Gender, Religion and Caste in Indian Democracy: 40 flashcards
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1. What is gender division based on?
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Social expectations and stereotypes, not biology
2. What does the sexual division of labour assign to women and men?
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Women do all work inside the home; men do all work outside the home
3. According to the time use survey in six Indian states, how many hours do women and men work daily?
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Women work over 7.5 hours; men work about 6.5 hours
4. Why is women's household work not valued?
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It is unpaid and invisible, so it does not generate income
5. What is patriarchy?
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A system that values men more and gives them power over women
6. What are feminist movements?
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Movements organised by women for equal rights, voting rights, and better political, legal, educational, and career opportunities
7. What is a feminist?
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A woman or man who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men
8. In which countries is women's participation in public life very high?
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Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Norway, and Finland
9. What is India's literacy rate for women compared with men?
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54 per cent for women compared with 76 per cent for men
10. What does the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provide?
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Equal wages should be paid for equal work
11. What is the child sex ratio in India due to sex-selective abortion?
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919 girls per thousand boys
12. What percentage of Lok Sabha seats did women hold in 2019?
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14.36 per cent
13. What is women's representation in state assemblies?
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Less than 5 per cent
14. What does Panchayati Raj reserve for women?
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One-third of seats in local government bodies
15. How many elected women representatives exist in rural and urban local bodies?
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More than 10 lakh
16. What does the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Act, 2023) provide?
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33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and Delhi Assembly
17. What is communalism?
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The belief that religion is the principal basis of social community and that different religions cannot coexist as equal citizens
18. What forms can communalism take?
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Everyday prejudice, political mobilisation on religious lines, and communal violence and riots
19. What is a secular state?
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A state with no official religion and freedom for all to profess, practice, and propagate any religion or none
20. Why does the Constitution allow state intervention in religion?
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To ensure equality within religious communities, such as banning untouchability
21. What makes the caste system special to India?
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Hereditary occupational division was sanctioned by rituals
22. What was the caste system based on?
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Exclusion of and discrimination against 'outcaste' groups through untouchability
23. Name the reformers who worked to eliminate caste inequalities.
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Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar, and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker
24. What socio-economic changes have weakened caste hierarchy?
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Urbanisation, growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility, and weakening of landlords
25. In what ways does caste still persist in India?
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Marriage within caste, untouchability, and the close link between caste and economic status
26. How do parties use caste in politics?
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They choose candidates based on caste composition of the electorate and make caste-based appeals
27. Why can no single caste decide an election?
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No constituency has a clear majority of one caste, no party wins all votes of a caste, and voters have strong party attachments
28. What percentage of India's population were Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in 2011?
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SC were 16.6 per cent and ST were 8.6 per cent
29. What was the OBC population estimate from the 2004-05 National Sample Survey?
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Around 41 per cent
30. What percentage of India's population were Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs in 2011?
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Hindus 79.8%, Muslims 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%
31. What did Gandhiji mean when he said religion can never be separated from politics?
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He meant moral values that inform all religions, not any particular religion
32. When does religion in politics become communalism?
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When religion is seen as the basis of the nation and one religion is pitted against another in exclusive and partisan terms
33. Why is communalism fundamentally flawed?
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People of one religion do not have the same interests in every context; everyone has multiple roles and identities
34. What is the difference between communalism and secularism?
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Communalism treats religion as the basis of nation and pits religions against each other; secularism treats all religions equally with no official state religion
35. What does the Constitution prohibit regarding religion?
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Discrimination on grounds of religion
36. What is the key difference between gender division and caste division?
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Gender division is universal and based on social expectations; caste division is special to India with ritual-sanctioned hereditary occupation
37. What did the 2011 Census record about religion and caste?
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It records religion and counts Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
38. What percentage of India's population do SC, ST, and OBC together account for?
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About two-thirds of the total population and three-fourths of the Hindu population
39. What is the public/private division in gender context?
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Men's work is outside the home (visible, paid, valued); women's work is inside the home (unpaid, invisible)
40. Why did feminist movements conclude that women need political power?
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Because issues related to women's well-being do not get adequate attention unless women control power
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