Untouchability in 21st Century India

This book examines caste-based discrimination through the practice of manual scavenging and exclusion in higher educational institutions in India. It shows how untouchability operates in the form of manual scavenging and in higher educational institutions from a legal lens with an international human rights law perspective. Drawing on empirical data, it examines legislation, governmental schemes, institutional mechanisms, policies, and case law on affirmative action enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of law and human rights, sociology and South Asian studies. It will also be useful for policymakers.