Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction -- Historical perspective -- Concept and definition -- Unemployment, underemployment, and income insecurity -- Poverty, population explosion, hunger, and malnutrition -- Minimum wage -- Migration -- Caste hierarchy -- Issues -- Land tenurial system -- Tribal land alienation -- Illiteracy -- Child labour and trafficking -- Devdasis and Yoginis -- Credit and indebtedness -- Globalization, state, and market -- Policy initiatives -- Constitutional and legal provisions -- National policy and implementation of the programme at the state level -- International instruments and initiatives -- Public interest litigation and judicial activism -- Role of voluntary organizations -- Role of trade unions of workers and employer’s organizations -- Role of media and communication agencies -- In retrospect and prospect.