Earlier, in India, education was considered the prerogative of the higher caste people. The lower caste people were content with the idea of performing manual labour for a living. Even when the rigid caste system lost its prominence in society, education still remained the privilege of the wealthy. The underprivileged of society did not have the dreams of being educated and coming up in life. They took menial tasks as the fate written on their forehead. However, the scenario is different now. The initiative of intellectuals, social workers and the government, has resulted in the progress of the downtrodden and people belonging to the lower rungs of society are encouraged to be educated. Special scholarships are offered to the economically backward sections and backward castes. There is a transformation in the whole educational set-up and we are moving slowly but surely towards an egalitarian society where all have equal opportunities for education and the underprivileged sections are hungry for education.
