Understanding Marginalisation Class 8 Worksheet Civics Chapter 7

Q.1. What are the consequences of marginalisation?

Marginalisation results in having a low social status and not having equal access to education and other resources.

Q.2. Write one reason why you think the Constitution’s safeguards to protect minority communities are very important?

The Constitution provides safeguards because it is committed to protecting India’s cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice.

Q.3. How are Adivasis portrayed today?

Adivasis are invariably portrayed in very stereotypical ways – in colourful costumes, headgear and through their dancing. Often Adivasis are blamed for their lack of advancement as they are believed to be resistant to change or new ideas.

Q.4. Why groups may be marginalised?

Their marginalisation can be because they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community. They may also feel marginalised because they are poor, considered to be of ‘low’ social status and viewed as being less human than others.

Q.5. How marginalisation affect the community?

Sometimes, marginalised groups are viewed with hostility and fear. This sense of difference and exclusion leads to communities not having access to resources and opportunities and in their inability to assert their rights. They experience a sense of disadvantage and powerlessness vis-a-vis more powerful and dominant sections of society who own land, are wealthy, better educated and politically powerful.

Q.6. List two reasons why Adivasis are becoming increasingly marginalised.

Adivasis are becoming increasingly marginalized because
(i) They follow a different culture, language and traditions from mainstream Indian society which leads us to wrongfully classify them as exotic, primitive and backward.
(ii) They are used to a way of life close to nature and with the cutting down of forests they are being forced to migrate to urban areas where they feel out of place and not in sync with a lifestyle so vastly different from their countryside background.

Q.7. Imagine that you are watching the Republic Day parade on TV with a friend and she remarks, “Look at these tribals. They look so exotic. And they seem to be dancing all the time”. List three things that you would tell her about the lives of Adivasis in India.

The three things I would tell a friend about the Adivasis in India would be:
(i) Around 8 per cent of India’s population is Adivasi and many of India’s most important mining and industrial centres are located in Adivasi areas – Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai among others.
(ii) Adivasis are not a homogeneous population: there are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India.
(iii) Adivasis practise a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. Adivasis have their own languages which have often deeply influenced the formation of ‘mainstream’ Indian languages, like Bengali.

Q.8. What were the hardships faced by the Adivasis?

Hardships faced by the Adivasis were:
(i) Forest lands have been cleared for timber and to get land for agriculture and industry.
(ii) Adivasis have also lived in areas that are rich in minerals and other natural resources. These are taken over for mining and other large industrial projects.
(iii) Huge tracts of their lands have also gone under the waters of hundreds of dams that have been built in independent India.
(iv) In the North east, their lands remain highly militarised and war-torn.
(v) India has 54 national parks and 372 wildlife sanctuaries. These are areas where tribals originally lived but were evicted from.
(vi) Losing their lands and access to the forest means that tribals lose their main sources of livelihood and food.
(vii) Adivasis have migrated to cities in search of work where they are employed for very low wages in local industries or at building or construction sites.
(viii) They, thus, get caught in a cycle of poverty and deprivation.

Q.9. You are participating in a debate where you have to provide reasons to support the following statement: ‘Muslims are a marginalised community’. Using the data provided in this chapter, list two reasons that you would give.

Two reasons in support of the statement “Muslims are a marginalized community”:
(i) The Muslim community has not been able to gain from the country’s socio-economic development as statistics on basic amenities, literacy rate and public employment. 63.6% Muslims live in kutcha houses as compared to only 55.2% Hindus; the literacy rate amongst Muslims was the lowest at 59% in a 2001 survey.
(ii) Their customs are distinct from other religious communities, so much so that they are identified as separate from the “rest of us” leading to unfair treatment and discrimination against Muslims.

Q.10. Would you agree with the statement that economic marginalisation and social marginalisation are interlinked? Why?

Yes, economic marginalization and social marginalization are inter-linked. Marginalisation implies having a low social status and a consequent lack of access to education and other resources. Social marginalization, as seen in the case of the Muslim community, is based on how their traditions, culture and dressing make us identify Muslims as different from us. This sometimes leads to unfair inequity on the basis of religious differences. As a result, minority groups may find it difficult to rent houses, procure jobs or even send their children to schools. This is economic marginalization. Thus, the two are inter-connected.

Q.11. Write in your own words two or more sentences of what you understand by the word ‘marginalisation’.

The word ‘marginalisation’ means exclusion from the mainstream. Groups of people or communities may have the experience of being excluded from mainstream society. Their marginalisation can be because they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community. They may also feel marginalised because they are poor, considered to be of ‘low’ social status and viewed as being less human than others.

Q.12. How can we tackle Marginalisation?

Marginalisation is a complex phenomenon requiring a variety of strategies, measures and safeguards to redress this situation. All of us have a stake in protecting the rights defined in the Constitution and the laws and policies framed to realise these rights. Without these, we will never be able to protect the diversity that makes our country unique nor realise the State’s commitment to promote equality for all.

Q.13. What was the conclusion reached by the Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee?

The committee came to the conclusion 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.14. Who headed committee set up by the government to examine the social, economic, and educational status of Muslim community in India?

Justice Rajindar Sachar headed committee set up by the government to examine the social, economic, and educational status of Muslim community in India.

Q.15. Re-read the section on Minorities and Marginalisation. What do you understand by the term minority?

A minority is a group of people that differ in some way from the majority of the population.