Chapter – 7 Understanding Marginalisation
Answer the following questions:
Q.No. 1) Explain at least three different reasons why groups may be marginalised.
Answer –
Their marginalisation can be because of the following reasons –
- they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community.
- they are poor, considered to be of ‘low’ social status and viewed as being less human than others.
- Sometimes, marginalised groups are viewed with hostility and fear.
Q.No. 2) Who are adivasis?
Answer –
The term Adivasi literally means ‘original inhabitants. They are the communities who lived and often continue to live, in close association with forests.
Adivasis are not a homogeneous population, there are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India.
Q.No. 3) What percent of India’s population is Adivasi?
Answer –
Around 8 percent of India’s population is Adivasi.
Q.No. 4) In which states you can find Adivasis in good numbers?
Answer –
Adivasis are particularly numerous in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Q.No. 5) How do Adivasis are stereotyped?
Answer –
Often during school functions or other official events or in books and movies, Adivasis are invariably portrayed in very stereotypical ways like in colourful costumes, headgear, and through their dancing. This often wrongly leads to people believing that they are exotic, primitive, and backward. Also, it is believed that they are resistant to change or new ideas.
Q.No. 6) Give a few examples where the Adivasi religions influenced the dominant religions.
Answer –
The Jagannath cult of Odisha and Shakti and Tantric traditions in Bengal and Assam are influenced by the Adivasi religion.
Q.No. 7) Write a short note on the religious practice of Adivasi.
Answer –
Adivasis practice a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity.
These often involve the worship of ancestors, village and nature spirits like ‘mountain spirits’, ‘river spirits’, ‘animal spirits, etc.
The village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves within the village boundary while the ancestral ones are usually worshipped at home.
Adivasis have always been influenced by different surrounding religions like Shakta, Buddhism, Vaishnav, Bhakti, and Christianity.
Q.No. 8) What was the purpose of the Sachar Committee? What suggestions were made by the committee?
Answer –
Recognising that Muslims in India was lagging behind in terms of various development indicators, the government set up a high-level committee in 2005 which was chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar.
The purpose of the committee was to examine the social, economic, and educational status of the Muslim community in India and made a report on that.
It suggests that on a range of social, economic, and educational indicators the situation of the Muslim community is comparable to that of other marginalised communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Q.No. 9) What do you mean by the term ‘Minority’?
Answer –
The term minority is most commonly used to refer to communities that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the population.
Q.No. 10) What percent of India’s population is Muslim?
Answer –
According to the 2011 census, Muslims are 14.2 percent of India’s population.
Q.No. 11) Why do we need safeguards for minorities?
Answer –
The Constitution provides these safeguards because it is committed to protecting India’s cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice.