1. Gender,
Religion
&
Caste
By Mr. Siddharth
Chandrasekar

2. What Disadvantages Do Women Face?
1) Literacy Rate - 54% for women.76% for men showing disparity
2) Smaller proportion of girls go for higher studies
3) Preferential treatment meted out to boy`s education rather
than for girls
4) Proportion of women among highly paid and valued job is
small
5) Equal wages Act provides equal wages but discrimination
continues in sports, cinema, factories and fields
6) Preference to have sons and abortion of girl child
7) Sex selective abortions have led to decline in child sex ratio
8) Various types of harassment, exploitation and violence
9) Urban areas too have become unsafe for women

3. Solution To This Problem…
1) To make it legally binding to have a fair
proportion of women in elected bodies
2) Reservation of 1/3 seats in local bodies
3) 10 lakh elected representatives in rural and
urban local bodies
4) Demand for 1/3 seats in Lok Sabha and
State Assemblies

4. Give A Few Instances That Involve
Relationship Between Religion & Politics.
1) Gandhiji believed that politics must be
guided by ethics drawn from religion
2) Human rights groups demanding the
Government to take special steps to protect
religious minorities
3) Women`s movements want Government to
change family laws to make it equitable

5. Communalism…
• To place ones community above everything
including the nation
When does it begin?
• When religion is seen as the basis of the
nation
When does it become acute?
• When religion is expressed in politics in
exclusive and partisan terms
• When one religion and its followers
are pitted against the other

6. Communalism…
What factors promote communalism?
1) Beliefs of one religion are presented as
superior to those of other religions.
2) When demands of one religious group are
formed in opposition to another.
3) When state power is used to establish
domination of one religious group over the
rest.
What is Communal Politics?
• It is based on the idea that religion is
the principal basis of social community.

7. Communalism…
What Do Communalists Think?
1) Followers of one religion must belong to one
community.
2) Their fundamental interests are same.
3) People who follow different religions cannot
belong to the same social community.

8. Communalism…
What forms can Communalism take in Politics?
1) It involves religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious
communities and belief in the superiority of one`s
religion over other religions.
2) Communal mind leads to a quest for Political dominance
of one’s own religious communities.
3) If it is a Majority community – Majoritarian Dominance.
4) If it is a Minority community – It forms a separate
Political Unit.
5) Political mobilisation – using symbols, religious leader`s
emotional appeal and plain fear in order to
bring the followers of one religion together in
political arena.
6) Communal violence.

9. Secular State…
1) There is no official religion for India.
Constitution does not offer special status to
any religion.
2) Constitution provides to all freedom to profess,
practice and propagate any religion.
3) Constitution prohibits discrimination on
grounds of religion.
4) State will intervene in matters of religion to
ensure equality within religious communities.
It bans un-touchability.

10. Caste & Politics…
• Hereditary occupational division sanctioned
by rituals.
• Members of the same caste group formed
similar occupation, married within the caste
and did not eat with members from other
caste groups.

11. Efforts Taken to Check Casteism…
1) Political leaders and social reformers like JOTHIBHA
PHULE,GANDHIJI,AMBEDKAR and EVR PERIYAR have
done a lot to check casteism.
2) Socio economic changes have brought in a check.
3) Large scale urbanisation.
4) Literacy and education.
5) Occupational mobility.
6) Weakening of the position of landlords.
7) Constitution prohibited caste based discrimination.

12. Caste & Politics…
Why is there a disproportionately large
presence of Upper Caste among Urban Middle
Class ?
• Groups that did not have access to education
were prohibited from acquiring it have lagged
behind.

13. Caste can take various forms in Politics…
1) During the choice of candidates before an
election , care is taken that the composition of
electorate and nomination of candidates from
different castes to muster support to win
elections.
2) During formation of Governments, political
parties take care that representatives of
different castes and tribes find a place in it.
3) To make appeals to caste sentiment to muster
support.
4) Universal adult franchise - one person one
vote.

14. Elections are all about Caste & nothing
else…
1) No parliamentary constituency has a clear
majority of one single caste. Every candidate
/party must win the confidence of more than
one caste and community to win elections.
2) No party wins the votes of all voters of a caste
/community.
3) Many political parties may put up candidates
from same caste.
4) Ruling party /sitting MP losing election could
not have happened if all castes and communities
were frozen in political preferences.

15. What forms does Caste take when it is
Politicised?
1) Caste group becomes big by including
neighbouring castes.
2) Party enters into a coalition with other
castes.
3) Rise of backward caste and forward caste
group.

16. Effects of Exclusive Attention to Caste…
• Is negative.
• Politics based on caste identity alone is not
healthy.
• Diverts attention from poverty ,development
and corruption.
• Leads to tension, conflict and even
violence.

17. Popular Struggle & Movements

18. Nepal…
• Won democracy in 1990.
• Formal power was with the King.
• Real power with elected representatives.
• 2001 – Massacre of Royal Family, Gyanendra took charge.
• 2005 – Dissolution of Parliament.
• 2006 - Popular control over Govt. headed by the King.
• 7 Party alliance called for a 4 day strike. Maoists & other
organisations joined.
• 21st April, King conceded to all demands leading to :
1) Restoration of Parliament.
2) Seizure of power from the Ruler.
3) To make Koirala Prime Minister.
• Maoists & SPA came to an agreement about a new constituent
assembly to be elected.

19. Bolivia…
Fight against Privatisation of Water
1) World Bank pressurised Government to give up
control of Municipal Water supply.
2) Sale of rights to a MNC for the City of Cochabamba.
3) Company raised the price of water 4 times.
4) 4 day general strike by Labour and Human Rights and
Community leaders.
5) Government agreed to negotiate.
6) Power of the people forced MNC to flee & made
Government to concede to all demands.
• Water supply was restored to municipality
at old rates.

20. Similarities…
Nepal
&
Bolivia
Instances of
political
conflict that
led to popular
struggles
Involvement
of mass
mobilisation
Public
demonstration
of mass
support
clinched the
dispute
Involvement
of political
organisations

21. Differences…
Nepal
To establish democracy
Foundation of
country`s politics
SPA had some big
parties with MP’s
MAOISTS did not believe in
parliamentary democracy, involved
themselves in armed struggle thereby
establishing control over large parts.
They were joined by labour unions.
Organisation of indigenous people,
teachers, lawyers and human rights
groups.
Bolivia
Claims on an elected Govt.
One specific policy
FEDECOR composed of
Professionals, engineers
and environmentalists
Federation of farmers, confederation of
factory worker`s unions, middle class
students from University of Cochabamba
and the city`s growing population of
homeless street children. Socialist Party
supported this.

22. Two way roles of these organisations
are …
• Direct participation in competitive politics
• Creation of parties contesting elections and
forming Governments

23. Formation of Organisations…
• Those organisations that undertake activities to
promote their interest are called INTEREST
GROUPS or PRESSURE GROUPS.
PRESSURE GROUPS :
• Influence Government policies
• Do not aim at directly controlling or sharing
political power.
• Formed when people with common occupation,
interests, aspirations or opinions come together
to achieve a common objective.

24. Pressure Groups…
Movements : Narmada Bachao Andolan
Women’s Movement
• Influence politics rather than directly take part
in electoral competition
• They are loose organisations
• Make informal decisions and are flexible
• They depend on spontaneous mass
participation

25. Interest Groups…
• Are united organisations
• Do not care much for mass participation
• Promote the interest of a particular section or group
of society
• Example : Trade Unions, Business Associations &
Professional Bodies
• Represent a section of society
• Example : Workers, Employees, Business Groups,
Industrialists, Followers of Religion & Caste Groups
• Aims : Betterment of their members & not society in
general
Sectional Groups…

26. Groups…
FEDECOR (Feracion Departamental Cochabambina de
Regantes)
• Represents some common or general interest that needs
to be defended.
• Members may not benefit from the cause that the
organisation represents.
Promotional Groups
• Promote collective good
• Aim to help groups rather than their own members
• Group fighting against bonded labour is an example
• They are also called public interest groups

27. Groups…
BAMCEF(Backward & Minorities Community Employees
Federation)
• Made of Govt. employees that campaigns against
caste discrimination
• It addresses problems of its members who suffer
discrimination
• Its concern is with social justice and social equality for
the entire society
Movement Groups
• Issue specific movements and seek to achieve a single
objective within a limited time frame

28. Single Issue Movements…
Nepalese Movement
• Specific objective of reviving the king’s orders that led to
suspension of democracy
Narmada Bachao Andolan
• Specific issue of people displaced by creation of Sardar
Sarovar Dam
Objective
• To stop the dam
• Questioned all such big dams and requirement of such
dams
• Has a clear leadership and organisation
• Active life is short

29. Long Term & More Than One Issue
Movements…
• No single organisation controls /guides such
movements.
• All these have a separate organisation,
independent leadership and different views
on policy.
Example :
• Environmental movement
• Women’s movement

30. National Alliance for People’s
Movements(NAPM)…
• Movement groups struggling on specific
issues are constituents of this loose
organisation which co ordinates the activities
of a large number of people`s movements

31. How do Pressure Groups & Movements
exert influence on Politics ?
• They gain public support and sympathy for their goals by
carrying out information campaigns, meetings and
petitions.
• They influence media by giving attention to these issues
• Protest activities like strikes are done to force the
Government to take note of their demand
• Business groups employ professional lobbyists or sponsor
expensive advertisements
• They participate in official bodies and committees that
offer advice to the Government
• Sometimes political parties grow out of movements
Example DMK and AIADMK

32. Groups…
• Interest groups and movements do not directly engage in politics
but seek to influence on political parties
• Movement groups take a political stance without being a party
• They have political ideologies and position on major issues
Is their influence healthy?
• Pressure groups have deepened democracy.
• Governments can often come under undue pressure from a small
group of rich and powerful people
• Public interest groups and movements perform a useful role of
countering this influence and reminding the Government of the
needs and concerns of ordinary citizens
• Sectional groups prevents the domination of one group over the
rest
• They bring about a rough balance of power and accommodation
of conflicting interests