Dalits and Social Exclusion: An Overview

No country or society can prosper, without providing equal opportunities to its citizens. But, in our country, some categories of people are kept away from nation building activities, among those categories �Dalits� stand first. Traditionally, India's caste system assigns individuals a certain hierarchical status and profession, according to Hindu beliefs, there are four principal castes (divided into many sub-castes) and the people who fall outside the caste system is the Dalits. As members of the lowest rank of Indian society, Dalits face discrimination at almost every level, from access to education, availing facilities, to restrictions on where they can live and what jobs they can have. The discrimination against the Dalits is especially significant because of the number of people affected. There are approximately 240 million Dalits in India, constituting over 25 percent of the total population. Dalits have been socially oppressed, culturally subjugated, and politically marginalized, in all way they are socially excluded. Furthermore, Social Exclusion is the combined outcome of deprivation and discrimination, which prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social and political life of the society in which they live. Social exclusion is a major development issues in developing countries like India, large number of people are excluded by mainstream society from participating freely in economic, social and political life of the society. Hence this paper explores the social exclusion and discrimination on Dalits, study is solely based on the secondary data.