Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2014
Summary
What are now covered under social exclusion, such as poverty, discrimination, deprivation, denial, and so on, have been the subject of investigation for long. There are two distinct and significant issues to be considered for reflection in the case of wide acceptance of the concept of social exclusion in recent times. First, it takes cognizance of certain social and cultural bases in the creation of the condition of deprivation or discrimination in the politico-economic sphere. Secondly, the usage of the concept of exclusion is more inclusive than any other competing concepts of discrimination or deprivation, though these concepts are used to denote it. It is, therefore, important to understand that when we venture into the exercise of conceptualizing exclusion, we come across different shades of its interpretations, though semantically it seems quite simplistic. Farrington (2009, 9) is of the view that
Social exclusion is a useful way of perceiving multiple-disadvantage, however, it must be defined and dealt with in way that identifies difference. The key to the problem of social exclusion lies in the construction of an appropriate definition, which distinguishes societal differences and which does not exacerbate the problems experienced by those excluded from society. Any definition must merely be one of best-fit, which reflects the social, economic and political reality of the state.
The concept of social exclusion has multiple dimensions and could be understood as a structural feature, a dynamic process and a normative institutional practice.
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- Mapping Social Exclusion in IndiaCaste, Religion and Borderlands, pp. 1 - 20Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014