Seminar by Prof. Thiagu Ranganathan

Topic: Social Mobility of Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Tamil Nadu: A Jati-wise Analysis

Abstract

The topic of economic growth and development in Tamil Nadu has generated widespread debates. Tamil Nadu’s development trajectory has been presented as an economic ‘model’ which is supposed to have combined achieving high economic growth without compromising severely on aspects related to social inclusivity (Kalaiyarasan and Vijayabhaskar, 2021, Krishnan et al., 2022). These claims made regarding the ‘dravidian’ model closely mirror assertions by the state government and its close ideologues and have largely been uncritical of the varied exclusions along caste and gender lines in the state. The contestations to these claims have been clearly articulated by various authors and they argue how Tamil Nadu’s inclusivity has been specific to some of the dominant castes and not necessarily for the scheduled castes in the state (Heyer, 2021; Harriss, 2022; Viswanath, 2023; Geetha, 2024; Raj, 2025 forthcoming). In this background, my paper examines the social mobility of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and others in the state. Using population census for the years 1991 to 2011 and the Consumer Pyramid Household Survey (CPHS) Data of 2023, the paper compares mobility of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and non-SCs in the domain of education and occupation. It also compares variations in education and occupational mobility of jatis within the dalits. While the Census data allows for detailed comparison across jatis within SCs, the CPHS data provides comparison of social mobility across jatis in the Backward Classes (BCs), Most Backward Classes (MBCs), Upper Castes, and SCs. The findings indicate substantial educational mobility of SCs which has not paved the way for social mobility in the domain of occupation. The paper underlines the occupational stickiness and lack of relative mobility of SCs in this context. The paper also emphasizes the need for quality data which could be provided by the caste census for empirical analysis of social mobility.