Caste as Social Capital

Prof. R. Vaidyanathan is a retired professor of finance who used to teach the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

A graduate of the Loyola College, Madras, and with a master's degree from the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, he obtained his doctorate from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, where he also taught for four years.

Prof. Vaidyanathan is a two-time Fulbright scholar and also a fellow of the ICSSR. He was visiting faculty at various universities in the USA and UK. In the past, he has been selected by Business Today as one of the ten best professors at all IIMs. He has had the rare privilege of being in the various committees of regulators like SEBI, RBI, IRDA and PFRDA. He is a consultant to many organizations and is on the board of many corporate firms.

Prof. Vaidyanathan was conferred the Lifetime Contribution Award by the Asia Pacific Risk and Insurance Association (APRIA) and Kybo Life in 2019. His 2013 book, India Uninc: Role of Non-Corporate Sectors in India, which focuses on Indian and Asian value systems, was well received by planners and policymakers. His 2017 book, Black money and Tax Havens, has been acclaimed by experts.

Prof. Vaidyanathan is on the advisory council of the Vivekananda International Foundation. He was a member of the National Security Advisory Board under the National Security Council (2019-20). Currently he is Cho Ramaswamy Chair Professor in Public Policy at Sastra University, Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, and emeritus adjunct professor at the Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), an institution of national importance located in Ahmedabad.

Many consider caste as an outdated institution, though it thrives in post-liberalization India. That being the case, caste has only been studied from a religious, social and political angle. It is grudgingly accepted that caste has economic ramifications. For instance, the establishment and running of businesses tap into caste networks, both in terms of arranging finance and providing access to a ready workforce. Despite that, any study of this aspect has been limited to looking at caste groups in terms of their per capita income, their representation in various professions and other statistical details.

Caste as Social Capital examines the workings of caste through the lens of business, economics and entrepreneurship. It interrogates the role caste plays in the economic sphere in terms of facilitating the nuts and bolts of business and entrepreneurship: finance, markets and workforce. Through this qualitative view of caste, an entirely new picture emerges, which forces one to view the age-old institution of caste in a new light.