GENDER,

RELI
GIONANDCASTE

GENDERANDPOLI
TICS

GenderDiv
ision:
Itisafor
m ofhier
archi
cal
socialdi
vi
sion.Thegenderdi
vi
siont
endst obe
under
stoodasnat ural
andunchangeabl
e.I
tisnotbasedonbiologybutonsoci
alexpect
ati
ons
andster
eotypes.

Sexual
divi
sionofl
abor:
Itisasyst
em i
nwhichall
workinsi
det
hehomeisei
therdonebythe
womenoft hefami
lyororgani
zedbyt
hem t
hroughthedomest
ichel
per
sandmendoal l
the
workoutsi
dethehome.

Whati
sFemi
nistMov
ement
?Whatar
eit
sdemands?

Theradi
cal
mov ement
sdemandi
ngequal
ityi
npol
i
tical
li
fe,
educat
ional
andot
heroppor
tuni
ti
es
forwomenarecal
ledf
emini
stmovement
.

DemandsorObj
ect
ives

 Ther
ewer
eagi
tat
ionsi
ndi
ff
erentcount
ri
esf
ort
heext
ensi
onofv
oti
ngr
ight
stowomen.

 Theseagit
ati
onsdemandedenhancingthepol
iti
calandl
egal
stat
usofwomenand
i
mpr ov
ingthei
reducat
ional
andcareeroppor
tuni
ties.

 Mor
eradi
cal
women’
smov
ement
sai
medatequal
i
tyi
nper
sonal
andf
ami
l
yli
feaswel
l
.

Ment
iondi
ff
erentaspect
sofl
i
fei
nwhi
chwomenar
edi
scr
imi
nat
edordi
sadv
ant
agedi
nIndi
a

1.Li
teracyrat
e:Li
teracyrateamongwomeni sonly54%compar edwit
h76%amongmen.
Simil
arl
y,asmallerproport
ionofgir
lstudent
sgof orhi
gherstudi
esbecausepar
ent
s
pref
ertospendmoneyont heirsonsrathert
hanspendingequall
yonthei
rsonsand
daughter
s.

2.Discr
iminati
onofJobopport
unit
ies:
Theproporti
onofwomenamongt hehighl
ypai
d
andvaluedjobsi
ssti
ll
verysmall
.Onanav erageanIndianwomenwor ksonehourmore
thananav er
agemanev er
yday.Yetherworkisnotpaidandther
efor
eof t
ennotval
ued.

3.Discr
iminat
ioninremunerat
ionorsalar
y:Theequalwagesactpr
ovi
desthatequal
wagesshouldbepai dtoequalwork.However
,inal
mostallar
easofwork,f
rom spor
ts
andcinema, t
ofactor
iesandfi
elds,womenarepaidlesst
hanmen,evenwhenbot hdo
exact
lythesamewor k.

4.Pr
efer
encef
oramal echil
d:I
nmanypart
sofIndi
aparent
sprefertohavesonsandfi
nd
wayst
ohavethegir
lchi
ldabort
edbef
oresheisbor
n.Suchsex-sel
ecti
veabor
ti
onledto
adecl
i
neinchi
ldsexrat
io.

5.Casesofharassment,
expl
oit
ati
onandv iol
ence:Therearereportsofvar
iouski
ndsof
harassment,
expl
oit
ati
onandv i
olenceagai
nstwomen.Ur banar eashavebecome
parti
cul
arl
yunsafef
orwomen.Theyar enotsafeevenwithintheirownhomef r
om
beati
ng,har
assmentandotherformsofdomesticviol
ence.

St
atusofwomen’
srepr
esent
ati
oni
nIndi
a’
slegi
slat
ivebodi
es
 Woment odaydonothol dev en10%oft otal strengthinLokSabha.Thei rshar einthe
StateAssembl iesi slessthan5%.Themov et omake33%r eserv ationf orwomeni nal lthe
l
egislatureshasnoty etsucceeded.Regar dingwomen’ srepresent ation,Indi
ai samongt he
bottom gr oupofnat i
onsint hewor l
d.InNor diccount r
ieswomen’ sr epresentat i
oni nnat i
onal
parli
amenti s42%f oll
owedbyAmer i
cas( 22.6) ,Europe( 20.8),wher easi nIndia,iti
s
10.8%.cabi netsar ealsomal edomi natedev enwhenawomenbecomesaChi efMi nisterorthe
PrimeMi ni ster
.Thust heproport
ionofwomeni nlegislati
vebodi eshasbeenv erylow.
Solutiont othewomen’ spr obl
em:
Onewayt osolv ethisproblem i
st omakei tlegal l
ybi ndingtohav eaf ai
rpropor t
ionofwomeni n
theelectedbodi es.Thisiswhatt hePanchay atiRajhasdonei nIndia.Women’ sor gani zati
ons
andact iv
ist shav ebeendemandi ngr eservationofatl eastonet hirdofseat si
nLokSabhaand
StateAssembl iesf orwomen.Abi l
l withthispr oposal pendi
ngbef oret heparliamentbutduet o
l
ackofconsensusamongt hepolit
ical part
ies, i
thasnotbeenpassed.

RELI
GION,
COMMUNALI
SM ANDPOLI
TICS

Var
iousway
sinwhi
chr
eli
giousdi
ff
erencesar
eexpr
essedi
npol
i
tics

1.Nosepar ati
onofr el
igi
onfrom poli
ti
cs:Gandhi
jiusedtosaythatr
eligioncannev erbe
separatedfrom poli
ti
cs.Whathemeantbyr el
i
gionwasnotanypar ticularr
eli
gionli
ke
Hinduism orIsl
am butmor alval
uesthati
nform al
lrel
i
gionsHebeliev edthatpoli
ti
cs
mustbegui dedbyet hicsdrawnfrom r
eli
gion.

2.Gov ernmentt oprot

ectrel
i
giousminor
it
ies:
Humanr i
ghtsgr
oupsinourcount
ryhave
arguedt hatmostoft hevi
cti
msofcommunal ri
otsi
nourcountr
yarepeoplef
rom
rel
igiousmi nori
ti
es.Theyhavedemandedthatt
hegovt.t
akespeci
alst
epstoprotect
rel
igiousmi nori
ti
es.

3.Fami
lyLaws:Women’smov ementhasar
guedt
hatfamil
ylawsofallr
eli
gions
di
scr
iminat
eagainstwomen.Sotheyhav
edemandedthatgovt
.shoul
dchangethese
l
awstomaket hem moreequi
tabl
e.

Ef
fect
sonr
elat
ionshi
pbet
weenRel
i
gionandPol
i
tics

Therei snothingwrongi nrelati

onshipbetweenr el
igi
onandpol i
ticsaslongast heytr
eat
everyreli
gionequally.I
deas, ideal
sandv aluesdrawnf rom dif
ferentreli
gionscanand
perhapsshoul dplayar oleinpol i
ti
cs.Peopleshouldbeabl etoexpr essinpolit
icst
heir
needs, i
nterestsanddemandsasamemberofar eli
giouscommuni ty.Thosewhohol d
poli
ticalpowershoul dsomet imesbeabl et oregul
atethepr act
iceofr eli
gionsoasto
preventdiscriminat
ionandoppr ession.

Communal
i
sm

Defi
nit
ion:
Placi
ngone’
sowncommuni
tyabov
eot
her
sandev
enabov
ethenat
ioni
sknownas
communali
sm.

Feat
uresofCommunal
i
sm

1.Whenr
eli
gioni
sexpr
essedi
npol
i
ticsi
nexcl
usi
veandpar
ti
sant
erms.

2.Whenoner
eli
gionandi
tsf
oll
ower
sar
epi
tt
edagai
nstanot
her
.
 3.Whenbel
i
efsofoner
eli
gionar
epr
esent
edassuper
iort
othoseofot
herr
eli
gions.

4.Whent
hedemandsofoner
eli
giousgr
oupar
efor
medi
nopposi
ti
ont
oot
her
s.

5.Whenst
atepoweri
susedt
oest
abl
i
shdomi
nat
ionofoner
eli
giousgr
oupov
ert
her
est
.

Communal
Pol
i
tics

Defi
nit
ion:Communal
pol
i
ticsi
sbasedont
hei
deat
hatr
eli
gioni
sthepr
inci
pal
basi
sofsoci
al
communi t
y.

Feat
uresofCommunal
Pol
i
tics

1.Thef
oll
ower
sofapar
ti
cul
arr
eli
gionmustbel
ongt
oonecommuni
ty.

2.Thei
rfundament
ali
nterestsar
ethesame.Anydi
ff
erencet
hatt
heymayhav
eisi
rr
elev
ant
ortr
ivi
alf
orcommunityli
fe.

3.Ital
sof
oll
owst
hatpeopl
ewhof
oll
owdi
ff
erentr
eli
gionscan’
tbel
ongt
osamesoci
al
communit
y.

4.I
fthef
oll
owersofdi
ff
erentr
eli
gionshav
esomecommonal
i
ties,
thesear
esuper
fi
cial
and
i
mmateri
al.

5.Thei
rint
erestar
eboundt
obedi
ff
erentandi
nvol
veaconf
li
ct.

6.I
nitsextremeform communalism leadstothebel
iefthatpeopl
ebel
ongi
ngtodif
fer
ent
rel
i
gionscan’tl
iveasequalci
tizenswithi
nonenation.Eit
heroneoft
hem hast
o
dominatetherestortheyhav
et oform di
ffer
entnati
ons.

For
msofCommunal
Pol
i
tics

1.Everydaybeliefs:Themostcommonexpr essi
onofcommunal ism i
sinev
erydaybel
iefs.
Theser outi
nelyinvolverel
i
giouspr
ejudi
ces,ster
eotypesofrel
i
giouscommuniti
esand
beli
efinthesuper iori
tyofone’
srel
igi
onov ert
heotherrel
igi
ons.Thi
sissocommont hat
weof tenfai
lt onoticeit
,evenwhenwebel i
eveinit
.

2.Majori
tar
ianDominance:Acommunalmindoft
enleadstoaquestforpoli
ti
cal
dominanceofone’
sownr el
igi
ouscommunit
y.Forthosebelongi
ngtotheminor
it
y
communi t
y,i
tcantakethef
orm ofadesi
ret
oform aseparatepol
it
ical
unit
.

3.Polit
icalMobil
izat
iononr eli
giousl
ines:Iti
sanot herfrequentf
orm ofcommunal i
sm.
Thisinvolv
esthesacr edsy mbols,
reli
giousleaders,emot i
onalappealsandplainfeari
n
ordertobringthefol
lower sofonereli
giontogetherint hepoli
ti
calarena.I
nelectoral
poli
ti
cst hi
softeninvolvesspecial
appeal t
ot heinterestsoremotionsofvotersofone
rel
igi
oni npref
erencet oothers.

4.Communal v
iolence,ri
otsandMassacr e:Sometimescommunal i
sm t
akesitsmostugl
y
form ofcommunal v
iolence,r
iot
sandmassacr e.Indi
aandPakist
ansuffer
edsomeof
thewor stcommunal ri
ot satt
hetimeofPar t
it
ion.Theposti
ndependenceperi
odhas
alsoseenl argescalecommunal vi
olence.
Const
it
uti
onal
prov
isi
onst
hatmakeI
ndi
aaSecul
arCount
ry(f
eat
uresofSecul
arst
ate)

1.Therei
snoof f
ici
alr
eli
gionfortheI
ndianstat
e.Unl
ikethestat
usofBuddhism i
nSri
Lanka,
thatofI
slam i
nPakistanandthatofChri
sti
ani
tyinEngland,
ourConsti
tut
ion
doesnotgiv
easpecialstat
ustoanyr el
i
gion.

2.Theconstit
uti
onprovi
dest
oalli
ndiv
idual
sandcommunit
iesf
reedom t
opr
ofess,
pract
iceandpropagat
eanyrel
i
gionornottof
oll
owany
.

3.Theconst
it
uti
onpr
ohi
bit
sanydi
scr
imi
nat
ionont
hebasi
sofr
eli
gion.

4.Atthesamet i
meconst i
tut
ional
lowst hest
atet
ointervenei
nthematt
ersofr
eli
gioni
n
ordertoensureequal
i
tywithi
nreli
giouscommunit
ies.Forexampl
e,i
tbans
untouchabi
li
ty.

CASTEANDPOLI
TICS

Feat
uresofCast
eSy
stem

1.Casteisspeci
altoI
ndi
a.I
ncast
esy
stem,
her
edi
tar
yoccupat
ional
div
isi
onwas
sancti
onedbyrit
ual
s.

2.Membersoft
hesamecast
egroupwer esupposedt
ofor
m asoci
alcommuni
tyt
hat
pr
act
icedt
hesameonsimi
laroccupat
ion.

3.Themembersofacommunit
y,mar
ri
edwi
thi
nthecast
egr
oupanddi
dnoteatwi
th
member
sfrom ot
hercast
egr
oups.

4.Cast
esystem wasbasedonexcl
usi
onofanddi
scri
minati
onagainsttheoutcast
e
gr
oups.Theyweresubject
edt
othei
nhumanpract
iceofuntouchabi
li
ty.

Ef
for
tst
oimpr
ovet
hecondi
ti
onofbackwar
dcast
es

Pol
it
ical
leader
sandsoci al
refor
mersl
ikeJot
ibaPhul
e,Gandhi
j
i,B.
R.AmbedkarandPeriy
ar
Ramaswami Naickeradv
ocatedandwantedt
oestabl
ishasoci
etyi
nwhichcasteinequal
it
ies
ar
eabsent.

Pr
esentPosi
ti
onofCast
eSy
stem

Castesy stem i
nmoder nIndiaundergonegr eatchanges.Wit
heconomi cdevelopment,
lar
ge
scal
eur banizati
on,growthoflit
eracyandeducat ion,
occupati
onalmobil
ityandweakeningoft
he
posi
tionofl andl
ordsinthevil
lages,theol
dnot ionsofcastehier
archyarebreaki
ngdown.Now
onecanf i
ndpeopleofdiffer
entcasteswor kinginoffi
cesandeatinginrest
aurant
s.The
consti
tutionofIndia,
toohaspr ohibi
tedcaste–baseddi scr
iminati
on.

Castehasnotdisappear
edfrom contemporaryI
ndia.Lowercast
epeoplearesti
ll
notatparwit
h
uppercast
epeopleinthesphereofeducationandprosperi
ty.Manyl
owercastepeopl
estil
ll
iv
e
bel
owpov ert
yli
ne.Peoplest
ill
mar r
ywi t
hinthei
rcaste.Unt
ouchabi
li
tyst
il
lprev
ail
sinsome
part
softhecountry.

For
msofCast
einPol
i
tics
 1.Selecti
onofcandi
dates:
Attheti
meofel
ecti
on,pol
i
tical
part
iessel
ectt
hei
rcandi
dates
ont hebasi
sofcasteofthevot
ersi
naconst
it
uencysothatt
heymaygetnecessar
y
supporttowinel
ecti
on.

2.Formati
onofgovernment
s:Att
het
imeofformationofgovernmentorCounci
lof
Mini
ster
s,ef
for
tsismadetohaver
epr
esentat
ivesfrom al
lcast
esandcommuni t
ies.

3.Appealt
oVoter
s:Duri
ngelecti
oncampaignappeal
sar
emadet
ovot
erst
ocast
ethei
r
vot
esinfav
orofthecandi
datesofthei
rowncaste.

4.Tobr i
ngconsciousnessamongthel
owercast
es:Duetoone-per
son-one-v
ote,pol
it
ical
parti
estr
ytomobi li
zeandsecur
emaximum suppor
tfrom t
helowercastes.These
casteshavenowr eali
zedt
hei
rimpor
tanceandhavebecomev er
yconsciousaboutthei
r
votedandright
s.

Cast
eal
onecannotdet
ermi
neel
ect
ionr
esul
tsi
nIndi
a

1.Ther
eisnomajori
tyofanycastei
naparl
i
ament
aryconsti
tuency
.Thus,ev
erycandi
dat
e
hastowi
novervotesofdi
ffer
entcast
est
obesuccessf
uli
nt heel
ect
ions.

2.Nopar tyorcandi
datewinsal
l t
hevotesofacastegroupbecausegeneral
lyther
ear e
mor ethanonecandidat
efrom thesamecaste.Evenifanycastei
sa‘votebank’forany
candidateorpart
y,i
timpli
esthatapart
icul
arpart
yorcandidatecansecuremaximum
votesonly.

3.Somet
imesther
earemoret
hanonecandi
datefrom t
hesamecast
e.Thus,
vot
ersoft
he
samecast
egetsdi
vi
dedandvot
esfordi
ff
erentcandi
dat
es.

4.Castesandcommuniti
eschangethei
rpref
erences.Theydonotst
ickt
othei
rown
candidat
es.Thi
shasbeenprovedbythedefeatofthesi
tt
ingMPorMLAi nourcount
ry.

Thus,
iti
scl
eart
hatcast
eal
onecannotdet
ermi
neel
ect
ionr
esul
tsi
nIndi
a.

Besi
descast
e,whi
chot
herf
act
orsi
nfl
uencet
heel
ect
ionr
esul
tsi
nIndi
a:

1.Att
achmentwit
hpoli
ti
cal
par
ti
es:Thevotershavestr
ongatt
achmentt
opoli
ti
cal
par
ti
es.
Suchat
tachmentsometi
mesisstr
ongerthanthei
ratt
achmentt
othei
rcast
eor
community
.

2.Diff
erenti
nter
est
s:Votersmayhav
edif
ferenti
nterest
sduetot heireconomiccondit
ion.
Richpeoplemaycastethei
rvot
esi
nfavourofonecandidatewhi l
ethepoormaynotdo
so.Undersuchci
rcumstances,
vot
esmaynotf avouracandidateoftheirowncaste.

3.Perf
ormanceofsitt
ingcandidateorgover
nment:I
ftheperf
ormanceofasi t
ti
ng
candi
dateisnotgood,t
hev otermaynotfavourhi
m orevenifhebelongstothei
rcaste.
Thus,per
formancetooplaysani mport
antrol
eint
heelecti
onresul
ts.InIndi
a,gener
all
y
si
tti
ngMP/ MLAorloseintheel ect
ion.

Pol
i
ticsi
nCast
e

Descr
ibet
heway
sinwhi
chpol
i
ticsi
nfl
uencet
hecast
esy
stem andcast
eident
it
ies.
 1.Eachcast
egroupt
riest
obecomebiggerbyi
ncorporat
ingwi
thi
nitnei
ghbour
ing
cast
esorsub-
cast
eswhichwereear
li
erexcl
udedfrom it
.

2.Intheageofcoal
i
tionpoli
ti
cs,vari
ouscastegroupsent
eri
ntoacoal
i
tionwit
hother
castesorcommuniti
es.Theyenterint
odial
ogueandnegot
iati
oni
nordertowini
n
theelect
ion.

3.‘
Backward’
and‘Forwar
d’cast
egroups:Nownewcastegroupsknownas‘
backwar
d
and‘
for
ward’cast
egroupshaveemergedinpol
i
tical
arena.

Rol
eofCast
e-Pol
i
ticsi
nIndi
a

Posi
ti
veRol
e

1.Insomesi
tuat
ionsexpr
essi
onofcast
edif
fer
encesi
npol
it
icsgi
vesmanydi
sadv
ant
aged
communit
iest
hespacetodemandthei
rshar
eofpower
.

2.Thecastepol
i
ticsi
nIndi
ahashel
pedDal
i
tandOBCcast
est
ogai
nbet
teraccesst
o
deci
sionmaki
ng.

3.Sev
eralpol
i
t i
calandnon-
polit
icalor
ganizat
ionshavebeendemandi
ngandagi
tati
ngfor
anendtodiscri
minat
ionagainstpart
icul
arcaste,
formoredi
gni
tyandmoreaccesst
o
l
and,r
esourcesandopportunit
ies.

Negat
iver
ole

1.Asint
hecaseofr
eli
gion,
pol
i
ticsbasedoncast
eident
it
yal
onei
snotv
eryheal
thyi
na
democr
acy.

2.Itcandiver
tat
tent
ionf
rom ot
herpr
essi
ngi
ssuesl
i
kepov
ert
y,dev
elopmentand
corrupt
ion.

3.I
nsomecasescast
edi
vi
sionl
eadst
otensi
ons,
conf
li
ctandev
env
iol
ence.