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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2016/Paper II/Indian Society, Caste & Civilization
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2016 20 Marks Model Answer Available

Exploitation of Scheduled Castes in India — 2016 Paper II

Question · 2016 · Paper II · 20 Marks

Examine the factors responsible for the exploitation of scheduled castes in India.

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

Demand of Question: Explain exploitation as a multidimensional structure linking ritual exclusion, land and labour relations, education, gender, violence and political power, while showing how constitutional safeguards have altered but not eliminated these mechanisms.

Structuring the Response: Define historical basis -> ritual/social exclusion -> economic and labour exploitation -> political/institutional mechanisms -> gender/intersectionality -> law and persistence -> analytical conclusion.

Key Dimensions to Cover: B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste (1936); Article 17; landlessness and bonded/attached labour; occupational stigma; dominant caste and caste-class-power; PCR Act 1955; SC/ST PoA Act 1989; education and representation; Dalit women and intersectionality.

Model Answer

Introduction

Scheduled Caste exploitation is rooted in the historical institution of untouchability but is reproduced through contemporary inequalities in land, labour, education, social status and political power. An anthropological explanation must therefore move beyond ritual discrimination alone.

Body

Ritual exclusion and inherited stigma: B.R. Ambedkar identified caste as a system of ‘graded inequality’ sustained by endogamy and religiously sanctioned separation. Untouchability historically restricted access to temples, wells, common spaces, schooling and dignified occupations. Article 17 constitutionally abolished untouchability, yet practices of residential segregation, commensal exclusion and social boycott persist in some settings.

Land and labour relations: Landlessness and dependence on dominant landholding groups have been major mechanisms of exploitation. Agricultural labour, attached service, debt and historically stigmatized occupations reduced bargaining power. Even when formal jajmani ties decline, unequal access to land, credit, markets and secure employment can reproduce caste-class dependency.

Power and local institutions: M.N. Srinivas’s concept of dominant caste and Andre Beteille’s analysis of caste, class and power help explain why formal equality may coexist with local coercion. Control over panchayats, police access, contractors and local bureaucracy can influence whether discrimination is reported or remedied.

Education, markets and new exclusion: Reservation and schooling have enabled substantial mobility, but first-generation learners may encounter discrimination, weak schooling and network disadvantages. Urban labour markets reduce some traditional barriers while reproducing occupational segmentation and informal exclusion through housing, hiring and social networks.

Violence and assertion: Atrocities often intensify when Dalits challenge land relations, access public resources, form political organizations or reject customary subordination. The problem is thus not simply ‘backward custom’ but conflict over equality and power.

Gendered exploitation: Dalit women may face the intersection of caste, class and patriarchy, including insecure labour and caste-targeted sexual violence. A purely male or household-level analysis therefore misses major dimensions of vulnerability.

Legal change and limits: The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, together with reservations and welfare measures, provide a strong formal framework. Implementation gaps, fear of retaliation, delayed justice and unequal assets, however, limit substantive equality.

Conclusion

Exploitation of Scheduled Castes survives today where ritual hierarchy converges with material dependence and unequal institutional power. Durable change therefore requires not only anti-discrimination law but land and livelihood security, quality education, political voice and effective enforcement of constitutional rights.

2026 What are the major debates related to the concept of jajmani system? 2026 Does caste as a social category exist among the non-Hindu communities in India? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples. 2025 Trace the history and describe the methods of formulating the lists of OBCs, both at the State and National levels. 2025 Caste domination, factionalism and political power

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