Abstract

The question of caste and social justice remains one of the most persistent and transformative themes in modern Indian social science discourse. Despite constitutional guarantees of equality legal abolition of untouchability and a comprehensive framework of affirmative action policies caste continues to shape patterns of social mobility access to resources political participation and identity formation in contemporary India. This research paper examines the dual processes of continuity and change in caste structures within the context of modern democratic governance economic liberalization urbanization and globalization. It critically analyzes how caste has shifted from a rigid hereditary system of stratification rooted in ritual hierarchy to a dynamic socio-political category that influences electoral politics public policy and claims to distributive justice. The study also investigates the role of constitutional provisions judicial interpretations social movements and state-led welfa