Caste and Sale Market: A Study of Economic Discrimination in Business Enterprises of Andhra Pradesh

This article attempts to analyse the issue of caste discrimination, with a special focus on the experience of business enterprises in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. It tries to examine the discrimination faced by scheduled caste business owners (SCBOs) of the non-farm sector, especially of business enterprises in the sale market, based on a field study conducted in Guntur district. The study is based on a sample of 225 respondents, comprising 150 Scheduled Caste (SC) and 75 non-SC/Scheduled Tribe (ST) business owners. A structured questionnaire was followed for the interview. The objective of this article is to understand the nature and pattern of discrimination existing among business owners. In the present day, even though SCBOs are allowed in business enterprises, they still face economic discrimination in markets. The present study has found that there is an existence of discrimination in the sale market as about 61.7% of respondents reported that their caste background affects their sales and access to the common market. The immediate impact of discrimination is evident from the existing disparities in profits between SCBOs and other business owners (OBOs). If identity negatively affects profit expectations, the chance of survival in small business will be very low for the underprivileged group. This is why, this article seeks to examine whether caste background affects the profitability of businesses significantly or not?