Pattern Of Social Inequality And Exclusion Flashcards
What is social about social Inequality and exclusion
1 It’s about groups
2 It’s not economic
3 It is systematic and structured
Explain 3 forms of capital
1 Economic capital in the form of material assets and income
2 Cultural capital in the form of educational qualifications and status
3 Social capital in the form of network of contacts and social associations
What do you understand by social inequality
1 It is the pattern of unequal access to social resources
2 It reflects the differences between people but it is not caused by it but is created by the society
3 Social stratification is a system in a society that ranks people in a hierarchy that defines their identity,experiences,relations
Explain the features of social stratification
1 It is a characteristic of he society
It is a society wide system that unequally distribute social resources among categories of people(In technologicaly primitive society only rudiments social stratification can exist while in a technologicaly advanced society Social resources are unequal distributed among categories of people
2 Persists over generations
It is closely linked to family and inheritance of social resources,a person ascribes his social position from his parents and this is reinforced by endogamy
3 Supported by a pattern of belief/ideology
No system of social stratification will persist over generations if not considered fair by the whole society
Explain the term prejudice
1 they are preconceived opinions held against another group (pre-judgement)
2 it is an opinion formed before obtaining any info on the subject
3 prejudiced views are often based on hear say rather then evidence and are resistant to change even with new info
4 prejudice may either be positive or negative
Explain the term stereotypes
1 Prejudice are often based on stereotypes
2 they are fixed and inflexible characterization of a group and are often applied to racial/ethnic groups and women and most of them were created by British
3 they characterize entire groups into single homogeneous categories and refuse to recognize variations
Explain the term discrimination
1 it is the actual behavior towards another group and can be seen in the practice of disqualifying group members from opportunities open to others
2 It is very hard to prove and may not be openly expressed
And maybe supported by more convincing reasons then prejudice
Explain the term social exclusion
1 it refers to ways by which people are prevented from being fully involved in the society and having opportunities open to others
2 it is systematic that is to live a complete life we must not only be able feed,cloth and house ourselves but also have access to essential goods and services
3 it is involuntary that is it is practiced regardless of the wish of the excluded group
4 it is wrongly justified by saying that the excluded group don’t want to participate
Explain cast system as a discriminatory system
1 it classifies people by thier occupation and status
2 every caste had an occupation associated with it so a person born into it has no choice but to accept it
3 each caste had a specific place in the hierarchy
4 occupations were not only ranked by status but there were further rankings within each specific type of job
Discuss the state and non-state initiatives to alleviate caste and tribe discrimination
1 Reservation
Reserving of seats in state/central legislature & govt. service Jobs for SC/ST no. Of seats depends on %SC/ST
2 Laws
no. of laws have been passed to stop & punish caste discrimination especially untouchability
▪︎Cast Disabilities Removal Act (1850)-prevents restricting citizens from changing their religion/caste
▪︎Constitution Amendment Act (2005)-became a law on 23rd January 2006
3 Other Acts/Laws
▪︎93rd Amendment (2006)-introduced reservation for OBCs in higher education
▪︎Constitution of India(1950)-guarantees rights of SC/ST and insists on reservation
▪︎Prevention of Atrocities(1989)-strengthened the legal provisions punishing acts of violence&humiliation against dalits&adivasis
4 Organizing into Groups
Humans are capable of organizing into groups to meet their interests
▪︎dalits have been increasingly active in political, agitational and cultural fronts
▪︎no. Of movements have been started by people like Jyotiba Phule
Describe the contributions of social reformers in th upliftment of women’s status in India
1 Raja Ram Mohan Roy
It can be taken as the starting point of 19th social reforms in Bengal. He campaigned against sati which was the 1st women’s issue to receive public attention. His ideas were a mix of western rationality & Indian traditionality and he attacked sati on the basis of humanitarian & national rights and Hindu shastras
2 Mahadev Govind Ranande
Unfair treatment of Hindu upper caste widows was a major issue taken by him. He used he writings of Bishop Joseph Butler and Hindu legal texts & vedic authorities to prove the legitimacy of widow remarriage according to shastric principles
3 Jyotiba Phule
He came from a socially excluded caste & he targeted caste & gender discrimination. He founded the Satyashodak Samaj with its emphasis on ‘truth-seeking’.
He aimed to help the 2 lowest groups in Brahmin culture (women & untouchables)
4 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
He wanted to reform the Muslim society and he wanted girls to be educated in their homes. He stood for women’s education but suggested a curriculum including instructions in religious principles, training in housekeeping & handicrafts & rearing children
Explain the diverse forms of untouchability
1) 3 dimensions are exclusion,humiliation-subordination &exploitation
2) exclusion-dalits experience unique forms of exclusion that are not practiced against others
3) humiliation-subordination-it involves publicly humiliating and forcing individuals into subordinate roles
4) exploitation-it involves economic exploitation of various kinds
Discuss the plight of OBC’s in India
1) they are neither part of forward castes nor dalits. caste is present in every major religion and backward castes belonging to these religions share similar traditional occupations & similar/worse socio-economic status
2) they are more diverse then Adivasis/dalits. Jawarhal nehrus 1st govt. Appointed the first backward classes commission to address the OBC matter led by Kaka Kalelkar who submitted their report in 1953 but the report was sidelined from the mid 50s and the obc matter shifted to regional focus at state & central levels
3) the obc matter gained attention again in the 70s. The second backward classes commission headed by BP Mandal was appointed in 1990 and the govt decided to implement its report. The resurgence of lower caste movements in North India of OBC’s & Dalits, the politicization of OBC’s allowed them to turn their large no. Into political influence which was not possible at national level before
Write a note on the Karachi session
Explain the provisions of the Karachi session of indian national congress
1 all citizens are equal before law regardless of religion,caste,creed & sex
2 no citizen faces disability based on religion,caste,creed & gender in public employment/positions of honor
3 the franchise shall be on the basis of universal adult suffrage
4 women shall have the right to vote,represent & hold public offices
Explain the struggle of the differently abled
1) people with disabilities face challenges not only because of their disabilities but also because the society fails to cater to their needs which highest the need to question the social perception of the term disability
2) when a disabled person faces a issue it I assumed that the issue is caused by their disability
3) in india the terms like ‘blind’ are interchangeably used and sometimes used as insults. In a society that values physical perfection and any deviations from it is seen as abnormal, defeat & distortion
4) the root of such attitudes lies in the cultural conception that views disability as a result of fate, destiny and karma
