Can Law Overcome Social Exclusion of Dalit Communities at village level? Two villages of Uttar Pradesh, India

This study is concerned with the effectiveness of progressive laws in promoting the livelihood and personal securities of the Dalit community in villages in India. Using a social exclusion framework to identify the forms of discrimination and disadvantage experienced by the Dalits, field research was conducted in two villages in the Etah District of Uttar Pradesh, a context associated with a high population of Dalits with tensions between them and the dominant castes. Both these villages have similar socio-economic characteristics; however, while the village of Nagla Bakhti is a “common” or „typical‟ village Barai Kalyanpur had been identified by the State Government as an Ambedkar village and associated therefore with special welfare and other programmes to better the situation of the Dalits. Such comparative analyses reflect the usefulness of progressive laws and special programmes, while at the same time, providing an understanding of the ways in which the Dalits themselves challenge the status quo as a consequence of these interventions. The study shows that while the laws passed at the Central level have progressive characteristics, their influence in promoting the livelihood and personal security of the Dalit communities in both villages is limited. The various arms of the state (government officials, police, judiciary etc) in both villages continue to support the vested interests at the village level. This means in reality, the perpetuation of the traditional caste-dominated patterns of control and violence and continued livelihood and personal insecurity on the part of the Dalits. The situation of Dalit women is often worse than that of their men, as existing patriarchal norms and practices place them in a subordinate position. The study shows that in spite of the formal increase in electoral strength, there continues to be a deficit with regard to deep democracy for the Dalit communities in the villages. Thus study underscores the need for a political response on Dalit security in villages and suggests power to people as the key for political persuasion.