The Social Inclusion In Independent India

One of the most daunting challenges that India faces today is the inequality and social exclusion. It has led many to feel desolate from the state and the result could well be disastrous in the long term.

The Launch of the book

Taking the above situation into account,Prof. T. K. Oommen launched his book on 15th January 2014. Present at the launchwere Professor TrilokiNath Madan, Professor Emeritus in Sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth Delhi and Satish Deshpande, Professor, Department of Sociology at Delhi School of Economics. The book deals with the nature and types of exclusion and it then goes onto suggest for conscious policy engagement with social inclusion.

Satish Deshpande

The book presents an extensive analysis of social exclusion and inclusive policies with reference to nine socially excluded categories in India i.e.Dalits, Aadivasis, OBCs, religious and linguistic minorities, women, migrants, the poor and the disabled. Prof. T. K. Oommen makes a case for category wise inclusion policy and securing social, economic and political justice. And for equality of status and opportunity for all those groups and individuals who are at the margins of society. He believes his efforts will not only strengthen affirmative action policies but also go a long way in sensitising its readers about the challenges that lie ahead to establish a welfare state in India.

T.N. Madan while introducing the book

Prof. T. N. Madan, while launching the book, shared a few words. He said that he had knownProf.Oommen for almost four decades and has known him as a great man. He has known him to be very committed to his work and has played many roles in life. He said that the book addresses the problem of ‘We’ and ‘They’. ‘We’ are normal ‘They’ are not. ‘We’ are patriotic, ‘They’ are not. And in that sense, the book is an extremely timely book. It is a book which is rich in data. He said, “I think each chapter of the book could have had a separate book on the subject. So it’s a book which is broad in its scope and is analytical.”

T. K. Oommen telling how he came with the book

Prof.Oommen said that it took him about 30 years to come up with this book. The seeds for it came to him somewhere around 1985 when The Indian Sociological Society asked him to write a paper on ‘Ethnicity and Nation Building’. The idea of an ‘Inclusive Society’ became popular in Europe in 1970s but in India, it has picked up the pace more recently.