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Education is one of the most potential variables and relates to different indicators of socio-economic development. Going beyond the campaign for universal literacy, which is otherwise supported by constitutional and statutory provisions, the article seeks to explore the presence as well as the dominance of Scheduled Castes (SC) in Higher Education and gets into the paradoxes of social and bureaucratic structures that facilitate or impede SC entry to and continue with higher education. At this juncture, it seems to be imperative to search for an alignment between constitutional mandates on one hand and social and bureaucratic constraints on the other. Moreover, the relevant methodological framework has been adopted to put facts and figures into perspective, to identify the reason for their slow progress in higher education and to locate the reasons why the reservation policy failed to assist them as per the expectations of the founding fathers of the constitution.

The article makes a modest attempt in ascertaining the functional aspects of Panchayati Raj Institutions, especially in the aftermath of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. After a brief review of the history of local self-government in the pre- and post-Independence India, an attempt is made to figure out the present system of the panchayat governance in India. The operational aspects of the three-tier structure of panchayats are brought out along with the impediments that hamper their effective functioning. Feedbacks from across the state of Karnataka have been taken into consideration while suggesting the corrective measures. Mere identification of the functions of panchayats does not imply anything substantial without the effective back-up of financial decentralisation. The dominance of upper castes still hovers over and is a threat to the inclusive participation of deprived sections of the society.

Scheduled Tribes have always been a geographically and socially isolated group in Indian society, besides being a culturally-economically marginalized society. Their areas were by and large sparsely populated and had evolved over centuries their own system of maintaining law and order. The British also allowed them to live according to their own way of life. The national leaders, however, were aware of their backwardness and were eager to take measures for their betterment. As a result a few provisions were adopted in the Government of India Act 1935.During the post-Independence period, the policy makers have made sincere and concerted efforts for overall development of these groups both economically as well as educationally. Despite these efforts the performance of the tribal groups is much lower when compared to other marginalized groups like Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Castes. The available literature on tribal primary education suggests, most of the time the policymakers' approach was only to develop a national curriculum instead of giving importance to their skill-oriented, practical capabilities which has impacted their life in a more serious manner.