Understanding Marginalisation

MLP
What is Marginalisation?
‘Marginalised’ as a term refers to those individuals or groups of persons in the social
environment who are treated less important or fall under the category of lower
sections in the society. As per Class 8 Understanding Marginalisation, ‘Socially
Marginalised’ are those who are marginalised on the basis of if they speak a different
language, follow different customs, belong to a different religious group from the
majority community are not accepted by society. 
In other words, ‘Marginalised’ means to be forced to occupy the sides or fringes
hence not be at the center of things.
Socially excluded people are viewed with hostility and fear. 
There is a sense of difference between different communities.
There are also social, economical and political factors where certain groups are
marginalised.
Who are Adivasis?
The term originally refers to inhabitants –  communities who lived and often continue
to live, in close association with forests. 8% of the Indian population are Adivasis. As
per Class 8 chapter on Understanding Marginalisation, there are around 500
different groups of Adivasis in India. They are not among a homogeneous
population.
Most of the Industrial and mining areas of India are located in the Adivasis area.
Orissa is for more than 60 different tribal groups. Also, they are found in states like
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and in the north-
eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, and Tripura. 
They have a different range of tribal religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav,
Bhakti, and Christianity, other than Islam or Hinduism. 
Adivasis have their own languages, which were as old as Sanskrit. Santhali was
spoken by a large number of people and had a huge publication
Adivasis and Stereotype
Stereotype as a characteristic has been imposed upon groups of people on the basis
of race, sexuality, nationality, or orientation among them. You will learn more about
how adivasis are stereotyped in Class 8 Understanding Marginalisation, here is a
summary of this section:
Adivasis are wrongly portrayed because in ways like colorful costumes, headgear,
and through their dancing skills. 
Blamed for their lack of advancement in society.
They are also believed to be exotic, primitive, and backward.
Adivasis and Development
Forests play a crucial part in the development of various areas in India. For example,
metal ores, medicinal herbs, diamond, animal products like wax or honey, coal, etc
have all came from the forests. Adivasis are commonly the tribal communities that
live near forests and rely on them for their livelihood. Here are the important pointers
you must remember while understanding marginalisation from the perspective of
Adivasis and development:
The life of people is heavily dependant on forests which plays important role in
providing the availability of the clearer quality of air and water. 
Till the 19th century, Adivasis had all access to these vast tracts.
All the empires were majorly dependant on forest resources. 
They were once known as hunter-gatherers and nomads in the pre-colonial period. 
They lived by shifting agriculture and cultivating in one place.
For the past two hundred years, Adivasis have been forced through economic
changes, forest policies, and political force applied by State to migrate as workers in
plantations, industries, and as domestic workers.
Minorities and Marginalisation
The term minority refers to those communities that are numerically small in relation
to the rest of the population. Let’s take a look at the features of Minority as
elaborated in Class 8 Understanding Marginalisation:
It confines the issues of power, access to resources and has social and cultural
dimensions.
Safeguards are required in order to protect minority communities against the
possibility of being culturally overpowered by the majority. They also protect them
against any discrimination or harm they may face.
The Constitution provides these safeguards so that India remains culturally diverse
and promotes equality as well as justice. 
Muslims and Marginalisation
13% of the Muslim community are marginalised in India. They have over the years
been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development, basic amenities,
literacy, and public employment. Take a look at the revision pointers on this section
under Class 8 Understanding Marginalisation:
Muslim customs and practices such as wearing burqa and fez make them different
from others and this is why they tend to be identified differently and are not like the
rest of the Muslims. 
This socially excluded Muslims in some instances has led to their migration from
places where they have lived which leads to the ghettoization of the community. 
Ghettoization: A ghetto is an area or locality that is largely populated by people of a
particular community. This can be due to various social, cultural, and economic
reasons.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we understood what exactly is marginalisation and communities that
are socially marginalised. There are many different reasons for each of these
communities being marginalised. Each community experiences marginalisation in
different ways. Yet, the lives of a marginalised community of people can and do
change.
Important Questions and Answers
Q. Explain marginalisation.
Individual or group of persons who are socially excluded. Individual or group of
persons who are considered untouchables by majority communities.
Q. State two reasons why Adivasis are becoming increasingly marginalized. 
Adivasis are not considered a homogeneous population. Adivasis are blamed for the
lack of advancement in society. They are also marginalised on the factors like social,
economic, and political.
Q. List one reason – why you think the Constitution’s safeguards to protect minority
communities are very important? 
Safeguards are required to protect minority communities against the possibility of
being culturally dominated by the majority. They also protect them against any
discrimination and disadvantage that they may face. The Constitution provides these
safeguards because it is committed to protecting India’s cultural diversity and
promoting equality as well as justice.

Q. Define the term minority. Why do people belonging to this community need
safeguards?
Answer: The term ‘minority’ is most commonly used to refer to communities that are
numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. The Indian Constitution
recognised that the culture of the majority influences the way in which society and
government might express themselves. In such cases, size can be a disadvantage
and lead to the marginalisation of the relatively smaller communities. Thus,
safeguards are needed to protect minority communities against the possibility of
being culturally dominated by the majority. They also protect them against any
discrimination and disadvantage that they may face.
Q. Explain at least three different reasons why groups may be marginalised ?
Ans: There are numerous reasons of marginalisation. The three reasons because of
which a group may be marginalised are: 
a. Speaking a different language,
b. Following different customs or belong to a different religious group other than the
majority,
c. Being considered of low status and poor by the majority etc.

Q: In your opinion, why is it important that Adivasis should have a say in how the
forest and forest lands are used ?
Ans: Adivasis should have a say in how the forest and forest lands are used because
they are the people who have been associated with forest for centuries and so, are
directly affected by the decisions taken by our government regarding forest matters. 

Q.What were the hardships faced by the Adivasis?

Ans.The Adivasis were pushed out of the forests of Jharkhand and they had to
migrate to other parts of India and the world. The Adivasis experienced hardship and
death during the migration. Five lakh Adivasis had perished in these migrations.
When forests were cleared for mining a majority of tribals are displaced. Wide areas
of forest land were submerged under water when many dams were built in India after
1947. Due to this many Adivasis were displaced from the States of Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand.
In the North east, Adivasi lands are war-torn and occupied by the military.
There are 54 national parks and 372 wildlife sanctuaries in India. These Parks cover
an area of 1, 09,652 sq km. of forest land. The Adivasis were evicted from these
forests.

Q. What are the religious practices of adivasis?

1. Adivasis practise a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam,
Hinduism and Christianity.These often involve the worship of ancestors,
village and nature spirits, the last associated with and residing in various
sites in the landscape– ‘mountain-spirits’, ‘river-spirits’, ‘animal-spirits’, etc.
2. The village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves within the
village boundary while the ancestral ones are usually worshipped at
home.
3. Additionally, Adivasis have always been influenced by different
surrounding religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and
Christianity. Simultaneously,
4. Adivasi religions themselves have influenced dominant religions of the
empires around them, for example, the Jagannath cult of Orissa and
Shakti and Tantric traditions in Bengal and Assam.
5. During the nineteenth century, substantial numbers of Adivasis converted
to Christianity, which has emerged as a very important religion in
modern Adivasi history.
Q. How has development brought a radical change in the life of Adivasis?
Ans. Forests were absolutely crucial to the development of all empires and settled
civilisations in India. Metal ores like iron and copper, and gold and silver, coal
and diamonds, invaluable timber, most medicinal herbs and animal products
(wax,lac, honey) and animals themselves ,all came from the forests. Forests
covered the major part of our country till the nineteenth century and the Adivasis
had a deep knowledge of, access to, as well as control over most of these vast
tracts at least till the middle of the nineteenth century. This is radically contrary to
our image of Adivasis today as somewhat marginal and powerless communities.
1. Forest lands have been cleared for timber and to get land for
agriculture and industry.
2. Adivasis have also lived in areas that are rich in minerals and other
natural resources. These are taken over for mining and other large
industrial projects.
3. More than 50 per cent of persons displaced due to mines and mining projects
are tribals.
4. Huge tracts of their lands have also gone under the waters of hundreds of
dams that have been built in independent India.
5. In the North east, their lands remain highly militarised and war-torn.
6. India has 54national parks and 372 wildlife sanctuaries covering 1,09,652sq
km.
These are areas where tribals originally lived but were evicted from.

HLP

Q1. Define the term Hierarchy with the help of an example?

Q2. Differentiate between social and economic marginalization?