Social Exclusion and Poverty: some key interlinkages
S. Venkatesan
The concept of Social Exclusion, generally in development literature, has been defined as an inability to choose (lack of capability) to fully participate in development of a society. Further, it has been established that the exclusion process embedded with social structure or social institutions and its relations to people’s capability. In India, the process revolve through in which some sections of population (typically Dalits Adivasis, Women and Minorities) fall victims of social institutions – by caste, by sex, by ethnicity and by religious minorities etc – forced to be isolate, face discriminate, and deprived of equal access to social and economic opportunities. As result, it causes social exclusion and poverty. Therefore, in Indian context, the core features of social exclusion is the denial of equal opportunities imposed by certain groups of society up on others which leads to inability of an individual to participate in the basic political, economic and social functioning of the society.
Two defining characteristics of exclusion are particularly relevant, namely, the deprivation caused through exclusion (or denial of equal opportunity) in multiples spheres –showing its multidimensionality. Second feature is that, it is embedded in the societal relations, and societal institutions - the process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the society in which they live (Arjan Hann 1997).
It recognizes the diverse ways in which social exclusion can cause deprivation and poverty. Consequences of exclusion thus, depend crucially on the functioning of social institutions, and the degree to which they are exclusionary and discriminatory in their consequences. Social exclusion has sizable impact on an individual’s access to equal opportunity if social interactions occurs between groups in power/subordinate relationship .The groups focus thus recognized the importance of social relations in the analysis of poverty and inequality. (Mayra Buvinic 2005).
Amartya Sen draws attention to various meanings and dimensions of the concept of social exclusion (Sen 2000). Distinctions is drawn between the situation where some people are being kept out (at least left out), and where some people are being included (may even be forced to be included)- in deeply unfavorable terms, and described the two situations as “unfavorable exclusion” and “unfavorable inclusion.” The “unfavorable inclusion”, with unequal treatment may carry the same adverse effects as “unfavorable exclusion”. Sen also differentiated between “active and passive exclusion”. For the casual analysis, and policy response, Sen argued that “it is important to distinguish between “active exclusion” - fostering of exclusion through the deliberate policy interventions by the government, or by any other willful agents (to exclude some people from some opportunity), and “passive exclusion”, which works through the social process in which there are no deliberate attempts to exclude, but nevertheless, may results in exclusion from a set of circumstances.
Sen further distinguishes the “constitutive relevance” of exclusion, from that of “instrumental importance”. In the former, exclusion or deprivation have an intrinsic importance of their own. For instance, not bring able to relate to others and to take part in the life of the community can directly impoverish a person’s life, in addition to the further deprivation it may generate.
This is different from social exclusion of “instrumental importance”, in which the exclusion in itself, is not impoverishing, but can lead to impoverishment of human life. Further elaboration of the concepts of exclusion or discrimination has come from the mainstream economics in the context of race and gender. The mainstream economic literature throws more light on discrimination that works through markets, and developed the concept of market discrimination with some analytical clarity. In the market discrimination framework, exclusion may operate through restrictions on the entry in market, and/or through “selective inclusion”, but with an unequal treatment in market and non-market transactions (this is close to the Sen’s concept of unfavorable inclusion). These developments in social science literature indeed enable to comprehend the meanings and manifestations of the concept of social exclusion, and its applicability to caste and ethnicity-based exclusion in India. The manner in which it has been developed in social science literature, the concept of social exclusion, thus, essentially refers to the processes through which groups are wholly, or partially, excluded from full participation in the society in which they live. It emphasizes on two crucial dimensions involving the notion of exclusion, namely the “societal institutions” (of exclusion), and their “outcome” (in terms of deprivation).
In order to understand the dimensions of exclusion, it is necessary to understand the societal interrelations and institutions, which lead to exclusion of certain groups and deprivation in multiple spheres- civil, cultural, political, and economic . Thus, for a broader understanding of the concept of exclusion, the insights in to the societal process, and institutions of exclusions are as important as the outcome in terms of deprivation for certain groups. The exclusion could also manifest itself in diverse ways in terms of “causes and outcomes”. Sen therefore refers to various meanings and manifestations of social exclusion, particularly, with respect to the causes or the processes of discrimination and deprivation in a given society. Exclusion could occur through direct exclusion, violating fair norms of exclusion (that is unfavorable exclusion), or through inclusion, but under unfavorable conditions, again violating fair norms of inclusion (that is unfavorable inclusion), or through deliberate government policies (that is active exclusion), and through unintended attempts and
circumstances (passive exclusion), or exclusion caused through inability of some persons to relates to other persons (constitutive relevance). The mainstream economists have further elaborated the concept of discrimination that operates particularly through markets.
Concept of Caste Exclusion and Discrimination
In India, exclusion revolves around the societal interrelations and institutions that exclude, discriminate, isolate, and deprive some groups on the basis of group’s identities like caste and ethnicity. The nature of exclusion revolving around the caste system particularly needs to be understood and conceptualized. It is the caste-based exclusion, which has formed the basis for various anti-discriminatory policies in India. Historically, the caste system has regulated the social and economic life of the people in India.
Theoretical formulations by economists recognized that in its essential form, caste as a system of social and economic governance or organization (of production and distribution) is governed by certain customary rules and norms, which are unique and distinct (Akerlof 1976, Scoville 1991, Lal 1988, Ambedkar 1936 and 1987).The organizational scheme of the caste system is based on the division of people in social groups (or castes) in which the civil, cultural, and economic rights of each individual caste are pre-determined or ascribed by birth and made hereditary. The assignment of civil, cultural, and economic rights is therefore, unequal and hierarchal. The most important feature of the caste system, however is that it provides for a regulatory mechanism to enforce the social and economic organization through the instruments of social ostracism (or social and economic penalties), and reinforces it further with the justification and support from the philosophical elements in the Hindu religion (Lal 1988, Ambedkar 1936 and 1987).
The caste system’s fundamental characteristics of fixed civil, cultural, and economic rights for each caste, with restrictions for change implies “forced exclusion” of one caste from the rights of other caste, or from undertaking the occupations of other castes. Exclusion and discrimination in civil, cultural, and particularly in economic spheres such as occupation and labour employment, is therefore, internal to the system, and a necessary outcome of its governing principles . In the market economy framework, the occupational immobility would operate through restrictions in various markets such as land, labour, credit, other inputs, and services necessary for any economic activity. Labour being an integral part of the production process of
any economic activity, would obviously become a part of market discrimination.
This theorization implies that the caste system involves the negation of not only equality and freedom, but also of the basic human rights, particularly of the low castes untouchables which become an impediment for personal development . The principles of equality and freedom are not the governing principles of the caste system. This is because the underlying principles of the caste system assume particular notions of "human rights”. Unlike many other human societies, the caste system does not recognize the individual and his/her distinctiveness as the center of the social purpose. In fact, for the purpose of rights and duties, the unit of the Hindu
society is not an individual (even the family is not regarded as a unit in the Hindu society, except for the purposes of marriages and inheritance). The primary unit in the Hindu society is caste, and hence, the rights and privileges (or the lack of them) of individual are on account of him/her being a member of a particular caste (Ambedkar first published in 1987). Also, due to differential ranking, and the hierarchical nature of the caste system, the entitlements to various rights become narrower and narrower as one goes down in hierarchical ladder in the caste system. Various castes get artfully interlined and coupled with each other (in their rights and
duties), in a manner such that the rights and privileges of the higher castes become the causative reasons for the disadvantage and disability for the lower castes, particularly the untouchables. In this sense, as Ambedkar observed, a caste does not exist in a single number, but only in plural. Castes exist as a system of endogenous groups, which are interlinked with each other in unequal measure of rights and relations in all walks of life. Castes at the top of the order enjoy more rights, at the expense of those located at the bottom. Therefore, the untouchables located at the bottom of the caste hierarchy have much less economic and social rights.
Since the civil, cultural, and economic rights (particularly with respect to occupation and property rights) of each caste are ascribed, and are compulsory, the institution of caste necessarily involves forced exclusion of one caste from rights of another. The unequal and hierarchal assignment of economic and social rights by ascription, obviously restricts the freedom of occupation and the human development.
Forms of Caste Exclusions and Discriminations
The practice of caste-based exclusion and discrimination thus, necessarily involves failure of access and entitlements, not only to economic rights, but also to civil, cultural and political rights. It involves what has been described as “living mode exclusion”, exclusion in political participation, and exclusion and disadvantage in social and economic opportunities (Minorities at Risk, UNDP HDR 2004). The caste /untouchablity and ethnicity based exclusion thus reflect in inability of individuals and groups like former untouchables ,adiwasi and other similar groups to interact freely and productively with others and to take part in the full economic, social, and political life of a community ( Bhalla and Lapeyere 1997).Incomplete citizenship or denial of civil rights(freedom of expression, rule of law, right to justice),political rights ( right and means to participate in the exercise of political power),and socioeconomic rights( economic security and equality of opportunities) are key dimensions of impoverished live (Jonas Zoninsein,2005).
In the light of the above, the caste and untouchability-based exclusion and discrimination can be categorized in the economic, civil, cultural, and political spheres as follows:
(1) The exclusion and the denial of equal opportunity in economic spheres would necessarily operate through markets and non- market transactions and exchange. Firstly, exclusion can be practiced through the denial in labour market in hiring for jobs; in capital market through the denial of access to capital; in agriculture land market through the denial in sale and purchase or leasing of land; in input market through the denial in sale and purchase of factor inputs; and in consumer market through the denial in sale and purchase of commodities and consumer goods;
(2) Secondly, discrimination can occur through what Amartya Sen would describe as “unfavorable inclusion”, namely through differential treatment in terms and condition of contract, one of them would reflect in discrimination in the prices charged and received by discriminated groups. This can be inclusive of the price of factor inputs, and consumers goods, price of factors of productions such as wages for labour, price of land or rent on land, interest on capital, rent on residential houses, charges or fees on services such as water, and electricity. Discriminated groups can get lower prices for the goods that they sell, and could pay higher prices for the goods that they buy, as compared with the market price or the price paid by other groups;
(3) Thirdly, exclusion and discrimination can occur in terms of access to social needs supplied by the government or public institutions, or by private institutions in education, housing, and health, including common property resources like water bodies, grazing land, and other land of common use; and Fourthly, a groups (particularly the untouchables) may face exclusion and discrimination from participation in certain categories of jobs (the sweeper being excluded from inside household jobs), because of the notion of purity and pollution of occupations, and engagements in so-called unclean occupations.
(4) In the civil and cultural spheres, the untouchables may face discrimination and exclusion in the use of public services like public roads, temples, water bodies, and institutions delivering services like education, health and other public services. In the political spheres, the untouchables can face discrimination in use of political rights, and in participation in decision- making process.
(5) Due to the physical (or residential) segregation, and social exclusion on account of the notion of untouchability (or touch-me-not-sum), they can suffer from a general societal exclusion.
This overview of the development of the concept of the “exclusion” in general, and that of caste untouchability based exclusion and discrimination in particular, brings out various dimensions of the concept in terms of its nature, forms, and consequences. The caste and untouchability based exclusion and discrimination, essentially is “structural in nature”, and comprehensive and multiple in coverage, and involve denial of equal opportunities, particularly to the excluded groups like former untouchables.