Social Condition of Dalit Women in India

Indian population is classified on many bases and these bases decide the social, economic and educational status of the individual, hence there is presence of discrimination in some form or the other in Indian society. Discrimination in many forms has been practiced in India since time immemorial, the abolition of which was one of the dreams of the framers of the Constitution. Discrimination was primarily based on caste and gender and affected the individual’s financial holdings, education and employment opportunities. Educational qualification and financial welfare depended on the caste and gender of the individual. Discrimination on the basis of caste is one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination in India. India is known as the land of villages and this is indeed true because sixty-five percent of its population still lives in villages, as reported by the World Bank’s collection of development indicators, which are officially, recognized Posted in 2018 by Sources. Most of its villager’s population also originated from the rural as they or their ancestors moved to the cities, as per World Bank data in 1960, eighty percent of India’s rural population. Therefore a person’s educational qualification depended on the person’s caste identity as the lower castes were considered petty workers, so no education was required for them, they were also considered untouchables and hence in educational institutions. They were discriminated against. Sitting with upper caste students is not allowed. The quota law in India gives the Scheduled Castes the right to educational institutions, government employment and places in legislatures. While these quotas were acknowledged as a major breakthrough in affirmative action, whether they actually improved the socio-economic conditions of disadvantaged groups is one of the most debated topics in contemporary times. Gender is another basis of discrimination in Indian society.Indian society is patriarchal in nature and hence the role and rights of women are mainly focused on domestic and housekeeping. Traditional Indian families depend on women for their housekeeping. Women had no right to seek education or get jobs outside their homes. Pre-independence Indian society did not give any right on immovable property to women. Hence women were exploited economically and socially as well.