Dimensions of Social Exclusion : Caste, Class and Gender : Essays in Honour of Dr. P. Hemalatha Reddy

Contents: Preface. I. Caste-based exclusion in India: 1. Social exclusion and discrimination of scheduled castes—Priyadarshini Vijaisri and Sudhakara Karakoti. 2. Class mobility and caste discrimination: the case of Dalit middle class—Gurram Srinivas. 3. Situating scheduled castes in the Ambit of social security system: a case of Unorganised sector/Ketaki Dwivedi. 4. Social exclusion and scheduled castes: the Tamil Nadu experience/N.R. Suresh Babu. II. Uneven development and various dimensions of exclusion: 5. Contested marginality: a case study of migrant miners of Meghalaya/Debojyoti Das. 6. Social exclusion, marginalization and Indian plantation workers: the experience of Malaysia/M. Mahalingam. 7. Globalised rights and localised violations: a study of Palamur labour in Andhra Pradesh/Venkatesh. 8. Democracy, development and displacement: the situation of tribals in India/Arun Kumar Nayak. III. Aspects of gender exclusion and discrimination: 9. Gender discrimination and social exclusion: the Assam and Manipur experience…..

The volume which is a collection of essays addresses the central feature of the Indian society, which is based on the twin systems pertaining to denial and exclusion. The emphasis here is one unraveling the societal processes through which social exclusion is constructed in India. This is essentially based on a plethora of constructions, which secure privileges for a miniscule section and sanctions discriminations of the plebian majority. The forms of exclusion may be as diverse as the experiences of seclusion, which is part of the quotidian experience of the underprivileged social groups in the country. The victims of exclusion are undeniably the Dalit and the adivasi masses, which could be segregated from the other social categories and forced to accept the unjust social norms, because of the overwhelming presence of poverty amongst them. In other words, poverty could be a signifier to the creation and enforcement of the exclusionary social practices…(jacket)