Class 10 Civics Chapter 3 (formerly Chapter 4 before rationalisation), Gender, Religion and Caste, examines how three deep social divisions—gender (sexual division of labour, feminist movements and women’s political representation), religion (communalism vs secularism) and caste (caste inequalities, caste in politics and politics in caste)—express themselves in Indian democracy.
What Class 10 Social Science — Civics (Loktantrik Rajniti II) Chapter 3 Covers
Gender and Politics explains that gender division is grounded not in biology but in social expectations and stereotypes (sexual division of labour), traces Feminist movements demanding equal rights and opportunities, documents how women face disadvantages in literacy ($54\%$ vs $76\%$ for men in 2011), unpaid work, unequal wages despite the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, and declining child sex ratio ($919$ girls per $1000$ boys), and highlights the low representation of women in legislatures alongside the one-third reservation in Panchayati Raj and the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Women’s Reservation Act) granting $33\%$ reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
Religion, Communalism and Politics contrasts Gandhiji’s view that politics must be guided by ethical values drawn from all religions, human rights protection for religious minorities, and women’s demand for more equitable family laws with Communalism (the belief that followers of a religion form one political community whose interests conflict with other religions—expressed in everyday prejudices, majoritarian/separatist political mobilisation, and communal violence), and lists the constitutional provisions that make India a Secular State (no official state religion, freedom to profess/practice/propagate any religion or none, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, and state intervention to ensure equality within religious communities such as banning untouchability).
Caste and Politics (Caste Inequalities, Caste in Politics & Politics in Caste) explains how hereditary occupational division and untouchability were challenged by Jyotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker along with urbanisation, literacy and occupational mobility, shows why elections in India are NOT all about caste (no parliamentary constituency has a clear majority of one single caste, no party wins the votes of all voters of a caste, multiple candidates from the same caste contest, and ruling parties/MPs frequently lose), and explains how caste itself gets politicised (yielding both positive access to power for Dalits and OBCs and negative caste tensions).
Exercises in Chapter 3
- Chapter Exercises (11 Questions) mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India, state different forms of communal politics with one example each, state how caste inequalities are still continuing in India, state two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India, and list two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.
Read Class 10 Social Science — Civics (Loktantrik Rajniti II) Chapter 3 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 2: संघवाद (Federalism)
- Next: Chapter 4: राजनीतिक दल (Political Parties)
- English medium: Class 10 Civics Chapter 3 PDF in English (Democratic Politics II)
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FAQ
State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India.
(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, and many political parties may put up candidates from the same caste, while sitting MPs and MLAs frequently lose elections.
What are the constitutional provisions that make India a secular state?
(1) There is no official religion for the Indian state (unlike Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan or Christianity in England). (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 grounds of religion. (4) At the same time, the Constitution allows the state to intervene in matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities (for example, it bans untouchability).