Civics Chapter 6 Confronting Marginalization
I. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Q1. Which Article of Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished?
A) Article 16 C) Article 28
B) Article 18 D) Article 17
Ans. D) Article 17
Q2. People believing that adivasis are
A) cunning, primitive and forward C) extrovert, primitive and forward
B) exotic, primitive and backward D) exotic, modern and backward
Ans. B) exotic, primitive and backward
Q3. What do you understand by manual scavenging?
A) Work of scavenging by machine C) Work of scavenging by power
B) Work of scavenging by hand D) None of these
Ans. B) Work of scavenging by hand
Q4. Today whose poetry is sung and appreciated by Dalits, marginalized groups and those critical of
social hierarchies in U.P., Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat.
A) Tulsidas C) Kabir’s
B) Surdas D) Rahim’s
Ans. C) Kabir’s
Q5. ______ faces discrimination in their daily lives, mostly in rural India.
A) Dalits C) Brahmins
B) Parsis D) Vaishyas
Ans. A) Dalits
II. Very Short Answer Questions (2 Marks)
Q1. Why did the Safai Karamchari Andolan file a PIL in 2003?
Ans. In 1993, the government passed the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry
Latrines (Prohibition) Act. This law prohibited the employment of manual scavengers as well as the
construction of dry latrines. So, the Safai Karamchari Andolan filed a PIL in 2003.
Q2.How did the Act support Rathnam?
Ans. The Act supported Rathnam by calling off the age-old ritual in which a member of the Dalit
community washed the feet of all the priests and then took a path in the water used for this on the occasion
of a ceremony held once in five years.
Q3. What do you understand by manual scavenging?
Ans. Manual scavenging refers to the practice of removing human and animal waste/ excreta using brooms,
tin plates and baskets from dry latrines and carrying it on the head to disposal grounds some distance away.
Q4. What are the ways in which marginalized communities tried to overcome the discriminations they
faced?
Ans. The marginalized communities tried many ways to overcome the discrimination they faced. They are:-
1. Religious solace 4. Education
2. Armed struggle 5. Economic progress.
3. Self improvement
III. Short Answer Questions (3 Marks)
Q1. What are the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights)?
Ans. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of
2006 was passed by the central government. According to the Act, the injustice done to the Adivasis must
be rectified. This Act recognises their entitlement to their homestead, cultivable and grazing land, and forest
produce other than timber. It emphasizes that forest dwellers’ rights involve the preservation of forests and
biodiversity.
Q2. How does the reservation policy of the government work?
Ans. Every state and union territory in India has its own list of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and
backward and most backward castes. The central government maintains a list as well. Students applying to
educational institutions and those applying for government jobs must provide proof of caste or tribe status in
the form of caste and tribe certificates. If a certain Dalit caste or tribe is on the government list, a candidate
from that caste or tribe is eligible for reservation.
Q3. Mention 4 untouchable practices.
Ans. Some untouchable practices are:
Segregation in seating and food arrangements in village functions and festivals
Prohibited from entering into village temples
Separate burial grounds
No access to the village’s wells and ponds.
IV. Long Answer Questions (5 Marks)
Q1. Mention a few crimes listed in the Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989.
Ans. The Prevention of Atrocities Act of 1989 defines various levels of crime. Some of them are as follows:
Forcing a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to consume or ingest any inedible or
unpleasant material
Forcibly removes a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe member’s garments, parades him or her naked
or with a painted face or body, or commits any other conduct insulting to human dignity.
Deprivation of Dalits and Adivasis of their property – illegally occupies or cultivates any land owned or
allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, or obtains the land allotted to him
transferred
Crimes against Dalit and tribal women – Assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled
Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonor her.
Q2. State the ideas of C.K Janu, an adivasi activist on violation of constitutional rights by the
government of various Indian states.
Ans. The following were the ideas of C.K Janu, an adivasi activist on violation of constitutional rights by
the government of various Indian states:-
C.K. Janu stressed out that governments in various Indian states are one of the abusers of constitutional
rights provided to tribal people.
Adivasi activist C.K. Janu has also stated that governments in various Indian states are one of the
violators of tribal people’s constitutional rights because they allow non-tribal encroachers to capitalize
on tribal land and forcibly relocate tribal people from their traditional forests while declaring forests as
reserves or sanctuaries.
She has also remarked that tribe members who have been exiled from their lands and are unable to
return should be compensated.
The government must devise strategies and regulations that will allow them to live and work abroad.
Q3. What is the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006?
Ans. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of
2006 was passed by the central government.
This Act is intended to redress historical wrongs done to forest-dwelling populations by failing to
recognise their rights to land and resources.
This Act acknowledges their right to homestead, cultivable, and grazing land, as well as non-timber
forest produce.
The Act further states that forest dwellers’ rights include the conservation of forests and biodiversity.
V. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow-
Article 17 of the Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished – what this means is that no one
can henceforth prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering temples, using public facilities etc. It
also means that it is wrong to practice untouchability and that this practice will not be tolerated by a
democratic government. In fact, untouchability is a punishable crime now. There are other sections in the
Constitution that help to strengthen the argument against untouchability – for example, Article 15 of the
Constitution notes that no citizen of India shall be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, caste,
sex or place of birth.
1. What do you mean by untouchability?
Ans. Untouchability refers to the practice of discriminating against several individuals and groups with
reference to their caste and the jobs done by them.
2. Which article of the Constitution abolishes untouchability?
Ans. Article 17 of the Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished.
3. What exactly does Article 17 consist of?
Ans. Article 17 of the Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished – what this means is
that no one can henceforth prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering temples, using public
facilities etc.
4. Name one article that supports banning untouchability.
Ans. There are other sections in the Constitution that help to strengthen the argument against
untouchability – for example, Article 15 of the Constitution notes that no citizen of India shall be
discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
