Discussion on socially inclusive policies for communities suffering from exclusion and discrimination on grounds of caste, ethnicity, gender and religious background has revived again. While the first round of debate was associated with the government’s proposal to develop a reservation policy in the private sector for SC/STs, in educational institutions for OBCs, and for women in legislatures, a fresh round of debate has been started by similar demands for Muslims and dalit Christians and follow-up action in the 11th Plan. The question is, why do more and more social groups desire a policy similar to that for dalits and adivasis?

It appears that development in the last 50 years or so has benefited various social groups in an unequal manner and therefore, those who gained only partially from development are now seeking solutions to their group-specific problems. In stages, we began to realise that the exclusionary and discriminatory character of our society is one of the reasons behind this unequal sharing of development gains. However, we are yet to come to terms with this exclusionary nature of our society. Given the fact that a number of groups suffer from this exclusionary process and in different forms, we need to address the problem of multiple exclusion in a holistic manner, by developing an inclusive policy covering all groups facing discrimination like dalits, OBC, adivasis, semi-nomadic and de-notified tribes, Muslims, women, and dalit Christians. To overcome the consequences of discrimination, we need appropriate legal and policy safeguards both in the public and private domain so that growth becomes more inclusive.

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