Gender, Religion and Caste PDF

Gender, Religion and Caste Chapter 3 Overview The existence of social diversity does not threaten democracy. Political...

Gender, Religion and Caste Chapter 3 Overview The existence of social diversity does not threaten democracy. Political expression of social differences is possible and sometimes quite desirable in a democratic system. In this chapter we apply these ideas to the practice of democracy in India. We look at three kinds of social differences that can take the form of social divisions and inequalities. These are social differences based on gender, religion and caste. In each case we look at the nature of this division in India and how it gets expressed in politics. We also ask whether different expressions based on these differences are healthy or otherwise in a democracy. Gender, Religion and Caste 2024-25 29 Chapter 3.indd 29 08-04-2022 14:15:08  Gender and politics Public/private division Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up children. This is reflected in a sexual division of labour in most families: women do all work inside the home such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, tailoring, looking after children, etc., and men do all the work outside the home. It is not that men cannot do housework; they simply think that it is for women to attend to these things. When these © Zuban jobs are paid for, men are ready to A poster from Bengal affirming women’s take up these works. Most tailors or strength. cooks in hotels are men. Similarly, Let us begin with gender division. it is not that women do not work This is a form of hierarchical social outside their home. In villages, division seen everywhere, but is women fetch water, collect fuel and Sexual division of labour: work in the fields. In urban areas, rarely recognised in the study of A system in which all politics. The gender division tends poor women work as domestic work inside the home is either done by the to be understood as natural and helper in middle class homes, while women of the family, unchangeable. However, it is not middle class women work in offices. or organised by them In fact, the majority of women do based on biology but on social through the domestic expectations and stereotypes. some sort of paid work in addition helpers. to domestic labour. But their work is not valued and does not get recognition. The result of this division of labour is that although women constitute half of the humanity, their role in public life, especially politics, D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s is minimal in most societies. Earlier, only men were allowed to participate Why not? If in public affairs, vote and contest Why are we politics is about for public offices. Gradually the discussing things power, then like household gender issue was raised in politics. surely male work in this Women in different parts of the dominance in the textbook on world organised and agitated for household should Political Science? equal rights. There were agitations be considered Is this politics? in different countries for the political. extension of voting rights to women. 30 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 30 08-04-2022 14:15:13  These agitations demanded on this question helped to improve enhancing the political and legal women’s role in public life. We now status of women and improving their find women working as scientists, educational and career opportunities. doctors, engineers, lawyers, More radical women’s movements managers and college and university aimed at equality in personal and teachers which were earlier not family life as well. These movements considered suitable for women. In are called feminist movements. some parts of the world, for example Political expression of gender in Scandinavian countries, such as division and political mobilisation Sweden, Norway and Finland, the Gender, Religion and Caste Feminist: A woman or a man © Zuban who believes in equal rights and Discuss all these perceptions of an ideal woman that prevail in our society. Do you opportunities for agree with any of these? If not, what is your image of an ideal woman? women and men. 2024-25 31 Chapter 3.indd 31 08-04-2022 14:15:18  participation of women in public life disadvantage, discrimination and is very high. oppression in various ways: In our country, women still lag  The literacy rate among women much behind men despite some is only 54 per cent compared with improvement since Independence. 76 per cent among men. Similarly, a Ours is still a male-dominated, smaller proportion of girl students patriarchal society. Women face go for higher studies. When we + A ‘time use survey’ was conducted in six states of our country. It shows that an average woman works every day for a little over seven and half hours while an average man works for six and a half hours. Yet the work done by men is more visible because most of their work leads to generation of income. Women also do a lot of direct income generating work, but the bulk of their work is household related. This work remains unpaid and invisible. Daily time use (hours: minutes) Activities Men Women Income generating work 6:00 2:40 Household and related work 0:30 5:00 Talking, Gossip 1:25 1:20 No work/ Leisure 3:40 3:50 Sleep, self-care, reading etc. 12:25 11:10 Source: Government of India, Time Use Survey, 1998-99. You can conduct a similar time use survey in your own household. Observe all the adult male and female members of your family for one week. Every day note down the number of D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s hours each of them spends on the following activities: income generating activity (working at the office or shop or factory Patriarchy: Literally, or field, etc.), household related activity (cooking, cleaning, rule by father, this washing, fetching water, looking after children or elders, etc.), concept is used to reading and recreation, talking/gossiping, self-care, taking rest refer to a system that or sleeping. If necessary make new categories. Add up the time values men more and taken on each activity for a week and calculate the daily average gives them power for each activity for each member. Do women work more in your over women. family as well? 32 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 32 08-04-2022 14:15:18  look at school results, girls perform  The Equal Remuneration Act, Mummy always as well as boys, if not better in 1976 provides that equal wages says to outsiders: some places. But they drop out should be paid to equal work. “I don’t work. I because parents prefer to spend their However in almost all areas of am a housewife.” resources for their boys’ education work, from sports and cinema, to But I see her factories and fields, women are paid rather than spending equally on their working non-stop less than men, even when both do sons and daughters. all the time. If exactly the same work. what she does is  No wonder the proportion of  In many parts of India, parents not work, what women among the highly paid and prefer to have sons and find ways to else is work? valued jobs, is still very small. On have the girl child aborted before an average, an Indian woman works she is born. Such sex-selective one hour more than an average man abortion led to a decline in child sex every day. Yet much of her work ratio (number of girl children per is not paid and therefore, often thousand boys) in the country to not valued. merely 919. As the map shows, this Can you identify your State on this map? What is the child sex ratio in it? How is it different from others with a different colour? Identify the States which have child sex ratio below 900. Compare this map with the poster on the next page. How do the two of Gender, Religion and Caste them tell us about the same issue? Source: Census Report of 2011 2024-25 33 Chapter 3.indd 33 08-04-2022 14:15:25  even within their own home from beating, harassment and other forms of domestic violence. Women’s political representation All this is well known. Yet issues related to women’s well being or otherwise are not given adequate attention. This has led many feminists and women’s movements to the conclusion that unless women control power, their problems will not get adequate attention. One way to ensure this is to have more women © Oxfam GB as elected representatives. In India, the proportion of women in legislature has been very ratio has fallen below 850 or even low. For example, the percentage 800 in some States. of elected women members in Lok There are reports of various Sabha has touched 14.36 per cent of kinds of harassment, exploitation its total strength for the first time and violence against women. Urban in 2019. Their share in the state areas have become particularly assemblies is less than 5 per cent. unsafe for women. They are not safe In this respect, India is among the Women in national parliaments in different regions of the world (in%) World 45 Average 40 42.3 35 24 30 D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s 25 29.5 26.4 20 23.7 Could you think of some 15 19.8 18.6 reasons why women’s 10 15.6 representation is so 11.8 low in India? Do you 5 think Americas and 0 Nordic Americas Europe Sub- Asia Arab Pacific India Europe have achieved countries Saharan Africa States a satisfactory level of women’s representation? Region Note: Figures are for the per cent of women in the directly elected houses of parliament as on 1 October 2018. Source: http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm 34 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 34 08-04-2022 14:15:28  bottom group of nations in the similar reservation of at least one- world (see the graph below). India third of seats in Lok Sabha and is behind the averages for several State Assemblies for women. A developing countries of Africa and bill with this proposal was pending Latin America. In the government, before the Parliament for many cabinets are largely all-male even decades. In 2023, Nari shakti Vandan when a woman becomes the Chief Adhiniyam (Womens’ Reservation Minister or the Prime Minister. Act, 2023) has been passed which will give 33 percent reservation of If casteism and One way to solve this problem is seats for women in Lok Sabha, State communalism to make it legally binding to have a fair are bad, what Legislative Assemblies and also Delhi proportion of women in the elected Assembly. makes feminism bodies. This is what the Panchayati a good thing? Gender division is an example Raj has done in India. One-third of Why don’t we that some form of social division seats in local government bodies – in oppose all those needs to be expressed in politics. This who divide the panchayats and municipalities – are also shows that disadvantaged groups society on any now reserved for women. Now there do benefit when social divisions lines – caste, are more than 10 lakh elected women become a political issue. Do you religion or representatives in rural and urban think that women could have made gender? local bodies. the gains we noted above if their Women’s organizations and unequal treatment was not raised in activists had been demanding a the political domain? Gender, Religion and Caste 2024-25 35 Chapter 3.indd 35 02/04/2024 11:57:11  Religion, communalism and politics Let us now turn to a very different and politics. But they do not kind of social division, the division seem very wrong or dangerous. based on religious differences. Ideas, ideals and values drawn This division is not as universal from different religions can and as gender, but religious diversity perhaps should play a role in is fairly widespread in the world politics. People should be able today. Many countries including to express in politics their needs, India have in their population, interests and demands as a member followers of different religions. As of a religious community. Those we noticed in the case of Northern who hold political power should Ireland, even when most of the sometimes be able to regulate the people belong to the same religion, practice of religion so as to prevent there can be serious differences discrimination and oppression. about the way people practice that These political acts are not wrong as long as they treat every religion religion. Unlike gender differences, equally. the religious differences are often expressed in the field of politics. Communalism Consider the following: The problem begins when religion  Gandhiji used to say that is seen as the basis of the nation. religion can never be separated The example of Northern Ireland from politics. What he meant by in Chapter 3 shows the dangers of religion was not any particular such an approach to nationalism. religion like Hinduism or Islam The problem becomes more acute but moral values that inform all when religion is expressed in religions. He believed that politics politics in exclusive and partisan terms, when one religion and must be guided by ethics drawn its followers are pitted against from religion. another. This happens when beliefs  Human rights groups in our of one religion are presented as country have demanded that the superior to those of other religions, Government should take special when the demands of one religious steps to prevent communal riots group are formed in opposition to D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s and protect religious minorities. another and when state power is  Women’s movement has argued used to establish domination of one that family laws of all religions religious group over the rest. This I am not discriminate against women. manner of using religion in politics religious. So they have demanded that is communal politics. Why should I government should change these Communal politics is based bother about laws to make them more equitable. on the idea that religion is the communalism All these instances involve principal basis of social community. and secularism? a relationship between religion Communalism involves thinking 36 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 36 02/04/2024 11:58:46  along the following lines. The that we often fail to notice it, even I often crack followers of a particular religion when we believe in it. jokes about must belong to one community.  A communal mind often leads to a people from one Their fundamental interests are quest for political dominance of one’s religion. Does the same. Any difference that they own religious community. For those that make me may have is irrelevant or trivial belonging to majority community, communal? for community life. It also follows this takes the form of majoritarian that people who follow different dominance. For those belonging religions cannot belong to the same to the minority community, it can social community. If the followers take the form of a desire to form a of different religions have some separate political unit. commonalities these are superficial  Political mobilisation on and immaterial, their interests are religious lines is another frequent bound to be different and involve form of communalism. This involves a conflict. In its extreme form, the use of sacred symbols, religious communalism leads to the belief leaders, emotional appeal and plain that people belonging to different fear in order to bring the followers religions cannot live as equal citizens of one religion together in the within one nation. Either, one of political arena. In electoral politics, them has to dominate the rest or this often involves special appeal to they have to form different nations. the interests or emotions of voters of This belief is fundamentally one religion in preference to others. flawed. People of one religion  Sometimes communalism takes do not have the same interests its most ugly form of communal and aspirations in every context. violence, riots and massacre. India Everyone has several other roles, and Pakistan suffered some of the positions and identities. There worst communal riots at the time of are many voices inside every the Partition. The post-Independence community. All these voices have period has also seen large scale a right to be heard. Therefore any communal violence. Gender, Religion and Caste attempt to bring all followers of one Secular state religion together in context other Communalism was and continues than religion is bound to suppress to be one of the major challenges many voices within that community. to democracy in our country. The Communalism can take various Family laws: Those makers of our Constitution were forms in politics: laws that deal with aware of this challenge. That is why, family related matters  The most common expression they chose the model of a secular such as marriage, of communalism is in everyday state. This choice was reflected in divorce, adoption, beliefs. These routinely involve several constitutional provisions that inheritance, etc. religious prejudices, stereotypes of we studied last year: In our country, religious communities and belief in  There is no official religion for different family laws the superiority of one’s religion over the Indian state. Unlike the status of apply to followers of other religions. This is so common Buddhism in Sri Lanka, that of Islam different religions. 2024-25 37 Chapter 3.indd 37 08-04-2022 14:15:31  in Pakistan and that of Christianity in Caste inequalities England, our Constitution does not Unlike gender and religion, caste give a special status to any religion. division is special to India. All societies  The Constitution provides to have some kind of social inequality all individuals and communities and some form of division of labour. freedom to profess, practice and In most societies, occupations are propagate any religion, or not to passed on from one generation to follow any. another. Caste system is an extreme  The Constitution prohibits form of this. What makes it different discrimination on grounds of from other societies is that in this religion. system, hereditary occupational division was sanctioned by rituals.  At the same time, the Constitution Members of the same caste group allows the state to intervene in were supposed to form a social the matters of religion in order to community that practiced the same ensure equality within religious or similar occupation, married communities. For example, it bans within the caste group and did untouchability. not eat with members from other Understood in this sense, caste groups. secularism is not just an ideology of Caste system was based on some parties or persons. This idea exclusion of and discrimination constitutes one of the foundations against the ‘outcaste’ groups. They of our country. Communalism were subjected to the inhuman should not be seen as a threat to practice of untouchability about some people in India. It threatens which you have studied in Class the very idea of India. That is why IX. That is why political leaders communalism needs to be combated. and social reformers like Jotiba A secular Constitution like ours Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar is necessary but not sufficient to and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker combat communalism. Communal advocated and worked to establish prejudices and propaganda need to a society in which caste inequalities be countered in everyday life and are absent. religion- based mobilisation needs to Partly due to their efforts and be countered in the arena of politics. partly due to other socio-economic D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s changes, castes and caste system Caste and politics in modern India have undergone great changes. With economic We have seen two instances of the development, large scale expression of social divisions in the urbanisation, growth of literacy and arena of politics, one largely positive education, occupational mobility and the other largely negative. Let us and the weakening of the position turn to our final case, that of caste of landlords in the villages, the old and politics, that has both positive notions of caste hierarchy are and the negative aspects. breaking down. Now, most of the 38 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 38 08-04-2022 14:15:31  Social and Religious Diversity of India The Census of India records the religion of each and every Indian after every ten years. The person who fills the Census form visits every household and records the religion of each member of that household exactly the way each person describes it. If someone says she has ‘no religion’ or that he is an ‘atheist’, this is exactly how it is recorded. Thus we have reliable information on the proportion of different religious communities in the country and how it has changed over the years. The pie chart below presents the population proportion of six major religious communities in the country. Since Independence, the total population of each community has increased substantially but their proportion in the country’s population has not changed much. In percentage terms, the population of the Hindus, Jains and Christians has declined marginally since 1961. The proportion of Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist population has increased slightly. There is a common but mistaken impression that the proportion of the Muslims in the country’s population is going to overtake other religious communities. Expert estimates done for the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee (popularly known as Sachar Committee) show that the proportion of the Muslims is expected to go up a little, by about 3 to 4 per cent, in the next 50 years. It proves that in overall terms, the population balance of different religious communities is not likely to change in a big way. The same is true of the major caste groups. The Census of India counts two social groups: the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Both these broad groups include hundreds of castes or tribes whose names are listed in an official Schedule. Hence the prefix ‘Scheduled’ in their name. The Scheduled Castes, commonly known as Dalits, include those that were previously regarded as ‘outcaste’ in the Hindu social order and were subjected to exclusion and untouchability. The Scheduled Tribes, often referred to as Adivasis, include those communities that led a secluded life usually in hills and forests and did not interact much with the rest of society. In 2011, the Scheduled Castes were 16.6 per cent and the Scheduled Tribes were 8.6 per cent Population of different religious of the country’s population. communities in India, 2011 Gender, Religion and Caste The Census does not yet count the Other Backward Classes, the group Hindu we discussed in Class IX. Hence there 79.8 are some differences about their proportion in the country’s population. In % Muslim The National Sample Survey of 14.2 2004–05 estimates their population to be around 41 per cent. Thus the SC, ST and the OBC together account Others 2% for about two-thirds of the country’s Others include Buddhist 0.7% Jain 0.4% Christian 2.3 population and about three-fourths of Other Religions and Persuasions 0.7% Sikh 1.7 Religion not stated 0.2% the Hindu population. Source: Census of India, 2011 2024-25 39 Chapter 3.indd 39 08-04-2022 14:15:31  naturally lagged behind. That is why I don’t care what Now you don’t like my caste is. Why there is a disproportionately large it! Didn’t you tell are we discussing presence of ‘upper caste’ among me that wherever all this in the there is domination, the urban middle classes in our textbook? Are we we should discuss it country. Caste continues to be not promoting in Political Science? closely linked to economic status. casteism by Will caste disappear (See Plus Box on Page 41.) talking about if we keep mum caste? Caste in politics about it? As in the case of communalism, casteism is rooted in the belief that caste is the sole basis of social community. According to this way of thinking, people belonging to the same caste belong to a natural social community and have the same interests which they do not times, in urban areas it does not share with anyone from another matter much who is walking along caste. As we saw in the case of next to us on a street or eating at communalism, such a belief is not the next table in a restaurant. The borne out by our experience. Caste Constitution of India prohibited any is one aspect of our experience but it caste-based discrimination and laid is not the only relevant or the most the foundations of policies to reverse important aspect. the injustices of the caste system. If Caste can take various forms a person who lived a century ago in politics: were to return to India, she would be greatly surprised at the change  When parties choose candidates Urbanisation: Shift that has come about in the country. in elections, they keep in mind the of population from caste composition of the electorate rural areas to urban Yet caste has not disappeared and nominate candidates from areas. from contemporary India. Some different castes so as to muster Occupational of the older aspects of caste have necessary support to win elections. mobility: Shift from persisted. Even now most people When governments are formed, one occupation to marry within their own caste or political parties usually take care that another, usually tribe. Untouchability has not ended when a new representatives of different castes and completely, despite constitutional D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s generation takes up tribes find a place in it. prohibition. Effects of centuries occupations other of advantages and disadvantages  Political parties and candidates than those practiced in elections make appeals to caste continue to be felt today. The caste by their ancestors. sentiment to muster support. Some groups that had access to education Caste hierarchy: A political parties are known to favour ladder-like formation under the old system have done very well in acquiring modern education some castes and are seen as their in which all the caste as well. Those groups that did not representatives. groups are placed from the ‘highest’ to have access to education or were  Universal adult franchise and the ‘lowest’ castes. prohibited from acquiring it have the principle of one-person-one-vote 40 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 40 08-04-2022 14:15:32  Caste inequality today Caste is an important source of economic inequality because it regulates access to resources of various kinds. For example, in the past, the so-called ‘untouchable’ castes were denied the right to own land, while only the so-called ‘twice born’ castes had the right to education. Although this kind of explicit and formalised inequality based on caste is now outlawed, the effects of centuries of accumulated advantages and disadvantages continue to be felt. Moreover, new kinds of inequalities have also developed. The relationship between caste and economic status has certainly changed a lot. Today, it is possible to find very rich and very poor people in every caste, whether ‘low’ or ‘high’. This was not true even twenty or thirty years ago – it was very rare indeed to find rich people among the ‘lowest’ castes. However, as this evidence from the National Sample Survey shows, caste continues to be very strongly linked to economic status in many important ways:  The average economic status (measured by criteria like monthly consumption expenditure) of caste groups still follows the old hierarchy – the ‘upper’ castes are best off, the Dalits and Adivasis are worst off, and the backward classes are in between.  Although every caste has some poor members, the proportion living in extreme poverty (below the official ‘poverty line’) is much higher for the lowest castes and much lower for the upper castes, with the backward classes once again in between.  Although every caste has some members who are rich, the upper castes are heavily over-represented among the rich while the lower castes are severely under-represented. Percentage of population living below the poverty line, 1999–— —– 2000 Caste and Community groups Rural Urban Scheduled Tribes 45.8 35.6 Gender, Religion and Caste Scheduled Castes 35.9 38.3 Other Backward Classes 27.0 29.5 Muslim Upper Castes 26.8 34.2 Hindu Upper Castes 11.7 9.9 Christian Upper Castes 9.6 5.4 Sikh Upper Castes 0.0 4.9 Other Upper Castes 16.0 2.7 All Groups 27.0 23.4 Note: ‘Upper Caste’ here means those who are not from SC, ST, or OBC. Below the poverty line means those who spent `327 or less per person per month in rural and `454 or less per person per month in urban areas. Source: National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), Government of India, 55th Round, 1999–2000 2024-25 41 Chapter 3.indd 41 08-04-2022 14:15:32  compelled political leaders to gear up the voters from that caste vote for to the task of mobilising and securing that party. political support. It also brought new  Many political parties may put consciousness among the people of up candidates from the same caste castes that were hitherto treated as (if that caste is believed to dominate inferior and low. the electorate in a particular The focus on caste in politics constituency). Some voters have can sometimes give an impression more than one candidate from their that elections are all about caste and caste while many voters have no nothing else. That is far from true. candidate from their caste. Just consider these:  The ruling party and the sitting  No parliamentary constituency MP or MLA frequently lose elections in the country has a clear majority in our country. That could not of one single caste. So, every have happened if all castes and candidate and party needs to win the communities were frozen in their confidence of more than one caste political preferences. and community to win elections. Clearly, while caste matters in  No party wins the votes of all electoral politics, so do many other the voters of a caste or community. factors. The voters have strong When people say that a caste is a attachment to political parties which ‘vote bank’ of one party, it usually is often stronger than their attachment means that a large proportion of to their caste or community. People within the same caste or community have different interests depending on their economic condition. Rich and poor or men and women from the same caste often vote very differently. People’s assessment of the performance of the government and the popularity rating of the © Ajith Ninan - India Today Book of Cartoons leaders matter and are often decisive in elections. Politics in caste We have so far looked at what caste D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s does to politics. But it does not mean that there is only a one-way relation between caste and politics. Politics too influences the caste system and caste identities by bringing them into the political arena. Thus, it is Do you think that political leaders are right to treat people belonging to a not politics that gets caste-ridden, it caste as ‘vote banks’? 42 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 42 08-04-2022 14:15:32  is the caste that gets politicised. This power. In this sense, caste politics takes several forms: has helped people from Dalits and  Each caste group tries to become OBC castes to gain better access to bigger by incorporating within it decision making. Several political neighbouring castes or sub-castes and non-political organisations have which were earlier excluded from it. been demanding and agitating for an end to discrimination against  Various caste groups are required particular castes, for more dignity to enter into a coalition with other and more access to land, resources castes or communities and thus enter and opportunities. into a dialogue and negotiation. At the same time, exclusive  New kinds of caste groups attention to caste can produce have come up in the political arena negative results as well. As in the like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ case of religion, politics based on caste groups. caste identity alone is not very Thus, caste plays different healthy in a democracy. It can kinds of roles in politics. In some divert attention from other pressing situations, expression of caste issues like poverty, development differences in politics gives many and corruption. In some cases, caste disadvantaged communities the division leads to tensions, conflict space to demand their share of and even violence. Gender, Religion and Caste 2024-25 43 Chapter 3.indd 43 19/03/2024 10:44:04  1. Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India. 2. State different forms of communal politics with one example each. 3. State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India. 4. State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India. 5. What is the status of women’s representation in India’s legislative bodies? 6. Mention any two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state. Exercises 7. When we speak of gender divisions, we usually refer to: (a) Biological difference between men and women (b) Unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women (c) Unequal child sex ratio (d) Absence of voting rights for women in democracies 8. In India seats are reserved for women in (a) Lok Sabha (b) State legislative assemblies (c) Cabinets (d) Panchayati Raj bodies 9. Consider the following statements on the meaning of communal politics. Communal politics is based on the belief that: A. One religion is superior to that of others. B. People belonging to different religions can live together happily as equal citizens. C. Followers of a particular religion constitute one community. D. State power cannot be used to establish the domination of one religious group over others. Which of the statements are correct? (a) A, B, C, and D (b) A, B, and D (c) A and C (d) B and D 10. Which among the following statements about India’s Constitution is wrong? It D e m o c ra t i c Po l i t i c s (a) prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion. (b) gives official status to one religion. (c) provides to all individuals freedom to profess any religion. (d) ensures equality of citizens within religious communities. 11. Social divisions based on _________ are peculiar to India. 44 2024-25 Chapter 3.indd 44 08-04-2022 14:15:36  12. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists: List I List II 1. A person who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men A. Communalist 2. A person who says that religion is the principal basis of community B. Feminist 3. A person who thinks that caste is the principal basis of community C. Secularist 4. A person who does not discriminate others on the basis of religious beliefs D. Castiest Exercises 1 2 3 4 (a) B C A D (b) B A D C (c) D C A B (d) C A B D Gender, Religion and Caste 2024-25 45 Chapter 3.indd 45 08-04-2022 14:15:36