T1-NCERT-VI-Social & political Life II

Chapter 1

Equality in Indian Democracy 

Equal right to vote 

One of the more common forms of inequality in India is the caste system. 

Omprakash Valmiki’s book, Joothan, which talks about his experiences of growing up as a Dalit boy 

Recognising dignity 

You have understood by now that the caste we are born into, the religion we practice, the class background we come from, whether we are male or female – these are often the things that determine why some people are treated unequally. 

When persons are treated unequally, their dignity is violated. 

Omprakash and the Ansaris do not deserve to be treated like this. They deserve the same respect and dignity as anyone else. 

Equality in Indian democracy 

The Indian Constitution recognises every person as equal. This means that every individual in the country, including male and female persons from all castes, religions, tribes, educational and economic backgrounds are recognised as equal. This is not to say that inequality ceases to exist. It doesn’t. But atleast, in democratic India, the principle of the equality of all persons is recognised. 

While earlier no law existed to protect people from discrimination and ill-treatment, now there are several that work to see that people are treated with dignity and as equals. 

The two ways in which the government has tried to implement the equality that is guaranteed in the Constitution is first through laws and second through government programmes or schemes to help disadvantaged communities. There are several laws in India that protect every person’s right to be treated equally. In addition to laws, the government has also set up several schemes to improve the lives of communities and individuals who have been treated unequally for several centuries. These schemes are to ensure greater opportunity for people who have not had this in the past. 

One of the steps taken by the government includes the midday meal scheme. This refers to the programme introduced in all government elementary schools to provide children with cooked lunch. Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to introduce this scheme, and in 2001, the Supreme Court asked all state governments to begin this programme in their schools within six months. This programme has had many positive effects. These include the fact that more poor children have begun enrolling and regularly attending school. 

One of the main reasons for this is that attitudes change very slowly. Even though persons are aware that discrimination is against the law, they continue to treat people unequally on the basis of their caste, religion, disability, economic status and because they are women. It is only when people begin to believe that no one is inferior, and that every person deserves to be treated with dignity, that present attitudes can change. Establishing equality in a democratic society is a continuous struggle and one in which individuals as well as various communities in India contribute to 

So, for example, in the United States of America, the African–Americans whose ancestors were the slaves who were brought over from Africa, continue to describe their lives today as largely unequal. 

This, despite the fact that there was a movement in the late 1950s to push for equal rights for African– Americans. Prior to this, African–Americans were treated extremely unequally in the United States and denied equality through law. For example, when travelling by bus, they either had to sit at the back of the bus or get up from their seat whenever a white person wished to sit. 

Rosa Parks, an African–American woman, changed the course of American history with one defiant act. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion or national origin. It also stated that all schools would be open to African–American children and that they would no longer have to attend separate schools specially set up for them. However, despite this, a majority of African–Americans continue to be among the poorest in the country. 

Civil Rights Movement: A movement that began in USA in 1950s in which African–American people demanded equal rights and an end to racial discrimination. 

Chapter 2

State Government 

In a democracy people expect the government to work for their welfare. This could be through the provision of education, health, employment, housing or the development of roads, electricity etc. 

Role of the Government in Health 

What is health? 

We can think of health in many ways. Health means our ability to remain free of illness and injuries. But health isn’t only about disease. You may have associated only some of the situations in the above collage with health. What we often ignore is the fact that each of the above situations is related to health. Apart from disease, we need to think of other factors that affect our health. For example, if people get clean drinking water or a pollution free environment they are likely to be healthy. On the other hand, if people do not get adequate food to eat or have to live in cramped conditions, they will be prone to illness. 

Healthcare in India 

India has the largest number of medical colleges in the world and is among the largest producers of doctors. Approximately15,000 new doctors qualify every year. 

Healthcare facilities have grown substantially over the years. In 1950, there were only 2,717 hospitals in India. In 1991, there were 11,174 hospitals. In 2000, the number grew to 18,218. 

India gets a large number of medical tourists from many countries. They come
for treatment in some of the hospitals in
India that compare with the best in the world. 

India is the now third largest producer of medicines in the world and is also a large exporter of medicines. 

Medicine production is highly concentrated in the industrialized countries, where just five countries - the USA, Japan, Germany, France and the UK - account for two-thirds of the value of all medicines produced.

• Large volume markets of lower-price medicines exist in the highly competitive domestic markets of China and India.

Most doctors settle in urban areas.
People in rural areas have to travel long distances to reach a doctor. The number of doctors with respect to the population is much less in rural areas. 

About five lakh people die from tuberculosis every year. This number is almost unchanged since Independence!
Almost two million cases of malaria are reported every year and this number isn’t decreasing. 

We are not able to provide clean drinking water to all. 21per cent of all 

communicable diseases are water borne. For example, diarrhoea, worms, hepatitis, etc. 

Half of all children in India do not get adequate food to eat and are undernourished. 

The country also has considerable experience and knowledge in running a public healthcare system. This is a system of hospitals and health centres run by the government. It has the ability to look after the health of a large section of its population scattered over hundreds of thousands of villages. 

With all the above positive developments we are not able to provide proper healthcare facilities to people 

Our country has the money, knowledge and people with experience but cannot make the necessary healthcare available to all. 

Public and private healthcare services 

we can roughly divide up various healthcare facilities in two categories – 

(a) Public health services and 

(b) Private health facilities. 

Public health services 

The public health service is a chain of health centres and hospitals run by the government. They are linked together so that they cover both rural and urban areas and can also provide treatment to all kinds of problems – from common illnesses to special services. At the village level there are health centres where there is usually a nurse and a village health worker. They are trained in dealing with common illnesses and work under the supervision of doctors at the Primary Health Centre (PHC). Such a centre covers many villages in a rural area. At the district level is the District Hospital that also supervises all the health centres. 

the resources needed to run these services are obtained from the money that we, the public, pay to the government as taxes. 

One of the most important aspects of the public health system is that it is meant to provide quality healthcare services either free or at a low cost, so that even the poor can seek treatment. Another important function of public health is to take action to prevent the spread of diseases such as TB, malaria, jaundice, cholera, diarrhoea, chikungunya, etc. This has to be organised by the government with the participation of people otherwise it is not effective. For example, when taking up a campaign to see that mosquitoes do not breed in water-coolers, roof tops, etc., this has to be done for all houses in the area. 

According to our Constitution, it is the primary duty of the government to ensure the welfare of the people and provide health care facilities to all. 

Private health facilities 

There is a wide range of private health facilities that exist in our country. A large number of doctors run their own private clinics. In the rural areas, one finds Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs). Urban areas have large number of doctors, many of them providing specialised services. There are hospitals and nursing homes that are privately owned. There are many laboratories that do tests and offer special facilities such as X-ray, ultrasound, etc. 

Today the presence of private facilities can be seen all around. In fact now there are large companies that run hospitals and some are engaged in manufacturing and selling medicines. Medical shops are found in every corner of the country. 

In order to earn more money, these private services encourage practices that are incorrect. At times cheaper methods, though available, are not used. For example, it is common to find doctors prescribing unnecessary medicines, injections or saline bottles when tablets or simple medicines can suffice. 

It was reported in a study that 40 per cent of people who are admitted to a hospital for some illness or injury have to borrow money or sell some of their possessions to pay for the expenses. 

The Costa Rican approach 

Costa Rica is considered to be one of the healthiest countries in South America. The main reason for this can be found in the Costa Rican Constitution. Several years ago, Costa Rica took a very important decision and decided not to have an army. This helped the Costa Rican government to spend the money that the army would have used, on health, education and other basic needs of the people. 

Chapter 3

Every state in India has a Legislative Assembly. Each state is divided into different areas or constituencies. 

From each constituency, the people elect one representative who then becomes a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). 

After the elections, the MLAs belonging to the ruling party will elect their leader who will become the chief minister. 

A Legislative Assembly is a place where all the MLAs, whether from the ruling party or from the opposition meet to discuss various things. Hence, some MLAs have dual responsibilities: one as an MLA and the other as a minister. 

The Head of the State is the Governor. She/He is appointed by the Central Government to ensure that the State Government works within the rules and regulations of the Constitution. 

The chief minister and other ministers have to take decisions and run the government. We usually hear about them or see them in the news channels or in the papers. However, whatever decisions are being taken have to be approved by the members of the legislative assembly. In a democracy, these members can ask questions, debate an important issue, decide where money should be spent, etc. They have the main authority. 

The members were debating the action taken or not taken by the government. This is because the MLAs are together responsible for the work of the government. In common usage the word ‘government’ refers to government departments and various ministers who head them. The overall head is the chief minister. More correctly, this is called the executive part of the government. All the MLAs who gather together (assemble) in the legislative assembly are called the Legislature. They are the ones who authorise and supervise their work. 

In a democracy, there are various ways through which people express their views and also take action. 

The government can also decide to make new laws for the state regarding sanitation and health facilities. For example, it may make it compulsory for municipal corporations to ensure that there are adequate toilets in every urban area. It may also ensure that a health worker is appointed in every village. This act of making laws on certain issues is done in the Legislative Assembly of each state. The various government departments then implement these laws. Laws for the entire country are made in the Parliament. 

Chapter 4 Gender

The government has set up anganwadis or child-care centres in several villages in the country. The government has passed laws that make it mandatory for organisations that have more than 30 women employees to provide crèche facilities. The provision of crèches helps many women to take up employment outside the home. It also makes it possible for more girls to attend schools 

Chapter 5 Women Change the World 

Rashsundari Devi (1800–1890), who was born in West Bengal, some 200 years ago. At the age of 60, she wrote her autobiography in Bangla. Her book titled Amar Jiban is the first known autobiography written by an Indian woman. Rashsundari Devi was a housewife from a rich landlord’s family. At that time, it was believed that if a woman learnt to read and write, she would bring bad luck to her husband and become a widow! Despite this, she taught herself how to read and write in secret, well after her marriage. 

Then I had a dream: I was reading the manuscript of Chaitanya Bhagabat (the life of a saint)... Later in the day, as I sat cooking in the kitchen, I heard my husband say to my eldest son: “Bepin, I have left my Chaitanya Bhagabat here. When I ask for it, bring it in.” He left the book there and went away. When the book had been taken inside, I secretly took out a page and hid it carefully. It was a job hiding it, for nobody must find it in my hands. My eldest son was practising his alphabets at that time. I hid one of them as well. At times, I went over that, trying to match letters from that page with the letters that I remembered. I also tried to match the words with those that I would hear in the course of my days. With tremendous care and effort, and over a long period of time, I learnt how to read...” 

In the most recent census of 2001, these figures have grown to 76 per cent for boys and men, and 54 per cent for girls and women. This means that the proportion of both men and women who are now able to read and have at least some amount of schooling has increased. 

Women’s movement 

Women and girls now have the right to study and go to school. There are other spheres – like legal reform, violence and health – where the situation of women and girls has improved. These changes have not happened automatically. Women individually, and collectively have struggled to bring about these changes. This struggle is known as the Women’s Movement. Individual women and women’s organisations from different parts of the country are part of the movement. Many men support the women’s movement as well. The diversity, passion and efforts of those involved makes it a very vibrant movement. Different strategies have been used to spread awareness, fight discrimination and seek justice. 

Here are some glimpses of this struggle. 

Campaigning 

Campaigns to fight discrimination and violence against women are an important part of the women’s movement. Campaigns have also led to new laws being passed. A law was passed in 2006 to give women who face physical and mental violence within their homes, also called domestic violence, some legal protection. 

Similarly, efforts made by the women’s movement led the Supreme Court to formulate guidelines in 1997 to protect women against sexual harassment at the workplace and within educational institutions. 

In the 1980s, for example, women’s groups across the country spoke out against ‘dowry deaths’ — cases of young brides being murdered by their in-laws or husbands, greedy for more dowry. Women’s groups spoke out against the failure to bring these cases to justice. They did so by coming on to the streets, approaching the courts, and by sharing information. Eventually, this became a public issue in the newspapers and society, and the dowry laws were changed to punish families who seek dowry. 

Protesting 

The women’s movement raises its voice when violations against women take place or for example, when a law or policy acts against their interests. Public rallies and demonstrations are a very powerful way of drawing attention to injustices. 

Showing Solidarity 

The women’s movement is also about showing solidarity with other women and causes. 

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, women all over the world come together to celebrate and renew their struggles. 

Sexual harassment: This refers to physical or verbal behaviour that is of a sexual nature and against the wishes of a woman.

Chapter 6

Media is the plural form of the word ‘medium’ and it describes the various ways through which we communicate in society. Because media refers to all means of communication, everything ranging from a phone call to the evening news on TV can be called media. 

Also, as you read earlier the technologies that mass media use keep changing and so a lot of money is spent on getting the latest technology. Due to these costs, the mass media needs a great deal of money to do its work. As a result, most television channels and newspapers are part of big business houses. 

Mass media is constantly thinking of ways to make money. One way in which the mass media earns money is by advertising different things like cars, chocolates, clothes, mobile phones, etc. You must have noticed the number of advertisements that you have to see while watching your favourite television show. 

advertisements are repeated in the hope that you will go out and buy what is advertised. 

Yes, some of the top Indian TV Channels demand a price tag of Rs. 3,50,000 for a 10 second spotduring primetime

The Indian advertising market has been growing at extremely fast pace since last 5 to 7 years, thanks to consistent economic growth of around 9% and huge rise in the number of Multinationals enteringIndia in last few years. What better medium for these multinationals to reach out to growing Indian middle class consumers.

One advertisement during the telecast of India Pakistan cricket match ensures that your product / brand is seen by atleast 200 million TV viewers (approx. ).

Do you think Rs.3,50,000/- tag is justified then?

If you calculate, it comes to roughly 2 rupees per 1,000 viewers. Thats dirt cheap, I must say!

However, it is not all rosy for broadcaster in coming years. The number of TV channels are growing by hundreds. In this year alone more than 100 TV channels are going to get launched and many more in pipeline. With so many channels in fray the competition to acquire ads from advertisers is going to be fierce, thereby pulling down the ad prices.

Do you know the number of TV channels that will be available to cable viewers in next 2 years?

A whooping 700 TV channels !

Who is going to watch so many channels? And are there enough viewers to watch?

Yes, there are! India is likely to see nearly 70% growth, with the subscriber base reaching nearly 77 million households by 2010, from existing 46 million.

With those kind of TV channels, India is set to become the largest advertising market in the world.

I am excited!

Given the role that the media plays in providing information, it is important that the information be balanced. 

A balanced report is one that discusses all points of view of a particular story and then leaves it to the readers to make up their minds. 

Writing a balanced report, however, depends on the media being independent. An independent media means that no one should control and influence its coverage of news. 

An independent media is important in a democracy. 

When the government prevents either a news item, or scenes from a movie, or the lyrics of a song from being shared with the larger public, this is referred to as censorship. There have been periods in Indian history when the government censored the media. The worst of these was the Emergency between 1975-1977. 

While the government does continue to censor films, it does not really censor the media’s coverage of news. Despite the absence of censorship by the government, most newspapers nowadays still fail to provide a balanced story. The reasons for this are complicated. Persons who research the media have said that this happens because business houses control the media. At times, it is in the interest of these businesses to focus on only one side of the story. Media’s continual need for money and its links to advertising means that it becomes difficult for media to be reporting against people who give them advertisements. Media is, thus, no longer considered independent because of its close links to business. 

Besides the above, the media also tends to focus on a particular aspect of a story because they believe this makes the story interesting. Also, if they want to increase public support for an issue, they often do this by focusing on one side of a story. 

Due to the significant influence it plays in our lives and in shaping our thoughts, it is commonly said that the media ‘sets the agenda’. The media decides what to focus on and in this way it ‘sets the agenda’. 

Every year, thousands of people suffer and die because they do not get safe drinking water. However, we seldom find the media discussing this issue. 

Another example is a newspaper called Khabar Lahriya which is a fortnightly that is run by eight Dalit women in Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh. Written in the local language, Bundeli, this eight-page newspaper reports on Dalit issues and cases of violence against women and political corruption. The newspaper reaches farmers, shopkeepers, panchayat members, school teachers and women who have recently learnt to read and write. 

We, therefore, need to analyse the news by asking the following questions: what is the information I am learning from this report? What information is not being provided? From whose point of view is the article being written? Whose point of view is being left out and why? 

Chapter 7 

Understanding Advertising 

Have you ever heard of the word brand? Advertising is all about building brands. 

This is done in order to differentiate it from other products in the market. 

Branding actually came from cattle grazing. Cattle of different owners grazed together in ranches and they often got mixed up. The owners thought of a solution. They started marking their cattle with the owner’s sign by using a heated iron. This was called ‘branding’. 

Just naming the product may not make us buy it. The manufacturers that made the soap and the daal still have to convince us that their soap and daal are better than the others available in the market. This is where advertising comes in. 

As you can see with the two advertisements, they often target our personal emotions. By linking our personal emotions to products, advertisements tend to influence the ways in which we value ourselves as persons. 

The cost of bringing out a quarter page colour advertisement in a leading newspaper is Rs 8.36 lakh. 

A number of shirts are on display at a large clothes shop in the United States, and are priced at $26. That is, each shirt sells for $26 or around Rs 1,200. 

On one hand, the market offers people opportunities for work and to be able to sell things that they grow or produce. It could be the farmer selling cotton or the weaver producing cloth. On the other hand, it is usually the rich and the powerful 

that get the maximum earnings from the market. These are the people who have money and own the factories, the large shops, large land holdings, etc. 

The poor have to depend on the rich and the powerful for various things. They have to depend for loans (as in the case of Swapna, the small farmer), for raw materials and marketing of their goods (weavers in the putting out system), and most often for employment (workers at the garment factory). Because of this dependence, the poor are exploited in the market.

 There are ways to overcome these such as forming cooperatives of producers and ensuring that laws are followed strictly. 

Chapter 10 

Struggles for Equality 

Discrimination on the basis of a person’s religion, caste and sex is another significant factor for why people are treated unequally in India. 

According to the 2001 Census data women form 48 per cent of the population, Muslims form 13 per cent
of the population, Dalits form 16 per cent and Adivasis 8 per cent. 

In India, it is the case that the poor
consist of a majority of members of Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim communities and are often women. 

Often, poverty and lack of dignity and respect for certain communities and groups come together in such powerful ways that it is difficult to identify where one aspect of inequality ends and the other begins. As you have read, Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim girls drop out of school in large numbers. This is a combined outcome of poverty, social discrimination and the lack of good quality school facilities for these communities. 

There are also many attempts to form cooperatives or other collective ways by which people can have more control over resources. 

There are several organisations across the country fighting for the rights of the displaced. In this chapter we will read about the Tawa Matsya Sangh – a federation of Fisherworker’s cooperatives – an organisation fighting for the rights of the displaced forest dwellers of the Satpura forest in Madhya Pradesh. 

Originating in the Mahadeo hills of Chindwara district, the Tawa flows through Betul, before joining the Narmada in Hoshangabad. The Tawa dam began to be built in 1958 and was completed in 1978. It submerged large areas of forest and agricultural land. The forest dwellers were left with nothing. Some of the displaced people settled around the reservoir and apart from their meagre farms found a livelihood in fishing. They earned very little. 

In 1994, the government gave the rights for fishing in the Tawa reservoir to private contractors. These contractors drove the local people away and got cheap labour from outside. The contractors began to threaten the villagers, who did not want to leave, by bringing in hoodlums. The villagers stood united and decided that it was time to set up an organisation and do something to protect their rights. 

The newly formed Tawa Matsya Sangh (TMS) organised rallies and a chakka jam (road blockade), demanding their right to continue fishing for their 

livelihood. In response to their protests, the government created a committee to assess the issue. The committee recommended that fishing rights be granted to the villagers for their livelihood. In 1996, the Madhya Pradesh government decided to give to the people displaced by the Tawa dam the fishing rights for the reservoir. A five-year lease agreement was signed two months later. On January 2, 1997, people from 33 villages of Tawa started the new year with the first catch. 

In a democracy, there are always communities and individuals trying to expand the idea of democracy and push for a greater recognition of equality on existing as well as new issues. 

Issues of equality are central to a democracy. In this book, we have tried to highlight issues that pose a challenge to this idea of equality in a democracy. These, as you have read, include the privatisation of health services in the country, the increasing control that business houses exert on the media, the low value given to women and their work, and the low earnings made by small farmers who grow cotton. These issues substantially affect poor and marginalised communities, and therefore, concern economic and social equality in the country