Social Exclusion in Indian Labour Market Bharti Nisha1,* 1M.Phil Scholar, School of Management and Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai) *Email: nisha.bharti0711@gmail.com
Abstract Social exclusion is a useful concept as it helps in understanding the pathologies of the capitalist system. It can also be used to explain how the capitalist production system reproduces discrimination, inequality and vulnerability that affect the vast mass of toiling classes. In Indian conditions, these toiling masses predominantly belong to the SCs, STs, OBCs and Muslims. The concept can be successfully used to understand and analyse the Indian Labour Market. The secondary social position of these groups and their class position in the labour market greatly resemble. The discrimination against these groups can take multiple forms such as wage differentials, non-accessibility to preferred jobs, job insecurity, higher child work participation, compulsion to adopt menial works, etc. The labour market, therefore, can also be understood as segmented where labourers can be classified based on certain attributes such as religion, caste, tribe, gender, class, occupation, initial endowments, educational background, etc.This paper tries to explore how social exclusion affects the labour market in India. It is based on secondary data, mainly from the various rounds of NSS. It compares social groups based on caste, class, tribe, religion, etc., on various indicators of outcomes in the labour market and tries to delineate emerging patterns. It tries to answer questions such as why certain groups are paid less than others or why they have less access to preferred jobs. It also tries to explore various factors that contribute in exacerbating social exclusion. Top Keywords Exclusion, Informal Labour Market, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Muslims, Social Exclusion, India. Top |