Blocked by Caste Economic Discrimination in Modern India

This book explores contemporary patterns of economic discrimination faced by Dalits and religious minorities like Muslims, and the underlying attitudinal orientations that contribute to inequality in various spheres of life. It investigates empirical evidence of discrimination by focusing on the urban labour market as well as other markets in rural areas. It also analyses discrimination in non-market transactions like access to education, primary healthcare services, and fair price shops. Through detailed case studies, the essays examine the consequences of exclusion on unequal access to business, wage-earning, health status, and educational attainments and suggest possible remedies. The introduction provides a conceptual framework and the foreword by Kaushik Basu underscores the importance of developing an interface between economics and social sciences in order to give greater visibility to research on discrimination. This book will interest students and scholars of Dalit and subaltern studies, economics, sociology, and politics. It will be an invaluable resource for policymakers and activists.

Sukhadeo Thorat is Chairman, Indian Council for Social Science Research and Professor of Economics, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is the former Chairman, University Grants Commission.

Katherine S. Newman is James B. Knapp Dean, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University. She is former Malcolm Forbes Class of 1941 Professor at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Sociology, and Director, Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University.

List of Tables and Figure
Foreword by Kaushik Basu
Preface and Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Economic Discrimination Concept, Consequences and Remedies by Sukhadeo Thorat and Katherine S. Newman
PART I. MARKET DISCRIMINATION: LABOUR AND OTHER MARKETS
1. The Legacy of Social Exclusion: A Correspondence Study of Job Discrimination in India's Urban Private Sector by Sukhadeo Thorat and Paul Attewell
2. In the Name of Globalization: Meritocracy, Productivity, and the Hidden Language of Caste by Surinder S. Jodhka and Katherine S. Newman
3. Where the Path Leads: The Role of Caste in Post-university Employment Expectations by Ashwini Deshpande and Katherine S. Newman
4. Wage and Job Discrimination in the Indian Urban Labour Market by S. Madheswaran and Paul Attewell
5. Caste System and Pattern of Discrimination in Rural Markets by Sukhadeo Thorat , M. Mahamallik, and Nidhi Sadana
PART 2. NON-MARKET DISCRIMINATION: HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND FOOD-RELATED INSTITUTIONS
6. Inequality in Health Outcomes in India: The Role of Caste and Religion by Vani K. Borooah
7. Caste and Patterns of Discrimination in Rural Public Health Care Services by Sanghmitra S. Acharya
8. Segmented Schooling: Inequalities in Primary Education by Sonalde Desai, Cecily Darden Adams, and Amaresh Dubey
9. Exclusion and Discrimination in Schools: Experiences of Dalit Children by Geetha B. Nambissan
10. Food Security Schemes and Caste Discrimination by Sukhadeo Thorat and Joel Lee
PART 3. DISCRIMINATION-INDUCED INEQUALITIES: CAPITAL ASSETS, AND POVERTY
11. Caste and Ownership of Private Enterprises: Consequences of Denial of Property Rights by Sukhadeo Thorat, Debolina Kundu, and Nidhi Sadana
12. Minority Status and Labour Market Outcomes: Does India Have Minority Enclaves? by Maitreyi Bordia Das
13. Caste, Ethnicity and Religion: Linkages with Unemployment and Poverty by Smita Das
Select Bibliography
Notes on Contributors.