Occupations are not Neutral: Toward Anti-Oppressive Occupational Therapy Praxis in India

Abstract

Occupational therapy is often grounded in theoretical frameworks that conceptualise occupation as an expression of individual choice, motivation, and ability. While such approaches emphasise personal agency and functional performance, they frequently obscure the structural forces that shape occupational possibilities Drawing on occupational science, occupational justice, and anti-caste scholarship, particularly Ambedkarite and Dalit feminist frameworks, this conceptual paper theorises caste as a structural determinant of occupation within the Indian context. It argues that caste produces enduring conditions of occupational marginalisation, alienation, and occupational apartheid by determining access to education, labour, safety, dignity, and social recognition. The paper challenges the dominant assumption of “occupation as choice,” demonstrating how this notion is largely illusory for Caste-oppressed communities whose occupational trajectories are constrained by inherited social location, stigma, and systemic exclusion. In response, the paper offers a theoretical reframing of occupational justice through an anti-caste Ambedkarite lens, advances an epistemic critique of caste neutrality in occupational therapy, and highlights implications for curriculum reform and practice.