Economic Growth And Social Justice In India: Does Rapid Economic Growth Truly Reflect Justice For Dalits?
Swetangi Ranjan, WBNUJS, Kolkata.
ABSTRACT
In this era of Globalization, economic growth is seen as the very primary indicator of a Country’s growth and development. India’s post-liberalization economic growth has been celebrated at the global level because of increasing upward ascent and rapid growth and integration into the global economy. Still, beneath the aggregate success stories of India, now the country having one of the largest GDP, lies a persistent question: does this growth reinforce or dismantle deeply rooted caste hierarchies, particularly for Dalits, who have historically occupied, the lowest levels of India’s socio- economic order? This study critically examines this growth model of India from the perspective of two theoretical approaches of John Rawls Difference principle and Amartya Sen’s Capability approach. Through this dual lens, this paper would examine whether India’s constant rise in GDP making it 4th largest economy in the world has advanced distributive justice and equity for historically marginalized communities.
The study advocates that while India’s economic growth has generated many new opportunities in various sectors, both domestic and at global level, yet the benefits are unequally distributed due to caste based exclusions embedded in labour markets. Growth, when calculated in an aggregate fashion, reinforces perpetuating historical injustices rather than eradicating them. Ultimately, the paper aims to find an answer to a normative question of justice: Can economic growth be just if it systematically sidelines the freedoms and wellbeing of Dalits, which form a considerable part of Indian Society?
