CBSE Class 10 Social Science Gender Religion And Caste Worksheet

Very Short Answer Type Questions 

Question : What is casteism ? How is casteism in India different as compared to other societies ?
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Describe any five features of the caste system prevailing in India.
Answer :  (i) Organisation of people into social groups for the purpose of marriage, work and diet is known as the caste system.
(ii) The social structure of India is based upon the caste system. All societies have some kind of social inequality and some form of division of labour, but the Indian caste system is an extreme form of division of labour based on birth.
(iii) Although in most societies, occupations are passed on from one generation to another, but in India, it is different from other societies as in this system hereditary occupational division was sanctioned by rituals.
(iv) The Indian caste system was very rigid. Members of the same caste group were supposed to form a social community that practiced the same or similar occupation, married within the caste grouf), and did not eat with members from other caste groups.
(v) Indian caste system continues to be closely linked to economic status.

Question : Name the movements which agitate for women’s rights. How have these movements helped in improving women’s conditions ?
Answer :  Feminist Movements.
(i) Political expression of gender division and political mobilisation on this question helped to improve the women’s role in public life.
(ii) Now, women are working in occupations such as scientists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, managers, and college and university teachers which were earlier not Ans. considered suitable for women.
(iii) In some parts of the world, for example, (») By reserving some seats in the Lok Sabha in the Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway and Finland, the participation of women in public life is very high.

Question : Mention any positive role of caste in politics.
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Describe the positive and negative aspects of relationship between caste and politics
Answer :  (i) In some situations, expression of caste differences in politics gives many disadvantaged communities the space to demand their share of power.
(ii) In this sense, caste politics has helped people from the Dalits and the OBC castes to gain better access to decision making.
(iii) 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.
Negative :
(i) It disrupts social harmony.
(ii) It can divert attention from other pressing issues like poverty, corruption, etc.

Question : What are Feminist Movements? What were their major demands ?
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What was the Feminist Movement? Explain the political demands of the Feminist Movement in India.
Answer :  These are the movements which are organised by various women organisations to create equality for women in personal and family life.
(i) These feminist movements demand equal rights for women in all spheres of life.
(ii) There were agitations in different countries for the extension of voting rights to women.
(iii) The agitations demanded enhancing the political and legal status of women.
(iv) The movements also demanded in improving the educational and career opportunities for the women.

Question : “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.” Explain by giving examples.
Answer :  (i) Constituencies are a mixture of people belonging to different castes : 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.
(ii) Different choices even within caste : No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community because even within the community, people have different choices. 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.
(iii) Hunt for a dominating caste : Most of the political parties may put up candidates from the majority caste. But even this cannot guarantee their victory because some voters have more than one candidate from their castes, while many voters have no candidate from their castes.
History of elections : According to history of Indian elections, the ruling party and the sitting Member of the Parliament (MP) or Member of the Legistative Assembly (MLA) frequently lose elections in our country. This proves that though casteism and communalism play a major role in politics, but elections are not about caste and communalism.

Question : What forms can caste take in politics ?
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Explain any four forms of casteism in Indian Politics.
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Explain the role of caste in Indian politics.
                                       OR
Explain any three forms of caste politics in India.
Answer :  (i) While choosing candidates : 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 get necessary support to win elections. 
(ii) While forming a government : When the governments are formed, political parties usually take care that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it.
(iii) While campaigning : Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to people to give them their votes on the basis of caste. Some political parties are known to favour some castes, and are seen as their representatives.
(iv) Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote, has compelled the political leaders to raise the caste-based issues during elections. They do so to mobilise and secure political support. It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low.

Question : “Women in the Indian society still suffer from discrimination and oppression.” Support thestatement with suitable examples.
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Describe any five ways in which women in India are still discriminated against and oppressed.
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What are the problems faced by Indian women which affect their social status? Explain any five.
                                                                  OR
Describe any four aspects of life in which women are discriminated against in Indian society.
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Explain any five aspects of our day-to-day life in which women are discriminated against in India.
Answer :  The following points sum up how women are still discriminated against and oppressed in India.
• Literacy rate: The first and foremost discrimination is in the field of education where the literacy rate among women is only 66 per cent when compared to a high 82 per cent in males.
Even otherwise, parents prefer educating spending their resources of education of a male child  rather than a female child.
• Sex ratio: The sex ratio in India is as low as 940 females per 1000 males. The proportion of women as compared to men is very low. A major reason behind this is that parents prefer having a male child over a female child keeping in view the future perspective.
• Unpaid work: The proportion of highly-paid women is very less when compared to highlypaid men. Though on an average, Indian women work one hour more than men every day but they are not equally paid and thus their work is also not often valued as much as that of men.
• Domestic violence: Women every day in Indian society are harassed, exploited, and subjected to all sorts of violence behind the closed doors. Both in urban and rural areas, domestic violence is one of the most prominent form of discrimination faced by women. Many cases of domestic violence and dowry deaths are reported in the media every day.
• Female foeticide: In India, a male child is considered a blessing and a female child is considered a bane. This has come to an extent where the female child is killed in the womb of the mother. This killing of foetus is known as foeticide. Female foeticide is prevalent in both urban and rural areas.

Question : State any four provisions of the Indian Constitution which makes it a secular state.
Answer :  (i) No official religion : There is no official religion of the Indian state. Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan and Hinduism in Nepal, our Constitution does not give a special status to any religion.
(ii) Fundamental Rights : Under the Right To Freedom of Religion, our Constitution provides to all citizens freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any. Under the Cultural and Educational Right, our Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
(iii) Equality : The Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities. To ensure equality, untouchability has been banned.
(iv) Intervention of the state within religious communities : The Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within the different religious communities.

Question : What forms does communalism take in politics?
                                       OR
Define communalism as an ideology. Explain the forms of communalism in politics.
Answer :  Communalism is a strong sense of belonging to particular community especially a religious community, which often leads to extreme behavior or violence towards others. It cannot tolerate and respect people belonging to different religious communities.
There are different forms of communalism in politics as follows.
• Communalism in everyday beliefs: It is the most common form of communalism and can be in the form of religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities and belief that one religion is superior to other religions.
• Communalism as Majoritarian Dominance and Political Dominance: A communal mind often leads to quest for political dominance of one’s own religious community. For people belonging to the majority community this comes out as ‘Majoritarian dominance’ for those belonging to the minority community, it can take form of a desire to form a separate political unit.
• Communalism as political mobalisation: Political mobalisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, emotional appeals and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion together in political arena.
• Communalism in the form of communal violence: Sometimes, communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. For instance, India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communial riots at the time of the partition. To sum up, it can be said that communalism leads to the belief that people belonging to different religions cannot live as equal citizens within one nation. Either one of them has to dominate the rest or they have to form different nations.