Owing to the multi-dimensional nature of the concept of social exclusion, the first part of the book takes cognizance of two issues at the theoretical and practical levels. These are: exclusion as structural element and dynamic process, and twofold strategies to overcome exclusion. Critical review and analysis of social exclusion and means to overcome it have been offered in the first three chapters. These chapters take stock of theoretical issues involved in the understanding of social exclusion by situating the argument in the time and space of Indian social reality; each has its distinct trajectory of themes as well as arguments. Therefore, all the three scholars move to and from Indian and western social realities by making the issue universal. Harish Puri reflects on the concept of social exclusion by arguing that any effort for dealing with social exclusion in India may begin with the objectives and commitments made in our Constitution, the signposts of progress during the last sixty years towards a more just and inclusive social order, and taking stock of the failures and the exclusionary implications of the dynamics of change. The paradigm shift in the perspective and priorities of development since 1991 made the issues of its divisive and exclusionary consequences more prominent and challenging.

B. K Nagla, in the second chapter, takes cognizance of social exclusion as a concept and attempts to situate it in the Indian context.