Caste as Structure: Identity and Oppression in Indian Social Work

Abstract

This chapter critically engages with the foundational assumptions of social work practice in India by foregrounding caste as a structural determinant of oppression and inequality. While mainstream social work often emphasize individual-level change and psychosocial support, such approaches often risk obscuring the deep-rooted structural realities that shape marginalized lives particularly those of Dalit and Adivasi communities. Drawing from the principles of structural social work and rooted in the lived experiences of caste-based discrimination and exclusion, this chapter discusses how caste operates not merely as a cultural or social identity, but as a system of organized disadvantage embedded in institutions, policies and everyday interactions. Through a review of existing academic literature and critical theoretical insights, the chapter argues for a reorientation of Indian social work that acknowledges and confronts caste-based hierarchies. It calls for a shift from charity-based or welfare models to a rights-based, antioppressive framework that centers social justice.