Gender, Religion and Caste

Every card in this deck

QWhy is gender division described as a social rather than a natural division?

AIt is a hierarchical division found everywhere and often treated as natural and unchangeable. In fact it rests on social expectations and stereotypes about the roles of men and women, not on biology.

QSexual division of labour

AAn arrangement in which women of the family do, or organise through domestic helpers, all the housework, while men do the work outside the home. It is a matter of choice, not ability: men readily take up cooking or tailoring when these are paid jobs.

QWhy does much of women's work go unrecognised, even though they work more hours than men?

AA time-use survey found the average woman works over seven and a half hours a day against a man's six and a half. Most of her work is household-related and unpaid, so it stays invisible, while men's work is more visible because it generates income.

QFeminist movements

AMovements by women demanding a better political and legal status for women and more educational and career opportunities; the more radical ones also sought equality in personal and family life. A feminist is a woman or man who believes in equal rights and opportunities for both.

QPatriarchy

ALiterally 'rule by father': a social system that places greater value on men and gives them power over women.

QIn what ways do women in India face disadvantage and discrimination?

AFemale literacy is 54 per cent against 76 per cent for men, and girls drop out as parents favour sons' education. Few women hold highly paid jobs, and women are paid less for the same work despite the Equal Remuneration Act. Sex-selective abortion has cut the child sex ratio to 919, and violence persists.

QEqual Remuneration Act, 1976

AA law requiring equal wages for equal work. In practice, women in almost every field, from sports and cinema to factories and fields, are still paid less than men for the same work.

QChild sex ratio

AThe number of girl children per thousand boys. Sex-selective abortion, driven by a preference for sons, has pushed India's child sex ratio down to 919, and below 850 or even 800 in some states.

QWhy have women's movements pressed for more women as elected representatives?

AIssues of women's well-being get little attention, which led feminists to conclude that women's problems will not be addressed unless women share control of power. Having more women in elected bodies is one way to ensure that.

QWhat is the status of women's representation in India's legislatures?

AVery low: women first reached 14.36 per cent of the Lok Sabha only in 2019, and hold under 5 per cent of state assembly seats. India is among the bottom group of nations, behind the averages of many developing countries, and cabinets are largely all-male.

QHow has India used reservation to raise women's representation?

AOne-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities are reserved for women, giving over 10 lakh elected women representatives. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Act, 2023) provides 33 per cent reservation in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and the Delhi Assembly.

QWhen is the relationship between religion and politics not harmful?

AWhen ideas and values drawn from religions guide politics, as Gandhiji meant by ethics; when people express their needs as members of a religious community; and when the state regulates religious practice to prevent discrimination. These are acceptable as long as every religion is treated equally.

QCommunalism (communal politics)

AUsing religion in politics in exclusive, partisan terms: treating religion as the main basis of social community, holding one religion superior, pitting one group's demands against another's, and using state power to establish one religious group's domination.

QWhy is the belief behind communalism fundamentally flawed?

APeople of one religion do not share the same interests in every context; each person has many roles, positions and identities, and every community has many voices. Bringing all followers of a religion together outside religion suppresses those other voices.

QWhat forms can communalism take in politics?

AEveryday religious prejudices and stereotypes; a quest for political dominance (majoritarianism for the majority, a separate unit for a minority); political mobilisation on religious lines using sacred symbols, religious leaders and fear; and, at its ugliest, communal violence, riots and massacres, as at Partition.

QWhich constitutional provisions make India a secular state?

AIndia has no official religion, unlike Sri Lanka, Pakistan or England. Everyone is free to profess, practise and propagate any religion, or none. Discrimination on religious grounds is prohibited, and the state may intervene in religion to ensure equality within communities, for example by banning untouchability.

QFamily laws

ALaws dealing with family matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance. In India, different family laws apply to followers of different religions.

QWhat made India's caste system different from occupational divisions in other societies?

AHereditary occupations were sanctioned by ritual. Each caste was expected to share a similar occupation, marry within the group and not eat with other castes. The system rested on excluding 'outcaste' groups and subjecting them to untouchability.

QWhy are old notions of caste hierarchy breaking down in modern India?

AThe efforts of reformers such as Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, Ambedkar and Periyar, together with economic development, urbanisation, literacy and education, occupational mobility, the weakening of village landlords, and the Constitution's ban on caste discrimination.

QIn what ways has caste not disappeared from contemporary India?

AMost people still marry within their caste or tribe, and untouchability persists despite being banned. Groups that had education under the old system still lead, so upper castes dominate the urban middle class. Caste remains closely linked to economic status.

QIn what ways does caste enter electoral politics?

AParties choose candidates to suit the caste make-up of the electorate and include different castes in government. Parties and candidates appeal to caste sentiment, and some parties are seen as representing certain castes. Universal adult franchise has also made leaders mobilise, and raised the consciousness of, castes once treated as low.

QWhy can caste alone not determine election results in India?

ANo constituency has a clear majority of one caste, and no party wins all the votes of a caste. Several candidates may share a caste, and ruling parties and sitting MPs often lose. Voters also weigh party loyalty, economic interests, government performance and leaders' popularity.

QHow does politics change caste, so that 'caste gets politicised'?

ACaste groups grow by absorbing neighbouring castes or sub-castes; they must form coalitions and negotiate with other castes and communities; and new political groupings such as 'backward' and 'forward' castes emerge.

QWhat are the positive and negative effects of caste in politics?

APositively, it has given disadvantaged groups such as Dalits and OBCs space to demand a share of power and better access to decision-making. Negatively, politics based only on caste can divert attention from poverty, development and corruption, and can lead to tension, conflict and violence.