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Confronting Marginalisation

The document discusses marginalization and how marginalized groups in India such as Dalits and Adivasis have confronted it. It notes that marginalization means making some people feel less important through the use of power. Marginalized groups are denied facilities and opportunities enjoyed by others. The document outlines how marginalized groups can draw on fundamental rights in the Indian constitution like equality and freedom to insist on dignity and equal treatment. It discusses laws like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that protect marginalized communities from crimes like humiliation, dispossession, and assault. Marginalized groups have used legal and constitutional rights as well as religious solace, education, and economic progress to overcome

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Hari Krishna
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86 views

Confronting Marginalisation

The document discusses marginalization and how marginalized groups in India such as Dalits and Adivasis have confronted it. It notes that marginalization means making some people feel less important through the use of power. Marginalized groups are denied facilities and opportunities enjoyed by others. The document outlines how marginalized groups can draw on fundamental rights in the Indian constitution like equality and freedom to insist on dignity and equal treatment. It discusses laws like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that protect marginalized communities from crimes like humiliation, dispossession, and assault. Marginalized groups have used legal and constitutional rights as well as religious solace, education, and economic progress to overcome

Uploaded by

Hari Krishna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Confronting Marginalisation

1.What is marginalisation?
Marginalization means when a certain person or a sect of people are made to feel of lesser
importance, by those in power.
Marginalized persons are forced to the periphery or the edge of society. This, in turn, robs
them of the facilities and opportunities enjoyed by the non-marginalized sections of society.
2. List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist
that they be treated with dignity and as equals. Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed
on page 14 to help you answer this question.
The two fundamental rights that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with
dignity and as equals are as follows:
Right to Equality:
All persons are equal before the law.
No citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of his or her socio-economic
background, caste, religion, etc.
Every person has equal right of access to all public places.

Right to Freedom:
Freedom of speech and expression
Right to life and personal liberty

3. Re-read the story on Rathnam as well as the provisions of the 1989 Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think
he used this law to file a complaint.
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 seeks to
punish those who humiliate or ill-treat the members of dalit or tribal groups. Rathnam sought
the support of the law, filing his complaint under the above Act to seek protection against the
domination and violence of the powerful castes in his village.
4. Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can also use this
1989 Act to fight against dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of
the Act that allows her to believe this?
--- The Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can use the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention if Atrocities) Act of 1989, to fight against
dispossession because this Act guarantees the tribals the right not to be dispossessed from the
land resources forcibly.
They specifically pointed out that this Act merely confirms what has already been promised
to the tribal people in the Constitution – the land owned by any tribal people cannot be sold to
or bought by non-tribal people.
In cases where this has happened, the Constitution also guarantees the right of the tribal
people to repossess their land.
5. What does Article 17 of the Indian Constitution state?
Article 17 of the Indian Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished.
It means that no one can henceforth prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering
temples, using public facilities etc.
It also means that it is wrong to practise untouchability and that this practice will not be
tolerated by democratic government.
It is a punishable crime.
6. What are the ways in which marginalised communities tried to overcome the
discriminations they faced?
The marginalised communities tried many ways to overcome the discrimination they faced.
They are Religious solace
Armed struggle
self improvement
education and
Economic progress

7. Mention of few crimes listed in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.

A few crimes listed in the Act are


Modes of humiliation:
--- Force a member of a Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes to drink or eat any inedible or
obnoxious substance.
--- Forcibly remove clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Castes or Scheduled
Tribes or parades him or her naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act
which is derogatory to human dignity.

Actions that disposssess Dalits and Adivasis of the meagre resources or which forced
them into performing slave labour:
--- Wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by or allotted to a member of the
Scheduled Castes or a Scheduled Tribes or gets the land allotted to him transferred.

Crimes against the Dalit and tribal women:


--- Assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Ttribes
with the intent to dishonoured her.

8. How have the marginalised communities drawn on the fundamental rights?


They have drawn on these rights in two ways:
--- By insisting on their Fundamental Rights, they have forced the government to recognise
the injustice done to them.
--- They have insisted that the government enforce these laws.

9. What are the efforts made by government to eradicate manual scavenging?


In 1993, the government passed the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of
Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act.
This law prohibits the employment of manual scavengers as well as the construction of dry
latrines.
***

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