Gender, Religion and Caste - Exhaustive Academic Study Notes

Social Diversity and Democratic Politics

• The existence of social diversity does not threaten democracy.

• Political expression of social differences is possible and desirable in a democratic system.

• Three key social differences that can take the form of social divisions and inequalities in India are gender, religion, and caste.

Gender Division and Politics

• Gender division is a hierarchical social division seen everywhere, but it is rarely recognized in the study of politics.

• Gender division is understood as natural and unchangeable, but it is not based on biology; rather, it is based on social expectations and stereotypes.

Sexual Division of Labour and Public/Private Division

• Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up children.

• Sexual division of labour: A system in which all work inside the home is either done by the women of the family, or organized by them through domestic helpers.

• Division of tasks by gender:

  • Women do all work inside the home, such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, tailoring, and looking after children.

  • Men do all work outside the home. Men take up household jobs when paid (e.g., most tailors or cooks in hotels are men).

  • In villages, women fetch water, collect fuel, and work in the fields.

  • In urban areas, poor women work as domestic helpers in middle-class homes, while middle-class women work in offices.

  • The majority of women do paid work in addition to domestic labour, but their work is not valued and does not receive recognition.

• Political consequence: Although women constitute half of humanity, their role in public life, especially politics, is minimal in most societies. Historically, only men were allowed to participate in public affairs, vote, and contest for public offices.

Feminist Movements and Worldwide Progress

• Women in different parts of the world organized and agitated for equal political and legal status, as well as improved educational and career opportunities.

• Feminist: A woman or a man who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men.

• Radical women's movements aimed at equality in personal and family life as well; these are called feminist movements.

• Political expression of gender division and political mobilization improved women's roles in public life, leading to women working as scientists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, managers, and college or university teachers.

• Participation of women in public life is exceptionally high in Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

Status and Discrimination of Women in India

• Patriarchy: Literally, rule by father; a concept used to refer to a system that values men more and gives them power over women.

• India is a male-dominated, patriarchal society where women face disadvantage, discrimination, and oppression:

  • Literacy Rate: The literacy rate among women is $54\%$ compared with $76\%$ among men. A smaller proportion of girl students go for higher studies. Girls perform as well as boys (or better) in school results, but drop out because parents prefer spending resources on sons' education.

  • Employment and Remuneration: The proportion of women among highly paid and valued jobs is very small. An average Indian woman works $1\text{ hour}$ more than an average man every day, yet much of her work is unpaid and unvalued.

  • Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: Mandates that equal wages should be paid for equal work. However, across sports, cinema, factories, and fields, women are paid less than men for identical work.

  • Child Sex Ratio: Parental preference for sons leads to sex-selective abortions. The national child sex ratio (number of girl children per thousand boys) declined to $919$, falling below $850$ or $800$ in several States.

  • Safety and Violence: Urban areas are unsafe for women, who face domestic violence, beating, and harassment within their own homes.

Time Use Survey Data Analysis

• According to the Time Use Survey (Government of India, $1998\text{--}1999$) conducted across six states:

  • An average woman works every day for a little over $7\frac{1}{2}\text{ hours}$, whereas an average man works for $6\frac{1}{2}\text{ hours}$.

  • Men's work is more visible because it generates income. The bulk of women's work is household-related, remaining unpaid and invisible.

• Daily Time Use Breakdown (Hours:Minutes):

  • Income generating work: Men $6:00$, Women $2:40$

  • Household and related work: Men $0:30$, Women $5:00$

  • Talking, Gossip: Men $1:25$, Women $1:20$

  • No work / Leisure: Men $3:40$, Women $3:50$

  • Sleep, self-care, reading, etc.: Men $12:25$, Women $11:10$

Women's Political Representation

• Feminists conclude that unless women control power, their problems will not receive adequate attention.

• Political representation metrics in India:

  • Lok Sabha: The percentage of elected women members touched $14.36\%$ of its total strength for the first time in $2019$.

  • State Assemblies: Share of women is less than $5\%$.

  • Cabinet ministers are largely male even when a woman becomes Chief Minister or Prime Minister.

• Global Comparison of Women in Direct Elected Parliaments (as of 1 October 2018):

  • Nordic countries: $42.3\%$

  • Americas: $29.5\%$

  • Europe: $26.4\%$

  • Sub-Saharan Africa: $23.7\%$

  • World Average: $24\%$

  • Arab States: $19.8\%$

  • Asia Region: $18.6\%$

  • Pacific Region: $15.6\%$

  • India: $11.8\%$ (in 2018 report; reached $14.36\%$ in 2019)

• Legal Reservation Measures:

  • Panchayati Raj: One-third ($\frac{1}{3}$ or $33\%$) of seats in local government bodies (panchayats and municipalities) are reserved for women. Over $10\text{ lakh}$ elected women representatives serve in local bodies.

  • Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Act, 2023): Passed in $2023$, providing $33\%$ reservation of seats for women in Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly.

Religion, Communalism, and Politics

• Religious diversity is widespread globally, though not as universal as gender division.

Expression of Religion in Politics

• Political expression of religion is constructive when treating every religion equally:

  • Mahatma Gandhi stated that religion can never be separated from politics, meaning moral values that inform all religions, asserting politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion.

  • Human rights groups demand government intervention to prevent communal riots and protect religious minorities.

  • Women's movements argue that family laws (laws dealing with family matters like marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance) of all religions discriminate against women, demanding equitable legal reforms.

Ideology and Forms of Communalism

• Communal politics occurs when religion is used as the basis of the nation, pitted in exclusive and partisan terms.

• Core tenets of communalism:

  • Belief that followers of a specific religion constitute one single social community with identical fundamental interests.

  • Belief that any internal differences are trivial or irrelevant.

  • Belief that followers of different religions cannot belong to the same social community and possess conflicting interests.

  • Extreme communalism asserts that followers of different religions cannot live as equal citizens; one group must dominate or split into separate nations.

• Structural flaw: People of one religion do not have identical interests in every context; individuals hold multiple roles, positions, and identities with distinct internal voices.

• Political forms of communalism:

  • Everyday beliefs: Religious prejudices, stereotypes, and assertions of religious superiority.

  • Quest for political dominance: Majoritarian dominance for majority communities; political separatism for minority communities.

  • Political mobilization: Use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeals, and fear to mobilize voters.

  • Communal violence: Riots, massacres, and violence (e.g., Partition of India and Pakistan, post-Independence riots).

Secular State and Religious/Social Diversity Statistics

Constitutional Basis of the Secular State

• No Official Religion: The Constitution gives no special status to any religion (unlike Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan, or Christianity in England).

• Religious Freedom: Grants all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice, and propagate any religion, or none.

• Prohibition of Discrimination: Strictly prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

• State Intervention: Allows state intervention in religious matters to ensure intra-community equality (e.g., banning untouchability).

Religious and Caste Demographics

• Religious Population Distribution in India (Census 2011):

  • Hindu: $79.8\%$

  • Muslim: $14.2\%$

  • Christian: $2.3\%$

  • Sikh: $1.7\%$

  • Buddhist: $0.7\%$

  • Jain: $0.4\%$

  • Other Religions and Persuasions: $0.7\%$

  • Religion not stated: $0.2\%$

• Sachar Committee (Prime Minister's High Level Committee) Findings:

  • Muslim population proportion is expected to increase by $3\%\text{ to }4\%$ over the next $50\text{ years}$, confirming overall religious balance will remain stable.

  • Marginal decline since $1961$: Hindu, Jain, Christian populations.

  • Slight increase since $1961$: Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist populations.

• Caste Groups in India:

  • Scheduled Castes (SCs / Dalits): $16.6\%$ of India's population ($2011\text{ Census}$). Historically subjected to exclusion and untouchability.

  • Scheduled Tribes (STs / Adivasis): $8.6\%$ of India's population ($2011\text{ Census}$). Communities leading secluded lives in hills and forests.

  • Other Backward Classes (OBCs): Estimated at $41\%$ by National Sample Survey ($2004\text{--}2005$).

  • SC, ST, and OBC groups combined account for about two-thirds ($\frac{2}{3}$) of India's population and three-fourths ($\frac{3}{4}$) of the Hindu population.

Caste and Politics

• Caste division is unique to India, functioning as an extreme form of hereditary occupational division sanctioned by ritual purity and exclusion.

Evolution and Persistence of Caste

• Reformers: Jotiba Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker worked to eliminate caste inequalities.

• Structural changes breaking down caste hierarchies:

  • Economic development, urbanisation (shift of population from rural to urban areas), education growth, occupational mobility (shift from ancestral occupations to new occupations across generations), and weakening of village landlord dominance.

• Caste hierarchy: A ladder-like formation in which all caste groups are placed from 'highest' to 'lowest'.

• Persistent inequalities:

  • Endogamy (marrying within caste) remains standard.

  • Untouchability persists despite constitutional prohibition.

  • Historical educational advantages allow upper castes to maintain dominance in modern urban middle-class jobs.

Economic Inequality across Caste Groups

• NSSO 55th Round ($1999\text{--}2000$) Poverty Line Criteria:

  • Monthly expenditure threshold: $\le 327\text{ rupees}$ per person/month (rural) and $\le 454\text{ rupees}$ per person/month (urban).

• Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line ($1999\text{--}2000$):

  • Scheduled Tribes: Rural $45.8\%$, Urban $35.6\%$

  • Scheduled Castes: Rural $35.9\%$, Urban $38.3\%$

  • Other Backward Classes: Rural $27.0\%$, Urban $29.5\%$

  • Muslim Upper Castes: Rural $26.8\%$, Urban $34.2\%$

  • Hindu Upper Castes: Rural $11.7\%$, Urban $9.9\%$

  • Christian Upper Castes: Rural $9.6\%$, Urban $5.4\%$

  • Sikh Upper Castes: Rural $0.0\%$, Urban $4.9\%$

  • Other Upper Castes: Rural $16.0\%$, Urban $2.7\%$

  • All Groups Average: Rural $27.0\%$, Urban $23.4\%$

Caste in Electoral Dynamics

• Candidate choices aligned with constituency caste demographics.

• Caste appeals used during electoral campaigns.

• Universal adult franchise empowered low-caste groups with political awareness.

• Reasons elections are not purely determined by caste:

  • No single parliamentary constituency has an absolute majority of a single caste.

  • No party receives all votes of a caste; a "vote bank" means a large proportion, not total consensus.

  • Multiple parties nominate candidates from the same dominant caste in a constituency.

  • Incumbent MPs and MLAs regularly lose elections.

  • Voters maintain strong party attachments, economic differences (rich vs. poor within same caste vote differently), and evaluate government performance.

Politicisation of Caste

• Politics brings caste into the political arena, transforming caste identity:

  • Caste groups expand by incorporating sub-castes.

  • Castes form coalitions and conduct inter-caste negotiations.

  • New political categories emerge, such as 'backward' and 'forward' caste groups.

• Implications:

  • Positive: Enables Dalits and OBCs to demand power, dignity, and access to resources.

  • Negative: Overemphasis on caste diverts attention from poverty, development, and corruption, causing tension, conflict, and violence.

Marginal Discussions and Prompts

• Household Politics: Power dynamics within the household make domestic division of labour a legitimate topic for political science analysis.

• Housewife Perception: Non-stop domestic work performed by housewives is frequently unacknowledged as economic work.

• Feminism vs. Casteism/Communalism: Feminism seeks social equality, whereas casteism and communalism seek division and dominance.

• Non-Religious Perspective: Secularism protects equal citizenship and democratic safety, benefitting religious and non-religious citizens alike.

• Subtle Communalism: Jokes and stereotypes targeting religious groups represent subtle manifestations of communal prejudice.

• Addressing Caste: Open political discussion of caste is necessary to dismantle structural dominance rather than promote casteism.

• Vote Bank Dynamics: Treating caste groups as uniform vote banks ignores economic and ideological differences within those groups.

Textbook Exercises

1. Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India.

   • Educational disparity ($54\%$ female literacy vs. $76\%$ male literacy; higher dropout rates for girls).

   • Small proportion in highly paid and valued occupations.

   • Wage inequality for equal work in violation of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

   • Sex-selective abortion leading to a child sex ratio of $919$.

   • Prevalence of urban insecurity, harassment, and domestic violence.

2. State different forms of communal politics with one example each.

   • Everyday prejudices: Believing one's religion is superior to others.

   • Dominance/Separatism: Majorities seeking hegemony or minorities demanding separate political units.

   • Political mobilization: Utilizing religious symbols or emotional appeals during election rallies.

   • Communal violence: Outbreaks of riots and massacres, such as during Partition.

3. State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India.

   • Persistence of endogamy (marrying within caste).

   • Incomplete eradication of untouchability.

   • Continuation of economic disparities where upper castes remain over-represented among the wealthy and lower castes remain over-represented among the poor.

4. State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India.

   • No parliamentary constituency contains a clear majority of a single caste group.

   • Sitting MPs and ruling parties frequently lose elections based on performance assessments.

5. What is the status of women's representation in India's legislative bodies?

   • Lok Sabha: $14.36\%$ in $2019$

   • State Assemblies: Less than $5\%$

   • Local Bodies: $33\%$ reserved seats under Panchayati Raj

   • Legislative update: Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (2023) mandates $33\%$ reserved seats in Lok Sabha and Assemblies.

6. Mention any two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.

   • Absence of an official state religion.

   • Constitutional guarantee of freedom to profess, practice, and propagate any religion or none.

7. When we speak of gender divisions, we usually refer to:

   • (a) Biological difference between men and women

   • (b) Unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women

   • (c) Unequal child sex ratio

   • (d) Absence of voting rights for women in democracies

   • Answer: (b) Unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women

8. In India seats are reserved for women in:

   • (a) Lok Sabha

   • (b) State legislative assemblies

   • (c) Cabinets

   • (d) Panchayati Raj bodies

   • Answer: (d) Panchayati Raj bodies

9. Consider the following statements on the meaning of communal politics. Communal politics is based on the belief that:

   • A. One religion is superior to that of others.

   • B. People belonging to different religions can live together happily as equal citizens.

   • C. Followers of a particular religion constitute one community.

   • D. State power cannot be used to establish the domination of one religious group over others.

   • Answer: (c) A and C

10. Which among the following statements about India's Constitution is wrong? It

    • (a) prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

    • (b) gives official status to one religion.

    • (c) provides to all individuals freedom to profess any religion.

    • (d) ensures equality of citizens within religious communities.

    • Answer: (b) gives official status to one religion.

11. Social divisions based on _________ are peculiar to India.

    • Answer: Caste

12. Match List I with List II (1-Feminist, 2-Communalist, 3-Casteist, 4-Secularist):

    • 1 matches B (Feminist)

    • 2 matches A (Communalist)

    • 3 matches D (Casteist)

    • 4 matches C (Secularist)

    • Answer: (b) B, A, D, C

• Social diversity supports democracy rather than threatening it.

• Democratic systems encourage recognizing and addressing social differences.

• Major social divisions in India are: gender, religion, and caste.

Gender Division and Politics

• Gender division is common and hierarchical but often overlooked in political studies.

• This division is based on social roles, not biology.

Sexual Division of Labour

• Traditional roles assign women to housework and men to outside work.

  • Women handle domestic chores and childcare.

  • Men typically work outside, often only taking domestic jobs when paid.

• Women's extensive unpaid work remains unrecognized and undervalued, reflecting their minimal political participation despite being half the population.

Feminist Movements

• Women's movements have fought for equal rights and opportunities.

• Feminism seeks equality, advocating for women's roles in various professions.

• Countries like Sweden, Norway, and Finland show high female public life participation.

Status of Women in India

• Patriarchy is prevalent, valuing men above women.

• Women's literacy is lower and fewer pursue higher studies, with disparities in job types and pay.

  • Women earn less than men for similar work despite laws ensuring equal pay.

• Cultural preferences for sons contribute to declining child sex ratios.

• Urban safety for women is a concern, with risks of violence.

Time Use Survey 1998-1999 Highlights

• Women spend more hours working daily than men, with a focus on unpaid domestic work.

Women's Political Representation

• Only 14.36\text{%} of Lok Sabha representatives are women (2019).

• Less than 5\text{%} in State Assemblies; local bodies reserve 33\text{%} of seats for women.

Religion, Communalism, and Politics

• Religious diversity can enrich politics when treated equally.

  • Political mobilization can stem from religious sentiments.

Caste and Politics

• India's caste system entails social hierarchy and discrimination.

• Efforts to mitigate caste inequalities are ongoing.

  • Economic and educational advancements help challenge caste norms.

• Caste plays a significant role in electoral politics but isn’t the only deciding factor, as various influences affect voter behavior.