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The Indian context
Professor K. Raja Mohan Rao[1]
ABSTRACT
Social Exclusion may be termed as a process by which individuals and groups are made disadvantaged through discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, caste, descent, gender, age, disability, HIV status, migrant status, and so on. Social Exclusion generates tension and violence, disrupts normal life, and makes the victims sub-human. More importantly, it perpetuates inequality and deprivation, and denies human rights and justice to the victims. Social discrimination in India cannot be understood by the euro-centric approach and its labour market framework. Discrimination has been the working out of India’s centuries-old caste system. As caste system is based on Hindu religion, understanding the imperfections and inadequacies of caste and religion in India is the proper way of grappling with exclusion and discrimination and their outcome in Indian society. The Constitution of India directs that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, place of birth, or any of them; and that the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the scheduled castes/tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Despite these and other related provisions, discrimination and exclusion based on caste and religion still continue, denying a large section of Indian population their legitimate human rights and social justice. This paper seeks to present the Indian problem from a historical and contemporary perspective with a view to help in developing a just, equal, and humane society in India.
[1] Professor-cum-Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli - 620 023, Tamil Nadu, India; e-mail: rmrao@sify.com , rmrao.bdu@gmail.com Mobile Phone:+91-9443002102; Fax:+91-431-2407045