Social Exclusion, Marginalization and Deprivation : The other side of Well Being

The current paper explores the dynamics of social exclusion and marginalization in violent and non-violent areas of Bihar. This paper is extracted from a small portion of data collected for ICSSR project “The Shared Spaces: Exploring the Boundaries, Barriers and Bridges in Contemporary India”. Interviews of 65 participants belonging to violent and non-violent areas of Bihar were analyzed. 35 participants belonged to Aarah city and Bahiyara village, which are non-violent regions, and other 30 participants were residents of three villages i.e. Ekwari, Kurmuri and Sahar, which have faced severe violence in the past two decades. Participants were mostly Hindu males and belonged to general and reserved category groups. Interviews were subjected to thematic analysis and various themes were extracted which focused on the implications of social exclusion, marginalization and deprivation on the psychological well-being of the participants. Results indicated that social exclusion and marginalization might also act to the advantage of Reserved Category groups. Caste as a group brings in the sense of belongingness and provides a thrust for identity construction. The findings are discussed in the light of current theorization in the area. Intervening measures suggested by the participants to cope with the distress has also been discussed later.

Keywords:
Social Exclusion, Marginalization, Deprivation, Psychological Well being, Disadvantaged, General Category, Reserved Category, Caste Groups, Exploitation, Subjugation