3 Patterns of Social Inequality and Exclusion

1. What is social about social inequality and exclusion?

● Firstly, social inequality and exclusion are social because they are not about individuals
but about groups.
● Second, they are social because they are not economic, although there is a strong link
between social and economic inequality.
● Third, they are systematic and structured- there is a definite pattern to social inequality.

2. Using an analogy, explain how inequality creates inequality with reference to different
forms of capital put forth by Bourdieu.
● There are social forces surrounding the individual that place barriers in the path of their
mobility. These forces are economic, political and cultural.
● In every society, some people have a greater share of valued resources like money,
property, education, health and power than others. These social resources can be divided
into three forms of capital-
1. Economic Capital: in the form of material assets and income
2. Cultural Capital: in the form of educational qualifications and status
3. Social Capital: in the form of network of contacts and social associations.
● Using the analogy of climbing a mountain, a climber must have:
➢ economic capital (material resources like ropes, tools, tents, etc.),
➢ cultural capital (qualifications and expertise in climbing and trekking)
➢ social capital (connections like trainers, guides and fellow climbers).
● These forms of capital often overlap and can be converted into one another. For example,
a person from a wealthy family (economic capital) can afford expensive higher education
(cultural capital). Someone with influential relatives and friends (social capital) can
manage to get a good job (economic capital) through access to good advice,
recommendations or information.

3. What is social inequality?

● Patterns of unequal access to social resources are commonly called social inequality.
● Some social inequality reflects individuals' innate differences, like their varying efforts
and abilities. Some may be endowed with exceptional intelligence or talent, or may have
worked very hard to achieve their wealth and status.
● However, by and large, social inequality is not the outcome of innate or ‘natural’
differences between people but is produced by the society in which they live.
4. What is social stratification? Mention the key principles of the phenomenon.
● Sociologists use the term ‘social stratification’ to refer to a system where categories of
people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy, which shapes people’s identity, experiences,
relations with others and their access to resources and opportunities.

1. Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not just simply a function of

individual differences.
● It is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources
among categories of people. In the most technologically primitive
societies, like hunter-gatherers, little was produced so only a basic
(rudimentary) form of social stratification could exist.
● Contrastingly, in technologically advanced societies, people produce a
surplus over and above their basic needs, so a complex and advanced
system of social stratification exists.

2. Social stratification persists over generations.

● It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources
from one generation to the next.
● A person’s social position is ‘ascribed’- meaning they assume the social
positions of their parents.
● Within the caste system, birth dictates occupational opportunities, which is
reinforced by the practice of endogamy- marriage within one’s own caste,
ruling out potential for blurring caste lines through inter-caste marriage.

3. Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief or ideology.

● Social stratification persists through generations as it is widely viewed as
fair, deserved, natural or inevitable.
● For example, the caste system is justified in terms of opposition to purity
and pollution, with the Brahmins being superior and Dalits being inferior
by virtue of their birth and occupation.
● However, not everyone thinks of social stratification as being legitimate.
Generally, people with the greatest social privileges express the strongest
support for the systems of stratification, while those who have experienced
exploitation and humiliation by being at the bottom of the hierarchy are
most likely to challenge it.

5. “If hard labour were really such a good thing, the rich would keep it all for themselves.”
Examine the social phenomenon attached to the proverb.
 ● As the South American proverb says – “If hard labour were really such a good thing, the
rich would keep it all for themselves!” All over the world, back-breaking work like stone
breaking, digging, carrying heavy weights, and pulling rickshaws or carts is invariably
done by the poor. And yet they rarely improve their life chances.
● Here, the social phenomenon displayed is social stratification- a system where categories
of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy, which shapes people’s identity,
experiences, relations with others and their access to resources and opportunities.
● In reference to the proverb, the poor are ranked at the bottom of the hierarchy which
shapes their lack of access to resources and opportunities, which force them to turn to
exploitative and deteriorating work.

6. Differentiate between prejudice, stereotype and discrimination with examples.

PREJUDICE STEREOTYPE DISCRIMINATION

Pre-conceived opinions or Fixed and inflexible Actual behaviour of one

attitudes held by members characteristics of a group, group or individual towards
of one group to another. It often ethnic and racial another group or individual.
means ‘pre-judgement’, an groups or women.
opinion formed in advance
of any familiarity with the
subject, without any
evidence.

It is often based on hearsay Fixes whole groups into a This can be seen in
rather than direct evidence. single, homogenised practices that disqualify
It can be negative or category. Refuses to members of one group from
positive and is resistant to recognise variation across opportunities open to
change even in the face of individuals, context and others, solely because of
new information. time. Treats a community their status.
as a single person with an
all-encompassing trait.

For example, a person may For example, in stories, For example, a person who
be prejudiced in favour of entire groups are described is refused a job because of
members of his or her own as ‘cunning’, ‘brave’ or their caste may be told that
caste and, without any cowardly’. This may be they were less qualified
evidence, believe them to true of some individuals than others and that the
be superior to other castes. within that group, but even selection was purely done
those individuals may be on merit.
both lazy and hard-working
at different times.
7. ‘Social exclusion is not accidental but systematic- it is the result of structural features of
society.’ Substantiate the statement with examples.

● Social exclusion refers to ways in which individuals may become cut off from full
involvement in the wider society. It focuses on a broad range of factors that prevent
individuals or groups from having opportunities open to the majority of the population.
● In order to live a full and active life, individuals must not only be able to feed, clothe and
house themselves but should also have access to essential goods and services such as
education, health, transportation, insurance, social security, banking and even access to
the police or judiciary.
● Social exclusion is involuntary – that is, the exclusion is practised regardless of the
wishes of those who are excluded. For example, the exclusion faced by individuals with
disabilities in the workplace. Despite their willingness and capability to work, they may
be excluded from job opportunities due to employers' biases, lack of accessible facilities,
or inadequate policies supporting inclusivity. This exclusion happens regardless of the
affected individuals' desire to participate and contribute. (not in the textbook)

8. Explain caste as a discriminatory system. + How were the Brahmanas and Kshatriyas
dependent on each other?

● The caste system is a distinct Indian social institution that legitimises and enforces
practices of discrimination against people born into particular castes. These practices of
discrimination are humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative.
● Historically, the caste system classified people by their occupation and status. Every caste
was associated with an occupation, which meant that persons born into a particular caste
were also ‘born into’ the occupation associated with their caste – they had no choice.
● More importantly, each caste also had a specific place in the hierarchy of social status, so
not only were occupational categories ranked by social status, but there could be a further
ranking within each broad occupational category.
● In strict scriptural terms, social and economic status were supposed to be sharply
separated. For example, the ritually highest caste – the Brahmins – were not supposed to
amass wealth, and were subordinated to the secular power of kings and rulers belonging
to the Kshatriya castes.
● On the other hand, despite having the highest secular status and power, the king was
subordinated to the Brahmin in the ritual-religious sphere.

9. The caste-class correlation is still remarkably stable at the macro level. Substantiate.
● In actual historical practice, economic and social status tended to coincide despite strict
scriptural rules. As the system has become less rigid, the distinctions between castes of
broadly similar social and economic status have weakened. Yet, between different
socio-economic groupings, the distinctions continue to be maintained.
● Things have not changed much at the macro level – it is still true that the privileged and
high economic status sections of society tend to be overwhelmingly ‘upper’ caste while
the disadvantaged and low economic status sections are dominated by the ‘lower’ castes.
● Moreover, the proportion of the population that lives in poverty or affluence differs
greatly across caste groups. For example, 45.3% of STs live below poverty line in rural
areas while only 22.7% of OBCs live below poverty line in the same rural region.
Similarly, 24.1% of STs live below poverty line in urban areas while only 15.4% of
OBCs live below poverty line in the same urban region.
● Thus, even though there have been major changes brought about by social movements,
changed modes of production and concerted attempts by the state to suppress its public
role, caste continues to affect the life chances of Indians in the twenty-first century.

10. What is untouchability? What are its various dimensions?

● Untouchability is an extreme and vicious aspect of the caste system that prescribes
stringent social sanctions against members of castes located at the bottom of the
purity-pollution scale.
● The ‘untouchables’ are outside the caste hierarchy- they are considered so impure that
their mere touch severely pollutes members of all other castes, bringing terrible
punishment for the former, and forcing the latter to perform purification rituals.
● The three main dimensions of untouchability- exclusion, humiliation-subordination, and
exploitation- are all equally important in defining the phenomenon:
1. Dalits experience forms of exclusion and humiliation-subordination that are
unique and not practiced against other groups- for example, they are prohibited
from sharing drinking water, participating in collective religious worship, and
social ceremonies and festivals.
2. Untouchability is always associated with economic exploitation of various kinds-
most commonly through the imposition of forced, unpaid or underpaid labour or
the confiscation of property.

11. Describe some of the policies designed to address caste inequality.

● The Indian state has had special programmes for the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled
Castes since even before Independence. The ‘Schedules’ listing the castes and tribes
recognised as deserving of special treatment because of the massive discrimination
practiced against them were drawn up in 1935, by the British Indian government. After
Independence, the same policies have been continued and many new ones added.
 1. RESERVATIONS:
➔ The most important state initiative attempting to compensate for past and present caste
discrimination is ‘reservations’, the setting aside of some places or ‘seats’ for members of
the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in different spheres of public life.
➔ These include reservation of seats in the State and Central legislatures, reservation of jobs
in government service across all departments and public sector companies, and
reservation of seats in educational institutions.

2. CASTE DISABILITIES REMOVAL ACT 1850:

➔ There have also been a number of laws passed to end, prohibit and punish caste
discrimination, especially untouchability. One of the earliest such laws was the Caste
Disabilities Removal Act of 1850, which disallowed the curtailment of rights of citizens
due solely to change of religion or caste, and allowed entry of Dalits to government
schools.

3. 93rd AMENDMENT:
➔ The most recent such law was the Constitution Amendment (93rd Amendment) Act of
2005, which became law on 23rd January 2006. The 93rd Amendment is for introducing
reservations for the Other Backward Classes in institutions of higher education.

4. CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE 17:

➔ The Constitution of India passed in 1950 abolished untouchability through Article 17 and
introduced the reservation provisions mentioned above.

5. PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES ACT 1989:

➔ The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989
revised and strengthened the legal provisions punishing acts of violence or humiliation
against Dalits and Adivasis.

12. Who and what are OBCs?

● There are a large group of castes that are of low status and are also subjected to varying
levels of discrimination short of untouchability. These are the service and artisanal castes
who occupied the lower rungs of the caste hierarchy.
● The Constitution of India recognises the possibility that there may be groups other than
the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes who suffer from social disadvantages. These
groups were described as the ‘socially and educationally backward classes’ and is the
constitutional basis of the popular term ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs).
13. Why are OBCs a much more diverse group than Dalits or Adivasis?

● The OBCs are defined negatively, by what they are not. They are neither part of the
‘forward’ castes at the upper end of the status spectrum nor of the Dalits at the lower end.
● But since caste has entered all the major Indian religions and is not confined to Hinduism
alone, there are also members of other religions who belong to the backward castes and
share the same traditional occupational identification and similar or worse
socio-economic status.
● For these reasons, the OBCs are a much more diverse group than the Dalits or Adivasis.

14. Bring out the importance of the Mandal Commission on the issue of OBCs. OR What is
the significance of 1990?

● It was only in 1990, when the central government decided to implement the ten-year-old
Mandal Commission report, that the OBC issue became a major one in national politics.
● Since the 1990s we have seen the resurgence of lower caste movements in north India,
among both the OBCs and Dalits. The politicisation of the OBCs allows them to convert
their large numbers – recent surveys show that they are about 41% of the national
population – into political influence.
● This was not possible at the national level before, as shown by the sidelining of the
Kalelkar Commission report, and the neglect of the Mandal Commission report.

15. Who are Adivasis?

● The Scheduled Tribes are social groups recognised by the Indian Constitution as specially
marked by poverty, powerlessness and social stigma.
● The Jana or tribes were believed to be ‘people of the forest’ whose distinctive habitat in
the hill and forest areas shaped their economic, social and political attributes.
● However, ecological isolation was not absolute. Tribal groups have had a long and close
association with Hindu society and culture, making the boundaries between ‘tribe’ and
‘caste’ quite porous.

16. How did denied access to forests and land for cultivation affect the Adivasi livelihoods?

● The impoverished and exploited circumstances under which adivasis live can be traced
historically to the pattern of accelerated resource extraction started by the colonial British
government and continued by the government of independent India.
● From the late nineteenth century onwards, the colonial government reserved most forest
tracts for its own use, severing the rights that adivasis had long exercised to use the forest
for gathering produce and for shifting cultivation. Forests were now to be protected for
maximising timber production.
● With this policy, the mainstay of their livelihoods was taken away from Adivasis,
rendering their lives poorer and more insecure. Denied access to forests and land for
cultivation, Adivasis were forced to either use the forests illegally and be harassed and
prosecuted as ‘encroachers’ and thieves, or migrate in search of wage labour.

17. How did new policies post-independence affect the lives of tribals?

➔ After the Independence of India in 1947, the government’s monopoly over forests
continued. The policy of capital-intensive industrialisation adopted by the Indian
government required mineral resources and power-generation capacities which were
concentrated in Adivasi areas. Adivasi lands were rapidly acquired for new mining and
dam projects.
➔ In the process, millions of Adivasis were displaced without any appropriate compensation
or rehabilitation. Justified in the name of ‘national development’ and ‘economic growth’,
these policies were also a form of internal colonialism, subjugating adivasis and
alienating the resources upon which they depended.
➔ Projects such as the Sardar Sarovar dam on the River Narmada and the Polavaram dam
on the River Godavari displace hundreds of thousands of Adivasis, driving them to
greater destitution.
➔ These processes continue to prevail and have become even more powerful since the
1990s when economic liberalisation policies were officially adopted by the Indian
government. It is now easier for corporate firms to acquire large areas of land by
displacing adivasis.

18. How are Adivasi struggles different from Dalit struggles?

● In spite of the heavy odds against them and in the face of their marginalisation many
tribal groups have been waging struggles against outsiders (called ‘dikus’) and the state.
● In post-Independence India, the most significant achievements of Adivasi movements
include the attainment of statehood for Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, which were originally
part of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh respectively.
● In this respect, adivasis struggles are different from the Dalit struggle as, unlike Dalits,
adivasis were concentrated in contiguous areas and could demand states of their own.

19. ‘Despite appearances, scholars have shown that the inequalities between men and women
are social rather than natural.’ Elaborate.
➢ Inequalities between men and women are social rather than natural. For example, there
are no biological reasons that can explain why so few women are found in positions of
public power. Nor can it explain why women generally receive a smaller or no share in
family property in most societies.
➢ The strongest argument comes from societies that deviated from the 'normal' or common
pattern. The existence and functionality of matrilineal societies, such as the Nairs of
Kerala and the Khasis of Meghalaya, challenge the notion that women are biologically
unfit to be inheritors and heads of families. Furthermore, the success of women as
farmers and traders in many African societies proves their capability and refutes the idea
of purely biological differences.
➢ Thus, there is nothing biological about the inequalities that mark the relations between
women and men. Gender is also a form of social inequality with its own specific features.

20. Critically examine the male reformers who were inspired by Western democratic ideals
and past democratic traditions to fight against women’s inequalities.

1. RAJA RAMMOHUN ROY:

● Raja Rammohun Roy’s attempts to reform society, religion and the status of women can
be taken as the starting point of nineteenth-century social reform in Bengal.
● A decade before establishing the Brahmo Samaj in 1828, Roy undertook the campaign
against “sati” which was the first women’s issue to receive public attention.
● Rammohun Roy’s ideas represented a curious mixture of Western rationality and an
assertion of Indian traditionality. Both trends can be located in the overarching context of
a response to colonialism. Rammohun thus attacked the practice of sati on the basis of
both appeals to humanitarian and natural rights doctrines as well as Hindu shastras.

2. M.G. RANADE:
● The deplorable and unjust treatment of the Hindu upper-caste widows was a major issue
taken up by the social reformers. Ranade used the writings of scholars such as Bishop
Joseph Butler whose ‘Analogy of Religion’ and ‘Three Sermons on Human Nature’
dominated the moral philosophy syllabus of Bombay University in the 1860s.
● At the same time, M.G. Ranade’s writings entitled ‘The Texts of the Hindu Law on the
Lawfulness of the Remarriage of Widows and Vedic Authorities for Widow Marriage’
elaborated on the shastric sanction for the remarriage of widows.

3. JYOTIBA PHULE:
● Jyotiba Phule came from a socially excluded caste and his attack was directed against
both caste and gender discrimination. He founded the Satyashodak Samaj with its
primary emphasis on “truth-seeking”.
● Phule’s first practical social reform efforts were to aid the two groups considered lowest
in traditional Brahmin culture: women and untouchables.
 4. SIR SYED AHMED KHAN:
● A similar trend of drawing upon both modern Western ideas as well as sacred texts
characterised Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s efforts to reform Muslim society.
● He wanted girls to be educated but within the precincts of their homes. He stood for
women’s education but sought for a curriculum that included instruction in religious
principles, training in the arts of housekeeping and handicrafts and rearing of children.

21. ‘It is often assumed that social reform for women’s rights was entirely fought for by male
reformers and that ideas of women’s equality are alien imports.’ Give arguments.

❖ To learn how wrong both these assumptions are, we refer to two books written by
women, Stree Purush Tulana written in 1882 and Sultana’s Dream written in 1905.

1. STREE PURUSH TULANA- TARABAI SINDE- 1882

❖ Stree Purush Tulana (or Comparison of Men and Women) was written by a
Maharashtrian housewife, Tarabai Shinde, as a protest against the double standards of a
male dominated society.
❖ In the story, a young Brahmin widow had been sentenced to death by the courts for
killing her newborn baby because it was illegitimate, but no effort had been made to
identify or punish the man who had fathered the baby.

2. SULTANA’S DREAM- BEGUM ROKEYA SAKHAWAT HOSSEIN- 1905

❖ Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was born into a well-to-do Bengali Muslim family and
was already a successful author in Urdu and Bengali when she wrote Sultana’s Dream to
test her abilities in English.
❖ This remarkable short story is probably the earliest example of science fiction writing in
India and among the first by a woman author anywhere in the world.
❖ In her dream, Sultana visits a magical country where the gender roles are reversed. Men
are confined to the home and observe ‘purdah’ while women are busy scientists vying
with each other at inventing devices that will control the clouds and regulate rain, and
machines that fly or ‘air-cars’.

3. WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS:
❖ Apart from the early feminist visions, there were a large number of women’s
organisations that arose both at the national and local levels in the early twentieth century.
There was also a large-scale participation of women in the national movement itself.

22. Compare the women’s issues and focus in the 19th century and the 1970s.
● In the nineteenth-century reform movements, the emphasis had been on the backward
aspects of tradition like sati, child marriage, or the ill treatment of widows.
● In the 1970s, the emphasis was on ‘modern’ issues – the representation of women in
popular media, and the gendered consequences of unequal development.

23. What are the common features central to the public perception of ‘disability’ globally?

1. Disability is understood as a biological given.

2. Whenever a disabled person is confronted with

problems, it is taken for granted that the problems
originate from her/his impairment.

3. The disabled person is seen as a victim.

4. Disability is supposed to be linked with the disabled

individual’s self-perception.

5. The very idea of disability suggests that they are in need of help.

24. Do we live in a disabling society? Give arguments to support your answer. OR What is
the social construct of disability?

● The disabled are rendered disabled not because they are biologically disabled but because
society renders them so.
● In India labels such as ‘disability’, ‘handicap’, ‘crippled’, ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’ are used
synonymously and as insults. In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all
deviations from the ‘perfect body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion.
● The roots of such attitudes lie in the cultural conception that views an impaired body as a
result of fate. Destiny is seen as the culprit, and disabled people are the victims. The
dominant cultural construction in India therefore looks at disability as essentially a
characteristic of the individual.
● There is a close relationship between disability and poverty. Malnutrition, mothers
weakened by frequent childbirth, inadequate immunisation programmes, and accidents in
overcrowded homes, all contribute to an incidence of disability among poor people that is
higher than among people living in easier circumstances.
● Furthermore, disability creates and exacerbates poverty by increasing isolation and
economic strain, not just for the individual but for the family; there is little doubt that
disabled people are among the poorest in poor countries.