2435.nov12010.india.socialrel (1).ppt

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India’s Society and Social Relations November 1, 2010

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Indias Society and Social RelationsNovember 1, 20102Main questionsHow diverse is India? Is it diversity or inequality?What is the caste system? oes it still e!ist? What is the relationshi" between di##erent reli$ious communities in India? What is the meanin$ o# secularism in India?%ee"er questionsIs India a democracy? How much inequality can a democracy tolerate and still remain a democracy? How does India&s social #abric com"are with the '( and )anada? *India&s society+ some basic #acts1, % billion "eo"le- di##erent reli$ious $rou"s, -2. Hindus,1*. Muslims Hindus have a hierarchical social or$ani/ation, 0nown as caste122 reco$ni/ed lan$ua$es1 many other dialects232 million voters, 2%0 "arties45asic economic #acts30. survive on a$rarian incomes6%. wor0 in the in#ormal sector-0. live in under 72a day*2 million live in slums2 million are homeless60million are mar$inal wor0ers28he tradition o# casteSudra (manual and menial labourers)Untouchables, now called Dalits (the downtrodden)Brahmin(producers of knowledge, particularly theology andinterpretation of religious textsKhsatriya (ruling classes/ political elites/warriors)Vaishya (business classes)38raditional role o# caste"revent social mobilityensure a su""ly o# manual wor0ers"revent social equality-)aste in colonial India9airly stron$ re#ormist movements started with res"ect to the question o# untouchability5ritish re#erred to them as :de"ressed classes; the children o# and i# necessary, end to 5ramhinical Hinduism? , @ead his seminal essay Annihilation o# )aste6Who was Ambed0ar?BHIMRAO RAMJI AMBEDKAR (1891-195! 5orn into a alit #amily5y virtue o# his brilliance became a 5arrister at Baw Was the #irst Baw Minister o# Inde"endent India1 dra#ted the constitution1 ma=or disa$reements with )on$ress leaders, Nehru and alon$ with thousands o# other alits?10Ambed0ar&s theses on casteHe dis"roved both dominant theses on caste8he Baws o# Manu8he orthodo! thesis that (udras were born out o# the #eet o# CF5)? G communities listed by the $overnment who have su##ered systematic "atterns o# disadvanta$e but are not included in the (cheduled )astes or 8ribes, 8hey can be in any reli$ion, 1*(), (8, F5)(cheduled )astes >()?12,-.(cheduled )astes >(8? -.Fther 5ac0ward )lasses 23. >or more? Hven with conservative estimates, it a""ears that more than 40. o# India&s "o"ulation su##ers systematic disadvanta$e and de"ravation14Iuotes #rom Ambed0ar >1?GIt is mischievously "ro"a$ated by Hindu scri"tures that by servin$ the u""er classes the (hudras achieve salvation, 'ntouchability is another a""ellation o# slavery, No race can be raised by destroyin$ its sel#Dres"ect, (o i# you really want to u"li#t the 'ntouchables, you must treat them in the social order as #ree citi/ens, #ree to carve out their destiny, G9rom ambed0ar,or$Iuotes #rom Ambed0ar >2?"#at yo$ #a%e lost ot#e&s #a%e 'ained( )o$& #$*iliations a&e a *atte& o+ ,&ide -it# ot#e&s( )o$ a&e *ade to s$++e& -ants. ,&i%ations and #$*iliations not /eca$se it -as ,&e-o&dained /y t#e sins co**itted in yo$& ,&e%io$s /i&t#. /$t /eca$se o+ t#e o%e&,o-e&in' ty&anny and t&eac#e&y o+ t#ose -#o a&e a/o%e yo$( )o$ #a%e no lands /eca$se ot#e&s #a%e $s$&,ed t#e*0 yo$ #a%e no ,osts /eca$se ot#e&s #a%e *ono,olised t#e*( Do not /elie%e in +ate0 /elie%e in yo$& st&en't#(1213Iuotes #rom Ambed0ar >%?)aste cannot be abolished by inter caste dinners or stray instances o# inter caste marria$es, )aste is a state o# mind, It is a disease o# mind, 8he teachin$s o# the Hindu reli$ion are the root cause o# this disease, We "ractice casteism and we observe 'ntouchability because we are en=oined to do so by the Hindu reli$ion, A bitter thin$ cannot be made sweet, 8he taste o# anythin$ can be chan$ed, 5ut "oison cannot be chan$ed into nectar, #rom ambed0ar,or$1-Ambed0ar on the )onstitutionFn the 22th Eanuary 1640, we are $oin$ to enter into a li#e o# contradictions, In "olitics we will have equality and in social and economic li#e we will have inequality, In "olitics we will be reco$nisin$ the "rinci"le o# one man one vote and one vote one value, In our social and economic li#e, we shall by reason o# our social and economic structure, continue to deny the "rinci"le o# one man one value, How lon$ shall we continue to live this li#e o# contradictions? How lon$ shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic li#e? I# we continue to deny it #or lon$, we will do so only by "uttin$ our "olitical democracy in "eril, We must remove this contradiction at the earliest "ossible moment else those who su##er #rom inequality will blow u" the structure o# democracy which this )onstituent Assembly has so laboriously built u", #rom ambed0ar,or$16Inequality across reli$ion8he 5ritish le#t a hi$hly communali/ed "olity, scarred by the "artitionIn India, the Muslim community #ound itsel# de"leted o# its middle class >who le#t #or Ja0istan?8he community was le#t with a rather shar" divide between its u""er classes and its lower classes20(ituation o# Muslims >1?8he literacy rate amon$ Muslims is substantially below the national avera$e >46. as o""osed to 24.?, Fnly %,* "er cent o# the Muslim "o"ulation obtains $raduate de$rees In the elite civil services, com"rised o# the Indian Administrative (ervice >IA(?, the Indian 9orei$n (ervice >I9(? and the Indian Jolice (ervice >IJ(?, Muslim re"resentation was at % ., 1,- . and * .21(ituation o# Muslims >2?Muslims have the second hi$hest levels o# "overtywith %1 . below the "overty line, Incidence o# "overty amon$ urban Muslims is the hi$hest >%1.?, #ollowed closely by ()K(8 cate$ories%2,*.,Wor0er Jo"ulation @atio #or Muslim women are the least #rom amon$ all communities, more so in urban areas1 the "artici"ation o# Muslims in re$ular =obs in urban areas is quite limited com"ared to even the traditionally disadvanta$ed ()sK(8s,Fther 5ac0ward )lasses >F5)s? constitute *0,3 "er cent o# the total Muslim "o"ulation, In the total F5) "o"ulation, Muslim F5)s have a share o# 14,3 "er cent,22(tructural Inequality)aste and reli$ionDbased inequality in India are structural, i,e, they arise #rom underlyin$ social, "olitical and economic structures >rather than #actors such as lower access to education or =obs?, How did India try to address them? 2%Addressin$ Inequality(ecularism+ nonDdiscrimination and se"aration o# state and reli$ion >i,e, state has no o##icial reli$ionA##irmative action >called reservation in India?+ creatin$ quotas #or admission to educational institutions and id they wor0?2*(olutions? (ecular democracy #ul#illed a very im"ortant role but $enerated contradictions+ it did not reduce the structural inequality between di##erent reli$ious communities, "articularly Muslims@ise o# communal "olitics and #undamentalist "olitics24alit Muslims Muslims $ot some "rotection #or lan$ua$e, se"arate educational institutions, #reedom o# reli$ion etc, but not a##irmative action 8he alit Muslim movement claims that -0. o# India&s Muslims $ained nothin$ #rom these chan$es, 8hey demand a##irmative action based on reli$ion and socioDeconomic situation22Jolitics o# A##irmative actionA##irmative action resulted in some "ro$ress o# individuals but has done little to chan$e the social location o# disadvanta$ed $rou"s'""er castes and classes have reacted stron$ly a$ainst these reservationsAt "resent ma=or social con#lict e!ists over whether ()K(8KF5) should have reserved seats in elite institutions >such as the to" en$ineerin$, business and medical schools?, 8he #ear is that this may lead to admission o# students with less merit and destroy the credibility o# these institutions