Interview with Mr. Santosh Kamble

Santosh Kamble is the coordinator, West India and President of the Maharashtra chapter of DICCI (Dalit India Chamber of Commerce and Industry). He is also the founder-CEO of Bizcraft Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

The emerging Dalit capitalism believes that through capital, the community can break free from the age old injustice and discrimination. This is happening in a very systematic manner where the Dalit entrepreneurs have united and created the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. DICCI presents a united front of such entrepreneurs who often work in tandem with the government to intervene in policies with the aim of improving the conditions of the Dalit entrepreneurs. With the coming up of DICCI, there is an opening into the free market for Dalit entrepreneurs. With a DICCI membership, the entrepreneurs can enjoy many benefits like opportunities to intervene in government policies, better access to financial assistance, access to trade fairs, etc.

But Dalit capitalism comes with its share of challenges. The foremost challenge is to tackle the lack of knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship. Almost every Dalit entrepreneur is a first generation entrepreneur and they also do not have the best education and training. By embracing capitalism, they now have to compete with the very communities and classes of people who have enjoyed caste privileges for so long. And these people hold the power in the market. Capitalism can help bring in the much required capital, but will also ensure that the people at top get more powerful. So there is a fair chance that the Dalit community may remain subservient to the more affluent communities who currently run the free market. Quality of life will surely improve once the capital reaches the people, but capital alone cannot challenge the social construct.