Class 8 Civics Chapter 8 Confronting Marginalisation InText Questions and Answers
Page No. 97
Question 1.
State one reason why do you think reservations play an important role in providing social justice to Dalits and Adivasis?
Answer:
Reservations play an important role in providing social justice to Dalits and Adivasis because it is the only way to restore their dignity and to make them join in the mainstream of national life.
Question 2.
Fill in the blanks.
Answer:
| List of schemes | What is this scheme about? | How do you think it will help promote social justice? |
| Scholarship for students | Under this scheme, the students belonging to backward classes secure marks above the cut-off point are provided scholarships from the governments. | It will help the deserving students from backward classes to go for higher education in spite of their poor economic condition. |
| Special police stations | The complaints of Dalits and Adivasis are heard and action is taken accordingly | It helps the backward classes to get justice without delay and discrimination. |
| Special schemes for girls in government schools | Girls are given free education. | It will provoke more and more people to send their daughters to school. Thus, girls will get equal status or treatment in the society |
Page No. 99
Question 1.
In your opinion does the force put on Rathnam to perform this ritual violate his Fundamental Rights?
Answer:
The force put on Rathnam to perform the ritual of washing the feet of all the priests and then bathing in the water used for this do violate their Fundamental Rights.
Question 2.
Why do you think that Dalit families were afraid of angering the powerful castes?
Answer:
The Dalit families were afraid of angering the powerful castes because :
- Many of them worked on the fields of the people who belong to powerful castes as daily-wage labourers.
- They were afraid if dominant castes did not allow them to work in their fields then what would they (Dalit families) earn.
- Dalits also declared that the wrath of the local deity would strike them if they refused to give in.
Page No. 100
Question 1.
Can you list two different provisions in the 1989 Act?
Answer:
Two different provisions in the 1989 Act are as follows :
(1) The Act sets out to punish anyone who wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred.
(2) The Act recognizes that crimes against Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind. It penalizes those who assault or use force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour her.
Question 2.
Look up the glossary and write in your own words what you understand by the term ‘morally reprehensible’.
Answer:
Morally reprehensible means doing a task or an act which is not socially acceptable.
Or
Behaving or acting in such a manner which are against the morals and norms fixed by society.
Page No. 101
Question 1.
What do you understand by manual scavenging?
Answer:
Manual scavenging refers to the practice of removing human and animal waste/ excreta using brooms, tin plates, and baskets from dry latrines and carrying it on the head to disposal grounds some distance away.
Question 2.
Re-read the list of Fundamental Rights provided on page 14 (of the textbook) and list two rights that this practice violates?
Answer:
The practice of manual scavenging violates the following Fundamental Rights :
- Right to Equality
- Right to Freedom
Question 3.
Why did the Safai Karamchari Andolan file a PIL in 2003? What did they complain about in their petition?
Answer:
In 1993 the government passed the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act. This law prohibits the employment of manual scavengers as well as the construction of dry latrines.
In 2003 the Safai Karamchari Andolan and 13 other organisations and individuals, including seven scavengers filed a PIL in the Supreme Court. The petitioners complained that manual scavenging still existed and was continued in government undertakings like the railways.
Question 4.
What did the Supreme Court do on hearing their case in 2005?
Answer:
The Supreme Court on hearing their case in 2005 directed every department/ ministry of the union government and state governments to verify the facts within six months. If manual scavenging was found to exist then the government department has to actively take up a time-bound programme for their liberation and rehabilitation.
Class 8 Civics Chapter 8 Confronting Marginalisation Exercise Questions and Answers
Question 1.
List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with dignity and as equals. Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed on page 14 (of the textbook) to help you answer this question.
Answer:
The following are the two Fundamental Rights in the constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they should be treated with dignity and as equals :
(1) Right to Equality – All persons are equal before the law. This means that all persons shall be equally protected by the laws of the country. It also states that no person can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, caste or sex. Every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops, etc.
(2) Right to Freedom – This includes the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to form associations, the right to move freely and reside in any part of the country, and the right to practice any profession, occupation, or business.
Question 2.
Re-read the story of Rathnam as well as the provisions of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think he used this law to file a complaint.
Answer:
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 seeks to punish those who humiliate or ill-treat the member of the Dalit or tribal group. The modes of humiliation, that are physically horrific and morally reprehensible practiced by powerful castes on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, were made illegal and punishable.
In the story of Rathnam, he was forced to do a ritual just because he was Dalit. He refused to do so. It angered the powerful castes (priests) and they ordered them to ostracise him and his family from his own community. One night some people set his hut on fire. Rathnam filed a case in the police station under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 to protest against the domination and violence of the powerful castes in his village.
Question 3.
Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight against dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of the Act that allows her to believe this?
Answer:
The Adivasi activists including C.K Janu believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight dispossession because this Act guarantees the tribals not to be dispossessed from the land and resources forcibly. Their land cannot be sold or bought by non-tribal people. The Constitution also guarantees the right of the tribal people to repossess their land.
Question 4.
The poems and the song in this Unit allow you to see the range of ways in which individuals and communities express their opinions, their anger, and their sorrow. In class, do the following two exercises :
(a) Bring to class a poem that discusses a social issue. Share this with your classmates. Work in small groups with two or more poems to discuss their meaning as well as what the poet is trying to communicate.
Answer:
Student, do yourself.
(b) Identify a marginalised community in your locality. Write a poem, or song, or draw a poster etc. to express your feelings as a member of this community.
Answer:
Student, do yourself.
