NCERT Class 8 Political Science

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In 1934, the Indian National Congress made
the demand for a Constituent Assembly.
During the Second World War, this assertion
for an independent Constituent Assembly
formed only of Indians gained momentum
and this was convened in December 1946.
The photo on page 2 shows some members
of the Constituent Assembly.
Between December 1946 and November
1949, the Constituent Assembly drafted a
constitution for independent India. Free to
shape their destiny at last, after 150 years
of British rule, the members of the
Constituent Assembly approached this task
with the great idealism that the freedom
struggle had helped produce. You will read
more about the work of the Constituent
Assembly later in the chapter.
The photo alongside shows Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru addressing the
Constituent Assembly.
Today most countries in the world have a Constitution.
While all democratic countries are likely to have a
Constitution, it is not necessary that all countries that have
a Constitution are democratic. The Constitution serves
several purposes. First, it lays out certain ideals that form
the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens aspire to
live in. Or, put another way, a Constitution tells us what
the fundamental nature of our society is. A country is
usually made up of different communities of people who
share certain beliefs but may not necessarily agree on all
issues. A Constitution helps serve as a set of rules and
principles that all persons in a country can agree upon as
the basis of the way in which they want the country to be
governed. This includes not only the type of government
but also an agreement on certain ideals that they all believe
the country should uphold.
5 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

The country of Nepal has witnessed several
peoples struggles for democracy. There was a
peoples struggle in 1990 that established Let us try and understand what we mean by this through
democracy that lasted for 12 years until two contrasting situations in the recent history of Nepal, a
2002. In October 2002, King Gyanendra,
citing the Maoist uprising in the countryside as
country that borders India on the north. Until quite
his reason, began taking over different aspects recently, Nepal was a monarchy. The previous
of the government with the armys assistance. Constitution of Nepal, which had been adopted in 1990,
The King then finally took over as the head of
government in February 2005. In November
reflected the fact that the final authority rested with the
2005, the Maoists joined other political parties King. A peoples movement in Nepal fought for several
to sign a 12-point agreement. This agreement decades to establish democracy and in 2006 they finally
signalled to the larger public an imminent return
to democracy and peace. In 2006, this
succeeded in putting an end to the powers of the King. Now
peoples movement for democracy began the people have to write a new Constitution to establish
gaining immense force. It repeatedly refused Nepal as a democracy. The reason that they do not want to
the small concessions that the King made and
finally in April 2006 the King restored the Third
continue with the previous Constitution is because it does
Parliament and asked the political parties to not reflect the ideals of the country that they want Nepal
form a government. In 2007, Nepal adopted an to be, and that they have fought for.
interim Constitution. The above photos show
scenes from the peoples movement for
democracy in 2006.
As in the game of football, in which a change in the
constitutive rules will change the game altogether, Nepal,
by moving from a monarchy to a democratic government,
needs to change all its constitutive rules in order to usher in
a new society. This is why, the people of Nepal are in the
process of writing a new Constitution for the country. The
caption alongside elaborates Nepals struggle for democracy.

The second important purpose of a Constitution is to define

the nature of a countrys political system. For example,

Nepals earlier Constitution stated that the country was
to be ruled by the King and his council of ministers. In
countries that have adopted a democratic form of
Social and Political Life 6

government or polity, the Constitution plays a crucial role
in laying out certain important guidelines that govern
decision-making within these societies.
In a democracy, we choose our leaders so that they can
exercise power responsibly on our behalf. However, there is
always the possibility that these leaders might misuse their
authority and the Constitution usually provides safeguards
against this. This misuse of authority can result in gross
injustice as demonstrated in the classroom situation below:

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In democratic societies, the Constitution often lays down

rules that guard against this misuse of power by our political
leaders. In the case of the Indian Constitution, about which

you will read more later in this chapter, many of these laws
are contained in the section on Fundamental Rights. Do
you recall the chapter on the Dalit writer, Om Prakash
Valmikis experiences in school from your Class VII book?
In that chapter, we talked about the discrimination Om t
Prakash faced because he was a Dalit. You read about how

the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to equality to
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all persons and says that no citizen can be discriminated
against on grounds of religion, race, caste, gender, and place
of birth. The Right to Equality is one of the Fundamental
Rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.

Another important function that a Constitution plays
in a democracy is to ensure that a dominant group does
not use its power against other, less powerful people or
groups. The storyboard below demonstrates one such
situation in the classroom.

Such unhealthy situations can occur in democratic

societies too, where a majority can continuously
enforce decisions that exclude minorities and go
against their interests. As the above storyboard
illustrates, every society is prone to this tyranny of

the majority. The Constitution usually contains rules

that ensure that minorities are not excluded from
anything that is routinely available to the majority.
Another reason why we have a Constitution is
precisely to prevent this tyranny or domination by
the majority of a minority. This can refer to one

community dominating another, i.e. inter-community

domination, or members of one community
dominating others within the same community, i.e.
t intra-community domination.

The third significant reason why we need a Constitution
is to save us from ourselves. This may sound strange but
what is meant by this is that we might at times feel strongly
about an issue that might go against our larger interests
and the Constitution helps us guard against this. Look at
the storyboard below to understand this better:

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Similarly, the Constitution helps to protect us against
certain decisions that we might take that could have an
adverse effect on the larger principles that the country
believes in. For example, it is possible that many people
who live in a democracy might come to strongly feel that
party politics has become so acrimonious that we need a
strong dictator to set this right. Swept by this emotion,
they may not realise that in the long run, dictatorial rule
goes against all their interests. A good Constitution does
not allow these whims to change its basic structure. It does
not allow for the easy overthrow of provisions that
guarantee rights of citizens and protect their freedom.

From the above discussion, you will understand that the s s
Constitution plays a very important role in democratic s s
societies.

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Now let us try and understand the ways in which the above
points get translated into certain ideals and rules by
studying some key features of the Indian Constitution.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Indian
national movement had been active in the struggle for
independence from British rule for several decades. During
the freedom struggle the nationalists had devoted a great
deal of time to imagining and planning what a free India
would be like. Under the British, they had been forced to
obey rules that they had had very little role in making.
The long experience of authoritarian rule under the colonial
state convinced Indians that free India should be a
democracy in which everyone should be treated equally
There was an extraordinary sense of unity and be allowed to participate in government. What
amongst the members of the Constituent
Assembly. Each of the provisions of the future remained to be done then was to work out the ways in
constitution was discussed in great detail and which a democratic government would be set up in India
there was a sincere effort to compromise and
reach an agreement through consensus. The
and the rules that would determine its functioning. This
above photo shows Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a was done not by one person but by a group of around 300
prominent member of the Constituent Assembly.
people who became members of the Constituent Assembly
in 1946 and who met periodically for the next three years
to write Indias Constitution.

These members of the Constituent Assembly had a huge
task before them. The country was made up of several
different communities who spoke different languages,
belonged to different religions, and had distinct cultures.
Also, when the Constitution was being written, India was
going through considerable turmoil. The partition of the
country into India and Pakistan was imminent, some of
the Princely States remained undecided about their future,
and the socio-economic condition of the vast mass of people Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is known as the
appeared dismal. All of these issues played on the minds of Father of the Indian Constitution.
the members of the Constituent Assembly as they drafted Dr Ambedkar believed that his participation
in the Constituent Assembly helped the
the Constitution. They rose to the occasion and gave this Scheduled Castes get some safeguards in
country a visionary document that reflects a respect for the draft constitution. But he also stated
that although the laws might exist,
maintaining diversity while preserving national unity. The Scheduled Castes still had reason to fear
final document also reflects their concern for eradicating because the administration of these laws
were in the hands of caste Hindu officers.
poverty through socio-economic reforms as well as He, therefore, urged Scheduled Castes to
emphasing the crucial role the people can play in choosing join the government as well as the civil
services.
their representatives.
Listed below are the key features of the Indian Constitution.

While reading these, keep in mind the above-mentioned
concerns of diversity, unity, socio-economic reform and
representation that the authors of this document were
grappling with. Try and understand the ways in which they
tried to balance these concerns with their commitment to
transforming independent India into a strong, democratic
society.
1. Federalism: This refers to the existence of more than
one level of government in the country. In India, we have
governments at the state level and at the centre. Panchayati
Raj is the third tier of government and you have read about
this in your Class VI book. We looked at the functioning
of the state government in your Class VII book and this
year we will read more about the central government.
The vast number of communities in India meant that a system

of government needed to be devised that did not involve only
persons sitting in the capital city of New Delhi and making

decisions for everyone. Instead, it was important to have
another level of government in the states so that decisions
could be made for that particular area. While each state in
India enjoys autonomy in exercising powers on certain issues,
subjects of national concern require that all of these states
follow the laws of the central government. The Constitution
contains lists that detail the issues that each tier of
government can make laws on. In addition, the Constitution
also specifies where each tier of government can get the
When the Constituent Assembly adopted the
money from for the work that it does. Under federalism,
principle of universal adult franchise, Shri A K. the states are not merely agents of the federal government
Ayyar, a member, remarked that this was done, but draw their authority from the Constitution as well. All
with an abundant faith in the common man
and the ultimate success of democratic rule, persons in India are governed by laws and policies made by
and in the full belief that the introduction of each of these levels of government.
democratic government on the basis of adult
suffrage will bring enlightenment and promote
the well-being, the standard of life, the 2. Parliamentary Form of Government: The different
comfort, and the decent living of the common tiers of government that you just read about consist of
man.
Austin, G. 1966. The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a
representatives who are elected by the people. Your Class
Nation. Clarendon Press, Oxford. VII book began with the story of Kanta who
The photo below shows people standing in line was standing in line to vote during an election. The
to cast their votes.
Constitution of India guarantees universal adult suffrage
for all citizens. When they were making the Constitution,
the members of the Constituent Assembly felt that the
freedom struggle had prepared the masses for universal adult
suffrage and that this would help encourage a democratic
mindset and break the clutches of traditional caste, class
and gender hierarchies. This means that the people of India
have a direct role in electing their representatives. Also,
every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social
background, can also contest in elections. These
representatives are accountable to the people. You will read
more about why representation is crucial to democratic
functioning in Unit 2 of this book.
3. Separation of Powers: According to the Constitution,

there are three organs of the State. These are the legislature,
the executive and the judiciary. The legislature refers to our
elected representatives. The executive is a smaller group of
people who are responsible for implementing laws and
running the government. The judiciary, of which you will Members of the Constituent Assembly feared
read more in Unit 3 of this book, refers to the system of that the executive might become too strong
courts in this country. In order to prevent the misuse of and ignore its responsibility to the legislature.
The Assembly, therefore, included a number of
power by any one branch of the State, the Constitution provisions in the Constitution to limit and
says that each of these organs should exercise different control the action taken by the executive
branch of government as a whole.
powers. Through this, each organ acts as a check on the The above photo shows members of the
other organs of the State and this ensures the balance of Constituent Assembly deep in discussion.
power between all three.

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4. Fundamental Rights: The section on Fundamental
Rights has often been referred to as the conscience of the
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Indian Constitution. Colonial rule had created
a certain suspicion of the State in the minds of

the nationalists and they wanted to ensure that a set

of written rights would guard against the misuse of State
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therefore, protect citizens against the arbitrary
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and absolute exercise of power by the State. The
Constitution, thus, guarantees the rights of individuals
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Moreover, the various minority communities also

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that would protect their group. The Constitution,
therefore, also guarantees the rights of minorities against
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the majority. As Dr Ambedkar has said about these
P P Fundamental Rights, their object is two-fold. The first
objective is that every citizen must be in a position to claim
those rights. And secondly, these rights must be binding
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In addition to Fundamental Rights, the Constitution also
has a section called Directive Principles of State Policy. This
P P P section was designed by the members of the Constituent
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Assembly to ensure greater social and economic reform,
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institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of
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5. Secularism: A secular state is one in which the state
does not officially promote any one religion as the state
religion. We will read more about this in the following
chapter.
You now understand the ways in which a countrys

history often determines the kind of Constitution that a
country adopts for itself. The Constitution plays a crucial
role in laying out the ideals that we would like all citizens
of the country to adhere to, including the representatives
that we elect to rule us. Just like in the game of football, a
change of constitutive rules will affect the game. Indian
Constitution has been changed over the years to reflect
new concerns of the polity. Often a major change in the
Constitution means a change in the fundamental
nature of the country. We saw this in the case of
Nepal and how it needs to adopt a new
Constitution after it has recently become a
democratic society.
The different features of the Indian Constitution

outlined above, involve complicated ideas that are
often not easy to grasp. Dont worry too much
about this for the moment. In the rest of the book
as well as in your higher classes, you will read
more about these different features of the Indian The above photos show various members
Constitution and understand more substantively signing a copy of the Constitution at its final
session. The first photo (from top) shows Prime
what they mean. Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru signing. The
second photo is of Dr Rajendra Prasad,
President of the Constituent Assembly. The last

photo shows the following persons (from right
to left): Shri Jairamdas Daulatram, Minister for
Food and Agriculture; Rajkumari Amrit Kaur,
Health Minister; Dr John Mathai, Finance
Minister; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Deputy
Prime Minister and behind him Shri Jagjivan
Ram, Labour Minister.



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History provides us with many examples of discrimination,
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exclusion and persecution on the grounds of religion. You t
may have read about how Jews were persecuted in Hitlers tt t
Germany and how several million were killed. Now,
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however, the Jewish state of Israel treats its own Muslim t
and Christian minorities quite badly. In Saudi Arabia, non-
Muslims are not allowed to build a temple, church etc, and
nor can they gather in a public place for prayers.
In all of the above examples, members of one religious

community either persecute or discriminate against
members of other religious communities. These acts of
discrimination take place more easily when one religion is
given official recognition by the State at the expense of other
religions. Clearly no one would wish to be discriminated
against because of their religion nor dominated by another
religion. In India can the State discriminate against a citizen
on the grounds of their religion?

Tanvi, Abhilasha and Snehal, VI B, Srijan School, Delhi.
In the previous chapter, you read about how the Indian
Constitution contains Fundamental Rights that protect us
against State power as well as against the tyranny of the
majority. The Indian Constitution allows individuals the
freedom to live by their religious beliefs and practices as
they interpret these. In keeping with this idea of religious
freedom for all, India also adopted a strategy of separating
the power of religion and the power of the State. Secularism The three drawings in this chapter were done
by students of your age. They were asked to
refers to this separation of religion from the State. draw on religious tolerance.
19 Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism

As discussed above, the most important aspect of secularism

is its separation of religion from State power. This is
important for a country to function democratically. Almost
all countries of the world will have more than one religious
group living in them. Within these religious groups, there
will most likely be one group that is in a majority. If this
majority religious group has access to State power, then it
could quite easily use this power and financial resources to
discriminate against and persecute persons of other
religions. This tyranny of the majority could result in the
discrimination, coercion and at times even the killing of
religious minorities. The majority could quite easily
prevent minorities from practising their religions. Any
Ashita Jain, V, Srijan School, Delhi. form of domination based on religion is in violation of the
rights that a democratic society guarantees to each and every
citizen irrespective of their religion. Therefore, the tyranny
of the majority and the violation of Fundamental Rights
that can result is one reason why it is important to separate
the State and religion in democratic societies.
Another reason that it is important to separate religion

from the State in democratic societies is because we also
need to protect the freedom of individuals to exit from
their religion, embrace another religion or have the freedom
to interpret religious teachings differently. To understand
this point better, let us take the practice of untouchability.
You might feel that you dislike this practice within
Hinduism and therefore, you want to try and reform it.
However, if State power were in the hands of those Hindus
who support untouchability, then do you think that you
would have an easy task to try and change this? Even if you
were part of the dominant religious group, you might face
a lot of resistance from fellow members of your
community. These members who have control of State

power might say that there is only one interpretation of
Hinduism and that you do not have the freedom to interpret
r this differently.

Pinky, VI G, Srijan School, Delhi.

The Indian Constitution mandates that the Indian State be
secular. According to the Constitution, only a secular State
can realise its objectives to ensure the following:
1. that one religious community does not dominate
another;
2. that some members do not dominate other members of
the same religious community;
3. that the State does not enforce any particular religion
nor take away the religious freedom of individuals.
The Indian State works in various ways to prevent the above

domination. First, it uses a strategy of distancing itself from
religion. The Indian State is not ruled by a religious group
and nor does it support any one religion. In India,
government spaces like law courts, police stations,
government schools and offices are not supposed to display
or promote any one religion.

In the above storyboard, the celebration of the religious

festival within the school would have been a violation of
the governments policy of treating all religions equally.
Government schools cannot promote any one religion
either in their morning prayers or through religious
celebrations. This rule does not apply to private schools.

The second way in which Indian secularism works to
prevent the above domination is through a strategy of non- s
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interference. This means that in order to respect the

sentiments of all religions and not interfere with religious s
practices, the State makes certain exceptions for particular
religious communities. r

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In the above storyboard, Paramjit, the Sikh youth, does not

have to wear a helmet. This is because the Indian State
recognises that wearing a pugri (turban) is central to a Sikhs
religious practice and in order not to interfere with this,
allows an exception in the law.
The third way in which Indian secularism works to prevent

the domination listed earlier is through a strategy of
intervention. You read earlier in this chapter about
untouchability. This is a good example where members of

the same religion (upper-caste Hindus) dominate other
members (some lower castes) within it. In order to
prevent this religion-based exclusion and discrimination
of lower castes, the Indian Constitution bans
untouchability. In this instance, the State is intervening in
religion in order to end a social practice that it believes
discriminates and excludes, and that violates the
Fundamental Rights of lower castes who are citizens of
this country. Similarly, to ensure that laws relating to equal
inheritance rights are respected, the State may have to
intervene in the religion-based personal laws of
communities.
The intervention of the State can also be in the form of

support. The Indian Constitution grants the right to
religious communities to set up their own schools and
colleges. It also gives them financial aid on a non-
preferential basis.
In what way is Indian secularism different from that of

other democratic countries?
Some of the above objectives are similar to those that have

been included in the Constitutions of secular democratic
countries in other parts of the world. For example, the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the
legislature from making laws respecting an establishment
of religion or that prohibit the free exercise of religion.
What is meant by the word establishment is that the
In the United States of America, most children legislature cannot declare any religion as the official
in government schools have to begin their
school day reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
religion. Nor can they give preference to one religion. In
This Pledge includes the words under God. It the U.S.A. the separation between State and religion means
was established more than 60 years ago that that neither the State nor religion can interfere in the affairs
government school students are not required to
recite the Pledge if it conflicts with their of one another.
religious beliefs. Despite this, there have been
several legal challenges objecting to the phrase There is one significant way in which Indian secularism
under God saying that it violates the
separation between church and State that the differs from the dominant understanding of secularism as
First Amendment of the US Constitution practised in the United States of America. This is because
guarantees.
unlike the strict separation between religion and the State
The above photo shows students taking the
Pledge of Allegiance in a government school in in American secularism, in Indian secularism the State can
the U.S.A. intervene in religious affairs. You have read about how the

Indian Constitution intervened in Hindu religious practices
in order to abolish untouchability. In Indian secularism,
though the State is not strictly separate from religion it
does maintain a principled distance vis--vis religion. This
means that any interference in religion by the State has to
be based on the ideals laid out in the Constitution. These
ideals serve as the standard through which we can judge
whether the State is or is not behaving according to secular
principles.

The Indian State is secular and works in various ways to
prevent religious domination. The Indian Constitution
guarantees Fundamental Rights that are based on these
secular principles. However, this is not to say that there is
no violation of these rights in Indian society. Indeed it is
precisely because such violations happen frequently that

we need a constitutional mechanism to prevent them from
happening. The knowledge that such rights exist makes us
sensitive to their violations and enables us to take action
when these violations take place.

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India, as we know, became independent on 15 August 1947.
P
Preceding this was a long and difficult struggle in which
many sections of society participated. People from various t t
backgrounds joined the struggle and they were inspired by
the ideas of freedom, equality and participation in decision
making. Under colonial rule, the people had lived in fear
of the British government and did not agree with many of
the decisions that they took. But they faced grave danger if
they tried to criticise these decisions. The freedom
movement changed this situation. The nationalists began
to openly criticise the British government and make
demands. As far back as 1885, the Indian National Congress
demanded that there be elected members in the legislature
with a right to discuss the budget and ask questions. The
Government of India Act 1909, allowed for some elected
representation. While these early legislatures under the
British government were in response to the growing
demands of the nationalists, they did not allow for all adults
to vote nor could people participate in decision making.
As you read in Chapter 1, the experience of colonial rule as
well as the participation of different people in the struggle
for freedom left little doubt in the minds of the nationalists
that all persons in independent India would be able to
participate in making decisions. With the coming of
independence, we were going to be citizens of a free
country. This did not mean that the government could do
what it felt like, it meant that the government had to be The above photo shows a man reading
instructions on how to use an Electronic Voting
sensitive to peoples needs and demands. The dreams and Machine (EVM). EVMs were used throughout
aspirations of the freedom struggle were made concrete in the country for the first time in the 2004
the Constitution of independent India that laid down the general elections. The use of EVMs in 2004
saved around 1,50,000 trees which would
principle of universal adult franchise, i.e. that all adult have been cut to produce about 8,000 tons of
citizens of the country have the right to vote. paper for printing the ballot papers.
31 Chapter 3: Why Do We Need a Parliament?

P
t t t
The take-off point for a democracy is the idea of consent,
t i.e. the desire, approval and participation of people. It is
t the decision of people that creates a democratic government
t and decides about its functioning. The basic idea in this
t kind of democracy is that the individual or the citizen is
s the most important person and that in principle the
government as well as other public institutions need to have
the trust of these citizens.
How does the individual give approval to the government?
One way of doing so, as you read, is through elections. People
would elect their representatives to the Parliament, then,
one group from among these elected representatives forms
the government. The Parliament, which is made up of all
representatives together, controls and guides the government.
In this sense people, through their chosen representatives,
form the government and also control it.
This photo shows election staff using an

elephant to carry polling material and EVMs to
polling stations located in difficult terrain.
The above idea of representation has been an important
theme in your Class VI and VII Social and Political Life
textbooks. You are familiar with how representatives are
chosen at different levels of government. Let us recall these
ideas by doing the following exercises.
33
Chapter 3: Why Do We Need a Parliament?
1
2 3
1. The Parliament of India (Sansad) is the supreme law-making institution. It has two Houses, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
2. Rajya Sabha (Council of States), with a total strength of 245 members, is chaired by the Vice-President of India.
3. Lok Sabha (House of the People), with a total membership of 545, is presided over by the Speaker.

Created after 1947, the Indian Parliament is an expression of the
faith that the people of India have in principles of democracy.
These are participation by people in the decision-making process
and government by consent. The Parliament in our system has
immense powers because it is the representative of the people.
Elections to the Parliament are held in a similar manner as they
are for the state legislature. The Lok Sabha is usually elected
once every five years. The country is divided into numerous
constituencies as shown in the map on page 41. Each of these
constituencies elects one person to the Parliament. The candidates
who contest elections usually belong to different political parties.

With the help of the table below, let us understand
this further.
qr st r q
P P P

Once elected, these candidates become Members
of Parliament or MPs. These MPs together make
up the Parliament. Once elections to the
Parliament have taken place, the Parliament needs
P Pr P
to perform the following functions:
Pr
A. To Select the National Government

The Parliament in India consists of the President, the
Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. After the Lok Sabha
elections, a list is prepared showing how many MPs

belong to each political party. For a political party to

form the government, they must have a majority of
elected MPs. Since there are 543 elected (plus 2
nominated) members in Lok Sabha, to have a majority
a party should have at least half the number i.e. 272
Pr members or more. The Opposition in Parliament is
formed by all the political parties that oppose the
majority party/coalition formed. The largest amongst
these parties is called the Opposition party.

One of the most important functions of the Lok
Sabha is to select the executive. The executive, as
you read in Chapter 1, is a group of persons who
work together to implement the laws made by the
Parliament. This executive is often what we have
in mind when we use the term government.
The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the
ruling party in the Lok Sabha. From the MPs who
belong to her party, the Prime Minister selects
r r Pr ministers to work with her to implement
decisions. These ministers then take charge of
different areas of government functioning like
r health, education, finance etc.

Often times in the recent past it has been difficult
The above table gives you the results of the 13th for a single political party to get the majority that
Lok Sabha elections held in 1999. In these is required to form the government. They then
elections, the BJP got a large number of seats but
still not enough to emerge as the majority party in
join together with different political parties who
the Lok Sabha. It, thus, had to form a coalition, are interested in similar concerns to form what is
the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with other known as a coalition government.
political parties who were its allies.

These two buildings of the Central Secretariat, the South Block and North Block were built during the 1930s. The photo on the left is of the South
Block which houses the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs. The North Block is the photo on
the right and this has the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The other ministries of the Union Government are located in various
buildings in New Delhi.
The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative

of the states of India in the Parliament. The Rajya Sabha
can also initiate legislation and a bill is required to pass
through the Rajya Sabha in order to become a law. It,
therefore, has an important role of reviewing and altering
(if alterations are needed) the laws initiated by the Lok
Sabha. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the
elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various
states. There are 233 elected members plus 12 members
nominated by the President.
B. To Control, Guide and Inform the Government
The Parliament, while in session, begins with a question hour.

The question hour is an important mechanism through which
MPs can elicit information about the working of the
government. This is a very important way through which
the Parliament controls the executive. By asking questions
the government is alerted to its shortcomings, and also comes
to know the opinion of the people through their
representatives in the Parliament, i.e. the MPs. Asking
questions of the government is a crucial task for every MP.
The Opposition parties play a critical role in the healthy
functioning of a democracy. They highlight drawbacks in
various policies and programmes of the government and
mobilise popular support for their own policies.

The following is an example of a question asked in the Parliament.
The government gets valuable feedback and is kept on

its toes by the questions asked by the MPs. In addition,

in all matters dealing with finances, the Parliaments
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approval is crucial for the government. This is one of the

several ways in which the Parliament controls, guides
and informs the government. The MPs as representatives
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of the people have a central role in controlling, guiding

and informing Parliament and this is a key aspect of the
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functioning of Indian democracy.

C. Law-Making
Law-making is a significant function of the Parliament. We

shall read about this in the next chapter.

The Parliament now has more and more people from
different backgrounds. For example, there are more rural
members as also members from many regional parties.
Groups and peoples that were till now unrepresented are
beginning to get elected to the Parliament.
There has also been an increase in political participation

from the Dalit and backward castes and the minorities. Let
us look at the following table that shows the percentage of
the population who voted in Lok Sabha elections in
different years.
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It has been observed that representative democracy cannot
produce a perfect reflection of society. There is a realisation
that when interests and experiences separate us it is
important to ensure that communities that have been
historically marginalised are given adequate representation.
With this in mind, some seats are reserved in the Parliament
for SCs and STs. This has been done so that the MPs elected
from these constituencies will be familiar with and can
represent Dalit and Adivasi interests in Parliament.

Similarly, it has more recently been suggested that there
should be reservation of seats for women. This issue is still
being debated. Sixty years ago, only four per cent of MPs
were women and today it is just above nine per cent. This
is a small share when you consider the fact that half the
population are women.
It is issues of this kind that force the country to ask certain

The above photo shows a few women Members difficult and often unresolved questions about whether our
of Parliament.
democratic system is representative enough. The fact that
we can ask these questions and are working towards

answers is a reflection of the strength and the faith that
people in India have in a democratic form of government.

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The above is a clear case of the violation of law. As you

read in Unit 1, members of the Constituent Assembly were
agreed there should be no arbitrary exercise of power in
independent India. They, therefore, instituted several
provisions in the Constitution that would establish the rule
of law. The most important of these was that all persons in
independent India are equal before the law.
The law cannot discriminate between persons on the basis

of their religion, caste or gender. What the rule of law means
is that all laws apply equally to all citizens of the country
and no one can be above the law. Neither a government
official, nor a wealthy person nor even the President of the
country is above the law. Any crime or violation of law
has a specific punishment as well as a process through which
the guilt of the person has to be established. But was it
always like this?
In ancient India, there were innumerable and often
overlapping local laws. Different communities enjoyed
different degrees of autonomy in administering these laws
43 Chapter 4: Understanding Laws

among their own. In some cases, the punishment that two
persons received for the same crime varied depending on
their caste backgrounds, with lower castes being more
harshly penalised. This slowly began to change as this system
of law began to further evolve during the colonial period.
Another example of British arbitrariness was
the Rowlatt Act which allowed the British
It is often believed that it was the British colonialists who
government to imprison people without due introduced the rule of law in India. Historians have
trial. Indian nationalists including Mahatma disputed this claim on several grounds, two of which
Gandhi were vehement in their opposition to
the Rowlatt bills. Despite the large number of include: first that colonial law was arbitrary, and second
protests, the Rowlatt Act came into effect on that the Indian nationalists played a prominent role in the
10 March 1919. In Punjab, protests against
this Act continued quite actively and on April development of the legal sphere in British India. One
10 two leaders of the movement, Dr Satyapal example of the arbitrariness that continued to exist as part
and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. To
protest these arrests, a public meeting was
of British law is the Sedition Act of 1870. The idea of
held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in sedition was very broadly understood within this Act. Any
Amritsar. General Dyer entered the park with person protesting or criticising the British government
his troops. They closed the only exit and
without giving any warning General Dyer could be arrested without due trial.
ordered the troops to fire. Several hundreds of
people died in this gunfire and many more were Indian nationalists began protesting and criticising this
wounded including women and children. This
painting shows troops firing on the people
arbitrary use of authority by the British. They also began
during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. fighting for greater equality and wanted to change the idea

of law from a set of rules that they were forced to obey, to
law as including ideas of justice. By the end of the nineteenth
century, the Indian legal profession also began emerging and

demanded respect in colonial courts. They began to use law
to defend the legal rights of Indians. Indian judges also began
to play a greater role in making decisions. Therefore, there
were several ways in which Indians played a major role in
the evolution of the rule of law during the colonial period.
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With the adoption of the Constitution, this document
served as the foundation on which our representatives began
making laws for the country. Every year our representatives
pass several new laws as well as revise existing ones. In your
Class VI book, you read about the Hindu Succession
Amendment Act 2005. According to this new law, sons,
daughters and their mothers can get an equal share of family
property. Similarly, new laws have been enacted to control
pollution and provide employment. How do people come
to think and propose that a new law is necessary? You will
read more about this in the next section.
The Parliament has an important role in making laws. There

are many ways through which this takes place and it is often
different groups in society that raise the need for a
particular law. An important role of Parliament is to be
sensitive to the problems faced by people. Let us read the
following story to understand how the issue of domestic
violence was brought to the attention of the Parliament
and the process adopted for this issue to become law.

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As the above example shows, the role of citizens is crucial
in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people
might have into laws. From establishing the need for a new
law to its being passed, at every stage of the process the
voice of the citizen is a crucial element. This voice can be
heard through TV reports, newspaper editorials, radio
broadcasts, local meetings - all of which help in making the
work that Parliament does more accessible and transparent
to the people.

Let us now look at the situation where the Parliament passes
laws that turn out to be very unpopular. Sometimes a law
can be constitutionally valid and hence legal, but it can r
continue to be unpopular and unacceptable to people r
because they feel that the intention behind it is unfair and
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harmful. Hence, people might criticise this law, hold public
meetings, write about it in newspapers, report to TV news

channels etc. In a democracy like ours, citizens can express
r
their unwillingness to accept repressive laws framed by the
Parliament. When a large number of people begin to feel
that a wrong law has been passed, then there is pressure on
the Parliament to change this. r

For example, various municipal laws on the use of space
within municipal limits often make hawking and street
vending illegal. No one will dispute the necessity for some r
rules to keep the public space open so that people can walk

on the pavements easily. However, one also cannot deny
that hawkers and vendors provide essential services cheaply

and efficiently to the millions living in a large city. This is

their means of livelihood. Hence, if the law favours one r
group and disregards the other it will be controversial and r
lead to conflict. People who think that the law is not fair r
can approach the court to decide on the issue. The court r t
has the power to modify or cancel laws if it finds that they
dont adhere to the Constitution.


Do you remember the photo essay on the womens
movement in the Class VII book? The photos there showed

the different ways in which citizens can protest, campaign

and show solidarity. The following pictures point to other
ways in which people protest unjust laws:

t We need to remember that our role as citizens does not
end with electing our representatives. Rather, it is then that

we begin to use newspapers and the media to carefully chart
the work that is being done by our MPs and criticise their
actions when we feel it is required. Thus, what we should
bear in mind is that it is the extent, involvement and
enthusiasm of the people that helps Parliament perform its
representative functions properly.

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Courts take decisions on a very large number of issues.
They can decide that no teacher can beat a student, or about
the sharing of river waters between states, or they can punish
people for particular crimes. Broadly speaking, the work
that the judiciary does can be divided into the following:
Dispute Resolution: The judicial system provides a
mechanism for resolving disputes between citizens, between
citizens and the government, between two state
governments and between the centre and state governments.
Judicial Review: As the final interpreter of the
Constitution, the judiciary also has the power to strike
down particular laws passed by the Parliament if it believes
that these are a violation of the basic structure of the
Constitution. This is called judicial review.
Upholding the Law and Enforcing Fundamental
Rights: Every citizen of India can approach the Supreme
Court or the High Court if they believe that their
Fundamental Rights have been violated. For example, in
the Class VII book, you read about Hakim Sheikh, an
agricultural labourer who fell from a running train and
injured himself and whose condition got worse because
several hospitals refused to admit him. On hearing his case,
the Supreme Court ruled that Article 21 which provides
every citizen the Fundamental Right to Life also includes
the Right to Health. It, therefore, directed the West Bengal The above photo shows the Supreme Court of
India. The Supreme Court was established on
government to pay him compensation for the loss suffered 26 January 1950, the day India became a
as well as to come up with a blueprint for primary health Republic. Like its predecessor, the Federal Court
care with particular reference to treatment of patients during of India (19371949), it was earlier located in
the Chamber of Princes in the Parliament House.
an emergency [Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity vs State It moved to its present building on Mathura Road
of West Bengal (1996)]. in New Delhi in 1958.
55 Chapter 5: Judiciary

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Imagine a situation in which a powerful politician has
encroached on land belonging to your family. Within this
judicial system, the politician has the power to appoint and
dismiss a judge from his office. When you take this case to
court, the judge is clearly partial to the politician.
The control that the politician holds over the judge does
not allow for the judge to take an independent decision.
This lack of independence would force the judge to make
all judgments in favour of the politician. Although we often

hear of rich and powerful people in India trying to influence
the judicial process, the Indian Constitution protects
against this kind of situation by providing for the
independence of the judiciary.
One aspect of this independence is the separation of powers.

This as you read in Chapter 1 is a key feature of the
Constitution. What this means here is that other branches
of the State-like the legislature and the executive - cannot
interfere in the work of the judiciary. The courts are not
under the government and do not act on their behalf.
For the above separation to work well, it is also crucial

that all judges in the High Court as well as the Supreme
Court are appointed with very little interference from these
other branches of government. Once appointed to this
office, it is also very difficult to remove a judge.

It is the independence of the judiciary that allows the courts
to play a central role in ensuring that there is no misuse of

power by the legislature and the executive. It also plays a

crucial role in protecting the Fundamental Rights of
citizens because anyone can approach the courts if they
believe that their rights have been violated.
There are three different levels of courts in our country.

There are several courts at the lower level while there is
only one at the apex level. The courts that most people
interact with are what are called subordinate or district
courts. These are usually at the district or Tehsil level or in
towns and they hear many kinds of cases. Each state is
divided into districts that are presided over by a District
Judge. Each state has a High Court which is the highest
court of that state. At the top is the Supreme Court that is
located in New Delhi and is presided over by the Chief
Justice of India. The decisions made by the Supreme Court
are binding on all other courts in India.
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High Courts were first established in the three
Presidency cities of Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras in 1862. The High Court of Delhi came
up in 1966. Currently there are 21 High Courts.
While many states have their own High Courts,
Punjab and Haryana share a common High Court
at Chandigarh, and the seven northeast states
have a common High Court at Guwahati. Some
High Courts have benches in other parts of the
state for greater accessibility.
High Court of Madras
Are these different levels of courts connected to each

other? Yes, they are. In India, we have an integrated
judicial system, meaning that the decisions made by higher
courts are binding on the lower courts. Another way to
understand this integration is through the appellate
system that exists in India. This means that a person can
appeal to a higher court if they believe that the judgment
passed by the lower court is not just.
Let us understand what we mean by the appellate system
by tracking a case, State (Delhi Administration) vs Laxman
Kumar and Others (1985), from the lower courts to the
Supreme Court.
In February 1980, Laxman Kumar married 20-year-old
High Court of Patna
Sudha Goel and they lived in a flat in Delhi with Laxmans
brothers and their families. On 2 December 1980 Sudha
died in hospital due to burns. Her family filed a case in
court. When this case was heard in the Trial Court, four
of her neighbours were called in as witnesses. They stated
that on the night of December 1, they had heard Sudha
scream and had forced their way into Laxmans flat.
There they saw Sudha standing with her sari in flames.
They extinguished the fire by wrapping Sudha in a gunny
bag and a blanket. Sudha told them that her mother-in-
law Shakuntala had poured kerosene oil on her and that
High Court of Karnataka her husband Laxman had lit the fire. During the trial,

members of Sudhas family and a neighbour stated that
Sudha had been subjected to torture by her in-laws and that
they were demanding more cash, a scooter and a fridge on
the birth of the first child. As part of their defence, Laxman
and his mother stated that Sudhas sari had accidentally
caught fire while she was heating milk. On the basis of this
and other evidence, the Trial Court convicted Laxman, his
mother Shakuntala and his brother-in-law Subash Chandra
and sentenced all three of them to death.
In November 1983, the three accused went to the High
Court to appeal against this verdict of the Trial Court. The
High Court, after hearing the arguments of all the lawyers,
decided that Sudha had died due to an accidental fire caused
by the kerosene stove. Laxman, Shakuntala and Subash
Chandra were acquitted.
You may remember the photo essay on the womens
movement in your Class VII book. You read about how, in
the 1980s, womens groups across the country spoke out
against dowry deaths. They protested against the failure
of courts to bring these cases to justice. The above High

Court judgment deeply troubled women and they held
demonstrations and filed a separate appeal against this High
Court decision in the Supreme Court through the Indian
Federation of Women Lawyers.
In 1985, the Supreme Court heard this appeal against the
acquittal of Laxman and the two members of his family.
The Supreme Court heard the arguments of the lawyers
and reached a decision that was different from that of the
High Court. They found Laxman and his mother guilty
but acquitted the brother-in-law Subash because they did
not have enough evidence against him. The Supreme Court
decided to send the accused to prison for life.
The subordinate court is more commonly known
by many different names. These include the Trial
Court or the Court of the District Judge, the
Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Metropolitan Magistrate, Civil
Judge. Alongside is a photograph of the District
Court in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Chapter 5: Judiciary

The above case of the dowry death falls within what is
considered a crime against society and is a violation of
criminal law. In addition to criminal law, the legal system
also deals with civil law cases. You read in Chapter 4 of
how a new civil law was passed in 2006 to protect women
against domestic violence. Look at the following table to
understand some of the significant differences between
criminal and civil law.

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In principle, all citizens of India can access the courts in
this country. This implies that every citizen has a right to
justice through the courts. As you read earlier, the courts
play a very significant role in protecting our Fundamental
Rights. If any citizen believes that their rights are being
violated, then they can approach the court for justice to be 1
done. While the courts are available for all, in reality access
to courts has always been difficult for a vast majority of the
poor in India. Legal procedures involve a lot of money and
paperwork as well as take up a lot of time. For a poor person
who cannot read and whose family depends on a daily wage,
the idea of going to court to get justice often seems remote.
In response to this, the Supreme Court in the early 1980s
devised a mechanism of Public Interest Litigation or PIL 2
to increase access to justice. It allowed any individual or
organisation to file a PIL in the High Court or the Supreme
Court on behalf of those whose rights were being violated.
The legal process was greatly simplified and even a letter
or telegram addressed to the Supreme Court or the High
Court could be treated as a PIL. In the early years, PIL was
used to secure justice on a large number of issues such as
rescuing bonded labourers from inhuman work conditions; 3
and securing the release of prisoners in Bihar who had been
kept in jail even after their punishment term was complete.
Did you know that the mid-day meal that children now
receive in government and government-aided schools is
because of a PIL? See the photos on the right and read the
text below to understand how this came about.
4
Photo 1. In 2001, the drought in Rajasthan and Orissa meant that millions faced an acute shortage of food.
Photo 2. Meanwhile the government godowns were full of grain. Often this was being eaten away by rats.
Photo 3. In this situation of hunger amidst plenty an organisation called the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties or PUCL filed a PIL in the Supreme
Court. It stated that the fundamental Right to Life guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution included the Right to Food. The states excuse that
it did not have adequate funds was shown to be wrong because the godowns were overflowing with grains. The Supreme Court ruled that the State
had a duty to provide food to all.
Photo 4. It, therefore, directed the government to provide more employment, to provide food at cheaper prices through the government ration shops,
and to provide mid-day meals to children. It also appointed two Food Commissioners to report on the implementation of government schemes.
For the common person, access to courts is access to justice.
The courts exercise a crucial role in interpreting the
Fundamental Rights of citizens and as you saw in the above
case, the courts interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution
on the Right to Life to include the Right to Food. They,
therefore, ordered the State to take certain steps to provide
food for all including the mid-day meal scheme.
However, there are also court judgments that people believe

work against the best interests of the common person. For
example, activists who work on issues concerning the right
to shelter and housing for the poor believe that the recent
judgments on evictions are a far cry from earlier judgments.
While recent judgments tend to view the slum dweller as
an encroacher in the city, earlier judgments (like the 1985
Olga Tellis vs Bombay Municipal Corporation) had tried
to protect the livelihoods of slum dwellers.

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Another issue that affects the common persons access to
justice is the inordinately long number of years that courts
take to hear a case. The phrase justice delayed is justice
denied is often used to characterise this extended time
period that courts take.

The above photo shows the family members of some
of the 43 Muslims of Hashimpura, Meerut, killed on
22 May 1987. These families have been seeking
justice for over 20 years. Due to long delay in the
commencement of the trial, the Supreme Court in
September 2002 transferred the case from the State
of Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. The trial is ongoing and 19
Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) men are facing
criminal prosecution for alleged murder and other
offences. By 2007, only three prosecution witnesses
had been examined. (photo was taken at Press Club,
However, inspite of this there is no denying that the Lucknow, 24 May 2007)
judiciary has played a crucial role in democratic India,
serving as a check on the powers of the executive and the
legislature as well as in protecting the Fundamental Rights
of citizens. The members of the Constituent Assembly had
quite correctly envisioned a system of courts with an
independent judiciary as a key feature of our democracy.


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67 Chapter 6: Understanding Our Criminal

Justice System

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Justice System

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From the above incident, you can see that the four key
players in the criminal justice system are the police, the
Public Prosecutor, the defence lawyer and the judge. You
have seen the roles each of them played in the above case.
Now let us try and understand their roles more generally.

One important function of the police is to investigate any
complaint about the commission of a crime. An
investigation includes recording statements of witnesses and
collecting different kinds of evidence. On the basis of the
investigation, the police are required to form an opinion.
If the police think that the evidence points to the guilt of
the accused person, then they file a chargesheet in the court.
As stated at the beginning of this chapter, it is not the job

of the police to decide whether a person is guilty or innocent,
that is for the judge to decide.
You read in Unit 2 about the rule of law, which means that
everyone is subject to the law of the land. This includes the
police. Therefore, police investigations always have to be
conducted in accordance with law and with full respect for
human rights. The Supreme Court has laid down guidelines
that the police must follow at the time of arrest, detention and
interrogation. The police are not allowed to torture or beat
or shoot anyone during investigation. They cannot inflict any
form of punishment on a person even for petty offences.
Article 22 of the Constitution and criminal law guarantee

to every arrested person the following Fundamental Rights:
The Right to be informed at the time of arrest of
the offence for which the person is being arrested. r
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The Right to be presented before a magistrate within 24
hours of arrest. t
The Right not to be ill treated or tortured during arrest
or in custody.
Confessions made in police custody cannot be used as
evidence against the accused.
A boy under 15 years of age and women cannot be called
to the police station only for questioning.

Justice System


A criminal offence is regarded as a public wrong. What is
meant by this is that it is considered to have been committed

not only against the affected victims but against society as a
whole. Do you remember the case of the dowry death of
Sudha that we read about in the previous chapter? The case
against the accused Laxman and his family was presented
by the State. That is why the case was called State (Delhi
Administration) vs Laxman Kumar and Others. Similarly
the above case can be called State vs Shanti Hembram and
not Mrs Shinde vs Shanti Hembram.
In court, it is the Public Prosecutor who represents the

interests of the State. The role of the Prosecutor begins once
the police has conducted the investigation and filed the

chargesheet in the court. He/she has no role to play in the

investigation. The Prosecutor must conduct the prosecution

on behalf of the State. As an officer of the court, it is his/

her duty to act impartially and present the full and material
facts, witnesses and evidence before the court to enable the
court to decide the case.

The judge is like an umpire in a game and conducts the trial
impartially and in an open court. The judge hears all the
witnesses and any other evidence presented by the
prosecution and the defence. The judge decides whether the
accused person is guilty or innocent on the basis of the
evidence presented and in accordance with the law. If the
accused is convicted, then the judge pronounces the sentence.
He may send the person to jail or impose a fine or both,
depending on what the law prescribes.

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Let us for a moment imagine what might have happened if
the judge decided to try Shantis case very differently. What
if the court did not give a copy of the chargesheet and

Justice System

statements of witnesses to Shanti? What if he held the trial
in a secret location where neither Shanti nor Sushil were
present? What if he did not give Shantis lawyer, Advocate
Roy enough time to question the witnesses of the prosecution
such as Mrs Shinde and instead had already decided that
Shanti was guilty? If this had happened, then it would be a
case of an unfair trial. This is because for a trial to be fair,
several different procedures have to be observed. Article 21
of the Constitution that guarantees the Right to Life states

that a persons life or liberty can be taken away only
s by following a reasonable and just legal procedure. A fair

s trial ensures that Article 21 of the Constitution is upheld.
Let us now return to Shantis case as described in the
storyboard and identify the essential elements of a fair trial:
Firstly, Shanti was given a copy of the chargesheet and all

other evidence that the prosecution presented against her.
Shanti was charged with the offence of theft that was defined
as a crime in the law. The trial was held in an open court, in
public view. Her brother, Sushil could attend the court
hearings. The trial was held in the presence of the accused.
Shanti was defended by a lawyer. Shantis lawyer, Advocate
Roy was given an opportunity to cross-examine all the
prosecution witnesses. Advocate Roy was given an
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opportunity to present witnesses in Shantis defence.

Although the police filed a case of theft against Shanti, the

t judge assumed her to be innocent. It was the responsibility
of the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt
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that Shanti was guilty. In this case the prosecution failed to
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do so.

It is significant that the judge decided the matter only on the
basis of the evidence before the court. The judge did not
jump to the conclusion that Shanti was the thief just because
she was a poor maidservant. Instead, the judge remained
impartial and since the evidence showed that some young
men and not Shanti was the thief, he set Shanti free. In Shantis
case, justice was finally done to her because she was given a
fair trial.

The Constitution and the law both state that all of the persons
that we have discussed in this chapter should carry out their
roles in a proper manner. What this means is that they all
need to work to ensure that every citizen, irrespective of their
class, caste, gender, religious and ideological backgrounds gets
a fair trial when accused. The rule of law which says that
everyone is equal before the law would not make much sense
if every citizen were not guaranteed a fair trial by the
Constitution.

Justice System

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Justice System

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81 Chapter 7: Understanding Marginalisation

s

s
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s
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You just read about how Dadu was forced to leave his village
in Orissa. Dadus story is similar to the lives of millions of r r

Adivasis in India. You will read more about the
marginalisation of this community in this chapter. r r

Adivasis the term literally means original inhabitants

are communities who lived, and often continue to live,
in close association with forests. Around 8 per cent of
Indias population is Adivasi and many of Indias most
important mining and industrial centres are located in
Adivasi areas Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai
among others. Adivasis are not a homogeneous
population: there are over 500 different Adivasi groups in
India. Adivasis are particularly numerous in states like
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West
Bengal and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland
and Tripura. A state like Orissa is home to more than 60
different tribal groups. Adivasi societies are also most
distinctive because there is often very little hierarchy
among them. This makes them radically different from
communities organised around principles of jati-varna
(caste) or those that were ruled by kings.
Adivasis practise a range of tribal religions that are different r r r r

from Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. These often involve r r
r
the worship of ancestors, village and nature spirits, the last
associated with and residing in various sites in the landscape r r
r r
mountain-spirits, river-spirits, animal-spirits, etc. The

village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves
within the village boundary while the ancestral ones are r
usually worshipped at home. Additionally, Adivasis have
always been influenced by different surrounding religions r r r
like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and Christianity. r
Simultaneously, Adivasi religions themselves have r r r
influenced dominant religions of the empires around them, r rr r r

for example, the Jagannath cult of Orissa and Shakti and
Tantric traditions in Bengal and Assam. During the
nineteenth century, substantial numbers of Adivasis
converted to Christianity, which has emerged as a very
important religion in modern Adivasi history.
Adivasis have their own languages (most of them radically

different from and possibly as old as Sanskrit), which have
often deeply influenced the formation of mainstream Indian
languages, like Bengali. Santhali has the largest number of
speakers and has a significant body of publications including
magazines on the internet or in e-zines.

The above two images of tribal communities in
their traditional costumes are often the only
ways in which Adivasi communities are In India, we usually showcase Adivasi communities in
represented. This then leads us to think of them particular ways. Thus, during school functions or other
as being exotic and backward.
official events or in books and movies, Adivasis are
invariably portrayed in very stereotypical ways in
colourful costumes, headgear and through their dancing.
Besides this, we seem to know very little about the realities
of their lives. This often wrongly leads to people believing
that they are exotic, primitive and backward. Often
Adivasis are blamed for their lack of advancement as they
are believed to be resistant to change or new ideas. You
will remember that you read in Class VI book how
stereotyping particular communities can lead to people
discriminating against such groups.
As you have already read in your history textbook, forests

were absolutely crucial to the development of all empires
and settled civilisations in India. Metal ores like iron and
copper, and gold and silver, coal and diamonds, invaluable
timber, most medicinal herbs and animal products (wax,
lac, honey) and animals themselves (elephants, the mainstay
of imperial armies), all came from the forests. In addition,
the continuation of life depended heavily on forests, that
help recharge many of Indias rivers and, as is becoming
clearer now, crucial to the availability and quality of our

air and water. Forests covered the major part of our country r
till the nineteenth century and the Adivasis had a deep qs q s

qr s r r
knowledge of, access to, as well as control over most of these
q rtr
vast tracts at least till the middle of the nineteenth century.

This meant that they were not ruled by large states and
empires. Instead, often empires heavily depended on rqt srt t
r r r
Adivasis for the crucial access to forest resources.
r
This is radically contrary to our image of Adivasis today as s r rr

somewhat marginal and powerless communities. In the pre- qq q r r
colonial world, they were traditionally ranged hunter- q
gatherers and nomads and lived by shifting agriculture and

r rtr r
also cultivating in one place. Although these remain, for rt q s
the past 200 years Adivasis have been increasingly forced

r q r
through economic changes, forest policies and political r q r tt s

force applied by the State and private industry to migrate r r
to lives as workers in plantations, at construction sites, in q s r

industries and as domestic workers. For the first time in q
history, they do not control or have much direct access to
s rtq
the forest territories. r
qr srt r
P
s r rs

This is a photo of Niyamgiri Hill located in
Kalahandi district of Orissa. This area is
inhabited by Dongarria Konds, an Adivasi
community. Niyamgiri is the sacred mountain of
this community. A major aluminium company is
planning to set up a mine and a refinery here
which will displace this Adivasi community.
They have strongly resisted this proposed
development and have been joined by
environmentalists as well. A case against the
company is also pending in the Supreme Court.
Forest lands have been cleared for timber and to get land
for agriculture and industry. Adivasis have also lived in
areas that are rich in minerals and other natural resources.
These are taken over for mining and other large industrial
projects. Powerful forces have often colluded to take over
tribal land. Much of the time, the land is taken away
forcefully and procedures are not followed. According to
official figures, more than 50 per cent of persons displaced
due to mines and mining projects are tribals. Another recent
survey report by organisations working among Adivasis
shows that 79 per cent of the persons displaced from the
states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and
Jharkhand are tribals. Huge tracts of their lands have also
gone under the waters of hundreds of dams that have been
built in independent India. In the North east, their lands
remain highly militarised and war-torn. India has 54
national parks and 372 wildlife sanctuaries covering 1,09,652
sq km. These are areas where tribals originally lived but
were evicted from. When they continue to stay in these

forests, they are termed encroachers.
Losing their lands and access to the forest means that tribals
lose their main sources of livelihood and food. Having

gradually lost access to their traditional homelands, many
Adivasis have migrated to cities in search of work where
they are employed for very low wages in local industries
or at building or construction sites. They, thus, get caught

in a cycle of poverty and deprivation. 45 per cent of tribal
groups in rural areas and 35 per cent in urban areas live
below the poverty line. This leads to deprivation in other

areas. Many tribal children are malnourished. Literacy rates
among tribals are also very low.
When Adivasis are displaced from their lands, they lose
much more than a source of income. They lose their
traditions and customs a way of living and being. They
took our farming land. They left some houses. They took
the cremation ground, temple, well and pond. How will
we survive? says Gobindha Maran, who was displaced due
to a refinery project in Orissa.
As you have read, there exists an interconnectedness
between the economic and social dimensions of tribal life.
Destruction in one sphere naturally impacts the other. Often
this process of dispossession and displacement can be painful
and violent.
In Unit 1, you read that the Constitution provides

safeguards to religious and linguistic minorities as part of
our Fundamental Rights. Why do you think these minority
groups have been provided these safeguards? The term
minority is most commonly used to refer to communities
that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the
population. However, it is a concept that goes well beyond
numbers. It encompasses issues of power, access to resources
and has social and cultural dimensions. As you read in Unit
1, the Indian Constitution recognised that the culture of
the majority influences the way in which society and
government might express themselves. In such cases, size
can be a disadvantage and lead to the marginalisation of the
relatively smaller communities. Thus, safeguards are needed
to protect minority communities against the possibility of
being culturally dominated by the majority. They also
protect them against any discrimination and disadvantage
that they may face. Given certain conditions, communities
that are small in number relative to the rest of society may

feel insecure about their lives, assets and well-being. This
sense of insecurity may get accentuated if the relations
between the minority and majority communities are
fraught. The Constitution provides these safeguards because
it is committed to protecting Indias cultural diversity and
promoting equality as well as justice. As you have already
read in Chapter 5, the judiciary plays a crucial role in
upholding the law and enforcing Fundamental Rights.
Every citizen of India can approach the courts if they believe
that their Fundamental Rights have been violated. Now
let us understand marginalisation in the context of the
Muslim community.
Muslims and Marginalisation

Muslims are 13.4 per cent of Indias population and are
considered to be a marginalised community in India today
because in comparison to other communities, they have over
the years been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic
development. The data in the three tables below, derived
from different sources, indicate the situation of the Muslim
community with regard to basic amenities, literacy and
public employment. Read the tables below. What do you
think these tables tell us about the socio-economic status
of the Muslim community?
Kutcha houses: 63.6% of Muslims live in kutcha houses

55.2% of Hindus live in kutcha houses
Electricity: 30% of Muslims have access to electricity
43.2% of Hindus have access to electricity
Piped water: 19.4% of Muslims have access to piped water
25.3% of Hindus have access to piped water
Source: Abusaleh Shariff (1999), India Human Development Report: A Profile of Indian States in the 1990s, Oxford University
Press for National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, p 236, 238, 240

All Hindus Muslims Christians Sikhs Buddhists Jains

65% 65% 59% 80% 70% 73% 94%
Source: Census of India 2001
s s s
Population IAS IPS IFS Central Public State PSU Banks & RBI
Sector Unit (PSU)
13.5 3 4 1.8 3.3 10.8 2.2
Source: Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India, Prime Ministers High Level
Committee Report 2006
s s
Recognising that Muslims in India were lagging behind in

terms of various development indicators, the government s

set up a high-level committee in 2005. Chaired by Justice
Rajindar Sachar, the committee examined the social, s
economic and educational status of the Muslim community

in India. The report discusses in detail the marginalisation
s
of this community. It suggests that on a range of social, s
economic and educational indicators the situation of the s
Muslim community is comparable to that of other s s
marginalised communities like Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes. For example, according to the Report s s s
the average years of schooling for Muslim children between ss s
the ages of 7-16 is much lower than that of other socio- s
religious communities (page 56).
Economic and social marginalisation experienced by

Muslims has other dimensions as well. Like other
minorities, Muslim customs and practices are sometimes
quite distinct from what is seen as the mainstream. Some

not all Muslims may wear a burqa, sport a long beard,
wear a fez, and these become ways to identify all Muslims.
Because of this, they tend to be identified differently and
some people think they are not like the rest of us. Often
this becomes an excuse to treat them unfairly, and
discriminate against them. Do you remember reading in
your Class VII book about how the Ansaris were finding
it difficult to rent a house? This social marginalisation of
Muslim women are an important part of
the womens movement in India. Muslims in some instances has led to them migrating from
places where they have lived, often leading to the
ghettoisation of the community. Sometimes, this prejudice
leads to hatred and violence.
I live in a Muslim-dominated area. Some days back during Ramzan there was
some disturbance that started taking a communal outlook. My brother and I had
gone for an Iftar party in the neighbourhood and were dressed in traditional
clothes, that is sherwani and salwar kameez respectively. On returning home, my
brother and I were asked to change our clothes to jeans and T-shirt.
Now when everything is fine I wonder what was the reason that we were asked
to change our clothes and why I didnt find it odd. Were our clothes giving away
our identity and is that identity linked to all kinds of fears and discrimination?
Ainee A. Farooqi
In the above section of this chapter, we saw how in the case

of the Muslim community there is a link between economic

and social marginalisation. Earlier in this chapter, you read
t
about the situation of Adivasis. In your Class VII book,
you read about the unequal status of women in India. The
experiences of all these groups point to the fact that
marginalisation is a complex phenomena requiring a variety
of strategies, measures and safeguards to redress this
situation. All of us have a stake in protecting the rights
defined in the Constitution and the laws and policies framed
to realise these rights. Without these, we will never be able
to protect the diversity that makes our country unique nor
realise the States commitment to promote equality for all.

In this chapter, we have tried to understand what it means
to be a marginalised community. We have tried to look at
this through the experiences of different marginalised
communities. There are different reasons for each of these
communities being marginalised. Each experiences
marginalisation in different ways. We have also seen that
marginalisation is linked to experiencing disadvantage,
prejudice and powerlessness. In India there are several more
The Sachar Committee Report also
marginalised communities, like Dalits, of whom you will debunked other prevalent myths about
read more in the next chapter. Marginalisation results in Muslims. It is commonly believed that the
Muslims prefer to send their children to
having a low social status and not having equal access to Madarsas. The figures show that only
education and other resources. 4 per cent of Muslim children are in
Madarsas, where as 66 per cent attend
government schools and 30 per cent
Yet, the lives of marginalised people can and do change. private schools. (page 75)
Thus, no one is marginalised all the time in exactly the same
way. If we go back to the two examples of marginalisation
we have discussed, we will see that each of these groups has
a long history of struggle and resistance. Marginalised
communities want to maintain their cultural distinctiveness
while having access to rights, development and other
opportunities. In the next chapter, we will read about how
different groups have confronted marginalisation.

r r r r r r r
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t

The Constitution, as you have learnt in the first chapter of
this book, lays down the principles that make our society
and polity democratic. They are defined in and through the
list of Fundamental Rights that are an important part of the
Constitution. These rights are available to all Indians equally.
As far as the marginalised are concerned, they have drawn
on these rights in two ways: first, by insisting on their
Fundamental Rights, they have forced the government to
recognise the injustice done to them. Second, they have
insisted that the government enforce these laws. In some
instances, the struggles of the marginalised have influenced
the government to frame new laws, in keeping with the spirit
of the Fundamental Rights.
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 practise 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 s
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 (you learnt a lot
about this in your Class VII textbook in the chapter on
Equality). This has been used by Dalits to seek equality
where it has been denied to them.
95 Chapter 8: Confronting Marginalisation

Therefore, Dalits can invoke or draw on a Fundamental

Right (or Rights) in situations where they feel that they
have been treated badly by some individual or community,
or even by the government. They have drawn the attention
of the government of India to the Constitution, demanding
that the government abide by it and do justice to them.

Likewise, other minority groups have drawn on the
Fundamental Rights section of our Constitution. They have
particularly drawn upon the right to freedom of religion

and cultural and educational rights. In the case of cultural
and educational rights, distinct cultural and religious groups

like the Muslims and Parsis have the right to be the

guardians of the content of their culture, as well as the right

to make decisions on how best this content is to be

preserved. Thus, by granting different forms of cultural

rights, the Constitution tries to ensure cultural justice to
such groups. The Constitution does this so that the culture

of these groups is not dominated nor wiped out by the

culture of the majority community.

Quoted in Uma Chakravarti, Gendering Caste: Through a As you have read, the government makes laws to protect
Feminist Lens, Stree, 2003, p. 99
its citizens. Yet, this is not the only way in which it takes
action. There are specific laws and policies for the
marginalised in our country. There are policies or schemes
that emerge through other means like setting up a
committee or by undertaking a survey etc. The government
then makes an effort to promote such policies in order to

give opportunities to specific groups.

Promoting Social Justice
As part of their effort to implement the Constitution, both
state and central governments create specific schemes for
implementation in tribal areas or in areas that have a high

Dalit population. For example, the government provides for
free or subsidised hostels for students of Dalit and Adivasi
communities so that they can avail of education facilities that
may not be available in their localities.

In addition to providing certain facilities, the government
also operates through laws to ensure that concrete steps are
taken to end inequity in the system. One such law/policy is
the reservation policy that today is both significant and highly
contentious. The laws which reserve seats in education and
government employment for Dalits and Adivasis are based
on an important argument- that in a society like ours, where
for centuries sections of the population have been denied
opportunities to learn and to work in order to develop new
skills or vocations, a democratic government needs to step
in and assist these sections.
How does the reservation policy work? Governments across
India have their own list of Scheduled Castes (or Dalits),
Scheduled Tribes and backward and most backward castes.
The central government too has its list. Students applying to
educational institutions and those applying for posts in
government are expected to furnish proof of their caste or
tribe status, in the form of caste and tribe certificates. (Many
government and educational institutions also ask for
candidates to mention their caste/tribe status.) If a particular
Dalit caste or a certain tribe is on the government list, then a
candidate from that caste or tribe can avail of the benefit of
reservation.
For admission to colleges, especially to institutes of
professional education, such as medical colleges, governments t t

t t tt
define a set of cut-off marks. This means that not all Dalit
st ts t
and tribal candidates can qualify for admission, but only those tt
who have done reasonably well and secured marks above the
cut-off point. Governments also offer special scholarships for
these students. In your Class IX Political Science textbook,
you will read more on reservations for the backward classes.

Q
P

In addition to policies our country also has specific laws

that guard against the discrimination and explitation of
marginalised communities. Let us read the following case-
study, adapted from a real-life account, to understand how
s Dalits use the protection that laws provide.
s
tts s tt The villagers of Jakmalgur are gearing up for a big festival.
t t
Once in five years, the local deity is honoured and priests
s t t t
tt s t s from 20 neighbouring villages come for this five-day event.
t s t s The ceremony begins with a member of the Dalit community
t sts washing the feet of all the priests and then bathing in the
t s sss s s water used for this. In Jakmalgur, the person who performed
t ts ts
this task belonged to Rathnams family. His father and
s s tt
ts ttt t grandfather had both performed the same task before him.
s t ss t Though they were never allowed to enter the temple, this
s st tts ritual was viewed as a great honour bestowed on them on
s s this special occasion. Now it was Rathnams turn. Rathnam
t t t t st
was all of 20 years, studying engineering in a nearby college.
st st
t He refused to perform the ritual.
tss t t
s t s
He said that he had no faith in this practice and that his
t t t family members were forced to perform this ritual because
t s they were Dalits. Rathnams refusal angered both the
t ts powerful castes in the village and some families from his
t t t own community. The powerful castes were shocked that
tt t
t t t such a young boy had the guts to refuse. They believed
t tt s t that it was Rathnams education which allowed him to
s t ss imagine that he could start comparing himself with them.
st t t
s s t s Those from Rathnams own caste were fearful of angering
s the powerful. Many worked on their fields as daily-wage
t s t s labourers. If the dominant castes decided to not call them,
s t ts
then what would they earn? How would they survive? They
s s ts
t s s also declared that the wrath of the local deity would strike
st them if they refused to give in. Rathnam argued that given
s that not a single Dalit had ever entered the temple, how
t could the deity be angry with them?

The powerful castes decided to teach Rathnam a lesson. His
community was ordered to ostracise him and his family,
and everyone was told that no one should speak or do any t t
t
work for them or with them. One night some men entered
their part of the village and set his hut on fire. He managed t
to escape with his mother. Rathnam, then went to file a t
t
case in the local police station under the Scheduled Castes
and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989. Other Dalit families still did not come out in his
support as they were scared that a similar fate might await
them if they spoke out. The case was picked up by the local
media that led to many journalists visiting the village.
Rathnam was written about as a symbol of Dalit action.
The ritual was called off, but his family was forced to move
out as they continued to be ostracised by the powerful castes
in the village.
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
Rathnam sought the support of law, filing his complaint
under the above Act to protest against the domination and
violence of the powerful castes in his village.
This Act was framed in 1989 in response to demands made

by Dalits and others that the government must take seriously
the ill treatment and humiliation Dalits and tribal groups
face in an everyday sense. While such treatment had persisted
for a long time, it had acquired a violent character in the late
1970s and 1980s. During this period, in parts of southern India,
a number of assertive Dalit groups came into being and
asserted their rights they refused to perform their so-called
caste duties and insisted on being treated equally; like
Rathnam they refused to follow practices located in the
humiliation and exploitation of Dalits. This resulted in the
more powerful castes unleashing violence against them. In
order to indicate to the government that untouchability was
still being practised and in the most hideous manner, Dalit
groups demanded new laws that would list the various sorts
of violence against dalits and prescribe stringent punishment
for those who indulge in them.

P
Likewise, throughout the 1970s and 1980s Adivasi people
successfully organised themselves and demanded equal
rights and for their land and resources to be returned to
them. They too had to face the anger of powerful social
groups and were subject to a great deal of violence.

This is why this Act contains a very long list of crimes,
some of which are too horrible even to contemplate. The
Act does not only describe terrible crimes, but also lets
people know what dreadful deeds human beings are capable
of. In this sense, laws such as these seek to both punish as
well as influence the way we think and act.

The Act distinguishes several levels of crimes. Firstly, it
lists modes of humiliation that are both physically horrific
and morally reprehensible and seeks to punish those who
t t

(i) force a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe
t to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance; (iii)
forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a
Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him or
her naked or with painted face or body or commits any
t t
similar act which is derogatory to human dignity
s
t Secondly, it lists actions that dispossess Dalits and Adivasis
t of their meagre resources or which force them into
performing slave labour. Thus, the Act sets out to punish

anyone who (iv) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land
owned by, or allotted to, a member of a Scheduled Caste
t or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him
transferred;
t
At another level, the Act recognizes that crimes against
t
t Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore,
t seeks to penalise anyone who (xi) assaults or uses force on
any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled
Tribe with intent to dishonour her


t t

t

A manual scavenger at work

t

Members of the Safai Karamchari Andolan
demolishing a dry latrine.

P


The 1989 Act is important for another reason Adivasi

activists refer to it to defend their right to occupy land
that was traditionally theirs. As you read in the previous
chapter Adivasis are often unwilling to move from their
land and are forcibly displaced. Activists have asked that
those who have forcibly encroached upon tribal lands
should be punished under this law. They have also pointed
to the fact that this Act merely confirms what has already
been promised to tribal people in the Constitution that
land belonging to tribal people cannot be sold to or bought
by non-tribal people. In cases where this has happened, the
Constitution guarantees the right of tribal people to
re-possess their land.
C.K. Janu, an Adivasi activist, has also pointed out that one
The central government passed the Scheduled of the violators of Constitutional rights guaranteed to tribal
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers people are governments in the various states of India for it
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The is they who allow non-tribal encroachers in the form of
introduction to the final Act states that this
Act is meant to undo the historical injustices timber merchants, paper mills etc, to exploit tribal land, and
meted out to forest dwelling populations in not to forcibly evict tribal people from their traditional forests
recognising their rights to land and resources.
This Act recognises their right to homestead,
in the process of declaring forests as reserved or as sanctuaries.
cultivable and grazing land and to non-timber She has also noted that in cases where tribals have already
forest produce. The Act also points out that been evicted and cannot go back to their lands, they must be
the rights of forest dwellers includes
conservation of forests and bio-diversity. compensated. That is, the government must draw up plans
and policies for them to live and work elsewhere. After all,
governments spend large sums of money on building
industrial or other projects on lands taken from tribals so
why should they be reluctant to spend even very modest
amounts on rehabilitating the displaced?

As we can see, the existence of a right or a law or even a policy

on paper does not mean that it exists in reality. People have
had to constantly work on or make efforts to translate these
into principles that guide the actions of their fellow citizens
or even their leaders. The desire for equality, dignity and
respect is not new. It has existed in different forms throughout
our history as you have seen in this chapter. Similarly, even in
a democratic society, similar processes of struggle, writing,
negotiation and organising need to continue.

t
t
qrrs

r

s

s s s

s

s

t

P

Ramagopal
Amu and Kumar are

travelling through
Chennai in a bus. As
they go round the city,
they observe the water
facilities available in
different parts of
Chennai... Padma

P
Siva
Subramanian

Senior government officials like Mr Ramagopal live

in Anna Nagar, Chennai. This area looks lush and
green with lawns maintained by a generous spraying
of water. Bungalows here have tap water for major
part of the day. On days when the water supply is
inadequate, Mr Ramagopal speaks to a senior official
whom he knows in the municipal water board and a
water tanker is easily arranged for his house.
Like most areas of the city, Subramanians apartments in

Mylapore suffers from water shortage. This area gets
municipal water once in two days. A private borewell meets
some of the residents water needs. Borewell water is,
ss s however, brackish so the residents use it in their toilets
and for washing. For other uses, water is purchased from
ss tankers. Subramanian spends upto Rs 500-600 per month
ss s s
on buying water from the tankers. For drinking water,
s s residents have installed water purification systems in their
homes.
ss s
s s s ss Siva lives on rent on the first floor of a house in Madipakkam
s s s and gets water once in four days. Shortage of water is one
s major reason why Siva cant bring his family to Chennai.
s
For drinking, Siva buys bottled water.
s
ss Padma works as a domestic help in Saidapet and lives in
ss s the nearby slum. She pays a rent of Rs 650 for the hutment,
s which has neither a bathroom nor a tap connection. For 30
s s s such hutments there is a common tap at one corner, in which
s s s water comes from a borewell for 20 minutes twice daily. A
s family gets to fill a maximum of three buckets within this
time. The same water is used for washing and drinking. In
s s s summer, the flow becomes a trickle, so that one family gets
s
s
water only at the cost of another. People have to wait long
hours for water tankers.

Water is essential for life and for good health. Not only
is it necessary for us to be able to meet our daily needs
but safe drinking water can prevent many water-related
diseases. India has one of the largest number of cases of
diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera. Over 1,600
Indians, most of them children below the age of five,
reportedly die everyday because of water-related diseases.
These deaths can be prevented if people have access to
safe drinking water.
The Constitution of India recognises the right to water as
being a part of the Right to Life under Article 21. This
means that it is the right of every person, whether rich or
poor, to have sufficient amounts of water to fulfil his/her
daily needs at a price that he/she can afford. In other words,
there should be universal access to water.
There have been several court cases in which both the High
Courts and the Supreme Court have held that the right to
safe drinking water is a Fundamental Right. More recently,
in 2007, the Andhra Pradesh High Court restated this

s
while hearing a case based on a letter written by a villager
s
of Mahbubnagar district on the contamination of drinking

water. The villagers complaint was that a textile company s
was discharging poisonous chemicals into a stream near
his village, contaminating ground water, which was the
source for irrigation and drinking water. The judges
directed the Mahbubnagar district collector to supply 25
litres of water to each person in the village.
Like water, there are other essential facilities that need to

be provided for everyone. Last year you read about two
other such facilities: healthcare and sanitation. Similarly,
there are things like electricity, public transport, schools
and colleges that are also necessary. These are known as
public facilities.
109 Chapter 9: Public Facilities

The important characteristic of a public facility is that once
it is provided, its benefits can be shared by many people.
For instance, a school in the village will enable many
children to get educated. Similarly, the supply of electricity
to an area can be useful for many people: farmers can run
pumpsets to irrigate their fields, people can open small
workshops that run on electricity, students will find it easier
to study and most people in the village will benefit in some
way or the other.

Given that public facilities are so important, someone must
carry the responsibility of providing these to
the people. This someone is the government. One of the
most important functions of the government
is to ensure that these public facilities are made
The Indian Constitution guarantees the Right to available to everyone. Let us try and understand why the
Education for all children between the ages of
6-14 years. Equity in the schooling facilities
government (and only the government) must bear this
available to all children is an important aspect responsibility.
of this Right. However, activists and scholars
working on education have documented the We have seen that private companies operate for profit in
fact that schooling in India continues to be
highly unequal. the market. You read about this in the chapter on
the Story of a Shirt in your Class VII book. In most of
the public facilities, there is no profit to be had. For
example, what profit can accrue to a company for keeping
the drains clean or running an anti-malaria campaign? A
private company will probably not be interested in
undertaking such work.
But, for other public facilities such as schools and hospitals,
private companies may well be interested. We have many
of these, particularly in large cities. Similarly, if you are
living in a city, you will have seen private companies
supplying water through tankers or supplying drinking
water in sealed bottles. In such cases, private companies
provide public facilities but at a price that only some people
can afford. Hence, this facility is not available to all at an
affordable rate. If we go by the rule that people will get as
much as they can pay for then many people who cannot
afford to pay for such facilities will be deprived of the
opportunity to live a decent life.

Clearly, this is not a desirable option. Public facilities relate As Amu and Kumar ride
to peoples basic needs. Any modern society requires that these around Chennai...
facilities are provided so that peoples basic needs are met.
The Right to Life that the Constitution guarantees is for all
persons living in this country. The responsibility to provide
public facilities, therefore, must be that of the government.

r r r r
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rr r r r
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The government needs to play an active role in providing adequate access to
proper health facilities for the entire population. This includes the eradication
of preventable diseases like polio as shown in the above photograph.

Q

Buses are the most important forms of public

transport over short distances. It is the main link
to the workplace for majority of the working
people. With rapid urbanisation, the public bus
system even in the major cities has not been able
to keep up with demand.
As an alternative, the government has planned
ambitious metro rail projects for Delhi and other
metropolitan cities. Rs 11,000 crore was spent
from the government budget for the construction
of the first segment of the metro-rail in Delhi
using the latest technology. People have pointed
out that this massive expenditure could have
been avoided if only a fraction of this amount
was spent on upgrading the public bus system.
Would you agree? What do you think could be
the solution for other regions of India?

While there is no doubt that public facilities should be made

available to all, in reality we see that there is a great shortage
of such facilities. In the rest of this chapter, we will read
about the provision of water, which as we have seen, is a
public facility of great importance.
Water supply in Chennai, as we saw at the beginning of the

chapter, is marked by shortages. Municipal supply meets only
about half the needs of the people of the city, on an average.
There are areas which get water more regularly than others.
Those areas that are close to the storage points get more water
whereas colonies further away receive less water.
The burden of shortfalls in water supply falls mostly on

the poor. The middle class, when faced with water
shortages, are able to cope through a variety of private
means such as digging borewells, buying water from tankers In rural areas, water is needed both for human
use and for use by the cattle. The sources of
and using bottled water for drinking. water are wells, handpumps, ponds and
sometimes overhead tanks. Much of these are
Apart from the availability of water, access to safe privately owned. Compared to the urban areas,
there is an even greater shortage of public
drinking water is also available to some and this depends water supply in rural areas.
on what one can afford. Once again, the wealthy have more
choices, thanks to the booming market in bottled water
and water purifiers. People who can afford it have safe
drinking water, whereas the poor are again left out. In
reality, therefore, it seems that it is only people with money
who have the right to water a far cry from the goal of
universal access to sufficient and safe water.

The situation in Chennai is not unique. A similar scenario
of shortages and acute crisis during the summer months is
common to other cities of India. The shortage in municipal
water is increasingly being filled by an expansion of private
companies who are selling water for profit. Also common
are the great inequalities in water use. The supply of water
per person in an urban area in India should be about 135
litres per day (about seven buckets) a standard set by the
Urban Water Commission. Whereas people in slums have
to make do with less than 20 litres a day per person (one
bucket), people living in luxury hotels may consume as
much as 1,600 litres (80 buckets) of water per day.
A shortage of municipal water is often taken as a sign of

failure of the government. Some people argue that since
the government is unable to supply the amount of water

that is needed and many of the municipal water departments
are running at a loss, we should allow private companies to
take over the task of water supply. According to them,
private companies can perform better.
Consider the following facts:

1. Throughout the world, water supply is a function of the
government. There are very few instances of private water
supply.
2. There are areas in the world where public water supply
has achieved universal access. (see Box below)
P P

r

r
r
r
r


3. In a few cases, where the responsibility for water supply
was handed over to private companies, there was a steep
rise in the price of water, making it unaffordable for
many. Cities saw huge protests, with riots breaking out
in places like Bolivia, forcing the government to take back
the service from private hands.
4. Within India, there are cases of success in government

water departments, though these are few in number and
limited to certain areas of their work. The water supply
department in Mumbai raises enough money through
water charges to cover its expenses on supplying water.
In Hyderabad, a recent report shows that the department

has increased coverage and improved performance in

revenue collection. In Chennai, the department has taken
t
several initiatives for harvesting rain water to increase
the level of groundwater. It has also used the services of
t
private companies for transporting and distributing

water but the government water supply department t
decides the rate for water tankers and gives them
permission to operate. Hence they are called on contract.
Mumbais suburban railway is well-functioning public transport system. It is the densest route in the world, attending to 65 lakh passengers
daily. Extending over a distance of 300 kilometers, these local trains allow people living far away from Mumbai to find work in the city. Note
that the high cost of housing in cities makes it impossible for an average worker to live in the city.

qs

t

r

The Census of India, 2001 puts rural household electrification at 44 per cent,
leaving around 78 million households still in the dark.

Public facilities relate to our basic needs and the Indian
Constitution recognises the right to water, heath, education
etc as being a part of the Right to Life. Thus one of the
major roles of the government is to ensure adequate public
facilities for everyone.
But, progress on this front has been far from satisfactory.

There is a shortage in supply and there are inequalities in
distribution. Compared to the metros and large cities,
towns and villages are under-provided. Compared to
wealthy localities, the poorer localities are under-serviced.
Handing over these facilities to private companies may not
be the answer. Any solution needs to take account of the
important fact that every citizen of the country has a right
to these facilities which should be provided to her/him in
an equitable manner.



s
s

t

t t
s

s

s

s

Let us take a common market situation where the law is
very important. This is the issue of workers wages.
Private companies, contractors, businesspersons

normally want to make as much profit as they can. In the
drive for profits, they might deny workers their rights
and not pay them wages, for example. In the eyes of the
law it is illegal or wrong to deny workers their wages.
Similarly to ensure that workers are not underpaid, or
are paid fairly, there is a law on minimum wages. A
worker has to be paid not less than the minimum wage
by the employer. The minimum wages are revised
upwards every few years.
As with the law on minimum wages, which is meant to

protect workers, there are also laws that protect the
interests of producers and consumers in the market.
These help ensure that the relations between these three
parties the worker, consumer and producer - are
governed in a manner that is not exploitative.
Workers in a textile mill in Ahmedabad. Faced

with greater competition from power looms, a
majority of the textile mills closed down during
the 1980s and 1990s. Power looms are small
units with 4-6 looms. The owners operate them
with hired and family labour. It is well known
that conditions of work in the power looms are
far from satisfactory.
121 Chapter 10: Law and Social Justice

Table 1 provides some important laws relating to the protection of these various interests.
Columns (2) and (3) in Table 1 state why and for whom these laws are necessary. Based on
discussions in the classroom, you have to complete the remaining entries in the table.
Table 1


But merely making laws is not enough. The government
has to ensure that these laws are implemented. This means
that the law must be enforced. Enforcement becomes even
more important when the law seeks to protect the weak
from the strong. For instance, to ensure that every worker
gets fair wages, the government has to regularly inspect
work sites and punish those who violate the law. When
workers are poor or powerless, the fear of losing future
earnings or facing reprisals often forces them to accept low
wages. Employers know this well and use their power to
pay workers less than the fair wage. In such cases, it is crucial
that laws are enforced.
Through making, enforcing and upholding these laws, the

government can control the activities of individuals or
private companies so as to ensure social justice. Many of
these laws have their basis in the Fundamental Rights
guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. For instance, the
Right against Exploitation says that no one can be forced
to work for low wages or under bondage. Similarly, the
Constitution lays down no child below the age of 14 shall
be employed to work in any factory or mines or any other
hazardous employment.
How are these laws played out in practice? To what

extent do they address the concerns of social justice?
These are some of the questions that this chapter will
now go on to explore.
According to the 2001 census, over 12 million children in India aged

between 5 and 14 work in various occupations including hazardous
ones. In October 2006, the government amended the Child Labour
Prevention Act, banning children under 14 years of age from
working as domestic servants or as workers in dhabas, restaurants,
tea shops etc. It made employing these children a punishable
offence. Anyone found violating the ban must be penalised with a
punishment ranging from a jail term of three months to two years
and/or fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. The central government
had asked state governments to develop plans to rescue and
rehabilitate children who are working as domestic servants. To date,
only three state governments, namely Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu have published these plans. Even today more than a year
after this law was passed 74 per cent of child domestic workers are
under the age of 16.

P P
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The next morning
Mass cremations
t t t t
A child severely affected by the gas

Members of UC Employees Union protesting
Gas victims with the Gas Relief Minister
Bags of chemicals lie strewn around the UC plant
The struggle for justice goes on

r
If we are to understand the events leading to Bhopal
disaster, we have to ask: why did Union Carbide set up its
plant in India?
One reason why foreign companies come to India is for

cheap labour. Wages that the companies pay to workers,
say in the U.S.A., are far higher than what they have to pay
to workers in poorer countries like India. For lower pay,
companies can get longer hours of work. Additional
expenses such as for housing facilities for workers are also
fewer. Thus, companies can save costs and earn higher
profits.
Cost cutting can also be done by other more dangerous

Accidents are common to construction sites.
Yet, very often, safety equipment and other means. Lower working conditions including lower safety
precautions are ignored. measures are used as ways of cutting costs. In the UC plant,
every safety device was malfunctioning or was in short
supply. Between 1980 and 1984, the work crew for the MIC
plant was cut in half from 12 to 6 workers. The period of
safety training for workers was brought down from 6
months to 15 days! The post of night-shift worker for the
MIC plant was abolished.
Read the following comparison between UCs safety

system in Bhopal and its other plant in the US:
At West Virginia (U.S.A.) computerised warning and

monitoring systems were in place, whereas the UC plant in
Bhopal relied on manual gauges and the human senses to detect
gas leaks. At the West Virginia plant, emergency evacuation
plans were in place, but nonexistent in Bhopal.
Why are there such sharp differences in safety standards

across countries? And even after the disaster happened, why
was the compensation to the victims so low?
One part of the answer lies in what is perceived as the worth

of an Indian worker. One worker can easily replace another.
Since there is so much unemployment, there are many
workers who are willing to work in unsafe conditions in

return for a wage. Making use of the workers vulnerability,
employers ignore safety in workplaces. Thus, even so many
years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, there are regular reports
of accidents in construction sites, mines or factories due to
the callous attitude of the employers.

As the lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed
to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the
duty of the government to ensure that the Right to Life
guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is not
violated. What was the government doing when there were

such blatant violations of safety standards in the UC plant?

First, the safety laws were lax in India. Second, even these
weak safety laws were not enforced.
s
Government officials refused to recognise the plant as r
hazardous and allowed it to come up in a populated locality.
s
When some municipal officials in Bhopal objected that the

installation of an MIC production unit in 1978 was a safety r
violation, the position of the government was that the state
needs the continued investment of the Bhopal plant, which
provides jobs. It was unthinkable, according to them, to
ask UC to shift to cleaner technology or safer procedures.
Government inspectors continued to approve the
procedures in the plant, even when repeated incidents of
leaks from the plant made it obvious to everybody that
things were seriously wrong.
This, as you know, is contrary to what the role of a law-

making and enforcement agency should be. Instead of
protecting the interests of the people, their safety was being
disregarded both by the government and by private
companies.
Recently a large travel agency was asked to
pay Rs 8 lakh as compensation to a group of
This is obviously not at all desirable. With more industries tourists. Their foreign trip was poorly
being set up both by local and foreign businesses in India, managed and they missed Disneyland and
there is a great need for stronger laws protecting workers shopping in Paris. Why did the victims of
Bhopal gas tragedy then get so little for a
rights and better enforcement of these laws. lifetime of misery and pain?

In 1984, there were very few laws protecting the
environment in India, and the there was hardly any
enforcement of these laws. The environment was treated
as a free entity and any industry could pollute the air and
water without any restrictions. Whether it was our rivers,
air, groundwater - the environment was being polluted and
the health of people disregarded.
Thus, not only was UC a beneficiary of lower safety

standards, it didnt have to spend any money to clean up
the pollution. In the U.S.A., this is a necessary part of the
production process.
Pumps at contaminated wells are painted red by The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of environment to
the government around the UC factory in the forefront. Several thousands of persons who were not
Bhopal. Yet, local people continue to use them
as they have no other accessible source of
associated with the factory in any way were greatly affected
clean water. because of the poisonous gases leaked from the plant. This
made people realise that the existing laws, though weak,
only covered the individual worker and not persons who
might be injured due to industrial accidents.
In response to this pressure from environmental activists

and others, in the years following the Bhopal gas tragedy,
the Indian government introduced new laws on the
environment. Henceforth, the polluter was to be held
accountable for the damage done to environment. The
environment is something that people over generations will
share, and it could not be destroyed merely for industrial
development.
The courts also gave a number of judgments upholding the

right to a healthy environment as intrinsic to the Fundamental
s Right to Life. In Subhash Kumar vs. State of Bihar (1991), the
s Supreme Court held that the Right to Life is a Fundamental
Right under Article 21 of the Constitution and it includes
the right to the enjoyment of pollution-free water and air

s for full enjoyment of life. The government is responsible for
setting up laws and procedures that can check pollution, clean
rivers and introduce heavy fines for those who pollute.

s

s
s s
s
s Emissions from vehicles are a major cause of
environmental pollution. In a series of rulings
(1998 onwards), the Supreme Court had
ordered all public transport vehicles using diesel
s were to switch to Compressed Natural Gas
(CNG). As a result of this move, air pollution in
cities like Delhi came down considerably. But a
s recent report by the Center for Science and
Environment, New Delhi, shows the presence of
high levels of toxic substance in the air. This is
due to emissions from cars run on diesel (rather
than petrol) and a sharp increase in the number
ss ss of cars on the road.
s

s

s

s

s s
s s

Workers outside closed factories.
Thrown out of work, many of the workers end
s up as small traders or as daily-wage labourers.
Some might find work in even smaller
production units, where the conditions of work
are even more exploitative and the
enforcement of laws weaker.


Advanced countries are relocating the toxic and
hazardous industries to developing countries to
take advantage of the weaker laws in these
countries and keep their own countries safe.
South Asian countries particularly India,
Bangladesh and Pakistan play hosts for
industries producing pesticides, asbestos or
processing zinc and lead.
Ship-breaking is another hazardous industry that
is growing rapidly in South Asia. Old ships no
longer in use, are sent to ship-yards in
Bangladesh and India for scrapping. These ships
contain potentially dangerous and harmful
substances. This photo shows workers breaking

down a ship in Alang, Gujarat.
Laws are necessary in many situations, whether this be the

market, office or factory so as to protect people from unfair
practices. Private companies, contractors, business persons,
in order to make higher profits, resort to unfair practices
such as paying workers low wages, employing children for
work, ignoring the conditions of work, ignoring the damage
to the environment (and hence to the people in the
neighbourhood) etc.
A major role of the government, therefore, is to control
the activities of private companies by making, enforcing
and upholding laws so as to prevent unfair practices and
ensure social justice. This means that the government has
to make appropriate laws and also has to enforce the laws.
Laws that are weak and poorly enforced can cause serious
harm, as the Bhopal gas tragedy showed.
While the government has a leading role in this respect,
people can exert pressure so that both private companies
and the government act in the interests of society.
Environment, as we saw, is one example where people have
pushed a public cause and the courts have upheld the right
to healthy environment as intrinsic to the Right to Life. In
this chapter, we have argued that people now must demand
that this facility of healthy environment be extended to all.
Likewise, workers rights (right to work, right to a fair
wage and decent work conditions) is an area where the
situation is still very unfair. People must demand stronger
laws protecting workers interests so that the Right to Life
is achieved for all.

Its really cruel burdening kids like this. I had to hire that
boy to help my son!

P
t t

t t

t t
t t

s

BOOKS
AUSTIN, GRANVILLE. 1966. The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
AUSTIN, GRANVILLE. 1999. Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience. New Delhi: Oxford.
LAWYERS COLLECTIVE, 2007. Staying Alive: First Monitoring and Evaluation Report 2007 on the Protection
of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. New Delhi: Lawyers Collective.
RAMASWAMY, GITA. 2005. India Stinking: Manual Scavengers in Andhra Pradesh and Their Work.
New Delhi: Navanaya Publishing.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
P. SAINATH, Whose Sacrifice is it Anyway? The Hindu. 6 September 1998.
LEGAL CASES
Olga Tellis vs. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985) 3 SCC 545.
State (Delhi Administration) vs. Laxman Kumar (1985) 4 SCC 476.
Subhash Kumar vs. State of Bihar (1991) 1 SCC 598.
WEBSITES
Bhopal Gas Tragedy http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/WhatHappened.htm. Accessed on
12 January 2008.
C.K. Janu www.countercurrents.org Accessed on 12 November 2007.
Democracy in Nepal http://www.himalmag.com Accessed on 15 December 2008.
On Manual Scavenging www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF 129.html. Accessed on
2 January 2008.

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P

5 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

The second important purpose of a Constitution is to define

Social and Political Life 6

In democratic societies, the Constitution often lays down

you recall the chapter on the Dalit writer, Om Prakash

Valmikis experiences in school from your Class VII book?

In that chapter, we talked about the discrimination Om t

Prakash faced because he was a Dalit. You read about how

of birth. The Right to Equality is one of the Fundamental

Rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.

7 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

Such unhealthy situations can occur in democratic

Social and Political Life 8

9 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

Social and Political Life 10

Listed below are the key features of the Indian Constitution.

The vast number of communities in India meant that a system

11 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

3. Separation of Powers: According to the Constitution,

13 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

a certain suspicion of the State in the minds of

Social and Political Life 14

You now understand the ways in which a countrys

The different features of the Indian Constitution

15 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

Social and Political Life 16

17 Chapter 1: The Indian Constitution

In all of the above examples, members of one religious

19 Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism

As discussed above, the most important aspect of secularism

Another reason that it is important to separate religion

Social and Political Life 20

The Indian State works in various ways to prevent the above

21 Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism

In the above storyboard, the celebration of the religious

Social and Political Life 22

In the above storyboard, Paramjit, the Sikh youth, does not

The third way in which Indian secularism works to prevent

23 Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism

The intervention of the State can also be in the form of

In what way is Indian secularism different from that of

Some of the above objectives are similar to those that have

Social and Political Life 24

25 Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism

Social and Political Life 26

27 Chapter 2: Understanding Secularism

31 Chapter 3: Why Do We Need a Parliament?

This photo shows election staff using an

Social and Political Life 34

35 Chapter 3: Why Do We Need a Parliament?

Social and Political Life 36

The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative

B. To Control, Guide and Inform the Government

The Parliament, while in session, begins with a question hour.

37 Chapter 3: Why Do We Need a Parliament?

The government gets valuable feedback and is kept on

Social and Political Life 38

Law-making is a significant function of the Parliament. We