BR Ambedkar, India's first law minister, had rightfully said, "Caste system is not merely a division of labour. It is also a division of labourers." The one space where Muslim, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes communities find themselves overrepresented is the informal economy which employs over eighty percent of the work force. This implies that the most socially oppressed are, as a majority, doomed to work in the most precarious jobs in the country while decision-making for their communities around resource allocation and policy happens in their absence. There is a need to critically examine how the development sector and the civil society allow systemic inequalities to persist in its design and foundation. The lack of scrutiny has led to the misconception that some uniqueness exists in the sector. Organisations are able to avoid addressing these issues by issuing tired banalities such as "we do not see caste and religion." In reality, this is a refusal to acknowledge their existence, preventing us from imagining a more equal system of relations.
Aiman Haque, ‘Charitable Charade’, Caravan
