January - March 2013 - National Institute of Rural Development

48 Shyam Singhinequality, there have been continuous effortsto eliminate inequalities, both social andeconomic.Welfare state in India is well guided bythe empowerment of the marginalised groupswhich became an important and prioritisedagenda of various governments in India. TheIndian Constitution reflects the commitmentand the priority of India to establish necessaryprovisions for the upliftment of socially andeconomically deprived sections of the society.The nature of welfare state in India is notvalidated only because the country has a hugechunk of poor population but it involves majorquestion of social inequalities which areinherited in Indian culture. People are notempowered because they are sociallydiscriminated. Since social hierarchy in Indiais not separate from the economic hierarchy,people, who are enjoying higher social statusalso belong to economically well-off sectionof the society.Therefore, unless social discrimination isaddressed in the country, economicdiscrimination cannot be eliminated; andhence, the very agenda of empowering themarginalised people remains unfulfilled. India,as being secular state, cannot disrupt thereligious traditions which determinesubstantial part of existing social relations inIndia. Therefore, only option that is left beforethe Indian state is to address the issue ofempowerment of marginalised groupsthrough adopting policies and programmesthat deliver economic benefits to these groups.But, the major question arises that whetherIndian state has been able to achieve the goalof social equality while delivering economicbenefits.The assumption that this paper adopts inthe view of above given argument is thatpolicies that are targeting the economicempowerment alter into the socialempowerment of the marginalised groupswhich should necessarily reflect upon thechanges in traditional social structure andpractices. This paper analyses implementationof these policies and programmes in sixvillages in Uttar Pradesh. Methodologically, thepaper is based on the primary survey andobservation. Information is collected throughstructured and unstructured interviews withthe beneficiaries of the policies andprogrammes related to social welfare andsecurity.Data and Information are also collectedthrough non-participatory observation of theauthor while staying in the villages during thefieldwork. First section discusses the nature ofpolicies and programmes that are beingimplemented at the ground in response toimprove economic and social conditions of thesocially and economically deprived sectionsof the society. This section reflects how thesepolicies are targeting at social and economicinequalities in UP. Second section looks intothe responses from targeted sectionsanalysing whether these policies andprogrammes are delivering what they areexpected to deliver. Third section analyseswhether these policies and programmes havebeen able to bring economic and socialempowerment to the targeted sections.Policy Responses to the Empowerment ofMarginalised GroupsThe policy responses from the nationaland state governments to address the issue ofmarginalisation have mainly been evolvedaround the ‘economic empowerment’. Eventhough, there are certain schemes andprogrammes that aim to promote humandevelopment status, these schemes offercontingencies rather than focusing on buildingsustainable human development. Since, InIndia, number of casual labour force is high,first priority of the government has been tofeed these people through immediateJournal of Rural Development, Vol. 32, No. 1, January - March : 2013JRD 2 (1)