Social Exclusion of Musahars in Uttar Pradesh: An Overview

Abstract

Belonging to the Scheduled Caste, the Musahar community in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh is socially, politically and economically one of the most marginalised and poorest community. People from the Musahar community are generally landless and deprived of owning property in village. They historically and (predominantly) survived on agricultural labour at the farms owned by the landowners in the villages and considered to be landless labourers even till date. Considering such an exclusion situation of the Musahars, this paper argues about the imperceptible post-independence development that has occurred in the lives of the Musahars of Uttar Pradesh through a comprehensive review in contemporary manner. This article attempts to highlight not only the knowledge about the Musahars of Uttar Pradesh but also helps to understand the essential measures required to improve their socio-economic conditions. This has been done through challenging the statusquo persisted with regard to the community and an attempt has been made to suggest alternatives to their plight.