This Book Investigates The Relative Impacts Of Changing Educational And Occupational Levels On The Life-Pattern Of The Scheduled Castes. It Highlights, On The One Hand, The Effectiveness Of Developmental Measures Taken So Far And Exposes The Shortcomings Of Operative Mechanisms, On The Other. This Is A Well-Presented Piece Of Research Work Giving Extremely Useful Data, Analyzed In A Proper And Systematic Manner. Students Of Sociology And Decision-Makers At All Levels Will Find This Study Both Enlightening And Thought-Provoking.

With particular focus on the Hindu caste system, this book represents a comprehensive analysis of the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination in international law. It evaluates the strategies that have informed the work of the United Nations in this area, mapping a new path that moves from standard-setting to implementation. Combining legal analysis with the meaning and origin of caste, it explores the remedies human rights law can propose towards the prohibition of caste-based discrimination, and the abolition of the caste system itself. The book provides a benchmark on the achievements of the international community in combating all forms of racial discrimination, and the policies that must inform future measures. With its clear and accessible style this volume will be of interest to scholars of law and human rights, as well as policy-makers and practitioners working in this area.

The experience of shifting from one social class to another—from a dominated group to a dominant group—raises the question of how the upwardly mobile person relates to his/her group of origin. Stepping into the Elite traces the particular ways in which upwardly mobile people in India, France, and the United States—countries embodying three distinct stratification systems—make sense of this change. Given that people draw upon specific cultural tools or repertoires to analyse their world and situate themselves in it, Naudet identifies the extent to which narratives of ‘success’ vary from one country to another. For instance, he explains that while stories in a caste-ridden society such as India hinge on the preservation of bonds with the original class, in France, they are centered on the idea that an upwardly mobile person is alienated from all social groups. In the United States, on the other hand, the rhetoric of success is tinged by the ardent belief in the American society being classless. A sociological journey in three different cultural contexts, this book deftly ties the exploration of questions regarding transformation of social identity and views on being successful.

Some articles presented at the Seminar on Status of Dalits in Contemporary India, held in Mussoorie in March 1994 and others written for this book. .

This edited volume focuses on the impact of education among different social groups in different geographical areas of South Asia. The chapters illustrate the effects of formal education on castes ranging from Dalits to Brahmins, Buddhists, and Christians, even as they consider a range of topics such as the relevance of practical knowledge prior to formal teaching, the personal educational experiences of young women, missionary education, curriculum, and the challenges and benefits of Information Technology. The geographical areas range from Sri Lanka and Nepal to various Indian states, including Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Maharastra, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

The book is an outcome of a report of a major research project sponsored by UGC, New Delhi; entitled "A study of scheduled castes in two districts of rural Rajasthan" which was submitted by the author in March, 1995. It deals with the various dimensions of social change which are largely affected by occuptional mobility and/or continuity in the people of two major categories, viz .leatherworking and scavenging.