NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Civics Chapter 5 Understanding Marginalisation contain solutions to the exercises given in the Civics book Social and Political Life. These answers have been explained in a manner that you will easily understand all the concepts and get your doubts cleared without even seeking anyone’s assistance.
Class 8 Civics Understanding Marginalisation NCERT Textbook Questions and Answers
Question 1: Write in your own words two or more sentences of what you understand by the word “marginalization”.
Answer: Marginalization is the social process of being confined to a lower social standing. It involves people being denied their fundamental rights that results in lowering their social and economical status. It is a situation when a particular social group is forced to live on the fringes rather than in the mainstream.
Question 2: List two reasons why Adivasis are becoming increasingly marginalised.
Answer: Adivasis are becoming increasingly marginalized because firstly, they follow a different culture, language and traditions from mainstream Indian society which leads us to wrongfully classify them as exotic, primitive and backward. Secondly, they are used to a way of life close to nature and with the cutting down of forests they are being forced to migrate to urban areas where they feel out of place and not in sync with a lifestyle so vastly different from their countryside background.
Question 3: Write one reason why you think the Constitution‟ssafeguardsto protect minority communities are very important?
Answer: The Indian Constitution recognised that the culture of the majority influences the way in which society and government might express themselves. In such cases, size can be a disadvantage and lead to the marginalisation of the relatively smaller communities. Thus, safeguards are needed to protect minorities against discrimination and marginalisation by the majority community. The Constitution’s safeguards to protect minority communities are very important because they ensure that India’s cultural diversity is protected from becoming largely unitary. They also help to promote equality and justice to all.
Question 4: Re-read the section on Minorities and Marginalisation.What do you understand by the term minority?
Answer: Minority is the community that is numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. A particular religious section, which has a low percentage in population compared to the major religious community is called a minority.
The constitution of India provides safeguards to linguistical and religious minorities, as a part of its fundamental rights and ensures that minorities do not face any disadvantage or discrimination. In India; Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, etc. are included as a minority.
Question 5: You are participating in a debate where you have to provide reasons to support the following statement:
“Muslims are a marginalised community”. Using the data provided in this chapter, list two reasons that you would give.
Answer: Two reasons in support of the statement “Muslims are a marginalised community” are:
(i) The Muslim community has not been able to gain much from the country’s socio- economic development as statistics on basic amenities, literacy rate and public employment in 1994 show. 63.6% Muslims live in kutcha houses as compared to only 55.2% Hindus. Also, the literacy rate amongst Muslims was the lowest at 59% in a 2001 survey.
(ii) Their customs are distinct from other religious communities, so much so that they are identified as separate from the “rest of us”. For example, Muslims may wear a burqa, sport a long beard, wear a fez, and these become ways to identify all Muslims, leading to unfair treatment and discrimination against them.
Question 6: Imagine that you are watching the Republic Day parade on TV with a friend and she remarks, “Look at these tribals. They look so exotic. And they seem to be dancing all the time”. List three things that you would tell her about the lives of Adivasis in India.
Answer: The three things I would tell a friend about the Adivasis in India would be:
(i) The lives of Adivasis are actually very rich but people seem to know very little about the realities of their lives. Adivasis practise a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. These often involve the worship of ancestors, village and nature spirits, the last associated with and residing in various sites in the landscape – ‘mountain-spirits’, ‘river- spirits’, ‘animal-spirits’, etc.
(ii) They are usually shown in sympathetically in colourful costumes, headgear and dancing.
(iii) Often, people wrongly believe that Adivasis are exotic, primitive, backward and immune to development. They have been displaced from their lands because of industrialisation and find it difficult to cope with their new lives.
Question 7. In the storyboard you read about how Helen hopes to make a movie on the Adivasi story. Can you help her by developing a short story on Adivasis?
Answer: Students should this by themselves.
Question 8. Would you agree with the statement that economic marginalisation and social marginalisation are interlinked? Why?
Answer: Yes, economic marginalisation and social marginalisation are interlinked because:
- Social marginalisation is based on religion, culture, tradition, etc. Marginalised sections do not get proper access to jobs, education and health facilities due to which they are unable to become financially stable. This then creates economic marginalisation.
- Moreover, when there is no economic development the minorities do not develop socially. They remain backward. Thus, they become socially marginalised.