A comprehensive assessment of the broad issues that underpin social exclusion in India This book posits the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) vis-à-vis their upper-caste Hindu peers and establishes how caste is a lived reality in everyday life in modern India. It explores areas where caste and religious exclusion are most visible, such as human development, inequality, poverty, educational attainments, child malnutrition, health, employment, wages, gender, and access to public goods. With an in- depth theoretical foundation and empirical analysis, it establishes that in each of these sectors, the performance of upper-caste Hindu households is far better compared to that from the SC, ST, and Muslim households.