Class 8 Social Science Notes Chapter 8 (Confronting Marginalisation) – Social and Political Life Book

Alright class, let's focus on Chapter 8, 'Confronting Marginalisation'. This chapter is crucial because it moves beyond understanding what marginalisation is, to how marginalised communities actively challenge their exclusion and fight for their rights. This is important not just for your understanding of society, but also for various competitive exams where questions on social justice and constitutional provisions frequently appear.

Chapter 8: Confronting Marginalisation - Detailed Notes

1. Introduction: The Struggle for Rights

• Marginalised groups (like Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, Women) are not passive victims. They have historically fought against discrimination and exclusion.
• They employ various strategies: invoking constitutional rights, demanding specific laws, using political pressure, and cultural assertion.
• The Indian Constitution serves as a foundational document in this struggle, guaranteeing fundamental rights to all citizens.

2. Invoking Fundamental Rights

• The Constitution lays down principles making India democratic. Fundamental Rights are a key part of this, available equally to all citizens.
• Marginalised groups draw on these rights in two main ways:
  • Insisting on Enforcement: They compel the government to recognise the injustice done to them and enforce these rights.
  • Influencing New Laws: They pressure the government to frame new laws in line with the spirit of Fundamental Rights.
• Key Constitutional Articles frequently invoked:
  • Article 17: Abolition of Untouchability: This directly addresses the historical discrimination faced by Dalits. Practising untouchability is a punishable crime.
  • Article 15: Prohibition of Discrimination: This article states that no citizen shall be discriminated against on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. It ensures access to public places, shops, wells, tanks, etc. This is vital for challenging social boycotts and denial of access.
  • Article 21: Protection of Life and Personal Liberty: Interpreted broadly by courts to include the right to life with dignity, health, livelihood, shelter, and clean environment. Often used in cases of displacement or hazardous working conditions (like manual scavenging).
  • Article 14: Equality before Law: Ensures everyone is equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the laws.

3. Laws for the Marginalised: Beyond Fundamental Rights

• While Fundamental Rights are crucial, specific laws and policies are often needed to address particular forms of discrimination and promote social justice.
• Governments enact laws based on the principles enshrined in the Constitution (like equality and non-discrimination).
• Policies promoting Social Justice: Reservation policies (in education and government employment) are one example, designed to correct historical disadvantages faced by SCs, STs, and OBCs.

4. Protecting Dalits and Adivasis: Specific Laws

• The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989:

  • Context: Framed in response to demands from Dalit and other groups that existing laws were inadequate to address the horrific atrocities and humiliation they faced daily. Despite constitutional guarantees (like Art 17), violence and discrimination persisted.
  • Purpose: To prevent crimes (atrocities) against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) by people from dominant castes/communities and provide relief and rehabilitation to victims.
  • Key Provisions: The Act lists specific crimes recognised as 'atrocities'. These go beyond general crimes and acknowledge caste-based motives and humiliation. Examples include:
    • Forcing SC/ST members to eat or drink inedible or obnoxious substances.
    • Wrongfully occupying or cultivating land owned by or allotted to SC/ST members.
    • Forcibly removing clothes, parading naked or with painted face/body.
    • Assaulting or using force on any SC/ST woman with intent to dishonour her.
    • Denying customary rights of passage to public places.
    • Imposing or threatening a social boycott.
  • Significance: It acknowledges specific forms of violence and humiliation linked to caste hierarchy and tribal identity, providing stronger legal recourse.

• Adivasi Demands and the 1989 Act:

  • This Act is also crucial for Adivasis, particularly regarding land rights.
  • Clause (v) of Section 3(1) specifically criminalises the wrongful dispossession or interference with the land of ST members.
  • Adivasi activists highlight that dispossession from their traditional lands (often for development projects, mining, etc.) is a major form of violence and injustice.
  • They argue that governments often violate constitutional guarantees and laws meant to protect tribal land (e.g., by allowing non-tribal encroachment or failing to follow procedures).
  • C.K. Janu: An Adivasi activist, points out the irony that violators often include state governments themselves.
  • The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act): This later Act aims to undo the historical injustice to forest-dwelling communities by recognising their rights to land and resources they traditionally depended upon. It complements the struggle against land alienation protected under the 1989 Act.

• The Issue of Manual Scavenging:

  • Definition: Refers to the practice of removing human and animal waste/excreta using brooms, tin plates, and baskets from dry latrines and carrying it on the head to disposal grounds.
  • Link to Caste: Predominantly forced upon Dalit women and girls, particularly from the Valmiki community in North India.
  • Hazardous Conditions: Extremely demeaning work, exposing workers to serious health hazards (infections affecting skin, eyes, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems). Wages are very low.
  • Legislation:
    • The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993: Made employing manual scavengers and constructing dry latrines illegal.
    • The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013: Came into force in December 2013, strengthening the 1993 Act. It prohibits manual scavenging in all forms and emphasizes the rehabilitation of identified manual scavengers.
  • Activism: Organisations like the Safai Karamchari Andolan have been instrumental in highlighting the issue, filing PILs (Public Interest Litigation), and pushing for the enforcement of laws and dignity for sanitation workers. In 2003, they filed a PIL complaining about the persistence of manual scavenging despite the 1993 Act and the violation of Fundamental Rights (especially Article 21).

5. Conclusion: Asserting Rights

• The existence of rights, policies, and laws on paper is not enough.
• Marginalised communities must constantly struggle to translate these into reality.
• This involves demanding enforcement, using legal channels, political mobilisation, and raising public awareness.
• The quest for equality, dignity, and non-discrimination is an ongoing process central to the functioning of a democracy.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) for Exam Preparation:

1. Which Fundamental Right specifically abolishes the practice of untouchability in India?
   (a) Article 14 (Equality before Law)
   (b) Article 15 (Prohibition of Discrimination)
   (c) Article 17 (Abolition of Untouchability)
   (d) Article 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty)

2. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was enacted in which year?
   (a) 1950
   (b) 1989
   (c) 1993
   (d) 2006

3. According to the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, which of the following actions against an SC/ST member would be considered an atrocity?
   (a) Forcing them to eat an inedible substance
   (b) Wrongfully occupying their land
   (c) Parading them naked or with painted face
   (d) All of the above

4. Article 15 of the Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of:
   (a) Religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth
   (b) Economic status only
   (c) Political affiliation only
   (d) Language and region only

5. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act was first passed in:
   (a) 1989
   (b) 1993
   (c) 2005
   (d) 2013

6. C.K. Janu is an activist primarily associated with the rights of which group?
   (a) Dalits
   (b) Adivasis
   (c) Religious Minorities
   (d) Women facing domestic violence

7. The Safai Karamchari Andolan is an organisation primarily working against:
   (a) Child Labour
   (b) Bonded Labour
   (c) Manual Scavenging
   (d) Forest Land Alienation

8. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 primarily aims to:
   (a) Prevent atrocities against STs
   (b) Provide reservations in government jobs for STs
   (c) Recognise the land and resource rights of forest-dwelling communities
   (d) Abolish untouchability practices in forest areas

9. Which Fundamental Right is often broadly interpreted by courts to include the right to health, livelihood, and dignity?
   (a) Article 14
   (b) Article 15
   (c) Article 17
   (d) Article 21

10. The Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, was framed primarily because:
    (a) The Constitution did not have any provisions for equality.
    (b) Existing laws were seen as inadequate to deal with the specific nature of violence and humiliation faced by SCs and STs.
    (c) International pressure demanded such a law.
    (d) Reservation policies were failing.

Answer Key for MCQs:

1. (c)
2. (b)
3. (d)
4. (a)
5. (b)
6. (b)
7. (c)
8. (c)
9. (d)
10. (b)

Make sure you understand the reasoning behind each answer. These laws and constitutional articles are frequently tested. Keep revising!