Abstract

Education has long been regarded as the most powerful instrument of social transformation and upward mobility particularly in stratified societies where birth-based hierarchies and structural disadvantages restrict individual advancement. In rural India where nearly two-thirds of the population continues to reside educational access and outcomes remain deeply unequal across lines of caste class gender region and digital connectivity. This research paper examines the multidimensional nature of educational inequality in rural India and analyses its impact on patterns of social mobility across generations. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives of social stratification human capital formation cultural capital and capability approach the study situates rural educational disparity within broader socio-economic and institutional frameworks. The paper argues that while state-led expansion of schooling infrastructure affirmative action policies and flagship programs such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiya