Introduction

South Asia is home to some of the world’s largest democracies and vibrant cultures. In these democracies, constitutions promise equality, and elections bring power to the people, while courts guarantee justice. However, for millions across the region, these institutions feel distant from daily reality. Across the region, caste, class, and ethnic hierarchies dictate social structure, strongly limiting access to opportunity. The legal frameworks across South Asian countries officially prohibit discrimination, yet social stratification persists in daily life.¹ Ironically, the promise of democratic liberty exists alongside deeply entrenched systems of exclusion that continue to shape the lives of the common people, across legal, social, and political systems.²

The State-Mediated Glass Ceiling

Democratic structures in the region function procedurally, but not always equitably. The judiciary faces severe backlogs that delay any meaningful ruling for years, if not decades.³ Yet, this is not the case for wealthier citizens and those with connections. For them, legal representation and prolonged litigation are manageable. However, as low-income workers attempt to gain justice against lost wages and mounting debt, they are forced to face the uncertainty regarding whether their case will ever be heard. In many South Asian countries, incarcerated individuals await trial and remain imprisoned simply because they cannot afford bail or proper legal counsel.⁴ This is highlighted by improbably high numbers of unresolved cases, such as India’s judicial system, with over 50 million pending cases.⁵ In Bangalore, 71% of prisoners under trial had been reported to be waiting for over one year, many of whom remain imprisoned for minor or bailable offences.⁶ Thus, the matter of economic uncertainty fuels poor visibility for lower socioeconomic classes and marginalized communities at a federal level as well.

Lower-caste and historically marginalized communities are frequently forced into occupying low-status and low-paying forms of labour.⁷ People largely depend on informal employment, which dominates all sectors of the economy: agriculture, domestic work, construction, and street vending. Over 80% of workers in South Asia are informally employed, and over 90% of small businesses operate in the shadow economy.⁸ These workers lack formal contracts, social security, health coverage, or even a proper payment structure.⁹ Labour laws exist on paper, yet their enforcement is heavily flawed, especially in rural areas where bureaucratic systems are harder to access. This inadequate enforcement results in a form of policy invisibility; millions contribute to their national economies while simultaneously being unprotected by the state from exploitation. Wealth becomes increasingly concentrated; for example, India’s top 10% receives 58% of the national income, whereas the bottom 50% of the population shares only 15% of the country’s income, highlighting the growing divide.¹⁰ However, it is crucial to note that institutional fragility does not arise in isolation. Rather, it intersects with social hierarchies that predate the modern-day region itself.

The Culture of Social Hierarchy

Caste remains integral to exerting power and influence across South Asia. Despite it being legally prohibited, discrimination based on caste is a reality many face.¹¹ Specifically, there are plentiful social and economic consequences due to this social system. Occupational patterns follow hereditary lines, where marginalized communities are bound to be engaged in physically demanding and socially stigmatized roles.¹² Practices of marginalization manifest in subtle and overt forms: social isolation, exclusion from resources, discriminatory hiring, and barriers to education. Rural areas in particular see these patterns limit social mobility since birth, in effect restricting these individuals before they ever interact with institutions of the state.

These effects are compounded by gender, as women from marginalized castes of ethnic communities face layered oppression, as they are subject to limited access to education, exploitation in the labour market, and limited political representation. Poverty, caste, and gender serve to reinforce one another, thereby narrowing pathways out of inherent disadvantage.¹³ Even in environments where economic growth presents new industries, social stratification influences who gains access to opportunity, and who is to remain in the margins. Ultimately, South Asian countries— especially Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India—appear in the bottom 10 countries when scored for social mobility, again signifying these institutional barriers limiting opportunity for lower socioeconomic classes.¹⁴

The Fractured Class and Politics of Division

In the context of economic precarity, political incentives favour identity-based mobilization over structural reform. Nationalism, religious rhetoric, and caste-based appeals serve as tools for consolidating political support.¹⁵ These strategies can serve to intensify division amongst the masses, where communities end up seeing one another as competitors for cultural dominance, state recognition, or access to limited resources. Thereby, shared economic grievances amongst the many groups in the country become secondary to political identity. Lower-income groups that may be able to unite around labour rights, public education, or healthcare reform are instead enticed to align along religious or ethnic lines.

This fragmentation benefits those who are already positioned within networks of political and economic power. Reforms that may redistribute opportunity or strengthen labour protections become harder to achieve in radically polarized environments. Identity politics becomes a shield for those in power and a distraction for those who are marginalized, redirecting frustration away from institutional accountability. The result is an endless loop where inequality fuels insecurity, insecurity fuels division, division prevents reform; ultimately, inequality deepens.

Imagining the Life of an Average Labourer

For the average labourer, these dynamics are not theories; they are daily realities. Imagine a construction worker, for example, waking up before sunrise in a crowded settlement located on the outskirts of a growing city.

Work is not guaranteed; it depends on a contractor who may or may not need you that morning. Payment may be daily, but it is inconsistent. You have no contract, no health insurance, no paid time off.¹⁶ An injury on the job could result in serious harm, death, or permanent unemployment.¹⁷ You resort to working multiple jobs to support your family, working in inhumane conditions with the constant threat of danger. And if you choose to step away, there are thousands of others ready to fill in and take what little is on offer. Your partner is likely working a domestic job, trying to make ends meet. Your children must attend public schools, which struggle with outdated resources and lack funding; thereby, their educational prospects may not be bright either, yet you cannot afford to send them to private schools where you know they will be better taught. Perhaps your children are forced to work unsafe jobs to provide small amounts of additional income to contribute to your household.¹⁸

You may already be in debt because you were forced to borrow money to cover rent, medical expenses, or school fees. Rising food prices take away from any savings you may have had.¹⁹ Public schools are under-resourced, and private schools are too expensive. Caste background will dictate the opportunities you get, and religious identities affect local communities.²⁰ Gender discrimination exposes you to harassment or unpaid care burdens. Political campaigns speak of national pride and economic growth, yet at the end of the day, tangible improvement remains nonexistent. Each layer narrows your opportunity to break the cycle to allow your children access to a childhood you dreamed for them – one of comfort, opportunity, and a life you were never able to live.

For this labourer, systemic injustice is not ideological; it is felt in stagnant wages, distant institutions, and futures that appear predetermined regardless of what they do. This day repeats, week after week, month after month, year after year.

Bringing Change

Crucially, South Asia is anything but static. Across the region, civil society organizations, labour unions, and youth movements all coalesce to advocate for transparency, accountability, and reform.²¹ Digital connectivity has amplified marginalized voices, giving them platforms to inform change. Discriminatory practices are being challenged, social enterprises are working with increasingly inclusive economic models, and educational access has expanded rapidly over the past few decades.²²

This change requires sustained institutional strengthening, where judicial backlogs are reduced, legal aid is expanded, labour policies are formalized, and anti-discrimination laws are properly enforced.²³ Critically, significant investment in rural infrastructure and public education will work towards reducing generational inequality.²⁴ Political leadership must also pivot towards inclusive governance rather than divisive rhetoric, which is a stance echoed by younger generations.²⁵

Most importantly, meaningful progress depends on rebuilding solidarity across lines of caste, religion, and ethnicity. Collective bargaining strengthens as working populations recognize shared political and economic interests.²⁶ Thus, structural reform becomes viable. South Asia has a history marked not only by hierarchy and division, but also by resilience and reform movements that have reshaped the fabric of society.²⁷ Systemic inequality persists by way of institutional incentives that favour it, but those institutions are evolving.

The region’s promise of freedom will be measured by the availability and fairness of opportunity. Reforms must continue to expand access to justice, protect vulnerable workers, and strengthen social inclusion, thereby loosening the cycle of exclusion.²⁸ The struggle is ongoing, but so too is the possibility of transformation and the hope of a brighter future for all.

Footnotes

1. The South Asia Collective, SAC Bulletin 8, https://thesouthasiacollective.org/bulletins/sacbulletin8/.
2. Human Rights Watch, “Across South Asia, Leaders Promote Hate as a Distraction,” January 19, 2026, https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/19/across-south-asia-leaders-promote-hate-as-a-distraction.
3. Oxford Human Rights Hub, “When Justice Delays Justice: How Structural Judicial Failures Harm Human Rights in South Asia,” https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/when-justice-delays-justice-how-structural-judicial-failures-harm-human-rights-in-south-asia/.
4. Ibid.
5. South Asia Justice Campaign, “IPT 2025,” https://southasiajusticecampaign.org/ipt2025-2/.
6. Ibid.
7. The Mooknayak, “Global Pressure and Untargeted Efforts: The Struggle for Recognition of Caste-Based Discrimination on the International Stage,” https://en.themooknayak.com/labourer/global-pressure-and-untargeted-efforts-the-struggle-for-recognition-of-caste-based-discrimination-on-the-international-stage.
8. World Bank, “COVID-19 Has Worsened the Woes of South Asia’s Informal Sector,” https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/endpovertyinsouthasia/covid-19-has-worsened-woes-south-asias-informal-sector.
9. Asian Development Bank Institute, “Social Protection for the Informal Economy in South Asia,” Asia Pathways, August 2024, https://www.asiapathways-adbi.org/2024/08/social-protection-for-the-informal-economy-in-south-asia/.
10. SL Guardian, “South Asia and China Face Stark Inequality, World Inequality Report Shows,” https://slguardian.org/south-asia-and-china-face-stark-inequality-world-inequality-report-shows/.
11. The Mooknayak, “Global Pressure and Untargeted Efforts.”
12. Ibid.
13. SAAPE, SAAPE Poverty Report 2024, https://saape.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SAAPE-Poverty-Report-2024_compressed.pdf.
14. World Economic Forum, Global Social Mobility Report (Geneva: World Economic Forum), https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Global_Social_Mobility_Report.pdf.
15. Human Rights Watch, “Across South Asia, Leaders Promote Hate as a Distraction.”
16. World Bank, “COVID-19 Has Worsened the Woes.”
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. “Article 10.1186/s12889-025-25399-w,” BMC Public Health, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-025-25399-w.
20. The Daily Star, “Bangladesh’s Ratio of Low-Paid Workers 3rd Highest in South Asia,” https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bangladeshs-ratio-low-paid-workers-3rd-highest-south-asia-3764286.
21. Human Rights Watch, “Across South Asia, Leaders Promote Hate as a Distraction.”
22. SAAPE, SAAPE Poverty Report 2024.
23. World Bank, “COVID-19 Has Worsened the Woes.”
24. Oxford Human Rights Hub, “When Justice Delays Justice.”
25. World Economic Forum, Global Social Mobility Report.
26. Human Rights Watch, “Across South Asia, Leaders Promote Hate as a Distraction.”
27. Asian Development Bank Institute, “Social Protection for the Informal Economy.”
28. Global Alliance for Tax Justice, South Asia Inequality Report 2019, https://globaltaxjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019-10-18-South-Asia-Inequality-Report-2019.pdf-EN-PDF.pdf.