Hegade, Sandeep and   Andalgavkarkulkarni, Yogini <br/><br/>
Missing in policy: Caste and functional exclusion in rural infrastructure development 

 - Economic & Political Weekly  
 - 60(36), Sep 6, 2025: p.16-18 
<br/><br/> Infrastructure, especially in the rural areas, is not caste-neutral. Caste hierarchies mediate access to and benefits of rural infrastructure in Maharashtra. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two villages, the article reveals that Scheduled Caste settlements, though not always spatially excluded, face functional exclusion due to limited capital and institutional influence. Challenging the fiction of caste-neutral development, the article argues for embedding caste as a central analytic in infrastructure and policy design to ensure equitable and socially just outcomes.- Reproduced <br/><br/><br/>https://www.epw.in/journal/2025/36/commentary/missing-policy.html<br/>