Chapter -7(Understanding
Marginalisation)
1. Write in your own words two or more sentences of what you
understand by the word ‘marginalisation’.
Answer:
A social process of being confined to lower social standing
is marginalisation.
It involves People being denied their fundamental rights,
which results in lowering their social and economic status.
It Is a situation when a particular social group is forced to
live on the fringes rather than in the Mainstream.
A marginalised section of society does not get
opportunities for social and economic Development.
2. List two reasons why Adivasis are becoming increasingly
marginalised.
Answer: Adivasis are being increasingly marginalised for the
following two reasons:
1. Changes in forest laws have deprived the Adivasis of access
to forest produce.
2. The construction of factories and other projects in tribal
areas have forced many tribal people to Migrate to other
places in search of a livelihood.
3. Write one reason why you think the Constitution’s
safeguards to protect minority communities are very
important.
Answer: The safeguards to protect minority communities are
necessary because the majority community may culturally
dominate the minority communities, and the minority
communities might become marginalised.
4. Re-read the section on Minorities and Marginalisation. What
do you understand by the term Minority?
Answer: A minority is a community that is numerically small in
relation to the rest of the population. A Particular religious section
which has a low percentage in population compared to the major
religious Community is called a minority.
The Constitution of India provides safeguards to linguistical
and religious minorities as a part of its
Fundamental rights and ensures that minorities do not face
any disadvantage or discrimination.
In India, Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, etc., are included as
minorities.
5. You are participating in a debate where you have to provide
reasons to support the following Statement: ‘Muslims are a
marginalised community.’ Using the data provided in this
chapter, list two reasons that you would give.
Answer:
As per the data provided in the chapter, the literacy rate
of the Muslim population in India is Only 59%, which is the
lowest compared to 65% among Hindus, 70% among
Sikhs, 73% among Buddhists, 80% among Christians, and
94% among Jains.
Also, only 3% of Muslims represent the esteemed Indian
Administrative Service Cadre. The above statistics support
that Muslims are a marginalised community in India.
6. Imagine that you are watching the Republic Day parade on
TV with a friend, and she remarks, “Look at these tribal
people. They look so exotic. And they seem to be dancing all
the time.” ListThree things that you would tell her about the
lives of Adivasis in India.
Answer:
Adivasis have a deep knowledge of forests. They were
hunters and gatherers and lived like Nomads.
They practised shifting agriculture and also cultivated in a
single place.
Their deep knowledge Of forests made them indispensable
to the rulers of various empires during the pre-colonial
period in India.
They have their own language and have influenced the
formation of various Indian languages, Bengali being one of
them..
8.Would you agree with the statement that economic
marginalisation and social marginalisation are interlinked? Why?
Answer:
Social marginalisation and economic marginalisation are
interlinked.
Social marginalisation Forces a social group out of the
mainstream, resulting in a lack of opportunities for skill
development And education.
This means that the people from marginalised sections will
not have proper access to Quality healthcare, which in turn
means that a child from the marginalised section does not
develop into A financially stable adult who otherwise is
capable enough to ensure a better income.
Thus, the Individual who is left behind in socio-economic
development also becomes economically marginalised.
Chapter -8( Confronting Marginalisation)
1.1. List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits
can draw upon to insist that they be treated with Dignity and
as equals. Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed on page 14
to help you answer this question.
Answer -:
The two fundamental rights that Dalits can draw upon to
insist that they be treated with dignity and as equals Are as
follows:
1. Right to Equality: All persons are equal before the law. No
citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of His or
her socioeconomic background, caste, religion, etc. Every
person has equal right of access to all public Places.
2. Cultural and Educational Rights: This includes the right to
protect the culture, language, etc., of different ethnic groups
while at the same time allowing for access of education
without any discrimination.
2.Re-read the story on Rathnam as well as the provisions of the
1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes(Prevention of
Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think he used this law
to file a complaint.
Answer-:
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention
of Atrocities Act, 1989 seeks to punish those who Humiliate
or ill-treat the members of dalit or tribal groups.
Rathnam sought the support of the law, filing his complaint
under the above Act to seek protection against the
domination and violence of the powerful castes in his village.
3. Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that
Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight against
Dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of
the Act that allows her to believe this?
Answer -:
The Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that
Adivasis can use the 1989 Act to fight against dispossession
because this Act guarantees the tribals the right not to be
dispossessed from the land resources forcibly.
They specifically pointed out that this Act merely confirms
what has already been promised to the tribal people in the
Constitution – the land owned by any tribal people cannot be
sold to or bought by non-tribal people. In cases where this
Has happened, the Constitution also guarantees the right of
the tribal people to repossess their land.
