From Axiocide to Agency: Caste, Dignity, and the Entrepreneurial Struggle for Justice

In this seminar, “From Axiocide to Agency: Caste, Dignity, and the Entrepreneurial Struggle for Justice,” Dr. Vimal Kumar explores how entrepreneurship can become a vehicle for reclaiming agency and dignity among those historically silenced by caste-based oppression. Drawing from his self-reflexive ethnographic research and community-based interventions, he will examine how the systemic violence of untouchability—what he provocatively terms axiocide, or the annihilation of value—can be countered by economic and cultural empowerment rooted in local leadership.

Through the case of the Balmiki community in Gorakhpur village, Dr. Kumar traces a pathway from lived trauma to collective healing and transformation, where education, self-employment, and social enterprise act as tools for resistance and renewal. His work challenges traditional notions of entrepreneurship as individualistic or market-driven, instead framing it as a radical act of survival, solidarity, and self-definition in contexts of extreme marginalization.

This talk will resonate deeply with scholars of inclusive entrepreneurship, social innovation, and decolonial practice. It invites us to reconsider entrepreneurship not merely as economic activity, but as a form of political agency and cultural reclamation—especially for those whose very humanity has been denied.

Dr. Kumar redefines entrepreneurship as a radical tool of survival, dignity, and decolonial empowerment for marginalized communities.

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Vimal Kumar, a scholar-activist and founder of the Movement for Scavenger Community (MSC) in India, whose groundbreaking work challenges deep-rooted caste hierarchies through education, community leadership, and entrepreneurship. As a member of the Balmiki (Ex-Chuhra) community, Dr. Kumar brings a powerful insider perspective to his research, advocacy, and programmatic innovations aimed at dismantling structural discrimination.

Dr. Kumar holds a PhD in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, where his dissertation centered on “Everyday Caste Violence” in rural Haryana. Beyond academia, he has pioneered grassroots interventions through MSC and the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Community Resource Center, providing youth with access to education, mentoring, and entrepreneurial pathways out of systemic poverty. His work has been recognized through fellowships from DAAD, Acumen, and the McCain Institute, and he is currently affiliated as an ASU World Innovator with Arizona State University.

Join us for this vital conversation.

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