NOTES PREPARED BY
KHURSHEED AHMED
TEACHER SCHOOL
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Gender, Religion and Caste
- Gender is a form of social division under which unequal roles are assigned to men and women. Though the Gender is a biological division yet it has become an important factor in creating inequality in society.
- Political expression of gender question helped a lot to improve women's role in public life. Although the Indian society is still a patriarchal society, yet women are now working in many fields.
- Religion also plays an important role in politics. In some countries, politicians promote the cause of the majority religious group at the cost of the minorities. This produces a dangerous trend of majority tyranny.
- Communalism is a situation when a particular community based on religion tries to promote its own interest at the cost of other communities, and feels that its religion is superior than other religions, and places it even above the nation.
- Social division on the lines of caste is unique to India. The caste system of the present has evolved from the varna system which was based on occupations and on the principle that an occupation passed from one generation to another. Members of a particular caste usually have a sense of belonging to their own community. Some castes are accorded a higher status compared to many other castes.
- Most of the political parties keep the caste calculation in mind while fielding a candidate from a particular constituency.
- Each caste group is trying to get a bigger pie of the political power by asserting its identity in various ways.
Gender and Politics
Q.1: Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India.
Ans: In India, women are discriminated and disadvantaged in the following ways:
(a) They are not provided adequate education. Thus, the literacy rate among women is
Just 34%.
(b) Most of the labour done by them is unpaid. Where they are paid for their work. they receive lesser wages than men.
(c) Due to the preference for the boy child, female foeticide is practiced in many parts
of the country
Q.2: What is the status of women's representation in India's legislative bodies?
Ans: When it comes to representation of women in legislative bodies, India is among the
bottom group of nations in the world. Women's representation has always been less than 10% in Lok Sabha and 5% in the State Assemblies. On the other hand, the situation is different in the case of local government bodies. As one-third of seats in local government bodies (panchayats and municipalities) is reserved for women, there are more than 10 lakh elected women representatives in
rural and urban local bodies.
Religion, Communalism and Politics
Q.3:State different forms of communal politics with one example each.
Ans: Different forms of communal politics:
(a) The expression of communal superiority in everyday 'beliefs: Militant religious groups are a good example of this
(h) The desire to form a majoritarian dominance or a separate state: Separatist leaders and political parties in Jammu and Kashmir and Central India are an example of this
(c) The use of religious symbols and leaders in politics to appeal to the voters: This technique is applied by many politicians to influence voters from the two largest religious communities in the country
(d) In addition to all this, communal politics can take the form of communal violence
and riots, like the riots in Gujarat in 2002.
Q.4: Mention any two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.
Ans: Two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state are:
The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom 10 profess. practice and propagate any religion. or not to follow any
The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
Caste and Politics
State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India.
Ans: Caste inequalities have not completely disappeared from India. Even today, most
people marry with in tribe. Despite constitutional prohibition, untouchability has not ended completely. Education is not easily available to the so called 'low castes'. Economic status is closely linked to the caste system. In modern India, like in pre-independence India, the poor are mostly the low castes' while the rich are the 'high castes, thereby showing that caste inequalities are still continuing in India.
Q. State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India.
Ans: Caste alone cannot determine election results in India because:
- No parliamentary constituency has a clear majority of one single caste.
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