Department
of Social Science
POLITICAL
SCIENCE(X)
CHAPTER
04
GENDER RELIGION AND CASTE
NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS
Q.1. State how Caste Inequalities are still continuing in India?
Ans. Caste has not disappeared from contemporary India.
(i) Even now most people marry within their own caste or
tribe.
(ii) Untouchability has not ended completely despite
constitutional prohibition.
(iii) Effects of centuries of advantages and disadvantages continue
to be felt today, e.g., Caste continues to be closely linked to economic status.
Q.2.What is the status of Women’s Representation in India’s legislative
bodies?
Ans. India’s women representation in legislatures and their
participation in politics is very low. The strength of women in the Lok Sabha
is not even 10%. In the state assemblies it is even lower— only 5%.
Some developing countries of Africa and Latin America have more women Representatives.
The Women’s Reservation Bill, a move to make 33% reservation
for women in the Parliament, is still pending before the Parliament and it has
yet to pass it. Only in the Panchayat Raj — local governing bodies —
seats are reserved for women. Now there are 10 lakh elected women
representatives in rural and urban local bodies.
Q.3. Mention any two Constitutional Provisions that make India a secular
state.
Ans. (i) Freedom to practice, profess and propagate the religion of one’s choice.
(ii) There is no state or official religion.
Q.4. How can Religion influence Politics?
v Gandhiji believed that politics must be guided by ethics drawn from all
religions.
v Ideas, ideals and values drawn from different religions can play a role in
politics.
v People should have the freedom to express in politics their needs, interest
and demands as a member of a religious community.
v People who hold political power should see that discrimination and
oppression does not take place due to religion.
Q.5. How does Communalism create problems in Politics?
Ans.(i) When one uses religion in politics, it is communal
politics. It
Creates problems when one sees religion as the basis of the nation.
(ii) When one
religion considers itself superior to other religions.
(iii) When there is discrimination
against the followers of the other religion.
(iv) When state power is used to help one religion to
dominate other religious
groups and;
(v) When the demands of one religious group are
in opposition to others.
Q.6. What are the effects of Communalism on Politics?
(i) Political parties are formed on communal basis — Muslim League,
Akali Dal, the Hindu Mahasabha, the DMK are some examples.
(ii) Religion rather than ability
becomes the criteria to choose candidates for elections.
(iii) People prefer to
cast votes in favour of candidates of their own religion.
(iv) Communalism can
turn ugly and lead to violence, massacre and riots.
Q.7. What is Secularism? Mention any Four provisions of the Indian
Constitution which makes it a secular state.
Ans. Secularism means all religions are given the same respect and there is
no
State religion.
(i) No religion has
a special status.
(ii) Freedom to
practice, profess and propagate one’s religion is allowed by the Constitution.
(iii) No discrimination of any kind is allowed on religious
grounds.
(iv) ‘Untouchability’ is banned. (Article 17)
Q.8. Has caste Disappeared from India?
Ans. No. The following points prove the fact
(i) Even now people marry in their own caste.
(ii) Untouchability is still practised in many parts of
India.
(iii) The caste groups which had better education are still
ahead of other caste groups.
Q.9. Why is it necessary to have Secularism in India?
Ans. India is a land of many religions and it has led to
communalism in India. In fact, one of the results of communalism was partition
of India into two nations. It was a challenge for Indian democracy and they
chose a secular state as a model. Several constitutional provisions were made
to secure secularism in India. It was not just an ideology of some party or people.
Secularism is the basis, one of the foundations, of our country. To avoid the
threat of communalism, secularism was chosen.
Q.10. When does the problem of communalism begin?
v The problem of communalism begins when religion is seen as the basis of the
nation.
v The problem becomes more acute when religion is expressed in politics in
exclusive and partisan terms, when one religion and its followers are pitted
against another.
v This happens when the beliefs of one
religion are presented as superior to those of other religions,
v And when the state power is used to establish domination of one religious
group over the rest.
Q.11. Do the ‘caste’ and ‘vote bank’ factors completely control the
elections in India?
Ans. There is an impression that elections in India are all
about caste and nothing else. But it is also true that ‘caste’ and ‘vote bank’
factors alone cannot determine elections in India due to the following reasons:
(i) No single caste is ever elected with a clear majority in any parliamentary
constituency.
So votes of more than one caste is
required to win the election for any candidate or party.
(ii) Many political parties may put up candidates from the
same caste. Some voters have more than
one candidate from their caste, while many voters have no candidate from their
caste.
(iii)No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or
community.
Q.12. Define a Feminist Movement. What is their Objective?
Ans. A woman or a man who believes in equal rights and
opportunities for women and men. More radical women’s movements aimed at
equality in personal and family life as well. These movements are called
feminist movements. The objectives of the feminist movements are enhancing the
political and legal status of women, and proving their educational, health and career
opportunities.
Q.13. How does the Constitution of India ensure secularism?
Ans. (i) There is no official religion for the Indian state. Our
Constitution does not
give special status to any religion.
(ii) The Constitution provided
to all individuals and communities freedom to
Profess, practise and propagate
any religion or not to follow any.
(iii) The Constitution prohibits
discrimination on grounds of religion.
(iv) The Constitution also allows the state to intervene in matters of religion
to
ensure equality within
religious community.
Q.14. “In our country women still lag much behind men despite some
improvements since independence.” Support the statement by giving three
reasons.
Ans. (i) The literacy rate (as per 2011 census) among
women is only 65 per cent compared with 82 per cent among men.
Similarly, only a smaller proportion of girls go for higher studies.
(ii) The proportion of women among the highly paid and valued
job is still very small. On
an average,
an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day. Yet
much of her
work is not paid and therefore often not valued.
(iii) As per the Equal Wages Act 1976, equal wages
should be paid to equal work. But, in almost all areas of work, from sports and
cinema, to factories and fields, women are paid less than men, even when both
do exactly the same work.
Q.15. What forms can Caste take in Politics?
Ans. The caste can take following forms in politics:
(i) Sometimes candidates are chosen on the basis
of their caste. When political
Parties choose candidates,
they keep in mind the caste composition Constituency.
(ii) In many places
voters vote on the basis of caste and fail to choose suitable candidates.
(iii) When a government
is formed after elections, political parties take care that different
Castes are represented in the
government.
(iv) Political parties
appeal to caste sentiments during elections.
(v) To gain support
political parties raise caste-based issues during elections. This they do to
Get political support, as ‘one
man one vote’ system or adult franchise has made the voter
Very powerful.
(vi) The castes
considered inferior or low until now have been made conscious of their rights
By the
political parties.
Q.16. Describe the influence of Politics on Caste system.
Ans. It is not only that caste influences politics but
politics also affects the caste system. This takes the following forms:
(i) Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating
within it neighboring castes
or sub-castes which were earlier excluded
from it.
(ii) Various caste groups are required to enter into a
coalition with other castes and
thus enter into a dialogue.
(iii) New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political
arena like ‘backward’ and
‘Forward’ caste groups.
Q.17. Do the ‘caste’ and ‘vote bank’ factors completely control the
elections in India?
Ans. There is an impression that elections in India are all
about caste and nothing else. But it is also
true that
‘caste’ and ‘vote bank’ factors alone cannot determine elections in India due
to the
Following reasons :
(i) No
single caste is ever elected with a clear majority in any parliamentary
constituency.
So votes of more than one caste is
required to win the election for any candidate or party.
(ii) Many
political parties may put up candidates from the same caste. Some voters have
more
than one candidate from their caste,
while many voters have no candidate from their caste.
(iii)
No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community.
Q.18. What are the factors other than the caste which play a decisive role
at the time of the
Election?
Ans. Other than caste some more are there which play a
decisive role at the time of the election –
(i) Money (ii) Power (iii) Prestige.
(i) Money – During election some candidates purchase the vote by giving money.
(ii) Power – Power also attracts the voter. Sometimes willingly and sometimes by
force.
(iii) Prestige – Suppose any party or candidate having good prestige, then
also voters are
Attracted.
Q.19. Unless women are empowered, their problems will never get adequate
attention. Suggest
any 3 ways to empower them.
Ans. Women can be empowered by –
(i)
Enhancing the political and legal status
(ii)
Enhancing their educational status
(iii)
By giving them equal rights and career opportunities.
Q.20. Explain the Sexual Division of Labour.
Ans. In India, women are supposed to bring up children and
look after the home. They do all the
cleaning,
washing, cooking, even tailoring. There is no value attached to this work. In
rural
areas, women
work in the fields, fetch water and fuel but are hardly paid anything.
In urban
areas, middle-class women work in offices, factories etc. Poor women work as
domestic
help, but
none of them get the same wages as men. Their status is lower than that of men.
Men do not
do any housework. They are excellent cooks or tailors but they take up these
jobs
only
when paid in hotels, etc.
Q.21. Explain the major factors responsible for the rigid caste system
disappearing from India.
Give two suggestions of your own.
Ans. (i) Social reformers like Gandhi, Jyotiba Phule, B.R.
Ambedkar and Ramaswami Naickar
have worked
hard for a society free of caste inequalities.
(ii) Literacy, education, occupational mobility and economic
development have been other
factors. The
position of the landlords has been weakened.
(iii) The Constitution of India prohibits any kind of
discrimination based on caste.
(iv) The
fundamental rights have also played a major role because they are provided to
every
citizen
without any discrimination.
(v) The caste system can be further reduced if education is
spread in every group to every caste.
(vi) Inter-caste marriages can also remove caste barriers.
Q.22. How does Communalism take various forms in Politics? Explain four
forms.
Ans. Communalism can take various forms in politics:
(i) The most common expression of communalism is in everyday
beliefs. It involves
Religious, prejudices, belief in the
superiority of one’s religion over others.
(ii) When it tries to have political dominance of one's own
religious community, especially
by the majority community, it leads to
the desire in minority community to form a
Separate political unit.
(iii) Political mobilisation on religious lines is another
form of communalism. It involves the
Use of sacred symbols, religious leaders,
emotional appeal and plain fear in order to bring
the followers of one religion together in
the political arena. In electoral politics, it leads
to emotional appeals to the voters of one
religion in preference to others.
(iv) Sometimes communalism takes its ugliest form —
communal violence, riots and
Massacres. This we have seen in the case of India and Pakistan at the time of partition
of the country, Gujarat Riot 2002,Ayodya
1992,etc….
Q.23.Write few measures to Combat Communalism in India?
Ans. Communalism can
be combated through following methods,
·
Law should ban parties using Religion in Politics
·
Socio- Economic Backwardness
of the country should be removed so that people are not used as Vote Bank.
·
Political Parties
should rise above narrow gains and stop fanning communal passions.
·
Educational
Institutions should inculcate secular values among the Students.
·
The Election
Commission should prepare a code of Conduct for Parties so that
religion is not used in Politics.
·
Mass Media, TV
Radio,NGOs and People themselves should launch an enlightenment movement so
that Public Opinion is created against Communal Riots.
