Changing Lives of Dalits, the Musahar’s Community in Madhepura, Bihar: Socio-economic Observation in Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Musahar is an extremely backward community in Bihar. Since 2007, the Nitish Kumar-led government has announced the Mahadalit Vikas Mission for the development of the marginalized among Dalits. The study addressed the research question whether the Mahadalit Vikas Mission has been able to provide economic development as well as the removal of the discriminatory practices against the Dalits in Bihar. Therefore, the study aims to review the Mahadalit Vikas Mission in terms of providing social and economic support to the extremely backward communities of Bihar. The results reveal that of the multiple schemes introduced under the vision of Mahadalit Vikas Mission, only some have proved to be useful for the Musahars; moreover, no scheme was reported to have succeeded in removing the discrimination based on caste. Majority of the advantages of the scheme did not reach the Musahars.