Concept Of Disparity-2

Table of Contents

1) What is Inter group conflict ? Explain in detail.

Answer:

Intergroup conflict is a term that refers to disagreement or confrontation between two or more groups and their members. This confrontation can involve physical violence, interpersonal discord, and psychological tension.

A group plays a very important role in the development of an individual’s personality. A group is formed when two or more people come together as they may possess some common characteristics, for Ex. they may speak the same language or belong to the same community. While most groups come together out of a common purpose or goal, some groups get formed coincidentally.

Given that man is a social being who cannot do without interaction and communication with his fellow human beings, it is only natural that a person belongs to several groups at any given time. Thus formations of groups makes man realize not only his full potential but also achieve what is best for everyone and this leads to development of society.

While some groups work towards improvement and positive change for all, others engage in destructive activities.
When there are many groups, they may have conflicting interests.

It is when these groups attain extreme positions and are willing to sacrifice common and national good for fulfilling their own selfish interests that it culminates into social chaos. Such imbalances lead to violence and aggression forex. communal tension, linguistic riots, regional strife and even terrorist activities.

To mention a few causative factors for inter group conflicts, there are the stereotypes where a person is slotted as belonging to a certain category about which there are fixed perceptions and mistaken ideas. Forex. an urban dweller may look at a person
coming from rural areas as lacking in education and sophistication. A religious person may be skeptical about ideas and practices of people belonging to other religions.

2) Give causes of communalism and suggest measures to overcome it.

Answers : Communalism itself is the ideology of a social , political or a religious group that their religion and practices are superior to that of other groups. Religion is a personal and sensitive issue for most people. Therefore any hint of antagonism or a sign of disrespect towards one’s religion immediately triggers hatred and violence. Communalism is divisive in that it stresses the significance of one religion over the others. While effectively the preaching and values of all religions do not differ, it is the conflict of interests and desire for dominance that provokes hostility.

Causes Of Communalism :
The roots of communalism are found in the ‘Divide and Rule ‘Policy of the British rule in India. The British in order to establish their supremacy in it’s colonies and expand it’s power used divisive tactics of turning Hindu and Muslim rulers against each other.

1) Communal Organization:
Communal organizations established on the pretext of propagating and promoting religion socially through cultural activities.

2) Conversions:
Religious conversions are a sensitive issue in India. It also rise to conflict situation between to religious groups or community.

3) Law and Order:
There may be several anti-social elements who in the name of religion may engage in nefarious activities such as drug-peddling, smuggling , trafficking, robberies, murder and so on. Their activities need to be curbed and they need to be brought to book to maintain social balance by implementing stringent law and order.

4) External threats:
There exist many foreign forces which train extremists and supply them with modern weapons to undertake terrorist activities to fuel communal unrest in the nation.

Measures to control Communalism:
Following are some significant steps that can be taken to control communalism:

1) Role of Law and order Administration:
The police have an important role to play in intercepting and diffusing communal riots and flare-ups before it assumes huge proportions. They should act responsibly to combat violence and work with the cooperation of peace committees and members of conflicting communities to resolve tension.

2) Role of Education:
The curricula should be devoid of any communal content and partial views about particular religions. It should in fact teach secular principles, appreciation and respect for all religions. Schools and higher educational institutions should use various teaching aids promoting national values and communal harmony.

3) Role of Media:
The media should act responsibly and avoid delivering news in a manner that will further encourage violence. Instead the media should identify and expose communal elements. It should create a forum for discussion where information about the ill effects of communal activities is disseminated.

4) Role of NGOs:
NGOs should go for large-scale publicity campaigns in media promoting communal harmony and national unity. They should draw public focus on more pressing national problems and educate people about the ill consequences of riots and destruction based on religious intolerance.

3) What is casteism? States the consequences of casteism.

Answers : The most oppressive system, the caste system plays a very important role in Indian society. It is a unique system that has initiated social stratification in Indian society. All the religions in India have their own caste differences. For .ex. Hinduism is divided into thousands of castes and sub-castes which find their origin in the Varna system of the ancient Rigveda. The Varna system classifies Hindus into four main castes : Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.

The caste system as followed in India is rigid and does not allow inter-caste marriage. The upper caste looks down upon the lower castes and this differentiation results in hatred and violence.

The reservation policy accepted by the Indian government has brought in its wake a lot of social unrest. There have been anti reservation movements led by doctors and students in recent years that feel the policy has worked against their interests. The government, in order to uplift the backward castes, offers free education, reservation of jobs in the public sector, seats in the Parliament and also seats in the higher educational institutions teaching professional courses. However over the years the system has been exploited by those who are powerful and rich rather than benefiting the truly marginalized sections of society.

Consequences Of Casteism.

Casteism violates the fundamental right to equality as well as the democratic principles of our constitution.
It is actually a form of communalism that creates disharmony and leads to conflicts and violence.
It gives rise to increased corruption in politics. Selfish politicians with vested interests get voted into the parliament on false promises of promoting their loyalties to their castes.
Casteism is responsible for promoting groupism and importance of certain castes over national interests.
Casteism has intensified the majority-minority caste divide. The upper caste especially in villages still enjoys certain entitlements and privileges whereas the lower caste is still discriminated against.
The social status and education of the backward castes is still an issue due to the narrow-minded approach of the upper castes.
Many members of the backward castes migrate to cities to escape the shackles of the inhumane caste system in villages but end up suffering for lack of opportunities.

4) What measures can be taken to eradicate caste conflict.

Answer : The most oppressive system, the caste system plays a very important role in Indian society. It is a unique system that has initiated social stratification in Indian society. All the religions in India have their own caste differences. For .ex. Hinduism is divided into thousands of castes and sub-castes which find their origin in the Varna system of the ancient Rigveda. The Varna system classifies Hindus into four main castes : Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.

The caste system as followed in India is rigid and does not allow inter-caste marriage. The upper caste looks down upon the lower castes and this differentiation results in hatred and violence. The government, in order to uplift the backward castes, offers free education, reservation of jobs in the public sector, seats in the Parliament and also seats in the higher educational institutions teaching professional courses.

However over the years the system has been exploited by those who are powerful and rich rather than benefiting the truly marginalized sections of society.

Measures to Eradicate Caste Conflict are as follows :
While the caste system has become an integral part of the Indian society originating in ancient mythology, in keeping with the modern era a scientific approach should be taken in understanding the relevance of this system today.

1) Casteism just like communalism is an obstacle in achieving national good and hence awareness must be raised among people about it’s peril. One should promote the notions of secularism and nationalism as principle higher than casteism.

2) Both print and electronic media should conduct programmes and arrange for discussions among scholars widely emphasizing the divisive influence of casteism on society.

3) Scholars from different castes should enable better understanding among the masses about the concept of reservation as a positive discrimination for creating equality in opportunities for the downtrodden that have been oppressed for centuries.

4) Policymakers must work towards a more equitable distribution of wealth to overcome economic disparities among castes.

5) Intercaste-marriages and increased social interactions among people of different caste should be encouraged and accepted. The youth can take the responsibility to raise social awareness about how a well-assimilated society is a better offsociety.

6) Casteist forces adhered to political parties or any other groups fuelling tension should be identified and banned immediately.

7) The scars left on the hitherto ‘untouchables’ or backward castes can only be healed with humane and compassionate treatment being meted out.

8) Access to a well-rounded education and equal entitlement to all the fundamental rights so also cultural development are the only way to give social justice to members of the lower castes. The caste system needs to be gradually phased out for the creation of a more equal and just society but serves far too many vested interests in our country to be removed completely.

The caste system needs to be gradually phased out for the creation of a more equal and just society but serves far too many vested interests in our country to be removed completely.

5) Write short note on

Answer :

a) Linguism in India

i) The First Official Language Commission was appointed by the Government of India under the chairmanship of Mr. B.G.Kher on 7th June 1955. On it’s recommendation English, the principal official language, was to be replaced by Hindi, the subsidiary official language after 1965. However when the Commission’s report was published in 1958, it created disappointment and unrest among the southern states of the country.

ii) They were opposed to Hindi being imposed on them as the official language and preferred the use of English. To contain possible outbreak of riots, the then Prime minister Pandit. J. Nehru, pacified the angered states in the Lok Sabha saying Hindi would not be imposed on the non-Hindi speaking states and that English would continue to be an associate language for an indefinite period.

iii) Later when the Official Language Bill was passed in the Parliament in1963 and Hindi adopted as the principal official language of the union in 1965, anti- Hindi riots erupted in South India and W. Bengal against the Hindi speaking. The agitation became strong with Tamil Nadu asking for statehood and several of these states threatening withdrawal of political support to the Congress in the Parliament. Finally to control the situation from going out of hand, the Central Government agreed to reform the Act and made a statutory guarantee to the non- Hindi speaking states that English would not be replaced by Hindi for any official purposes.

b) Regionalism in India.

i) There are various aspects that unite the people living in a particular region. A region is characterized by a common language, culture, demographic composition, geographical features, social, historical and political backgrounds. Hence a person tends to be very loyal to a distinct region more than to the country.

ii) Regionalism implies excessive loyalty to one’s region or state that tends to pose a danger to national unity. There are differences between the natural resources, endowments and even the levels of development of various regions. These inequalities are actually intensified by politicians who for their vested interests have directed resources for development of certain states and not others. Within states certain regions are favoured while others are neglected. Regional conflicts have assumed extreme forms from time to time whether it be the demand for autonomy, river disputes or boundary disputes;

iii) Separatist agitations – The Kashmir debate has been raging for several decades now. The people of Kashmir always live in a state of fear as internal fundamentalist threats and cross border terrorism seems to have become a daily reality for them. Telangana’s demands in Andhra Pradesh, anti- Hindi stance as well as demand for statehood by Tamil Nadu have done irreparable damage to the national identity. Jharkhand , Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal were states created because of the inter-state disparities.

iv) Inter-state river water disputes – The Cauvery and Krishna river water issue between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have led to bloodshed in the recent past. Punjab and Haryana have clashed over the issue of Ravi- Beas waters. Border disputes – For ex. Belgaum which lies on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra has a large Marathi speaking population and was caught in a linguistic conflict with Karnataka.

Chapters – 1 – 2–3

Concept Of Disparity-2 | Foundation Course Chapter 3 | Mumbai University