The conference called for combating the discrimination faced by the SCs through the instruments of democracy, education and employment and said that 'affirmative action' must be taken to redress the problems of the SCs in the social, political, economic and civic spheres.
Noting that discrimination is an antithesis to equality, former Supreme Court judge K Ramaswamy stressed on the need for treating people from the SCs with equality and dignity.
Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav said allocation of resources to the SCs needed to be stepped up significantly, so as to enable them to overcome social exclusion.
The conference, titled "Diversity, Discrimination and Social Exclusion in India and the USA", was organised by the O P Jindal Global University.
Justice A P Shah, referring to section 377 (unnatural offences) of the IPC, pointed out that discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity has been prevalent in India since colonial times and underlined the significance of decriminalisation of such activity.
In his address, vice chancellor of the university C Raj Kumar highlighted the importance of educational institutions and universities in fighting discrimination, promoting diversity and in the creation of an inclusive society.
S K Thorat, chairperson of Indian Council for Social Science Research urged policy makers to look beyond the "narrow" definition of affirmative action against the backdrop of ongoing globalisation and the necessity of reservation in the private sector for the historically deprived.