OUR TARGETS
Socially and economically disadvantaged and marginalized, especially the dalit women and youth, in the rural areas and urban slums of India.

Identification of socially and economically disadvantaged in India has been an easy task as the Indian society has institutionalized the allocation of social and economic roles to its constituents and the Indian caste system is the unique and elaborate form of social stratification system to be seen any where in the world. Historically, Indian society composed of four major varnas, Brahmins, Shatriyas, Vysyas and Shudras. Apart from the four varnas, there is one group that is outside the pale of this division of labor that also designates a status hierarchy. This group is called by some as ‘outcastes’, (they were also called ‘untouchables’ and in some instances, ‘unapproachables’). This group has been generally relegated to the lowest position socially and assigned only to do ‘dirty’, ‘demeaning’ and ‘dangerous’ occupations (or the three ‘d’ occupations) and were denied ownership of productive assets. As such, they were dependent entirely on the upper castes for employment and subsistence. Conformity to this system was ensured by the tenets of the Hindu religion, which stressed the importance of performing one’s assigned role and duty in this birth well so that he/she can achieve social and economic mobility in their next birth, sort of a supernatural reward system.

At the time of India’s independence, Indian political leaders recognized the inherent institutionalized inequality in the Indian society and introduced several measures to correct this ‘historical wrong’. The depressed classes were assigned a new label, Scheduled Castes (appearing in the schedule of the constitution). Positive discrimination policies (affirmative action) by way of quotas in recruitment to government jobs and places in higher education institutions were provided for in the constitution and several other laws enacted since the implementation of the constitution. However, values and attitudes entrenched in the society over centuries could not be wished away by enacting a very finely drafted constitution and acts and statutes in force since then.

In spite of well-intentioned and thoughtfully crafted policies, a large majority of scheduled caste groups continue to suffer from social and economic deprivation and exclusion. Further, they are subject to atrocities of various kinds by the upper castes.

As India lives in its villages (80 percent) and agriculture has been the major industry providing employment to the landless and poor in the villages, most of them being the dalits. With the introduction of modern agricultural practices and commercialization of agriculture, employment in the rural areas has shrunk. As a result, there is an exodus of rural population towards urban and industrial employment. While members of the upper castes have acquired the necessary physical capital and skills and education (human capital) to compete for and get employment in the modern industrial and service sectors, the dalits have been unable to do so in view of the continuing deprivation and the uneven opportunity structure in the rural areas which is heavily loaded against them.

Therefore our programmes attempt to alleviate problems of dalits and the poor, effect improvement in their standard of living and help them escape from the clutches of endemic poverty and social and ecnomic deprivation. We hope that our programmes will help them achieve ecnomic and social mobility and enable them to become equal and empowered partners in the ongoing social and economic change in India.