The elusive pursuit of social justice for Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, India

Caste has historically been one of the principal axes of social injustice in India, and numerous movements have emerged over the years to challenge it. Although belatedly, in the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh too, various political and non-political Dalit organizations have been trying since the 1940s to mobilize Dalits (ex-untouchables / scheduled castes) and bring about self-respect and social justice to them. This paper will analyse the achievement of social justice among Dalits in the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh since the formation of Dalit-led Bahujan Samaj Party in 1984, from the perspective of Amartya Sen’s capability approach and idea of justice. Section 1 will discuss the theoretical as well as empirical appropriateness of ‘capability’ as the central focal variable in the assessment of social justice. And since capability to avoid premature mortality is the most fundamental and vital of human capabilities (we need to be alive to be capable of pursuing anything), and on whose value a universal consensus is possible, section 2 will use the under-five mortality rate as a proxy to assess the progress of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh on the scale of capability / justice by comparing their performance with that of the so-called upper castes in Uttar Pradesh, as well as with that of Dalits in five Indian states with the highest percentage of Dalit population. Section 3 will outline the capability-achievements / -deprivations of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh (based on qualitative fieldwork in ten villages of the state during 2009-10) in educational and economic spheres, which account for their most basic capability-deprivations. Finally, as a matter of conclusion, the paper will try to highlight what Dalits in Uttar Pradesh – and this paper – have or have not been able to achieve.