Mid-day meal for the poor, privatised education for the non-poor

Abstract

The mid-day meal programme was introduced to mitigate social inequalities inherited through the hierarchical division of society, or what is called "resilience of social structures". This structural discrimination directly impedes equal access to benefits of development by excluding the poor and marginalised. A study of the MDM programme in rural Rajasthan probes this aspect of the "resilience of social structure". In particular, the article asks under what type of situation do iniquitous social structures allow marginalised sections to benefit from programmes of social development.