Determinants Influencing the Socio-Economic Development and Sustainability of Dalits’ Entrepreneurship in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka in India - A Structural Equation Modeling Approach of Validation
8 Pages Posted: 28 Nov 2018 Last revised: 4 Jan 2019
Date Written: November 27, 2018
Abstract
Entrepreneurship is a volatile concept. The concept of entrepreneurship has been a widely debated and is defined differently by different authors. It has been interpreted in various ways and in various senses. The word entrepreneurship has been derived from a French root "entrepreneur" which means "to undertake". Today, it is considered as the inevitable quality of the business people such as, "risk bearing", "innovations," "thrill seeking" etc. It is only in recent years that entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurs in the process of industrialization and economic development has been recognised in both developed and developing countries. Dalits are the marginalised section of the society have historically been poor, deprived of basic human rights, and treated as social inferiors in India. The term "Dalit" has different meanings for different people. The word "Dalit" comes from the Sanskrit root dal- and means "broken, ground-down, or oppressed". Those previously known as Untouchables, Depressed classes, and Harijanas who are sharing 24.4% in the total population (According to 2011 census data) are today increasingly adopting the term "Dalit" as a name for themselves. The law of the land guarantees equality to all citizens and this guarantee applies to all aspects of national life including social and economic. This provision was meant to be a tool especially for the upliftment of those sections of the population that had suffered deprivation for long periods in history owing to pernicious caste system. Employment gives economic status to Dalits and economic status paves the way of social status. Dalits constitute almost 25% of Indian population. Majority of the Dalit population in the rural sector is idle and unutilized. This is mainly due to existing social customs. In the modern technology dominated and development driven times, to fulfil the mission of, "Subka Saath-Subka Vikas", there is an urgent need as well as wide scope for research on Dalit entrepreneurship in a developing country like India. It is necessary to reflect on the factors that have imprisoned them in the dungeon of depravity and shed light on how to push them to the mainstream of the economy with access to means of better livelihood and opportunities.This research paper is to validate the model of key dimensions or determinants developed by the researcher based on the review of literatures on the factors that measure the overall (in terms of marketing skills, socio-economic) development of Dalits' entrepreneurs and in turn the sustainability of the enterprises run by the Dalit entrepreneurs.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, marginalized, employment, economic contribution
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