*UPDATED* For 2022-23 Boards Exam

SHOBHIT NIRWAN's
DESIGNED

GENDER, RELIGION
& CASTE
NOTES
Gender and Politics
Sexual/Gender Division of Labor:
We all are bought up to believe a system in which all work inside the home is either
done by the women, or organised by them through the domestic helpers.
Women do cleaning, washing, tailoring, cooking etc at home.
Men do works outside the home. (If men are paid they can do the works listed
above in women's point)
Women also work outside:
Rural Areas- Fetch water, collect fuels, work in fields.
Urban areas- Domestic helpers
Majority women do some sort of paid work apart from domestic labour but their
work is not valued and recognised.

Result of This Division of Labor:

Although women constitute half of the humanity, their role in public affairs or
politics were minimal.
Earlier women were not allowed:
Public affairs
Voting rights
Public office
Equal rights
Freedom
Gradually gender became political issue, Women in different parts of the world
organised and agitated for demanding:
Voting rights
Equality in personal and family life
Education
Legal status
Career opportunities
More radical women’s movements aimed at equality in personal and family life as
well. These movements are called Feminist Movements.
Feminist- A woman or a man who believes in equal rights and opportunities
for women and men.
Now women's life improved in public life as they started working as:
Scientists
Doctors
Engineers
Lawyers
Managers
Teachers, etc.
In some parts of the world, for example in Scandinavian countries such as
Sweden, Norway and Finland, the participation of women in public life is very
high.
 Women Face Disadvantage, Discrimination and Oppression in Our Male
Dominated Patriarchal Society:
The literacy rate among women is only 65.46% compared with 82.14% among
men. Many girls drop out because parents prefer to spend their resources for
their boys' education.
The percentage of women in highly paid jobs is still very small. At many
workplaces, women are paid less than men for the same job. An Indian woman
usually works more hours than an average man on a daily basis.
Equal Remuneration Act 1976- Equal wages to equal work, However, in almost
all areas of work, from sports and cinema, to factories and fields, women are
paid less than men, even when both do exactly the same work.
Many Indian parents prefer to have a male child. A girl child is aborted in many
cases.This leads to decline in ex ratio of India.
Women's Political Representation:
The political representation of women had been very poor in Indian
Legislatures.
As of 2019, In Loksabha- 14.36%, In State Assemblies- Less than 5%.
When a women becomes PM or CM, even her cabinet is male dominated.

Ways to Solve the Problem:

Laws should be made for proper representation of women as MP/MLA.
1/3rd of seats n local government bodies have been reserved for women
candidates.
Gender division is an example that some form of social division needs to be
expressed in politics. This also shows that disadvantaged groups do benefit when
social divisions become a political issue.

Religion, Communalism & Politics

Religion plays an important role in politics. In some countries, politicians promote

the cause of the majority religious group at the cost of the minorities.
Acc to Mahatma Gandhi- "Religion can never be separated from politics. Politics
must be guided by ethics, drawn from all religion."
As religious minorities became started to become victim of communal riots,
Human Right Groups were formed to take special steps to protect religious
minorities.
Women's movement has argued that 'Family laws' of all religions discriminate
against women. So, they have demanded that government should change laws o
make them more equitable.
Communalism
It is a situation when a particular community tries to promote its own interests at
the cost of other communities.
Communalism involves thinking along the following lines
The followers of a particular religion just belong to one community.
Their fundamental interests are the same.
Any difference in them may have them may have is relevant or trivial for
community life.
The people who follow different religions cannot belong to the same social
community.
If the followers of different religion have some commonalities these are
superficial and immaterial.

Different Forms of Communalism in Politics

Many people think of their religion as superior to all other religions. Such people
often try to dominate the people from other communities. This can result in
people from the minority community to form a separate political unit.
Sometimes, sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal, etc., are used to
instill a sense of fear among people of a particular community. This is done with
an attempt to polarize people on communal lines.
Communalism can also take the ugly form of communal violence, riots and even
massacre of large number of people.

Secularism: It means no official language or religion in a country or No special

status to one religion. Which means everyone is free to profess, propagate and
practice any religion or not to follow any.

How India is a secular state?

The makers of our Constitution were aware with challenge of communalism. Thus, our
Constitution makers adopted the model of secular state. This means
There is no official religion for the Indian states, i.e. unlike Sri Lanka (Buddhism),
Pakistan (Islam) and England (Christianity).
All individuals and communities have the freedom to profess, practise and
propagate any religion or not to follow any.
It prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
It allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure
equality within religious communities, which means, it bans untouchability.
Caste and Politics

Caste Inequalities
Social division on the lines of caste is unique to India. Some castes are accorded
a higher status compared to many other castes.
What makes it different from other societies is that in this system, hereditary
occupational division was sanctioned by rituals.
Same caste members formed societies who:
Practised same occupation
Married in same caste group
Don't eat with members of other caste group.
Caste system was based on exclusion and discrimination against outcaste
groups.
They were subjected to untouchability.
Social Reformers like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar, Periyar Ramaswami
Naiker worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.

Reality of Caste System in India

Most people marry in the same caste.
Untouchability has not ended completely.
Old System of Education for Caste groups changed.
Disproportionately large presence of Upper Castes in Urban Areas.
Caste is closely linked to Economic status.

Caste In Politics
Various Forms of Caste in Politics
During Elections, political parties choose those candidates whose caste has
majority in that electorate.
Political parties and candidates play with the caste sentiment of the people.
Concept of one person, one vote, one value developed consciousness among
the people of caste which were earlier treated as inferior as inferior and
love.
Elections are not only about caste:
Every party and candidate have to win confidence of more than one caste to
win elections.
No party wins the votes of all voters of a caste or community.
Many Political parties may put up candidate from same caste.
The ruling party and the sitting MP or MLA frequently losse elections in our
country.
Besides Caste many other Factors matter in Electoral Politics
Voters have strong attachment with stronger party than their caste or
community.
People within same caste have diff. interests.
Rich and poor or men and women vote differently from same caste.
Politics in Caste
There is two way relation between politics and caste.
Politics also influence caste system and identities.
Different Forms of Politics in Caste
Each caste groups tries to become bigger by incorporation castes or
subcastes which were excluded.
Various caste groups enters into a coalition with other castes or communities.
New kinds of caste groups have come up like 'backward' and 'forward'
castes.
Positive aspects of caste:
Demand of power sharing by caste groups- SC and OBC got better access
to decision making.
Negative Aspects of Caste
Divert attention of govt from other big issues like poverty, development and
corruption. It also leads to tension, conflict and violence.