Development of the Scheduled Castes: A Systemic View

I am grateful to the organisers of this seminar for inviting me to participate in the seminar and give the keynote address. I intend to share with you the perceptions I have on the theme of changing development status of the scheduled castes and the prospects in this respect in the coming years. As constituents of a developing society, the scheduled castes suffer from the double handicap of low social status coupled with low occupational status. The low social status has been an outcome of their exposure over a historical past to domination by the mainstream castes - particularly by the rural landowning elites - in the economic and social spheres.