GENDER RELIGION &

CASTE

PRESENTED BY- SADHNA SHARMA

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)
DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF LIFE WHERE WOMEN
ARE DISCRIMINATED
1 Literacy rate among the women is 54% as
compared to 76% among men.
2 Women are paid less than men, even when both
do the same work e.g. in factories, films women
are paid less as compare to men.
3 In India, parents prefer to have sons than
girls. They find many ways to have the girl
child aborted, before birth.
4. This decline in the sex ratio. The
number of girls per thousand boys in our
country is 933.
5. There are reports of various kinds of
harassments, exploitation and violence both in
rural and urban areas.
6. Women are not safe at home even due to
harassment and domestic violence.
 FEMINIST MOVEMENT
Feminist movements are the movements organized by the women
organizations for equality for women in personal and family life.
EFFECTS-
1a) Pol. Expression of gender division
b) political mobilization
helped in improving women’s role in
public life.
2 Now, women are working as scientists,
doctors, lawyers, managers, engineers and
teachers.
3 In countries like Finland ,Norway and
Sweden the participation of women in
public life is very high.
DEMANDS-
1 Equal rights for women in all
spheres of life.
2 Extension of right to vote.
3. Enhancing political and
legal status of women.
4. Improvement in educational
and career opportunities for
women.
STATUS OF WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION
IN INDIA’S LEGISLATIVE BODIES
1 In India women participation in political area is very
low.
2 In Lok Sabha it is not even 10%.
3 In State Assembly it is as low as 5%.
4 Latin America and Africa women participation is higher
than India.
STEPS CAN BE TAKEN TO IMPROVE
WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN
POLITICS
1 It should be legally binding to have fair
proportion representation of women in the
elected bodies.
2 Some seats should be reserved for
women in State Assemblies and in lok
sabha.
3 Political parties should give proper
representation to women members.
4 Women participation can be
increased by raising the literacy rate.
RELATION BETWEEN
RELIGION AND
POLITICS
1.Mahatma Gandhi
used to say that
religion can never
be separated from
politics. According
to him, politics
must be guided by
ethics, drawn from
3 Women’s Movement have
argued that Family Laws of all
religions should be same.
2 Human Right Groups have argued
that most of the victims of communal
riots in country are people from
religious minorities. They have
demanded that government should
take special steps to protect them.
HOW CAN RELIGION INFLUENCE
POLITICS
Mahatma Gandhi Believed that politics must be guided
by ethics drawn from all religions.
2 Ideas, ideals and values drawn from different religions
should play important role in politics.

3 People should be able to express in politics their needs

and demands as a member of a religious community.

4 Those who hold political power should be able to

prevent discrimination on the basis of religion.
MEANING OF COMMUNALISM
Communalism is a situation when a particular
community tries to promote its own interest at
the cost of other communities.

WHEN DOES COMMUNALISM PROBLEM

BECOME ACUTE?
1 Religion is seen as the basis of the nation.
2 When one religion and its followers are discriminated
by others.
3 When people start believing that belief of their religion
is superior than other religions.
4. When the state power is used to established the
domination of one religion over the others.
MAJOR BELIEFS OF
COMMUNAL PEOPLE

1 The followers of a
particular religion must
belong to one community.
2 Their fundamental
interest should be same.
3 people who follow
different religions can not
belong to the same social
community.
4 If the followers of
different religions have
commonalities these are
IDEAS OF COMMUNAL POLITICS
FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED
1 Most of these beliefs are not true.
2 People of one religion don’t have the
same interests and aspirations in
every context.
3 Everyone has several other roles,
positions and identities.
4 There are many voices inside every
community.
5 All these voices have the right to be
heard.
DIFFERENT FORMS
OF COMMUNAL
POLITICS-
1 PEOPLE OFFEN BELIEVE
THAT IDEAS OF THEIR
RELIGION ARE SUPERIOR
TO THE IDEAS OF OTHER
RELIGIONS.
2 PEOPLE OF A
PARTICULAR RELIGION
WANTS MAXIMUM
REPRESENTATION OF
THEIR RELIGION IN THE
POLITICS. THIS TAKES
THE FORM OF
MAJORITARIAN
DOMINANCE.
3 As a result of it people of minority
community then demand separate state
for themselves.
4 Mobilizing people on communal lines in
politics is another form of communal
politics.
5 Mobilization is done on the basis of
emotional appeals, fear, symbols, religious
slogan by leaders etc.
5 In its most ugly form communalism
leads to violence. People from various
religions are opposite to each other
and they use violence to show their
religion’s domination.
EXAMPLE –India and Pakistan
suffered some of the worst
communal riots at the time of
partition.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS THAT MAKE INDIA A
SECULAR STATE
1 There is no official religion for the Indian State.
❖In Sri lanka-Buddhism
❖In Pakistan- Islam
❖In England- Christianity
2 The Constitution provides to all individual and
communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate
any religion of their own choice.
3 The Constitution prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of
religion.
4 It bans Untouchability.
CASTEISM IN INDIA DIFFERENT FROM OTHER
SOCIETIES—
1 In India casteism is different from other
societies as in India hereditary occupational
division was sanctioned by rituals.
2 Members of the same occupation married with
their caste group and did not eat with the
members from other caste group.
MEANING OF CASTEISM-
Organizations of people into social
groups for the purpose of
marriage, work and diet is known
as Caste System.
CASTE INEQUALITIES STILL CONTINUED
IN INDIA
1 Most people marry within their own caste and tribe.
2 Despite provision in the constitution untouchability has
not ended completely.
3 There has been rich and educated people from lower
caste also now-a-days but their percentage is much less
as compared to upper caste.
4. Large mass of low caste people still do not have access
to education and have remained illiterate and
uneducated.
CASTE ALONE CAN NOT
DETERMINE THE ELECTION
RESULT
1 No State Legislature in the
country has a majority of
any caste.
2 Every caste group has its
presence in Parliament.
3 It is not necessary that the
people of same caste vote for
same political party.
4 It might happen that there
are more than one candidate
from one caste and no
candidate from other caste.
CASTE SYSTEM IS DISAPPEARING IN
INDIA
Social reformers like Jotiba Phule,
Mahatma Gandhi, Dr.B.R Ambedker ,etc.
advocated and worked to establish a
society in which caste inequalities are
absent.
The constitution of India prohibits
discrimination of any type. It provide
equal opportunities to all.
The caste system can further be
reduced spreading education and by
promoting inter-caste marriages.
CASTEISM IN INDIAN POLITICS
While choosing candidate: When
parties choice candidate in elections,
they keep in mind the caste
composition of the electorate and
nominate candidates from different
castes so as to get necessary support
to win elections.
While forming a government: When
the government are formed, political
parties usually take care that
representatives of different castes and
tribes find a place in it.
While campaigning: Political Parties and
candidates in elections make appeals to
people to give them their votes on the basis
of caste.
Universal Adult Franchise: UAF
and the principle of one person on
vote compelled political leaders to
raise the caste based issues during
elections.