Marginalisation Notes PDF

Marginalisation - Notes Polity Copyright © 2014-2023 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved  Download Testbook App MARGINALISATION Chapters Covered Chapter 5: Understanding Marginalization...

Marginalisation - Notes Polity Copyright © 2014-2023 TestBook Edu Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: All rights reserved  Download Testbook App MARGINALISATION Chapters Covered Chapter 5: Understanding Marginalization (8th) Chapter 6: Confronting Marginalization (8th) To be marginalized To be marginalized is to be forced to occupy the sides or fringes and not to be at the center of things. In the social environment too, groups of people or communities are being excluded. Reasons for marginalization: Different languages, different customs, and different religious groups are some reasons for marginalization. Marginalized groups are viewed with hostility and fear. This sense of difference and exclusion leads the communities to not have access to resources and opportunities and unable to assert their rights, thus leading them to experience a sense of disadvantage and powerlessness vis-a-vis more powerful and dominant sections of society who own land, are wealthy, better educated, and politically powerful. Thus, marginalization is seldom experienced in one sphere. Economic, social, cultural, and political factors work together to make certain groups in society feel marginalized. Adivasis Tribals are also referred to as Adivasis. Adivasis–literally means ‘original inhabitants’, communities who lived and continue to live, in close association with forests. About 8% of India’s population is Adivasi and most of the country’s mining and industrial centres are located in Adivasi areas like Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai, among others. Not a homogeneous population, there are over 500 various Adivasi groups in India. They are numerous in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. There are 60 different tribal groups in Odisha. They are distinctive because there is often very little hierarchy among them and this makes them radically different from communities organized around principles of jati-varna (caste) or those that were ruled by kings. SUBJECT | Polity 1 of 9  Download Testbook App Adivasis practice 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. The village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves within the village boundary, while the ancestral ones are worshipped at home. Adivasis have always been influenced by different surrounding religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti, and Christianity. Adivasi religions themselves have influenced dominant religions of the empires around them, for example, the Jagannath cult of Odisha and Shakti and Tantric traditions in Bengal and Assam. During the 19th century, substantial numbers of Adivasis converted to Christianity, which has emerged as a very important religion in modern Adivasi history. Adivasis have their own languages (most of them radically different from and possibly as old as Sanskrit), which have often deeply influenced the formation of ‘mainstream’ Indian languages, like Bengali. Adivasis and Stereotyping Adivasis are portrayed in very stereotypical ways – in colorful costumes, headgear, and through their dancing. Besides this, we seem to know very little about the realities of their lives. This wrongly leads to people believing they are exotic, primitive, and backward. Adivasis and Development Forests covered a major part of our country until the 19th century. 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. They were not ruled by large states and empires. Instead, empires heavily depended on Adivasis for the crucial access to forest resources. In the pre-colonial world, they were traditionally ranged hunter-gatherers and nomads and lived by shifting agriculture and also cultivating in one place. For the past 200 years, Adivasis have been increasingly forced – through economic changes, forest policies, and political force applied by the State and private industry – to migrate to live as workers in plantations, at construction sites, in industries, and as domestic workers. For the first time in history, they do not control or have much direct access to the forest territories. From the 1830s onwards, Adivasis from Jharkhand and adjoining areas moved in very large numbers to various plantations in India and the world – Mauritius, the Caribbean, and even Australia. For example, in the 19th century alone 5 lakh Adivasis had perished in these migrations. India’s tea industry became possible with their labour in Assam. Today, there are 70 lakh Adivasis in Assam alone. SUBJECT | Polity 2 of 9  Download Testbook App Forestlands have been cleared for timber and to get land for agriculture and industry. Adivasis have also lived in areas that are rich in minerals and other natural resources, which were taken over for mining and other large industrial projects. Powerful forces collude to take over tribal land forcefully and procedures are not followed. According to official figures, over 50% of persons displaced due to mines and mining projects are tribals. Another recent survey report by organizations working among Adivasis shows that 79% of the persons displaced from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand are tribals. Huge tracts of their lands have also gone under the waters of hundreds of dams that have been built in independent India. In the Northeast, their lands remain highly militarized. India has 103 national parks covering 44,372 sq km and 564 wildlife sanctuaries covering 1,22,509 sq km. These are areas where tribes originally lived but were evicted from. When they continue to stay in these forests, they are termed encroachers. Losing their lands and access to the forest means that tribals lose their main sources of livelihood and food. Having gradually lost access to their traditional homelands, many Adivasis have migrated to cities in search of work where they are employed for very low wages in local industries or at building or construction sites. 45% of tribal groups in rural areas and 35% in urban areas live below the poverty line. Many tribal children are malnourished. Literacy rates among tribals are also very low. When Adivasis are displaced from their lands, they lose much more than a source of income. They lose their traditions and customs – a way of living and being. There exists an interconnectedness between the economic and social dimensions of tribal life. Destruction in one sphere naturally impacts the other. Often this process of dispossession and displacement can be painful and violent. Adivasi Demands and the 1989 Act The 1989 Act is important for another reason. It helped Adivasis to defend their right to occupy land that was traditionally theirs. Adivasis are often unwilling to move and were forcibly displaced from their land. Those who have forcibly encroached upon tribal lands should be punished under this law, as proposed by Activists. They have also pointed to the fact that this Act merely confirms what has already been promised to tribal people in the Constitution that land belonging to tribal people cannot be sold to or bought by non- tribal people. In cases where this has happened, the Constitution guarantees the right of tribal people to re-possess their land. Meanwhile, in cases where tribals have already been evicted and cannot go back to their lands, they must be compensated. That is, the government must draw up plans and policies for them to live and work elsewhere. Minorities and Marginalisation SUBJECT | Polity 3 of 9  Download Testbook App The Constitution provides safeguards to religious and linguistic minorities as part of our Fundamental Rights. The minority refers to communities that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. This concept goes well beyond numbers encompassing issues of power, access to resources with social and cultural dimensions. The Indian Constitution recognised that the Culture of the majority influences the way in which society and government express themselves. In such cases, size is a disadvantage and results in the marginalisation of the relatively smaller communities. Hence, safeguards protect minority communities against being culturally dominated by the majority. They also protect them against any discrimination and disadvantage. Communities that are small in number relative to the rest of society may feel insecure about their lives, assets, and well-being, which may get accentuated if the relations between the minority and majority communities are fraught. The Constitution provides these safeguards because it is committed to protecting India’s cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice. The judiciary plays a crucial role in upholding the law and enforcing Fundamental Rights. Every citizen of India can approach the courts if they believe that their Fundamental Rights have been violated. Muslims and Marginalisation According to the 2011 census, Muslims are 14.2 percent of India’s population and are considered to be a marginalized community in India today because in comparison to other communities, they have over the years been deprived of the benefits of socio- economic development. Recognising that Muslims in India were lagging behind in terms of various development indicators, the government set up a high-level committee in 2005. Chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar, the committee examined the social, economic, and educational status of the Muslim community in India. The report discusses in detail the marginalisation of this community. It suggests that on a range of social, economic, and educational indicators the situation of the Muslim community is comparable to that of other marginalised communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. For example, according to the Report the average years of schooling for Muslim children between the ages of 7-16 is much lower than that of other socio-religious communities. 25 percent of Muslim children in the 6-14 year age group have either never been enrolled in school or have dropped out. This percentage is much higher than that of any other socio-religious community. The Sachar Committee Report also debunked other prevalent myths about Muslims. It is commonly believed that the Muslims prefer to send their children to Madrasas. The SUBJECT | Polity 4 of 9  Download Testbook App figures show that only 4 percent of Muslim children are in Madrasas, whereas 66 percent attend government schools and 30 percent private schools. Like other minorities, Muslim customs and practices are sometimes quite distinct from what is seen as the mainstream. Some, not all Muslims may wear a burqa, sport a long beard, wear a fez, and these become ways to identify all Muslims. Because of this, they tend to be identified differently and some people think they are not like the ‘rest of us’. Often this becomes an excuse to treat them unfairly, and discriminate against them. Invoking Fundamental Rights The Constitution lays down the principles that make our society and polity democratic, defined in and through the list of Fundamental Rights that are an important part of the Constitution. These rights are available to all Indians equally. Marginalised have drawn on these rights in two ways: Insisting on their Fundamental Rights, they have forced the government to recognise the injustice done to them. They have insisted that the government enforce these laws. The struggles of the marginalized influenced the government to frame new laws, in keeping with the spirit of the Fundamental Rights. Article 17 of the Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished – means that no one can prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering temples, using public facilities, and so on. It also means that it is wrong to practise untouchability and that this practice will not be tolerated by a democratic government. In fact, untouchability is a punishable crime now. There are other sections in the Constitution that help to strengthen the argument against untouchability – for example, Article 15 of the Constitution notes that no citizen of India shall be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. This has been used by Dalits to seek equality where it has been denied to them. Dalits can ‘invoke’ or ‘draw on’ a Fundamental Right (or Rights) in situations where they feel that they have been treated badly by some individual or community, or even by the government. Dalits can draw the attention of the Government of India to the Constitution and demand that the Government follow it and do justice to them. Other minority groups have drawn on the Fundamental Rights section of our Constitution. They have particularly drawn upon the right to freedom of religion and cultural and educational rights. In the case of cultural and educational rights, distinct cultural and religious groups like the Muslims and Parsis have the right to be the guardians of the content of their culture, as well as the right to make decisions on how best this content is to be preserved. SUBJECT | Polity 5 of 9  Download Testbook App Thus, by granting different forms of cultural rights, the Constitution tries to ensure cultural justice to such groups. The Constitution does this so that the culture of these groups is not dominated nor wiped out by the culture of the majority community. Laws for the Marginalised There are specific laws and policies for the marginalised in our country. Promoting Social Justice: Attempting to implement the Constitution, State and Central Governments provide for free or subsidised hostels for students of Dalit and Adivasi communities so that they can avail of education facilities that may not be available in their localities. The government also operates through laws to ensure that concrete steps are taken to end inequity in the system. One such law/policy is the reservation policy that today is both significant and highly contentious. The laws which reserve seats in education and government employment for Dalits and Adivasis are based on an important argument that in a society like ours, for centuries these sections of the population have been denied opportunities to learn and to work. In order to develop new skills or vocations, a democratic government needs to step in and assist these sections. Reservation Policy: Governments across India and the Central Government have their own list of Scheduled Castes (or Dalits), Scheduled Tribes and backward and most backward castes. Students applying to educational institutions and those applying for posts in government are expected to provide proof in the form of caste and tribe certificates. If a particular Dalit caste or a certain tribe is on the government list, then a candidate can avail of the benefit of reservation. For admission to colleges, especially to institutes of professional education, governments define a set of ‘cut- off’ marks. Only the Dalit and tribal candidates who secured marks above the cut-off point can qualify for admission. These students also get special scholarships from the Government. Protecting the Rights of Dalits and Adivasis: In addition to policies, our country also has specific laws that guard against the discrimination and exploitation of marginalised communities. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. In response to demands made by Dalits and other tribal groups that the government must take seriously the ill-treatment and humiliation that they face. While such treatment had persisted for a long time, it had acquired a violent character in the late 1970s and 1980s. SUBJECT | Polity 6 of 9  Download Testbook App During this period, in parts of southern India, a number of assertive Dalit groups came into being and asserted their rights. They refused to perform their so-called caste duties and insisted on being treated equally. It resulted in the more powerful castes unleashing violence against them. Dalit groups demanded new laws that would list the various sorts of violence against Dalits and prescribe stringent punishment for those who indulge in them. Meanwhile, the act distinguishes several levels of crimes. Modes of humiliation both physically horrific and morally reprehensible and seeks to punish those who: Force a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance. Forcibly remove clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parade him or her naked or with painted face or body or commit any similar act that is derogatory to human dignity. Actions that dispossess Dalits and Adivasis of their meagre resources or which force them into performing slave labour. Thus, the Act sets out to punish anyone who: Wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to, a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred. At another level, the Act recognizes that crimes against Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore, seeks to penalise anyone who assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour her. Adivasi Demands and the 1989 Act The 1989 Act is important for another reason – Adivasi activists refer to it to defend their right to occupy land that was traditionally theirs. Adivasis are often unwilling to move from their land and are forcibly displaced. Activists have asked that those who have forcibly encroached upon tribal lands should be punished under this law. They have also pointed to the fact that this Act merely confirms what has already been promised to tribal people in the Constitution – that land belonging to tribal people cannot be sold to or bought by non-tribal people. In cases where this has happened, the Constitution guarantees the right of tribal people to re-possess their land. C.K. Janu, an Adivasi activist, has also pointed out that the state governments of India are actually the violators of the constitutional rights guaranteed to the tribal people as these governments allow non-tribal encroachers such as timber traders, paper mill traders, etc. SUBJECT | Polity 7 of 9  Download Testbook App This leads to the exploitation of tribal lands and forcibly evicts tribal people from their traditional forests in the process of declaring forests as reserves or sanctuaries. She has also noted that in cases where tribals have already been evicted and cannot go back to their lands, they must be compensated. That is, the government must draw up plans and policies for them to live and work elsewhere. After all, governments spend large sums of money on building industrial or other projects on lands taken from tribals. Do You Know? The central government passed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The introduction to the final Act states that this Act is meant to undo the historical injustices meted out to forest dwelling populations in not recognising their rights to land and resources. This Act recognises their right to homestead, cultivable and grazing land and to non-timber forest produce. The Act also points out that the rights of forest dwellers includes conservation of forests and bio-diversity. The Scourge of Manual Scavenging Manual scavenging refers to the practice of removing human and animal waste/excreta using brooms, tin plates, and baskets from dry latrines and carrying it on the head to disposal grounds some distance away. A manual scavenger is the person who does the job of carrying this filth. This job is mainly done by Dalit women and young girls. According to the Andhra Pradesh-based Safai Karamchari Andolan, an organisation working with manual scavengers, there are one lakh persons from Dalit communities who continue to be employed in this job in this country and who work in 26 lakh private and community dry latrines managed by municipalities. Manual scavengers are exposed to subhuman conditions of work and face serious health hazards. They are constantly exposed to infections that affect their eyes, skin, respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems. They get very low wages for the work they perform. Those working in urban municipalities earn Rs 200 per day and those working privately are paid much less. In 1993, the government passed the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act. This law prohibits the employment of manual scavengers as well as the construction of dry latrines. In 2003, the Safai Karamchari Andolan and 13 other organisations and individuals, including seven scavengers, filed a PIL in the Supreme Court. SUBJECT | Polity 8 of 9  Download Testbook App The petitioners complained that manual scavenging still existed and it continued in government undertakings like the railways. The petitioners sought enforcement of their Fundamental Rights. The court observed that the number of manual scavengers in India had increased since the 1993 law. It directed every department/ministry of the union government and state governments to verify the facts within six months. If manual scavenging was found to exist, then the government department has to actively take up a time- bound programme for their liberation and rehabilitation. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act came into force on 6 December 2013. Ghettoisation: A ghetto is an area or locality that is populated largely by members of a particular community. Ghettoisation refers to the process that leads to such a situation. This may occur due to various social, cultural and economic reasons. Fear or hostility may also compel a community to group together as they feel more secure living amongst their own. Often a ‘ghettoised’ community has few options of moving out, which may lead to them becoming alienated from the rest of society. SUBJECT | Polity 9 of 9