‘Gender Religion and caste’ Question answers are from NCERT book in Political Science for Class 10 CBSE. These answers are given to help students.
1: Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India.
Ans: Women in India face discrimination and disadvantage in the following ways:
a. They are not given a proper education. As a result, the literacy rate among women is only 54%.
b. The majority of their work is unpaid. Where they are compensated for their labour, they are paid less than men.
c. Female foeticide is prevalent in several parts of the country due to a preference for the boy child.
2: Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in India.
Ans: Women in India face discrimination and disadvantage in the following ways:
a. They are not given a proper education. As a result, the literacy rate among women is only 54%.
b. The majority of their work is unpaid. Where they are compensated for their labour, they are paid less than men.
c. Female foeticide is prevalent in several parts of the country due to a preference for the boy child.
3: State how caste inequalities are still continuing in India.
Ans: Caste differences in India have not totally vanished. Despite the constitutional prohibition, untouchability has not been totally abolished. Even today, the vast majority of people marry within their own caste or tribe. The so-called “low castes” do not have easy access to education. The economic position of people is deeply linked to the caste system, with the top classes faring the best, the Oppressed and Adivasis faring the worst, and the backward classes faring somewhere in between. Socially deprived individuals, such as rural landless labourers, are generally poor and are still exploited today.
4: State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India.
Ans: In India, caste alone cannot impact election outcomes because:
(i) No single caste has a clear majority in any parliamentary constituency.
(ii) No party receives 100% of the vote from a single caste.
5: What is the status of women’s representation in India’s legislative bodies?
Ans: India is in the bottom group of countries globally when it comes to women’s representation in legislative bodies. Until 2019, the percentage of elected women members in the Lok Sabha had never ever exceeded 10% of the total membership. Local government bodies, on the other hand, are in a different scenario. More than 10 lakh elected women members in rural and urban local bodies, as one-third of seats in local government bodies are reserved for women. A similar reservation of at least one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women has been demanded. For more than a decade, a bill with this proposal has been pending in Parliament.
6: Mention any two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state.
Ans: Two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state are:
a. Individuals and communities have the freedom to profess, practise, and propagate any religion, or not to follow any at all, under the Constitution.
b. Discrimination based on religion is prohibited by the Constitution. For the Indian state, there is no official religion.
7: When we speak of gender divisions, we usually refer to ______
- (a)biological difference between men and women
- (b)unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women
- (c)unequal child sex ratio
- (d)absence of voting rights for women in democracies
Ans. (b) When we speak of gender divisions, we usually refer to ‘unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women‘.
8: In India, seats are reserved for women in _______
- (a) Lok Sabha
- (b) State legislative assemblies
- (c) Cabinets
- (d) Panchayati Raj bodies
Ans. (d) In India, seats are reserved for women in ‘Panchayati Raj bodies’.
9: Consider the following statements on the meaning of communal politics. Communal politics is based on the belief that:
- A.one religion is superior to that of others.
- B. people belonging to different religions can live together happily as equal citizens.
- C. followers of a particular religion constitute one community.
- D. state power cannot be used to establish the domination of one religious group over others.
Which of the statements are correct?
(a) (A), (B), (C) and (D)
(b) (A), (B) and (D)
(c) (A) and (C)
(d) (B) and (D)
Ans. The statements (A) and (C) are correct. Communal politics is based on the belief that ‘one religion is superior to that of others’ and followers of a particular religion constitute one community.
10: Which among the following statements about India’s Constitution is wrong? It ________
- (a) prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
- (b) gives official status to one religion.
- (c) provides to all individuals freedom to profess any religion.
- (d) ensures equality of citizens within religious communities.
Ans. The statement “It gives official status to one religion” is wrong about India’s Constitution.
Q.11: Social divisions based on _______ are peculiar to India.
Ans. Social divisions based on caste are peculiar to India
12: Match Column A with Column B and select the correct answer using the codes given:
Answer:
| (i) A person who believes in equal rights for women and men. | (b) Feminist |
| (ii) A person who says that religion is the principal basis of community. | (a) Communalist |
| (iii) A person who thinks that caste is the principal basis for community. | (d) Castiest |
| (iv) A person who does not discriminate others on the basis of religious beliefs | (c) Secularist |
