study is to unravel and make a comparative study of the personality patterns of SC, ST and non–backward higher secondary boys. The prolonged social discrimination has produced an adverse impact on the development of the personality of these downtrodden, which is a severe stumbling block in providing ‗social justice‘ and ‗social equality‘ to the masses. By making a comparative study, the differences in personality patterns between backward and non-backward classes can be highlighted which will enable us to understand and eliminate not only the economical but also the educational, social and political backwardness of the society as a whole. For the study, on a sample of 600 rural and urban male students of XI standard from Jaipur district belonging to SC, ST & non-backward classes , the Cattell‘s High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), Form A by Kapoor, Srivastava and Srivastava was administered . Results revealed significant differences in personality patterns among SC ,ST and non-backward boys. These differences were more prominent in rural areas in comparison to urban areas. Mahadeva29 (2003) published an article entitled “A Critical Reflection on Development of Scheduled Castes” in „Journal of Social and Economic Development‟.
Notwithstanding
the
Constitutional
guarantees
and
developmental interventions, the goal of bringing the Scheduled Castes (SCs) into the mainstream has proved to be a distant dream. It is turning out to be a daunting challenge especially in the light of ongoing economic changes, as the 20
public actions have further distanced this section from the core economic activities. Unrealistic interventions have compounded the misery among SCs. On the demand side, large scale landlessness and lack of skills have impeded their economic advancement. This paper examined the scale of deprivation among SCs in the economic and social spheres at the national and state levels. The paper advocates alternative development strategies for SCs under the ‗Comprehensive Development (CD)‘ and ‗Integrated Approach (IA)‘ framework to empower all segments and to contain the existing levels of social and economic deprivation. Tulasi Acharya30 (2009) published a paper entitled “Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Educational Development of Scheduled Caste Students of Cuttack City” in „Journal of Social Sciences‟. Many steps have been taken through different plans for the disadvantaged children. Still inequality exists in the classroom performance. Some come out with excellent results, others with good. There is also a class of low achievers. Socio-cultural factors contribute to their poor performance. To eradicate these barriers strategies have been suggested by the educationists. Among them enriched curriculum engaging students in the authentic work, creating Network of Supports, Co-curricular, Extra-curricular Activities etc. are highlighted in this paper. Honest attempts have been made towards affirmative action to dissolve the causes contributing to performance inequality between the children of General Castes and Scheduled Castes at foundation level. Vidyasagar Reddy and Vasudevaiah31 (2013) writes on “Socioeconomic Development of Scheduled Castes During Five Year Plans in India” in „International Journal of Arts, Commerce and Literature‟. Scheduled castes are those castes/races, which have been or may in future be specified in a list in accordance with Article 341 of our Constitution. The people of these castes are considered outcastes and categorized as
21
untouchables. They remain at the bottom of social hierarchy and have been socially deprived, discriminated and exploited by the upper castes since time immemorial. This is the result of our rigid caste system which divides the Indian society into upper castes and lower castes on the basis of birth. Mythologically, the people of these castes are born impure, culturally they suffer from social disabilities and occupationally they are linked with impure occupation and above all they are exclusively dependent for their survival on the higher castes of the respective villages who have tradition bound attitudes, reflected in the nomenclature, castes etc. The overall lower socio-economic position of the scheduled castes, made the framers of the Constitution, to realize that special attention is urgently required for their development. As a result, some specific provisions have been incorporated in the Constitution to provide social justice to the members of these castes through the policy of protective discrimination. Since the early 1990s, there has been greater focus of development, planning towards enhancement of human well-being and reduction in inequities along with growth of per capita income. The concept of wellbeing would encompass individual attainments in the areas of education, health and amenities like electricity, water supply and sanitation, housing, etc. Prakash Louis32 (2003) writes on “Scheduled Castes and Tribes: The Reservation Debate” in „Economic and Political Weekly‟. The persistence of constitutionally sanctioned privileges to the scheduled castes and tribes by way of job reservations and preferential treatment in educational institutes beyond the period originally specified by the Constitution has divided Indians into two divisive camps – pro and anti reservationists. The latter argue that merit has often taken second place as a result of such policies that anyway benefit only a certain section, already privileged, among the disadvantaged. However, as data collated from various sources reveal, the SCs and STs continue to be poorly represented in government services and they score far
22
lower than most other sections in several development indicators, chiefly literacy. Darokar33 (2014) has written a paper entitled “Social Justice and Social Development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in Maharashtra” in „Indian Journal of Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action‟. This paper attempts to provide operational definition of social justice drawn from the Indian experience of Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribes. It highlights various models of ‗just society‘ or ‗social order‘ envisaged by the founding fathers and subsequent attempts in post-independent India by the state to realize the goals of liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in the preamble of India‘s constitution. Presenting the unique problems faced by SC/STs in India, such as untouchability in case of SCs and isolation in case of STs, it highlights the socio-economic exclusion and marginalization these groupings faced in the development process. Empirical data is presented to substantiate arguments around the growing gap between legal and social justice and while unravelling such processes, some thoughts on probable constitutive ingredients or elements of Human Development Index for SC/STs in Maharashtra is proposed. Neeru Sharma34 (2010) writes on “Caste in Punjab: Political Marginalization and Cultural Assertion of Scheduled Castes in Punjab” in „Journal of Political Science‟. Despite being a highly stratified society characterized by caste and class divisions and a state with highest scheduled caste population, Punjab is seldom considered for studying its caste system or a case study of dalit assertion. The objective of this paper is threefold - to examine the caste system in Punjab, to discuss the issue of political marginalization among scheduled castes and finally to analyze the current phase of assertion among the two largest scheduled castes groups in Punjab – the Ad-Dharmis and the Mazhabhis. The paper argues that in the absence of a
23
strong political force to represent the interest of scheduled castes, cultural activism has become an important strategy of assertion leading to greater conflicts in the state. The current phase of cultural assertion of the scheduled castes in Punjab, as witnessed in the emergence of deras, large scale construction of separate gurudwaras and increasing cases of caste and community related violence, could be regarded as end products of social exclusion, lack of long term economic
advancement and political
marginalization of the scheduled caste community in the state. Aman Verma35 (2013) published a research paper “Caste-Education Syndrome: Impact of Reservations on Institutions of Higher Education” in „International Journal of Social Science and Interdisciplinary Research‟. The object of this study is to measure the effect of reservations on its various stakeholders, particularly, under-graduate educational institutions. The paper will seek to achieve answers to questions like whether reservations have enabled better access to under-graduate courses in educational institutions, whether students from the reserved categories have been able to perform at par with those from the general category, whether the result of the institute is affected by reservations and various others in order to uncover the truth behind the effect of this policy. For this purpose an empirical method of research has been adopted and data has been collected through a questionnaire from various universities and colleges. The questionnaire itself has been divided into three stages. The first stage tries to find answer to the question whether the reserved category students from marginalized backgrounds are actually able to get access in institutions offering undergraduate courses. The second stage, focuses on the performance of the students throughout their college life and the third, focuses on their future prospects. These in turn, reflect upon the impact of the policy on the educational institution.
24
Lajwant Singh36 (2015) writes on “Movement for the Changing Social Status of Untouchables in India: A Sociological Study” in „International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education‟.
Untouchable
identity is a complex one. It encompasses not only a long history of struggle against religious discourse and discrimination, but also increasingly against socio-economic structures. The untouchable identity relates not merely to a denial of rights but also a demand for dignity, and in some cases a desire for revolution. Hence, the struggles of the Dalits have not merely centered on issues such as Untouchability, perpetuation of atrocities, minimum wages, land rights, employment and political representation but also issues of identity, selfrespect and dignity. As Kothari argues , the untouchables identity that has emerged ,now seeks to turn the logic of ―casteism‖ on its head and we find that those who would normally seeks out the obliteration of caste distinctions are those who are seeking to use it to change the social order. Article 330 and 332 of the Constitution provides for reservation of 79 seats in the LokSabha and 557 in the VidhanSabha, for the Scheduled caste seats in Loksabha and 315 in vidhansabha .. However it is noticeable that those who get elected belong to the ranks of the educated, wealthier lot and those taking a more militant line are denied party representation.But in the present system such opportunities are still limited and many MLA/MPs find themselves being co-opted by the ruling elite or unable to use their political powers to bring about socio-economic change. Hence the introduction of political democracy or economic equality has proved problematic. Selvam and Mercy Latha37 (2012) published a paper on “Employment opportunities for SCs and STs in Thoothukudi, Tamilnadu, India: Issues and challenges” in „Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal‟. This paper makes an attempt to study the employment opportunity by the weaker caste (SC and ST) persons in getting employment opportunities in Thoothukudi, Tamilnadu, India. This study has, on the basis of primary
25
survey data, proved that there exists a close relationship between low castes and low status, low paid jobs; similarly, it also established that there is correlation between high castes and high status, high paid jobs. Secondly, the general rate of unemployment among the low caste graduates is found to be very high (70 per cent), while it is lower among the high caste graduates (42 per cent). Hence, the main hypothesis of this study, that ―lower social class graduates will have longer job search time, lower salaries, lower status jobs and higher possibilities of unemployment than higher class graduates‖ is confirmed. The major benefits of employment as well as self employment have gone to the Pallar Community within the weaker caste groups, followed by the Paraiyan and the Arunthathiar. The Scheduled Tribes benefit the least. Similarly, a major proportion (60 per cent) of the high paid jobs has been secured by the Pallar, while the share of Scheduled Tribes is naught. On the other hand, among the high castes, the Brahmins and Pillaimar appear to be benefiting most in both wage and self employment. Ankita Aggarwal, et al38 (2015) published an article “Caste and the Power Elite in Allahabad” in „Economic and Political Weekly‟. This article examines the social composition of public institutions in Allahabad, and specifically, the share of different castes and communities in positions of power and influence – the Press Club, the university faculty, the Bar Association, the police, and the commanding positions in trade unions, non-governmental organisations, media houses, among other public institutions. These turn out to be heavily dominated by a small group of upper castes – Brahmins and Kayasthas in particular. Disadvantaged castes, for their part, are largely relegated to subordinate or menial positions. The findings raise troubling questions about the resilience of caste hierarchies. Aside from better enforcement of reservation norms, there is an urgent need for more voluntary attention to diversity in public life, of the sort that has significantly reduced ethnic or gender imbalances in other countries.
26
Kaveri Gill39 (2006) written an article “Deprived Castes and Privileged Politics: An Urban Informal Market in Contemporary India” in „Economic and Political Weekly‟.
This article examines political
mobilisation around scheduled caste identity by focusing on a case study of purportedly ―environmentally-beneficial‖ legislation, which threatened the existence of the informal sector recycling industry in Delhi. It explores the democratic political avenues used by those whose business opportunities and livelihoods were at risk, based largely on market participation and caste identity, to resist this legislation. The research is based on interviews and informal discussions conducted over an extensive period of time spent in the neighbourhood of the wholesale plastic recycling market in north-west Delhi and amongst the ―elite establishment‖ – government officials, primary plastic industry members and others. As it appears, not only is caste identity thriving in the urban sphere, but this identity is actually being used in innovative ways to gain and maintain collective access to economic and political power. Sarmishta Pal and Sugatha Ghosh40 (2008) published a working paper entitled “The Elite and the Marginalised: An Analysis of Public Spending on Mass Education in the Indian States” published by Institute for the Study of Labour. In the context of strikingly low literacy rates among Indian women and low caste population, the paper explores whether and how far the interests of the marginalized poor are undermined by the dominant elite consisting mainly of the landed and the capitalists. The authors distinguish the dominant elite from the minority elite (i.e., elected women and low caste representatives in the ruling government) and also the marginalised as measured by the state poverty rate. Results based on the Indian state-level data suggest that a higher share of land held by the top 5% of the population lowers public spending on education while presence of capitalist elite, as reflected in greater degree of industrialization enhances it, even in poorer states; the landed elite thus appears
27
to be unresponsive to the underlying poverty rate. The effect of minority representation in the government appears to have a limited impact, indicating a possibility of their non-accountability to serve their cohorts and/or a possible alliance with the dominant elite. Tulika Tripathi41 (2015) published a paper “Safai Karmis of Uttar Pradesh: Caste, Power and Politics” in „Economic and Political Weekly‟. A study of the operation of the Safai Karmi Scheme of the Uttar Pradesh government reveals the apparent weakening of the age-old link between caste and occupation, with Other Backward Classes and even upper castes competing with Scheduled Castes to secure the job of a sanitation worker in villages. Another significant fact which comes to the fore, is the struggle for power in the safai karmi unions between OBC and the numerically superior SC workers, with the former trying to establish their dominance, reflecting the nature of caste politics at play in the state. Bharti42 (2010) writes a paper entitled “Social Justice and Scheduled Castes in India” in „Dynamics of Public Administration‟. This paper is an attempt to investigate the socio-economic condition of Scheduled Castes in India. After independence, the government of India and the governments of different states have made a number of schemes (including Five Year Plans) and programmes, in accordance to the directions made by the constitution of India. In the paper, the Five Year Plans documents and annual reports of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, have been examined and analysed. These documents and reports do not present a good picture at all. It has been found that after six decades of independence the socio-economic condition of the scheduled castes is still very poor, especially in rural areas. The findings of this paper questions, not only the relevance of these schemes and programmes, but also the will of the governments either central or state. The author believes that it may not be necessary to change the policy (Niti), but
28
the change in mindset (Neeyat) is strongly desirable. The author also found that the reservation policy for the scheduled castes is irrational, as it does not differentiate between different economic sections within the scheduled caste community itself. Thus, the author strongly suggests changing this policy immediately and creating the provision of creamy layer in reservation so that very idea of social justice can be established within the scheduled caste community too. Ramakrishna and Sreeramulu43 (2010) published a research paper entitled “Social Transformation through Scheduled Caste Elites and their Organizations: A Case Study of Gulbarga District” in „The Indian Journal of Political Science‟. Social inequality is there is Indian society since from the ancient times. Among other factors which contreibuted for the inequality, the caste system in the Indian society occupies the predominant role. As the lower caste were to subject traditional work with low income earnings. Scheduled caste has low social and economic status. The low status is on account of socio-cultural and economic and political restrictions imposed on them traditionally by the society at large. These restrictions resulted in confining the arena of activity of the scheduled caste to a limit.
As this environment
continued even after India‘s independence and the constitutional provisions came into force for the achievement of social justice and equality. As the process of transformation of lower caste people had taken place. Further, the impact of reservation provisions within the lower caste benefited and few of them emerged as elites among the lower caste. Particularly, in the state of Karnataka, the scheduled caste transformation is being taken place by the involvement of elite people from scheduled castes. Thus, the paper examined the efforts of the scheduled caste elites and their organizations to improve the social, economic and culture of scheduled caste people. It also intends to identify the roles of scheduled caste elites and organizations for creating political awareness among the scheduled caste people. The paper also intends
29
to focus on the overall social transformation in Gulbarga District from the members of scheduled castes. Anand Inbanathan and Sivanna44 (2010) writes on “Scheduled Castes, Legitimacy and Local Governance: Continuing Social Exclusion in Panchayats”. People of the Scheduled Castes have a long history of being discriminated against, exploited, and placed at the bottom of caste society. The panchayati raj, after the enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, brought in measures to overcome these past indignities, and provided a quota within ordinary seats and among the office bearers of the panchayats. There is, however, strong resistance among the higher castes (just above that of the Scheduled Castes in many cases), about reservation of the post of panchayat president for Scheduled Caste people. This paper looks at some of the consequences of having a quota for the Scheduled Castes for the post of president in the grama panchayats of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, with the concept of legitimacy to consider the perceptions of the higher castes as well as the participation of the Scheduled Castes in panchayats. Sitaram Bairwa45 (2015) writes on “Problems of Education for Scheduled Castes in Rajasthan” in „International Journal of Research Pedagogy and Technology in Education and Movement Sciences‟. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) is a group of historically-disadvantaged people recognised by the Constitution of India or the people who are placed at the bottom of the traditional caste system. People of this group in the history performed unclean occupations of the society. As per the recommendation of the Government of Independent India, the President of India in October 1950 included a number of castes in the list of Scheduled Castes following the provisions mentioned under Article 341 (SC) of Constitution of India. The article provides rights to enjoy the social welfare schemes of the government and be a part of the development of the nation to the people who are the
30
member of this category. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 lists 1,108 castes across 25 states in its First Schedule and as per the latest amendment in 2008, the list included 1208 scheduled castes across India. The Scheduled Castes of India are put under the reserved categories following the guidelines of the Indian Constitution. The reservation policy became an integral part of the Indian Constitution by the efforts made by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who fought for the rights of the oppressed and depressed classes. Provisions for Scheduled Castes mentioned Under Part XVI-Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes in the Constitution of India. Badri Narayan46 (2010) in his paper entitled “History Produces Politics: The Nara-Maveshi Movement in Uttar Pradesh” published in „Economic and Political Weekly‟, described that the Nara-Maveshi Movement was one of the precipitating factors of the new dalit politics that emerged in Uttar Pradesh. Carried out by the Chamars (shoemaker caste) in Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions to end their caste-based work and the indignities involved with it, the NMM started in the 1950s and continued till the 1980s. But it has hardly been noticed, whether in academic works, literature or even in the media. This article uses methods of oral history, along with police and court documents at village and district levels, to unearth this history. It tries to bring out the multiple layers of discriminations, exclusions and violence in hierarchically caste-divided Indian society, even within Dalit castes. As described by Khandare and Kalambe47 (2011), in their paper entitled “Post Ambedkarian Political Movement” published in „Indian Streams Research Journal‟, in India various movements were played by different social and political reformers, Rajaram Mohan Roy, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Lokmanya Tilak etc. played different movements for social and political purposes. Among these all movements Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the pioneer
31
of Indian constitution, forced both political and social movement for the upliftment of socially and economically backward classes. In India he has created the Ambedkarian philosophy, Ambedkarian movement. The present paper is concerned with post Ambedkarian political movement, which is now a day in endangered condition. Whatever Dr. Ambedkar was created, after his Mahaparinirvana Ambedkarian political movement distructed into small-small pieces. Mukul
Sharma48
(2012)
in
his
paper
“Dalits
and
Indian
Environmental Politics” published in „Economic and Political Weekly‟, remarked that Indian environmental paradigms and politics, frequently conceptualised and expressed in terms of India‘s glorious past, often render questions of caste and dalits invisible. However, it needs to be recognised that caste is one of the central categories that frames environmental politics. Dalit thinkers, organisations and movements have had a wider perspective and critique of environmental articulations that require deeper investigation. On the one hand, we see a caste-blindness in current environmental politics. On the other, it can be seen the Dalit views on Indian environmentalism, reflected in their works, words and movements in different parts of the country. This brings forth not only new dimensions on both environment and Dalits, but also helps us in redefining certain key categories such as development, modernity, community, livelihood and social movements. Sermakani49 (2012) in his paper entitled “The Role of M.C. Rajah for the Upliftment of Dalits in Tamil Nadu” published in „Golden Research Thoughts‟, writes on Rao Bahadur M.C Rajah, who was a Social and Political activist Legislator and who played a major role in liberation of Dalits in Tamil Nadu.
Depressed Classes are those who are socially, economically and
politically backward and oppressed people who are otherwise called as scheduled castes, Dalits and so on they are denied many of the ordinary civic
32
rights and privileges. M.C. Rajah was born June 17, 1883 and a poor dalit family of Madras. He was born to Mylai china Thambi pillai. M.C. Rajah had his schooling at the Wesley Mission High School, Royapettah, Madras. The advent of the British in India had brought some change in the status of depressed classes, by a series of welfare measure British government was able to take them into confidence Associations like Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha, The Indian National Congress to some extent and leader like B.R. Ambedkar, M.C. Rajah, and others had played a significant role in highlighting the depressed condition of the Depressed Classes and were able to secure certain rights for the Socioeconomic and political upliftment of this class. The communal Award, the Poona pact of 1932 and the Temple Entry Legislation of 1938 are instances in point. The Poona pact of 1932 formed guarantees for this section of society, from 1926 till 1937; he was a member of the Imperial Legislative Assembly. In 1937 he was the Madras Presidency‘s Minister for Development in the short lived interim provincial cabinet. Natekar and Patil50 (2014) writes on “Socio-economic Status of Dalit Working Women in Gulbarga City” in „International Journal of Scientific Research‟. Dalits are discriminated and suppressed by their castes in society and Dalit women are discriminated and suppressed by their caste as well as their gender in family and society. The education and employment has given Dalit women social status and respect. To assess the social status, equality and respect of Dalit working women, the present study was made in Gulbarga city. Totally 500 Dalit working women were interviewed to collect the primary data. The findings revealed that education and employment given social status, equality, respect, satisfaction in work life, etc to Dalit working women. Darshan Singh51 (2009) in his paper entitled as “Development of Scheduled Caste in India: A Review” published in Journal of Rural Development in 2009 has stated ―The polity of our country has realized the
33
significance of the development of weaker sections specially the scheduled castes since Independence. Consequently, planned efforts have been made for their upliftment by the government. This paper has examined the progress made with regard to their social (health, housing, workforce participation, availability of basic amenities and wage employment under income generation schemes), educational and occupational status. Based on secondary data, it has been found that no doubt, a positive change on various socio-economic parameters has been recorded but, that change has touched merely less than half of their population. Further, the gap between the mainstream and scheduled caste population still persists significantly in our traditional society. Therefore, there is an urgent need to reorient and focus the strategy in order to support the lesser privileged by providing qualitative education and infusing among them the individualistic and moralistic values of self-denial, temperance, forethought, thrift, sobriety and self-reliance essential to bring these downtrodden into the national mainstream‖. 2.3. Research Gap: From the above discussed review of literature, it is highlighted that many of the studies were conducted on untouchability, caste system, movement of scheduled castes and educational development among the scheduled castes. It is emphasized that, none of the studies were made on scheduled caste elites with special reference to Gulbarga district in particular and Karnataka state in general.
The scheduled caste elites are acting as model to the backward
scheduled castes and the scheduled caste elites are also helping the scheduled castes for their overall development and change. So far, none of the studies were made on such social change through scheduled caste elites. Hence, the present study is significant to cover these issues. 2.4. References:
34
1. Ravi Babu, M and Chandrashekharayya, T (2015): Education Status and Its Impact on Development of Scheduled Castes: An Overview. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development. Vol. 2. No. 1. 2015. P. 356-360. 2. Mohan, VK (2006): Dalit in Modern Andhra in the Perspective of Education, Social Inequality and Social Change. IN: Dalits in India: Past and Present. Edited by Dr. R.M. Sarkar. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2006. P.144-161. 3. Jay Lakshmi (2014): Relevance Of Ambedkar‘s Contributions In The Upliftment Of Modern Days Dalits And Women. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science. Vol. 19. No. 2. February 2014. P. 6266. 4. Tardalkar, Sandeep Sambhaji (2012): Economic Life of Dalits in Pune City. Golden Research Thoughts. Vol. 2. No. 6. December 2012. P. 12-16. 5. Sangeeta Krishna (2013): Higher Education and Dalit Women: The Question of Access Inclusivity and Equity. Golden Research Thoughts. Vol. 2. No. 11. May 2013. P. 04-14. 6. Lenin, E (2014): Dalits‘ Condition and Practice of Untouchability in Early Twentieth Century Tamil Nadu. Indian Stream Research Journal. Vol. 4. No. 2. March 2014. P. 1-7. 7. Prem Chowdhry (2009): First Our Jobs Then Our Girls: The Dominant Caste Perceptions on the ‗Rising‘ Dalits. Modern Asian Studies. Vol. 43. No. 2. 2009. P. 437-479. 8. Gail Omvedt (2010): Caste in the Census. Social Change. Vol. 40. No. 4. 2010. P. 405-414. 9. Uttam Kumar Sikder (2012): Socio-economic Deprivation of Dalits Households in Rural West Bengal, India: A Village Based Study. Global Journal of Arts and Management. Vol. 2. No. 4. 2012. P. 247250. 10. Ragi, Prakash Shivasharanappa and Sindhe, Jaganath R (2014): Dalit Movement and Social Change in Gulbarga District. Golden Research Thoughts. Vol. 4. No. 3. September 2014. 11. Rukhsana and Asraful Alam (2014): Literacy Differentials among Scheduled Caste and Non-Schedule Castes in West Bengal, India: A District Wise Study. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology. Vol. 3. No. 3. March 2014. P. 10705-10702. 12. Dodamani, Pandurang Eerappa and Biradar, Vijayalaxmi (2014): Problems and Challenges of Scheduled Caste Pre-University Students in Karnataka: A Case Study of Koppal District. Research Directions. Vol. 1. No. 9. March 2014. 13. Suryawanshi, BR and Dhande, Nishikant C (2012): Socio-Economic Development among Scheduled Caste: A Study of Mahatma Phule
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