Dalits and Human Development : Contemporary Issues and Emerging Patterns

Contents: Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Rural poverty and Dalits/L.C. Mallaiah. 2. Rural development programmes and Dalits/L.C. Mallaiah and K.B. Ratna Kumari. 3. Agrarian structure and reforms towards sustainable basic needs and human development in Uttar Pradesh/D.M. Diwakar. 4. Dalits and agricultural landholdings in Andhra Pradesh/K. Nageswara Rao. 5. Genders and food security at households level/G. Sridevi. 6. Depletion and inequity in accessibility of groundwater in Uttar Pradesh/Sanatan Nayak. 7. Contribution of B.R. Ambedkar for annihilation of social exclusion and discrimination/L. Karunyakara. 8. Globalization and impact of Dalits\' livelihoods/K.B. Ratna Kumari and L.C. Mallaiah. 9. Ambedkar\'s contribution for the educational development of Dalits/L. Karunyakara. 10. Dalits and elementary education in India: problems and prospects/Y. Chinna Rao. 11. Education and social mobility among the middle class Dalits/G. Srinivas. 12. Dalits and forestry: an analysis of participatory forest management in Andhra Pradesh/V.M. Ravi Kumar and G. Ravi. 13. B.R. Ambedkar and the Indian Christians/Nina David. 14. Dalits and human development: a human rights perspective/Shashi Kumar. Bibliography. List of contributors. Index.

"Dalits remained for centuries economically deprived and socially depressed under the influence of the Hindu society and its orthodox laws. After independence the policy of protective discrimination was initiated. But the package of protective discrimination have been failed to improve the human development of Dalits even after sixty years of independence. Moreover, a debate is going on at national level on the issue of creamy layer among the Dalits. Now the question is that whether the human development of Dalits is increasing or decreasing.

Human development indicates the socio-economic, political and cultural development of the people. According to UNDP reports human development index has been improved in India. But the human development report of 1996 noted that the globalization causing greatly for the rise of levels of inequality and widening the gap between rich and poor particularly in the field of social services like education and health. Privatization of education has been the role model for all successive governments, which required to be understood in the context of globalization. The theme and sub-themes are aimed to address the development of Dalits not only based on the human development index but emphasis on new dimensions of Dalit development in the context of globalization." (jacket)