Chapter 3: Gender, Religion and Caste

Political Science · CBSE Class 10 · Democratic Politics-II

📖 Chapter 3: Gender, Religion and Caste (CBSE Class 10 Political Science — Democratic Politics-II). Three social differences — gender, religion and caste — how each is expressed in politics, and whether that expression is healthy or harmful in a democracy.

🎯 Big idea: The existence of social diversity does not threaten democracy. Political expression of social differences is possible and sometimes desirable. But when a single identity (religion/caste) is made the sole basis of politics, it becomes dangerous.

1. Gender and Politics

Gender division is a hierarchical social division seen everywhere but rarely recognised in politics. It is not based on biology but on social expectations and stereotypes.

Sexual Division of Labour & Public/Private Divide

Boys and girls are raised to believe a woman's main job is housework and child-rearing → a sexual division of labour: women do work inside the home, men outside. When such jobs are paid (e.g. cooks, tailors in hotels), men take them up. Women's work is mostly unpaid, unvalued and invisible. Result: though women are half of humanity, their role in public life, especially politics, is minimal.

Feminist movements: women agitated worldwide for equal voting rights, political/legal status, and education/career opportunities; more radical movements sought equality in personal and family life too. A feminist is a woman or man who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men. Patriarchy = a system that values men more and gives them power over women.

Ways Women Are Disadvantaged in India

Area	Fact
Literacy	Women ~54% vs men ~76%; fewer girls in higher studies (parents favour boys' education)
Wages	Despite the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, women are paid less than men for the same work
Work	An Indian woman works on average one hour more per day than a man, but much of it is unpaid
Sex ratio	Sex-selective abortion pushed the child sex ratio down to 919 (girls per 1000 boys); below 850-800 in some states
Safety	Harassment, exploitation, domestic violence; urban areas unsafe for women

Women's Political Representation

Women in the Lok Sabha crossed 14.36% for the first time in 2019; in state assemblies < 5% — India is among the bottom group of nations. Cabinets are often all-male even under a woman CM/PM.

🎯 Remedy — legal reservation: One-third of seats in Panchayati Raj (panchayats & municipalities) are reserved for women → 10 lakh+ elected women. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Act, 2023) provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly.

2. Religion, Communalism and Politics

Religion and politics can mix harmlessly or even usefully: Gandhiji said politics should be guided by ethics drawn from religion (moral values of all religions); human-rights groups demand protection of minorities; women's movements demand reform of discriminatory family laws. These are not wrong as long as every religion is treated equally.

What is Communalism?

The problem begins when religion is seen as the basis of the nation, and when religion is used in politics in exclusive and partisan terms — one religion pitted against another, one presented as superior, or state power used to dominate. Communalism rests on the belief that religion is the principal basis of social community — that followers of one religion share the same fundamental interests and cannot belong to the same community as others. In its extreme form it claims people of different religions cannot live as equal citizens in one nation.

Forms of Communalism

Form	How it shows
Everyday beliefs	Religious prejudices, stereotypes, belief in superiority of one's own religion
Quest for dominance	Majority → majoritarian dominance; minority → desire for a separate political unit
Political mobilisation	Using sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal, fear in elections
Communal violence	Riots, massacres (worst at Partition; also post-Independence)

The Secular State

To combat communalism the Constitution-makers chose a secular state:

No official religion (unlike Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan, Christianity in England).
Freedom to profess, practise and propagate any religion, or none.
Prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
Allows the state to intervene to ensure equality within religious communities (e.g. bans untouchability).

🎯 A secular Constitution is necessary but not sufficient — communal prejudice must also be countered in everyday life and in the political arena.

3. Caste and Politics

Caste division is special to India. The caste system is an extreme form of hereditary occupational division sanctioned by rituals: same caste = same occupation, marriage within caste, no eating with other castes; based on exclusion of and discrimination against 'outcaste' groups (untouchability). Reformers like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker fought caste inequality.

With urbanisation, literacy, occupational mobility and the weakening of landlords, old caste hierarchy is breaking down — but caste has not disappeared: most still marry within caste, untouchability persists, and caste stays closely linked to economic status (upper castes over-represented among the rich; SC/ST worst off).

🎯 Census groups: SC (Dalits) = 16.6%, ST (Adivasis) = 8.6% (2011). OBCs ~41% (NSS 2004-05). SC+ST+OBC ≈ two-thirds of the country. Religions (2011): Hindu 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Jain 0.4%.

Caste in Politics (what caste does to politics)

Parties pick candidates keeping the caste composition of the electorate in mind; governments balance castes/tribes.
Parties and candidates make appeals to caste sentiment; some parties are seen as representatives of particular castes.
Universal adult franchise brought new consciousness among castes earlier treated as inferior.

Caste Alone Does NOT Decide Elections

No constituency has a clear majority of one caste — every candidate must win over several castes.
No party wins all votes of a caste ('vote bank' only means a large proportion).
Many parties may field candidates of the same caste; some voters have none of their caste.
Ruling parties and sitting MPs/MLAs frequently lose — impossible if castes were frozen. Performance, leaders' popularity and party attachment matter too.

Politics in Caste (what politics does to caste)

Caste gets politicised: caste groups expand by absorbing neighbouring sub-castes; they form coalitions and negotiate; new 'backward'/'forward' groupings appear. Positive: gives disadvantaged groups (Dalits, OBCs) space to demand a share of power and dignity. Negative: politics based on caste alone is unhealthy — it diverts attention from poverty, development and corruption, and can cause tension, conflict and violence.

📘 NCERT Textbook Exercise Answers

1Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India.

Women face discrimination in: education (lower literacy — ~54% vs ~76% for men; fewer girls in higher studies); wages (paid less than men for the same work despite the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976); work (they work longer hours but much of it is unpaid and unvalued); sex ratio (sex-selective abortion → low child sex ratio of 919); political representation (very low in legislatures); and safety (harassment, exploitation and domestic violence).

2State different forms of communal politics with one example each.

(i) Everyday beliefs — religious prejudices and stereotypes, e.g. believing one's own religion is superior. (ii) Quest for political dominance — e.g. majoritarian dominance by the majority community, or a minority demanding a separate state. (iii) Political mobilisation on religious lines — e.g. using sacred symbols, religious leaders and emotional appeals in election campaigns. (iv) Communal violence — e.g. the riots and massacres at the time of Partition.

3State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India.

Most people still marry within their own caste or tribe; untouchability has not ended completely despite constitutional ban; caste remains closely linked to economic status — 'upper' castes are best off and over-represented among the rich and the urban middle class, while SC/ST are worst off and over-represented among the poor. Centuries of accumulated advantage/disadvantage in education continue to be felt.

4State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India.

(i) No parliamentary constituency has a clear majority of one single caste, so every candidate/party must win the confidence of several castes and communities. (ii) No party wins all the votes of a caste, and ruling parties and sitting MPs/MLAs frequently lose — which could not happen if voters were frozen by caste. (Performance of government and leaders' popularity also matter.)

5What is the status of women's representation in India's legislative bodies?

It is low. Women's share in the Lok Sabha crossed 14.36% for the first time in 2019; in the state assemblies it is less than 5%, placing India among the bottom group of nations. However, one-third of seats in local bodies (panchayats/municipalities) are reserved for women, and the Women's Reservation Act, 2023 provides 33% reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

6Mention any two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.

(i) The Indian state has no official religion and gives no special status to any religion. (ii) The Constitution gives every individual the freedom to profess, practise and propagate any religion (or none) and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion. (It also lets the state intervene to ensure equality within religions, e.g. banning untouchability.)

7When we speak of gender divisions, we usually refer to: (a) Biological difference (b) Unequal roles assigned by society to men and women (c) Unequal child sex ratio (d) Absence of voting rights.

(b) Unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women. Gender division is based on social expectations and stereotypes, not on biology.

8In India seats are reserved for women in: (a) Lok Sabha (b) State legislative assemblies (c) Cabinets (d) Panchayati Raj bodies.

(d) Panchayati Raj bodies. One-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities are reserved for women. (The Women's Reservation Act, 2023 extends reservation to the Lok Sabha and assemblies, but the established textbook answer is the Panchayati Raj bodies.)

9Communal politics is based on the belief that: A. One religion is superior to others. B. People of different religions can live together as equal citizens. C. Followers of a particular religion form one community. D. State power cannot be used to dominate one religious group. Which statements are correct? (a) A,B,C,D (b) A,B,D (c) A and C (d) B and D

(c) A and C. Communalism holds that one religion is superior (A) and that followers of a religion form one community with the same interests (C). B and D are the opposite of communal thinking.

10Which statement about India's Constitution is WRONG? It (a) prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion (b) gives official status to one religion (c) provides freedom to profess any religion (d) ensures equality within religious communities.

(b) gives official status to one religion is wrong. India is a secular state with no official religion; the other three statements are correct.

11Social divisions based on _______ are peculiar to India.

Caste. Caste division is special to India.

12Match List I with List II: 1. Believes in equal rights for women and men; 2. Says religion is the principal basis of community; 3. Thinks caste is the principal basis of community; 4. Does not discriminate on religious beliefs. (A. Communalist, B. Feminist, C. Secularist, D. Castiest)

(b) 1-B, 2-A, 3-D, 4-C: 1 → B (Feminist), 2 → A (Communalist), 3 → D (Casteist), 4 → C (Secularist).

🔥 Extra Practice — Very Difficult / HOTS (competency-based, source & case-based, assertion-reason)

A. Source-/Case-Based Questions

1Source: A Time Use Survey found an average woman works ~7½ hours a day and a man ~6½, yet "the work done by men is more visible because most of it leads to generation of income." (i) Name the concept this illustrates. (ii) Why is women's work called 'invisible'? (iii) Link this to women's low political representation.

(i) The sexual division of labour (within a patriarchal society). (ii) Women's work is largely household-related, unpaid and non-income-generating, so it is not counted or valued — hence 'invisible'. (iii) Because their work and interests are undervalued in the private sphere, women have had a minimal role in public life and politics; feminists argue that unless women hold power (e.g. via reservation), their problems won't get adequate attention.

2Case: A party in an election uses sacred religious symbols, invites prominent religious leaders onto its platform, and appeals to the fears of one religious community against another. (i) Which form of communalism is this? (ii) How does it differ from Gandhiji's view that religion and politics can mix? (iii) Why is it dangerous for democracy?

(i) Political mobilisation on religious lines — a form of communal politics. (ii) Gandhiji meant that moral/ethical values common to all religions should guide politics and that all religions be treated equally; here religion is used in an exclusive, partisan way, pitting one community against another. (iii) It makes religion the basis of the nation, suppresses the many voices within a community, and can escalate to riots and communal violence — threatening the secular foundation of India.

3Source (NSS poverty data): Below-poverty-line shares are highest for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and lowest for 'upper' castes, with OBCs in between. (i) What does this prove about caste today? (ii) Does it mean every upper-caste person is rich? (iii) What historical reason explains the gap?

(i) Caste is still strongly linked to economic status — average well-being follows the old hierarchy (upper castes best off, SC/ST worst off, OBCs in between). (ii) No — every caste now has rich and poor members; but the upper castes are over-represented among the rich and lower castes among the poor. (iii) Centuries of accumulated advantage/disadvantage — upper castes had access to land and education; 'outcaste' groups were denied them — continue to be felt.

B. Assertion–Reason (a = both true & R explains A; b = both true, R does not explain A; c = A true, R false; d = A false, R true)

4Assertion (A): In a democracy, expressing gender division in politics can be healthy. Reason (R): Disadvantaged groups benefit when their unequal treatment becomes a political issue.

(a) Both true and R explains A. Women gained reservation and improved rights precisely because gender inequality was raised in the political domain — showing such expression can strengthen democracy.

5Assertion (A): India is a secular state. Reason (R): The Indian Constitution gives official status to Hinduism as the majority religion.

(c) A is true, R is false. India is secular precisely because it gives no official status to any religion; R states the opposite of the truth.

6Assertion (A): Caste has completely disappeared from modern India. Reason (R): Urbanisation, literacy and occupational mobility have weakened the old caste hierarchy.

(d) A is false, R is true. The hierarchy has weakened (R), but caste has not disappeared — endogamy and untouchability persist and caste still correlates with economic status, so A is false.

C. Analytical / 5-mark

7"Caste in politics can be both positive and negative." Evaluate this statement with at least two points on each side.

Positive: (1) Expression of caste gives disadvantaged groups (Dalits, OBCs) space to demand a fair share of power and better access to decision-making; (2) universal franchise and caste mobilisation brought new consciousness and dignity to groups earlier treated as inferior, pressing for an end to discrimination. Negative: (1) Politics based on caste alone can divert attention from pressing issues like poverty, development and corruption; (2) it can deepen tension, conflict and even violence. Hence caste expression is healthy only when it is one factor among many, not the sole basis of politics.

8Picture-the-scenario: A commentator claims "Indian elections are decided purely by caste." Using at least four arguments from the chapter, rebut this claim.

(1) No constituency has a single-caste majority, so a candidate must win several castes/communities. (2) No party wins all votes of any caste — a 'vote bank' only means a large proportion. (3) Ruling parties and sitting MPs/MLAs frequently lose, impossible if caste preferences were frozen. (4) Voters' attachment to parties, their economic interests (rich and poor of the same caste vote differently), and their assessment of government performance and leaders are often decisive. So caste matters, but it is one factor among many, not the sole determinant.