Class 8 Civics Chapter 1 Question Answers - Social and Political Life - III

Q1: Give an argument in favour of the reservation policy.
Ans: The laws which reserve seats in education and government employment for Dalits and Adivasis are based on an important argument- that in a society like ours, where for centuries sections of the population have been denied opportunities to learn and to work in order to develop new skills or vocations, a democratic government needs to step in and assist these sections.

Q2: The right, law or policy related to marginalized groups merely exists on the paper. Do you agree? Comment
Ans: 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. The desire for equality, dignity and respect is not new. It has existed in different forms throughout our history. Similarly, even in a democratic society, similar processes of struggle, writing, negotiation and organising need to continue.

Q3: How does the reservation policy work?
Ans: Governments across India have their own list of Scheduled Castes (or Dalits), Scheduled Tribes and backward and most 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.

Q4: Why did the Safai Karamchari Andolan file a PIL in 2003? What did they complain about in their petition? What did the Supreme Court do on hearing their case in 2005?
Ans: In 2003, the Safai Karamchari Andolan and 13 other organisations and individuals, including seven scavengers, filed a PIL in the Supreme Court. The petitioners complained that manual scavenging still existed and it continued in government undertakings like the railways. The petitioners sought enforcement of their Fundamental Rights. The court observed that the number of manual scavengers in India had increased since the 1993 law. It directed every department/ministry of the union government and state governments to verify the facts within six months. If manual scavenging was found to exist, then the government department has to actively take up a time-bound programme for their liberation and rehabilitation.

Q5: Re-read the story on Rathnam as well as the provisions of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think he used this law to file a complaint.
Ans: 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 sense. Rathnam refused to perform the ritual. Rathnam’s refusal angered both the powerful castes in the village and some families from his own community. The powerful castes decided to teach Rathnam a lesson. His community was ordered to ostracise him and his family, and everyone was told that no one should speak or do any work for them or with them. One night some men entered their part of the village and set his hut on fire. Rathnam, then went to file a case in the local police station under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Q6: Mention a few crimes listed in Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989?
Ans: 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 (i) force a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance (ii) forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him or her naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity.
• Secondly, it lists actions that dispossess Dalits and Adivasis of their meagre resources or which force them into performing slave labour. Thus, the Act sets out to punish anyone who wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to, a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or get the land allotted to him transferred
• At another level, the Act recognizes that crimes against Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore, seeks to penalise anyone who assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour her.

Q7: State the ideas of C.K Janu, an adivasi activist on violation of constitutional rights by the government of various Indian states.
Ans: C.K. Janu, an Adivasi activist, has pointed out 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 in the form of timber merchants, paper mills etc, to exploit tribal land, and to forcibly evict tribal people from their traditional forests in the process of declaring forests as reserved or as sanctuaries. She has also noted that in cases where tribals have already been evicted and cannot go back to their lands, they must be compensated.

Q8: Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight against dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of the Act that allows her to believe this?
Ans: The 1989 Act is important as Adivasi activists refer to it to defend their right to occupy land that was traditionally theirs. This 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 re-possess their land.

Q9: What is Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006?
Ans: The central government passed the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

• This Act is meant to undo the historical injustices meted out to forest dwelling populations in not recognising their rights to land and resources.
• This Act recognises their right to homestead, cultivable and grazing land and to non-timber forest produce.
• The Act also points out that the rights of forest dwellers includes conservation of forests and bio-diversity.

Q10: How did Dalits assert themselves?
Ans: Dalits asserted themselves in the following ways:

• 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.
• 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.
• Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Adivasi people successfully organised themselves and demanded equal rights and for their land and resources to be returned to them.

Q11: Define the following terms with reference to the Confronting Marginalization: Assertive, Confront, Dispossessed, Ostracise, Policy
Ans: Assertive: An assertive person or group is one that can express themselves and their views strongly.

• Confront: To come face to face or to challenge someone or something. In the context of this chapter, this refers to groups challenging their marginalisation.
• Dispossessed: To possess is to own something and to be dispossessed is to have to give up ownership or to give up authority.
• Ostracise: This means to exclude or banish an individual or a group. In the context of this chapter, it refers to a social boycott of an individual and his family.
• Policy: A stated course of action that provides direction for the future, sets goals to be achieved or lays out principles or guidelines to be followed and acted upon. In this chapter, we have referred to government policies. But other institutions like schools, companies, etc. also have policies.