3.Democracy and
Diversity
R.Ayyappan
1.Story
of Mexico Olympics:
Ø Mexico Olympics held at 1968.
Ø African - Americans Tommie smith and John carlos won gold and
bronse medal in 200 meters race for USA
Ø While receiving medal both were
wearing black socks and no shoes to represent the black poverty.
Ø The raised clenched fists, they
represent black power.
Ø Peter Norman who got silver medal
also wear Human rights batch to support Tommie Smith and John Carlos.
Ø The International Olympics
Association held Tommie smith and John Carlos held guilty and taken back their
medals.
Ø Peter Norman was not selected for
Australian team for next Olympics.
Ø San Jose University erected statue
for Tommie smith and John Carlos.
Ø Tommie Smith and John Carlos were
gone to Australia toparticipate in the funeral of Peter Norman whosupported him
as an athlete.
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2.Origin
of Social Differences
There are two sources of social differences
a.On
the basis of Birth:
Race, Caste, Color, Nationality, Ability and disability of the body are the
certain social differences the child gets with the birth.
b.On
the basis of Choices:Education,
Occupation, Ageists or Devotee, Games, Hobby are the certain social differences
a person can choose in his life.
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3.Overlapping
and Cross-Cutting social differences.
Overlapping
Social differences:
Ø One social difference becomes more important
than the other and people start to feeling that they belongs to different
communities
Ø Class and social division will
overlap on each other
Ø Ex:In Northern Ireland Roman Catholics
were poor and discriminated while protestants were rich and influential.
Ø In USA Blacks were poor, homeless
and discriminated while Whites were rich.
Ø In India Dalits were poor and
landless while upper caste were rich and landlord.
Ø Overlapping social division is very
dangerous to any country.
Cross-Cutting
social differences:
Ø Social differences cross cut each
other and it is difficult to pit one group of people against the other.
Ø Ex:Netherland consist of Roman
Catholics and Protestant.
Ø There rich and poor in both
sections of the religion.
Ø So they don’t have conflicts like
Northern Ireland.
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4.Politics
of Social division or Ranges of Outcomes of social division in politics.
Ø Social division can be represented
in politics.
Ø But domination of one social
division over other can lead to violence between two communities and also
disintegration of the country.
Ø Ex:Northern Ireland Roman Catholics
were 44% and they were poor and discriminated.
Ø The Nationalist party representing
the Roman Catholics demanded that Northern Ireland be unified with Republic of
Ireland where Roman Catholics are majority.
Ø The Unionist party representing the
53% of protestant want the country remain with U.K.
Ø Hundreds of civilians were killed
in the violence.
Ø Finally 1998 the U.K government and
the Nationalist reached a peace treaty. And stop the violence.
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5.Factors
deciding the outcomes of representing social division in politics.
1.How
people perceive themselves?:
Ø If people see their identities in
singular and exclusive it is difficult to accommodate.
Ø In Northern Ireland people saw
themselves as Roman Catholics and protestant.
Ø Where as in Belgium the people saw
themselves as Belgians first and then French and Dutch. So they could able to
solve the problem. Which not took place in Northern Ireland.
2.How
leaders raise their demands?:
Ø When the leaders of the social
division raise their demands within the constitution it will be easy to
accommodate.
Ø In Sri Lanka the Tamil community
demand was above the constitution so it remainsun resolved.
3.How
government react to the demands of different social groups?:
Ø In Belgium rulers are willing to
share the powers and accommodate the French. But it not took place in Sri Lanka
the rulers are not ready to share their powers with the minority Tamil people.
Ø If the rulers try to suppress the
demand of the minority in the name of national unity we have to understand that
they are sowing the seeds of disintegration.
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4.Gender,Religion and Movement
1.Gender
and Politics
1.1Sexual
division of politics:
Ø The main responsibility of women is
house work like cooking, washing and taking care of children.
Ø All the work outside the house is
responsibility of men. Men is expected involve in economic activity and earn
money of the family.
Ø Indian family system is Patriarchal
in nature.
1.2Women
and education:
Ø According to 2011 census female
literacy rate is only 54%. Nearly half of Indian women are illiterate.
Ø Even though girls do well in school
education still their enrollment in higher education is very less. Parents are
ready to spend more on boys than the girls.
1.3Women
and work:
Ø Now we could able to see women in
many jobs. But from Sports to Cinema women are paid less than the men.
Ø The Equal Remuneration Act1976 says
that men and women should be paid equally.
Ø Declining Child sex ratio: In many
parts of India parents prefer to have sons and try to abort the girl. So child
sex ratio has declined to 914 girls per 1000 boys.
1.4Women
and politics:
Ø In India 2009 alone the women
representation has crossed 10% in loksabha. Still most of the state assemblies
women representation is less than 5%.
Ø world average of women in politics
is 19.7% and Nordic countries women representation is 42%.
Ø A bill stating one third seat in
loksabha and vidhansabha is bending in parliament for more than the decade.
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2.Religion
2.1Views
on religion:
Views
of Gandhi: Religion
can never be separated from the politics.
He believed that politics must be
guided by ethics drawn from religion.
Women’s
Movement: family laws
of all religions discriminate against women.
Human
rights Movement:Human
rights groups argued that most of the victims of communal riots are religious
minorities.
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Communalism:
Ø The religion is seen as the basis
of the nation.
Ø State power is used to establish
the interest of majority religion.
Ø The majority religion dominate the
minority religion through the political power.
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How
communalism can take various forms in politics?
Ø Majority religion beliefs are
established in superior with minority religion.
Ø A communal mind search for
political dominance.
Ø Due to dominance of majority
minority community started to desire for separate unit.
Ø Political mobolisation on religious
lines. Scared symbols and religious leaders emotional speech create the fear in
the minds of the religious minority.
Ø Sometimes communalism takes its
ugliest form of violence.
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Secular
state:
Ø There is no official language for
Indian state.
Ø People have the freedom to profess,
practice and propagate any religion.
Ø The constitution prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of religion.
Ø Government intervene into religion
only when anything go unconstitutional. Ex:
Indian constitution has bannedUntouchability.
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Caste
What
are the factors has reduced the effect of caste?
Ø Social reformers like Jothiba
Phule, Gandhiji, B.R.Amebedkar and Periyar worked a lot against the caste
inequalities.
Ø Large scale urbanaisation has also
reduced to effects of caste. Mostly in
urban we do not know who is traveling along with us and who is eating next to
our table.
Ø Weakening of the positions of land
lard has also breakdown the caste hierarchy.
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How
castes still persist in India?
Ø Even now people mostly marry within
the caste group.
Ø Still in certain places we could
able to find untouchability in India.
Ø The centuries of advantages and
disadvantages continues still today.
Ø The caste which were denied to get
education in past, now they lagging behind.
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How
caste is represented in politics? Or How caste can take various forms in
politics?
Ø Political parties while choosing
the candidates for the elections they keep the caste composition of the
constituency.
Ø Political parties mostly give the
seat to candidate who belongs to the majority caste of a particular
constituency.
Ø Political parties and candidates
make appeals to the people in the name of caste.
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Caste
alone will not decide the election success how? Or Caste cannot influence much
how?
Ø No parliamentary constituency in
our country has a clear majority of one single caste.
Ø A candidate need the support of
other caste group to win the election.
Ø We cannot expect all voters of one
caste group will vote to the same candidate.
Ø When all the parties give seat to
the majority caste group, a candidate cannot take the caste advantage.
Ø Many times we see the sitting MP or
MLA who win the election due to the caste, looses the next election.
Ø People also see the performance of
the candidate.
Ø When people have strong attachment
with one party they will not the caste or any other differences.
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How
politics influence the caste?
Ø Each caste group tries to become
bigger by incorporating with in the neighbouring or sub caste.
Ø Various caste groups are entering
into negotiation to make coalition with other caste groups.
Ø New kinds of caste groups have come
up in the political area like backward caste groups and forward caste groups.
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