Gender, Religion and Caste · Class 10 Political Science: 100 flashcards
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1. What kind of social division is gender division, and how is it usually regarded?
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It ranks genders unequally and is widespread. Familiar expectations can make it appear permanent, so its political significance is easily overlooked.
2. Is gender division based on biology?
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The unequal roles discussed here arise from upbringing and stereotypes, rather than being required by physical differences.
3. Why does it matter that gender division is social rather than natural?
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Recognising that people created an expectation makes it easier to debate and change. Calling it inevitable can discourage a challenge.
4. Define the sexual division of labour.
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An arrangement assigning domestic responsibility to women, either as the people doing the tasks or as the people supervising helpers.
5. What work do women typically do inside the home under this division?
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Preparing meals, cleaning, laundering clothes, stitching and caring for children.
6. What shows that housework is not women's work by nature?
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Men perform similar tasks in paid occupations; NCERT uses hotel cooking and tailoring to challenge the claim that they lack domestic skills.
7. What work do women do outside the home?
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Examples include agricultural labour and collecting household supplies in villages, plus domestic employment and office jobs in cities.
8. Do most women do paid work?
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NCERT describes most women combining some earning with domestic responsibilities. Their combined contribution often receives inadequate recognition.
9. In how many states was the time use survey conducted?
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Six states, in the 1998–99 survey cited by NCERT.
10. How many hours a day do an average woman and an average man work, according to the time use survey?
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The historical table gives women 7 hours 40 minutes and men 6 hours 30 minutes daily, adding domestic and income-related activities.
11. Why is men's work more visible than women's?
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Earning produces a visible monetary return. Much of women’s recorded work is domestic and unpaid, so judging contribution by income overlooks it.
12. What is the result of the sexual division of labour for women's role in public life?
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Unequal domestic responsibilities can restrict the opportunities women have to participate in public affairs and politics.
13. What were women earlier not allowed to do in public affairs?
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The chapter describes earlier exclusion from the vote, candidacy for office and participation in public decision-making.
14. What did the women's agitations demand?
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Campaigns sought voting and legal rights alongside educational and employment opportunities. Some also challenged inequality in family relationships.
15. What are the movements for women's equal rights called?
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Feminist movements.
16. Define a feminist.
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A supporter of gender equality in rights and opportunities; men can be feminists too.
17. Which occupations, earlier not considered suitable for women, do women now work in?
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Examples include medicine, law, engineering, science, management and teaching in higher education.
18. In which countries is the participation of women in public life very high?
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The textbook examples are Sweden, Norway and Finland.
19. Define patriarchy.
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A social structure giving men greater authority and higher status than women. Its literal meaning is rule by father.
20. How does the chapter describe Indian society with respect to gender?
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NCERT recognises post-Independence progress but describes continuing male dominance and disadvantages faced by women.
21. Which historical literacy comparison does NCERT use to illustrate educational inequality?
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The historical figures quoted by NCERT are women 54% and men 76%; they are not today’s literacy estimates.
22. How do girls perform in school results compared with boys?
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The textbook reports performance matching boys’ results, with girls ahead in some settings.
23. Why do girls drop out of education despite performing well?
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NCERT points to families prioritising sons when allocating educational funds, limiting opportunities for daughters despite their performance.
24. How do the prose and the historical time-use table describe the workload gap?
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The prose says about an hour. The 1998–99 table gives an exact 70-minute gap: women 7:40, men 6:30.
25. What does the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provide?
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It is the historical equal-pay requirement used in NCERT’s discussion of gender discrimination at work.
26. What does NCERT’s comparison of equal-pay legislation and practice establish?
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The chapter describes continuing wage discrimination despite the requirement. It supports the conclusion that the law did not eliminate the problem, not that it achieved nothing.
27. Define the child sex ratio.
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Girls aged 0–6 for every 1,000 boys in the same age group.
28. Which 2011 child sex-ratio figure does NCERT cite, and what explanation does it discuss?
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NCERT cites 919 for 2011 and connects son preference with sex-selective abortion. The ratio alone cannot identify every cause of a particular local imbalance.
29. What does the chapter say about women's safety in urban areas and at home?
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It discusses threats in cities as well as abuse within households, showing that neither public nor private settings automatically guarantee safety.
30. What conclusion did many feminists and women's movements reach about power?
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They argued that women need greater influence in decision-making so their concerns receive adequate attention.
31. What percentage of the Lok Sabha's total strength did elected women members reach, and when?
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The book gives 14.36% in 2019.
32. What historical state-assembly share appears in the textbook?
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Below 5% in the textbook’s historical statement; do not present it as an updated count.
33. How does India compare with the averages on the chart dated October 2018?
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The 2018 chart puts India at 11.8%, below the world average of 24% and the regional averages shown.
34. What happens to cabinets even when a woman becomes Chief Minister or Prime Minister?
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NCERT notes that ministers may still be predominantly men, so one female leader does not establish broad representation.
35. What proportion of seats in panchayats and municipalities is reserved for women?
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One-third in the local-government example discussed by NCERT.
36. What number of elected women in local bodies does NCERT report?
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Over 10 lakh in the textbook’s account, rather than a current headcount.
37. What had women's organisations been demanding for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies?
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They sought a guaranteed share of at least one-third in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures through a prolonged campaign.
38. What is the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, and what does it provide?
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The 2023 women’s reservation legislation provides for roughly one-third in the Lok Sabha, state legislatures and Delhi Assembly. Passage does not itself mean reserved-seat elections have already occurred.
39. What does the chapter say gender division is an example of?
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Campaigning against unequal treatment can help disadvantaged groups influence public decisions and seek greater equality.
40. Why is one woman becoming Prime Minister not a solution to under-representation?
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One woman’s leadership can coexist with a predominantly male decision-making body. Evaluate representation across the institution, not through one appointment alone.
41. How does religious division differ from gender division in relation to politics?
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NCERT describes religious diversity as less universal than gender division, but notes that religious differences frequently enter political debate.
42. What did Gandhiji mean when he said religion can never be separated from politics?
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He meant ethical principles shared across faiths, rather than government preference for a particular religion.
43. Give two examples of demands involving religion and politics that are not objectionable.
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Campaigns to protect minorities from violence and to remove unfair treatment in family rules can support equality across communities.
44. Under what condition are political acts involving religion not wrong?
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They should respect equal treatment across faiths rather than seek religious privilege or domination.
45. Define family laws.
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Rules governing marriage and divorce, adoption and inheritance. NCERT describes different community laws and demands to make them fairer.
46. When does the problem with religion in politics begin?
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When the nation is defined through a religion in a way that excludes citizens of other faiths.
47. What makes the problem more acute?
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Exclusionary political appeals that portray communities as rivals and seek privilege for one against another.
48. Name three circumstances in which religion is used in politics in an exclusive and partisan way.
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Claims of religious superiority, demands directed against another community, and use of government authority to establish communal dominance.
49. On what idea is communal politics based?
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That sharing a religion determines the main social community and its supposedly common interests.
50. What does communalism believe in its extreme form?
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It denies equal national membership across faiths and presents domination or separate nations as the alternatives.
51. Why is the communal belief described as fundamentally flawed?
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Shared religion does not erase differences in occupation, resources, gender or aspirations. A community contains multiple legitimate opinions.
52. What risk arises when a spokesperson insists that every member of a religious community shares one political interest?
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It can silence members whose interests differ from the supposedly uniform political position.
53. What is the most common expression of communalism?
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Ordinary prejudice: fixed stereotypes about other faiths and assumptions of one’s own superiority can become familiar and go unquestioned.
54. What forms does the quest for political dominance take in majority and minority communities?
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Majoritarian dominance in one setting; a demand for a separate political unit in another. NCERT describes possible expressions of the same communal pursuit.
55. What instruments are used in political mobilisation on religious lines?
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Religious symbols and leaders can be combined with emotion and fear to organise exclusionary political support.
56. Which violent manifestations does NCERT discuss, and what historical period does it recall?
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Violent conflict, including riots and massacres. NCERT recalls severe examples during Partition and also after Independence.
57. Name any two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.
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India has no official state religion, and citizens have religious freedom including non-belief. Other features include protection against discrimination and action for equality within communities.
58. Which countries are contrasted with India on the question of an official religion?
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NCERT contrasts Buddhism’s standing in Sri Lanka, Islam’s in Pakistan and Christianity’s in England with India’s secular framework.
59. When may the Indian state intervene in matters of religion, and what example is given?
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To challenge inequality within communities; NCERT illustrates this through the prohibition of untouchability.
60. Why is a secular Constitution described as necessary but not sufficient?
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Rules provide essential protections, but people must also resist everyday prejudice and exclusionary campaigning. Constitutional principles need support in public life.
61. How does caste division differ from gender and religion as a social division?
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Caste is especially associated with India, while inequality and inherited work occur elsewhere too.
62. What is not distinctive about the caste system, and what is?
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Ritual authority made inherited occupational ranking distinctive; marriage, food and membership rules reinforced it.
63. What three things were members of the same caste group supposed to do?
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Work, marriage and food were regulated within caste groups; outcaste communities faced exclusion and untouchability.
64. On what was the caste system based?
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Reformers named by NCERT include Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker.
65. Name the four leaders and reformers who worked against caste inequalities.
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Urbanisation, education, economic development, occupational movement and weaker landlords loosened older hierarchy.
66. Name the five socio-economic changes that weakened the old notions of caste hierarchy.
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Constitutional prohibition changed the legal position, but practices and inherited advantages persisted.
67. Define urbanisation.
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Past educational access can shape modern qualifications and the distribution of urban middle-class positions.
68. Define occupational mobility.
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Rich and poor can exist within every caste while group averages and poverty proportions still differ.
69. Define caste hierarchy.
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Scheduled Castes are commonly called Dalits; Scheduled Tribes are commonly called Adivasis.
70. What did the Constitution of India do about caste?
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In 2011 NCERT gives SC 16.6% and ST 8.6%; OBCs were estimated around 41% by the 2004–05 survey.
71. State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India.
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Most people still marry inside their own caste or tribe; untouchability survives in part although the Constitution bans it; and the effects of centuries of advantages and disadvantages continue to be felt, so there is a disproportionately large presence of upper castes among the urban middle classes.
72. Why have some caste groups done well in acquiring modern education?
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Because they had access to education under the old system. Groups that did not have access, or were prohibited from acquiring it, have naturally lagged behind.
73. Why is there a disproportionately large presence of upper castes among the urban middle classes?
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Earlier access to schooling gave some caste groups a head start in gaining later qualifications, while groups denied that access often lagged behind.
74. What rights were denied under the old caste order?
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The so-called untouchable castes could not own land, and only the so-called twice born castes had the right to education.
75. What has changed in the relationship between caste and economic status?
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Every caste today has its very rich and its very poor, whether low or high. This was not true even twenty or thirty years ago, when it was very rare to find rich people among the lowest castes.
76. In what three ways does caste remain strongly linked to economic status?
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The average economic status of caste groups still follows the old hierarchy, with upper castes best off and Dalits and Adivasis worst off; the proportion in extreme poverty is much higher for the lowest castes; and the rich include far too many upper-caste people and far too few from the lower castes.
77. Who are the Scheduled Castes, and by what name are they commonly known?
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Those previously regarded as outcaste in the Hindu social order, who were subjected to exclusion and untouchability. They are commonly known as Dalits.
78. Who are the Scheduled Tribes, and by what name are they often referred to?
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Communities that lived apart, mostly in hills and forests, and had little contact with the wider society. They are often referred to as Adivasis.
79. What were the shares of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in 2011?
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Scheduled Castes 16.6 per cent and Scheduled Tribes 8.6 per cent of the country's population.
80. What proportion of the country do SC, ST and OBC together account for?
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Roughly two in three Indians, and roughly three in four Hindus. The OBC are estimated at around 41 per cent by the National Sample Survey of 2004-05.
81. What is casteism rooted in?
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Casteism claims caste is the only social community, but people have several identities and interests.
82. Why is the casteist belief not borne out by experience?
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Candidate selection and government formation may take caste diversity into account, while voters still make varied choices.
83. What do parties keep in mind when choosing candidates?
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They may appeal to caste sentiment or become associated with a caste group; this does not make every voter identical.
84. What care do parties take when governments are formed?
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Universal adult franchise and one-person-one-vote required leaders to seek support from groups previously excluded.
85. How do parties and candidates use caste sentiment?
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No constituency has a clear single-caste majority, so parties need support from several castes and communities.
86. What effect did universal adult franchise and one-person-one-vote have?
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A large proportion of voters from a caste who support a party, not every voter from that caste.
87. Why does no candidate in India rely on a single caste?
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Economic position, gender, party attachment, government performance and leadership can divide people of one caste.
88. What does it actually mean to call a caste a 'vote bank' of a party?
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It shows that voters can change their political preferences and that incumbency is not guaranteed.
89. How does the supply of candidates show that caste does not decide votes?
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Caste groups can include neighbouring castes or sub-castes and negotiate coalitions.
90. What evidence from election results shows that castes are not frozen in their preferences?
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Backward and forward caste groups.
91. Name three factors besides caste that matter in elections.
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Access to decision-making, dignity, land, resources and opportunities.
92. Which way round does the chapter put the relationship — does politics get caste-ridden, or does caste get politicised?
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It can make disadvantaged demands visible and increase access to power.
93. In what three ways does politics influence caste?
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It can divert attention from poverty, development and corruption.
94. What does entering a coalition require of caste groups?
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Tensions, conflict and sometimes violence.
95. Which political categories does the chapter say have emerged through caste negotiation?
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Backward and forward caste groups.
96. What positive role can the expression of caste differences play in politics?
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Caste-based organisation has sometimes opened decision-making space for Dalit and OBC groups and supported demands for dignity and resources.
97. What have political and non-political organisations been demanding and agitating for?
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An end to discrimination against particular castes, more dignity, and more access to land, resources and opportunities.
98. What negative results can exclusive attention to caste produce?
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A narrow caste focus can push issues such as poverty, development and corruption out of public debate and may intensify conflict.
99. Why is the word 'exclusive' important in the criticism of caste politics?
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Because the objection is not to caste being expressed in politics but to caste being the only thing expressed. Politics built only on caste identity does a democracy little good.
100. How do the chapter's three cases compare?
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Gender is the largely positive case, religion the largely negative one, and caste has both positive and negative aspects, which is why it is treated last.
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