The concept of social development and empowerment of marginalized groups has acquired new connotations in recent years among social scientists, policy planners, development activists and also politicians in the context of globalization and paradigm shift in the development strategy of the state on one hand, and the resurgence of grassroots mobilization and new collective identity formation of these groups on the other.

Bringing together original contributions from scholars, researchers and social activitists, this volume explores the initiatives, strategies and potential obstacles in the way of social development and empowerment of the marginalized in the current scenario. This volume endeavours to put some crucial issues and perspectives relating to social development and empowerment together, reflecting upon the initiatives of selected scholars.

The concept under discussion in this book, as catchwords of the emergent social development paradigm, have got a special coinage in the vocabulary of the non-governmental organizations' (NGOs) activism, and have received the patronage of various international bodies and donor agencies.

Examining the concept of empowerment in contemporary development discourse, the contributors maintain that the notion of empowerment as something given from above, merely allows the pre-existing power structure to prevail. Further, consequent to globalization and the introduction of free market economics, inequalities and social fragmentation are likely to be aggravated. The dominant model of development planning is criticized for its promotion of capitalism and globalization, as is the failure of constitutional provisions in improving the lives of marginalized sections of society.

In this framework, the contributors contend that there is a need for an alternative model for sustainable, self-reliant and participatory development and the formation of a new collective identity through the civil society and social movements. To illustrate these possibilities, the contributors present various success stories including panchayati raj institutions, workers’ cooperatives, women’s participation in decision making processes, and education through the open-learning system. These examples emphasize the significant role that collective identity formation and collective parti-cipation can play in the empower-ment of the marg-inalized groups.

Finally, the contributors explore the role of constitutional and legislative mea-sures in social development and empowerment. They conclude that there is a pressing need for a separate decentralized scheme for tribal administration, which should be in keeping with the customary laws and systems of traditional community management.