Challenges Faced by Scheduled Castes in India & Government Empowerment Initiatives

Explore key issues faced by Scheduled Castes in India, including caste discrimination, poverty, and violence. Learn about major government initiatives for their socio-economic upliftment, education, employment, and legal protection.

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Scheduled Castes (SCs), historically marginalized under India's rigid caste system, continue to face deep-rooted social and economic challenges. Despite constitutional safeguards, issues like discrimination, poverty, and limited access to education and justice persist.

Issues Faced by Scheduled Castes

Caste-based discrimination: Dalits continue to face caste-based discrimination and social exclusion.
Economic marginalization: Scheduled Castes have historically been economically marginalized, with limited access to resources, education, and employment opportunities. Poverty, unequal land distribution, and lack of access to credit and markets contribute to their economic disadvantages.
Education disparities: Educational disparities persist among Scheduled Castes, with lower enrolment rates, high dropout rates, and limited access to quality education.
Violence and atrocities: Dalits face violence and atrocities, including physical and sexual abuse, harassment, and discrimination.
Limited political representation: Despite constitutional provisions for reservation of seats in legislatures, Scheduled Castes often face challenges in accessing political representation.
Landlessness and land rights: Many Dalit families are landless or have limited access to land. Landlessness contributes to their economic vulnerability and perpetuates social inequalities.
Limited access to healthcare: Dalits often have limited access to quality healthcare services, resulting in health disparities and higher morbidity and mortality rates.
Manual scavenging: Manual scavenging, a dehumanizing practice involving the cleaning of human waste, predominantly affects Dalit women. Despite legal prohibitions, manual scavenging persists in some parts of the country, exposing Dalits to health hazards and perpetuating their marginalization.
Social stigma and identity-based violence: Dalits face social stigma and derogatory stereotypes, which further marginalize and dehumanize them.
Limited access to justice: Dalits often encounters challenges in accessing justice, including delays, biased law enforcement, and inadequate legal support., and obtaining justice for caste-based crimes and atrocities.

Steps taken by Government for Empowerment of Scheduled Castes

Initiative	Objective
Educational
Upgradation of Merit of SC Students	Provide facilities for education in residential/non-residential schools for SC students
Dr Ambedkar Foundation	Promote Dr Ambedkar's ideology and administer schemes emerging from Centenary Celebration
Post Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students (PMS-SC)	Empower SC students through education as the largest intervention by the central government
Pre-Matric Scholarships to SC students	Support parents of SC children in educating their wards to minimize dropouts
Dr Ambedkar National Centre at Janpath	Establish a world-class library and e-learning centre
Scholarships for higher education and coaching	Multiple schemes for SC students, including fellowships and overseas study
Social
The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955	Enacted to prevent untouchability and promote civil rights
SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989	Provide financial assistance to states/UTs for implementing these acts
Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013	Promote eradication of dry latrines, manual scavenging, and rehabilitation of manual scavengers
Economic
National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC)	Finance income-generating activities of SCs below the poverty line limits
National Safai Karmachari Finance and Development Council (NSKFDC)	Provide credit facilities to Safai Karmacharis, manual scavengers, and their dependents
Babu Jagjivan Ram Chatrawas Yojana	Construction of hostels for SC students under the PM Anusuchit Jati Abhyuday Yojana
Self-employment scheme for Rehab of Manual Scavengers	Support self-employment opportunities for rehabilitating manual scavengers
Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for SC	Provide credit guarantee facility to young and start-up entrepreneurs belonging to the SC community
PM-DAKSH	Provide long and short-term skills training to target youth
PM AJAY	Merger of centrally sponsored schemes: Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP) and Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY)

Conclusion

Addressing the issues requires a multi-dimensional approach, including effective law enforcement, intelligence gathering, community engagement, socio-economic development, political stability, diplomatic efforts, and international cooperation in combating transnational threats.

Challenges Faced by Scheduled Castes in India & Government Empowerment Initiatives FAQs

They face caste-based discrimination, economic marginalization, limited education, violence, and social exclusion.

It is a law to prevent crimes and atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and ensure justice.

Key schemes include Post Matric Scholarship, Pre-Matric Scholarship, and overseas study fellowships.

Manual scavenging involves cleaning human waste, mainly done by Dalits despite being legally banned.

PM-DAKSH is a government scheme to provide skill training to youth from SC communities to enhance employability.

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Challenges Faced by Scheduled Castes in India & Government Empowerment Initiatives

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Issues Faced by Scheduled Castes

Steps taken by Government for Empowerment of Scheduled Castes

Conclusion