Chapter-20. Confronting Marginalisation
In “Confronting Marginalisation,” students explore how marginalized communities fight for their rights and dignity. It discusses constitutional provisions, social movements, and the role of laws in promoting equality.
NCERT Solutions for Class 8 provide accurate answers explaining the safeguards for marginalized groups. Class 8 Notes make it easy to revise terms like “empowerment” and “protest movements.” Through Class 8 Home Tuition, tutors help students analyze case studies and real examples of social justice. This chapter inspires students to stand against injustice and value equality as a pillar of democracy.
Confronting Social Marginalisation
Marginalised group's, though powerless, have fought, protested ard struggled against being excluded or dominated by others. They have attempted to overcome their situation by adopting a range of strategies in their long history. Religious solace, armed struggle, self improvement and education, economic uplift there appears to be no one way of doing things. In all cases, the choice of struggle has depended on the circumstances that the marginalised find themselves in.
There are many ways in which groups and individuals challenge existing inequalities. Adivasis, Daiits, Muslims, women and other marginal groups argue that simply by being citizens of a democratic country, they possess equal rights that must be respected. Many among them look up to the Constitution to address their concerns. The constitution of India is something that marginalised groups invoke in the course of their struggles. In the Constitution, Rights are translated into laws to protect groups from continued exploitation. The government's formulate policies to promote the access of these groups for development.
Invoking Fundamental Rights
The Constitution, lays down the principles that make our society and polity democratic. List of Funaamertai Rights is an important part of the Constitution. These rights are available to Article 14 Indians equally. The marginalised have drawn on these rights in two ways: first, by insisting on their Fundamental Rights, they have forced the government to recognise the injustice done to them. Second, they have insisted that the government enforce these laws. In some instances, the government has framed new laws, in keeping with the spirit of the Fundamental Rights.
Article 17 of the Constitution states the untouchabiiity has been abolished this means that no one can henceforth prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering temples, using public facilities etc. it also means that it is wrong to practise untouchability and that this practice will not be tolerated by a democratic government. Untouchability is a punishable crime now. Article 15 of the Constitution notes that no citizen of India shall be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. This has been used by Dalits to seek equality where it has been denied to them.
- Dalits can ‘invoke' or draw on' a Fundamental Right (or Rights) in situations where they feel that they have been treated badly by some individual or community, or even by the government.
- Other minority groups have also drawn on the fundamental Rights section of our Constitution. They have particularly drawn upon the right to freedom of religion and cultural and educational rights.
- Thus, by granting different forms of cultural rights, the Constitution tries to ensure cultural justice to such groups. The Constitution does this so that the culture of these groups are neither dominated nor wiped out by the culture of the majority community.
Do Check - How, When and Where
Laws of The Marginalised
The government makes laws to protect its citizens. There are specific laws and policies for the marginalised in our country. There are policies or schemes that emerge through other means like setting up a committee or by undertaking a survey etc. The government then makes an effort to promote such policies in order to give opportunities to specific groups.
Promoting Social Justice:
State and central governments create specific schemes for implementation in tribal areas or in areas that have a high Dalit population.
In addition to providing certain facilities, the government also operates through laws to ensure that concrete steps are taken to end inequity in the system. One such law policy is the reservation policy that today is both significant and highly contentious.
Do Check - Ruling the Country Side
Governments across India have their own list of Scheduled Castes (or Dalits), Scheduled Tribes and backward and other backward castes. The central government too has its list. Students applying to educational institutions and those applying for posts in government are expected to furnish proof of their caste or tribe status, in the form of caste and tribe certificates. If a particular Dalit caste or a certain tribe is on the government list, then a candidate from that caste or tribe can avail of the benefit of reservation. This does not means that all Dalit and tribal candidates can qualify for admission, but only those who have done reasonably well and secured marks above the cut-off point will get admission. Governments also offer special scholarships for these students.
Protecting The Rights Of Dalits And Adivasis
Our country also has specific laws that guard against the discrimination and exploitation of marginalised communities.
The Scheduled Castes And The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, 1989:
The Act provide for protest against the domination and violence of the powerful castes. This Act was framed in 1989 in response to demands made by Dalits and others that the government must take seriously the ill treatment and humiliation Dalits and tribal groups face in an everyday. During 1970s and 1980s, in parts of southern India, a number of assertive Dalit groups came into being and asserted their rights - they refused to perform their so called caste duties and insisted on being treated equally; they refused to follow practices located in the humiliation and exploitation of Dalits.
Do Check - When People Rebel
This resulted in the more powerful castes unleashing violence against them. Dalit groups demanded new laws that would list the various sorts of violence against dalits and prescribe stringent punishment for those who indulge in them.
- This Act contains a very long list of crimes, The Act does not only describe terrible crimes, but also lets people know what dreadful deeds human beings are capable of.In this sense, laws such as these seek to both punish as well as influence the way we think and act.
- The Act distinguishes several levels of crimes. Firstly, it lists modes of humiliation that are both physically horrific and morally reprehensible and seeks to punish those who commit heinous crimes against Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
- Secondary, it lists actions that dispossess Dalits and Adivasis of their meagre resources or which force them into performing slavery.
- At another level, the Act recognizes that crimes against Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore, seeks to penalize anyone who assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour her.
Adivasi Demands and The 1989 ACT
Adivasi activists refer to it to defend their right to occupy land that was traditionally theirs. Adivasis are often unwilling to move from their land and are forcibly displaced. Activists have asked that those who have forcibly encroached upon tribal lands should be punished under this law. Act merely confirms what has already been promised to tribal people in the Constitution - that land belonging to tribal people cannot be sold to or bought by non-tribal people. In cases where this has happened, the Constitution guarantees the right of tribal people to reposes their land.
Adivasi activists, has also pointed cut that one of the violators of Constitutional rights guaranteed to tribal people are governments in the various states of India -for it is they who allow non-tribal encroachers to forcibly evict tribal people from their traditional forests in the process of declaring forests as reserved or as sanctuaries. The government must draw up plans and policies for to live and work elsewhere. After all, governments spend large sums of money on building industrial or other projects on lands taken from tribals - so why should they be reluctant to spend even very modest amounts on rehabilitating the displaced ?
Do Check - Resources, Types And Development
Conclusion
The existence of a right or a law or even a policy on paper does not mean that it exists in reality. People have had to constantly work on or make efforts to translate these into principles that guide the actions of their fellow citizens or even their leaders. In a democratic society, similar processes of struggle, writing, negotiation and organising need to continue.
Confronting Marginalisation Class 8 Notes Exercise
- The_________is something that marginalised groups invoke in the course of their struggles.
(A) Economic conditions
(B) Social discrimination
(C) Political Rights
(D) Constitution of India
- The constitution lays down the principles that make our society and polity democratic. They are defined in and through the list of ____________that are an important part of the constitution.
(A) Fundamental Rights
(B) Legal Rights
(C) Articles
(D) Schedules
- Which Article of the constitution states that untouchability has been abolished ?
(A) Article 15
(B) Article 17
(C) Article 19
(D) Article 21
- ___________create specific schemes for implementation in tribal areas that have a high Dafit pcpu;ation.
(A) State government
(B) Central government
(C) Local government
(D) Both (A) & (8)
- If a particular Daiit caste or a certain tribes is___________then a candidate from that caste or tribe can avail of the benefit of reservation.
(A) Part of the socially backward group
(B) On the government list
(C) part of the economically backward group
(D) supported by a political party
- Our country has _____________that guard against the discrimination and exploitation of marginalised communities.
(A) Special forces
(B) Special constitution
(C) Specific laws
(D) All of the abcve
- Which Act was framed in response to demands made by Dalits and others that the government must take seriously the ill treatment and humiliation Dalits and tribal groups face in a everyday sense ?
(A) The scheduled caste and the Scheduled Tribes Act, 1989
(B) Employment of manual scavengers and construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993.
(C) Right against exploitation
(D) Safai Karamchari NiamawaliAct, 2003.
- Who allows non-tribal encroachers to forcibly evict tribal people from their traditional forests in the process of declaring forests or reserved or as sanctuaries ?
(A) Industrialists
(B) Politicians
(C) Government
(D) All of the above
Do Check - The Indian Constitution
Confronting Marginalisation Class 8 Notes Subjective Questions
- What is stated in Article 17 of the Constitution ?
- Who is a manual scavenger ?
- List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with dignity and as equals.
- Which law prohibits the employment of manual scavengers as well as the construction of dry latrines?
- Who creates specific schemes for implementation in tribal areas or in areas that have a high Dalit population ?
- What do you mean by the `cut-off' marks ?
- Other then framing policies, how the government guards the marginalised communities against discrimination and exploitation ?
- Which Act was framed in 1989 in response to demands made by Dalits and others ?
- Apart from Article 17, mention another Article in the Constitution that helps to strengthen the argument against untouchability.
- What do you understand by cultural and educational rights ?
- Why has our constitution provided different forms of cultural rights ?
- Mention one scheme that our government has implemented for the upliftment of Dalits and Adivasis.
- Why was the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 framed ?
- Apart from making law how does government work for the marginalised in our country?
- The government operates laws to ensure that concrete steps are taken to end inequality in the society. Mention one such law.
- How does the reservation policy work ?
- Why did Adivasi activists, believe that Adivasis can also use the 1989 Act to fight against dispossession ? Is there anything specific in the provisions of the Act that follows her to believe this?
Answers to Exercise
- (D)
- (A)
- (B)
- (D)
- (B)
- (C)
- (A)
- (C)