Biography: Professor Sukhadeo Thorat is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and a distinguished economist whose work has significantly advanced research on caste, inequality, and inclusive development. He previously served as Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), and was Director of the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS). He has also held prestigious academic positions, including the Ambedkar Chair at the University of Calicut and the K. R. Narayanan Chair at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. With over four decades of teaching and research experience, Professor Thorat's scholarship focuses on agricultural development, poverty, labor markets, economic discrimination, the economics of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, human rights, and the economic thought of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. He has authored more than 30 books and approximately 100 research papers. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to academia and social justice, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2008, along with several other national honors.