Dalit empowerment

The article, “ >For a new paradigm of social justice ” (Sept. 1) rightly advocates the widespread economic empowerment of Dalits, particularly through the manufacturing sector. The Modi government should start Dalit banks to lend capital to aspiring Dalit entrepreneurs.

M. Pushpalatha,

Tiruchi

The thrust all these years has been more on employment for Dalits and less on development of skills. It is no surprise then that a large number of Dalits who live in the countryside with very little access to education, have not benefited much. The need of the hour is to enable more Dalits to get diplomas in engineering, access vocational training and entrepreneurship development courses, and get technical and financial assistance for self-employment.

B.R. Chahar,

New Delhi

The fact that Barack Obama is the President of the U.S. does not mean that African-Americans are no longer discriminated against. Similarly, a few well-known Dalit names do not overshadow the exclusion that the community still faces in our country. Developing infrastructure and changing our economic policies are not enough; we also need to incentivise Dalits in a way that helps them develop a sense of social confidence.

Pritha Singh,

New Delhi