Very Short Answer Questions (VSA)

Question 1.
What is the percentage of seats reserved for women in local bodies?
Answer:
33%

Question 2.
What is the ‘term’ used for a person who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men?
Answer:
Feminist

Question 3.
What proportion of the country’s population do the SC, ST and OBC together account for?
Answer:
The SC, ST and OBC together account for about two-thirds of the country’s population.

Question 4.
Define the term ‘feminist’.
Answer:
A woman or a man, who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men, is called a feminist.

Question 5.
Explain the term ‘feminist movements’.
Answer:
Feminist Movements are radical women’s movements aiming at attaining equality for women in personal and family life and public affairs. These movements have organized and agitated to raise channels for enhancing the political and legal status of women and improving their educational and career opportunities.

Question 6.
What is a patriarchal society?
Answer:
A patriarchal society is essentially male dominated. The line of descent is traced through the father. Men are valued more in terms of work they do and the place they hold in society. This gives them more power than women.

Question 7.
Why do Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have the prefix ‘Scheduled’ in their names?
Answer:
Both these broad groups include hundreds of castes or tribes whose names are listed in an official Schedule. Hence, the prefix ‘scheduled’ in their name.

Question 8.
What is communal politics?
Answer:
When the demands of one religious group are formed in opposition to another and when State power is used to establish domination of one religious group over the rest, this manner of using religion in politics is called communal politics.

Question 9.
Define gender division.
Answer:
Gender division refers to the unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women.

Question 10.
What is the result of the sexual division of labour?
Answer:
The result of sexual division of labour is that women have been confined to the private domain of family, while the public domain has been monopolised by the men.

Question 11.
Why girl child does gets dropped out from the school as compared to male child?
Answer:
Because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boy’s education rather than spending equally on their sons and daughters.

Question 12.
What is the sex ratio in India?
Answer:
Sex ratio means number of girl child per one thousand boys. According to census of India 2001, the sex ratio in India was 927:1000.

Question 13.
What were Gandhiji’s views on religion?
Answer:

1.    Gandhiji did not consider religion as Hinduism, Islam or Christianity. To him, every religion was based on some belief system supported by rituals. He tried to get rid of rituals as far as possible.

2.    To him religion was a human institution that helped people solve practical affairs. He believed that the moral values drawn from all the religions should be used to guide the political system.

Question 14.
Write down Human Rights Groups views about religious minorities.
Answer:

1.    Human rights groups in India have argued that most of the victims of communal roits in our country are people from religious minorities.

2.    They have demanded that the government should take special steps to protect religious minorities.

Question 15.
Why India was declared a secular state?
Answer:
Communalism was and continues to be one of the major challenges to democracy in our country The makers of our Constitution were aware of this challenge. That is why they chose the model of a secular state.

Question 16.
Name a few leaders who worked for ending casteism in India.
Answer:
Political leaders and social reformers like Jotiba Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker advocated and worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.

Question 17.
“Exclusive attention to caste can produce negative results also.”. Explain.
Answer:

1.    As in the case of religion, politics based on caste identity alone is not very healthy in a democracy.

2.    It can divert attention from other pressing issues like poverty, development and corruption.
In some cases casteism leads to tensions, conflicts and even violence.

Question 18.
What do you mean by the term ‘Secular’?
Answer:
It means being neutral or matters of faith and having no special preference to any religion. It involves giving freedom to people to follow religion of their own choice. The state treats every religion equally.

Question 19.
Define family laws.
Answer:
The family laws are related to families. They apply differently to different religions. They deal with family-related issues such as inheritance, marriage, adoption, divorce etc.

Question 20.
How can women’s representation be increased in politics?
Answer:

1.    One way to solve this problem is to make it legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies.

2.    This is what the Panchayati Raj has done in India. One-third of seats in local government bodies – in panchayats and municipalities-are now reserved for women.

3.    Now there are more than 10 lakh elected women representatives in rural and urban local bodies.

4.    Women’s organisations and activists have been demanding a similar reservation of at least one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies for women.

Question 21.
Can religion be used positively in politics? How?
Answer:

1.    Gandhiji always preached for using the moral values of all the religions as a guide to the political system. He believed that all the religions have some belief system and the ethics. It should be used in politics as a guide.

2.    Ideas, ideals and values should have a place in politics. People should be able to voice their needs and interests as a religious community. Also, the leaders should regulate the religion to ensure that it is not used for discrimination and oppression.

3.    However, the use of religion in politics should be done with careful thought and analysis. No religious demand or interest should be raised if it is against any other religion.

4.    Religion should be used to bind the people together and not arouse feelings of distrust and suspicion.

Question 22.
Why is the work done by the males more visible than the work done by the females?
Answer:

1.    The work is generally divided on the basis of the gender of a person. The women of the family are supposed to do all the household work and the men are supposed to go out for work.

2.    The work done by women is generally unpaid for like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and taking care of children. Also, no specific skill is required to do the household work.

3.    While the male members earn money for their work and some skills are needed for the work. Due to this, the work done by men is respected more in the society and hence, considered as more visible than the work done by females.

Question 23.
When does the problem of communalism become acute?
Answer:
Communalism creates an acute problem when:

1.    Religion is used in politics as an exclusive factor where people belonging to different religions are treated differently

2.    Demands of one religion are against the demands of another religion and there is feeling of distrust among the people of different religions

3.    Beliefs and ideas of one religion are shown to be superior to the beliefs and ideas of another religion.

4.    Various religious groups are in opposition to each other and the winning or defeat of a particular group is associated with respective religion’s winning or defeat.

Question 24.
Explain “political mobilization on communal line”.
Answer:

1. Communalism means promoting the ideas of one religion within a particular group and undermining the ideas of other religions. It becomes a problem when religion is used to divide the society.


2. It believes that people belonging to different religions form different communities and cannot live together as one nation.


3. Communalism in politics sometimes takes the shape of political mobilization on communal lines. It means that political leaders appeal to people of different religions to gain votes. It involves the use of sacred religious symbols and religious leaders to appeal to the people of that religion.


4. It attempts to bring all the people of one religion together. The political leaders pay special attention to the demands of one religion at the cost of the other religions.

Question 25.
What do you mean by caste inequalities?
Answer:

1.    Unlike gender and religion, the caste division is special to India. All societies have some kind of social inequalities and some form of division of labour.

2.    In most societies, occupations are passed on from one generation to another. Caste system is an extreme form of this.

3.    What makes it different from other societies is that in this system hereditary occupational division was sanctioned by rituals.

4.    Members of the same caste group were supposed to form a social community that practiced the same or similar occupation married within the caste group and did not eat with members from other caste groups.

Question 26.
“Caste and caste system in India have undergone great changes.” Explain.
Answer:

1. Caste and caste system in modern India have undergone great changes. With, economic development, large scale urbanization, growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility and the weakening of the position of landlords in the villages the old notion of caste hierarchy are breaking down.
2. Now, most of times in urban areas it does not matter much who is walking along next along next to us on a street or eating at the next table in a restaurant.
3. The Constitution of India prohibited any caste-based discrimination and laid the foundations of policies to reverse the injustices of the caste system.
4. If a person who lived century ago were to return to India, he/she would be greatly surprised at the change that has come about the country.

Question 27.
“Caste can take various form in politics.” How?
Answer:
Caste can take various forms in politics:

1. When parties choose candidates in elections, they keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate and nominate candidates from different castes so as to muster necessary support to win elections. When the governments are formed, political parties usually take care that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it.
2. Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste sentiments to muster support. Some political parties are known to favour some castes and are seen as their representatives.
3. Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote compelled the political leaders to gear themselves up to the task of mobilizing and securing political support. It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low.

Question 28.
How does politics influence caste?
Answer:
It is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is the caste that gets politicised. This takes several forms:

1.    Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within it neighbouring castes or sub-castes which were earlier excluded from it.

2.    Various caste groups are required to enter into a coalition with other castes or communities and thus enter into a dialogue and negotiation.

3.    New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arenas like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ caste groups.

4.    Thus caste plays different kinds of roles in politics. In some ways, it is a routine factor that works all over the world mobilise social groups and communities in order to get their votes.

5.    In some situations, expression of caste differences in politics gives many disadvantaged communities the space to demand share of power. In this sense caste, politics has helped people from Dalits and OBC castes to gain better access to decision making. Several political and non¬political organisations have been demanding and agitating for the end of discrimination against particular castes, for more dignity and more access to land, resources and opportunities.

Question 29.
“Case continues to be very strongly linked to economic status in many important ways.” Explain.
Answer:
As the evidence from the National Sample Survey shows, caste continues to be very strongly linked to economic status in many important ways:

1.    The average economic status (measures by criteria like monthly consumption expenditure) of caste groups still follows the old hierarchy – the ‘upper’ castes are best off, the Dalits and Adivasis are worst off, and the backward castes are in between.

2.    Although every caste has some poor members, the proportion living in extreme poverty (below the official ‘poverty line’) is much higher for the lowest castes and much higher for the upper castes, with the backward castes once again in between.

3.    Although every caste has some members who are rich, the upper castes are heavily over-represented among the rich while the lower castes are severely under-represented.

Question 30.
Explain the concept of sexual division of labour.
Answer:

1.    Gender division does not mean the biological difference between men and women. It refers to the unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women.

2.    Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up children.

3.    This is reflected in a sexual division of labour in most families: women do all work inside the home such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, tailoring, looking after children, etc. and men do work outside the home.

4.    It is not that men cannot do housework; they simply think that it is for women to attend to these things. When these jobs are paid for, men are ready to take up these works. Most tailors or cooks in hotels are men.

5.    Similarly, it is not that women do not work outside their home. Women fetch water and collect fuel in villages, they work in the fields, they often do shopping and are increasingly taking up paid jobs. But their work is not valued and does not get recognition.

6.    The result of this division of labour is that women have been confined to the private domain of family, while the public domain has been monopolized by the men.

Question 31.
“Women face disadvantage, discrimination and oppression in various ways.” Give some instances to support the statement.
Answer:
In our country, women still lag much behind men despite some improvement since independence. Ours is still male-dominated, patriarchal, society.

Women face disadvantages, discrimination and oppression in various ways:

The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent compared to 76 per cent among men. Similarly, a smaller proportion of girl students go for higher studies. When we look at school results, girls perform as well as boys, if not better in some places. But they get dropped Out because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boys education than spending equally on their sons and daughters.

No wonder the proportion of women among the highly paid and valued jobs is still very small. On an average Indian woman works one hour more than an average male every day. Yet much of her work is not paid and therefore often not valued.

In many parts of India parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she born. This has led to a decline in child sex ratio (number of girl child per thousand boys) in the country to merely 927.

There are reports of various kinds of harassment, exploitation and violence against women. Urban areas have become particularly unsafe for women. They are not safe even within their own home from beating and other forms of domestic violence.

The Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work. However, in almost all areas of work; women are paid less than men, even when both do exactly same work.

Question 32.
Write a note on communal politics and its consequences.
Answer:

1.    Communal politics is based on the idea that religion is the principal basis of social community. Communalism involves thinking along the following lines.

2.    The followers of a particular religion must belong to one community. Their fundamental interests are the same. Any difference that they may have is irrelevant or trivial for community life

3.    It also follows that people who follow different religions cannot belong to the same social community.

4.    If the followers of different religions have some commonalities these are superficial and immaterial.

5.    Their interests are bound to be different and involve a conflict.

Question 33.
How can you say that communalism can take various forms in politics?
Answer:
Communalism can take various forms in politics:

The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one’s religion over other religions. This is so common that we often fail to notice it, even when we believe in it.

A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one’s own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, this takes the form of majoritarian dominance ‘For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit

Political mobilisation on communal lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion together in the political arena. In electoral politics, this often involves special appeal to the interests or emotions of voters of one religion in preference to others.

Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots at the time of the partition. The post-independence period has also seen large scale communal violence.

Question 34.
“India is a secular state”. Justify.
Answer:

There is no official religion of the Indian state. Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, that of Islam in Pakistan and that of Hinduism in Nepal till recently, our Constitution does not give a special status to any religion.

The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any.

The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

At the same time the Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities. For example, it bans untouchability.

Understood in this sense secularism is not just an ideology of some parties or persons. This idea constitutes one of the foundations of our country.

Communalism should not be seen as a threat to some people in India. It threatens the very idea of India. That is why communalism needs to be combated. A secular Constitution like ours is necessary but not sufficient to combat communalism. Communal prejudices and propaganda needs to be countered in everyday life and religion-based mobilization needs to be countered in the arena of politics.

Question 35.
“The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else. But that is far from true.” Justify.
Answer:
The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else. That is far from true. Just consider these examples:

1.    No parliamentary constituency in the country has a clear majority of one single caste. So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win elections.

2.    No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or – community. When people say that a caste is a vote bank’ of one party it usually means that about two-thirds of the voters of that community.

3.    The ruling party and the sitting MP or MLA frequently lose elections in our country. That could not have happened if all castes and communities were frozen in their political preferences.

4.    The voters have strong attachment to political parties which is often stronger than their attachment to their caste or community. People within the same caste or community have different interests depending on their economic condition.

 

Short Answer Questions (SA) 3 Marks

Question 36.
Mention any two constitutional provisions that make India a Secular State.
Answer:
Two constitutional provisions that make India a Secular State are:

1.    There is no official religion for the Indian State. Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan and Christianity in England, our Constitution does not give a special status to any religion.

2.    At the same time, the Constitution allows the State to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities; for example, it bans untouchability.

Question 37.
Suppose a politician seeks your vote on the religious ground. Why is his act considered against the norms of democracy? Explain.
Answer:
If a politician seeks votes on religious grounds, he is acting against the norms of democracy because—

1.    This act of his is against the Constitution. He is exploiting social differences which may create social discard and lead to social division.

2.    Religion becomes a problem when it is expressed in politics and when one religion and its followers are pitted against another.

3.    When beliefs of one religion are presented as superior to those of other religions and the demands of one religious group are formed in opposition to another and the state power is used to establish the domination of one religious group over the rest, it leads to communal politics.

Question 38.
Explain the status of women’s representation in India’s legislative bodies.
Answer:
The one way to ensure that women related problems get adequate attention is to have more women as elected representatives. To achieve this, it is legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies.

1.    Panchayati Raj in India has reserved one-third seats in Local Government bodies for women.

2.    In India, the proportion of women in legislature has been very low. The percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha is not even 10 per cent and in State Assemblies less than 5 per cent. India is behind several developing countries of Africa and Latin America. Women organisations have been demanding reservations of at least one-third seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women.

3.    And only recently, in March 2010, the women’s reservation bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha ensuring 33% reservation to women in Parliament and State Legislative bodies.

Question 39.
How does religion influence the political set up in our country? Explain.
Answer:
Gandhiji said, “Religion can never be separated from politics”. By religion he did not mean any particular religion like Hinduism or Islam, but moral values and ethics drawn from religion to guide politics. Religion in politics is not as dangerous as it may seem to us. Ethical values of each religion can play a major role in politics. According to human rights groups, most of the victims of communal riots in our country are from religious minorities.

Government can take special steps to protect them. Family laws of all religions discriminate against women. The government can change laws to make them more equitable. These instances show a relationship between religion and politics. People should be able to express in politics their needs, interests and demands as members of a religious community. Thus, it is the responsibility of those whose political power is able to regulate the practice of religion, to prevent discrimination and oppression. These political acts are not wrong as long as they treat every religion equally.

Long Answer Questions (LA)

Question 40.
“Gender division is not based on Biology but on social expectations and stereotypes’. Support the statement.
Or
Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated against or disadvantaged in India.
Answer:
‘Gender division is not based on Biology but on social expectations and stereotypes’:

1.    Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is house work and bringing up children. There is sexual division of labour in most families where women stay at home and men work outside to play the role of breadwinners.

2.    Literacy rate among women is only 54% in comparison to 76% among men. In studies, girls mostly perform better than boys, but they drop out simply because parents prefer to spend their resources on their sons’ education. A smaller proportion of girls go for higher studies.

3.    On an average, a woman works more than an average man every day. Since much of her work is not paid for, therefore often not valued. The Equal Wages Act provides for equal wages for equal work, but in almost all areas of work from sports to cinema, from factories to fields, women are comparatively paid less because of the male chauvinistic bent of mind of society.

4.    Child sex-ratio (number of girl children per thousand boys) is very low. In India, the national average is 927. In some places it is even lower because parents prefer to have sons so they get girl child aborted.

5.    In urban areas too, women are not respected and are unsafe even in their homes being subjected to beating, harassment and other forms of domestic violence.

6.     The role of women in politics in most societies is minimal.

Question 41.
State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India.
Answer:
Caste has not disappeared from contemporary India and caste division is special to India. Some of the older aspects of caste persist even today.

1.    Even now most people marry within their own caste.

2.    Untouchability has not ended completely despite constitutional prohibition.

3.    Effects of centuries of advantages and disadvantages can be felt today. The caste groups that had access to education under old system have done well, whereas those groups that did not have access to education have lagged behind.

4.    There is a large presence of ‘upper caste’ among the urban middle classes in our country.

5.    Caste continues to be linked to economic status as is evident from National Sample Survey:

1.    The average economic status of caste groups still follows the old hierarchy

2.    the ‘upper’ castes are best off, the Dalits and Adivasis are worst off and the backward classes are in between.

3.    Although every caste has some poor members, the proportion of those living in extreme poverty is higher for lowest castes and much lower for the upper castes.

4.    Similarly, every caste has some members who are rich. The upper castes are heavily over-represented among the rich while the lower castes are under-represented.

5.    The SC, ST and OBC together account for about two-thirds of India’s population.

Question 42.
What factors have brought about a change in the Indian Caste system in modern times? Explain.
Answer:
The castes and caste system in modern India have undergone great changes due to the efforts of social reformers and the socio-economic changes in India. With economic development, large scale urbanisation, growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility and weakening of the position of landlords in the villages, the old notions of caste hierarchy are breaking down. Politics too influences the caste system and caste identities by bringing them into the political arena. The Constitution of India prohibits any caste-based discrimination and has laid foundations of policies to reverse injustices of the caste system.

Question 43.
Explain the various forms that caste can take in politics.
Answer:
Various forms of caste in politics:

1.    When governments are formed, political parties usually take care that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it.

2.    When parties choose candidates, they keep in mind the composition of the electorate and accordingly choose candidates from different castes so as to muster necessary support to win elections.

3.    Political parties make appeals to caste sentiments to gain support. Some political parties are known to favour some castes.

4.    Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote compelled political leaders to mobilise political support. It also brought new consciousness among people belonging to those castes which were treated as inferiors.

Question 44.
What was the Feminist Movement? Explain the political demands of the Feminist Movement in India.
Answer:
Feminist Movements are radical women’s movements aiming at attaining equality for women in personal and family life and public affairs. These movements have organised and agitated to raise channels for enhancing the political and legal status of women and improving their educational and career opportunities.

Political demands of the feminist movement in India:
The one way to ensure that women related problems get adequate attention in India is to have more women as elected representatives. To achieve this, it is legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies. Panchayati Raj in India has reserved one-third seats in Local Government bodies for women.

In India, the proportion of women in legislature has been very low. The percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha is not even 10 per cent and in State Assemblies less than 5 per cent. India in behind several developing countries of Africa and Latin America. Women organizations have been demanding reservations of at least one-third seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women.

And only recently, in March 2010, the women’s reservation bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State Legislative bodies.

Question 45.
What have been the consequences of the political expression of gender division in free India?
Answer:
Political expression of gender division and political mobilisation has helped improve women’s role in public life all over the world including India. However, despite some improvements since Independence, ours is still a male-dominated society and women lag behind in all fields.

1.    Literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent as compared with 76 per cent among men.

2.    Proportion of women among highly paid and valuable jobs in still very small.

3.    Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid for equal work. However, in all areas from sports and cinema, factories to fields, women are paid less than men for the same amount of work.

4.    In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to abort the girl child before she is born.

Question 46.
Explain the factors that have led to the weakening of the caste system in India. (2014)
Answer:
Reasons which have contributed to changes in caste system:

1.    Efforts of political leaders and social reformers like Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar who advocated and worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.

2.    Socio-economic changes such as:

1.    urbanisation

2.    growth of literacy and education

3.    occupational mobility

4.    weakening of landlord’s position in the village

5.    breaking down of caste hierarchy have greatly contributed.

3.    The Constitution of India prohibited any caste-based discrimination and laid the foundations of policies to reverse the injustices of the caste system.

4.    Provision of fundamental rights has played a major role because these rights are provided to all citizens without any discrimination.

Question 47.
How far is it correct to say that it is not politics that gets caste ridden but it is the caste that gets politicised? Explain.
Answer:
Politics too influences the caste system and caste identities by bringing them into the political arena. This takes several forms:

1.    Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within itself neighbouring castes or sub¬castes.

2.    Various caste groups enter into a coalition with other castes for negotiations.

3.    New caste groups like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ have come up in the political arena.

4.    Expressions of caste differences in politics give many disadvantaged communities the chance to demand their share of power and thus gain access to decision-making.

5.    Many political and non-political organisations have been demanding and agitating for an end to discrimination against particular castes for more dignity and more access to land, resources and opportunities.

Question 48.
What was the Feminist Movement? Explain the political demands of the Feminist Movement in India.
Answer:
Feminist Movements are radical women’s movements aiming at attaining equality for women in personal and family life and public affairs. These movements have organised and agitated to raise channels for enhancing the political and legal status of women and improving their educational and career opportunities.
Political demands of the feminist movement in India:

The one way to ensure that women related problems get adequate attention in India is to have more women as elected representatives. To achieve this, it is legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies. Panchayati Raj in India has reserved one-third seats in Local Government bodies for women.

In India the proportion of women in legislature has been very low. The percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha is not even 10 per cent and in State Assemblies less than 5 per cent. India is behind several developing countries of Africa and Latin America. Women organizations had been demanding reservations of at least one-third seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women.

And only recently, in March 2010, the women’s reservation bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha ensuring 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Legislative bodies.

Question 49.
“The Government of India gives holidays for the festivals of most of the religions.” Why is it so? Give your viewpoint.
Answer:
The Government of India gives all religious holidays because India is a secular state.
Certain provisions were adopted in the Constitution to make India a secular state:

1.    There is no official religion for the Indian State. Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Islam in Pakistan, our Constitution does not give a special status to any religion.

2.    The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion or not to follow any.

3.    The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion.

4.    Constitution allows the State to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities, for example, it bans untouchability.