SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND EXCLUSION
Inequality
The family, caste, tribe, and the market are the social institutions. These social institutions perform their role in forming communities and sustaining society. In India social inequality and exclusion are facts of life. The everydayness of social inequality and exclusion often make them appear inevitable, almost natural. We often think of them as being ‘deserved’ or ‘justified’ in some sense. Life chances and opportunities are not equally available to everyone. They are less for the suppressed castes. Patterns of unequal access to social resources are commonly called social inequality. Some social inequality reflects innate differences between individuals for example, their varying abilities and efforts.
What is Social about Social Inequality and Exclusion?
Social Inequality is Social :
Social inequality and exclusion are social because they are not about individuals but about groups. They are social in the sense that they are not economic, although there is usually a strong link between social and economic inequality. They are systematic and structured, there is a definite pattern to social inequalities.
Social Resources :
In every society, some people have a greater share of valued resources – money, property, education, health, and power – than others. These social resources can be divided into three forms of capital – economic capital in the form of material assets and income; cultural capital such as educational qualifications and status; and social capital in the form of networks of contacts and social associations. Often, these three forms of capital overlap and one can be converted into the other.
Patterns of unequal access to social resources are commonly called social inequality. However, by and large, social inequality is not the outcome of innate or ‘natural’ differences between people, but is produced by the society in which they live.
Sociologists use the term social stratification to refer to a system by which categories of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy.
Three key principles help explain social stratification :
Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences. Social stratification is a society-wide system that unequally distributed social resources among categories of people.
Social stratification persists over generations. It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next. A person’s social position is ascribed. The ascribed aspect of social inequality is reinforced by the practice of endogamy. That is, marriage is usually restricted to members of the same caste, ruling out the potential for blurring caste lines through inter-marriage.
Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or ideology. No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable. The caste system, for example, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.
People often face discrimination and exclusion because of their gender, religion, ethnicity, language, caste and disability. Eg: Scheduled caste- Fighting for rights, Schedule Tribe- Fighting for place in society, Women-Equal rights as men and the same opportunities, Minority- Those other than the Hindus are fighting for rights, Differently Abled-Discriminate against mentally different children etc.
Prejudices :
It refers to preconceived opinions or attitudes held by members of one group towards another. The word literally means ‘pre-judgement’, that is, an opinion formed in advance of any familiarity with the subject, before considering any available evidence. A prejudiced person’s preconceived views are often based on hearsay rather than on direct evidence, and are resistant to change even in the face of new information.
Stereotypes :
Prejudices are often grounded in stereotypes, fixed and inflexible characteristics of a group of people. They are often applied to ethnic and racial groups and to women. Stereotypes fix whole groups into single, homogeneous categories, they refuse to recognise the variation across individuals and across contexts or across time. Eg: girls are emotional and boys don't cry etc.
Discrimination:
If prejudice describes attitudes and opinions, discrimination refers to actual behaviour towards another group or individual. Discrimination can be seen in practices that disqualify members of one group from opportunities open to others, as when a person is refused a job because of their gender or religion. Discrimination can be very hard to prove because it may not be open or explicitly stated. Eg: he was rejected because of his caste, she was rejected for receptionist post because of her colour .
Social Exclusion
They are isolated and excluded from groups. When the people who are excluded are not given the opportunities which are given to others like medical, educational and naturalistic comforts. It is not accidental, it is systematic but it is openly done. It is involuntary, the exclusion occurs regardless of the wishes of the excluded but we exclude them. After centuries, some people who are excluded lean either to ignore or they protest. Example: Dalits came up with 2 things.
(i). They started making their own associations.
(ii). They converted their religion (Muslims ,Buddhism , Jainism, Christians).
Yet prejudices remain and often and the new ones emerge. Thus legislation alone is unable to transform society or produce lasting social change. A constant social campaign to change awareness and sensitivity is required to break them.
Discrimination and exclusion means was brought home to even most privileged Indians at the hands of the British colonial state.
Caste and Tribe - Systems Justifying and Perpetuating Inequality
Caste System as a Discriminatory System
The caste system is a distinct Indian social institution that legitimises and enforces practices of discrimination against people born into particular castes. These practices of discrimination are humiliating, exclusionary, and exploitative.
Untouchability
‘Untouchability’ is an extreme and particularly vicious aspect of the caste system that prescribes stringent social sanctions against members of castes located at the bottom of the purity-pollution scale. Distance pollution existed in many regions of India. The main dimensions of untouchability namely are : exclusion, humiliation, subordination and exploitation.
Exclusion: The untouchables went through the worst type of exclusion. They were not given opportunities like others and were excluded from the smallest things and they were excluded from everything. E.g. They weren't allowed to take water from the wells, pumps or lakes that the Brahmins used. They weren't allowed to take part in festivals rituals and ceremonies that others would participate in. They had to have a bath with the buffaloes and cows.
Humiliation: They were not allowed to wear bright clothes full of colour, could not use the same roads, which Brahmins use, had to walk with their heads bowed down while a Brahmin walked by, couldn't 'walk with their chappals in front of Brahmins so they would hold it in their hands. They would clean up dead bodies and the cremation and were only included to play the drums from a far off distance.
Subordination : They were below the upper caste and the Brahmins were suppressed.
Exploitation : They were given very low salaries and low grade jobs (washing the bathroom, wetting the roads, cremations). They were given jobs which no one wanted to do and were not paid. They were treated in an inhuman manner and were taken advantage of.
‘Dalit’, which is now the generally accepted term for referring to these groups. Dalit term was not coined by B R Ambedkar but he represented his philosophy and movement for the empowerment that he led. The Dalit panthers, a radical group that emerged in western India during that time, used the term to assert their identity as part of their struggle for rights and dignity.
State and Nonstate Initiatives Addressing Caste and Tribe Discrimination
The ‘Schedules’ listing the castes and tribes recognised as deserving of special treatment because of the massive discrimination practiced against them were drawn up in 1935, by the British Indian government. The extension of special programmes to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) since the early 1990s. To compensate past and present discrimination is known as ‘‘ reservations’’.
Laws, Policies, Amendments, Welfare programmes, they are meant for those who are socially and economically backward as they don't have life chances and opportunities which they should have.
The government reserves seats for the SC's and ST's and no one else can take those seats from the upper caste. They are reserved in educational institutions, jobs, and even parliament also. They have a lot of provisions like age relaxation and low marks for selection.
Caste disability Removal Act-1850: Introduced because they wanted the lower caste to get into educational institutions so that they could study and educate themselves.
Abolition of Untouchability-Article 17: If practiced, punishable by law.
Prevention of Atrocities Act-1889: The acts, the Brahmins carried out on the lower castes. E.g. beating them, not letting them wear bright colours, washing streets, etc.
Constitutional Amendment Act-2005: The 93rd amendment. It is to do with education and no one can be devoid of education.
State alone cannot ensure social change. They are still socially, economically and culturally backward.
Other Backward Classes
Groups of the forward caste who are economically backward and The people who are very poor and who are treated like the Dalits but there is no untouchability.
Reservations are provided to them since they are illiterate, uneducated and are given the same jobs as the Dalits.
Kaka Kalelkar Commission : To go to different villages to decide which caste/subcaste should be given the status of OBC. It was the first backward commission which was setup by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1953.
Mandal commission : In the late 80’s and 90’s it became a major one in national politics because V.P. Singh gave reservation in some states but not in other states which led to protests by other people.
Politics of OBC : Politicians promise reservation for the OBC’s only to expand their vote bank. Those OBC’s that are better off than the other OBC’s are upper OBCs and the lowest category is equal to the Dalits.
Adivasis Struggles
They like to be alone/isolated and their occupations well connected to the forest. They were hunter gatherers, honey collectors, shifting cultivators.
The SCs, and STs are social groups recognised by the Indian Constitution as specially marked by poverty, powerlessness and social stigma. The Jana or tribes were believed to be ‘people of the forest’ whose distinctive habitat in the hill and forest areas shaped their economic, social and political attributes.
Tribal groups have had long and close association with Hindu society and culture, making the boundaries between ‘tribe’ and ‘caste’ quite porous.
There are only a few areas of tribal concentration. In the areas where tribal populations are concentrated, their economic and social conditions are usually much worse than those of Non-Tribals.
The impoverished and exploited circumstances under which Adivasis live can be traced historically to the pattern of accelerated resource extraction started by the colonial British government and continued by the government of independent India.
During colonial rule:
During this period there was maximum exploitation of forest dwellers as Forests were cleared for collecting timber, setting up of roads, railway tracks so these tribals who were dependent on the forest lost their livelihood and some of them became thieves and stole timber and poached animals (poachers), Others went to nearby cities and towns and became labourers working for wages.
Thus the tribals revolted and protested which led the British to reserve areas known as ‘‘exclusive areas/partially exclusive areas’’.
After many tribal revolts, the Britishers made rules that the non-tribals should not be allowed to enter the area, but this was not implemented properly since the weaker sections were sidelined.
After Independence :
Development continued to take place and the tribals were suffering (roads, railways, tracks had to be made and timber had to be used) like Hydroelectric projects (dams), using recreational purposes and the culture of the tribals got clouded.
This displaced the tribals and their livelihood was taken away and They began revolts, rebellions, protests due to exploitation and discrimination. These movements led to the formation of 3 states Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh.
Struggle for Women Equality and Rights
Women are considered to be physically and biologically weaker but they are not socially or economically weak.
The obvious biological and physical differences between men and women, gender inequality is often treated as natural. Scholars have shown that the inequalities between men and women are social rather than natural. Eg: Nairs in Kerala and Khasis in Meghalaya and how women managed to be successful farmers, traders, in so many African societies.
Gender is thus also a form of social inequality and exclusion like caste and class, but with its own specific features.
Social Reformers
The male reformers wanted to make changes in the society for women and Dalits.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy : In 1829, he caused the abolition of Sati Paratha under the Governor General William Bentick. Later he started Brahmo Samaj for the upliftment of the status of women by giving the girl child education and he protested against child marriage and encouraged widow remarriage.
Dayanand Saraswati : He started the Arya Samaj to educate the girl child. Upliftment of women both socially and economically. He opposed child marriage and encouraged widow remarriage. He was against the study of western education and he propounded ‘‘ go back to vedas’’
M.G. Ranade : He was a Hindu Brahmin and was shocked by the way women were treated due to which he wrote two books and appealed to the people by saying that even in the Vedas it was not mentioned to treat them badly or they shouldn't get married again.
Jyotirao Phule : He was a Dalit and started the association called Satyashodhak Samaj (truth seeking society) and focused on status of Dalits and women and his wife was the first Indian to start a college for women in Pune.
Syed Ahmed Khan : He was a well educated Muslim and he wanted all Muslim women to be educated as they were suppressed, due to the Purdah System.
Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar : He concentrated on widow remarriage and opposed the way widows were treated. He encouraged men to marry the widows and arranged community marriages, he did this to give respect to the women.
Tarabai Shinde : She wrote a book called 'Stree Purush Tulana' in 1882 which spoke about how men treated women. There was prevalence of polygamy, so men would marry women. She felt that women were degraded and so she wrote the book to spread awareness about the importance of women.
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain : She wrote an interesting short story, 'Sultana's Dream' in 1915, where there was role reversal (men and women), magical world (satire). During the 19th century, there were very few associations which fought for women. Aer independence many women associations came up for the upliftment of women.
Karachi Session of 1931 : INC issued a declaration on the fundamental rights where it committed itself to women's equality. The declaration follows:
- All citizens are equal before the law, irrespective of their religion, caste, language and sex they belong to.
- No disability attaches to any citizen, by reason of his or her religion, caste, creed or sex, in regard to public employment, office of power or honour, and in the exercise of any trade or calling.
- Universal Adult Franchise should be allowed to vote irrespective of their caste, religion, Etc.
- All women have a right to vote, right to stand for any office or to take up any job.
Struggle of the Differently Abled
The differently abled are not ‘disabled’ only because they are physically or mentally ‘impaired’ but also because society is built in a manner that does not cater to their needs.
Features:
- Disability is understood as a biological given.
- Whenever a disabled person is confronted with problems, it is taken for granted that the problems originate from her/his impairment.
- The disabled person is seen as a victim.
- Disability is supposed to be linked with the disabled individual’s self perception.
- The very idea of disability suggests that they are indeed of help.
Disability are handicap(physically/ mentally challenged), crippled(physically challenged), blind(visually impaired) , deaf ( hearing impaired), dumb( speech impaired). These terms have changed as these terms are very derogatory and should not be used. They are not only physically and mentally challenged but they are socially discriminated against and not integrated into society like the mainstream.
Differently-Abled and Poverty :
They do not have the life chances, opportunities that the others have.
They are not educated, cannot get jobs and this leads to poverty.
If they are not accepted by their family, it leads to begging.
Due to poor conditions, unsanitary conditions, improper health and education, mother has too many children, no polio drops lead to disabilities.
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