IAS 2018

GS Mains
QA &

TEST: 10
INDIAN SOCIETY FEATURES
AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

www.iasscore.in
 Test Paper

Test-10

GS Mains Q&A 2018

Indian Society features and social

justice
Time Allowed: 3 hrs. Max. Marks: 250

1. “Paradoxically, even in Indian society, where women goddesses are worshipped, women are
denied an independent identity and status.” Do you think modern society has evolved from this
mindset? Give your opinion.
2. What do you understand by Slum? How it is different from a shanty-town? Analyze To what extent
slums constitute the most important and persistent problem of urban life.
3. “Urbanization affects family structure, kinship patterns, women, caste relations in the society.”
analyze the impact.
4. “An ageing population that can topple existing insurance and pension systems, strain the public
health-care system and fundamentally alter disease burdens, economies and trade, and human
migration.” Elaborate the statement in Indian context and what are the measures that are needed
to tackle this situation successfully.
5. Blind exemption accorded to sexual violence within marriage is incompatible with the
constitutional guarantee of a right to life of dignity and protection against violence. Critically
analyze the statement in the context of Marital rape in India.
6. A wealth of linguistic richness exists outside what are known as the official languages of India..
Analyse the statement showing how extremely rich is India in terms of linguistic diversity.
7. India has high income inequality despite equalizing forces. Do you agree with this imperative?
Give examples in favor of your answer.
8. Preventing women’s entry to the religious places with an irrational and obsolete notion of
“purity” clearly offends the equality clauses in the Constitution. What are the reasons behind this
phenomenon? Do you think tradition should be given precedence over rationality with respect
to the statement above? Give your views.
9. Why is suicide the second leading cause for deaths in Indian youth? How is India tackling this
issue? What further strategies are needed to stem suicides?
10. India has enjoyed economic and demographic conditions that ordinarily would lead to rising
female labour-force participation rates, but this is not happening in India. Enumerate the reasons.
Suggest measures to increase female labour force participation in India.
11. Large number of Indian children are attending school, but not learning enough. Highlight the
reasons behind this. Elaborate the measures needed to make education inclusive and focussed
on outcomes in India.
12. Manual scavenging is a blight on humanity in India consigned by structural inequality to the
Dalits. Do you agree with the statement? Critically analyse with examples.

Indian Society features and Social Justice | 1

13. Rape laws have changed, but the temptation to shame and blame the victim and indulge in media-
trial of accused, even before being proven guilty, remains. To what extent is this true in Indian
context. Comment.
14. How globalization has effected the cultural change in India w.r.t aspirations of middle-class?
Analyze major government schemes that have been started to address these aspirations?
15. Why there is an increasing problem of Drugs-abuse in India? Is there any regional pattern to this
problem? If yes, then identify, why those particular regions have fallen prey to this problem?
16. Increase in social media bullying or internet trolling is a global phenomenon? Is it because of a
social change or access of technology to express views, which were already present?
17. Identify major reasons behind the rising sexual harassment of minors in India? Discuss the changes
required in present legal-enforcement system to tackle this issue?
18. Advertising is known as the art of impossible, i.e., the ability to create false need perception to
sell products, however, this has disastrous effect on society. Elaborate.
19. Caste system and democracy are not mutually compatible in-principle; however, Indian politics
has not only integrated these two, but made caste dissolution impossible. Elaborate.
20. In the world of art and culture, popular is not same as good and many a times, mostly it is
unrealistic masala films, which are more successful than the technically more sound or realistic
ones; many of most successful ones, do not reflect Indian values or society at all and fail to pick
up pertinent social issues. Elaborate.

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2 | Indian Society features and Social Justice

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GS SCORE

GS SCORE
Test Code

10
Name : ...................................................................

Roll No. : ..................................................................

Mobile No. : ..................................................................

GS MAINS Q&A 2018

Indian Society features and social

justice

Time Allowed: 3 Hr. Max. Marks: 250

Instructions to Candidate Q Answer Q Answer

!! There are 20 Questions. 1 11
!! All questions are compulsory. 2 12
!! The number of marks carried by a question 3 13
is indicated against it. 4 14
!! Answer the questions in NOT MORE THAN 5 15
200 words each. Contents of the answer is
more important than its length. 6 16

!! Answers must be written within the space 7 17

provided. 8 18
!! Any page or portion of the page left blank in 9 19
the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be
10 20
clearly struck off.

Date:

Candidate’s Signature Examiner’s Signature

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REMARKS

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Roll No. : ..................................................................

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Q1. “Paradoxically, even in Indian society, where women goddesses are worshipped,
women are denied an independent identity and status.” Do you think modern society
has evolved from this mindset? Give your opinion. (12.5 Marks)

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Q2. What do you understand by Slum? How it is different from a shanty-town? Analyze To
what extent slums constitute the most important and persistent problem of urban life.
(12.5 Marks)

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Q3. “Urbanization affects family structure, kinship patterns, women, caste relations in
the society.” analyze the impact. (12.5 Marks)

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Q4. “An ageing population that can topple existing insurance and pension systems, strain
the public health-care system and fundamentally alter disease burdens, economies
and trade, and human migration.” Elaborate the statement in Indian context and what
are the measures that are needed to tackle this situation successfully.
(12.5 Marks)

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Q5. Blind exemption accorded to sexual violence within marriage is incompatible with the
constitutional guarantee of a right to life of dignity and protection against violence.
Critically analyze the statement in the context of Marital rape in India.
(12.5 Marks)

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Q6. A wealth of linguistic richness exists outside what are known as the official languages
of India.. Analyse the statement showing how extremely rich is India in terms of
linguistic diversity. (12.5 Marks)

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Q7. India has high income inequality despite equalizing forces. Do you agree with this
imperative? Give examples in favor of your answer. (12.5 Marks)

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Q8. Preventing women’s entry to the religious places with an irrational and obsolete
notion of “purity” clearly offends the equality clauses in the Constitution. What are the
reasons behind this phenomenon? Do you think tradition should be given precedence
over rationality with respect to the statement above? Give your views. (12.5 Marks)

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Q9. Why is suicide the second leading cause for deaths in Indian youth? How is India
tackling this issue? What further strategies are needed to stem suicides?
(12.5 Marks)

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Q10. India has enjoyed economic and demographic conditions that ordinarily would lead
to rising female labour-force participation rates, but this is not happening in India.
Enumerate the reasons. Suggest measures to increase female labour force participation
in India. (12.5 Marks)

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Q11. Large number of Indian children are attending school, but not learning enough.
Highlight the reasons behind this. Elaborate the measures needed to make education
inclusive and focussed on outcomes in India. (12.5 Marks)

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Q12. Manual scavenging is a blight on humanity in India consigned by structural inequality
to the Dalits. Do you agree with the statement? Critically analyse with examples.
(12.5 Marks)

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Q13. Rape laws have changed, but the temptation to shame and blame the victim and
indulge in media-trial of accused, even before being proven guilty, remains. To what
extent is this true in Indian context. Comment. (12.5 Marks)

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Q14. How globalization has effected the cultural change in India w.r.t aspirations of middle-
class? Analyze major government schemes that have been started to address these
aspirations? (12.5 Marks)

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Q15. Why there is an increasing problem of Drugs-abuse in India? Is there any regional
pattern to this problem? If yes, then identify, why those particular regions have fallen
prey to this problem? (12.5 Marks)

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Q16. Increase in social media bullying or internet trolling is a global phenomenon? Is it
because of a social change or access of technology to express views, which were
already present? (12.5 Marks)

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Q17. Identify major reasons behind the rising sexual harassment of minors in India? Discuss
the changes required in present legal-enforcement system to tackle this issue?
(12.5 Marks)

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Q18. Advertising is known as the art of impossible, i.e., the ability to create false need
perception to sell products, however, this has disastrous effect on society. Elaborate.
(12.5 Marks)

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Q19. Caste system and democracy are not mutually compatible in-principle; however, Indian
politics has not only integrated these two, but made caste dissolution impossible.
Elaborate. (12.5 Marks)

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Q20. In the world of art and culture, popular is not same as good and many a times, mostly
it is unrealistic masala films, which are more successful than the technically more
sound or realistic ones; many of most successful ones, do not reflect Indian values or
society at all and fail to pick up pertinent social issues. Elaborate. (12.5 Marks)

Remarks
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GS SCORE Test -10
Hints
GS MAINS Q&A 2018
Indian Society Features and
Social Justice

Q1. “Paradoxically, even in Indian society, where women goddesses are

worshipped, women are denied an independent identity and status.” Do you
think modern society has evolved from this mindset? Give your opinion.

Women are respected in Indian society since ancient times however women’s rights activists and
social commentators have already pointed out the irony that India worships so many goddesses
Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi and yet has one of the worst records in the world in how it treats its
girls and women.
!! Women despite highly educated still end up staying at home due to pressure from the Husband’s
family and the patriarchal mindset that women are confined to the four walls.
!! Rapes, Child marriages, Honor killings, Triple Talaq issue all these further strengthen that
women are denied status even from childhood itself.
Modern society and attitude changes:
!! In the modern society, women are considered equal to men and are given equal rights in many
areas, such as inheritance unlike the old times.
!! Indian Constitution puts a strong emphasis on the right to equality and legally requires the state
to ensure it in many areas along with an affirmative action to cover-up lack of opportunities.
!! Also, Judiciary played an important role in enhancing protection for women through the
Vaisakha guidelines, Triple Talaq judgement etc.
!! Even the consecutive governments tried to empower women by preparing schemes which make
education easily accessible to girls, encouraging girls to go to school by providing benefits so
that parents would not feel girl as a burden.
!! Even politically India has moved forward in having women representatives in important
institutions of the country.
However, despite all this even today:
!! More than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence
!! Dowry deaths are so prevalent in India. According to NCRB data twenty-one dowry deaths are
reported across the country every day. The conviction rate, however, is less than 35 per cent.
!! Female infanticide- India has one of the highest female feticide incidents in the world. The
female child population in the age group of 0-6 years declined from 78.83 million in 2001 to
75.84 million in 2011. During the period 1991-2011, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from
945 to 914.
Thus, while we have made important strides, we are far from reaching the desired situation.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 Associated Concepts

Patriarchy:
Patriarchy is a social system in which males hold primary power, predominate in roles of political
leadership, moral authority, special privilege & control of property; in the domain of the family,
father- figures hold authority over women & children. Many patriarchal societies are also patrilineal,
meaning that property & title are inherited by the male lineage. Here, the female alternative is
matriarchy.
Historically, Patriarchy has manifested itself in the social, legal, political, & economic organization
of a range of different cult ures.

Q2. What do you understand by Slum? How it is different from a shanty-town?

Analyze To what extent slums constitute the most important and persistent
problem of urban life.

Slum is a dilapidated neighborhood where many people live in a state of poverty. A slum is a highly
populated urban residential area consisting mostly of closely-packed, decrepit housing units in
a situation of deteriorated or uncompleted infrastructure, inhabited primarily by impoverished
persons.
While slums differ in size and other characteristics, most lack reliable sanitation services, supply
of clean water, reliable electricity, law enforcement and other basic services. Slum residences vary
from shanty houses to professionally built dwellings which, because of poor-quality construction
or provision of basic maintenance, have deteriorated.
Shanty town
!! A shanty town or squatter area is a settlement of improvised housing, made of plywood,
corrugated metal, sheets of plastic, and cardboard boxes.
!! Such settlements are usually found on the periphery of cities, in public parks, or near railroad
tracks, rivers, lagoons or city trash dump sites.
!! It is more of an informal or spontaneous settlement, a typical shanty town often lacks adequate
infrastructure, including proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity, hygienic streets, or
other basic necessities to support human settlements.
!! It is not as populated as the slum.
Nature of Slums in India:
!! Due to lack of housing, in every city a lot of population live in slums, exceeding 50 percent in
many cases.
!! As most of them are illegal colonies, they do not have any civic amenities like drinking water,
sewage, electricity, etc., which has adverse impact on the cities.
!! Slums are not always temporary. In India, slums have been growing for decades, and millions
of households find themselves trapped in poverty in slums for generations.
How are Slums problem for Urban life?
!! Today’s slums pose a deeper, persistent structural problem caused by
 Multiple market and policy failures
 Poor governance and management hindering investment
 Poor and unsanitary living conditions.

2 Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice GS SCORE

 !! Across diverse slum settlements, some key issues remain the same:
 Lack of adequate living space
 Insufficient provision of public goods
 The poor quality of basic amenities.
 All of which lead to extremely poor health and diminishing human capital.
!! Mumbai’s M-East Ward is a classic illustration of the expanding base of poor and marginalized
communities’ areas, which are unimaginably unhygienic and undermine every aspect of human
development.
!! Slums as a whole, compared to the city, show considerably less progress in Human Development
Indicators.
What needs to be done?
!! Need a holistic approach to address issues related to health and sanitation, local governance,
private savings and investments, and land market institutions.
!! Both formal and informal systems of property rights may be necessary to curb the rapid growth
of slum areas.
!! In the absence of strong policy agendas similar to those adopted in Singapore or, in Brazil,
it seems unlikely that slums will disappear in the foreseeable future, as implicitly assumed by
dominant economic theories.
!! With government initiatives like AMRUT, smart cities mission focus on urban governance slums
can be reduced and poverty in urban areas can be deducted.

Q3. “Urbanization affects family structure, kinship patterns, women, caste

relations in the society.” analyze the impact

Urbanization is as much a social process as it is an economic and territorial process. It transforms

societal organizations, the role of the family, demographic structures, the nature of work, and the
way people choose to live and with whom. It also modifies domestic roles and relations within the
family, and redefines concepts of individual and social responsibility.
Impact:
!! Caste relations:
 The younger generation are more acceptable towards working, studying, playing,
cooperating, employing people from other castes so social cohesion has increased.
 Untouchability per se does not exist in urban areas.
 Moreover, the growth of services sector which is a social leveler, has compelled people to
depend on people from different castes and religion for services.
 Increase in literacy rates also helps in reducing the impact of religion and caste in the
unification of society
!! Kinship patterns:
 The bonds of kinship, neighborliness and sentiments of living together for generations are
absent among these people due to such diverse origin and backgrounds.
 In such circumstances, competition and formal control mechanisms substitute for the bonds
of solidarity that hold a folk or a village society together.
 Personal mutual acquaintanceship between inhabitants, which ordinarily involves an increase
in a neighborhood feeling, is lacking.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

  The city dweller thus is in a transitory habitat, does not generate binding traditions and
sentiments and only rarely is found to be neighbourly. All these have led to the growth of
a number of social problems.
!! Family structure and Women:
 Many basic functions of family are now performed by the secondary institutions and
associations. For example, formerly child-rearing and education were the primary functions
of the family. But in today’s urban centers, there is a need for dual-income families.
 This change in a women’s role has also affected the family structure. Nowadays, one can find
more of single parent families, i.e., either mother or father staying alone with the children.
 Families become smaller relatively quickly, not only because parents have fewer children on
average, but also because the extended family typical of rural settings is much less common
in urban areas.
Urbanization gave women more autonomy in decision making, but it has not been without
drawbacks.
!! For many women the challenge of balancing work, domestic responsibilities, and the imperatives
of everyday urban life, have increased, not decreased.
!! Smaller families, and the dispersion of extended families in contemporary urbanized societies,
have in combination also reduced the level of kinship support systems available to these
women.

Associated Concepts

Kinship:
Group living is primary to social growth. The savage lived with their group, their women and their
young children. Their common adversity, insecurity, pain and pleasure gave them the first idea of
the importance of togetherness.
Over the time, the sense of attachment, service and bond of blood gave this primary group a
particular character and content. Marriage subsequently had the impact of formulating this group
into family. The family gave rise to relation, called the ‘Kinship’, which is the relation by bond of
blood, marriage etc. Kinship is supremely important in primitive societies.
From birth till death an individual is surrounded by a number of people. Some of these people are
his relatives, some are friends, and some are neighbors while others are strangers. He is bound to
all these people who are related to him either by bond of blood or marriage Relation by the bond
of blood or marriage which binds people together in groups is called Kinship.
Kinship system refers to a set of persons recognized as relatives either by virtue of a blood
relationship or by virtue of a marriage relationship.
Bases of Kinship:
1. Sex:
The terms ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ specify the sex of the relative referred to. On the basis of sex in
each society kinship relation is differentiated.
2. Generation:
Kinship tie is established between the persons with reference to the generation. For example, the
terms like ‘father’ and ‘son’, grandfather and grandson, brother and sister and cousin’ indicate the
relation between the generation of the speaker and the generation of the relative referred to.
3. Affinity:
It means relationships through marriage. The relationship with son-in-law and father’s sister’s
husband is based on affinity.
4. Collaterally:
It means the kinship based on blood relations. It is divided as lineal and collateral. Relatives in a
direct line of descent are called ‘Lineal’. Grandfather, father, son, grandson etc. are example of

4 Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice GS SCORE

 ‘Lineal’, where as other descendants of one’s lineal kin like under (except affinal relative) their
children (cousins) etc., refers to collateral.
5. Bifurcation:
It is based on division and sub-division. This relative refers to different relations. For example,
niece can refer to brother’s daughter or sister’s daughter. Grandfather can refer to father’s father
or mother’s father. Similarly, uncle, aunt, grandson conveys two types of reference.
6. Linkage:
There are certain kinship ties, which are connected with a linkage. The affinal relative or
consanguineous relative acts as bonding thread. For example, the term brother-in-law is
understood only in relation to another affinal relative or through consanguine relative.
Types of Kinship
Broadly kinship is divided into two types. They are:
1. Consanguineous kinship:
This relationship is based on blood ties. Son, daughter, sister, parental uncle etc. are the example
of consanguineous kinship and the relatives are called consanguine kin
2. Affinal Kinship:
The kinship relationship which is established by marriage is known as affinal kinship! And the
relatives are called affinal kins. Thus, marriage creates number of relations like husband, I wife,
son-in-law, brother-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law etc.

Q4. “An ageing population that can topple existing insurance and pension
systems, strain the public health-care system and fundamentally alter
disease burdens, economies and trade, and human migration.” Elaborate
the statement in Indian context and what are the measures that are needed
to tackle this situation successfully.

Demographically India is a young nation with near half of its population 25 years or younger and
near 9 percent over 60 years. Even though the proportion of India’s elderly is small compared
with that of developed countries, the absolute number of elderly population is on the high.
India already has the second largest elderly population in the world. Over the next three
decades aged population is expected to balloon to 20 per cent or 340 million — roughly the
entire population of the United States. Impact of this can be visible in form of toppling existing
social security system, increased health and disease burdens, economies and trade, and human
migration.
!! With the rapidly increasing number of aged compounded by disintegration of joint families
and ever-increasing influence of modernization and new life styles, the care of elderly has
emerged as an important issue in India.
!! According to NSSO, incidence of diseases as well as hospitalization rates is much higher in
older people than the total population. 10% of elderly in India suffer from depression and
40-50% requires psychiatric or psychological intervention at some point. However, only less
than 1% of elderly population in India has health insurance.
!! Existing social security and pension system under National old age pension scheme is hugely
inadequate both in amount and its coverage. Increased number of aged person will lead to
its collapse.
!! There is a challenge of old age income security because ability to produce and earn declines
with age. The absence on savings will result in sharp declining in living standards that for

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 many can mean destitution. 65 per cent of the elderly in India are dependent on others for
their financial requirements and undergo financial crisis.
To prepare for this, India needs to better understand those on the cusp of being senior citizens.
For this the Indian government, will be initiating the world’s largest survey of the elderly called the
Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI), it will follow the health and socio-economic condition
of 60,000 Indians over the age of 45 for at least 25 years and provide regular reports on how
ageing affects Indians. Apart from this following measure would help to tackle the situation.
!! We need a National Policy on Senior Citizen to comprehensively focuses on various aspects
related to old age like Income security, healthcare, safety security, housing, productive aging,
welfare, multigenerational bonding, etc.
!! Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 do not endow any obligation
of establishing old age homes on the government. Government need to mandatorily provide
the establishment of at least one old age home in each district by law and its maintenance.
There is a need for effective legislation for parents’ right to be cared for by the children.
NGOs and civil society organization can be incentivizing for establishment and care in old
age homes.
!! There is also need for the elderly to remain active, to know that they still have a part to play
in the family or community to which they belong and can make a useful co contribution
to nation and society as a whole. Young Old- between the ages of 60-75 years can be
productively engaged in activities like consultation to share through their experience. This
will reduce financial vulnerability.
!! Universal and a well-structured pension system will reduce the exclusion and enhance the
coverage. There is need to cover the unorganized sector under pension scheme through
promotion of scheme like Atal Pension Yojana.
!! There is need to employ the DBT in various schemes for senior citizens to reduce leakage and
ease of delivery.
!! The existing health care systems are not sufficient to meet the physical and health needs
of the ageing population such as old age security, establishing old age homes, expanding
geriatric services and liberalizing the welfare policy for older persons. It is necessary to
increase public awareness of the need for protection of this sub group. There is a great need
to protect the target group i.e. rural old, and old women, and widows.
Efforts should be made to strengthen the family care, because the preferred source of support
for the aged is still the family - informal system where the notion of care is embedded within
a tradition of social obligations that are understood and reciprocated. The reciprocal care and
support within multi-generational families of parents, grandparents and children should be
encouraged. Traditional values of filial obligations can also be reinforced in school curricula and
through the media.

Associated Concepts

Initiatives for elderly persons:

Vayoshreshtha Sammans - A Scheme of National Award for Senior Citizens, The Scheme is
funded by the Central government. This scheme is applicable for eminent senior citizens
and institutes involved in rendering distinguished services for the cause of elderly persons.
Institutes and senior citizens can avail this scheme by contacting Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment
An integrated Programme for older persons: The main objective of the Scheme is to improve
the quality of life of the Older Persons by providing basic amenities like shelter, food, medical
care and entertainment opportunities and by encouraging productive and active ageing through

6 Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice GS SCORE

 providing support for capacity building of Government / Non-Governmental Organizations /
Panchayati Raj Institutions / local bodies and the Community at large.
Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme: Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension
Scheme (IGNOAPS), earlier called as “National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)” is a social
sector scheme and forms part of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) which came
into effect from 15th August, 1995. This scheme provides social assistance for the old age
persons.
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana: The scheme provides an assured return of 8% p.a.
payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30% p.a. effective) for 10 years. Pension is payable at the end
of each period, during the policy term of 10 years, as per the frequency of monthly/ quarterly/
half-yearly/ yearly as chosen by the pensioner at the time of purchase. The scheme is exempted
from Service Tax/ GST. On survival of the pensioner to the end of the policy term of 10 years,
purchase price along with final pension installment shall be payable.

Q5. Blind exemption accorded to sexual violence within marriage is incompatible

with the constitutional guarantee of a right to life of dignity and protection
against violence. Critically analyze the statement in the context of Marital
rape in India.

The demand for criminalizing marital rape has come from various social quarters, notably women
activists. It is often argued, however, that the institution of marriage is so sacred and sacrosanct
to the Indian society that the decision to criminalize marital rape can be counterproductive and it
won’t make much of a difference. However, right of dignified life protected under the constitution
cannot be denied under the garb of tradition to the women.
Argument for Criminalizing the Marital rape:
!! In the case Independent Thought v. Union of India, Independent Thought’s urged that all
minors be protected from rape under Section 375, irrespective of marital status. The truth is
that a girl under 15 is still a child, married or not. The parliament has to protect the child.
!! Marital rape is often accompanied by physical violence. Criminalizing would prevent the post-
trauma and injury.
!! Marital rape is also considered as the violation of Fundamental Right guaranteed under Article
14 of the Indian constitution which guarantees the equal protection of laws to all persons.
!! By depriving married women of an effective penal remedy against forced sexual intercourse,
it violates their right to privacy and bodily integrity, aspects of the right to life and personal
liberty under Article 21. The United Nations has also recommended India make it criminal for
a man to rape his wife.
!! Out of the total number of rapes reported to NFHS, 97.7% were committed by spouses of the
victim. Experts say that sexual consent is the right of every woman – married or unmarried – as
much as of men, and nonconsensual sex should be treated exactly the same, regardless of the
relationship of the perpetrator to the victim.
!! The absence of a law to safeguard the same is a human right violation and unjust towards
women.
Argument against criminalizing the marital rape:
!! Biggest danger of such legislation is the misuse to torment groom and his family in case of
marital disputes. The Centre in an affidavit to Delhi High Court said that marital rape may
become an easy tool for harassing the husband and that there can be no lasting evidence
in the case of sexual acts between a man and his own wife. It has argued for status quo, also
saying that making criminalizing marital rape would “destabilize the institution of marriage”.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 !! Legislating on every aspect of marriage would just increase the number of laws, but not
necessarily compliance. Criminalizing marital rape would not help in solving this domestic
barbarism if the victims fail to recognize themselves as victims.
!! It is considered that the concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be
suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors, including level of education,
illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs, mindset of the society to
treat the marriage as a sacrament.”
Before criminalizing the act, we need to create awareness among women and their right of consent.
Thus, judicial reforms are also necessary to deal effectively with such matters. It is also being said
that marital privacy – which justifies laws such as the marital rape exception – is a fundamental
denial of society’s commitment to treating all persons with equal concern and respect.

Associated Concepts

Controversy over marital rape: Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which defines the
offence of rape, has an exception clause that says the intercourse or sexual act by a man with his
wife, not below 15 years, is not a rape. This decriminalizes the marital rape. However, there is a
discrepancy within the same provision. It states that a man is said to commit rape who has sexual
intercourse with a woman with or without her consent, when she is under 18 years of age.
The recently the Supreme Court of India read down the exception to Section 375 of the IPC,
holding that sex with one’s wife who is below 18 years of age is rape, whether or not the minor
consents. This is a welcome step to fight marital rape cases at least for the girl child. The Justice
Verma Committee also recommended to delete the exception under section 375 of IPC.

Q6. A wealth of linguistic richness exists outside what are known as the official
languages of India.. Analyse the statement showing how extremely rich is
India in terms of linguistic diversity.

Language is the most vital tool for flourishing the culture. India has become a land of many
tongues and has been called “as a tower of veritable languages” or a “Museum of languages”.
India’s multi culturism is preserved through multilingualism. India is a big country and it packs
in an astonishing array of languages. Over 1600 languages were thought to be spoken in the
subcontinent and it’s unlikely that any other country in the world matches India for linguistic
diversity.
!! The most comprehensive data on languages was collected at the time of 1961 census of India.
According to these census figures there were 187 languages spoken by different sections of
our society. Out of these, as many as 94 languages are spoken by less than 10,000 persons each
and 23 languages together account for 77 percent of the total population of the country.
!! Out of these numerous languages, 22 are recognized as national languages of the country
as they are included in the eighth schedule of the constitution. These languages are: Hindi,
Bengali, Assamese, Kannada, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Urdu, Konkani,
Sindhi, Tamil, Telegu, Manipuri, Nepali, Punjabi and Gujarati, Maithili, Bodo, Dogri, Santhali.
Hindi is the official language of India and it is understood by the largest number of people in
the country.
!! Other languages are recognized as ‘regional’ ones, meaning they are not widely spoken
across the subcontinent but have a regional base, and often a moderate-sized population
of speakers. Examples include Rajasthani, Bhili, and Tulu. Less widely spoken languages are
generally called ‘minority languages’, some of them in fragile states of survival. India is losing
languages faster than any other nation on earth, with up to 30% under real threat.

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 !! India’s government also recognizes classical languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, and Odia,
some having thousands of years of history. The languages of India can be conveniently
grouped into four categories i.e. Indo-European Family (Arya), Dravidian Family (Dravida),
Austric Family (Nishada), Sino-Tibetan Family (Kirata). It is interesting to note that the strength
of the four families is very uneven: Aryan languages (73. %), Dravidian languages (20%), Austric
languages (1.38%), and the Sino-Tibetan languages (0.85%).
However, Lingual diversity of India has been misappropriated by regional political parties which
lead to issues of increased regionalism and parochialism, violence with linguistic minorities,
demand for separate states and erosion of national feeling. The recommendation of Sarkaria
Commission that the styles, forms and expression of English along with other regional languages
are to be retained in the process of development of official language. The three-language formula
such as regional language, Hindi and English should be properly implemented.

Associated Concepts

Linguism: Causes
1. Love of Literature:
Love of literature creates and strengthens a sense of loyalty towards it among the linguistic
groups. These linguistic loyalties hamper the evolution of a common language.
2. Geographical Causes:
Geographical conditions also promote linguism. People living in a particular locality tend to
speak the same language. This promotes local identity and distinctiveness among people. Living
together geographically reinforces a linguistic group’s love for its own language.
3. Historical Causes:
Linguism in India is a by-product of India’s struggle for national freedom. Our leaders of freedom
movement criticized the British system of dividing country by cutting across linguistic boundaries.
Rather, they pleaded for the division of India into different provinces along linguistic lines. After
independence, in 1956, the States were reorganized on the basis of homogeneity of languages.
The reorganization of the States on linguistic lines has provided geographical foundations for
sub-nationalism in India.
4. Political Causes:
Parochial political parties create linguistic feeling among the people of a locality and exploit
their sentiments at the time of election.
5. Psychological Causes:
Language has certain psychological and emotional characteristics which invoke the feeling of
ethnocentrism to a homogeneous group. In India, the linguistic groups are tied together by ties
of common interest. This creates the spirit of regionalism, sectarianism and separatist feeling in
the mind of the inhabitant.
Consequences of Linguism:
The evils of Linguism are as follows:
1. Increasing Regionalism and Parochialism:
The people of different linguistic groups who are concentrated in a state seem to think only
in terms of interests of their own States. This undermines consideration of national issues and
causes parochial feelings.
2. Formation of Regional Political Parties:
Linguism has resulted in regionalism which has ultimately led to the formation of regional political
parties in some state. Some of these regional political parties have also formed government.
Such political parties in power often complicate Centre-State relationship.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 3. Persecution of the Linguistic Minorities:
The State Reorganization Commission had provided for safeguard of linguistic minorities in
States. But in reality, the linguistic minorities have been harassed in different States. As a result,
certain complications and disturbing trends have developed which seem to have threatened the
unity of the country.
4. Demand for Separate States:
Linguistic conflicts take place due to selfish motive of politicians. These politicians instigate the
linguistic minority to demand partition of the States along linguistic lines. The demand for a
separate state creates problems for the concerned state as well as the centre.
5. Erosion of National Feeling:
The national feeling is eroded due to linguistic and regional loyalties. The erosion of national
feeling threatens the sovereignty of the country.
6. Inter-State Border Dispute:
Language problems have created tensions in the boarder which are bilingual. For example, the
Goans are divided on the basis of Konkani and Marathi languages.

Q7. India has high income inequality despite equalizing forces. Do you agree
with this imperative? Give examples in favor of your answer

There is convergence in income over the world. Poorer countries are catching up with richer
countries, the poorer Chinese provinces are catching up with the richer ones, but in India the less
developed States are not catching up; instead they are, on average, falling behind the richer States
Inspite of government of India trying to equalize or reduce disparities by providing additional
grants, special category status to some states and through progressive taxation structure and
presence of forces of equalization like increased trade and migration.
!! In the 2000s, while standards of living (measured in terms of Gross State Domestic Product or
consumption) per capita increased in all the States, the disparities among them also increased.
In other words, there was divergence across the States instead of convergence.
!! Between 2004 to 2014, there has been divergence in the per capita GSDP growth for Indian
States. There is also widening of gap in per capita consumption among the states used to
measure the inequalities.
!! Convergence happens essentially through trade and through mobility of factors of production.
Inspite of increased flow of goods and migration of people across various India stands out as
an exception. Within India, where borders are porous, convergence has failed whereas across
countries where borders are much thicker (because of restrictions on trade, capital and labour)
there is a convergence dynamic. That is the cross-country puzzle.
!! On Individual Scale According to economist Lucas Chance, the share of national income accruing
to the top 1% income earners is now at its highest level since the creation of the Indian Income
Tax [Act] in 1922. The top 1% of earners captured less than 21% of total income in the late
1930s, before dropping to 6% in the early 1980s and rising to 22% today.
!! Over the 1951-1980 period, the bottom 50% group captured 28% of total growth and incomes
of this group grew faster than the average, while the top 0.1% incomes decreased. Over the
1980-2014 period, the situation was reversed; the top 0.1% of earners captured a higher share
of total growth than the bottom 50% (12% versus 11%), while the top 1% received a higher
share of total growth than the middle 40% (29% vs. 23%).
!! Major reason behind this was since the 1980s, India did not only open-up and liberalize its
economy, it did it in a way that was very favorable to top income earners and capital owners.

10 Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice GS SCORE

 Tax progressivity, which is a powerful policy tool to contain the rise in inequality, was reduced
subsequently. Top tax rates, which were very high in the 1970s (up to 98%), decreased to 30% in
the 1980s and after. Wage inequality dispersion also increased in many sectors, as privatizations
removed government-set pay scales, which were less unequal. On the other hand, growth at
the bottom of the distribution was notably lower than average growth rates since the 1980s.
Even the reasons of governance deficit and India’s focus on skill intensive sector like services has
failed to explain why dynamics of competitive federalism which impel convergence.

Associated Concepts

Gini Coefficient is a popular statistical measure to gauge the rich-poor income or wealth divide.
It measures inequality of a distribution — be it of income or wealth — within nations or States.
Its value varies anywhere from zero to 1; zero indicating perfect equality and one indicating the
perfect inequality. Gini Coefficients can be used to compare income distribution of a country over
time as well. An increasing trend indicates that income inequality is rising independent of absolute
incomes.
There are many ways to measure it. Two popular ways are those based on pre-tax (or market)
income and disposable income. The latter considers taxes as well as social spend before arriving at
the figure. So in a sense, the difference between the two kinds of measures indicates the efficacy
of a country’s fiscal policy in reducing the rich-poor divide through taxation and social spends.
Chancel and Piketty’s report has used the pre-tax method of calculating the Gini Coefficient.
Why is it important?
A general rise in Gini Coefficient indicates that government policies, are not inclusive and may be
benefiting the rich as much as (or even more than) the poor. For instance, a subsidy on passenger
train tickets may entail a big budget outlay and may be targeted at the poor. But its benefit
could actually be derived by the non-poor. A Gini figure below 0.40 is generally considered to
be within tolerable limits by economic experts. Chancel and Piketty’s report pegged India’s Gini
coefficient at 0.41 to 0.49 for 2010. It is even likely that it crossed 0.5, which is an alarming level
of inequality.
However, it is quite possible that the post-tax Gini Coefficient for India is lower, as government
welfare schemes are focussed on the lower income groups. The progressive rates that India uses
for income tax slabs could also narrow the disparity. Due to lack of data, we don’t have an inkling
on this, though.

Q8. Preventing women’s entry to the religious places with an irrational and
obsolete notion of “purity” clearly offends the equality clauses in the
Constitution. What are the reasons behind this phenomenon? Do you think
tradition should be given precedence over rationality with respect to the
statement above? Give your views.

Women has been discriminated in almost all societies of world and relegated as secondary sex.
Even their religious freedom has been constrained by various traditional practices like preventing
entry of women in temple like Sabrimala and Hazi Ali Dargah. This restriction based on irrational
and obsolete notion of “purity” clearly offends the equality clauses in the Constitution. Patriarchal
and partisan approach are the main reason behind this.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 !! Reason of contradiction: The entry prohibition takes away the woman’s right against
discrimination guaranteed under Article 15(1) of the Constitution. It curtails her religious
freedom assured by Article 25(1). Prohibition of women’s entry to the shrine solely on the
basis of womanhood and the biological features associated with womanhood is derogatory to
women, which Article 51A(e) aims to renounce. The classification based on age is, in essence,
an act of discrimination based on sex.
!! Though traditions have cultural significance but discriminatory practices under the garb of
tradition should not be allowed to prevail especially when we have constitutionally chosen to
be an egalitarian society. B.R. Ambedkar famously said that public temples, like public roads
and schools, are places meant for public access and so the question of entry is, essentially, a
question of equality.
!! The managerial rights of religious authorities under Article 26(b) of the Constitution cannot
override the individual woman’s religious freedom guaranteed under Article 25(1). The former
is intended to safeguard, not annihilate, the latter. Liberty is tested at the individual level, for
individuals alone can constitute the public in a republic.
!! The ethical autonomy of women and the intrinsic value of womanhood need to be asserted
in the realm of spirituality. In S.R. Bommai (1994), the Supreme Court said that “secularism
operates as a bridge” for the country to move on from “tradition to modernity.” As American
jurist Ronald Dworkin opined, political morality is to be brought into the heart of constitutional
law.
It is erroneous to conceive of the issue only as one involving a fissure between individual freedom
and gender justice on the one hand and religious practice on the other. More importantly, it also
reflects a conflict among believers themselves. Therefore, it is essential to prevent monopolization
of religious rights by a few under the guise of management of religious institutions. Those at the
helm of affairs can only manage the institutions in a lawful and fair manner and they cannot
be permitted to manage others’ freedom. Any other interpretation of Articles 25 and 26 would
damage the very idea of individual liberty. Thus, right of women to enter religious place should
be protected by the State.

Q9. Why is suicide the second leading cause for deaths in Indian youth? How
is India tackling this issue? What further strategies are needed to stem
suicides?

Suicides in India have become increasingly prevalent especially in the younger age groups. India
has the highest suicide rate in the world among the youth standing at 35.5 per 100,000 people
for 2012.
Reasons for such trend are:
!! Family problems:
 Some researchers have attributed the rise of youth suicide to urbanisation and the
breakdown of the traditional large family support system.
 These deaths result from poor relationships with parents, excessive expectations, the feeling
of being unwanted.
!! Unemployment
 o In Sikkim About 27% of the state’s suicides were related to unemployment and found to
be most common among those between 21 and 30 years of age.
!! Failure in exams and relationships.

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  Academic pressure, workplace stress, social pressures, modernisation of urban centres,
relationship concerns, and the breakdown of support systems.
!! Debt
!! Mental health:
 Professional help is difficult to find because India endures an 87% shortage of mental-
health professionals, as India Spend reported.
 The situation is exacerbated by low public spending on mental health–India spends less
than Bangladesh on mental-health services.
!! Substance abuse too is a significant factor in young suicides.
 More than 22% of India’s population over 18 years suffers from a substance disorder,
including alcoholism, moderate to severe use of tobacco and drug abuse (illicit and pharma
drugs), according to the National Mental Health Survey, 2015-16, conducted across 12
states.
Measures already taken:
!! Mental health professionals, doctors and counsellors can be reached out to manage suicidal
tendencies. The proactive steps taken by several such professionals in the capacity of leaders
has helped and has the potential to help save thousands of lives.
!! There are several organizations, crisis centers and suicide prevention helplines that are
offering a great support to the emotionally distressed and those individuals who feel suicidal.
Some of the helplines that may be approached are the Samaritans Mumbai.
!! The National Mental Health Policy identifies a range of vulnerable groups for protection and
seeks to decriminalize suicide.
Suggestions:
!! It is vital that organizations and governments receive support to promote mental health
education and promote coping skills in youth.
!! Mental health education and resources for dealing with symptoms of mental health should be
taught and promoted from an early age. Doing so will provide an avenue for the maintenance
of dignity and help-seeking behavior.
!! India does not spend enough on mental health. Currently, it spends 0.06% of its health
budget on mental health, which is less than Bangladesh (0.44%).
!! Universities in India still lack counselling centers, where trained counsellors and psychologists
can assist students at the onset of emotional and mental problems so they do not spiral into
full-fledged clinical depression and lead to suicide.
!! The findings that students with a parent not alive and those whose mothers were working
were at a higher risk for suicidal behavior suggests the importance of parent’s support and
their availability for ensuring the adolescent capacity to prevail over various stresses in life.
!! In the current scenario in India, employment opportunities are shrinking. Policies including
for self-employment require to be framed, quality of education needs to be strengthened,
and the feeling that education has not made them employable needs to be addressed.

Associated Concepts

Data on Suicides
!! Today, 800,000 persons die by suicide globally and over 1,33,000 in India every year
!! Between 1987 and 2007, the suicide rate increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000 with higher
suicide rates in southern and eastern states of India.

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 !! In 2015, Maharashtra reported most student suicides of any state: 1,230 of 8,934 (14%)
nationwide, followed by Tamil Nadu (955) and Chhattisgarh (625).
!! There is a notable gender difference in the suicidal attempts and completion of suicide.
Women are four times more likely than men to attempt suicide (make an attempt but not
complete), whereas, men are twice more likely than women to complete the act of suicide.
!! National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2015 quoted that every hour one student commits
suicide in India.
Urbanization and suicides
!! The clash of values within families is an important factor for young people in their lives.
As young Indians become more progressive, their traditionalist households become less
supportive of their choices pertaining to financial independence, marriage age, premarital
sex, rehabilitation and taking care of the elderly.
!! The more a person is isolated from social systems the more he will be at risk of suicidal
tendencies.
!! The multiplicity of seemingly intractable material and existential problems results in turmoil,
followed by confusion and apathy that invokes feelings of distance, unquietness and feeling
trapped.
!! Inability to grapple with the complexity of economic and social pressures of survival and
conformity seem to result in an all-pervasive sense of hopelessness.
!! Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are among India’s most advanced states, and their high rate of
suicides could reflect the pressures of economic growth.

Q10. India has enjoyed economic and demographic conditions that ordinarily
would lead to rising female labour-force participation rates, but this is not
happening in India. Enumerate the reasons. Suggest measures to increase
female labour force participation in India.

Despite a rapid fertility transition, broad increases in women’s educational attainment, and
substantial economic growth over the past two decades, the share of Indian women working has
fallen over time.
According to National Sample Survey (NSS) data for India labour force participation rates of
women aged 25-54 (including primary and subsidiary status) have stagnated at about 26-28% in
urban areas, and fallen substantially from 57% to 44% in rural areas, between 1987 and 2011.
Why India has low female labour participation?
!! India is behaving according to the feminization U hypothesis, where in the development process,
female labour force participation first declines and then rises. The hypothesized mechanisms
for the decline are a rising incompatibility of work and family duties as the workplace moves
away from home, an income effect of the husband’s earnings, and a stigma against females
working outside the home (generally, or in particular sectors
!! Rising household incomes and husband’s education.
 It is difficult for married women with some education and children to be employed, especially
if they have an educated and well-earning spouse.
!! Lack of availability of agricultural and non-agricultural jobs in rural areas appears to be driving
the declining participation in rural areas.
!! Rapidly shrinking agricultural sector in favor of a rapidly expanding service and construction
sector, mainly contributed to the declining female labour force participation.

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 Measures needed are:
!! When comparing India with Bangladesh, one notices how an export-oriented, manufacturing-
centered growth strategy has led to increasing female employment opportunities there. India
can emulate this model.
!! Policies will be needed to tackle the social stigma that appears to prevent particularly educated
women from engaging in outside employment.
!! Legal issues, like not allowing women workforce to work in night shifts and overtime, though
it is for safety for women, but it discourages producers to hire them, when they want more
flexibility.
!! A policy framework encouraging and enabling women’s participation should be constructed
with active awareness of the “gender-specific” constraints that face most women.
!! Gender- responsive policies need to be contextually developed.
!! Ultimately, the goal is not merely to increase female labour force participation, but to provide
opportunities for decent work that will, in turn, contribute to the economic empowerment of
women

Q11. Large number of Indian children are attending school, but not learning
enough. Highlight the reasons behind this. Elaborate the measures needed
to make education inclusive and focussed on outcomes in India.

“Annual State of Education Report” (ASER) shows that only 47.8% of class V students can read a
class II-level text and only 43% of class VIII students can do class V-level arithmetic.
India has achieved near-universal enrolment. With 35% more pupils than China, India has four
times more schools so access to education has improved but the quality of education hasn’t.
Reasons for this trend are:
!! Indian education system is unable to effectively integrate key elements. The World Bank lists
four such elements i.ee., students, teachers, school administration and school infrastructure. If
anyone malfunctions, the entire system is threatened.
!! Curricula are moving forward in a linear kind of way, but children are routinely being left
behind.
!! Health:
 If children come to school sick or hungry, or if parents aren’t able to care for them, not just
after birth but also in the womb, then their learning levels will be adversely affected.
!! Teacher:
 The importance of teachers’ skills and capabilities should require no elaboration. Yet, they
receive little attention.
 Teachers, once hired, are given almost no training or professional development support,
leaving them ill-equipped in the classroom.
 Education systems also rarely offer incentives to improve pedagogical skills, and instead
add non-teaching responsibilities.
 Teacher absenteeism-About a quarter are absent when they should be at work.
!! School managements are rarely empowered or incentivized to improve learning outcomes.
!! Inadequate attention towards outcomes, is one of the most important reasons why India’s right
to education legislation has performed below potential.
!! India spends 2.7% of GDP on schools, less than other developing countries, such as Brazil.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 !! Two-fifths of schools’ lack even electricity.
!! Education in India is a “concurrent” responsibility, shared between federal and state governments.
But officials at neither central nor state level are accountable for academic outcomes.
Suggestions:
!! Assessing, measuring and benchmarking performance is the first step. Ultimately, breaking out
of the low learning trap will require concerted action and evidence-based policymaking.
!! International lessons:
 United Kingdom government cuts funding to government schools when their enrollment
drops.
 Schools which perform well and see their enrollment surge also have their budget
increased.
!! Lessons from states:
 A programme in Haryana, established in 2014, has reversed declining literacy in the state
through regular assessment and more relevant curricula.
 In Delhi, the city government has doubled spending on schools and recruited “mentor
teachers” to help others teach at the right level.
!! Encouraging civil society:
 Pratham is running learning camps in 5,000 schools in 19 out of India’s 36 states and union
territories.
!! There needs to be focus on
 Critical and logical reasoning skills
 Proper mental health education develops the cognitive ability and emotional quotient in
students. They develop the ability to cope with stress and adapt to various environments.

Q12. Manual scavenging is a blight on humanity in India consigned by structural

inequality to the Dalits. Do you agree with the statement? Critically analyse
with examples.

The practice of manually cleaning excrement from private and public dry toilets and open
drains persists in several parts of South Asia. Across much of India, consistent with centuries-old
feudal and caste-based custom, women from communities that traditionally worked as “manual
scavengers,” still collect human waste on a daily basis.
!! Manual scavengers are usually from caste groups customarily relegated to the bottom of the
caste hierarchy and confined to livelihood tasks viewed as deplorable or deemed too menial
by higher caste groups.
!! The manual scavenging is an injustice akin to slavery. It is one of the most prominent forms
of discrimination against Dalits, and it is central to the violation of their human rights.
!! Recent examples from communities engaged in manual scavenging in the states of Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh highlight the failures of previous
government attempts to end manual scavenging and eliminate the entrenched attitudes and
discriminatory practices that still bind members of affected communities to this degrading
and unnecessary occupation.
!! The rights abuses suffered by people who practice manual scavenging are mutually
reinforcing.

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  Constantly handling human excreta without protection can have severe health
consequences.
 Those who do the work, however, also typically face untouchability practices.
 Discrimination that extends to all facets of their lives, including access to education for
their children, makes it more likely they will have no choice but to continue to work as
manual scavengers.
!! India’s Supreme Court has ruled that the practice of manual scavenging violates international
human rights law including UDHR, CEDAW etc.
Considering the inhuman nature of manual scavenging India has taken many measures
like:
!! India’s Constitution bans the practice of untouchability, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act,
1955, prohibits compelling anyone to practice manual scavenging.
!! The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act,
1993 declared the employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry toilets to be
punishable with fines and imprisonment.
!! In recent years these include commitments to modernize sanitation so there is no further
need for manual disposal of faeces, and prohibitions on engaging anyone to do this work.
!! India is also a party to other international conventions that reinforce obligations to end
manual scavenging.

Associated Concepts

!! 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 Karamcharis Andolan, an organisation working
with manual scavengers, there are 13 lakh persons from Dalit communities who continue to
be employed in th is 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 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.
!! Why manual scavenging still exists in India?
 With emergence of urban areas these people were also employed for cleaning of sewers
or septic tanks.
 Low level of education, awareness about their rights, laws and low self-esteem force them
to take such work.
 Lack of empathy among the government, contractors and household members employing
manual scavengers is another reason, wherein these class of people fail to see the agony
of the manual scavengers.
 Poor implementation of the existing laws has also helped in continuation of this practice.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

  These sections of society are not organized and don’t have any significant voice in the
government structures which cause their voice being unheard.
!! Government measures:
 In 1993, the government passed the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction
of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act.
 This law prohibits the employment of manual scavengers as well as the construction of dry la-
trines.
 Eliminate the insanitary latrines.
 The act says National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) would monitor implementa-
tion of the Act and enquire into complaints regarding contravention of the provisions of the
Act.
 Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers(SRMS), a successor
scheme to NSLRS (National Scheme for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers and
their Dependents), was introduced in 2007 with the objective to rehabilitate remaining
manual scavengers and their dependents in alternative occupations, in a time bound
manner.
 The responsibility of rehabilitation of the identified manual scavengers to the National Safai Kara-
mcharis Finance and Development Corporation.
 Apart from these under Swachh Bharat Mission focus has been given on conversion of
insanitary latrines into sanitary latrines.

Q13. Rape laws have changed, but the temptation to shame and blame the
victim and indulge in media-trial of accused, even before being proven
guilty, remains. To what extent is this true in Indian context. Comment.

Rape laws have seen numerous transitions before reaching the present form through the criminal
law amendment of 2013. The basic idea was to make them more stringent and introduce harsher
punishments besides broadening the ambit and definition of the term rape. Despite this the
victim blaming is still largely prevalent in Indian society and also indulge in media trial of the
accused some one of the crime even before the judiciary takes its course.
Blaming the victim and accused even before proven guilty in Indian context are:
!! Driving this problem is a widespread view among many Patriarchal tradition-minded Indians
that women must adhere to certain conservative social norms, and that rapes are the fault of
“bad” women who violate those norms.
 Nirbhaya accused comments on rape reflect attitudes that are disturbingly common in
India, and are central to its climate of hostility toward women and impunity for male
violence against them.
!! Culturally modernizing forces are leading more Indian women to behave in ways that
traditionalist society deems transgressive like dating, delaying marriage, pursuing careers
thus making them “deserving” of rape.
!! Victim blaming contributes to a culture of denial and ignorance in which sex offenders are
allowed to thrive.
!! In the case of blaming the accused as the rape laws have changed expanding the definition
of rape to include non-penovaginal penetration is amenable to misuse, because such acts
cannot be medically corroborated.

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  Another objection is to the stricter definition of consent and the significance given to the
victim’s sole testimony against an accused person.
!! Delhi Commission for Women published a report in 2014 describing 53% of rapes reported in
the city the previous year as “false” this was seized upon by men’s rights activists as evidence
that the legal changes and noisy public debate had ended up making victims out of men.
!! Legal experts say that women are increasingly levelling allegations of rape when consensual
relationships turn sour. They point out that in most cases it is either the live-in partner or a
girlfriend of the accused who are complainants.
!! Also, sometimes Media sensationalizes the rape case and tarnishes the image of the accused
even before proven guilty. This has become very prevalent in Indian scenario.
However, the change in the rape laws helps the victim
!! The government widened the definition of rape, made it mandatory for police to register all
complaints and introduced special fast-track courts.
!! This in turn encouraged more women to report sexual violence, with the number of cases
registered in Delhi rising by more than 100% in the year after the 2012 gang-rape.
!! Laws in India like not revealing the name of the victim and growing awareness especially
in urban areas that women need not be blamed and there is nothing for the victim to be
ashamed.
!! Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013 which not only introduced many new sexual offences
but also made punishments and penalties more stringent in an effort to curb the increasing
instances of sexual offences against women in the cities of India.
!! Me too campaigns and movements all round the world where women are openly sharing their
sexual abuse stories show that change is happening.
What needs to be done?
!! Polygraphic Test shall be made mandatory before registration of Rape FIR.
!! Medical and DNA tests to be made mandatorily before registration of FIR.
!! If Rape charges or allegations levelled found false; a strict imprisonment of at least 10 years
with a fine of at least 5 lacs INR to be imposed on such women along with other cases like
defamation.
!! There is a need for comprehensive set of reforms which include police reforms, educational
reforms, training of personnel in the criminal justice

Associated Concepts

!! Media trials of accused

 o Media trials, a concept that gained popularity in the twentieth century, pertains to the
media’s tendency to run parallel investigations during the Court proceedings and thereby
exerting its hegemony over the people.
 It is used to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person’s
reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt regardless of any verdict in a Court
of law.
 Media reporting often gives the impression that the accused has committed the crime or
the media through its independent investigation wing has found a particular fact. When in
fact, it has relied entirely on the information given by the police and failed to question or
verify the facts by an independent source.
 The result is that most crime reporting is one-sided, because the information received from
the police is rarely questioned.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

Q14. How globalization has effected the cultural change in India w.r.t aspirations
of middle-class? Analyze major government schemes that have been started
to address these aspirations?

Globalization has been a life changing phenomenon for India’s middle class with variety of choices
and better avenues are opened for them.
How it brought the cultural change w.r.t aspirations of middle class
1. Exposure to international media and films after opening up of Indian economy, revealed the
quality of life and infrastructural standards in west.
2. Once the students witnessed the quality education outside the other countries with good in-
frastructure facilities they wanted such facilities in India.
3. The products available in the market made changes into the lifestyle of middle class. There are
too many brands in the market, which is the effect of globalization, which in turn again shaping
the aspirations of middle class to get those products.
4. Through FDI, Investment in India has increased and new jobs has been created in MNC’s with
better paying jobs which led to the increase of middle class aspirations.
5. Global constitutionalism which is seen as enhancement of rights of the people and more
awareness about them specially in the educated middle class.
Thus, the major middle-class aspirations are:
!! Better infrastructure and cleanliness in public places
!! Punctuality in public transport
!! Better markets and easy imports
!! Quality jobs with better pay structure
!! Weekend system, i.e. 2 days holiday in a week, was an unknown phenomenon in India 25 years
ago.
!! Transparency in governance system
Major government schemes addressing the above:
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: It is a campaign in India that aims to clean up the streets, roads and
infrastructure of India’s cities, smaller towns, and rural areas.
Right to Information: to hold government accountable and bring transparency
Infrastructural schemes like, new railway policies on cleanliness and better trains-
Bullet Train project: To provide world class travel options to burgeoning Indian middle class.
Metro Train system: to upgrade infrastructure and provide better and clean public transport
which is punctual too.

Associated Concepts

Middle Class:
The middle class in modern societies is viewed with favorable eyes. The group is seen as directly or
indirectly underlying social stability and driving growth of the economy. The Pew Research Centre,
an independent think tank, for example, has found that members of the middle class defined as
belonging to a specific income range were more satisfied with their social condition and positive
about their future than the poor.

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 That makes them a force for stability, when compared with the poor or near-poor who are likely to
be dissatisfied by their condition and not as hopeful given past experience. And the very presence
of the rich, who are always a small minority, is likely to generate unrealizable aspirations and a
sense of injustice that cannot contribute to stability. What is more, the Pew study found that the
middle class is more likely to favor forms of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and freedom
of speech and expression, making it a force for political fairness and stability.
From an economic perspective, the middle class has been seen as a force for growth. A burgeoning
middle class is seen as expanding the domestic market because of a rising share of income available
for discretionary spending after satisfying its demand for basic necessities.
The LPG post 1991 have opened a Pandora box for the middle class in the form of opportunities and
challenges. The opportunities are in the form of education, jobs, ICT revolution and enablement
and increase in consumerism for goods and services.

Q15. Why there is an increasing problem of Drugs-abuse in India? Is there any

regional pattern to this problem? If yes, then identify, why those particular
regions have fallen prey to this problem?

India has witnessed an increase of 5 times (455%) the seizures of banned narcotic substances like
cannabis and opiates since 2011, as per the data presented by the government in the parliament.
This shows the extent by which problem is increasing in leaps and bounds.
An increase in case of drug abuse has been prevalent because of the following reasons:
!! The incidence of drug abuse among children and adolescents is higher than the general
population. This is notably because youth is a time for experimentation and identity forming.
!! Changing cultural values, increasing economic stress are some other reasons leading to
initiation into drugs use.
!! Lack of communication and interaction between parents and kids.
!! One of the major reasons for increasing drug abuse is its glorification in popular media such
as television series and films. Quite often it so happens that doing drugs is romanticized and
some fictional positive aspects of the same are shown.
!! The processes of industrialization, urbanization and migration have led to loosening of the
traditional methods of social control rendering an individual vulnerable to the stresses and
strains of modern life.
At a very basic level this happens because the person concerned feels a desperate need to deal
with stress, to get a momentary high or to just ‘fit in’ with his or her peers, as happens in the case
of youngsters. It soon reaches a stage where this need becomes much more than other needs in
life and the person begins to believe their survival depends on those drugs.
Regional Pattern
Drug Abuse is found to be more prevalent in the state of Panjab, Manipur, Mizoram, and Assam
as per the data released by the government in Parliament.
Why it is prevalent in that particular areas: Close proximity to the pours borders - India is close
proximity to the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan) as well as the Golden Triangle
(Myanmar, Laos and Thailand), making her vulnerable to drug trafficking.
In case of Panjab, particular issue is, availability of cheap labour, which works in farms and the
actual farmers are sitting without work for most part of year and just monitor the process. This,
luxury of excess time and money along with very cheap drugs from Pakistan border, has amplified
the problem.
Apart from this, following affects the abuse overall:
!! Poor policing structure and corrupt officials, who allow such trade to happen.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 !! Family problems- like domestic quarrels, etc. just cause to start the habits like smoking,
drinking and eventually it traps you into many bad things.
!! Depression- this reason is vicious cycle in it depression force them to become drug addict and
drug not let them decide edge of distinction between good and bad and again depressed.
Conclusion
There is a need for the government enforcement agencies, the non-governmental philanthropic
agencies, and others to collaborate and supplement each other’s efforts for a solution to the
problem of drug addiction through education and legal actions.

Q16. Increase in social media bullying or internet trolling is a global

phenomenon? Is it because of a social change or access of technology to
express views, which were already present?

Young people today are using the internet more than ever. They view the internet and even more
so the mobile phones as positive aspects of our society. The internet and mobile phones systems
are the two biggest systems of communication which play a crucial role in our daily activities and
development of identities.
On the other hand, these same technologies are also often used negatively. Many children are
the targets of bullying via the internet or mobile phones resulting in total confusion on the part
of the “target”. Very often, children are not able to understand that what they are going through
is a form of bullying. As a result, the previously safe environment of the internet is now becoming
a source of confusion and anxiety.
There is no denying that technology is playing an increasingly important role in the lives of young
people. However, for some young people, the Net is a vehicle for bullying and sexual harassment.
Not only common people, but even the famous and powerful are equally a victim of this.
Cyberbullying also can happen accidentally. The impersonal nature of text messages, IMs, and
emails make it very hard to detect the sender’s tone — one person’s joke could be another’s
hurtful insult. Nevertheless, a repeated pattern of emails, texts, and online posts is rarely
accidental.
The Internet offers a place where some users feel anonymous and take advantage by hurling
abuses and expletives on others. This is not a new phenomenon but a new medium has been
provided by the social media websites like Facebook, twitter and WhatsApp which amplified the
bullying.
In many ways cyberbullying has democratized bullying, because you don’t have to be able to
physically overpower your victim—a person can simply log on, create a new identity, and bully
away the others.
There are signs that one may notice who are victims of cyberbullying
!! Change in personality
!! Change in or loss of friends
!! Drop in grades
!! Increased isolation
Technology is a neutral concept, and it is the people who decide the means and uses for it.
Technology isn’t the enemy here, and neither is Facebook or text messaging. It’s the people
behind them which send the messages. But, this medium seems to have empowered wrong
people.

Associated Concepts

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 Internet trolling or Social media bullying has more than one definition and can be defined as
“when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended
to hurt or embarrass another person”
In the 21st century, Internet has penetrated into every corner of the society there by narrowing
the borders of the countries and thus it is a global phenomenon
With the prevalence of social media and digital forums, comments, photos, posts, and content
shared by individuals can often be viewed by strangers as well as acquaintances. The content an
individual share online – both their personal content as well as any negative, mean, or hurtful
content – creates a kind of permanent public record of their views, activities, and behavior. This
public record can be thought of as an online reputation, which may be accessible to schools,
employers, colleges, clubs, and others who may be researching an individual now or in the future.
Cyberbullying can harm the online reputations of everyone involved – not just the person being
bullied, but those doing the bullying or participating in it. Cyberbullying has unique concerns in
that it can be:
Persistent – Digital devices offer an ability to immediately and continuously communicate 24
hours a day, so it can be difficult for children experiencing cyberbullying to find relief.
Permanent – Most information communicated electronically is permanent and public, if not
reported and removed. A negative online reputation, including for those who bully, can impact
college admissions, employment, and other areas of life.
Hard to Notice – Because teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying taking
place, it is harder to recognize.

Q17. Identify major reasons behind the rising sexual harassment of minors in
India? Discuss the changes required in present legal-enforcement system
to tackle this issue?

Historically, child sexual abuse (CSA) has been a hidden problem in India, largely ignored in
public discourse and by the criminal justice system. In the absence of specific legislation, a range
of offensive behaviour such as child sexual assault (not amounting to rape), harassment, and
exploitation for pornography were never legally sanctioned.
In the past few years, activists, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the central
government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development have increasingly focused on this
problem. Like many other social problems, child sexual abuse cases are not getting better. This is
because, the reasons why they happen are a bit complex, and not easy to deal with.
Major reasons
1. The use of alcohol and drugs increase one’s drive for pleasure and increase one’s willingness to
take risks by decreasing the inhibitions and impairing good judgment. Since substance abuse
is on alarming rise among teenagers in India, so is sexual abuse of minors.
2. It is difficult to say “NO” especially to someone we care about, particularly in case of family
members involved in such abuse. Practicing refusal skills can enable teens to have the self-
confidence to effectively say “NO”.
3. We are constantly bombarded with sexual messages in the movies, TV shows, magazine and
ads. The producers of these messages are taking advantage of our responsiveness to sexual
stimuli to make a profit.
4. Near absence of sex education.
5. Children are often scared to tell anyone about the abuse. Many cases of abuse are not re-
ported

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 6. Many teenagers cite, being “bored” and “have nothing better to do”, as the reasons for their
sexually involvement
Changes Required In legal enforcement
The most effective approach to cases involving child maltreatment is interagency coordination
and planning. Social workers, physicians, therapists, prose tutors, judges, and police officers all
have important roles to play.
!! Investigators should be trained and experienced in objectively investigating child maltreatment,
including conducting interviews of children and interrogating suspected offenders. Training
should be viewed as an ongoing process, designed to increase the competence of the
interdisciplinary team.
!! Moreover, local law enforcement departments must establish policies and procedures to
investigate child abuse cases.
!! Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act has to be implemented in its true sense
and spirit by all the agencies.
!! Child welfare committees, NGO’s and civil society has to play crucial role in promoting
awareness among the children about their rights and enforceability.
!! There has to be a separate wing established in each and every department in the state,
particularly in educational institutions for preventing and reducing the child abuses.
!! An inter-agency protocol helps in establishing written guidelines for those who investigate
cases of child abuse and neglect.

Q18. Advertising is known as the art of impossible, i.e., the ability to create false
need perception to sell products, however, this has disastrous effect on
society. Elaborate.

Advertising is an encapsulated communication about the product or service beautifully designed,

clear and concise giving an appealing message which is intended to attract the target consumers.
Advertising is the most powerful tool used to persuade the target consumers to buy the product
or service or just informing them about the availability of the product or service in the market.
Misrepresentation
Advertising aims to present a product in the best light possible. There is some leeway in the
creative process. The problem arises when the dramatization crosses the line into falsely
representing a product.
False Images
Advertising is ingrained in Indian culture, from children’s programs on Saturday morning to
talk shows and prime time TV. Advertising even invades movies through product placement.
Advertising influences how people feel about themselves — often in a negative way. These images
are often unrealistic and unattainable.
Promotion of Harmful Products
Widespread concern exists about the potential effects that media portrayals of drinking, alcohol
product placements, and alcohol advertising may have on alcohol consumption and problems
among young people. Television, radio, film, and popular music are often identified as potential
sources through which young people learn about alcohol and as potential influences on young
people’s drinking and drinking problems.
Corrupting the Youth
The negative effects of advertising on teenagers include increased cigarette and alcohol use,
obesity, poor nutrition and eating disorders, according to Pediatrics.
Impact on Children: Some of the negative effects of advertising on children include:

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 !! Advertisements encourage children to convince or force their parents to buy the products they
see in commercials, regardless of whether they need them or not and whether they are useful
or not. Many throw tantrums and use different tactics to force the adults to get them what they
want.
!! Flashy commercials and ads on TV, the Internet, magazines, etc. create a tendency for impulse
shopping
!! Many advertisements seen today involve dangerous stunts which children try to imitate as they
do not understand the statutory warnings that come with the ads.
!! With so many attractive commercials, marketing junk foods and unhealthy beverages, children’s
health has been adversely affected. These ads encourage unhealthy eating, which in turn has
led to an increase in obesity, diabetes, heart problems and other conditions in young children
!! Child advertising may impact self-esteem, making them feel inferior to other children if they
do not have the latest products that are seen in commercials.
!! Sexually suggestive ads are everywhere these days. This makes children objectify women and
also allows them to think that looking or acting a certain way is the only way to make friends
or be popular. These ads also make young girl’s body conscious and in many cases, can cause
eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia, etc.
Advertising does not necessarily create needs, what advertising do is - “manipulate wants”. It is
the job of advertising to promote products (& their benefits) and persuade potential consumers
to buy it. Because of competitive pressures advertisers cross the line of ethics quite frequently
now a day, few people misuse advertising for promoting products & try to sell them by making
false claims about the product.
Advertising agencies and advertisers can get away with making false claims about the products
and services that they are selling, because, in a country like India the judicial system is not so fast
and companies know that by the time somebody will react the job will be completed.

Q19. Caste system and democracy are not mutually compatible in-principle;
however, Indian politics has not only integrated these two, but made caste
dissolution impossible. Elaborate.

Ideologically, caste and democracy differ from each other and cannot co-exist, because caste
advocates fragmentation of society, whereas democracy stands for the unification of society.
Caste is leased on inequality by birth. Democracy is based on principles of equality.
Caste advocates social exclusion and democracy advocates social inclusion. Caste provides wealth,
power and status to specific groups but democracy provides equal chance to all categories
irrespective of bias. However, the peculiarity is that both caste system and democracy co-exist in
Indian society.
It happens, because the way Indian system has evolved, caste influences politics and political
system influences caste
!! Political System Influences Caste:
 All political parties calculate caste support at the time of distribution of tickets.
 Political behaviour also influences the caste people.
!! Caste Influences Political System:
 Caste reserves its votes for its own members.
 People prefer to vote for a candidate of their own caste irrespective of the merits/demerits
of the candidate.
 Leader of a particular caste prefers to select his own caste people in different posts.

GS SCORE Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice

 Today, the Caste system can’t be dissolved or eliminated as it has strengthened over time,
providing advantages to many people.
!! Social prestige to higher caste
!! Economic benefits to lower caste due to affirmative action
!! Political benefits to candidates by belonging to caste with large population base
Millions of Indians are getting (undue) respect, benefits and positions due to their castes. We
pretend ourselves to be the victim of our caste when it hurts us, we shamelessly display our castes
when it benefits us.
Further, the system of affirmative action has institutionalized caste into legal and governance
system of the country.

Q20. In the world of art and culture, popular is not same as good and many a
times, mostly it is unrealistic masala films, which are more successful than
the technically more sound or realistic ones; many of most successful ones,
do not reflect Indian values or society at all and fail to pick up pertinent
social issues. Elaborate.

Appreciation comes with knowledge and knowledge about something comes with experience and
learning, not everyone is willing to invest time into learning and experience the art of something
as trivial as cinema or storytelling. Thus, a lot of people consider the cinema to be just a medium
of entertainment and imagination.
The problem that the good and successful are not same, applies to almost all art forms and visual
spectacles, while there maybe some overlapping, usually people find it convenient to watch and
enjoy themes they have grown up with. Similarly, this happens globally and not just unique to
India alone. Parallel cinema has to content with mostly the awards alone, except some sleeper
hits.
For a large chunk of the Hindi-films’ target audience, movies are just a medium for entertainment
where they can switch off their brains, forget their miseries, problems, tensions and get lost in a
fantasy world of action, romance, songs, dance with a highly unrealistic happy ending. Thus, the
industry focuses on mainly masala movies (and is also called as escapist fantasy cinema by some
critics).
Films that pick-up social issues, are not considered entertainment worthy and boring by the
majority of the audience. However, there can be mix of socially sensitive and yet entertaining
cinema and the new age Indian films are proving that.
However, a lot of recently successful films pick-up social issues not only successfully, but they
were not an industrial product, rather they also brought-up regional variety and freshness. Unlike
past, now majority of movies shot outside Mumbai and have location shooting. Similarly, the
regional dialects are no longer stereotypes and comic reliefs, but they are accurate depiction of
how people speak.
Successful films in last 5 years, like Dangal, Udta Panjab, Airlift, Neerja, Toilet, Pink, all raised social
awareness and showed that the face of Indian cinema is changing and we are fast becoming
appreciative of content based films and not just formula films.

26 Hints: Indian Society Features and Social Justice GS SCORE