인도·남아시아

In the present paper an attempt is made to study the distributional pattern and growth of scheduled caste population in India. The concept of population distribution is very useful tool for the analysis of man’s distribution in space. The analytical study of the Growth and distribu- tional pattern of population plays an important role not only in evaluating the socio-economic condition of the country but also in facilitating for monitoring and introducing corrective measures for the future. Although scheduled castes are in a minority, they constitute about 16.2 per cent of the total population of India (Census of India, 2011). The Scheduled castes throughout the country occupy the lowest rank in the caste hierarchy, and faced many problems, which are social, economic, political and educational in nature.