Tokenism or Empowerment? A Comparative Analysis of Public Policies and Institutions of Disadvantaged Communities in India

Discrimination, exclusion and social inequality of disadvantaged groups are a larger problem in overwhelmingly diverse societies. In India, the state has created a web of institutions for the implementation of policies with regard to the groups.This paper examines two such public institutions: the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and seeks to assess the differential approach of the Indian state to the disadvantaged communities and how this might impact on the working of institutions that aim directly, or indirectly, to address social inequality.