Vedeep Institute of Science

Class 10 Political Science(Civics)

Gender, Religion and Caste
Gender :-

Gender is a term used to differentiate men and women.

Feminism and Feminist :-

=A belief or a system in which men and women are treated equally and are given equal
rights is called Feminism and one who believes in this is known as Feminist.

Patriarchy and patriarchal society and problem related to it

= Patriarchy is a system of society in which men hold the power and women are largely
excluded from it.

=A Patriarchal society is male dominated. Male are valued more and in most cases, they
are the leader of the family which makes women to face more difficulties, inequalities and
discrimination.

Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged

in India.

OR

Gender division is not based on biology but on social expectation stereotype. Justify
the statement.

1) In their own house itself: -

First and fore most discrimination towards women starts in family itself. Boys and girls are
brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up
children. Women stay at home and men work outside to play the role of bread winner
inspite of the fact that women can also do the same.

2) In literacy rate: -
Women are also disadvantaged or discriminated in term of literacy. There is huge
difference between literacy rate of men and women. Literacy rate among women is only
54% in comparison to 76% among men. In studies girls mostly perform better than boys
but they don't continue study because parents prefer to spend money on their Son's
education.

3) Discrimination in work as well as at job places.

On an average an Indian women works one hour more than an average man every day.
Yet much of her work is not paid and even if she is paid, her payment is very low as
compared to the payment of men.
Equal remuneration act 1976 was passed in India to resolve the issue of unequal payment
for equal work and this law has to be implemented strictly.

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4) In sex ratio:-
In many parts of India parents prefer to have a sons and find ways to avoid girl child. This
leads to decline in number of girl child which is proven by data which suggest that the sex
ratio of India is big issue that is 914: 1000.

Steps taken by government to improve the condition of girls or women:-

1) For educating girls, government has launched many schemes and programs. For
example, NDA government launched a program named "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao" in
2015 which states that killing of girl child should be stopped and they should be provided
proper education.

2) Government has introduced Anti Dowry Act 1951 and Domestic Violence Act 2005 in
order save women from any kind of harassment...

3) Sati system has been banned and Widow Remarriage Act har been introduced.

4) Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act has been made by government in which

identification of child's gender before birth has been made illegal and punishable offence.

5) In local government which is third tier government 1/3 rd seats are reserved for women
to empower them, so that women can also take, part in decision making.

6) Equal Remuneration Act was passed in 1976 so that men and women can be paid equal
wage for equal work.

Women's political representation and steps which can be taken to improve

representation of women in legislature:-

=The representation of women is very low in legislature as compared to men.

=The percentage of elected women members in lok sabha only 14.3 % out of 543 and in
state assemblies is only 5% which shows discrimination towards women in politics also.

Casteism:-

In country like India there are various caste which creates a situation or a belief know as
casteism which means that one's caste is considered Superior and other's inferior. This
creates a situation of conflicts among different caste in India.

Reasons for casteism or caste conflict in India and ways to control it.

Or

Suggest measures to check casteism in India.

=Lack of education in India have contributed in casteism and caste related conflicts. So to
resolve this issue the literary rate of the country should be improved and many more
people be educated because education upgrades person's thinking and helps them to
understand the importance of equality. For example, urban people are more educated in

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comparison to rural people and in cities equality toward caste is seen more.

=Inequality in the economic life also creates the feeling of superiority and inferiority
among the members of different caste. So, to resolve the conflict steps to be taken to make
caste equal in terms of economy.

=Reservation in government jobs and other sectors create conflicts among different
caste. Due to reservation many higher caste people with poor economic condition and high
educational qualification are deprived from many facilities which creates more conflicts
between lower and higher caste

=Political leaders and parties based on caste should be banned from contesting elections
because they create a rift between different caste.

How caste is used in politics?

or

How caste and politics cannot be separated in "India?

or

Various forms or types in which caste can take place in politics

=All the political parties nominate those candidates to contest elections who belong to that
caste which is in majority in the region in order to win elections.

=When government is formed, parties make sure that representation of each caste find the
place in the cabinet so that the party can get the support of that caste in future also.

=Parties and candidates in orders to gain support appeals to the caste sentiment. They
create conflict between and get a support of particular caste which are more in number.

=Different caste are misused by the political parties. They act like they care about lower
caste but in reality they consider lower caste people just a vote bank and this is the reason
why many caste communities are still in very poor condition, socially as well as
economically.

Some positive impacts of casteism in India and polities:-

Although there are many conflicts and negative impact due to casteism in India positive
impacts which are as follows-

1) Casteism or caste in politics helps the disadvantage communities to fulfil their

demands.

2) The Dalits, OBC due to use of caste in politics have been able to gain more power in
decision making by contesting elections.

3) The backward classes who historically have been discriminated, they can improve their
quality of life and gain success in various sectors because of caste advantage in India..

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Religion: -

Secularism is a belief in which equal importance is given to all population. A perfect

example of a secular state is a country like India. There are many argument which make
India a secular state which are as follows:-

1) Our constitution does not give special status to any particular religion. For example, in
Pakistan, Muslims in the country are in majority and they are given all the importance in
comparison to other religions in the country which is not the case in India.

2) Our constitution provides all the individual of all Communities the rights of any
religion and no one is forced to follow any particular religion.

3) Our constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion. Individuals of any

religion are given equal opportunities to follow their dream and improve their living
condition.

4) Our constitution stops the government to make any kind of decisions which clearly
benefits particular religion.

5) No particular religion is the official religion of India or other secular state.

Why are caste barriers breaking down in India ? Explain ?

Or

Reasons for declining of caste system in India.

Caste barriers are breaking down in India due to following reasons-

1) With the economic development, growth of literacy and education and weakening of
position of landlords in villages, the caste barriers are breaking down.

2) Now in urban areas, it does not matter who is walking along next to us on street or
eating at the next table due to economic changes

3) Our constitution has also helped in breaking the caste barrier by providing right to
equality which prohibits any caste based discrimination.

Explain from how caste system has still not disappeared from India?

Caste has not disappeared from contemporary India and this is proven by the fact that -

1) Even now most of the people marry within their own caste or tribe.

2) Untouchability has not yet ended completely which is clearly seen mostly in village
areas.

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Describe various methods to check the spread of communalism and control it in India.

Communalism is a belief in which one's own religion or particular religion is given

importance.
As we know India is a secular country. But it has many time seen communal incident in
form of clashes and roits. The major reason for it are politics and extremism.
So, following methods should be adopted to stop the spread of communalism:

1) Political parties that are based on religion should be stopped.

2) Communal organisations must be shut down,
3) Religious places must be overlooked to prevent them from spreading hatred.
4) Inter-religious marriage should be encouraged.

How can religion be used in politics in positive way?

1) Politics and religion can be a deadly combination if not used wisely. It should be for the
good of the people rather than used as a weapon against other religions.

2) People should raise demands as a religious community for their development and
growth but not by hurting other's religion.

3) Political leaders and government should have equal response to different religious
conflicts or demands and it should not be used for getting votes and power.

4) Political leaders should also ensure that religion should be used in benefit of
communities by giving them opportunity to represent.

Statement of Gandhi on Religion in politics:

Religion can never be separated from politics.

What are Feminist movement? Why Feminism is good?

1) Feminist movements are women's movement aiming to get equality for women in
personal and professional life. Feminism is good because it helps to make men and
women equal.

2) These movements are also organised to raise the demand to give political opportunity to
women as well as to improve their education and carrier opportunities.

3) To provide equal status of women. It is very important to have more representatives. So

they should be given equal proportion of seats because percentage of women MPs and
MLAS are very low.

4) The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, reserves one-third of all seats for
women in Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the
National Capital Territory of Delhi.

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