Civics Ch – 7 Understanding Marginalisation

                                    Ch – 7

Understanding Marginalisation

Marginalization

v Marginalization refers  to the reduce in  power and  importance of certain people  in our country. These groups experience a sense of disadvantage and powerlessness

v Example Tribals or Adivasi , OBC’s, Religious  minorities and women.

v The marginalization appears due to difference in religion, language, culture andtraditions from the majority of the community. Some communities are marginalised because they are

poor, considered to be of ‘low’ social status and viewed as being less human than others.

v Marginalized groups are those who are deprived from the mainstream society. 

v They are subjected to many form of discrimination and often denied resources and opportunities.

v Many a times, these sections are not allowed to mix with the rest of the society.  

v These include slaves, indigenous tribes, the blacks.

v People working as leather workers, manual scavengers, people with diseases like leprosy etc.

Adivasis

v Adivasi  term  literally means ‘original  inhabitants’ .these communities live in forests.

v Around 8 per cent of  India’s population  is  Adivasis .

v The Adivasi population is unique in social structure as they show little differences or

       hierarchy. They are away from biasness of caste or religion.

v India’s most important mining and  industrial  centres  are located in  Adivasis areas – Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai

v Adivasis are not a homogeneous population. There are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India.

v Adivasis usually speak  in  Bengali  and Santhali .

v Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are the states inhabited by Adivasis.

Contribution of  Adivasis

v Forests covered the major part of  our country till the nineteenth century.

v Adivasis had a deep knowledge of  forest  areas 

v empires  heavily  depended on Adivasis  for the crucial access to forest resources.

Religious beliefs of Adivasis

v Adivasis worship their  ancestors, village and natural  spirits,  various sites  in the  landscape – ‘mountain-spirit s’, ‘river spirits’, ‘animal -spirits’, etc.

v The village spirits are worshipped at specific sacred groves within the village boundary while the ancestral  ones are usually worshipped at home.

v Adivasis have always been influenced by different    religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and Christianity.

v Adivasi religions themselves have influenced dominant religions of the empires around them, for example, the Jagannath cult of Orissa and Shakti and Tantric traditions in

v Bengal and Assam.

v During the nineteenth century, substantial numbers of Adivasis converted to Christianity,

which has emerged as a very important religion in modern Adivasi history

 

Adivasis referred to as the minorities

v The  term  minority  is  most  commonly  used  to  refer  to  communities  that  are  numerically small  in  relation  to  the  rest  of   the  population. like Parsi, Muslims, Sikhs etc.

v The Adivasis  are  also  less  in  number  than  other communities and are thus referred to as the minorities.  Adivasis are 8 percent of  the population.

Reasons of poverty  among Adivasis

v Adivasis are losing  their  land  and  access  to  the  forest  means    tribal people are losing  their  main  sources  of livelihood and  food.

v Most Adivasis  have  migrated  to  cities  in  search  of   work  where  they  are  employed  at  very  low wages  in  local   industries and at construction sites.

v 45  percent  of   tribal   groups  in  rural   areas  and  35  percent  in  urban  areas  live  below  the poverty  live. This leads to deprivation  in other areas.

v Many tribal children are malnourished.

v Literacy rates among  tribals are also very  low  So they face the problem of poverty and deprivation.

Constitutional safeguards

v Communities that are small in number relative to the rest of society may feel insecure about their lives, assets and well – being.

v Constitution provides cultural and educational rights to  religious minorities .

v Safeguards are present to protect minority communities against the  possibility  of   being culturally dominated by the majority.

v They also protect them against any discrimination and disadvantage that they may face. The Article 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits untouchability and declares it as a punishable offence. This article allows dalits to access educational institutions, temples and public facilities without any discrimination.

v The constitution provides these safeguards  because  it  is committed  to  protecting  India’s  culture  diversity  and  promoting  equality  as  well as justice.

largest religious minority

v Muslims  are  13.4  per  cent  of   India’s  population  and  are  considered  to  be  a  marginalized community  in  India  today 

 

v Muslims  are  marginalized  community  in  India  because  in  comparison  to  other communities,  they  have  been  deprived  of   the  benefits  of   socio-  economic development.

v *Like  other  minorities,  Muslim  customs  and  practices  are  quite  distinct  from the  mainstream  Because  of  this  they  tend to  be  identified  differently  and  some  people  treat them unfairly.

v Sachar Committee Report** The government set up a high-level committee in 2005. Chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar.

v Castes which were firmly treated as untouchables in the society are called Scheduled

Castes.