The Scheduled Castes (National Series : People of India, Vol 2) (v. 2)

This exhaustively documented reference, which includes information on all of the Scheduled Castes of India including their 445 segments and 306 territorial units, is the most comprehensive volume of its kind. Based on first-hand surveys and questionnaires, it represents as accurate a list of India's Scheduled Castes as can currently be made. It reveals a highly heterogeneous profile of Scheduled Caste communities, which are spread across the country and have little control over resources such as land, forest, and water. It also shows the persistence of untouchability in many areas, and the variable measures of equality that have been achieved in the struggle for social mobility by the Scheduled Castes. This volume also documents the increasing entrance of Scheduled Castes into modern occupations. As a result, a new sense of self-respect is emerging--replacing some of the old myths which sought to legitimize their degradation.