Blocked by Caste

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.