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VISION IAS

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Approach Answer: Sociology Mains Mock Test 6 644 (2015)

1. Write a short note on each of the following in not more than 150 words. 105=50

(a) Social consequences of decentralization of power

Answer:

Decentralization can be defined as transfer or dispersal of decision making powers, accompanied by


delegation of required authority to individuals or units at all levels of organization even if they are
located far away from the power center.

In this context, decentralization signifies the devolution of powers and authority of governance of the
Union Government and State Governments to the sub-state level organizations i.e. Panchayats and
municipal corporations in India

A remarkable change in the democratic structure of governance took shape in India following the 73rd
and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.

The Acts were the culmination of a historic political move towards deepening democracy and advancing
development through decentralization by making Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Municipal
Institutions mandatory.

The Acts aimed at building up local bodies as institutions of self-government. The decentralization
process has now given rural and urban local bodies an opportunity to assume greater responsibility for
rural and urban management. The installation of representative local governments across the country,
apart from political decentralization, also enables, to a substantial extent, a multi-level self-governance in
the cities and villages of the country. Decentralized development has its impact on all the dimensions
viz., political, administrative, functional and financial.

There seem to be plethora of debates involving the concept, utility and effectiveness of the local self-
government institutions.

In early village councils an arrangement of government by consent and an active sense of community
prevailed over caste divisions. Since beginning, these features of the PRIs have been used to legitimize
them.

According to Lieten and Srivastava, the village panchayats were established as units of local self-
government and focal points of development in country at large more often than not captured by
autocratic and invariably corrupt leaders from among the male elite. As argued by some other scholars,
the institutions were used by the rural powerful for their benefits.

Paul Brass was of the view that PRIs were made to fail because of the reluctance of state politicians to
devolve much powers to the district level or below because they feared that if such local institutions
acquired real powers they would become alternative source of influence and patronage.
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Rajani Kothari argued that village councils were nothing but catchy slogans and false that promises had
enabled the rulers to contain the forces of revolt and resistance and prevent public discontent from
getting organized.

Ashok Mehta who headed the second Committee on Panchayati Raj refused to be pessimistic about the
PRIs. He thought that the process of democratic seed drilling in the Indian soil made people conscious
of their rights and also cultivated in them a developmental psyche. He was of the opinion that these
institutions had failed because development programmes were channelized through official state
bureaucracy, finance had been inelastic and these institutions were dominated by privileged sections of
society.

Under latest political decentralization (73rd and 74th Amendments), political and constitutional status has
been given to local institutions, both rural and urban, and elected members through the 73rd and 74th
Constitutional Amendment Acts. The Acts have empowered the local institutions and have opened
avenues for facilitating social mobilization process at the grassroots level.
Elections The impact of direct election of the chairperson of the Gram Panchayat was good. It
has been observed that such a chairman is a strong executive head and at the same time is also
directly accountable to the people. This has led to emergence of leadership in villages and a
change in the traditional elite structure.
Reservation Another area of decentralization, where its impact can be assessed, is the
participation of SCs/STs, OBCs and women in PRIs and ULBs. The very presence of large numbers
of poor people in local councils, mainly on account of seat reservations, is a very significant
development in the local political landscape of most parts of rural India. The most positive
impact of reservation for women is the recognition of the value of education by women. New
panchayat/municipality members experienced many handicaps due to lack of education. This

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made them keen to educate their daughters. Besides, the status of women in their families has

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been enhanced due to their participation in the public sphere of panchayats and municipalities.

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On the other hand, the reservation of seats for SCs/STs and women has its negative impact too.
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Elite dominance continued to prevail in most panchayats/municipalities. As a result, the
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traditional caste leaders and landed elites dominated decision making by proxy or manipulation
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during the first phase of the functioning of PRIs and ULBs. Outspoken SC and female
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representatives have often had to contend with violence, ostracism or non-cooperation from
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dominant interests. There have been repeated cases of violence directed at SC representatives,
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and a series of publicized murders.


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Role of Gram Sabha General masses who elect their Gram Panchayat representatives have
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become aware of their sovereign power to control the governance and functioning of an elected
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body like Gram Panchayat. Whenever the meetings of the Gram Sabha are convened for the
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selection of beneficiaries under various programmes of the Government, it is well attended by


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the villagers. Now they are very cautious that there should not be any favour and partisanship in
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selecting the beneficiaries. The educated youth of the area has awakened and now they are
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asking the president, the head of the village panchayats, that how they have utilized the
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resources or finances coming to them either from State or the Central Government.
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Accountability Accountability of local institutions is a precondition for creating trust in the


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minds of the people. The expectations of the people from the government in general and the
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PRIs/ULBs in particular do not remain confined only to the prevention of abuse of power or
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dishonesty in the use of public resources. Rather they expect their government to be responsive
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to their needs, wishes, and preferences.


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On the basis of the above analysis it be said that the overall impact of decentralization is visible in the
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form of provisions for regular local elections, reservation of seats for women, SCs and STs and
strengthening the oversight and accountability functions of Gram Sabhas. As a result of these provisions,
the local democracy has been deepened, political participation broadened and representation
diversified. The very presence of large numbers of poor people in local councils is a very significant
development in the local political landscape of most parts of rural and urban India. Though some lacunae
are still present, hence scope for improvement is still there. Still, it can be said that democratic
decentralization has significantly jolted the tradition social setup in Indian Society

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1. (b) Gains of Dalit movement

Answer:

Dalit movement is not a homogenous movement rather a mix of many movements going simultaneously
in different parts of the country even though their primary goal was to put an end to caste based
discrimination, atrocities & Untouchability.

In the early part of the 20th century before Independence, Dalit Movements incorporated the
religious-cultural ideology in their approach to gain self-respect and honor; raised awareness about dalit
rights mainly Untouchability e.g. Satyashodhak Samaj (Poona Jyotiba Phule); SNDP Movement. (Kerala);
Mahar Movement (Ambedkar in Nagpur); Temple Entry Movement (Kerala), Harijan Movement by
Gandhi.

In Post-Independence period, due to the impact of the ideals like equality, justice, abolition of
untouchability, etc enshrined in the Constitution framed under Ambedkar, the dynamics of Dalit
Movement Shifted to seeking political & economic rights & equality- universal adult franchise,
reservations in educational & political institutions, etc.

During 1950s & 60s , there was emergence of first generation of Dalit Leadership (including educated
middle class professionals) e.g. Ambedkar through Republican Party of India (RPI), Jagjivan Ram in Bihar
etc. which became critical of the dominant political parties & cultural ethos esp. Congress .Though as a
political force they could not succeed much (esp. in UP as RPI leadership got merged into Congress) but
they gave a new orientation like in 1955 large number of Dalits got converted to Buddhism.

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During 1970s & 80s, Dalit Movement took a radical turn especially in Maharashtra through organization

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called DALIT PANTHERS (1972) & DALIT SANGHARSHA SAMITI (1973 ) Karnataka, (influenced by

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ideologies of Ambedkar, Marxism, etc) which spread their ideas through debates & discussions in public

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spaces- tea-shops, offices , libraries, Dalit poets & writers provided critique to the exploitative caste
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structure. This movement, saw participation of all the exploitative groups- peasants, dalits, backward
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classes, workers, etc & raised issues of women, fight against political & economic Exploitation, against
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the purity-pollution concept, etc


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Further during late 1980s & 1990s, Dalit Movement was manifested in proliferation of Dalit organizations
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esp. BSP in UP under Kanshi Ram- fought elections, introduced special policies & schemes for the welfare
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of Dalits. The BSP Movement aimed to mobilize the majority other sections of society i.e. Bahujan
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Samaj consisting of Dalits, Backward Classes, religious minorities against minority high castes i.e.
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Brahmins, Rajputs, Banias.


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However in the later years, BSP Movement lost its vigor after the party declared to serve SARVA
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SAMAJ, fixation of power & to capture the votes of sarvajan it ignored the vital issue of social justice
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of the dalits.
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In later years, Globalization as a phenomena was seen both as an opportunity & threat. Education,
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employment opportunities is increased , however only few urban based petty bourgeoisie Dalit groups
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demanding reservations in the private sector and curiously campaigning about Dalit Capitalism, is
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testimony to the fact that , reservation benefits elite & is more urban focused.
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Dalit Movement was not organized on the issues of mass pauperization, question of land, or the issue of
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landless Dalits and their forced displacement by mega-projects and rapidly widening social-economic
inequalities due to mercantile capitalism & globalization.

Overall the dalit movements spanned across different phases had both positive and negative
ramification.

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Positive Impact-

it implanted positive values of liberty, equality and fraternity;


it promoted political consciousness to struggle against exploitation and injustice.
it declared its allegiance to scientific rationalism & opposition to religious logic of sustaining
untouchability of any kind
it has created significant resource base for itself in terms of education, organizational experience,
and experience of working with the State apparatus after Reservation & Protective
Discrimination.

Whereas the weakness of these Movements were, over the years they could not geared regional-level
sustained movements; secondly they have been led and controlled by urban-based petty bourgeoisie
Dalits, and they tended to neglect Dalits living in villages( 89% of dalits live in villages), even benefits of
reservation are enjoyed most by urban dalits ; Dalits have been reduced to a pressure group within the
mainstream politics ; their revolutionary edge is getting blunted ; their strategies, tactics, alliances, even
goals, seem to be in dispute. It looks like the movement has reached an impasse.

Gail Omvedt observes that the post-Ambedkar Dalit movement was though, a movement of Dalits,
challenging some of the deepest aspects of oppression and exploitation, but failed to show the way to
ultimate transformation & social mobility in the long run.

1. (c) Migration and its impact on Demography

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Answer:

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Migration is a form of geographical mobility or spatial mobility between one geographical unit and

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another, generally involving a change in residence from the place of origin or place of departure to the
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place of destination or place of arrival. Such migration is called permanent migration, and should be
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distinguished from other forms of movement, which do not involve a permanent change of residence.
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Everett Lee, a well-known demographer, defines migration broadly as a permanent or semi-permanent


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change of residence. No restriction is placed upon the distance of the move or upon the voluntary and
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involuntary nature of the act.


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Migration, according to Eisenstaedt, refers to the physical transition of an individual or a group from
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one society to another. This transition usually involves abandoning one social-setting and entering
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another and different one. Migration has a direct impact on age, sex and occupational composition of
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the sending and receiving regions.


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We will analyze the impact of migration on demography on the basis of following points:
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Impact on migrants and their families: Poorer migrant workers, crowded into the lower ends of
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the labor market, have few entitlements Vis a Vis their employers or the public authorities in the
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destination areas. They have meager personal assets and suffer a range of deprivations in the
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destination areas. In the source areas, migration has both negative and positive consequences
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for migrants and their families.


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Living conditions: migrant laborers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural, live in deplorable


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conditions. There is no provision of safe drinking water or hygienic sanitation. Most live in open
spaces or makeshift shelters. Apart from seasonal workers, workers who migrate to the cities for
job live in parks and pavements. Slum dwellers, who are mostly migrants, stay in deplorable
conditions, with inadequate water and bad drainage. Food costs more for migrant workers who
are not able to obtain temporary ration cards.
Health and Education: laborers working in harsh circumstances and living in unhygienic
conditions suffer from serious occupational health problems and are vulnerable to disease.

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Migrants cannot access various health and family care programmes due to their temporary
status. Free public health care facilities and programmes are not accessible to them for women
workers, there is no provision of maternity leave, forcing them to resume work almost
immediately after childbirth. Children often accompany their families to the workplace to be
exposed to health hazards. They are also deprived of education: the schooling system at home
does not take into account their migration pattern and their temporary status in the destination
areas does not make them eligible for schooling there.
In the case of male-only migration, the impact on family relations and on women, children and
the elderly left behind can be quite significant. The absence of men adds to material and
psychological insecurity, leading to pressures and negotiations with wider family. Male
outmigration has been seen to influence the participation of women in the directly productive
sphere of the economy as workers and decision-makers and increase the level of their
interaction with the outside world .But given the patriarchal set up, women may have to cope
with a number of problems which are exacerbated due to the uncertainty of the timing and
magnitude of remittances on which the precarious household economy depends.
Changes in migrants attitudes: Exposure to a different environment, including the stresses that
it carries, has a deep impact on the attitudes, habits and awareness levels of migrant workers,
depending upon the length of migration and the place to which it occurs. Changes are more
dramatic in the case of urban migrants. Migrant workers develop greater awareness regarding
conditions of work .Life style and changes in awareness may lead to a mixed impact on family
members. The increased awareness which migrants, especially in urban areas, gain often helps
them realize the importance of their childrens education.

Hence, we conclude that firstly, migration has had a direct effect in reducing the population growth.
Migration of the unmarried males of young working age results in imbalances in sex ratio. The absence of

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many young men from the villages increases the proportion of other groups, such as, women, children

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and old people. This tends to reduce the birth rate in the rural areas. Further the separation of the rural

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male migrants from their wives for long durations also tends to reduce the birth rate.
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Secondly, Migration reduces the working age population and consequently increased the proportion of
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children and the elderly.


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Thirdly, Due to adverse health conditions, there is increase in the mortality rates. Moreover, due to
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increase participation of women in the labor market, the occupational composition also undergoes a
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change.
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Finally, the change in attitude of the migrants enhances the literacy level.
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1. (d) Changing family structure and the aged


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Answer:
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Ageing is a continuous, irreversible, universal process, which starts from conception till the death of an
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individual. However, the age at which ones productive contribution declines and one tends to be
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economically dependent can probably be treated as the onset of the aged stage of life. Old age is the last
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phase of human life cycle, which is again universally true.


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The use of the words elderly, older persons, and senior citizens, in both popular and scholarly work
gives the impression that they are a homogenous group, but in fact there is considerable variation
between and among various categories of older people and also between societies.

The WHO defines those aged 60 -74 years as elderly. In 1980 the UN recommended 60 years as the age
of transition for the elderly segment of the population, and has been categorized as follows:

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Young Old- between the ages of 60-75 years.
Old-Old- between the ages of 75-85 years.
Very Old- 85 years and above.

Indian society is undergoing rapid transformation under the impact of industrialization, urbanization,
technical and technological change, education and globalization. Consequently, the traditional values and
institutions are in the process of erosion and adaptation, resulting in the weakening of intergenerational
ties that were the hallmark of the traditional family.

Industrialization has replaced the simple family production units by the mass production and the
factory. Economic transactions are now between individuals. Individual jobs and earnings give rise to
income differentials within the family. Push factors such as population pressure and pull factors such as
wider economic opportunities and modern communication cause young people to migrate especially
from rural to urban areas.

With the rapidly increasing number of aged compounded by disintegration of joint families and ever
increasing influence of modernization and new life styles, the care of elderly has emerged as an
important issue in India. Providing care for the aged has never been a problem in India where a value
based joint family system was dominant.

However, with a growing trend towards nuclear family set-up, and increasing education, urbanization
and industrialization, the vulnerability of elderly is rapidly increasing. The coping capacities of the
younger and elder family members are now being challenged under various circumstances resulting in
neglect and abuse of elderly in many ways, both within the family and outside.

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Sociologically, ageing marks a form of transition from one set of social roles to another, and such roles

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are difficult. Among all role transformation in the course of ageing, the shift into the new role of the old

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is one of the most complex and complicated. In an agriculture based traditional society, where children

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followed their parents occupation, it was natural that the expertise and knowledge of each generation
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were passed on to the next, thus affording older persons a useful role in society. However, this is no
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longer true in modern society, in which improved education, rapid technical change and new forms of
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organization have often rendered obsolete the knowledge, experience and wisdom of older persons.
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Once they retire, elderly people find that their children are not seeking advice from them anymore, and
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society has not much use for them.


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This realization often results in feeling of loss of status, worthlessness and loneliness. The growth of
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nuclear families has also meant a need for changes in role relations. Neither having authority in the
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family, nor being needed, they feel frustrated and depressed. If the older person is economically
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dependent on the children, the problem is likely to become even worse.


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Nuclear households, characterized by individuality, independence, and desire for privacy are gradually
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replacing the joint family, which emphasizes the family as a unit and demands deference to age and
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authority. Children who migrate often find it difficult to cope with city life and elect to leave their old
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parents in the village, causing problems of loneliness and lack of care givers for old parents. Parents in
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this circumstance cannot always count on financial support from their children and may have to take care
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of themselves. They continue to work, although at a reduced pace.


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Another development impacting negatively on the status of older people is the increasing occurrence of
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dual career families. Female participation in economic activity either as workers or as entrepreneurs has
increased considerably in the recent past in the urban informal sector, and the middle class formal sector,
as well as in the rural areas. In the rural informal sectors, increased expenditure on education, health and
better food require high incomes. This development has implications for elderly care. On the one hand,
working couples find the presence of old parents emotionally bonding and of great help in the caring for
their own children. On the other hand, high costs of housing and health care are making it harder for
children to have parents live with them. This is true both in rural and urban areas.

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Hence the changing factors in the family in its structure and function are undermining the capacity of
the family to provide support to elderly and the weakening of the traditional norms underlying such
support leading to neglect and abuse of older people in family.

1. (e) Dimensions of Inter-caste conflict in India

Answer:

Yogendra Singh in Social Transformation of Indian Society gives how ideology, structure and culture of
Indian society is facing tension from various agents of social changes Law, Economy, Planned
Development, Technology. Tensions generated by this agents are leading to the process of
restructuration of Indian society resulting in resistance and violence among inter caste relations.

For Yogendra Singh Restructuration results in

Downward Mobility of Upper Castes


Upward mobility of Lower Castes

According to Yogendra Singh, dimensions of inter caste violence are

Ideology- The inherent nature of society was hierarchal. Constitutional ideals dismantled this homo
hierarchus and established social and political values of equality, fraternity, liberty and justice.
Consequently traditional structure of domination like Upper Caste, Patriarchy etc resisted with
violence. Yogendra Singh cites how land reform laws met with violence and bhaichara among

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landlords and Sarkari Babu

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Structure Yogendra Singh says Caste by system was marked inter structural autonomy maintained

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by endogamy, occupation, jajmani relations. Statutory acts dismantled first and industrial skilled
jobs dismantled last two. @
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Culture Yogendra Singh assumes Sanskritisation Westernization were form of cultural change
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sweeping across Indian society. But as studies show that if Dominant caste are source of imitation
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then they are also the one who stops tribe/low caste to be like upper caste resulting violence and
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resistance in caste relations.


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Dipanker Gupta sums up in his work Caste, Race, Politics various dimensions of inter caste conflict.
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Social Dimension- Equal citizenry status and protective discrimination has replaced caste hierarchy
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Leading Avenue of conflict in inter caste relations. Dipanker Gupta refer this conflict as reflection of
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modern state and traditional society. Inter caste marriages are given legal protection.
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Economic Dimension- Class is replacing caste even Andre Beteille supports its in his article Caste in
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Stone is not Indias destiny, Erstwhile shudras getting degree of higher education enters in white color
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job or Urban factory attracts erstwhile workers on dominant castes farms to migrate. Dharmapuri
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Violence was example of such conflict where all assets of Dalit section was vandalized as marker of their
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mobility.
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Political Dimension- Christohphe Jeffrelott calls it silent Revolution. Party like BSP, SP etc. has snatched
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away power using democratic and electoral means resulting conflict for power
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Cultural Dimension- If Dominant caste were source of sanskritization they also resisted lower castes to
imitate ideas and habits of theirs by lower caste as Gail Omvedt puts. The result is conflict. Recently in
Rajasthan, Upper caste assaulted Dalit groom who was insisting on Ghur Sawari rasam (Mare riding a
typical of upper caste culture in marriage) or in Madhya Pradesh a Dalit was beaten for writing his caste
title on his motor bike.

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2. (a) Identify the factors for the presence and continuity of regionalism in India. (20)

Answer:

Regionalism is a pre-independence phenomenon. It became predominant in post-independence period.


The politics of regionalism started with the implementation of constitutional reforms under Government
of India Acts of 1909, 1919, and 1935. The establishment and role of Justice Party in Chennai, and to a
lesser extent, of Akali Dal in Punjab in pre-independence period are examples of emerging regionalism in
India.

After independence there are four major landmarks in the development of regional politics.

a) After independence, democratic form of government was established. Its main aim was nation-
building on the principles of democracy, secularism national unity and social justice. All parts of
the country wanted a fair deal in nation-building. They started competing with each other for
their development. Anything short of expectation led to disenchantment and it resulted in the
emergence of regional politics.
b) There was integration of the Princely States. Small states were integrated with the big states.
People continued to nurse loyalties to old territorial units. This was the most important factor for
the success of the Princes in elections. The Princes often received overwhelming support on
their former territories in the newly created states and relatively much less in other parts of the
same part.
c) Reorganization of states on linguistic basis also played a very vital role in the development of
regional politics. Twenty eight states were reshaped and reduced to 14 states along with
centrally administered territories. Later new states were created, then for example Bombay was

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divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra, Punjab into, Punjab and Haryana. But these states were

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not constituted entirely on linguistic basis. Many other factors like ethnic-cum-culture factors

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created Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttaranchal; historical and political factors are responsible for

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U.P. and Bihar; integration of princely states in and need for viable groupings gave birth to M.P.
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and Rajasthan; language and social distinctiveness resulted in the creation of Tamil Nadu,
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a.

Mysore, Bengal and Orissa. Thus various factors have played a decisive role in the composition of
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the Indian federation.


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In spite of all these considerations, language the most important factor in the reorganization of
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states. It became such an important force in the context of regionalism that linguistic
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regionalism gained round in Indian politics.


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d) Another factor which gave rise to regional and parochial tendencies in the country was the
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personal and selfish ends of politicians. Immediately, after Independence the struggle for started
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among some parties. For enhancing their own authority and prestige, the regional and state
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leaders did not hesitate to weaken the authority of the centre of in some cases of states. The
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creation of more states meant more governors, chief ministers, Members of Legislative Assembly
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or MLAs etc. The professional politicians explored the narrow and sectarian sentiments of
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ignorant masses for fulfilling their personal and selfish ends. Keeping these landmarks in mind,
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let us now examine the bases of regional and state politics.


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Bases of Regional and State Politics:


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Regionalism is a multidimensional phenomenon. Its bases are varied. Here we will discuss the
geographical, historical, cultural, economic and politico-administrative bases of regionalism.

Geographical Basis:

Usually people relate their regional identity to certain specific geographical boundaries. After
independence integration of Princely States resulted in the merger of small states into new big states.
The loyalties of citizens were torn between old territorial boundaries and new territorial structures. As

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pointed out earlier this was the major factor responsible for the success of princes in elections
particularly when they contested from their former territories in the newly created states. However, it
would be wrong to over-estimate the importance of geographical boundaries. It is true that memories of
old geographical boundaries of princely states still haunt the people and are exploited by political leaders
but it can hardly be denied that they are yielding place to new and bigger territorial identities like
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

Historical and Social Bases:

Historical and social bases constitute the bedrock of the politics of regionalism. Several components in
this category are not only important individually but also in conjunction with each other.

a) History: It supported regionalism with cultural heritage, folklore, myths and symbolism. The
most striking example is that of Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) in Tamil Nadu and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and Telugu Desham (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh.
But history cannot be considered as the most important basis of regionalism. Economic and
political factors have combined with history to generate regionalism. This can again be seen in
the change in the stand of DMK from secession to one of autonomy within the federal
framework of the Constitution.
b) Language: Language is perhaps the most important mark of group identification. Language
expresses the shared life, thought structure and value patterns of people. It has the capacity to
unite the people together and make them work to improve their common destiny. In this sense
linguistic homogeneity strengthens a positive movement.

As early as 1920, Congress had accepted the principle that language must be adopted as criterion for

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demarcating the territorial boundaries of provincial units. Establishment of State Reorganization

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Commission (SRC) in 1955 was the result of demand for formation of regional units based on linguistic

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regionalism. SRC could not completely follow the principle of one language one state. This could not be

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treated as the sole criteria for the demarcation of state boundaries. Bilingual states like Bombay, Punjab,
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etc. were created. However, splitting up of Bo by in 1960, Punjab in 1966, and Assam since mid-sixties
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a.

into linguistically more homogeneous states gave further impetus to linguistic regionalism in Indian
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politics.
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If language had been synonymous with region, the political aspiration of every linguistic group would
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have been satisfied by the formation of separate states. This, however, is neither a reality nor a
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foreseeable possibility. The first reason being that languages spoken in India run into hundreds. Even if
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major languages are taken into account, large groups of linguistic minorities are bound to be left inside
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the state whose language cannot be enshrined in the constitution as an official language.
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Secondly, Hindi speaking people are distributed over a very large territory. Their number is over 300
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million at the beginning of twenty first century. One state cannot be created for them. They have been
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divided into six states namely, U.P., Bihar, M.P., Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and a couple of
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Union territories. There has rarely been a demand for the formation of single state of Hindi speaking
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people. On the contrary there have been demands for separate states comprising languages of dialects
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within this wider linguistic group. This can be found in the occasional demand for a Maithili or for
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recognition of Rajasthani, Haryanvi, etc. as scheduled languages in the Constitution.


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Thus regionalism in closely associated with language but is not synonymous with linguism. Regionalism
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can take place inside as linguistic state (for example creation Marathi speaking Maharashtra). The seven
states of North East India refer to themselves as seven sisters. They have tried to form common bonds on
the basis of their problems of development. They have also tried to develop a regional identity. These
seven states include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. In
other words, language is not the sole generator of regionalism. It is one of the several bases of
regionalism in India. In most cases of linguistic regionalism many interrelated factors are usually found to
be working together.

9 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


c) Caste: An important example of the caste factor providing impetus to linguistic regionalism can
be seen in the case of Tamil Nadu. Tamil regionalism gained ground as a result of non-Brahmin
movement. Non-Brahmin castes of Tamil speaking region had been able to provide a powerful
united thrust against Brahmins who had earlier enjoyed unquestioned dominance in economy,
society and polity.
d) Religion: Religion like caste does not play a significant role except when it is combined with
dominance and linguistic homogeneity as in Punjab or fed on a sense of religious orthodoxy and
economic deprivation as in Jammu and Kashmir.

If casteism reinforced and propelled linguistic regionalism in cases of Tamil Nadu, the demand for the
formation of Punjabi Suba though presented in linguistic garb had religious overtones. They were mainly
responsible for evoking peoples political loyalties on massive scale rather than their love for their
mother tongue. It is difficult to qualify the mix of communalism and linguism in this particular case. But
some studies make it very clear that demand for Punjabi language state was certainly reinforced by
regular invocation of Punjabi speaking masses loyalty towards Sikh religion.

Taking into account these three factors i.e. language, caste and religion one can say that the study of
regionalism in Punjab and Tamil Nadu makes it very clear that political movements for regional demands
were carried out formally in the name of language but in reality they had substantive non-linguistic bases
too.

Economic Basis:

Economic factors if the crux of regional politics. India is a developing country. The resources are limited
while the demand for resources for the development of various regions is unlimited or disproportionate

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to resources. Economic policies have led to regional imbalances and wide economic disparities among

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various regions resulting in discontentment among them. It may be recalled that most of the demands

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for constituting new states were primarily based on allegedly unfair and unequal distribution of

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development benefits and expenditure in multi-lingual states. The erstwhile movements for a separate
2
Uttarakhand state in the hill districts of U.P., a Jharkhand state carved out of parts of Bihar and the
10
a.

demand for a state of Bodoland comprising a part of Assam may be counted as examples of this type.
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The demand for separate states in these instances are mainly on the belief that these regions have been
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economically deprived by their respective states. Economic factors have usually assumed prime
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importance in regional politics.


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Politico-administrative Basis:
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The politico-administrative basis of regionalism is also important but politics as such does not create
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regionalism. It only accentuates regionalism. Politicians take advantage of the situation of regional
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discontentment and unrest. They convert it into movements for strengthening their individual and
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factional support bases. It is a known fact that fighting within Congress gave rise to Telangana agitation.
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Regional political parties like TDP (Andhra Pradesh), DMK (Tamil Nadu), and Akali Dal (Punjabi) have been
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surviving because of regional sentiments. Border dispute, like the one between Maharashtra and
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Karnataka, is also based on regional sentiments. Other important facts of politics or regionalism are the
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real or assumed charges of political discrimination among various regions by the central ruling elite.
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2. (b) Critically analyze the reasons behind the emergence of Environmental movements in India. (20)

Answer:

Environmental movements of various countries have emerged due to different reasons. It is basically
due to prevailing environmental quality of the locality. The environmental movements in the north are
basically on the issue of quality of life. Whereas the environment movements in the south arise due to
some other reasons, such as due to conflicts for controlling of natural resources and many more.

10 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


The participants of these movements in North are the middle class and upper class people, who have
concern for the nature. But in the south the protesters are generally the marginal population hill
peasants, tribal communities, fishermen and other underprivileged people. The different environmental
movements in our own country support this argument. The examples could be taken as Chipko, N.B.A.,
Mitti Bachao Andolan, Koel-Karo Andolan etc. That is why the environmentalism of the North is refereed
as full stomach environmentalism and the environmentalism of the south is called as empty belly
environmentalism.

The genesis of the environmental movement in India can be traced to the Chipko movement (1973) in
Garhwal region in the new state of Uttaranchal. In fact, between1970s and 1980s there were several
struggles in India around issues of rights to forest and water which raised larger ecological concerns like
rights of communities in forest resources, sustainability of large scale environmental projects like
dams, issues of displacement and rehabilitation etc.

Environmental movements in India, therefore, are not necessarily for the 'green' or 'clean' earth or for
saving mankinds' heritage and endangered species as in the west, but for the very survival of the local
poor.

Gadgil and Guha identify four broad strands within the environmental movements in India based on
vision, ideology and strategy.

The first types are those which emphasize on the moral necessity to restrain overuse and ensure
justice to the poor and marginalized. Mainly Gandhians belong to this strand.
The second strand stresses on the need to dismantle the unjust social order through struggle.
Marxists mostly follow this strand.

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The Third and fourth strands advocate reconstruction, i.e. employing technologies appropriate to the

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given context and time. They reflect the concerns of the scientists or the spontaneous efforts of the

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communities at the village level who aim at protecting local community forests or the right to pursue

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environment-friendly agricultural practices. 2
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a.

Control over natural resources is an important reason for emergence of environmental movement in
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India. Some good examples of these kinds of movements are like Chipko and N.B.A. In the first case, the
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reason for conflict was control over forest; whereas, in the second the reason was control over water.
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hn

The other angles by which we look upon the cause of emergence of environmental movements are the
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socio-economic reasons. Almost most of the environmental movements in India are somehow related
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with this aspect, also, if we see the location where these movements have started then we would found
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that most of these areas are tribal dominated. These people have strong beliefs regarding their forests,
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land and water. At the same time they are also totally dependent upon these resources for their survival
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hood.
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Therefore, when these forests or other sources of livelihood get disturbed by the outsiders, their
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socioeconomic conditions get hampered and the ultimate recourse is the movement against those
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people who were harnessing those resources.


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Also, women had generally played an important role in these movements, in tribal groups; women are
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accustomed to responsibility and leadership for community survival. There work involves them directly
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and daily with forests and natural resources. So, whenever their survival came into risk, they take the
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lead role for the protection of their community and its resources.

Environmental degradation is also an important cause which many time leads to environmental
movement. One such e.g. was the silent valley case. One another e.g. of movement which arose due to
the degradation of local environment was the movement against the limestone quarrying, in the Doon
Valley in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

11 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


The spread of environmental awareness and media has also played pivotal role in emergence of
environmental movement in urban areas. People were previously unaware of the importance of the
environment.

But as the environmental awareness increased due various reasons people started protecting their
environment. Some e.g. are the local movements to protect the purity of different rivers such as Ganga
and Yamuna. The greening of many Indian cities also comes under this category. The Bhagidari
movement of Delhi is a good e.g. of this kind of environmental movement. Media has also played an
important role in sustaining theses movements.

The governmental policies resulted into a lot of displacement of people due to large projects such as
dams like BhakraNangal and many others. These policies pushed the local people on the edges. Due to
large scale displacement of local people have resulted many environment movements in different part of
the country.
Now on the above arguments the conclusion could be drawn that the nature based conflicts, the false
developmental policies of the government, the marginalization of the tribal and other underprivileged
groups and the environmental degradation are the root causes of emergence of environmental
movements in India.

The lopsided, iniquitous, and environmentally destructive processes of development have propelled the
people to go against the state in many cases and this leads to the emergence of environmental
movements in the country. The risks on the survival hood of the marginal people due to the above
mentioned factors had resulted in the emergence of these movements. Therefore the point comes that
the environmental movements in different parts of the country grows out of the distribution conflict over
the ecological resources needed for livelihood.

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So we can conclude that environmental movements in India are the resistances by the people for their

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livelihood and for their survival.

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2
10
a.
hn

2. (c) Write a short-note on the social-cultural barriers to the acceptance of family planning in India. (10)
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Answer:
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Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. Over the years,
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contraceptive usage has more than tripled (from 13% of married women in 1970 to 48% in 2009) and the
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fertility rate has more than halved (from 5.7 in 1966 to 2.4 in 2012), but the national fertility rate is still
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high enough to cause long-term population growth.


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Awareness of contraception is near-universal among married women in India. However, the vast majority
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of married Indians reported significant problems in accessing a choice of contraceptive methods.


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In 2009, 48.3% of married women were estimated to use a contraceptive method, i.e. more than half of
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all married women did not. About three-fourths of these were using female sterilization, which is by far
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the most prevalent birth-control method in India. Condoms, at a mere 3% were the next most prevalent
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method. Meghalaya, at 20%, had the lowest usage of contraception among all Indian states. Bihar and
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Uttar Pradesh were the other two states that reported usage below 30%
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Let us briefly analyze the socio-cultural barriers to the acceptance of family planning in India:

Ideology of Hindu Marriage- India largely around 85% Hindu population. Law of Manu says
marriages solemnized for pleasure (Rati) but there are recognized to be asura vivah and marriages
for progeny (Santan) is divine. It this ideology that effectively divest women to accept family
planning norms.

12 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


Patriarchy also leads to Son Preference that keeps woman reproducing till adequate numbers are
reproducing. Madhu Kishwar studying Patriarchy in South Asia confirms this social phenomenon.
Pollution- Purity: Louis Dumont shows that women in Indian society were given permanent status of
impure relatively to male. Leela Dubey confirms its with her study of Seed and Soil. As she shows in
her studies that woman redeem Pitra-rin (debt to ancestors) by bearing more and more sons.
Gendered Roles Men care-taker and women is child bearer and rearer so woman lose control on
her reproductive health and adopt family planning measures.
Caste plays a very important role in controlling sexuality Leela Dubey in On the Construction of
Gender: Hindu Girls in Patrilineal India shows that women in lower caste were relatively more
liberated than they are upper caste. Consequently it bars woman to access liberty of access to
public space. Sanskritising Castes effectively controls sexuality of woman imitating upper caste in
name of Honor as Nivedita Menon puts.
Domesticity of Woman Amartya Sen in The Missing Woman beautifully presents how economic
mobility reduces total population burden but raises selective reproduction through technology and
controlling woman reproductive health by confining woman to household activities and rearing
child(son).
Public Health systems- Feminist like Radhika Chopra, Nivedita Menon openly charge Indian State as
Patriarchal that is why it reproductive health policy ask for prior consent of males of household for
any reproductive health provision.
Physical access to resources: The influence of physical access on the utilization of family planning
services is well-founded, with many studies demonstrating the greater use of services among women
who live in relative proximity to a service.
womans level of educational attainment: It is thought that increased educational attainment
operates through a multitude of mechanisms in order to influence service use, including increasing
female decision-making power, increasing awareness of health services, changing marriage patterns

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and creating shifts in household dynamics.

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Religious dogmas: The most evident psychosocial influences on family planning service use amongst

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women are the behavioral norms of the society in which they reside. For example: in Islam, the
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prevailing value systems of purdah and izzat encourage the segregation of the sexes and the
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confinement of women to the family home, reducing womens mobility and access to services.
a.
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Family planning services with male practitioners, or those located in areas where there may be males
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present a barrier to use for women who are observing purdah. Women may need permission from
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their husband or household elders to seek health care. Additionally, the doctrine of Islam has often
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been interpreted to forbid the use of family planning methods.


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3. (a) Rapid urbanization and sustainable development usually are not in sink. Discuss with arguments.
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(20)
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Answer:
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Urbanization is the movement of people from rural to urban areas, thereby increasing the concentration
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of population in urban areas. In economic terms, it refers to movement of people from agriculture based
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community to other communities which are generally larger and whose primary economic activities are
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centered in government, trade, manufacturing and allied activities.


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Urbanization is multi-dimensional process which not only involves changes in place of residence and
economic activities but also results in changes in the migrants belief, attitudes and behavior patterns.

Urbanization in India has fairly long history dating back to the period of Indus Valley Civilization. Urban
centres grew up in various periods of history including medieval period. During the British period
Urbanization was primarily for governmental requirements or for facilitating trade outside India.
However these centres were limited and most of the population resided in villages. As per 1901 census
only 10.8% population lived in cities, according to 1951, 17.3%, 2001 it was 27.81% and 2011 census
13 www.visionias.in Vision IAS
report it is 31.16% population residing in cities. The above data indicates that pace of urbanization
increased after independence.

Urbanization refers to migration of people from rural to urban areas. It can be due to two factors: 1)
push factor, 2) pull factor.

Push factor implies that people move from villages to avoid poor quality of life in villages and pull factor
indicates that people are attracted towards cities for better life. Although combination of both these
factors results into urbanization but in context of India push factor dominates.

The reason for the same is increase in population which led to decline in the size of agricultural land
holdings and in some cases reduction is to such an extent that people is not able to support their family.
Moreover reduction in landholdings is not adequately matched with increase in the employment
opportunities at local level. As a result either people live in abject poverty or migrate to industrial centre
to look for a job.

Sustainable development refers to the development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It can be best seen in the
light of need vs. greed debate as suggested by Gandhiji. The resources of the world are limited and the
environment has a certain limited capacity to regenerate its resource.

Various parameters of sustainable development:

1. Region: There should be parity in the regional development, otherwise there will be migration of
people from less developed regions to more developed regions. This will put more pressure on the

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developed area and will lead to social tensions which will ultimately affect its sustainability. For e.g. influx

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of Bihar people to Mumbai leading to sons of soil theory.

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2. Religion: All the religions must be given equal opportunity to flourish. If one community is not
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properly developed than the policies must be made to develop that community. Otherwise, there will be
10

communal tensions which will affect the sustainable development of any society.
a.
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3. Caste: The structural barriers present in the social structure must be removed so that the
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development of low and marginalized castes takes place. Reservations in the form of protective
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discriminations are an important step in this direction. Proper political participation is a must condition
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for inclusive development.


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4. Class: Equitable distribution of the fruits of development is the necessary condition a harmonious
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society. Most of the times communal riots take place in the guise of economic disparity. Though schemes
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are launched by the government but the focus must be on developing capabilities of the poor in the long
ed

run.
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5. Gender: Women are the integral half of the society. They must be given proper opportunities to
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develop themselves through education and employment. As they are intrinsically linked to environment,
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their views must be taken into consideration while making & implementing policies.
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6. Environment: There exists complementarity between growth and environmental protection. More
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growth will provide more resources for environmental protection and the development will not be
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fruitful without environmental protection. For e.g. Uttarakhand tragedy is a classic example of pursuing
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development without environmental considerations

Urbanization is usually seen as an indicator of development as it indicates that more and more people
are engaged in secondary and tertiary economic activities. Unfortunately this is not the case in India.
Here the government while prioritizing industry has failed to maintain its equitable geographical
distribution. This has created some industrial pockets which required more and more worker while rest
of the country lacks reasonable employment opportunities.

14 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


The urbanization in India has been lopsided and therefore has come with several problems. The push
factors have created an exodus from village. As no systematic effort was made to develop industries in
smaller towns which could provide employment to these people, this group landed in cities which were
not geared up to provide even basic facilities to these people.

First requirement of these migrants was accommodation and when the city could not meet their
demands, slums came up in cities, in which people lived in highly dilapidated situation. As per draft
mission document of National Urban Livelihood mission under the ministry of housing and urban poverty
alleviation population residing in urban slums has been estimated at about 93 million. As per data
provided by census, 2011, 3% of urban population does not have exclusive room for living, while 32% live
in 1-room house, 29.4% does not have access to tap water, 18.6% do not have latrine facility within the
house and 7.3% do not have access to electricity. This aspect of urbanization can hardly be accepted and
brings with itself a host of economic, social and environment problems.

Moreover, urbanization based on pull factor does not have any adverse impact on cities but this drains
the village of skilled and educated population.

Major issues with urbanization in context of India are:

Pace of urbanization is uneven and is also biased in favour of big centres.


Lack of co-ordination between various governmental department and agencies, local bodies,
research organizations, NGOs leads to overlapping and duplication of work. Thus leading to
inefficiency.
There is paucity of dedicated cadre for city management along with leadership deficit. A study
conducted in context of Karnataka reveals that in rural areas for every 380 people there is one

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elected representative whereas in urban areas for every 3400 people there is one elected

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representation.

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Hence, with reference to the parameters given , it is evident that Rapid urbanization and sustainable
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development are not in sink. Therefore, there is a significant urge to cater to the problems associated
10
a.

with urbanization on priority basis.


hn
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Hence first of all we need to develop our infrastructure so as to accommodate the needs of migrating
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population.
a(
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Secondly, administration of cities is the responsibility of municipalities which lack expertise to deal with
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the rapid changing scenario hence the aim should be to develop dedicated cadre of city managers to
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ensure efficient administration.


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Thirdly stress should be laid on long term planning and short term goal satisfaction should not be the aim
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every time. Awareness should be created among people and ensure greater participation. Government
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should aim to develop alternative employment opportunities in rural areas, develop agriculture based
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small scale industries and ensure balanced regional development.


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Moreover small towns needs to be focused upon so as to ensure there is balanced urbanization and for
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this industries using local resources should be developed in small towns which will provide better quality
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of life in towns. The proposed solution is not impossible to achieve.


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With proper planning, requisite political will, efficient administration we can ensure that even in context
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of India urbanization proves to be an indicator of development.

15 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


3. (b) Infant mortality rate is the most sensitive index for measuring development. Comment. (15)

Answer:

Infant mortality is the death of a child less than one year of age. It is measured as infant mortality rate
(IMR), which is the number of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births.

The leading causes of infant mortality are birth asphyxia, pneumonia, pre-term birth complications,
diarrhea, malaria, measles and malnutrition. Many factors contribute to infant mortality such as the
mother's level of education, environmental conditions, and political and medical infrastructure.

Infant mortality includes i) neo natal mortality ii) post neo natal mortality iii) childhood deaths Factors:

Factors affecting infant mortality are classified as i) biological and ii) socio-economic or environmental
factors .There is a great deal of interaction between the two.

The biological factors affecting foetal and neo-natal infant mortality rates are i) the age of the mother,
ii)the birth order, iii)the period of spacing between births, iv) multiple births. It has been generally
observed that foetal and neo-natal mortality rates are higher, if the age of the mother is below 19.

Social, cultural, economic and environmental factors are found to affect infant mortality, specially during
the post-neo-natal period.

Post-neo-natal deaths, are therefore mainly due to various epidemics caused by communicable
diseases. ,as well as by faulty feeding patterns and poor hygiene. The underlying environmental factors
include crowd and congestion, insanitary surroundings.

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Social class is a major factor in infant mortality, both historically and today. it is discovered that

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lower incomes tend to correlate with higher infant mortality. If the father had no income, the rate of
infant mortality was more than that for the highest income earner. @
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10
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Social class dictates which medical services are available to an individual and usually, the various levels
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within the socioeconomic hierarchy receive different quality of medical services. Disparities due
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to socioeconomic factors have been exacerbated by advances of technology in the medical field. Those
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living in poverty cannot afford medical advanced resources which leads to an increased chance of infant
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mortality.
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Moreover, due to internalization of patriarchal value system, the mobility of women are restricted, as a
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result they are not able to avail the health services provided otherwise. This also in many cases leads to
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high IMR.
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As a result, because of the high levels of infant and child mortality, a couple may go in for a large
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number of children in the hope that at least a few would survive to adulthood. It leads to high fertility
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rates.
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Based on above determinants of high IMR in India, it is evident that the level of infant mortality rate of a
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country is considered as an important indicator of the socio-economic status of that country and the
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quality of life in it.


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16 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


3. (c) Evaluate the success of Indian Peasant movements in achieving their goals. (15)

Answer:

Who are Peasants: These include landless agricultural laborers, tenants, poor, small or marginal farmers
who own uneconomic landholdings and supplement their income by working as wage laborers. Most of
them belong to low castes. They face dual problems of social discrimination and economic exploitation.
Therefore, their mobilization has focused both on the social as well as economic issues. Kathleen Gough
had identified 77 such revolts in the 19th and 20th century.

Classification: Broadly, these movements can be classified as pre-independence and post-independence


movements. This is so because the agrarian structure changed drastically before and after independence.

The pre-Independence period movements can be termed as the anti-colonial movements since these
movements were against the classes which were supporters of the British Empire i.e. the landlords,
moneylenders and other exploiting classes. The issues raised in these movements were related to the
nature of agrarian relations. In order to meet the requirement of the colonial forces and to satisfy their
feudal needs, the landlords exploited them in several ways. These included unreasonable increase in the
rent, forced gifts, forced labor, physical torture, and insecurity of tenure. These problems were
compounded by natural calamities like famines and flood, commercialization of crops, indebtedness.
Various peasant movements of this period are:

Arbitrary eviction of tenants by landowners and exploitation by moneylenders: Santhal


rebellion and Awadh movement
Reck renting, eviction and exploitation along with religious issues: Faraizi movement and

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Moplah uprising.

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A s a protest against the levying of tax in the times of drought and famine: Kheda movement

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However, In the Post-Independence period, the character was changed. Now, the movements were not
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against the colonial rule but only against the exploitation in terms of high taxes or failure of land reforms.
10
a.

The involvement of masses was more here and these were spearheaded by the communist and socialist
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parties in India. Some important movement of this category are


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Tebhaga Movement: It was a militant campaign initiated in Bengal by the Kisan Sabha in 1946-
a(
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1947. At that time share-cropping peasants had to give half of their harvest to the owners of the
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land. Their demand was to reduce the share given to landlords to 1/3rd.
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Telangana Movement: Here, the communist party workers revolted against the Nizams
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autocratic rule. The communist party workers organized themselves and through armed activities
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took control of land. Finally, the movement was suppressed by Indian government.
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Naxalbari Movement: failure to implement land reforms lead to this movement. The Naxalites
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have now combined the economic exploitation with social justice. It is still continuing with
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changes forms and objective and is the biggest internal threat to Indias internal security.
on
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Conclusion: Thus, with changed circumstances the issues related to agriculture also changed. Peasants
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movements gave way to farmers movement which were the result of green revolution and land reforms.
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Now, the peasants movement are not possible because the favorable legislations have been enacted for
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their protection and also the peasants are so fragmented that it is unable to organize them for a
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movement.
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17 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


4. (a) Critically analyze the impact of communalism on the plural social fabric of Indian society. (20)

Answer:

Bipan Chandra defines communalism as a belief that the secular interests (social, political and
economic) of a given community are common. It can be of two forms i.e. moderate and virulent.
Moderate form of communalism means that the secular interests of two different communities are
different. Virulent form of communalism implies that the secular interests of two communities are not
only different but also opposite to each other. It means that ones benefit is others loss.

A plural society is a community which has many cultural groups living together. They maintain their
individual identities and practices. A plural society fuses different ethnic groups in the same space. Thus,
plural society as such is not a negative term but its proper management by fulfilling the reasonable
demands of each group is a challenging task.

Communalism threatens the plural social fabric of society, if communalism develops itself to the virulent
form in the given society. Various communal incidents after independence are Sikh riots of 1984, Babari
Masjid demolition in 1992, Gujarat riots in 2002, Kandhamal riots in 2008 and muzaffarnagar riots in
2013.

There can be multiple reasons behind this.

1. Lack of secularization: Secularization is a process whereby the religious symbols, institutions and
practices lose their social significance. Here, religion enters the private sphere and its public importance
decreases. Clearly, if there is lack of secularization then people will have strong religious sentiments

)
which can be exploited to their disadvantage. For e.g. a simple eve teasing incident of a Hindu girl by

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Muslim youth led to Muzaffarnagar riots.

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2. Use of religion in politics: It was encouraged by British during the colonial rule. But, unfortunately, the
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trend was continued in post-independent India. For political parties it is easy to garner votes by invoking
10

religion as it provides a larger vote base having similar interest. By making promises and fulfilling them
a.
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the political parties cater to the interests of the group and thus, consolidate their vote base. For e.g. BJP
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used Ram Mandir issue to make huge political gains in 1992.


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3. Rise of communal organizations: Growth of various communal organizations such as Muslim league
hn
ris

and RSS during the colonial rule has led the foundation of communalism in India. Their role was to
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secure, protect and promote the interests of their own communities but in the process they created he
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feeling of hatredness for the other community.


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rK
fo

4. Uneven growth: Uneven growth among different religious communities leads to relative deprivation.
ed

When this relative deprivation is projected as being imposed on one community by the other, this lead to
is
al

communal clashes. For e.g. Muslims in India have failed to take advantage of modern occupations and
on

education.
rs
pe
s

According to Sachar Committee the status of Indian Muslims are below the conditions of SCs and STs.
ti
en

Another aspect of uneven growth is in urban areas. People migrate from rural to urban areas for a better
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cu

future. Unable to find a job, they face downward mobility and use communalism as an ideology of
do

protest. According to Veena Das, the floating population of modern cities are always ready to act as
is

rioters in communal incidents.


Th

Solutions: Secularization must happen. The role of religion in the social sphere must decline. For this,
both the civil society and politicians must make concerted efforts. Politicians must set an example to the
people and must avoid the use of religion in politics. Civil society must not be provoked by the irrational
religious sentiments. For this to happen, the focus of people must move away from imagined interests to
real interests. Focus must be on development, growth, education, health and other secular issues rather
than on the call of religious leaders.

18 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


4. (b) In the wake of globalization, critically evaluate the current status of cooperatives in India. (15)

Answer:

India established on socialistic pattern of society has constitutional mandate to ensure republicanism,
welfarism, social justice, social and economic democracy and inclusive development that reflects from
various section of constitution Fundamental Rights, DPSP etc.

Mahatma Gandhi s concept of Sarvodaya inspired by Unto the Last is organizing principle of Indian
Society and Polity. Constitutional mandate on Gram Panchayat, cottage industries, Cooperatives and
others emanate from this ideology.

Recently 97th CA made Formation of Cooperatives as fundamental rights based on socialist principles
of voluntary formation, democratic control and autonomous functioning of cooperatives.

India essentially an agrarian society is populated with small & marginal farmers, landless labor who can
organize them to utilize their group dynamics to resource building. Rampant Poverty in society hampers
large capital accumulation, consequently cooperatives compile meager private capital as investible
resource

India is still a traditional society where traditional structures like caste, kinship, family, and village act as
social force and social control of behavior of individual. Cooperatives harness such sentiments.

Cooperatives are what Hegel Says Inherent moralism where profits are socialized along with labor and
capital against capitalist contradiction. India had successful Soviet empirical model of cooperatives to
emulate in its heydays of independence.

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l.c
ai
Globalization has posed both Challenges and opportunity for cooperatives. Thomas Friedman, A

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vehement supporter of Globalization, calls it a socio-cultural economic process that is merging society
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and complementing economies he goes on to say in his book The World is flat that after advent of
2
10

Christ only Globalization has impact so universally on Ideology, institutions and values across societies
a.
hn
ris

But Dependency theorist like Raul Prebisch and Marxist scholar Andre Gundre Frank examine
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Globalization in light of Dependency syndrome created by Western developed countries in third world
a(

countries political economy and society through their theories of Core Periphery and Metropolis
hn
ris

Model
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India following aggressive LPG policies that reflect in its FDI, Open Market, and Joint Trades etc. policies
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has to match this contradiction of Cooperatives Spirit and Globalization Inevitability.


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Few threats posed by Globalization are:


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on

it will gobble of small entities like cooperative societies


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reduce to cheap source of raw material


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push alienation in cooperative relations


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en

tear apart communitarian planning


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cu
do

Opportunities:
is
Th

technology and capital


best practices inflow
linkage with cultures and economy
caste relations informing cooperatives shall give in to Global citizenship

19 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


4. (c) Briefly discuss the changing nature of ethnic conflicts in India. (10)

Answer:
An ethnic group refers to a group of people who share certain common attributes with each other. These
include race, language, religion, customs, history, economic experiences, etc. For a group of people to
share such attributes another requirement is that they get mobilized into some collective action for
attainment of their demands. Thus, ethnic movements are concerned with the preservation and
protection of these cultural attributes of the ethnic groups and their other interests.

Here, we will take Deepankar Guptas classification of ethnic movements. He argues that the ethnic
movements are the movements related to the nation-state i.e. related to the territory and the
sovereignty aspects of the state. According to him in the ethnic mobilization the loyalty of one ethnic
group to the referent of nation-state is questioned.

Changing nature of ethnic movements:

We can further classify this changing nature into pre-independence movements and post-independence
movements.

1. Pre-Independence movements: Mostly the ethnic movements here were tribal movements. As British
interaction with tribal people was of invasion and appropriation as described by Professor Janardhan
Rao, the tribal people retaliated to preserve their customs and traditions. Transfer of land to non-tribals,
introduction of paper money leading to indebtedness by money lenders and harsh economic conditions
imposed affected their traditional way of living. Thus, they challenged the legitimacy of British authority
and organized revolts to protect themselves. Some examples are Kol mutiny, Santhal uprising, Munda

)
revolt, etc.

om
l.c
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2. Post-Independence movements: After independence we started to build Indian nation-state and

gm
adopted Nehruvian model of development. This model presumed that in the course of development the
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2
identities formed on the basis of ascriptive factors such as language, caste, tribe, religion will disappear
10
a.

and the development will take place on the secular lines. But much before the effect of this model could
hn

be felt, it was questioned on the all major consideration language, region and nationality. There was so
ris

much of conflict and opposition from ethnic communities that Salig S. Harrison described the decade of
ik
sa

the 1950s-1960s as the most dangerous decade.


a(
hn
ris

Initially the movements were secessionist in nature. They question the nation-state building model which
iK

was introduced by the Independent India. Nagas were the first to reject Indian nation. Similarly, Tamils
Sa

also demanded secession under E V Ramaswami Naicker. Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab on the basis of
V
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separate language and religion also joined the chorus.


fo
ed

Gradually they became the movements for separate state. This was accepted by the Indian state as this
is
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demand doesnt affect the sovereignty of the nation. Andhra Pradesh was the first state to be carved out
on
rs

on linguistic basis and many other states were made on various ethnic indicators.
pe
s
ti

Another kind of ethnic movements in post-independence India are related to tribals of both central India
en

and north east. Various grievances related to these tribal people are insurgency, protection of the culture
m
cu

and economy from the outside non-tribal exploiters, apathy by the state officials, ethnic conflicts and
do

riots. They also started with secessionist tendencies but various concessions in form of separate state
is
Th

and favorable constitutional provisions helped to contain these movements. Now, they are localized and
miniscule in nature. Similarly, the problem of the tribes of central India was solved by creating Jharkhand
out of Bihar.

Conclusion: It is clear that ethnicity plays an important part in the life of people. For the time being they
are not a threat to Indian nation but with changing economic and political conditions they can change
their form and expression. In the era of globalization where state control is giving way to market
economy proper steps must be taken to satisfy the legitimate interests of all the ethnic communities.

20 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


4. (d) Write a short note on social consequences of abolition of child labor in India. (5)

Answer:

Child labor refers to the work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their
dignity and that is harmful to physical and mental development. India has the unwanted distinction of
having the largest population of child laborers in the world. They mostly find employment as household
servants, tea shop apprentices, and street vendors and in labor-intensive industries like textiles, matches,
fireworks etc.

In context of India, there are various factors which has led to the emergence of phenomena of child
labor. For example: Poverty of families, Formal education failures, Social-cultural constraints ,Lack of
awareness amongst parents, Unemployment, State-run juvenile homes are lacking in both quantity and
quality which forces many orphaned children to fend for themselves.

Secondly. Easy to hire and fire children, Rapid urbanization, Emergence of new middle class keeps
domestic child labor, Profit earning due to less wage-payment.

Children working in certain industries/sectors (fireworks, cotton textile, beedi manufacturing) grow up
suffering from chronic illnesses Vulnerability to economic exploitation (underpaid, overtime)
Vulnerability to sexual exploitation Child labor adds to Indias burgeoning mass of uneducated and
unskilled/semi-skilled (i.e. less productive) workers

Hence child labor is one of the gravest issue confronting Indian society. Consequences of abolition of
child labor spans across both positive and negative dimension.

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om
Positive: Children freed from the shackles of child labor can have the opportunity for empowerment via

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ai
education, more so in case of the girl child; population growth can be checked.

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Negatives: Abolishing child labor in India is a hard choice as lack of sustenance options many push many
2
10

children towards more dangerous forms of abuse like child trafficking, beggary and prostitution. Since
a.
hn

both the state and private sector cannot yet guarantee education and employment to all, it may prove
ris

difficult for these children to find employment later on.


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sa
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hn
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5. Write a short note on each of the following in not more than 150 words. 12.54=50
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(a) Social correlates of prostitution


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ed

Answer:
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on

Unlike, other social problems, prostitution has always been subject to some crude errors and popular
rs

misconceptions. It is rather ironical that our knowledge of the nature and character of one of the world's
pe

"oldest professions" is either based on hearsay or still reflects some moral and normative overtones. This
s
ti
en

is especially true of traditional societies, where prostitution is either taboo or conceived in terms of
m

sexual perversions and social evils. Both such attitudes, to say the least, have not been conducive to
cu
do

approaching the question objectively.


is
Th

Ecological factors, such as rural-urban differentiation and mobility to the extent that they generate
social disorganization and deviant behavior are often considered as factors contributing to prostitution.

Urbanization and city life in general engender breakdown of primary group relations. In rural areas life is
still much simpler, definitions of the situation are much more universally accepted, and there is
consequently, less disparity between individual attitudes and group values. Faced by a breakdown in her
life organization and sustained by none of the traditional ties to her rural community, the urban female
may easily yield to her impulse for sexual promiscuity and a life which promises comfort and ease.
21 www.visionias.in Vision IAS
In much the same way, it is maintained, urbanization is also associated with mobility and a certain degree
of anonymity which often obstruct the development of any meaningful or permanent primary group ties.

Another factor commonly observed among prostitutes is that most of them had been initiated into sex
experience before entering commercialized vice. Most of them, it is often argued, usually become so
demoralized through such early experience that they feel they have 'lost all," and they have consequently
little to suffer from further promiscuous relations. This is particularly true in a traditional society, where a
girl's chastity is still an important asset. A girl who is a product of rigid social pressures and who happens
to be in conflict over some previous illicit experience may easily become demoralized and drift into
prostitution.

Thirdly, family disorganization appears to be an important predisposing factor, particularly in a culture


like India, where the family is still the basic unit of social organization. By and large, the girls' family
atmosphere was not permanent and well-adjusted. Because of divorce, death within the family, poverty,
incompatibility, etc., the girls had either severed their family ties at a very early age or they were denied
parental attention and love.

The ancient dictum that "poverty engenders prostitution" still stands, but rarely alone as a factor
accounting for the girls' entry into the profession. The economic considerations begin to be relevant only
when other predisposing factors, such as family disorganization and early sexual experience, are present.
Economic factors appear to be more circumstantial in nature..

Religious and ethnic considerations are conventionally overlooked as social correlates, which may be
associated with prostitution. This term is justifiable in societies which are relatively homogeneous in
their ethnic composition. This is hardly true of a "mosaic" society.

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l.c
The religious factor is very delicate. It is complicated further by its association with a host of other

ai
variables, such as early marriage, family size, ecological and economic considerations which cannot be

gm
controlled or assessed objectively.
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10
a.

One possible interpretation may be sought in the varying degrees of social control and traditional
hn

restraints which the different religious groups impose upon the individual. In general, Islam as a religion
ris

and a way of life is relatively more restrictive in character. Its restrictions may not only limit the freedom
ik
sa

of association between the sexes, but they may also impose severe penalties on sexual misconduct,
a(
hn

especially since premarital chastity is still one of the highly cherished values in society. Under such
ris

circumstances, particularly where the prevailing double standards in the culture condemn the fallen
iK

woman more than the irresponsible man, the fear of apprehension may prompt the girl to seek refuge in
Sa

prostitution. With little chances for marriage, a promiscuous life which promises comfort and security
V
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may well be a source of hope for a girl who has been a victim of unrelenting social pressure.
fo
ed
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on
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5. (b) Educational inequalities in India


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Answer:
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Education has its own intrinsic value. An educated person can understand, analyze and participate
do

efficiently in the market. An educated person is more confident to face poverty. A literate woman has
is

better knowledge of health and family planning. It develops scientific tamper and helps in reducing child
Th

labor. Thus, education has an intrinsic value attached to it which has a positive impact on all
developmental outcomes. There is another aspect of education i.e. utilitarian aspect. It means that the
education and skills are acquired just because they are useful to earn money and live a good life. In
todays industrial and highly differentiated society, different kinds of skills are required for faster growth
and meaningful development. If there are some social and economic barriers in acquiring these skills
then it leads to disparity in education and keep few sections away from the developmental efforts

22 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


Educational inequalities in India exist along following dimensions:

1. Tribals: Tribal people have a different dialect and language of their own. They will feel comfortable
only when they are given education in their own language. But, at present, there is no provision to
provide them the education in their language. An alien language used by majority is being forced on
them. Thus, alienating them further from the mainstream developmental efforts.

2. Caste: Yogendra Singh in his study of university professors in Rajasthan found out that 80% of
professors were from higher class. This clearly shows that few castes have unfair advantage over others.
This disparity can also be explained by the Pierre Bourdieus concept of cultural capital, which signifies
that the people belonging to a particularly advanced culture have inherent advantage over others and
which helps them to maintain their hierarchy. For e.g. an English educated upper caste person is better
placed to clear civil services than a rural lower caste person.

3. Class: Todays education is capitalistic in nature. Privatization of good education is on rise. Government
schools are not seen in good light. According to IHDS survey, around 75% of urban and 50% of rural
students prefer private schools. As the fees of private schools are high, the children of poor parents are
unable to read in private schools and are unable to participate fully in the developmental efforts. It is not
that government schools are not good but there is lack of accountability mechanism of teachers in the
government schools.

4. Gender: Indian girls face the age old social barrier of sexual discrimination. In the patriarchal setup,
parents dont encourage the education of a girl child. They still see her as a burden. Unfortunately, they
fail to realize the indirect benefits of an educated women. Even those who are employed are
discriminated and dont earn the wages on par with men. Recent surveys show that women earn 20%

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less wages than men for the same work. Failure to bring them in education and employment perpetuates

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their weak position and exclude them from developmental efforts.

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5. Religion: In India, Muslims have failed to take benefits of modern education. Their literacy rate is
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2
lowest among the four major religions. The position of Muslim women is worst in the society. They have
10
a.

the lowest literacy rates and participation in the employment. India development report says that in UP,
hn

Bihar and Bengal the illiteracy among Muslims is the highest. Even Sachar committee acknowledged
ris
ik

there occur discrimination in the implementation of government programmes and schemes against
sa

Muslims.
a(
hn
ris

It is not strange to have disparities in a multicultural and plural country such as India. These disparities
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are not new but are existing from centuries. Only after Independence we have started to tackle them
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seriously. There are proper schemes and policies which aim to remove the present discrimination and to
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provide a level playing field. But, still there are some implementation gaps. There is need to tackle these
fo

problems from all fronts. All the stake holders including NGOs and Civil society must make concerted
ed

efforts to remove the disabilities which various social groups face. Democracy is our strength and it must
is
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be used effectively remove this discrimination so that everybody gets benefitted by the developmental
on
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efforts.
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s
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en
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5. (c) Nature and extent of secularization in India


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Answer:

Secularization is a process whereby the religious symbols, institutions and practices lose their social
significance viz. economy, polity, justice, health, family and education. Here, religion enters more in
private sphere and its public importance decreases. There emerge empirical and rational procedures and
conceptions about the world in general. For e.g. going to a doctor instead of a priest to cure diseases is a
mark of increasing secularization in the society.

23 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


Its origin can be traced from European events. During medieval times, church used to wield strong
power over secular state. The kings and commoners became tired of the oppressive nature of the church
and struggled to get rid of the control of the church and religion from political as well as other affair of
everyday world. Thus, the forces that set themselves in opposition to the Church and its power came to
be known as secular. While the struggle against the Church and the process which eventually led to the
decline of religious authoritarianism replaced it with a rational and scientific outlook. This has been
termed secularization.

Secularization is closely related to the concept of secularism. Secularism is a liberal concept of


democracy which means giving equal respect to all religions, promoting them equally. State doesnt
identify itself with any religion. If state fails to follow secularism it is impossible to even expect that there
will be secularization in the society. Because, it is the political leaders who inspires the people and
people imitate them.

Traditionally, in India religion played an all-encompassing role. According to T. N. Madan Religion in India
is constitutive of society. Politics and Economics are neither autonomous domain nor are they
contradictory of religion; they are simply encompassed by religion.

This concept of secularization came to India through British rule. They made secular laws and gave the
concept of equality before law. English educated leaders further professed this concept in India. But,
there were another set of leaders who opposed secularization in the Indian context.

Tilak used Ganesh festivals to forge the unity among Hindus against British people. Mahatma Gandhi
advocated the role of religion in political life. Religion became a way to mobilize people and to generate
nationalist feelings in them. Thus, before independence this concept didnt take root in India.

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l.c
After Independence, more caution was adopted as the partition of India was done on religious lines.

ai
Therefore, it became necessary that religion should not overplay its part. Though the situation has

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improved, but still the state has compromised on the principal of secularism. We have a civil code for
@
2
Hindus only. Muslim laws are still governed by their religion. In 1992, we saw that how state acted in
10
a.

partisan way to demolish Babri Masjid for a Ram Mandir. Kandhmal, Godhara riots and Muzzafarnagar
hn

riots also show the same thing.


ris
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sa

Secularism in India is still an elite concept. People identify a lot with religion; they are ready to die for the
a(
hn

religion. Their dressing habits, festivals, food habits are dictated by religion. Religion is inseparable part
ris

of their culture. This idea of secularism is aloof from the masses. It is a slow process and all the factors
iK

such as modern education, civil society activism and political leadership must work in hand to let it
Sa

happen. In a multi ethnic and multi-religious society it will take longer time than expected.
V
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5. (d) Stages of womens movement in India


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Answer:
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Womens movement can be defined as the organized effort to achieve a common goal of equality and
m
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liberation of women and it presupposes sensitivities to crucial issues affecting the life of women. It
do

comprises all the forms and processes of women's upsurge and assertion, including their fights alongside
is

of men as well as their more obviously 'anti-patriarchal struggles with men.


Th

The womens movement, like other social movements, brings about or intends to bring about a change
in the existing social structure.

Womens movements in India can be divided into the following periods or waves:

1. Social reform movements before 1857


2. The freedom movement
24 www.visionias.in Vision IAS
3. Movements from 1947 till 1975
4. Movements emerging during and after the international Womens Decade

Social reform movements

The origin of contemporary womens movements in India is often stressed to the social reform
movement within the Hindu fold. Due to the influence of the reformers, the British government enacted
laws against the sati system, permitting widow remarriage, abolishing child marriage etc. Efforts were
also made for education of girls. This phase had immense contribution towards womens movement in
India.

The rights bestowed proved to be the foundation of the Womens rights in India. The movement in this
era was limited in terms of lack of mobilization of women themselves for their own issues.

Political rights such as equal franchise and representation in legislatures for women were demanded by
women leaders. Womens organizations such as All India womens conference (AIWC) came into
existence in the 1920s to spread education among women. They raised similar issues and carried out
welfare programmes

Freedom Struggle

Freedom movement was an important landmark in the history of womens movement. It helped women
in their struggle for liberation as feminism and nationalism were closely interlinked.

Gandhis ideology of recruiting women in public life without disturbing their social role as housewives
and his efforts at mobilizing women were responsible for womens participation in the freedom struggle.

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Aparna Basu says that women were accepted in Indias freedom struggle as political comrades and given

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equal opportunities for participation. This paved the way for involvement of women in the wider sphere
of social, political and economic life in future. @
2
10
a.
hn

Rajani Alexander on the other hand says that womens participation in the independence movement
ris

took diverse forms and was not always in the form of organized and orchestrated political protests. Most
ik
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of womens involvement in the independence movement was based on community and home based
a(

participation. Nevertheless, the recognition of women as equal participants in the freedom movement
hn
ris

gave a boost both to the status of women and womens movement.


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After Independence
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Peasant movements, tribal movements, students movements etc. witnessed the participation of
fo
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women. These movements do not raise the issues affecting women per se but they do raise societal or
is

class issues.
al
on
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Gail Omvedt aptly describes their significance when she denotes them as pre-movements as far as
s

women are concerned. Their contribution to the cause of women in India can be gauged from the
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following:
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They revealed the power of women as a force in a society


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They allowed women opportunity to bring forward their own needs


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They were often part of a process leading to the development of womens movements as
such.

Illina Sen says that women in these movements do not strive for autonomous or independent
articulation of only their women specific demands. At the same time their articulation of demands and
issues exerts a pressure on their movements to take cognizance of the women in their mass base.

25 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


Various studies also show the militant role played by women in various agrarian movements. Meera
Velayudhanin in her study on women workers and class struggles in Alleppey examines the role and
participation of women. She shows that women participated on a large scale in the 1938 strikes. Later
on, the women workers launched struggles on issues such as maternity benefits and retrenchment of
women workers.

Moreover, the promulgation of the constitution and enactment of various laws for women such as the
Hindu marriage act, the Hindu succession act etc. prepared ground for further struggle.

After the international Womens Decade

By this time womens mass movements had realized those womens issues and problems to be solved
completely required to confront issues head on. Thus they went to the forefront of all major socio-
economic, political and related environmental issues.

During the last three decades a number of micro and macro struggles have been initiated by
autonomous womens groups around issues which directly affect women and address the question of
emancipation of women.

Protest against Social Evils/Issues

Anti-Price Rise Movement: In 1973, Women of the urban areas organized to fight against the hike in the
prices of essential commodities that was followed by the famine. The movement grew rapidly becoming
a mass womens movement for consumer protection.

Anti-Arrack Movement: Thousands of women joined in picketing liquor outlets, disciplining habitual

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drunkards, and demanding from the administration a total ban on alcohol sales. Women realized their

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strength and importance and the government bowed to the wishes of people. Sale of arrack was banned

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in the district of Nellore to begin with and later on the ban was extended to the rest of the state of
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2
Andhra Pradesh. This agitation inspired people of other states, especially Haryana, to take up similar
10

issues.
a.
hn
ris

Ecological and Environmental Issues


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a(

Chipko Movement: The Chipko movement originated around 1970s (though the seeds of the movement
hn
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were there from the British period) against indiscriminate forest felling for commercial interests.
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Sa

Protesting Violence against Women


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rK

Anti Rape Movement: The anti-rape movement begun in 1977 by the Civil Rights groups following an
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incidence of custodial rape. The Mathura rape case in 1978 was a landmark in the history of mobilization
is

of women. Demonstrations, dharnas, public mass petitions etc were sparked off with the incident. Rape
al
on

was signified as a form of violence by the powerful on powerless, poor and disadvantaged. Desai and
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pe

Patel say that when womens groups condemned the state and society, they signified that the laws and
s

institutions have created hierarchies between men and women.


ti
en
m

Anti-Dowry Movement: It began around 1977 with the organized protest of Mahila Dakshata Samiti.
cu
do

They protested against the violence inflicted upon women for dowry, especially against murder and
is

abetment of suicide. Protests in the form of demonstrations and other means by feminist groups were
Th

able to change the indifferent attitude of the wider public and policy makers to the issues of womens
death by kerosene. The feminist groups devised a series of strategies to enhance the public awareness of
the problems associated with dowry. In 1980 a year after the anti dowry agitation began, the
government passed a law against dowry related crimes that recognized abetment of suicide because of
dowry demands as a special crime and made mandatory a police investigation into the death of any
women within five years of marriage.

26 www.visionias.in Vision IAS


Anti-Sexual Harassment Movement: In the Vishaka case a petition in the Supreme Court was filed by
social action groups and NGOs seeking legal redress for women whose work was obstructed or inhibited
because of sexual harassment at the workplace. The Supreme Court issued guidelines to tackle the
menace in the absence of action from executive and legislature. The movement continued by advocacy
groups. Its culmination is the bill for protection against sexual harassment at the workplace which has
recently been passed by the Lok sabha, signifying an important step towards complete emancipation of
women in India.

Today a number of womens organizations have mushroomed with and without the support of the state
and donor international organizations. The contemporary womens movement in India is characterized
by decentralized structure and multiple arenas of interaction. Womens movement is also widening its
domain and getting involved with issues related to environment, population, child rights, globalization,
marketization etc.

Social and liberal feminists criticize the rise of right forces in India and the world over which have
mobilized middle class women for creating hatred against others including the women of other
community. Barbara Epstein says that it is strongly felt by many that womens movements are in
doldrums and almost directionless. It has become more an idea than a movement. Nevertheless, it is
beyond any doubt that womens movement in India in each stage contributed to the emancipation of
women- though the magnitude of contribution may have varied.

Over the decades, womens groups stood for issues that are not just women-centric but are concerns of
wider society as well. The problems that women face are that of other social categories too. Womens
mobilizations of the past proved their intended organized actions (as in the case of anti-arrack, anti-price
rise, Chipko etc.) always bring about wider social repercussions. Participating in such mobilizations

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definitely gives the women of the community a social identity. And this social identity of course makes

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way for their empowerment. Their further empowerment is realized through the affirmative actions

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taken by the state as well as the civil society organizations in response to their efforts and capacity to
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initiate collective action. 2
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