Paper short abstract:

The paper is based on assessing the role of AGVY in promoting equity and social justice among the Dalits of selected Ambedkar villages of Sonbhadra District, Uttar Pradesh.

Paper long abstract:

The state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is one of the largest states and also has the highest number of scheduled caste population in the country. The government of UP with its social justice approach has come up with an exemplary development initiative for the upliftment of Dalits called Ambedkar Gram Vikas Yojana (AGVY) by providing them with better infrastructure. This paper focuses on AGVY as a development initiative and explores whether there has been improvement in socio-economic and health status of Dalit women as a result of AGVY. The paper is based on exploring the following questions:

1- What is the socio-economic background of Dalit women in the study area?

2- Has AGVY played any role in promoting equity and social justice? If yes, to what extent?

3- Has AGVY played any positive role in achieving and/or promoting equity in health and education?

The paper is based on a micro level study conducted in two selected Ambedkar villages (by using composite index) of Sonbhadra District, Uttar Pradesh during the year 2010. For the purpose of interview, a total of 90 Dalit Women were selected by purposive sampling. Data was collected by using in-depth interviews, case-studies, group-discussions and observations. The study shows that after the implementation of the AGVY in both the villages, there has been significant improvement in the living condition, communication, electricity, sanitation and education.However, intra caste disparities were observed among the Dalits of selected villages.