Questioning the thesis that foreign direct investment in retail will have a favourable effect on the fl edgling class of dalit entrepreneurs in India because processes of capitalist modernisation automatically undermine the significance of social identities like caste, creed and race, this article argues that only a minuscule section of dalits has benefi ted from globalisation while the majority, being "uncompetitive", has been pushed to suffer ontological insecurities and existential uncertainties.

What has been the impact of reservations for women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in panchayati raj institutions? In case the reserved seat is for a woman, it is usually the wife or daughter-in-law of the old sarpanch who is made to sign papers, while the husband or the father-in-law is de facto in control. In the case of reservations for the SC/STs, it is the bonded labourer of the sarpanch who becomes a proxy for his rule.

How the State has responded to the fasts of Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and Medha Patkar and how the media has portrayed them are a study in contrasts and say something about our society.