CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

The final draft for the fulfilment of project of Sociology

On
“Cult Figures and their impacts”

Submitted to: Dr. Sangeet Kumar Submitted By: Vibhuti Sharma

Faculty of Sociology Roll No.: 1772
1st Semester B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.)

1
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................................. 4

Declaration .............................................................................................................................................. 5

Research Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 6

Aims & Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 6

Hypothesis........................................................................................................................................... 6
Research questions ............................................................................................................................. 6
Scope And Limitation .......................................................................................................................... 6
Method of research ............................................................................................................................ 7
Sources Of Data................................................................................................................................... 7
Methods Of Data Collection................................................................................................................ 7
Tools Of Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 7
Sampling Technique ............................................................................................................................ 7
Pilot Survey ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapterisation ......................................................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 2: Deprivation in India: An overview ................................................................................... 13
Chapter 3: Current Scenario of Deprivation in India ........................................................................ 15
Problem faced by deprived sections of MP ...................................................................................... 15
dalits .................................................................................................................................................. 17
other backward classes (Obc) ........................................................................................................... 19
women .............................................................................................................................................. 21
Children ............................................................................................................................................. 24
ECONOMICALLY BACKWARD CLASSES .............................................................................................. 28
MINORITIES ....................................................................................................................................... 29
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT ................................................................................................................. 30
MENTALLY CHALLENGED PERSON .................................................................................................... 32
Detailed analysis of Deprivation ........................................................................................................... 32

Mental Illness .................................................................................................................................... 33

Poverty, Exclusion and Growth ......................................................................................................... 33
Hunger............................................................................................................................................... 34
Poor Education .................................................................................................................................. 34

2
 Violence ............................................................................................................................................ 35
Crime ................................................................................................................................................. 35
Female Disadvantage ........................................................................................................................ 35
Violation of Human Rights ................................................................................................................ 36
Income inequality ............................................................................................................................. 36
Legal Provisions and Plans .................................................................................................................... 37

Directive Principles of State Policy.................................................................................................... 40

Human Rights .................................................................................................................................... 41
Legal Provisions for Women ............................................................................................................. 42
Field Work ............................................................................................................................................. 45

Conclusions and Suggestions ................................................................................................................ 49

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 51

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Writing a project is one of the most difficult academic challenges I have ever faced. Though
this project has been presented by me but there are many people who remained in veil, who
gave their support and helped me to complete this project.

First of all I am very grateful to my subject teacher Dr. Sangeet Kumar without the kind
support of whom and help the completion of the project would have been a herculean task for
me. He took out time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project and
suggested me from where and how to collect data.

I acknowledge my family and friends who gave their valuable and meticulous advice which
was very useful and could not be ignored in writing the project. I want to convey most sincere
thanks to my faculties for helping me throughout the project.

Thereafter, I would also like to express my gratitude towards our seniors who played a vital
role in the compilation of this research work.

I would also like to express my gratitude towards the library staff of my college which
assisted me in acquiring the sources necessary for the compilation of my project.

Last, but not the least, I would like to thank the Almighty for obvious reasons.

VIBHUTI SHARMA

4
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work reported in the BA LL.B (Hons.) Project Report entitled “Cult
figures and their impact” submitted at Chanakya National Law University, Patna is an
authentic record of my work carried out under the supervision of Dr. Sangeet Kumar. I have
not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am fully responsible for
the contents of my Project Report.

5
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

The researcher will do the research:-

1. The concept of cult figures.

2. Causes of the rise of the cult figures in the society.

3. To study about the factors people to follow these figures.

4. Impacts of these cult figures in the society.

5. To look at the legal aspect of this problem and study about the concerned legal provisions.

HYPOTHESIS

The researcher believes that:

1. Researcher id of the mindset that the society being in constant flux in the last two decades
due to socio economic factors, the need to rely on higher power seems to have increased
among the people.

2. It is often found that the cult figures, mislead the society and amass illegal we

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study will seek the answers of the following research questions:
1. What are reasons of social deprivation even after 70 years of independence and
implementation of various policies for upliftment of such sections?
2. What are the aids available to unprivileged sections?
3. What are the problems and difficulties faced by socially deprived sections in current times?

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

6
 The resources on which the researcher resorts for data & information collection is
limited.
 There is a time restraint which bounds the researcher
 And, this research is limited to a particular area.

METHOD OF RESEARCH

 The methodology adopted for this research work is traditional i.e., doctrinal and non-
doctrinal too.

SOURCES OF DATA

 The researcher focusses on obtaining information from both the available sources;
they are (1) primary sources of data, (2) secondary sources of data.
 Primary sources of data include first-hand information available, like case laws,
journals, district plan goals, etc. and secondary sources include magazines, journals,
etc.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

 For the purpose of research work, the researcher has done doctrinal and non-doctrinal
research methods. In Doctrinal research method, the researcher has collected
information through library study, books and through surfing the web. In Non-
Doctrinal research method, the researcher has collected information by conducting
interview and questionnaire schedule methods.

TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

 The Researcher has made use of following tools of data collection: interview and
questionnaire schedule/record.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

7
 The Researcher has adopted both convenient and purposive sampling method for the
research work.

PILOT SURVEY

 The Researcher has conducted pilot survey before going to the field work. In
conducting pilot survey, the researcher has asked research questions from the
respondents and only after getting the approval of the respondents, the researcher
went on to do the field work.

8
CHAPTERISATION

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Social exclusion has been defined by the Department of International Development (DFID)
as a process by which certain groups are systematically disadvantaged because they are
discriminated against on the basis of their ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, caste,
descent, gender, age, disability, HIV status, migrant status or where they live. Discrimination
occurs in public institutions, such as the legal system or education and health services, as well
as social institutions like the household‖ Whilst the concept arose in response to
dissatisfaction with approaches to poverty that focused on income alone, the term remains
contested and there is no agreed definition. Most commonly, social exclusion is seen to apply
to groups, involving the exclusion of individuals due to their membership of particular groups
that suffer discrimination, i.e. according to racial, ethnic, gender, geographic or age
characteristics. There are various understandings of social exclusion which emphasize
different aspects: the groups at risk of being excluded; what people are excluded from, e.g.
employment, education, citizenship, respect; the problems associated with the impact of
social exclusion, e.g. low income, poor housing; the processes driving exclusion; and the
agents and actors involved.

There is agreement, however, that social exclusion is multidimensional – it encompasses

social, political, cultural and economic dimensions, and operates at different social levels. It
is also dynamic, in that it impacts people in various ways and to differing degrees over time.
And it is relational – it is the product of social interactions which are characterized by
unequal power relations, and it can produce ruptures in relationships between people and
society, which result in a lack of social participation, social protection, social integration and
power. However, since there is rarely a complete lack of access, there is some arbitrariness in
where the social exclusion lines are drawn, and therefore who is perceived to be excluded.
One particularly useful feature of the concept of social exclusion is its focus on process and
9
relations. It complements the concept of inequality, which focuses more on disparities
between different categories of people. ‘Social inequalities‘, for example, are conceptualized
as constraints on opportunity, in accessing education or healthcare for example, which are
based on class and other status ascriptions such as gender, age or ethnicity. However, such a
focus on structural constraints can ignore the actors who are continuously building and
transforming these structures. Thus many believe that the utility of social exclusion is in that
it offers an actor-oriented approach, which points to who is doing what, and in relation to
whom. It also allows us to identify and tackle issues of power.

In development practice the term ‘exclusion‘ has become popular with non-economic social
scientists. This popularity is due to its focus on societal institutions, actors, relationships and
processes, of which measured disparity in income or lack of access to social services may be
both an indicator and an outcome. The term "social deprivation" is slightly ambiguous and
lacks a concrete definition. There are several important aspects that are consistently found
within research on the subject. With social deprivation one may have limited access to the
social world due to factors such as low socioeconomic status or poor education. The socially
deprived may experience "a deprivation of basic capabilities due to a lack of freedom, rather
than merely low income."1 This lack of freedoms may include reduced opportunity, political
voice, or dignity. 1

Part of the confusion in defining social deprivation seems to stem from its apparent similarity
to social exclusion. Social deprivation may be correlated with or contribute to social
exclusion, which is when a member in a particular society is ostracized by other members of
the society. The excluded member is denied access to the resources that allow for healthy
social, economic, and political interaction. Pierson has identified five key factors that set
social exclusion in motion – poverty; lack of access to jobs; denial of social supports or peer
networks; exclusion from services; and negative attitude of the local neighbourhood. It is also
associated with abusive caretaking, developmental delay, mental illness and subsequent
suicide.

Ideas about social exclusion date back a long time. Plato‘s political work I nomoi
distinguished the artisans and farmers from the citizens arguing that being a citizen is in it a
full-time job, superior to all others. He subsequently ranked people in three quality groups. In
the first group and of the highest quality he placed the philosophers, followed by the citizens
1
Bassouk, E.L.; Donelan, B. (2003). "Social Deprivation". In Green, B.L. (ed.),Trauma Intervention in War and
Peace. New York City: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
10
and then came the artisans and farmers and finally completely excludes women and slaves,
stressing that they should have neither any political nor any social rights. In the Middle Ages
and between the XII to the XIX centuries, the socially excluded were those people considered
unacceptable by the church (Allard, 1973, p23). This group included killers, thieves, the
poverty-stricken (known as paupers), certain occupations (such as butchers, decorators,
mercenaries etc.), women, the

physically and mentally handicapped, the elderly, the prostitutes, the beggars etc. (Allard
quoted by Ward). The importance of being socially included was first articulated in the
economic literature by Adam Smith (1776), who described a key component of social life as
the ability to appear in public without shame.2

The economic transformation of post WWII Western Europe brought significant changes to
the economic fabric of Western countries, alongside the emergence of strong individualism.
The result of the economic downturn was not just a lack of income or wealth for certain
people or groups. With the weakening of social ties in general and family ties in particular,
the consequences of joblessness resulted in what came to be termed as social exclusion - a
process that fully or partially excludes individuals or groups from social, economic and
cultural networks and has been linked to the idea of citizenship. The meaning of social
exclusion as laid out in 1970‘s France referred to several categories of people labeled as
social problem. Remy Lenoir, for instance, spoke of the following as constituting the
―excluded‖: ―mentally and physically handicapped, suicidal people, aged invalids, abused
children, substance abusers, delinquents, social parents, multi-problem households, marginal,
asocial persons, and other social misfits‖. The term social exclusion has been extended by
some to include exclusion from livelihood; secure, permanent employment; earnings;
property, credit, or land; housing; minimal or prevailing consumption levels; education,
skills, and cultural capital; the welfare state; citizenship and legal equality; democratic
participation; public goods; the nation or the dominant race; family and sociability; humanity,
respect, fulfilment and understanding. However, there is also a need for caution in not using
the term too indiscriminately) as to lose meaning, support and applicability. In a sense social
exclusion has become a term that straddles traditional notions like poverty, capacity
deprivation, and underclass. Both have led to lack of clarity as the real meaning of social
exclusion. Thus the first task here is to clarify the meaning of social inclusion. The term
social exclusion first originated in Europe, where there has tended to be a greater emphasis on
2
Smith (1776), Vol. II, Book V, Chapter 2; in the edition by R.H. Campbell and A.S. Skinner (1976), p. 469-471.
11
spatial exclusion. There is also a policy focus on those living in ‗deprived areas‘, where poor
housing, inadequate social services, weak political voice and lack of decent work all combine
to create an experience of marginalization. Social exclusion is a socially constructed concept,
and can depend on an idea of what is considered normal. In many developing countries,
where most people do not enjoy an acceptable standard of living, defining what is normal is
not a simple task, especially given the lack of the welfare state and a formalized labor market.
Indeed, as social exclusion can be structured around hierarchy, the exclusion of people on the
basis of their race, caste or gender, may be viewed by the society excluding them as normal.
As such, the concept of social exclusion is contested, in that it is often difficult to objectively
identify who is socially excluded, as it is a matter of the criteria adopted and the judgments
used. The concept of adverse incorporation sees poverty and inequality as a result, primarily,
of unequal economic and power relations, thus requiring efforts to change the societal,
political and economic dynamics that keep people disadvantaged. Many impoverished and
exploited people are in fact included, but on highly adverse terms. Social exclusion refers to
the multiple and changing factors resulting in people being excluded from the normal
exchanges, practices and rights of modern society. Poverty is one of the most obvious factors,
but social exclusion also refers to inadequate rights in housing, education, health and access
to services. It affects individuals and groups, particularly in urban and rural areas, who are in
some way subject to discrimination or segregation; and it emphasizes the weaknesses in the
social infrastructure and the risk of allowing a two-tier society to become established by
default. The Commission believes that a fatalistic acceptance of social exclusion must be
rejected, and that all Community citizens have a right to the respect of human dignity.

12
CHAPTER 2: DEPRIVATION IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW
Human behavior is conceived of as an outcome of genetic and biochemical characteristics,
past learning experiences, motivational states, psycho-social antecedents, and the cultural
context in which it unfolds3 Culture plays a complex role in the natural history and psycho-
social development of human behavior4 comprising of customs, beliefs, values, knowledge,
and skills. Social norms, the shared rules that specify appropriate and inappropriate
behaviors;5mores, that people consider vital to their well-being and to their most cherished
values,and sanctions, the socially imposed rewards and punishments that compel people to
comply with norms,6 constitute important ingredients of a culture. Orlandi et al. (1992),
define culture as shared values, beliefs, norms, traditions, customs, art, history, folklore, and
institutions of a group of people. A society which is a cohesive group of people shares all the
ingredients of the culture among its members. The Indian subcontinent has been likened to a
deep net into which various races and people have drifted and been caught in the remote past
and their diverse origins have dictated variety. Geographical conditions of the sub-continent
forced these varied people to stay together in a multiple society imposing on them what has
been described by historians as ‘Unity in Diversity‘ having cultural homogeneity7. Within the
perspective and definition of culture, Indian society as a social group does not have one
culture, because this society consists of several racial, ethnic, religious, and caste groups that
have their own beliefs, customs, values, art, history, and folklore, and identify with their
respective groups. As one social group, therefore, Indian society has no cultural homogeneity
contrary to what historians describe. The concept of Unity in Diversity, which means

3
Sutker P. Drug and Psychopathology. Maryland: National Institute of Drug Abuse Research. 1977;19:23–8.
4
Orlandi MA. Promoting health and preventing disease in health care settings: An analysis of barriers. Prev
Med.1987
5
Berne E. New York: Newton Books; 1964. Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationship.
6
Light D, Jr, Keller S. New York: Knopf; 1985. Sociology.
7
medind.nic.in/daa/t07/i2/daat07i2p127.pdf
13
complete harmony, peace, and adjustment among different cultural elements arises from a
view of accepting the textual position of the Hindu social system, and explaining as well as
justifying the empirical social reality in terms of the Vedic scriptures, based on a consensus
model. The concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’ gives rise to an erroneous understanding of
India‘s social reality. As the societies are governed by their members, it is obvious that the
majority group will have the maximum say. Therefore, there has been a dialectical
interrelationship between majority social groups who have monopolized the scarce goods of
power and prestige and minorities those who lack these resources. Deprivation plays an
important role in the unfolding of human behavior in Indian society.8 Ethnic minorities are
most subjected to being at receiving end of social deprivation, particularly when religious
scriptures and social sanctions permit the deprivations. Deprivation is the consequence of
socioeconomic disparity due to the caste-system that is peculiarly fitted in the Indian society;
to hand on cultural patterns and particular items of the culture. The traditional Hindu society
that is compartmentalized into various caste-groups is a social institution dictating superior
and lesser beings among its members. This system that places the untouchables at the bottom
of the caste-pyramid is one of the obvious institutions of caste-inequality, a system of
legalized inequality, a variant of an ascriptive system of stratification, wherein, the allocation
of roles and status is governed by its own principles, determining the social, economic,
political, and ritualistic structure of individuals in relation to each other.9 The essence of the
caste is the arrangement of hereditary groups in a hierarchy, as a necessary corollary the caste
confines the individual in the occupation handed down from father to the son and governed
by precise rules regarding the acceptance or rejection of food or water from the members of
the other caste. Caste-system in India has had its impact on all aspects of life; on the past,
present, and future, based on purity and pollution basis. Birth only determines the
individual‘s social status throughout his life10and also his access to various resources. The
deprived masses described compendiously as Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes in the
constitution of India are in fact low castes and tribes in the Hindu social order, treated as
caste- less, outcastes or untouchables and have been subjected to deprivation and
discrimination for centuries.11 Historically, they spring from the aboriginal inhabitants,
conquered and enslaved by Aryan invaders. For the first time in history, untouchables were

8
Sharma SK. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House; 1986. Reform, Protest and Social Transformation; pp. 67–72.
9
Srinivas MN. Delhi: Vikas Publications; 1970. As quoted in David Manderbaum‘s Society in India; pp. 1–228
10
Jiloha RC. New Delhi: Blumoon Books; 1995. The Native Indian: In Search of Identity; pp. 56–9.

11
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990819/
14
accorded equal status to other citizens in the constitution of independent India. 12 With the
desire to bring them in step with the privileged ones, the policy of reservations was
introduced, offering them the advantage of education and jobs. The last 62 years of
independence have witnessed a massive social mobility and transformation as well as the
emergence of ‘the educated‘ among the deprived castes, generally looked down upon with
contempt by the larger society for their mobility on the crutches of reservations.13 Although
untouchability is outlawed and the caste-system is not overtly practiced, at least in the bigger
cities, there are other ways of isolating and segregating them similar to abolition of slavery in
the USA, where injustice to African-Americans continued until the passing of the Civil
Rights Act. Emergence of the ‘educated among the deprived and their journey from
traditional defiling occupations to white-collared respectable office jobs has created an
environment, exposing them to various psychological and physical vulnerabilities causing
mental health strains.

CHAPTER 3: CURRENT SCENARIO OF DEPRIVATION IN INDIA

It is an accepted fact that there is a large proportion of population which lacks land resources
and suffers from deprivation of different kinds including unemployment, illiteracy and ill-
health. The deprivation is more pronounced in the case of weaker sections such as women,
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and backward communities. And what is more, this
appears to be more pronounced in the case of backward regions. Here, we will discuss the
problems faced by:

PROBLEM FACED BY DEPRIVED SECTIONS OF MP

There are 46 recognized Scheduled Tribes in Madhya Pradesh, India, three of which have
been identified as 'Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups' (PTGs)(formerly known as 'Special
Primitive Tribal Groups'}.14 The population of Scheduled Tribals (ST) is 21.1% of the state
population (15.31 million out of 72.62 million), according to the 2011 census. [1] Bounded
by the Narmada River to the north and the Godavari River to the southeast, tribal peoples
occupy the slopes of the region's mountains. The term "Scheduled Tribes" refers to specific

12
http://hindunet.org/hvk/articles/0302/151.html
13
http://ddceutkal.ac.in/Syllabus/MSW/Paper-8.pdf
14
http://www.tribal.nic.in/WriteReadData/CMS/Documents/201212030346229248046File1220.pdf
15
indigenous peoples whose status is acknowledged to by the Constitution of India. The term
Adivasi also applies to indigenous peoples of this area.

Malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh is much higher than the national averages for India. And
MP‘s urban poor are worst-affected. This is the first in a series of articles, researched as part
of the Infochange Media Fellowships 2009 that analyse the food security of the urban poor
who reside in the slums of Bhopal

Figure 1children from a basti- Hungry yet resilient

The state of Madhya Pradesh has seen rapid urbanisation in the past two decades. The lack of
livelihood opportunities, especially in sectors like agriculture, coupled with restrictions
imposed on the use of forests, has resulted in the migration of the poor from rural areas to
cities.

Urban areas have come to symbolise, and apparently seem to provide, better income and
employment opportunities. However, the people who move in to access these opportunities
tend to remain on the socio-economic margins, struggling to meet the most basic
requirements of life and livelihood. One of the most intense struggles is for food. In recent
times there has been some attempt to highlight the extent of malnutrition among the poor, but
the focus has largely been on rural areas. The urban situation remains under-explored, but it

16
is very relevant particularly in the context of the food security legislation the government is
poised to introduce.

DALITS

Dalit (Oppressed) is the name which the people belonging to those castes at the very bottom
of India‘s caste hierarchy have given themselves. Formerly, they were known as
Untouchables, because their presence was considered to be so polluting that contact with
them was to be avoided at all costs. The official label for them has been Scheduled Castes,
because if their caste is listed on the government schedule, caste members become eligible
for a number of affirmative action benefits and protections. Dalits have chosen the ―Dalit‖
label for themselves for at least three important reasons. First, the label indicates that the
condition of the Dalits has not been of their own making or choosing; it is something which
has been inflicted upon them by others. Thus, secondly, there is an element of militancy built
into the label; Dalits seek to overcome the injustices and indignities forced upon them so as to
gain the equality and respect hitherto denied them. ―Dalit‖ also indicates that all these castes
(Pariahs, Chamars, Mahars, Bhangis, etc.) share a common condition and should therefore
unite in a common struggle for dignity, equality, justice and respect under a common name.

The thoroughly reactionary Varna and caste system has hounded Indian society for thousands
of years. India is the only country in the world where such a system came into being and still
exists. The Varna and caste system was sanctified by Hindu religion and by Vedic scriptures.
This was the main reason for its consolidation. The notorious text, Manuscript, codified the
then prevailing social norms and consigned the shudras, atishudras and women to a
thoroughly unequal and miserable existence. The distinctiveness of the caste system was that
it was hereditary, compulsory and endogamous. The worst affected by the caste system and
its social oppression have been the dalits, or atishudras, or scheduled castes. Albeit in a
different way, the adivasis or scheduled tribes in India have also faced social oppression over
the ages. The stories of Shambuka in the Ramayana and of Ekalavya in the Mahabharata are
classic testimonies of the non-egalitarian nature of Hindu society in ancient India.

Along with the curse of untouchability, the dalits had no right to have any property. They had
to eat the foulest food, including leftovers thrown away by the higher varnas; they were not
allowed to draw water from the common well; they were prohibited from entering temples;
they were barred from the right to education and knowledge; they had to perform menial jobs
17
for the higher castes; they were not allowed to use the common burial ground; they were not
allowed to live in the main village inhabited by the upper varnas; and they were deprived of
ownership rights to land and property, leading to the lack of access to all sources of economic
mobility. Thus, dalits were subjected to both social exclusion and economic discrimination
over the centuries. In one form or the other, this continues even today in most parts of the
country.

As Comrade B.T. Ranadive pointed out ―the three powerful class interests, the imperialists,
the landlords and bourgeois leadership were acting as the defenders of the caste system, by
protecting the landlord and pre-capitalist land system.‖ It will be seen from here that the
interests of the bourgeois class rested in maintaining the status quo. There has been no basic
change in caste system after nearly 60 years of independence after independence as the
bourgeoisie compromised with landlordism fostered caste prejudices. After independence
also, the basic structure of land relations, overhauling of which would have given a blow to
untouchability and the caste system has not been changed.

The 19th and 20th centuries saw great social reformers like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sri Narayan
Guru, Jyothiba Phule, Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy Naickar and others. These social reform
movements conducted many struggles against the caste system, caste oppression and
untouchability in many ways. But, despite the struggles against caste oppression, the social
reform movement did not address the crucial issue of radical land reforms. It got delinked
from the anti-imperialist struggle. The Congress-led national movement on its part, failed to
take up radical social reform measures as part of the freedom movement.

Diametrically opposed to the progressive role of the reform movement was the thoroughly
reactionary role on social issues that was played by the RSS and the Sangh Parivar ever since
its inception. Apart from its rabid communal ideology, the RSS adopted a Brahmanical stance
right from the beginning. With this understanding, the RSS opposed the amendments to the
Hindu Code Bill after independence. The BJP‘s opposition to the implementation of
the Mandal Commission recommendations was also on this basis.

Wherever the BJP is in power in the states, atrocities on Muslims, dalits and adivasis have
increased markedly. At the same time in some areas, they sought to pit the poor people
belonging to dalits and tribal community against Muslims and Christians. So, the fight
against caste oppression and communalism are interlinked.

18
The experience clearly shows the need to link the fight against caste oppression with the
struggle against class exploitation. At the same time, the class struggle must include the
struggle for the abolition of the caste system and all forms of social oppression. This is an
important part of the democratic revolution.

OTHER BACKWARD CLASSES (OBC)

The other backward classes occupied a low position in traditional society but were above the
line of untouchability. Other backward classes experienced considerable gap between
themselves and the upper castes that were rapidly westernizing themselves. The upper castes
not only adopted the western life style but look up western education with all seriousness.
The western education being mostly confined to them, the cultural, social and economic
distance between them and the other backward classes widened. The lower castes realized
that mere Sanskritization was not enough to improve their social condition. It did not provide
them avenue to obtain well paid and prestigious jobs in the administrative services. So they
desired to get themselves educated through the English medium in order to qualify for these
jobs. In fact, the demand for educational concessions was the major objective of the
Backward Class Movement which started in the early part of the 20th century. The movement
was strongest in Tamil Nadu, Mysore and Maharashtra when Brahmins had almost total
monopoly in higher education, professions and Government employment. They also formed
associations to advance and protect the interest of the non-Brahmins. Reservation of seats in
professional courses, post graduate studies and in Govt. services became their major
demands.

There are those who view that reservation should be in terms of economic class instead of
castes. They say that caste based reservation is against the basic spirit of the Constitution.
The Constitution promises equality and non-Castiest and non-communal society. The upper
class elites are in favor of income as the sole criterion of determining the backwardness.

On the basis of certain elements of backwardness such as illiteracy and lack of education
poverty, exploitation of labor, non-representation in services and untouchability, Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes are listed in the Constitution while the third group i.e. Other
Backward Class is unlisted. Instead it is loosely defined. As a result of the absence of clear
definition, the problem of Other Backward classes is very complicated and very difficult to

19
deal with. While the term ‗backward classes‘ has not been defined by the Indian
Constitution, the characteristics of backwardness are described here and there and also
sometimes the categories are mentioned. Article 15(4) speaks of the socially and
educationally backward class. Article 16

(4) uses the term ‗backward class‘ and speaks of inadequate representation in services.
Article 46 mentions the weaker sections of the people and includes in that expression the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Article 340 empowers the State to investigate the
conditions of the backward class and to help them by grants.Recognising that Indian society
is made up hundreds of millions of citizens who are utterly poor, illiterate and live in small,
closed tribal and village societies the Constitution has laid stress on the social, economic and
political justice along ‗with equality of status.

While Article 14 and 15 (1) and (2) emphasize equality of all citizens before law and prohibit
discrimination on grounds of caste, creed, birth etc., Article 15 (4) asserts that these
Constitutional provisions do not prevent the State from making special provisions for the
advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Thus, the Constitution has recognized that it is necessary to
take special steps to help the socially and economically backward classes. The Backward
Class Commission was appointed in 1953 with Kaka Kalelkar as the Chairman according to
the Article 340 of the Constitution. The Commission was asked to determine the criteria to be
adopted to provide concessions to ―socially and educationally backward classes‖ besides
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Commission was also asked to prepare a list of such classes. The Commission prepared a
list of about 2400 castes. The words specifically used are classes and sections and not castes
and yet, as explained in the body of the report the words sections and classes mean nothing
but castes and no other interpretation is feasible. List prepared for backward classes deemed
to have been made in terms of castes and the term ‗backward classes‘ has been used to
describe and include ―backward castes‖. But the Constitution does not recognize caste,
except the scheduled castes. It must be recognized that the term class is associated with
economic category and indicates an open status group. By contrast, the backward classes in
India form an aggregate of closed status groups; they belong to these groups by birth, not
because of their individual economic characteristics.

20
Backward status is ascribed on the basis of birth to certain castes. Hence, for all practical
purposes the term backward class is used for backward castes, while the Constitution
recognizes special provisions for advancement of any socially and economically backward
class. Mandal

Commission‘s recommendation for reservation of 27 per cent Government jobs for backward
classes has also been accepted by the Supreme Court of India and caste has been accepted as
the basis for identifying the beneficiaries of reservation. Of course Supreme Court has
ordered that the creamy layer has to be excluded from reservation.

WOMEN

Women in independent India are comparatively in a more respectable position. Some of the
problems which had been haunting the community of women for centuries are not found
now.

Problems such as child marriage, practice of ‗sati‘, prohibition on widow remarriage,

exploitation of widows, devadasi system, purdah system, etc. have almost disappeared.
Development in the field of science and technology, universalization of education, socio-
political movements, modernization and similar developments have changed the approach of
people towards women to a certain extent. These developments boosted the morale and self-
confidence of women. As a result, Indian women now feel that they too have their own
individuality, personality, self-respect, talent, capacity and efficiency.

Many of those women who could grab the opportunities extended to them have proved that
they are capable of discharging the responsibilities assigned to them on par with men. The
nation which neglected almost 50% of its population for several centuries has now
understood the necessity of giving equal rights and opportunities to its womenfolk.

The Constitution of India provides equal rights and opportunities to women. It does not make
any discrimination on the grounds of sex. Indian women are also responding positively to this
changed socio-political situation. This does not mean that our women are completely free
from problems. On the contrary, the changing situation is causing them new problems. They
are now beset with new stresses and strains. Some of the major problems haunting the
modern women may briefly be analyzed here.

Increasing violence against women:

21
Most societies exhibit violence in one way or another. Violence against men or women is a
social problem because; a large number of people are affected by it almost every day. Each of
us is affected in countless ways by the climate of violence. Violence disrupts society.

Every society creates institutions designed to achieve certain ends. Violence cuts short
normal institutional functions. Every act of violence, from assault to armed revolution,
detracts to some degree from the authority normally vested in society.

Who is most likely to be victimised by violent crime? Women are less likely to be victimised
by violent crime than men, though or some crimes and among some groups of women,
victimisation is higher than men. Violence against women is not a new phenomenon in India.
Women in Indian society have been victims of ill-treatment, humiliation, torture, and
exploitation for as long as written records of social organization and family life are available.
These records are replete with incidents of abduction, rape, murder, and torture of women.
But, regretfully, female victims of violence have not been given much attention in the
literature on social problems or in the literature on criminal violence.

Crime against women is an ever-increasing problem. This problem has been growing more
and more acute in India during the recent years. Crimes against women include violence
against women, rape, molestation, dowry harassment, wife-battering, kidnapping female
children to be sold into brothel homes, forcible embracement, forcible religious conversion,
cheating young women with a promise to marry them or fetch them a job and various types of
sexual harassments and abuse of women including eve teasing.

Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination refers to ―the practice whereby one sex is given preferential
treatment over the others. The practice of giving social importance to the biological
differences between men and women is there everywhere. In some societies, these differences
are very much pronounced while in others, they are given less importance. Even the Indian
society is not an exception to this.

In our socialization process female children are becoming victims of discrimination. In the
Indian social context even today male children are preferred to female children. Hence,
female children are subject to discriminatory treatment. Male preference and female
negligence has almost become a working policy especially in the rural areas. Discrimination

22
between male and female children is made in matters relating to food, dress, health,
education, domestic work etc

Most of the Indian families are patriarchal. Hence, the philosophy of equality of sex is not
acceptable to them. Domestic works such as – cooking, looking after the children, washing
clothes and vessels, keeping the house neat and clean, looking after the domesticated animals,
serving family members like a nurse on all days and especially when they fall sick, etc., are
branded as ―women‘s work‖. Very rarely men do these works. But when the question of
exercising power comes, it is always the man who dominates. His decisions are final and his
orders are ultimate. The female voice is always suppressed.

Women suffer from some distinctive health problems from which men are free. Women have
to undergo the distinctive biological process of pregnancy, or child-bearing, delivering,
nursing, feeding, child-caring or rearing etc. These are their maternal functions. But the
insistence on the family planning has posed many health hazards.

Problems of Female Education:

Social reformers and social thinkers believe that in a nation like India giving education to
women in as large a number as .possible can prove to be a panacea for many of the problems
of women.

Accordingly, much attention is paid to the education of women after independence. The
female literacy level is also increasing steadily. It has increased from 18.7% in 1971 to
39.42% in 1991 and to 64% in 2001. In spite of this change in the trend towards literacy,
some problem has cropped up. There are regional imbalances also. In states like Kerala,
Karnataka and Maharashtra, female education is encouraged and given almost equal
importance. Whereas in states like Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh etc. education of girls is
neglected even today. Increasing drop-out of female children from schools is another
problem. Though female children are getting admitted to primary, middle and high schools in
a substantial number, many of them drop out of the school in the middle without completing
the course.

Problems relating to employment and unemployment of women:

In the economic field the situation is such that majority of women who are ready to work are
not finding suitable work to their satisfaction. Those who are in the employment sector are
becoming the objects of exploitation and harassment. Though an increase in the female
23
literacy level and extensions of employment opportunities for women in the non-agricultural
sector, have added to the trend in favor of female employment, these two problems continue
to exist.

Women constitute an important labor force in all the countries. During the recent years there
are an increasing number of women especially in the Indian context, who are working outside
the family to get more income for the family. In fact, ―the term working woman ‖ refers to
one who works outside the home for a wage or salary. Harassment‖ refers to the basic
violation of an individual‘s rights. Not only the rights of working women are violated, they
are often sexually harassed also.

CHILDREN

To thrive, a child must experience the consistent and ongoing care by a loving, nurturing
caregiver, whether that person is a parent or substitute caregiver. The security and support
that such an adult can provide gives a child the self-confidence and resiliency to cope
effectively with stress.

To mature emotionally and socially, children must interact with people outside the home.
These interactions typically occur with close relatives; friends; neighbors; and people at child
care sites, schools, churches, and sports teams or other activities. By coping with the minor
stresses and conflicts inherent in these interactions, children gradually acquire the skills to
handle more significant stressors. Children also learn by watching how the adults in their
lives handle distress. Some of the important issues which are faced by the children are:

Child labour:

Child labor refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their
childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally,
physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.15 This practice is considered
exploitative by many international. Legislations across the world prohibit child labor. These
laws do not consider all work by children as child labor; exceptions include work by child
artists, supervised training, certain categories of work such as those by Amish children, some
forms of child work common among indigenous American children, and others.16 Before

15
http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm
16
"Convention on the Rights of the Child". United Nations. Archived from the original
24
1940, numerous children aged 5–14 worked in Europe, the United States and various colonies
of European powers. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household
income, availability of schools and passage of child labor laws, the incidence rates of child
labor fell.17

Poverty
According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. Around 27-28 percent of
all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two
regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Some
1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion
lack basic sanitation. Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water. Some 1.8
million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhea. For the 1.9 billion children from the
developing world, there are: 640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million with
no access to safe water (1 in 5) and 270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7).
10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in
France, Germany, Greece and Italy.) 1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation. 2.2 million children die each year because they are

17
http://ijp.mums.ac.ir/article_3946_3acc6da362d5cc6e83c148da023d82e4.pdf
25
not immunized. Millions of parents in developing countries must daily cope with the fact that
their children may not survive the first critical years of life; in many cases, the diseases that
threaten their children‘s lives are preventable.

Lack of access to education

More than 100 million children do not have access to school. Of the children who enroll in
primary school, over 150 million drop out, while user fees, including levies, are still charged
for access to education in 92 countries and that such charges have impact on excluding girls.
77 million children worldwide are not able to go to school due to lack of funds. For socially
disadvantaged segments of the population like poor inhabitants of cities, AIDS orphans and
the physically challenged, any access to education is often particularly difficult to obtain. The
consequence of this lack of access to education is that 15 percent of those adolescents
between 15 and 24 in third world countries are illiterate.Location often contributes to a
child‘s lack of access and attendance to education. In certain areas of the world it is more
difficult for children to get to school. For example, in high-altitude areas of India, severe
weather conditions for more than 7 months of the year make school attendance erratic and
force children to remain at home.

Gender also contributes to a child‘s lack of access and attendance to education. In 25

countries the proportion of boys enrolling in secondary school is higher than girls by 10% or
26
more, and in five; India, Nepal, Togo, Turkey and Yemen, the gap exceeds 20%. The worst
disparity is found in South Asia, where 52% of boys and only 33% of girls enroll; a gap of
10%. Enrollment is low for both boys and girls in sub-Saharan Africa, with rates of just 27%
and 22%. Girls trail respectively behind. It is generally believed that girls are often
discouraged from attending primary schooling, especially in less developed countries for
religious and cultural reasons.

Child Negelect

Neglect is an act of omission, or the absence of action. While the consequences of child
neglect can be devastating, it leaves no visible marks. Moreover, it usually involves infants
and very young children who cannot speak for themselves. James M. Gaudin Jr., in ―Child
Neglect: Short-Term and Long-Term Outcomes‖, reported that, compared with non-
maltreated and abused children, neglected children have the worst delays in language
comprehension and expression. Psychologically neglected children also score lowest in IQ
(Intelligence Quotient) tests.

Emotional neglect, in its most serious form, can result in the ―non-organic failure to thrive
syndrome, a condition in which a child fails to develop physically or even to survive.
According to Gaudin, studies have found that, even with aggressive intervention, the
neglected child continues to deteriorate. The cooperation of the neglectful parents, which is
crucial to the intervention, usually declines as the child‘s condition worsens. This shows that
27
it is sometimes not that easy to change the parental attributes that have contributed to the
neglect in the first place.There are millions of children whose labor can be considered forced,
not only because they are too young to choose to work, but also because they are, in fact,
actively coerced into working. These include child bonded laborers — children whose labor
is pledged by parents as payment or collateral on a debt — as well as children who are
kidnapped or otherwise lured away from their families and imprisoned in sweatshops or
brothels. In addition, millions of children around the world work unseen in domestic service
given or sold at a very early age to another family.

Child Pornography, Child prostitution, Military use of children and such things are also one
of the causes and problems.

ECONOMICALLY BACKWARD CLASSES

"There's a tremendous amount of attention paid to affordability and that's a critical issue for
low-income families," said Coley. "What our findings suggest is that housing quality may be
more important when we are concerned with the growth and development of children. The
data suggest policymakers make housing quality a priority as they work to resolve the
housing crisis facing low-income families."

Children growing up in poor-quality housing plagued by leaky roofs, broken windows,

peeling paint, debris and vermin experience greater emotional and behavioral problems at
young ages and later see their school performance suffer, researchers report in one of the
most comprehensive assessments ever conducted into the impact of housing on children in
the US. "Through no fault of their own, children and teens whose families live in substandard
housing are paying a steep price in terms of their emotional and behavioral well-being," said
Coley, who teaches in the Lynch School Counseling, Developmental and Educational
Psychology Department. "That carries on into school and creates deficits that are extremely
difficult to overcome."

Extremely telling was the finding that poor housing quality was the most consistent and
strongest predictor of emotional and behavioral problems in low-income children and youth
who were studied when compared to factors such as affordability, ownership, residential
stability or housing subsidy receipt, according to the researchers, whose analysis was also
funded by the W.T. Grant Foundation.

28
Furthermore, residential instability -- the moving from place to place, even if only a few
blocks away or the town next door -- disrupts the functioning of low-income children over
the long term, according to Coley, who conducted the study with Tufts University Professor
Tama Leventhal and was assisted by graduate students Alicia Doyle Lynch and Melissa Kull.
Although single moves may provide a boost to poor children and teens in the short-term,
perhaps allowing them to access safer housing or better schools, over time the cumulative
effect of residential instability took a toll on children, increasing children's emotional and
behavioral problems.18

The effect was not only felt by children: For parents, the strain of living in substandard
housing produced symptoms of anxiety and depression, said Coley. Researchers found a
strong link between the stress poor housing quality placed on parents and the problems
experienced by children, according to the report.

MINORITIES
A minority group is a sociological category within a demographic. Rather than a relational
"social group", as the term would indicate, the term refers to a category that isdifferentiated
and defined by the social majority, that is, those who hold the majority of positions of social
power in a society. The differentiation can be based on one or more observable human
characteristics, including, but not limited to: ethnicity, race, gender, wealth, health or sexual
orientation. Usage of the term is applied to various situations and civilizations within history,
despite its popular mis-association with a numerical, statistical minority. In the social
sciences, the term "minority" is used to refer to categories of persons who hold few positions
of social power.

Some of the main problems faced by minorities in India are as follows: 1. Problem of Identity
2. Problem of Security 3. Problem Relating to Equity.

Problem of Identity:

Because of the differences in socio-cultural practices, history and backgrounds, minorities

have to grapple with the issue of identity everywhere which give rise to the problem of
adjustment with the majority community.

18
Rebekah Levine Coley, Tama Leventhal, Alicia Doyle Lynch, Melissa Kull.Relations between housing
characteristics and the well-being of low-income children and adolescents.

29
Problem of Security:

Different identity and their small number relative to the rest of the society develop feeling of
insecurity about their life, assets and well-being. This sense of insecurity may get accentuated
at times when relations between the majority and the minority communities in a society are
strained or not much cordial.

Problem Relating to Equity:

The minority community in a society may remain deprived of the benefit of

opportunities of development as a result of discrimination. Because of the difference in
identity, the minority community develops the perception of the sense of inequity.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
Youth unemployment is one of the most critical challenges the world is facing today: young
people make up almost half of the world‘s unemployed, despite accounting for only one
quarter of the working population.19 Youth unemployment is the unemployment of young
people, defined by the United Nations as 14–28 years old.20 An unemployed person is defined
as someone who does not have a job but is actively seeking work. In order to qualify as
unemployed for official and statistical measurement, the individual must be without
employment, willing and able to work, of the officially designated 'working age' and actively
searching for a position.

A lost generation

Unemployed youth has been called ―a lost generation‖: not only because of productivity loss
but also because of the long-term direct and indirect impact unemployment has on young
people and their families. Unemployment has been said to affect earnings for about 20 years.
Because they aren't able to build up skills or experience during their first years in the
workforce, unemployed youth see a decrease in lifetime earnings when compared to those

19
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21576657-around-world-almost-300m-15-24-year-olds-are-
not-working-what-has-caused
20
UN World Youth Report 2012‖. The UN Focal Point for Youth, 2012

30
who had steady work or those who were unemployed as an adult. A lower salary can persist
for 20 years following the unemployed period before the individual begins earning
competitively to their peers.21 Widespread youth unemployment also leads to a socially
excluded generation at great risk for poverty. For example, Spain saw an 18% increase in
income inequality.

The lost generation effect impacts also their families. Youth in many countries now live with
their parents into their late twenties. This contributes to what is called the ‖full-nest
syndrome‖.

In 2008, 46% of 18- to 34-year-olds in the European Union lived with at least one parent; in
most countries the stay-at-homes were more likely to be unemployed than those who had
moved out22. In families, it is common that when one person becomes unemployed, other
members of the family begin looking for or securing employment. This is called the added
worker effect. This can sometimes take the form of employment in the informal sector when
necessary. Alongside the shift in youth living situations, the impact of returning to live with
parents as well as difficulty finding a fulfilling job lead to mental health risks. Being
unemployed for a long period of time in youth has been correlated to decreased happiness,
job satisfaction and other mental health issues. Unemployed youth also report more isolation
from their community. Youth who are neither working nor studying do not have the
opportunity to learn and improve their skills. They are progressively marginalised from the
labour market and in turn can develop an anti-social behaviour.

Lack of Innovation

The economic crisis has led to a global decrease in competitiveness. ―There is a risk of loss
of talent and skills since a great amount of university graduates are unable to find a job and to
put their knowledge and capabilities into producing innovation and contributing to economic
growth‖.23 Excluding young people from the labour market means lacking the divergent
thinking, creativity and innovation that they naturally offer. This fresh thinking is necessary
for employers to foster new designs and innovative ideas. Fighting youth unemployment is
therefore key to maintaining the economic performance of a country.

21
Morsy, Hanan. 2012. "Scarred Generation." Finance and Development49(1).

22
http://www.economist.com/node/21528614
23
http://www.bridgingeurope.net/consequences-of-high-youth-unemployment.html
31
MENTALLY CHALLENGED PERSON

Stigma and discrimination against people with mental health problems is pervasive
throughout society. Despite a number of campaigns, there has been no significant change in
attitudes.24

Fewer than four in ten employers say they would recruit someone with a mental health
problems.

There is a lack of clear responsibility for promoting vocational and social outcomes for adults
with mental health problems. Services do not always work effectively together to meet
individual needs and maximise the impact of available resources. People can lack ongoing
support to enable them to work. £140 million a year is invested by health and social care in
vocational and day services for people with mental health problems. But not all of these
promote social inclusion as effectively as they could, and links with Jobcentre Plus can be
weak. People on benefits often do not believe they will end up financially better off if they try
to move into work. Many people lose jobs that they might havekept had they received better
support.

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF DEPRIVATION

Social deprivation may be correlated with or contribute to social exclusion, which is when a
member in a particular society is ostracized by other members of the society. The excluded
member is denied access to the resources that allow for healthy social, economic, and
political interaction. Pierson has identified five key factors that set social exclusion in motion
– poverty; lack of access to jobs; denial of social supports or peer networks; exclusion from
services; and negative attitude of the local neighborhood. Research on social deprivation is
based primarily on observational and self-report measures. This has provided an
understanding of how social deprivation is linked to lifespan development and mental
illness.Impacts of social deprivation are listed below:

24
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/assets/0000/1324/stigma-review.pdf
32
MENTAL ILLNESS
A lack of social networking predisposes people to mental illness.25 Mental illness can be
attributed to instability within the individual. Society provides a sense of stability and socially
deprived people fail to fit within this social structure. It becomes even more difficult for a
person to fit in once labelled mentally ill because they now also carry a social stigma and
receive a negative social attitude from the community.26 Social deprivation is difficult to
dissect because certain issues that may be considered outcomes of social exclusion may also
be factored into causes of social stigma. Outcomes of adult social deprivation may include
young parenthood, adult homelessness, lack of qualifications, or residence in social housing –
yet all of these factors may cause society to treat the individual with disdain or intolerance,
thus furthering their exclusion. These reciprocal influences can become an unfortunate cycle
for an individual who requires social or financial assistance to survive, particularly in a
society which excludes those who are deemed abnormal.

POVERTY, EXCLUSION AND GROWTH

There is some evidence that economic growth is positively related to equality. One
explanation for this is that with more equality there is more investment in education, health
and nutrition. There is also some evidence to show that policies designed to tackle social
exclusion can lead to more equitable forms of growth as excluded groups gradually gain
greater access to education, employment and business opportunities. Excluded sections of the
population can often be quite large (for example, racial groups in Latin America), so targeted
policies can have an impact on increasing human capital and widening economic markets,
whilst reducing the risk of political instability and its overall impact on economic growth.

The poverty-reducing effects of economic growth fall when inequality rises. In addition, the
interaction of economic inequalities with other inequalities may result in negative
consequences for growth. For example, economic dynamics and innovation depend on
competitive processes of entry that are stifled by unequal economic institutions. Greater
equity in political institutions is also considered good for growth because it is associated with
broader and better-quality provision of public education, which, in turn, translates into a
better-performing workforce.

25
ontario.cmha.ca/public_policy/poverty-and-mental-illness
26
spq.sagepub.com/content/74/1/6.full?patientinform-links=yes&legid=spspq;.
33
HUNGER
Rises in the costs of living making poor people less able to afford items. Poor people spend a
greater on food than richer people. As a result, poor households and those near the poverty
threshold can be particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices. For example, in late 2007
increases in the price of grains led to food riots in some countries. The World warned that
100 million people were at risk of sinking deeper into poverty. Threats to the supply of food
may also be caused by drought and the water crisis. Intensive farming often leads to a
vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields.

POOR EDUCATION
Research has found that there is a high risk of educational underachievement for children
who are from low-income housing circumstances. This is often a process that begins in
primary school for some less fortunate children. Instruction in the US educational system, as
well as in most other countries, tends to be geared towards those students who come from
more advantaged backgrounds. As a result, children in poverty are at a higher risk than
advantaged children for retention in their grade, special deleterious placements during the
school's hours and even not completing their high school education. There are indeed many
explanations for why students tend to drop out of school. One is the conditions of which they
attend school. Schools in poverty-stricken areas have conditions that hinder children from
learning in a safe environment. Researchers have developed a name for areas like this: an
urban war zone is a poor, crime-laden district in which deteriorated, violent, even war-like
conditions and underfunded, largely ineffective schools promote inferior academic
performance, including irregular attendance and disruptive or non-compliant classroom
behavior.27

Poverty often drastically affects children's success in school. A child's "home activities,
preferences, mannerisms" must align with the world and in the cases that they do not these
students are at a disadvantage in the school and most importantly the classroom.Therefore, it
is safe to state that children who live at or below the poverty level will have far less success
educationally than children who live above the poverty line. Poor children have a great deal
less healthcare and this ultimately results in many absences from the academic year.
Additionally, poor children are much more likely to suffer from hunger, fatigue, irritability,

27
http://research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/Poverty
34
headaches, ear infections, flu, and colds. These illnesses could potentially restrict a child or
student's focus and concentration.

VIOLENCE
According to experts, many women become victims of trafficking, the most common form of
which is prostitution, as a means of survival and economic desperation.28 Deterioration of
living conditions can often compel children to abandon school to contribute to the family
income, putting them at risk of being exploited. For example, in Zimbabwe, a number of girls
are turning to sex in return for food to survive because of the increasing poverty.

CRIME
Sociologists see strong links between crime and social exclusion in industrialized societies
such as the United States. Growing crime rates may reflect the fact that a growing number of
people do not feel valued in the societies in which they live. The socially excluded population
are in favor of illegal means of fulfilling their goals and motives in life as they have no other
way to fit into a society that will not accept them. Crime is favored over the political system
or community organization. Young people increasingly grow up without guidance and
support from the adult population. Young people also face diminishing job opportunities to
sustain a livelihood. This can cause a sense of willingness to turn to illegitimate means of
sustaining a desired lifestyle.

FEMALE DISADVANTAGE
Obstacles preventing females' ability to receive a quality education include traditional
attitudes towards gender roles, poverty, geographical isolation, gender-based violence, and
early marriage and pregnancy.29 Throughout the world, there is an estimated 7 million more
girls than boys out of school. This "girls gap" is concentrated in several countries including
Somalia, Afghanistan, Togo, the Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the
Congo. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, girls are outnumbered two to one.30

28
Informal Water Vendors and the Urban Poor (PDF). Human settlements discussion paper series
29
"Women and Girls Education"
30
https://www.theguardian.com/world/cong
35
Socialized gender roles have an impact on females' access to education.31 For example, in
Nigeria, children are socialized into their specific gender role as soon as their parents know
their gender.

VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Social exclusion describes a situation where certain groups within a society are systematically
disadvantaged because they are discriminated against. Such groups are often differentiated by
race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, caste, or gender.

Formal and informal processes in the justice sector can discriminate against excluded groups.
Institutions may lack the technical capacity and services to address the needs of socially
excluded groups, for example courts that are physically inaccessible and operate in local
languages. Institutions can also have in-built resistance to tackling specific issues. Gender-
based violence, for example, is often poorly understood by the police and judges and treated
insensitively. Women may be treated as guilty rather than as victims.

Justice sector institutions are pivotal to the legal protection and enforcement of human rights.
However, human rights are often poorly understood by those working in the justice system.
Justice assistance measures can contribute to the realisation of human rights through
appropriate strategies, such as tackling discrimination and addressing the barriers and
vulnerabilities faced by socially excluded groups. These groups should be included as active
participants in developing policies and initiatives designed to fulfill their rights. Knowledge
of local contexts and the formation of broad political coalitions in support of the reforms are
important in overcoming resistance.

INCOME INEQUALITY
Social exclusion can lead to and result from disparities in income distribution, with the
wealthiest segments of a country‘s population receiving the greatest proportion of its national
income.32 Income inequality arises from inequities in the distribution of assets such as land,
credit and education. The inequalities that arise from social exclusion are self-reinforcing.
Recent research has demonstrated how income inequalities persist because of two inequality
traps, which relate to human capabilities and access to capital.

31
https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/gender-stratification-and-
inequality-11/gender-and-socialization-86/gender-socialization-495-3393/
32
www.spcw.mb.ca/index.php/download_file/view/287/203/
36
LEGAL PROVISIONS AND PLANS
A recent performance audit of the law which allows the poor and the deprived sections of
Indian society to avail free legal aid has found that while the state-appointed authorities for
making this possible are non-functional, individual litigants are generally not aware of it.33
Carried out by the Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad, and still in its draft form, the study
insists on the need for alternative ways to spread awareness about free legal aid.

The study, ―National Legal Services Authorities Act 1987: A Performance Audit, while
focusing on the right to free legal aid, has found that the level of awareness regarding free
legal aid services amongst various stakeholders is ―not very high‖, adding, this leads to a
situation where the ―possibilities of corruptions by lawyers handling cases cannot be
avoided.‖ The study says, ―The Act gives a holistic vision. It specifically talks of
development of alternative dispute resolution mechanism.‖ However, it regrets, ―when it
comes to implementation, the concept has been reduced to conducting one day event of Lok
Adalats.‖

While pointing out that Lok Adalats may be an administrative solution to backlog of cases,
the study says, ―At the moment, there is no intermediary wrung between the common
person and the supposedly highly specialized lawyerly skills. Hence, ―it is important to
recognize the roles of paralegal in the entire judicial system and to legitimize it. Activities
like legal awareness, information about prelitigative procedure, liaisoning with the relevant
authorities etc. may be entrusted to paralegals, who may be trained to perform this role.‖

33
http://lex-warrier.in/2015/10/legal-aid-and-indian-legal-system/
37
For this, the study insists on ―involving the several stakeholders including law teachers, law
students, chairperson of the Samajik Nyay Samiti at village/taluka and district voluntary
agencies having legal aid centres or NGO involved in mobilizing poor on different issues.‖ At
the same time, it says, ―Efforts have to be made towards creating decentralized alternative
dispute resolution mechanism which will reduce the burden on the courts. The Nadi Adalat
model promoted by Mahila Samakhya or the Vivad Mukt Gam model is good initiatives.‖

Enshrined in Art 39- A of the Constitution, the study says, the Act was passed with the
objectives of providing ―free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the
societies‖ and ―ensure that the opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen
by reason of economic and or other disabilities.

Yet, the fact is, ―most citizens do not know that under its provisions free legal services are
available to all members of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe, all women and children,
victims of trafficking in human beings, persons with disabilities, persons under circumstances
of undeserved want such as being a victim of manmade disaster, ethnic violence, caste
atrocity, flood, drought, etc., an industrial workman, and persons in custody, and persons in
receipt of annual income as may be prescribed by the state government.

Principle of Natural Justice in Indian Constitution:

The Constitution of India, nowhere the expression Natural Justice is used. However, golden
thread of natural justice sagaciously passed through the body of Indian constitution. Preamble
of the constitution includes the words, ‗Justice Social, Economic and political‘ liberty of
thought, belief, worship... And equality of status and of opportunity, which not only ensures
fairness in social and economic activities of the people but also acts as shield to individuals
liberty against the arbitrary action which is the base for principles of Natural Justice.

Apart from preamble Art 14 ensures equality before law and equal protection of law to the
citizen of India. Art 14 which strike at the root of arbitrariness and Art 21 guarantees right to
life and liberty which is the fundamental provision to protect liberty and ensure life with
dignity. Art 22 guarantees natural justice and provision of fair hearing to the arrested person.
Directive principles of state Policy specially Art 39-A takes care of social, economic, and
politically backward sections of people and to accomplish this object i.e. this part ensure free
38
legal aid to indigent or disabled persons, and Art 311 of the constitution ensures
constitutional protection to civil servants. Furthermore Art 32, 226, and 136 provides
constitutional remedies in cases violation of any of the fundamental rights including
principles of natural justice. With this brief introduction author undertakes to analyze some of
the important provision containing some elements of Principle of Natural Justice.

2 (a) Article 14: as we know that this Article guarantees equality before law and equal
protection of law. It bars discrimination and prohibits both discriminatory laws and administrative
action.

Art 14 is now proving to be bulwark against any arbitrary or discriminatory state action. The
horizons of equality as embodied in Art 14 have been expanding as a result of the judicial
pronouncements and Art 14 has now come to have a highly activist magnitude. It laid down
general preposition that all persons in similar circumstance shall be treated alike both in
privileges and liabilities imposed.

Art 14 manifests in the form of following propositions:

(i) A law conferring unguided and unrestricted power on an authority is bad for being
arbitrary and discriminatory.

(ii) Art. 14 illegalize discrimination in the actual exercise of any discretionary power.

(iii) Art. 14 strikes at arbitrariness in administrative action and ensures fairness and equality
of treatment.

Right to Consult and to be Defended by a Legal Practitioner:

As we already dealt U/Art. 21 that principle of fair hearing requires adequate legal
representation, this principle is carried forward by Art. 22 (1). Art 22(1) guarantees right of
legal representation by advocate of his choice. The Article does not require the state to
extend legal aid as such but only requires to allow all reasonable facilities to engage a lawyer
to the person arrested and detained in custody. The choice of counsel is entirely left to the
arrested person. The right to consult arises soon after arrest.

39
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
The directive principles ensure that the State34 shall strive to promote the welfare of the
people by promoting a social order in which social, economic and political justice is
informed in all institutions of life. Also, the State shall work towards reducing economic
inequality as well as inequalities in status and opportunities, not only among individuals, but
also among groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations. The
State shall aim for securing right to an adequate means of livelihood for all citizens, both men
and women as well.

As equal pay for equal work for both men and women. The State should work to prevent
concentration of wealth and means of production in a few hands, and try to ensure that
ownership and control of the material resources is distributed to best serve the common

good. Child abuse and exploitation of workers should be prevented. Children should be
allowed to develop in a healthy manner and should be protected against exploitation and
against moral and material abandonment. The State shall provide free legal aid to ensure that
equal opportunities for securing justice is ensured to all, and is not denied by reason of
economic or other disabilities. The State shall also work for organisation of village
panchayats and help enable them to function as units of self-government. The State shall
endeavour to provide the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, within the limits of economic capacity, as
well as provide for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.

The State should also ensure living wage and proper working conditions for workers, with
full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural activities. Also, the promotion of cottage
industries in rural areas is one of the obligations of the State. The State shall take steps to
promote their participation in management of industrial undertakings.

34
The term "State" includes all authorities within the territory of India. It includes the Government of India,
the Parliament of India, the Government and legislature of the states of India. It also includes all local or other
authorities such as Municipal Corporations, Municipal Boards, District Boards, Panchayats etc. To avoid
confusion with the term states and territories of India, State (encompassing all the authorities in India) has
been capitalized and the term state is in lowercase.

40
Also, the State shall endeavour to secure a uniform civil code for all citizens, and provide free
and compulsory education to all children till they attain the age of 14 years. This directive
regarding education of children was added by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002. It should and
work for the economic and educational upliftment of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and
other weaker sections of the society.

HUMAN RIGHTS
Specific approaches and strategies are required to ensure that justice sector
reform will contribute to the realisation of human rights for poor people. Justice
sector interventions can assist by working to ensure that human rights standards
are respected by formal justice institutions (for example, by police, prisons or
courts) and by non-state justice systems and strengthening the legal framework
to address issues such as discrimination against women, minorities and other
groups and improving people‘s ability to bring successful claims on issues such
as the right to housing, education or healthcare and strengthening human rights
accountability mechanisms as an integral part of the justice sector.

This document introduces the ways in which human rights organisations and governments can
further poor peoples' access to their rights, covering the justice sector among many other areas.

These three schemes recommended were:

 Scheme for Paralegal Volunteers 


 Legal Aid Clinic Scheme 

 Retainer Lawyer Scheme 

The study says, ―The beauty of this structure is that unlike the earlier system, it does
mandate involvement of various other stakeholders at various levels. This includes
involvement of voluntary organizations, lawyers, academicians etc. The District
Authority is expected to co-ordinate its activities with these stake holders as equal
partners. The idea must have been to recognize the fact that the judiciary cannot take the
sole responsibility of the implementation aspects and that other agencies have to be
41
involved.

It adds, ―The idea behind the involvement of people from various fields is to open venues
for involving stakeholder and also to create an internal check and balance system. For
instance, involvement of a law teacher would open the option of involving law students.
Similarly, by involving a person from an NGO, one can think of collaborative ventures
between the NGOs and the legal aid units.

LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR WOMEN

To uphold the Constitutional mandate, the State has enacted various legislative measures
intended to ensure equal rights, to counter social discrimination and various forms of violence
and atrocities and to provide support services especially to working women.

Although women may be victims of any of the crimes such as Murder, Robbery, Cheating
etc, the crimes, which are directed specifically against women, are characterized as ‘Crime
against Women‘.

These are broadly classified under two categories:

(1) The Crimes Identified Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC):
 
Rape (Sec. 376 IPC)



Kidnapping & Abduction for different purposes ( Sec. 363-373) 



Homicide for Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304-B IPC) 



Torture, both mental and physical (Sec. 498-A IPC) 



Molestation (Sec. 354 IPC) 



Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 IPC) 



Importation of girls (up to 21 years of age) 


42


(2) The Crimes identified under the Special Laws (SLL)

Although all laws are not gender specific, the provisions of law affecting women
significantly have been reviewed periodically and amendments carried out to keep pace
with the emerging requirements. Some acts which have special provisions to safeguard
women and their interests are:

(i) The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

(ii) The Plantation Labour Act, 1951

(iii)The Family Courts Act, 1954

(iv)The Special Marriage Act, 1954

(v) The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

(vi) The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with amendment in 2005

(vii) Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

(viii) The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Amended in 1995)

(ix) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

(x) The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

(xi) The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1976

(xii) The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

(xiii) The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

43
 (xiv) The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983

(xv) The Factories (Amendment) Act, 1986

(xvi) Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986

3. SPECIAL INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN

(i) National Commission for Women

In January 1992, the Government set-up this statutory body with a specific mandate to study
and monitor all matters relating to the constitutional and legal safeguards provided for
women, review the existing legislation to suggest amendments wherever necessary, etc.

(ii) Reservation for Women in Local Self -Government

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Acts passed in 1992 by Parliament ensure one-third of

the total seats for women in all elected offices in local bodies whether in rural areas or urban
areas. (iii) The National Plan of Action for the Girl Child (1991-2000)

The plan of Action is to ensure survival, protection and development of the girl child with the
ultimate objective of building up a better future for the girl child.

(iv) National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, 2001

The Department of Women & Child Development in the Ministry of Human Resource

Development has prepared a ―National Policy for the Empowerment of Women‖ in the year
2001. The goal of this policy is to bring about the advancement, development and
empowerment of women.

44
FIELD WORK

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

Personal Details

1. Name: Laxmi Dahiya

Age: 48

Educational Qualification: Nil

Occupation: House-maid

2. Name: Rani Singh

Age: 24

Educational Qualification: 4th standard (Passed)

Occupation: Labourer

3. Name: Shailendra Mishra

Age: 28

Educational Qualification: 12th standard (Passed)

Occupation: Driver

4. Name: Rajshekhar

Age: 18

Educational Qualification: 11th (Pursuing)

45
Occupation: Newspaper Vendor

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the basic problems faced by deprived sections of a society in a day to day life?

2. What do you think should be done to fight social deprivation?

3. What are the problems faced by a child and what are the causes of child labor in India?

4. What are the problems faced by women of socially unprivileged sections?

5. What are the aids available for the deprived sections?

Inference from the Interview:

Researcher founded that:

 Women are victims of following social evils :

1) Women are victims of ill-treatment, humiliation, torture abduction, rape, murder according
to the data provided by

2) Women include violence against women, rape, molestation, dowry harassment, wife-
battering, kidnapping female children to be sold into brothel homes, forcible embracement,
forcible religious conversion, cheating young women with a promise to marry them or fetch
them a job and various types of sexual harassments and abuse of women including eve
teasing.

3) Women are subject to violence within the family, a place which is expected to protect their
dignity and assure their safety. This type of violence includes crimes such as — dowry
related harassments including death, wife-battering, marital rape, sexual abuse of female
children and women of one‘s own family, deprivation of sufficient food to female members,
committing incestuous offences, inducing female members of the family to resort to sex-
trade, female genital mutilation, abusing female servants of the family, and so on.

46
4) The practice of giving social importance to the biological differences between men and
women is there everywhere. In some societies, these differences are very much pronounced
while in others, they are given less importance.

5) Discrimination between male and female children is made in matters relating to food,
dress, health, education, domestic work etc.

6) Women workers are paid less than the male workers for the same type of work. Much
labor is extracted from women by giving them very minimum wages.

7) It is found that girls are being discouraged to go for higher education and also for
professional and technical education.

8) Women working in factories, mining industries, building construction process, in dams,

bridges and road repair or construction work are not only paid less but also made to work in
unhealthy surroundings.

9) Sexual Harassment of women take place in the form of continuous staring at women,
making women the targets of lewd remarks, dirty jokes, repeated invitation to meals and
outings, offers to drop them home, making unwanted comments about dressings, making
accidental touches and dashes, making them stay back in the work spot even after the
working hours, male bosses calling smart female employees to their chambers and making
unwanted advances towards them, molesting women workers and so on.

10) Women are ill-treated, disrespected, and man-handled, tortured and subject to all sorts of
cruelties in the name of dowry.

47
11) Deserted women belonging to poor families all of a sudden become orphans especially
when they are disowned by their own parents.

• Dalits are landless laborers and houseless living in a cluster huts or in slums. Their poor
economy and illiteracy have forced them to live in misery. Untouchability is an age old
practice which is inhuman in the name of religion. Most of the bonded laborers are dalits.

• Deprived children are subjected to exploitation, child labor, lack of education,

neglection,prostitution etc.

• Children of deprived families gets attracted to terrorism activities and exploitation.

• Financially backward families are struggling to survive in the competitive world.

• Unemployed youth are the prisoners of frustration.

• Minorities strive for their rights.

• Continuous addition in the cases of mental illness, poverty and poor education.

• Failure in the practical implementation of legal rules and provisions framed for the
upliftment of the weaker sections.

• Political leaders and social thinkers are not paying much heed to the concerns of the
deprived sections.

• A lack of social networking predisposes people to mental illness.

• Deprived sections are committing suicides and treating themselves without any care.

• Mentally unfit people are subjected to neglection from the members of the society.

48
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

The basic concerns of social welfare - poverty, disability and disease, the dependent young
and elderly are as old as society itself. The laws of survival once severely limited the means
by which these concerns could be addressed; to share another‘s burden meant to weaken
one‘s own standing in the fierce struggle of daily existence. As societies developed, however,
with their patterns of dependence between members, there arose more systematic responses
to the factors that rendered individuals, and thus society at large, vulnerable.

Religion and philosophy have tended to provide frameworks for the conduct ofsocial
welfare.

The edicts of the Buddhist emperor Aśoka in India, the sociopolitical doctrines of ancient
Greece and Rome, and the simple rules of the early Christian communities are only a few
examples of systems that addressed social needs. The Elizabethan Poor Laws in England,
which sought relief of paupers through care services and workhouses administered at the
parish level, provided precedents for many modern legislative responses to poverty. In
Victorian times a more stringent legal view of poverty as a moral failing was met with the
rise of humanitarianism and a proliferation of social reformers. The social charities and
philanthropic societies founded by these pioneers formed the basis for many of today‘s
welfare services.

Because perceived needs and the ability to address them determine each society‘s range of
welfare services, there exists no universal vocabulary of social welfare. In some countries a
distinction is drawn between ―social services,‖ denoting programs, such as health care and
education, that serve the general population, and ―welfare services,‖ denoting aid directed to
vulnerable groups, such as the poor, the disabled, or the delinquent. According to another
classification, remedial services address the basic needs of individuals in acute or chronic
distress; preventive services seek to reduce the pressures and obstacles that cause such
distress; and supportive services attempt, through educational, health, employment, and other
programs, to maintain and improve the functioning of individuals in society. Social welfare
services originated as emergency measures that were to be applied when all else failed.
However, they are now generally regarded as a necessary function in any society and a means
not only of rescuing the endangered but also of fostering a society‘s ongoing, corporate well-
being.

49
The majority of personal social services are rendered on an individual basis to people who are
unable, whether temporarily or permanently, to cope with the problems of everyday living.
Recipients include families faced with loss of income, desertion, or illness; children and
youths whose physical or moral welfare is at risk; the sick; the disabled; the frail elderly; and
the unemployed. When possible, services are also directed toward preventing threats to
personal or family independence.

Social services generally place a high value on keeping families together in their local
communities, organizing support from friends or neighbours when kinship ties are weak.
Where necessary, the services provide substitute forms of home life or residential care, and
play a key role in the care and control of juvenile delinquents and other socially deviant
groups, such as drug and alcohol abusers.

Attempts made by the Government to alleviate deprivation through the plan effort have not
yielded the desired results. As a matter of fact, during the plan period, the differences in
living standards between the weaker sections and the others have widened giving rise to
greater inequalities. This is due, among others, to the nature of the planning strategy
followed. In their anxiety to maximize the State domestic product, the planners allocated
more resources to the well-endowed regions and well-endowed sections of the community
with the hope that such a course of action would lead to increase in gains to the economy. It
was also hoped that the rapid growth of the economy would facilitate benefits of growth
reaching the weaker sections and the backward regions through what is called the percolation
effect. Unfortunately, percolation effect did not occur; consequently the weaker sections
continued to remain under deprivation conditions.

Since globalization has introduced competition, and since everybody is trying to use modern
technology to meet the threat of competition, the growth in output achieved in recent times is
a jobless growth‖ resulting in reduced employment opportunities in the organized sector.
Finding lack of job opportunities in the organized sector, the growing labor force is forced to
eke out living from economic activities which come under the unorganized and informal
sectors. But the problem is, since productivity levels are lower in these sectors, returns from
labor tend to be low forcing the workers to a hand to mouth existence.

Promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to minorities have been
demonstrated to be effective means of conflict prevention and resolution, and of building
stable, inclusive societies in post-conflict situations. If minority rights are respected based on

50
the rule of law, all groups, regardless of their language, religion, culture or ethnicity, will be
able to exercise all their rights on an equal footing and freely express and pursue their
legitimate aspirations. However, in most countries, this principle is far from being realized
and, often, long-term and well-41entrenched inequality, discrimination and exclusion are the
root cause of many conflicts, particularly where the State is considered to be failing to act to
remedy the situation or is deliberately excluding minorities. Refugee, returnee and internally
displaced minorities are often left out of the peace and reconciliation process. Effective
prevention should encompass dialogue among all sectors of society, confidence-building and
a fair distribution of resources. Effective participation by minorities in public life is an
essential component of a peaceful and democratic society and should take place across a wide
range of areas. Where minorities are systematically excluded from decision-making, efforts
should be made to facilitate their representation at all levels, for example in parliaments and
other legislative bodies, including through the allocation of seats. The promotion of rights,
identity and culture can be strengthened through the introduction and promotion of certain
forms of self-governance, including territorial or cultural autonomy.

Ensuring the promotion of meaningful and informed consultation and participation and the
management by minorities of matters directly affecting them as a way of protecting and
promoting their interests and identities, is an effective means for promoting stability and
integration in societies where minorities live.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
 Social Exclusion and Adverse Inclusion: Development and Deprivation of Adivasis in
India 

 Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation- Sen Amartya 

 Rights Deprivation and Disparity-By S.Subramaniam 

 Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation-By Leonard Shengold 

Websites:
 kimmagedsc.ie/SociologyDevelopment

51
 counterview.org

 www.legalservicesindia.in

 Study.com

 Archive.india.gov.in

 
 sociology.colorado.edu/grad-sudent.../online-sociology-resources



52