Class 10 Civics Chapter 1 Practice Question Answers - Democratic Politics - II

Q1: What is the basis of gender division in the society?
Ans: Gender division in society is based on the concept of patriarchal society.

Q2: Suggest any two measures to check casteism in India.
Ans: The following are the two measures to check casteism in India.

• Spread of education: Education upgrades one’s level of thinking and helps in eradicating the misconceptions of one’s mind. All possible steps should be taken to educate the masses.
•  Economic equality: Inequality in the economic life creates the feeling of superiority and inferiority among the members of different caste groups. Steps need to be taken to maintain economic equality of all castes.
• Abolition of Reservation Policy: Reservation in government job, education and other sectors creates conflicting attitude among the members of two different castes. When the people of higher castes having adequate educational qualification are deprived of all facilities, they revolt against the lower caste people.
• Political reforms: Political leaders and parties based on caste should be banned from the political horiQuestion on.

 The name and aim of educational institutions referring to castes need to be given up.

Q3: How can religion be used in politics in a positive manner? Express your view point.
Ans: Politics and religion can be a deadly combination if not used wisely. It should be for the good of the people rather than used as a weapon to settle scores. Religion can be used in politics in a positive manner in the following ways.

• Politics should be guided by the ethics and values of religion.
• We should raise our demands as a religious community but not at the cost of other religions.
• Political leaders should also ensure that religion is not used as a medium of oppression and discrimination. They should have equal response to different religious conflicts or demands.

Q4: Why are caste barriers breaking down in India? Explain any five reasons.
Ans: In the recent decades, cast barriers have been breaking down in India because of the following reasons.

• It has been the efforts of social reformers that people have realiQuestion ed the caste based differences had no logic.
•  The economic development, large scale urbaniQuestion ation and occupational mobility has further erased the caste barriers.
• Spread of literacy and education has also played a great role in upgrading the beliefs and ideologies of the people.
• Complete eradication of landlordism has resulted in the decline of caste system.
• The constitutional provision of prohibiting caste based discriminations in every form and providing equal opportunities to all has reversed the caste injustices.

Q5: Is the caste system coming to an end in India? Give arguments in support of your answer.
Ans: No, I do not think that the caste system is coming to an end in India. From time immemorial, the caste system has been an inseparable part of Indian society and has been deeply rooted in our culture. It is entrenched in the society and brings about discrimination. Even though a number of government policies have been implemented, the caste system has not been completely eradicated.
The following are the instances to support this argument.

• Even though the constitution provides for various provisions for marrying outside the caste, most people in India still marry in their caste.
• CitiQuestion ens of the country, while casting their votes, usually vote for a candidate of their own caste, rather than any other caste irrespective of the credibility of the candidate.
• Political parties keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate before choosing a candidate to represent their party so as to get necessary support for benefiting their election spree.
• Untouchability still has not completely eradicated from the Indian society even though the constitution prohibits any kind of untouchability.

Q6: Explain any five aspects of our day-to-day life in which women are discriminated against in India.
Ans: The following points sum up how women are still discriminated against and oppressed in India.

• Literacy rate: The first and foremost discrimination is in the field of education where the literacy rate among women is only 66 per cent when compared to a high 82 per cent in males. Even otherwise, parents prefer educating spending their resources of education of a male child rather than a female child.
• Sex ratio: The sex ratio in India is as low as 940 females per 1000 males. The proportion of women as compared to men is very low. A major reason behind this is that parents prefer having a male child over a female child keeping in view the future perspective.
• Unpaid work: The proportion of highly-paid women is very less when compared to highly-paid men. Though on an average, Indian women work one hour more than men every day but they are not equally paid and thus their work is also not often valued as much as that of men.
• Domestic violence: Women every day in Indian society are harassed, exploited, and subjected to all sorts of violence behind the closed doors. Both in urban and rural areas, domestic violence is one of the most prominent form of discrimination faced by women. Many cases of domestic violence and dowry deaths are reported in the media every day.
• Female foeticide: In India, a male child is considered a blessing and a female child is considered a bane. This has come to an extent where the female child is killed in the womb of the mother. This killing of foetus is known as foeticide. Female foeticide is prevalent in both urban and rural areas.

Q7: Explain any five reasons for the declining caste system in India.

Ans: The rise in literacy and education: Following industrialization, there has been a notable increase in the literacy rate.

• Occupational flexibility: The younger generation now embraces professions different from those traditionally practiced by their ancestors due to increased occupational mobility.
• Extensive urbanization: The migration of people from rural to urban regions in pursuit of better job opportunities and living standards has led to large-scale urbanization.
• Initiatives by leaders and reformers: Political leaders and social reformers have actively worked towards creating a society free from caste-based inequalities.
• Economic progress: The transition from an agriculture-based to an industry-based economy, along with overall improvements in living conditions, has contributed to economic development.

Q8: Mention any three constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.
Ans: The constitutional provisions which make India a ‘secular state’ are as follows.

• The Constitution of India does not give special recognition to any religion and there is no state religion in India, unlike, Christianity in America, and Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
• All individuals and communities have been given freedom to pradtise, profess and propagate any religion.
• The Constitution of India has put a ban on any discrimination on the grounds of religion.
• According to the constitution, the state cannot intervene in the matters of religion to promote religious equality.

Q9: What forms does communalism take in politics?
Ans: Communalism is a strong sense of belonging to particular community especially a religious community, which often leads to extreme behavior or violence towards others. It cannot tolerate and respect people belonging to different religious communities.
There are different forms of communalism in politics as follows.

• Communalism in everyday beliefs: It is the most common form of communalism and can be in the form of religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities and belief that one religion is superior to other religions.
• Communalism as Majoritarian Dominance and Political Dominance: A communal mind often leads to quest for political dominance of one’s own religious community. For people belonging to the majority community this comes out as ‘Majoritarian dominance’ for those belonging to the minority community, it can take form of a desire to form a separate political unit.
• Communalism as political mobalisation: Political mobalisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, emotional appeals and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion together in political arena.
•  Communalism in the form of communal violence: Sometimes, communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. For instance, India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communial riots at the time of the partition.

Q10: Explain three features of the model of a secular state of India.
Ans: The concept of a secular state in India purports equal treatment all religions and to be officially neutral in the matters of religion.
The following are the features which make India a secular state.

• Unlike Christianity in America or Buddhism in Sri Lanka, India does not purport to or give special recognition to any religion. The Constitution of India has nowhere prescribed a particular religion.
• All CitiQuestion ens of India and all communities and sects in India have been given freedom to practise, profess and propagate any religion under the Fundamental rights of the Constitution.
• The Constitution of India has clearly put a ban on any discrimination on the ground of religion. It provides for equal opportunity for all individuals irrespective of their religion.