Sanjay K. Mohanty – författare

This book examines the socio-economic and demographic conditions of Scheduled Castes (SCs) with religious affiliation to Hinduism, Islam and Christianity —the three major religions in India—using large-scale, population-based, nationally representative survey data. It provides numerical estimates on the population size, distribution, and well-being of SCs across key domains of human development, including economic, education, and health of these religious groups. It describes the socio-political context, the constitutional provision and analyses the large-scale data in context of current debate of extending the reservation and welfare measures to scheduled caste across religion. In six analytical chapters, the book compares these three religious groups using multiple indicators alongside four other non-SC groups. The findings suggest that SCs across the three religious communities are heterogeneous in each domain of human development, showing significant variations in multidimensional poverty. Economically, SCs with religious affiliation to Hinduism are the poorest compared to scheduled caste with religious affiliation to Christianity and Islam. With respect to education, SCs with religious affiliation to Islam fare the worst and the health conditions across these groups show mixed patterns. The book also shows the socio-economic diversity within sub-castes of SCs in selected Indian states. This pioneering work provides evidence-based insights for policy interventions and developmental planning, making it a valuable resource for researchers, academics, policymakers, and social scientists.

This book is the first-ever volume which provides comprehensive information on demographic, health and development at the level of 640 districts in India. Central and state governments, developmental organizations, national and international NGOs and researchers require disaggregated data at the district level for many practical purposes. However, such information is not readily available for use. The editors, with a close-knit group of collaborators, have compiled data from reliable sources for each district of India and present the results in the form of composite indexes. The chapters rank districts within the state and vis-à-vis all districts of India to help readers understand intra-district and inter-district developmental disparities. They present spatial analyses that depict clustering of development. It is a ready reference for planners, researchers and students and provides scientific analyses that depict the clustering of development parameters at the district level.  This volume is meant for a wide readership interested in development in India, across population studies, sociology, economics, statistics, to regional development, and from academics, researchers, and planners to policy makers.