Confronting

Chapter 8 Marginalisation
In the previous chapter, we read about two different
groups and their experiences of inequality and
discrimination. Though powerless, such groups have
fought, protested and struggled against being excluded
or dominated by others. They have attempted to
overcome their situation by adopting a range of
strategies in their long history. Religious solace, armed
struggle, self improvement and education, economic
uplift there appears to be no one way of doing things.
In all cases, the choice of struggle has depended on
the circumstances that the marginalised find
themselves in.

In this chapter, we will read about some of the ways in

which groups and individuals challenge existing
inequalities. Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, women and other
marginal groups argue that simply by being citizens of
a democratic country, they possess equal rights that
must be respected. Many among them look up to the
Constitution to address their concerns. In this
chapter, we will see why the Constitution of India is
something that marginalised groups invoke in the
course of their struggles. As part of this, we will look
at how rights are translated into laws to protect groups
from continued exploitation and we will also look at
the governments efforts to formulate policies to
promote the access of these groups to development.

Social and Political Life 94

 Confronting Marginalisation
Invoking Fundamental Rights

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 The term Dalit, which means
broken is used deliberately and
will not be tolerated by a democratic government. In fact, actively by groups to highlight the
untouchability is a punishable crime now. centuries of discrimination they
have experienced within the caste
There are other sections in the Constitution that help to system.
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
The poem below is written by
Soyrabai, the wife of the well- Right (or Rights) in situations where they feel that they
known Bhakti poet Chokhamela have been treated badly by some individual or community,
from fourteenth century or even by the government. They have drawn the attention
Maharashtra. They belonged to of the government of India to the Constitution, demanding
the Mahar caste, which was at that the government abide by it and do justice to them.
that time considered
untouchable. Likewise, other minority groups have drawn on the
Fundamental Rights section of our Constitution. They have
A body is unclean, they say particularly drawn upon the right to freedom of religion
Only the soul is untainted
and cultural and educational rights. In the case of cultural
and educational rights, distinct cultural and religious groups
But the impurity of the body
like the Muslims and Parsis have the right to be the
Is born within the body
guardians of the content of their culture, as well as the right
By which ritual does the body
to make decisions on how best this content is to be
become pure?
preserved. Thus, by granting different forms of cultural
Not a creature has been born
except in a bloody womb.
rights, the Constitution tries to ensure cultural justice to
such groups. The Constitution does this so that the culture
This is the glory of God,
of these groups is not dominated nor wiped out by the
Defilement exists within.
culture of the majority community.
The body is polluted from within,
Be sure of it says the Mahari
Chokha
Laws for the Marginalised
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
Soyrabai is questioning the idea marginalised in our country. There are policies or schemes
of purity and arguing that since that emerge through other means like setting up a
every human is born in the same committee or by undertaking a survey etc. The government
manner, there is nothing that then makes an effort to promote such policies in order to
makes one body less or more
pure than the other. She is
give opportunities to specific groups.
possibly also trying to say that
pollution, a key tool of the caste
Promoting Social Justice
system to separate or deny As part of their effort to implement the Constitution, both
people access to spaces, work, state and central governments create specific schemes for
knowledge and dignity, occurs implementation in tribal areas or in areas that have a high
not through the nature of work
done, but from within- from
Dalit population. For example, the government provides for
your thoughts, values and free or subsidised hostels for students of Dalit and Adivasi
beliefs. communities so that they can avail of education facilities that
may not be available in their localities.

Social and Political Life 96

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 State one reason why you
professional education, such as medical colleges, governments think reservations play an
important role in providing
define a set of cut-off marks. This means that not all Dalit
social justice to Dalits and
and tribal candidates can qualify for admission, but only those Adivasis?
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.

List of schemes What is this How do you think it will help promote
scheme about? social justice?

Scholarships for students

Special police stations
Special schemes for girls
in government schools Q
97 Chapter 8: Confronting Marginalisation
 Protecting the Rights of Dalits and
Adivasis
In addition to policies our country also has specific laws
that guard against the discrimination and exploitation of
marginalised communities. Let us read the following case-
study, adapted from a real-life account, to understand how
You may have read Kabirs Dalits use the protection that laws provide.
poems in your language
textbooks. Kabir was a fifteenth The villagers of Jakmalgur are gearing up for a big festival.
century poet and weaver who
Once in five years, the local deity is honoured and priests
also belonged to the Bhakti
tradition. Kabirs poetry spoke from 20 neighbouring villages come for this five-day event.
about his love for the supreme The ceremony begins with a member of the Dalit community
being free of ritual and priests. washing the feet of all the priests and then bathing in the
It also expresses his sharp and water used for this. In Jakmalgur, the person who performed
pointed criticism of those he
this task belonged to Rathnams family. His father and
saw as powerful. Kabir attacked
those who attempted to define grandfather had both performed the same task before him.
individuals on the basis of their Though they were never allowed to enter the temple, this
religious and caste identities. ritual was viewed as a great honour bestowed on them on
In his view every person had this special occasion. Now it was Rathnams turn. Rathnam
the ability to reach the highest
level of spiritual salvation and
was all of 20 years, studying engineering in a nearby college.
deep knowledge within He refused to perform the ritual.
themselves through their own
experience. His poetry brings
He said that he had no faith in this practice and that his
out the powerful idea of the family members were forced to perform this ritual because
equality of all human beings they were Dalits. Rathnams refusal angered both the
and their labour. He writes powerful castes in the village and some families from his
about valuing the work of the own community. The powerful castes were shocked that
ordinary potter, the weaver and
the woman carrying the water such a young boy had the guts to refuse. They believed
pot labour that in his poetry that it was Rathnams education which allowed him to
becomes the basis of imagine that he could start comparing himself with them.
understanding the entire
universe. His direct, courageous Those from Rathnams own caste were fearful of angering
challenge inspired many and the powerful. Many worked on their fields as daily-wage
even today Kabirs poetry is labourers. If the dominant castes decided to not call them,
sung and appreciated by Dalits,
then what would they earn? How would they survive? They
marginalised groups and those
critical of social hierarchies in also declared that the wrath of the local deity would strike
U.P., Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya them if they refused to give in. Rathnam argued that given
Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar and that not a single Dalit had ever entered the temple, how
Gujarat. could the deity be angry with them?

Social and Political Life 98

The powerful castes decided to teach Rathnam a lesson. His In your opinion does the force
community was ordered to ostracise him and his family, put on Rathnam to perform
this ritual violate his
and everyone was told that no one should speak or do any
Fundamental Rights?
work for them or with them. One night some men entered
their part of the village and set his hut on fire. He managed Why do you think the Dalit
families were afraid of
to escape with his mother. Rathnam, then went to file a
angering the powerful castes?
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.

99 Chapter 8: Confronting Marginalisation

Pandit, Look in your heart for
Likewise, throughout the 1970s and 1980s Adivasi people
knowledge successfully organised themselves and demanded equal
Tell me where untouchability rights and for their land and resources to be returned to
Came from, since you believe in it. them. They too had to face the anger of powerful social
Mix red juice, white juice and air groups and were subject to a great deal of violence.
A body bakes in a body
This is why this Act contains a very long list of crimes,
We eat by touching, we wash some of which are too horrible even to contemplate. The
by touching, from a touch Act does not only describe terrible crimes, but also lets
the world was born. people know what dreadful deeds human beings are capable
So whos untouched, asks Kabir? of. In this sense, laws such as these seek to both punish as
Only she well as influence the way we think and act.
Who is free from delusion
The Act distinguishes several levels of crimes. Firstly, it
lists modes of humiliation that are both physically horrific
In this poem, Kabir is challenging and morally reprehensible and seeks to punish those who
the priest by directly questioning
at him about where
(i) force a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe
untouchability came from. He to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance; (iii)
asks the priest to look for forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a
knowledge in his heart and not in Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him or
the scriptures. Kabir goes on to
her naked or with painted face or body or commits any
describe how every human body
is made of blood and air and has similar act which is derogatory to human dignity
spent nine months in the mothers
womb. And that everything in the Secondly, it lists actions that dispossess Dalits and Adivasis
world is created by touching of their meagre resources or which force them into
something whether it be a pot, a performing slave labour. Thus, the Act sets out to punish
human being or a painting.
anyone who (iv) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land
He takes the word untouchable owned by, or allotted to, a member of a Scheduled Caste
and gives it a very different or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him
meaning. He claims that transferred;
untouchability is the highest state
of knowledge: it means not be At another level, the Act recognizes that crimes against
touched by narrow limiting ideas.
Therefore, Kabir finally turns the Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore,
idea of untouchability on its seeks to penalise anyone who (xi) assaults or uses force on
head- from the lowest to the any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled
highest state that a human being Tribe with intent to dishonour her
can achieve!

Can you list two different provisions in the 1989 Act?

Look up the glossary and write in your own words what you
understand by the term morally reprehensible.

Social and Political Life 100

The Scourge of Manual Scavenging
Manual scavenging refers to the practice of removing human
and animal waste/excreta using brooms, tin plates and
baskets from dry latrines and carrying it on the head to
disposal grounds some distance away. A manual scavenger is
the person who does the job of carrying this filth. This job is
mainly done by Dalit women and young girls. According to the
Andhra Pradesh-based Safai Karamchari Andolan, an
organisation working with manual scavengers, there are 13
lakh persons from Dalit communities who continue to be
employed in this job in this country and who work in the 96
lakh private and community dry latrines managed by
municipalities.
Manual scavengers are exposed to subhuman conditions of A manual scavenger at work
work and face serious health hazards. They are constantly
exposed to infections that affect their eyes, skin, respiratory
and gastro-intestinal systems. They get very low wages for the
work they perform. Those working in urban municipalities
earn Rs 30-40 per day and those working privately are paid
much less.
As you have read earlier in this book, the practice of
untouchability has been abolished by the Indian Constitution.
However, manual scavengers in different parts of the country,
the Bhangis in Gujarat, Pakhis in Andhra Pradesh and the
Sikkaliars in Tamil Nadu, continue to be considered
untouchable. They often live in separate settlements on the
outskirts of the village and are denied access to the temple,
public water facilities etc. Members of the Safai Karamchari Andolan
demolishing a dry latrine.
In 1993, the government passed the Employment of Manual
Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act.
What do you understand by
This law prohibits the employment of manual scavengers as
manual scavenging?
well as the construction of dry latrines. In 2003, the Safai
Karamchari Andolan and 13 other organisations and Re-read the list of
individuals, including seven scavengers, filed a PIL in the Fundamental Rights provided
Supreme Court. The petitioners complained that manual on page 14 and list two rights
scavenging still existed and it continued in government that this practice violates?
undertakings like the railways. The petitioners sought
enforcement of their Fundamental Rights. The court observed Why did the Safai Karamchari
that the number of manual scavengers in India had increased Andolan file a PIL in 2003?
since the 1993 law. It directed every department/ministry of the What did they complain about
union government and state governments to verify the facts in their petition?
within six months. If manual scavenging was found to exist, What did the Supreme Court
then the government department has to actively take up a do on hearing their case in
time-bound programme for their liberation and rehabilitation. 2005?

101 Chapter 8: Confronting Marginalisation

 Adivasi Demands and the 1989 Act
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?
Conclusion
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.

Social and Political Life 102

 Exercises
1. List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be
treated with dignity and as equals. Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed on
page 14 to help you answer this question.
2. Re-read the story on Rathnam as well as the provisions of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think he used this
law to file a complaint.
3. Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to
fight against dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of the Act that allows her to
believe this?
4. The poems and the song in this Unit allow you to see the range of ways in which individuals and
communities express their opinions, their anger and their sorrow. In class, do the following two
exercises:
(a) Bring to class a poem that discusses a social issue. Share this with your classmates. Work in
small groups with two or more poems to discuss their meaning as well as what the poet is
trying to communicate.
(b)Identify a marginalised community in your locality. Write a poem, or song, or draw a poster
etc to express your feelings as a member of this community.

GLOSSARY

Assertive: An assertive person or group is one that can express themselves and their
views strongly.
Confront: To come face to face or to challenge someone or something. In the context of
this chapter, this refers to groups challenging their marginalisation.
Dispossessed: To possess is to own something and to be dispossessed is to have to give
up ownership or to give up authority.
Ostracise: This means to exclude or banish an individual or a group. In the context of
this chapter, it refers to a social boycott of an individual and his family.
Morally reprehensible: This refers to an act that violates all norms of decency and
dignity that a society believes in. It usually refers to a hideous and repugnant act that
goes against all the values that a society has accepted.
Policy: A stated course of action that provides direction for the future, sets goals to be
achieved or lays out principles or guidelines to be followed and acted upon. In this
chapter, we have referred to government policies. But other institutions like schools,
companies, etc. also have policies.

103 Chapter 8: Confronting Marginalisation