Gender,

Religion
By Mr. Siddharth
Chandrasekar
 What Disadvantages Do
Women Face?
1) Literacy Rate - 54% for women.76% for men
showing disparity
2) Smaller proportion of girls go for higher
studies
3) Preferential treatment meted out to boy`s
education rather than for girls
4) Proportion of women among highly paid and
valued job is small
5) Equal wages Act provides equal wages but
discrimination continues in sports, cinema,
factories and fields
6) Preference to have sons and abortion of girl
child
7) Sex selective abortions have led to decline in
Solution To This
Problem…
1) To make it legally binding to
have a fair proportion of women
in elected bodies
2) Reservation of 1/3 seats in local
bodies
3) 10 lakh elected representatives
in rural and urban local bodies
4) Demand for 1/3 seats in Lok
Sabha and State Assemblies
 Give A Few Instances That
Involve Relationship
1) Gandhiji believed that politics
must be guided by ethics drawn
from religion
2) Human rights groups
demanding the Government to
take special steps to protect
religious minorities
3) Women`s movements want
Government to change family
Communalism…
• To place ones community above
everything including the nation
When does it begin?
• When religion is seen as the
basis of the nation
When does it become acute?
• When religion is expressed in
politics in exclusive and partisan
terms
• When one religion and its
followers are pitted
Communalism…
What factors promote
communalism?
2) Beliefs of one religion are
presented as superior to those of
other religions.
3) When demands of one religious
group are formed in opposition to
another.
4) When state power is used to
establish domination of one
religious group over the rest.
What is Communal Politics?
• It is based on the idea that religion
Communalism…
What Do Communalists Think?

3) Followers of one religion must

belong to one community.
4) Their fundamental interests are
same.
5) People who follow different
religions cannot belong to the
same social community.
Communalism…
What forms can Communalism take in
Politics?

3) It involves religious prejudices,

stereotypes of religious communities and
belief in the superiority of one`s religion
over other religions.
4) Communal mind leads to a quest for
Political dominance of one’s own
religious communities.
5) If it is a Majority community –
Majoritarian Dominance.
6) If it is a Minority community – It forms a
separate Political Unit.
7) Political mobilisation – using symbols,
religious leader`s emotional appeal and
Secular State…
1) There is no official religion for
India. Constitution does not offer
special status to any religion.
2) Constitution provides to all
freedom to profess, practice and
propagate any religion.
3) Constitution prohibits
discrimination on grounds of
religion.
4) State will intervene in matters of
religion to ensure equality within
Caste & Politics…
• Hereditary occupational division
sanctioned by rituals.
• Members of the same caste
group formed similar occupation,
married within the caste and did
not eat with members from other
caste groups.
 Efforts Taken to Check
Casteism…
1) Political leaders and social reformers
like JOTHIBHA
PHULE,GANDHIJI,AMBEDKAR and EVR
PERIYAR have done a lot to check
casteism.
2) Socio economic changes have brought
in a check.
3) Large scale urbanisation.
4) Literacy and education.
5) Occupational mobility.
Caste & Politics…
Why is there a disproportionately
large
presence of Upper Caste among
Urban Middle
Class ?
• Groups that did not have access
to education were prohibited
from acquiring it have lagged
behind.
Caste can take various forms
in Politics…
1) During the choice of candidates
before an election , care is taken
that the composition of electorate
and nomination of candidates
from different castes to muster
support to win elections.
2) During formation of Governments,
political parties take care that
representatives of different castes
and tribes find a place in it.
3) To make appeals to caste
sentiment to muster support.
4) Universal adult franchise - one
Elections are all about Caste &
nothing else…
1) No parliamentary constituency has a
clear majority of one single caste.
Every candidate /party must win the
confidence of more than one caste and
community to win elections.
2) No party wins the votes of all voters of
a caste /community.
3) Many political parties may put up
candidates from same caste.
4) Ruling party /sitting MP losing election
could not have happened if all castes
and communities were frozen in
What forms does Caste take
when it is Politicised?

1) Caste group becomes big by

including neighbouring castes.
2) Party enters into a coalition
with other castes.
3) Rise of backward caste and
forward caste group.
Effects of Exclusive Attention
to Caste…
• Is negative.
• Politics based on caste identity
alone is not healthy.
• Diverts attention from poverty
,development and corruption.
• Leads to tension, conflict and
even
violence.
Popular Struggle &
Movements
Nepal…
• Won democracy in 1990.
• Formal power was with the King.
• Real power with elected representatives.
• 2001 – Massacre of Royal Family, Gyanendra
took charge.
• 2005 – Dissolution of Parliament.
• 2006 - Popular control over Govt. headed by the
King.
• 7 Party alliance called for a 4 day strike. Maoists
& other organisations joined.
• 21st April, King conceded to all demands leading
to :
9) Restoration of Parliament.
10)Seizure of power from the Ruler.
11)To make Koirala Prime Minister.
Bolivia…
Fight against Privatisation of Water
2) World Bank pressurised Government
to give up control of Municipal Water
supply.
3) Sale of rights to a MNC for the City of
Cochabamba.
4) Company raised the price of water 4
times.
5) 4 day general strike by Labour and
Human Rights and Community leaders.
6) Government agreed to negotiate.
7) Power of the people forced MNC to
flee & made Government to concede to
all demands.
Similarities…
Differences…
Two way roles of these
organisations are …

• Direct participation in
competitive politics
• Creation of parties contesting
elections and forming
Governments
Formation of
Organisations…
• Those organisations that
undertake activities to promote
their interest are called INTEREST
GROUPS or PRESSURE GROUPS.
PRESSURE GROUPS :
• Influence Government policies
• Do not aim at directly controlling
or sharing political power.
• Formed when people with common
occupation, interests, aspirations
or opinions come together to
Pressure Groups…
Movements : Narmada Bachao
Andolan Women’s Movement
• Influence politics rather than directly
take part in electoral competition
• They are loose organisations
• Make informal decisions and are
flexible
• They depend on spontaneous mass
participation
Interest Groups…
• Are united organisations
• Do not care much for mass
participation
• Promote the interest of a particular
section or group of society
• Example : Trade Unions, Business

Sectional Groups…
• Represent a section of society
• Example : Workers, Employees,
Business Groups, Industrialists,
Followers of Religion & Caste Groups
• Aims : Betterment of their members &
Groups…
FEDECOR (Feracion Departamental
Cochabambina de Regantes)
• Represents some common or general
interest that needs to be defended.
• Members may not benefit from the cause
that the organisation represents.

Promotional Groups
• Promote collective good
• Aim to help groups rather than their own
members
• Group fighting against bonded labour is
an example
Groups…
BAMCEF(Backward & Minorities
Community Employees Federation)
• Made of Govt. employees that
campaigns against caste discrimination
• It addresses problems of its members
who suffer discrimination
• Its concern is with social justice and
social equality for the entire society

Movement Groups
• Issue specific movements and seek to
achieve a single objective within a
Single Issue
Movements…
Nepalese Movement
• Specific objective of reviving the king’s
orders that led to suspension of
democracy

Narmada Bachao Andolan

• Specific issue of people displaced by
creation of Sardar Sarovar Dam
Objective
• To stop the dam
• Questioned all such big dams and
requirement of such dams
• Has a clear leadership and organisation
• Active life is short
 Long Term & More Than
One Issue Movements…
• No single organisation controls
/guides such movements.
• All these have a separate
organisation, independent
leadership and different views
on policy.
Example :
• Environmental movement
• Women’s movement
 National Alliance for
People’s
• Movement groups struggling on
specific issues are constituents
of this loose organisation which
co ordinates the activities of a
large number of people`s
movements
How do Pressure Groups &
Movements exert influence
on Politics ?
• They gain public support and sympathy
for their goals by carrying out information
campaigns, meetings and petitions.
• They influence media by giving attention
to these issues
• Protest activities like strikes are done to
force the Government to take note of their
demand
• Business groups employ professional
lobbyists or sponsor expensive
advertisements
• They participate in official bodies and
committees that offer advice to the
Groups…
• Interest groups and movementsdo not directly
engage in politics but seek to influence on
political parties
• Movement groups take a political stance
without being a party
• They have political ideologies and position on
major issues

Is their influence healthy?

• Pressure groups have deepened democracy.
• Governments can often come under undue
pressure from a small group of rich and
powerful people
• Public interest groups and movements perform
a useful role of countering this influence and
reminding the Government of the needs and
concerns of ordinary citizens