"… provides a much more sophisticated way of looking at different dimensions of inequality than is current in the literature….. [A] veritable goldmine for scholars and practitioners…"

PRATAB BHANU MEHTA   "Introduction"

The poverty of data in India has meant that innumerable government policies —be they anti-poverty or labour—have been structured with inadequate data. Caste in a Different Mould corrects this anomaly as far as caste-based reservation is concerned.

• ST households headed by illiterates earn Rs. 22,456 per annum. Those headed by graduated earn Rs. 85,023. 

• ST household in rural areas earn Rs. 37, 615; those in cities (with more than 1 million people) earn Rs. 85,023. 

• ST households engaged as labourers earn Rs. 24,332; those who are salaried earn Rs. 102,001.

This is the first attempt to use cross-country sample to quantify the impact of education urbanization and occupation on the income levels of different caste groups. Powered by data from country's premier research organization, the National Council of Applied Economic Research this volume goes into uncharted territory opening up new avenues for debate, all with the aim of providing clarity on the vexed issue of caste-based inequality in India.

A must-read for anyone interested in understanding contemporary India.