Class 10 NCERT Civics: Chapter 3 - Gender, Religion, and Caste

Overview

Social diversity does not undermine democracy; expressing social differences politically can be desirable. This chapter examines social divisions in India based on gender, religion, and caste, analyzing their nature, political expression, and impact on democracy.

Gender and Politics

Gender division, rooted in social expectations rather than biology, creates hierarchical inequalities often ignored in politics.

Public/Private Division

• Sexual Division of Labour: Women are expected to handle housework (cooking, cleaning, childcare), while men work outside. This is not natural; men take paid domestic roles (e.g., tailors, cooks), but women’s unpaid domestic work is undervalued.
• Women’s Work: Rural women fetch water and work in fields; urban poor women are domestic helpers. Most women combine paid work with domestic labour, yet their contributions are unrecognized.
• Impact: Women, half of humanity, have minimal roles in public life, especially politics, due to historical exclusion.

Political Expression of Gender Division

• Feminist Movements: Global agitations for women’s voting rights, legal status, education, and equality in personal life improved women’s public roles (e.g., women as scientists, engineers).
• Scandinavian Success: Countries like Sweden and Norway have high female participation in public life.
• India’s Challenges: India remains patriarchal, with women facing:
  • Low literacy (54% vs. 76% for men).
  • Fewer girls in higher education due to parental preference for sons.
  • Underrepresentation in high-paying jobs.
  • Unequal pay despite the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
  • Declining child sex ratio (919 girls per 1,000 boys) due to sex-selective abortions.
  • Harassment and domestic violence, especially in urban areas.

Women’s Political Representation

• Low Representation: Women’s share in Lok Sabha reached 14.36% in 2019; state assemblies below 5%. India lags behind many African and Latin American countries.
• Solution: Panchayati Raj reserves one-third of seats for women, resulting in over 10 lakh elected women representatives.
• Legislative Progress: The 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam reserves 33% of seats for women in Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and Delhi Assembly.
• Impact: Political expression of gender issues benefits disadvantaged groups, but progress requires women in power.

Religion, Communalism, and Politics

Religious diversity is widespread, and its political expression can be positive or negative, as seen in India and Northern Ireland.

Religion in Politics

• Gandhiji’s View: Politics should be guided by moral values from all religions, not one specific religion.
• Positive Expressions:
  • Human rights groups demand government action to prevent communal riots and protect minorities.
  • Women’s movements seek equitable family laws across religions to end discrimination.
• Acceptable Role: Expressing religious needs in politics is valid if all religions are treated equally, and the state regulates practices to prevent oppression.

Communalism

• Definition: Communal politics views religion as the basis of social community, assuming followers of one religion form a uniform group with conflicting interests against others.
• Flawed Belief: People have multiple identities; assuming uniform religious interests suppresses diverse voices within communities.
• Forms of Communalism:
  • Everyday prejudices and stereotypes (e.g., believing one religion is superior).
  • Majoritarian dominance or minority separatism (e.g., Northern Ireland’s conflicts).
  • Political mobilization using religious symbols or fear (e.g., appealing to one religion’s voters).
  • Communal violence, riots, and massacres (e.g., India-Pakistan partition riots).

Secular State

• India’s Secularism: The Constitution counters communalism by:
  • Having no official religion (unlike Pakistan or Sri Lanka).
  • Guaranteeing freedom to practice any religion or none.
  • Prohibiting religious discrimination.
  • Allowing state intervention for equality (e.g., banning untouchability).
• Need: Secularism is foundational to India, requiring countering communal prejudices in daily life and politics.

Caste and Politics

Caste, unique to India, involves hereditary occupational divisions and ritual exclusion, impacting politics both positively and negatively.

Caste Inequalities

• Historical Context: The caste system enforced untouchability and restricted education and land ownership for “outcastes.” Reformers like Jotiba Phule and B.R. Ambedkar fought for equality.
• Changes: Urbanization, education, and occupational mobility weakened caste hierarchies, but inequalities persist:
  • Most marriages are within castes.
  • Untouchability continues despite constitutional bans.
  • Upper castes dominate urban middle classes due to historical educational access.
• Economic Link: Caste influences economic status, with upper castes better off and Dalits/Adivasis facing higher poverty rates.

Caste in Politics

• Casteism: Assumes caste as the sole basis of community, ignoring diverse interests within castes.
• Forms:
  • Parties select candidates based on caste composition of constituencies.
  • Appeals to caste sentiments for votes (e.g., parties favoring specific castes).
  • Ensuring caste representation in governments.
• Limits: Caste alone doesn’t determine elections because:
  • No constituency has a single-caste majority.
  • No party wins all votes of a caste; voters prioritize party loyalty, economic status, or government performance.

Politics in Caste

• Politicization: Politics shapes caste by:
  • Expanding caste groups through inclusion of sub-castes.
  • Forming caste coalitions for political negotiation.
  • Creating new categories like “backward” and “forward” castes.
• Positive Impact: Enables Dalits and OBCs to demand power, dignity, and resources.
• Negative Impact: Exclusive focus on caste can divert attention from poverty, development, or corruption, leading to tensions.

Key Learnings

• Gender, religion, and caste divisions influence Indian politics, with both positive and negative effects.
• Women face discrimination in education, pay, and safety; political representation is improving through reservations.
• Communalism threatens India’s secular fabric; secularism ensures equality and counters religious prejudice.
• Caste inequalities persist, but political engagement empowers disadvantaged groups, though it risks diverting focus from broader issues.

Exercises

1. List aspects of women’s discrimination in India (e.g., literacy, pay, safety).
2. Describe forms of communal politics with examples (e.g., riots, religious mobilization).
3. Explain persistence of caste inequalities (e.g., marriage patterns, economic disparities).
4. Give two reasons caste alone doesn’t determine elections (e.g., no single-caste majority, party loyalty).
5. Describe women’s representation in India’s legislatures (14.36% in Lok Sabha, <5% in state assemblies).
6. Mention two secular provisions: No official religion, freedom to practice any religion.
7. Gender divisions refer to: (b) Unequal roles assigned by society.
8. Seats are reserved for women in: (d) Panchayati Raj bodies.
9. Correct communal politics statements: (c) A and C (superiority of one religion, followers as one community).
10. Wrong Constitution statement: (b) Gives official status to one religion.
11. Social divisions peculiar to India: Caste.
12. Match List I with List II:

    List I	List II
    Equal rights for women/men	Feminist
    Religion as community basis	Communalist
    Caste as community basis	Castiest
    No religious discrimination	Secularist