Abstract
Caste based discrimination in India continues to deny dignity, equality and access to basic rights for Scheduled Castes especially in rural areas. This study investigates the underlying beliefs, economic dependencies and social conditioning that sustains these practices. Intervention included informal door-to-door surveys, focus groups, awareness campaigns and collective reflection. The study concludes that legal enforcement alone is insufficient, sustainable change requires inclusive, community led strategies that foster ownership, empathy and co-creation.
Keywords
Social justice systemic discrimination co-creation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2025.141
Citation
Nair, A., Vyas, V.,and Deori, S.K.(2025) Design for Dignity: A Designer's Quest for Social Justice, in Mahamuni, R., Onkar, P. (eds.), ServDes 2025: Empowering Diversity, Nurturing Lasting Impact, 6–10 October, Hyderabad, India. https://doi.org/10.21606/servdes2025.141
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Design for Dignity: A Designer's Quest for Social Justice
Caste based discrimination in India continues to deny dignity, equality and access to basic rights for Scheduled Castes especially in rural areas. This study investigates the underlying beliefs, economic dependencies and social conditioning that sustains these practices. Intervention included informal door-to-door surveys, focus groups, awareness campaigns and collective reflection. The study concludes that legal enforcement alone is insufficient, sustainable change requires inclusive, community led strategies that foster ownership, empathy and co-creation.