This book explores the exclusion of community groups from the perspective of people’s equal opportunities and equal access to newly generated economic benefits, tracing the factors determining their denial and exclusion. Paying specific attention to watershed development projects, it considers the detailed processes involved in the denial of institutional and livelihood opportunities to resource-poor groups, and discusses potential avenues for their meaningful social inclusion in the governance of natural resources.

"This paper was presented at the Second Workshop on "Patterns and causes of social exclusion and the design of policies to promote integration", Cambridge, 14-18 July 1994"--Title page verso.

Despite India’s record of rapid economic growth and poverty reduction over recent decades, rising inequality in the country has been a subject of concern among policy makers, academics, and activists alike. Poverty and Social Exclusion in India focuses on social exclusion, which has its roots in India’s historical divisions along lines of caste, tribe, and the excluded sex, that is, women. These inequalities are more structural in nature and have kept entire groups trapped, unable to take advantage of opportunities that economic growth offers. Culturally rooted systems perpetuate inequality, and, rather than a culture of poverty that afflicts disadvantaged groups, it is, in fact, these inequality traps that prevent these groups from breaking out. Combining rigorous quantitative research with a discussion of these underlying processes, this book finds that exclusion can be explained by inequality in opportunities, inequality in access to markets, and inequality in voice and agency. This report will be of interest to policy makers, development practitioners, social scientists, and academics working to foster equality in India.

This book explores civil societies with distinct characteristics in Asian countries and regions to redefine the dynamic and interconnected formation that is Asia. This book documents how civil society organizations, such as charities and foundations, across Asia which have traditionally been observed to imitate or borrow the methods employed by Western nongovernmental organizations, have been developing distinctive relations with the state, inventing novel civic techniques. Furthermore, it highlights how such organizations have created a characteristic framework for governance and spaces for new social practices and reflections. Reflecting on the historical backgrounds, political systems, and cultural settings, each case study reveals the diverse and alternative approaches and solutions to various issues facing contemporary Asian society. Studying the dynamism of Asia to highlight the emergence of new civil society practices this book will be a great interest to scholars and students of Asian Studies, Anthropology, Sociology & Political Science.

This volume discusses the themes of exclusion and inclusion vis-à-vis the Adivasis in India. It locates Adivasis' development and impediments to their growth within a larger regional, national, and global, context, and provides a framework to overcome deprivation faced by them.

In recent years exclusionary policies of the Indian state have raised questions concerning social harmony and economic progress. During the last few decades the emergence of identity politics has given new lease of life to exclusionary practices in the country. Castes, communities and ethnic groups have re-emerged in almost every sphere of social life. This book analyses different aspects of social exclusion in contemporary India. Divided into three sections - 1. New Forms of Inclusion and Exclusion in Contemporary India; 2. Religious Identities and Dalits; 3. Ethnicity and Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion in the North-eastern Frontier - the book shows that a shift has taken place in the discourse on inclusion and exclusion. Chapters by experts in their fields explore issues of inclusion and exclusion that merit special attention such as dalit identity, ethnicity, territoriality and minorities. Authors raise questions about developmental programmes of the state aimed at making India more inclusive and discuss development projects initiated to alleviate socio-economic conditions of the urban poor in the cities. As far as North-east region is concerned, the authors argue that there is a tendency to highlight the homogenizing nature of the Indian culture by stressing one history, one language, one social ethos. Diversity is hardly accepted as a social reality, which has adversely affected the inclusive nature of the state. Against this development the final part of the book looks at questions regarding ethnic minorities in the northeast. Offering new insights into the debate surrounding social exclusion in contemporary India, this book will be of interest to academics studying anthropology, sociology, politics and South Asian Studies.

The report's main objective is to track development outcomes for three select groups - scheduled tribes (STs), scheduled castes (SCs), and women - that have traditionally faced exclusion in India. It asks the question: how did these groups fare over a period of rapid growth in India, primarily in the nineties; and were they able to break through the historically grounded inequalities that have kept entire generations among them trapped or did traps trump opportunities? It focuses on exclusion along three spheres - services, markets, and voice and agency. Within these too, the attempt is to highlight a few select issues that offer new insights. The report draws both on national data (national sample surveys (NSS) and national family health surveys (NFHS)) as well as qualitative work for its evidence, relying more on the latter to probe heterogeneity within states and groups and incipient processes that result in exclusion.