Question 1.
List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they should be treated with dignity and as equals.
Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed on page 14 (of NCERT Textbook) to help you answer this question.
Answer:
- Right to Equality (1st Fundamental Right).
- Right against Exploitation.
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.
Answer:
- Rathnam used the law to file a complaint because he was forced to leave the village along with his mother and other members of his family.
- He filed the complaint against the domination and violence of the powerful castes of the village.
Question 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?
Answer:
The Adivasi activists including C.K Janu believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight dispossession because this Act guarantees the tribals not to be dispossessed from the land and resources forcibly. Their land cannot be sold or bought by non-tribal people. The Constitution also guarantees the right of the tribal people to repossess their land.
Question 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.
Answer:
(a) Frame a poem of your own and do the activity which this question asks you to do.
(b) Yes. Marginalised community in our locality is the scheduled caste community.
Now frame a poem or song or draw a poster, etc. to express your feelings as a member of this community.
Hints: A Poster
- An SC member wants to enter a Hindu Temple.
- The Priest asks him not to do so.
- Visitors to the temple belonging to Hindu powerful people beat the SC member and throw him away out of the gate of the temple.
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.
Answer The two fundamental rights that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with dignity and as equals are as follows:
- Right to Equality: All persons are equal before the law. No citizen can be discriminated against on the basis of his or her socioeconomic background, caste, religion, etc. Every person has equal right of access to all public places.
- Cultural and Educational Rights: This includes the right to protect the culture language etc of different ethnic groups while at the same time allowing for access of education without any discrimination.
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.
Answer The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 seeks to punish those who humiliate or ill-treat the members of dalit or tribal groups.
Rathnam sought the support of the law, filing his complaint under the above Act to seek protection against the domination and violence of the powerful castes in his village.
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?
Answer The Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can use the 1989 Act to fight against dispossession because this Act guarantees the tribals the right not to be dispossessed from the land resources forcibly.
They specifically pointed out that this Act merely confirms what has already been promised to the tribal people in the Constitution – the land owned by any tribal people cannot be sold to or bought by non-tribal people. In cases where this has happened, the Constitution also guarantees the right of the tribal people to repossess their land.
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.
Ans: Two Fundamental Rights that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with dignity and as equals are:
- Right to Equality: The right to equality states that all people are equal before the law and that no one can be discriminated against because of their caste, religion, or gender. All public places are open to everyone. In terms of employment, the government cannot discriminate against anyone.
- Right to Freedom: The right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to organise associations, the right to freely move and reside in any area of the country, and the right to practise any profession, occupation, or business are all included in this.
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.
Ans: In response to demands of Dalits and other groups, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 was enacted.
The Act demanded that the government take serious measures to protect Dalits and tribal groups from ill-treatment and humiliation in their daily lives. Rathnam refused to participate in a ritual, and the powerful castes were furious. They ordered that he be ostracized by his community.
Rathnam’s hut was set on fire, and he was forced to flee the village with his mother and other family members, as they continued to be ostracized by the village’s dominant castes. As a result, Rathnam used the above rule to register a complaint to protest the powerful castes’ dominance and violence in his village. Despite being ostracized by his tribe, Rathnam was supported by the local media, and the ritual was called off.
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?
Ans: Activists from the Adivasi community, notably C.K. Janu believes that Adivasis can utilise the 1989 Act to fight against dispossession because it assures that tribals will not be forcibly removed from their land resources.
They clearly said that this Act just reinforces what the tribal people have already been promised in the Constitution: that their property cannot be sold to or purchased by non-tribal persons. In such instances, the indigenous people have the right to reclaim their territory, as guaranteed by the Constitution. Tribes who have already been evicted and are unable to return to their ancestral lands should be compensated. That is, the government must devise plans and laws that will allow them to live and work in other places.
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.
Ans: Students can look for poems at different sources, for example internet or they can talk to their parents and grandparents for some other sources.
Then these poems are to be discussed in groups.
Identification of marginalised communities has to be done responsibly. Students can talk to their parents and grandparents about this.
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