A shortcoming of the country's approach towards the welfare of dalits is that action on atrocities are mostly seen as a law and order issue, divorcing them from the larger strategy for social justice. Atrocities do represent a significant hindrance to socio-economic mobility of the community. Policy-makers should take into account that ending violence on dalits is a basic requirement for success of redistributive policies, rather than assuming that these policies by themselves would result in an end to violence/discrimination.