BASIC FEATURES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the country. It lays down the foundation for political principles, establishes the structure, procedure, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and duties of citizens.

The Constitution of India was adopted on 26^th November 1949 and came into effect on 26^th January 1950. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly.  

Salient features:

Longest constitution – The Constitution of India is the longest constitution in the world with 24 parts and 444 articles.

Written constitution – Our Constitution is a written constitution.

Universal Franchise – Every citizen above the age of 18 years is eligible to vote in the general elections. This is the most revolutionary aspects of the Indian democracy.

Secularism – India is a secular state while we have a number of religions that are practiced, every individual has right to practice the religion of his/her choice. There is no state religion.

Single citizenship – An Indian is a citizen of India only. Single citizenship promotes national unity and national integration.

Fundamental duties – are assigned to citizens

Welfare state – Our country provides for development of weaker and depressed sections of society especially Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women, Disabled and senior citizens.

Democratic System – Being a democracy everyone over the age of 18 has the right to vote. The Center, State and Local Self-Governing bodies follow democratic principles. All elections from Gram Panchayat to Parliament are held democratically.

Independent and Integrated Judiciary – In India, the Judiciary is independent and impartial. We have an integrated judiciary with the Supreme Court at the top of the hierarchy. This is followed by the High Court and Lower Courts. The Supreme Court and the High Court have the power to give punishment for any act against the provisions of the Constitution.

Parliamentary form of government – is followed both at the Center and State Levels. There are two houses the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The majority party in the Lok Sabha forms the Government.

Partly rigid and partly flexible – Rigidity and Flexibility are balanced within the Constitution of India. Certain provisions cannot be amended while certain provisions are amended over time. These amendments require a special majority in both houses of parliament.

Directive Principles of State Policy – are instructions from the Constitution to the State and Government. It is the duty of the government to implement them.

Fundamental Rights – are guaranteed to every citizen. There rights are basic to the moral and spiritual development of the individual. The six fundamental rights are Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies.

PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN IN INDIA

The interplay and interaction of traditional values and modern ideas in respect of the status of women in India results in a paradoxical picture. Hindu texts describe a woman as a fertile, benevolent, bestower of happiness and also a destroyer of evil (Kali). She is both Shakti (energy / power), the energising principle of the Universe and prakriti (nature), the active female counterpart of the cosmic person 'purusha'. On the other hand, the dominant social norms emphasized her role as wife, mother, daughter and sister. They did not treat her as a person. A woman's identity was defined by her relationship to others which led to segregation on the basis of gender. 

Problems faced by women in India:

 Marriage - In dual-career families in India the wife works both in the office and at home. If the Ganga (cleaning woman) hasn’t turned up, the male maharaja watches TV while the wife washes the dishes. There is no economic value for the work done. The awareness of sharing household chores is slowly being seen in urban areas, however, in rural areas where patriarchy is dominant, the problem continues.

Dowry - There are a few communities in which females receive dowry. But they are looked down upon as ‘backward’. This is because getting dowry is regarded as a male privilege. So, with marriage, apart from becoming a lifetime laborer, the woman brings with herself her lifelong maintenance. In addition, she may be expected to seek employment, and supplement the family income. Research shows that husbands systematically use violence as a means of extracting a larger dowry from their wives.

Dowry Deaths (Bride burning) Even after marriage – and in some cases ‘love marriage’ – many families expect the bride to bring ‘gifts’ from her parents. If her parents are either poor or unwilling to oblige, their daughter may pay the penalty. According to data gathered by WAMA (a women’s organization), women have been murdered for not bringing in dowry as petty items as a gold necklace. WAMA notes that the most horrifying case was that of a young woman who was murdered for not having brought along a buffalo. It is estimated that over 1,00,000 crimes against women are committed by their husband and / or other relatives annually.

Acid attacks - Though not spoken about much, acid attacks, are a serious crime against women, where their identity is shattered. Justice is rarely granted and the women have to struggle for the rest of their lives. 

Rape - Rape is the ultimate indignity a female may be subjected to. Yet such atrocities do occur. Every year in India, 15,000 women are raped. One of the horrifying cases of rape is that of Bhanwari Devi, who was gang-raped by a group of Gujjars (nomadic tribals) after she had strongly objected against their decision to carry out child marriages. Bhanwari Devi received no justice from the Rajasthan government. But she received the Neerja Bhanot award for bravery and was declared a “Savvy” Woman of the Year (1996). Most rape cases go unregistered and unreported because of prestige, social esteem, shame, etc.

Female Foeticide - Ultrasound test is meant to determine birth defects, if any. But it is widely misused for finding out the sex of the unborn child. Due to religious beliefs and the dread of dowry, this information is misused. Some parents kill the unborn child (through abortion) if it happens to be a girl. This practice is most common in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.

Preventing Female Births - A technique called prenatal genetic diagnosis for choosing the gender of the child has been developed. With this method, sperm carrying X or Y chromosomes can be separated in a laboratory. Unfortunately, this method is being used to ensure the birth of a boy. Another technique called IVF (in-vitro fertility) which is meant to help childless couples to conceive is being misused. The ‘Wrong’ gender (female) is being prevented from taking seed.

Neglecting the Girl Child - The most common method of obtaining higher death rate for girl children than boys is neglecting the girl child during early childhood. This is responsible for what Amatya Sen calls ‘missing women’.

Child Marriage - The male has a right to choose his life-mate. Females, particularly in rural areas, do not enjoy this privilege. A part of the reason is the practice of child marriage. With regard to females, this custom prevails even today in some of the states.

Widows - Most women pray that they die ‘suhagan’. There is a social sense in this. After the husband’s death, in many communities, particularly in the rural areas, the wife is expected to give up common pleasures. In rare cases, even ‘sati’ may be performed.

Woman’s right over her own body - A marriage may be a failure and yet the husband may assert that, as a man, he enjoys right over his wife’s body. An instance of this is a recent writ petition in the Allahabad High Court. On 4^th May 2005, Rajiv Nandi, an airline executive, filed a petition claiming his right to fatherhood. He wanted the Court to prevent his wife from aborting their baby. This is total denial of a woman’s right over what she may do to her own body.

Low status of a single woman - If a woman remains unmarried, she is looked down upon. If she attends a party, or sees a movie, unaccompanied, doubts are raised about her character. A single male is never subjected to such criticism.

Sex and the single woman - Sex is a biological need. It is felt by males as well as females. A man can satisfy this urge before marriage – or outside his marital life – without condemnation. But society expects a woman not to do so. So, if a female satisfies her sexual need outside her marital life, she is made to feel guilty. This problem is particularly serious for career women. Such women tend to marry late. It is unrealistic to expect that they restrain their sexual need till they marry.

Unwed mothers - Society expects women not to enjoy the pleasures of parenthood without getting married. Yet there are unwed mothers. There is no reason why such women be looked down upon.

Divorced women - Divorces are on the rise, particularly in urban India. Divorced women with children face economic difficulties. Further, even if they are economically independent, their social status is low.

At the work place women are paid lower wages than men. A large part of womens workforce is still in the unorganised sector where wage rules are not firmly established. This situation is exploited by employees.

Barriers to professional advancement and promotion - There is a built-in limitation to women employees when it comes to promotions to responsible positions. Today women are battling this situation and are overcoming barriers.

Glass Ceiling Effect - Women are considered fit only for certain level of services.

Sometimes employees prefer not to select women candidates for fear that they would cause liabilities such as maternity benefits and frequent absence due to domestic responsibilities.

Complaints of Sexual Harassment at Workplace - are common. The problem exists widely in India, but women are reluctant to take action for fear of publicity.

REMEDIES

Women's organisations have begun to play a supportive role. for E.g 'Dilaasa' an NGO at Babha Hospital Bandra, offers counselling, medical ad legal services as well as temporary shelter facilities to victims of domestic abuse.

Help by enlightened men - Males were originally responsible for the low status of women. They must now support women in their fight for equality and dignity.

The youth can play a vital role by refusing dowry as well as by changing the social mindset.

Sharing household tasks will create healthy model homes for growing children who will not differentiate goals and roles in the household.

The task of women's upliftment is a challenging one. to improve the condition of women we need social action. Women's organisations. open minded men, youth, educational institutions, all play an important role in enabling women fight for their rights.

ORTHOPEDICALLY CHALLANGED / HANDICAPPED

The term orthopedically impaired refers to a broad range of disabilities. People with these impairments must often use devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, canes, braces and artificial limbs to facilitate mobility. The impairment may be either congenital or as a result of an injury or disease. Some e.g.s arthritis, amputation, blood diseases, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, polio, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy.

PROBLEMS FACED

-          The person may have limited mobility

-          There may be difficulty in writing

-          There may be speech difficulties

-          The individual may have limited social interaction skills

-          The individual may have limited ability to perform everyday activities.

In order to over come these problems various steps can be taken like Reservation of seats or preferential seating arrangements, Flexible time limits, Larger desk, lap tray or tables, Special grip pens or pencils. Assistive technology, etc.

Apart from this, Reservations in modes of transport, Job reservations etc. will create more opportunities to enable inclusive growth.

DECLINING SEX RATIO IN INDIA

Sex ratio is an important demographic indicator and gives details of the number of females per thousand males in a particular area at a given time.

In the latest census, Kerala has 1084 females per 1000 males making it the best state to have a good sex ratio. On the other hand, Haryana has 879 females per 1000 males making it the state with the lowest sex ratio.

Factors responsible for declining sex ratio:

Female infanticide – has been an age-old practice to eliminate unwanted girl children. Daughters are drowned in a basin of milk, poisoned or strangulated to death. North India has the highest rate of female infanticide as there are problems like superstition, pride in male heir, poverty, prejudice towards girl child, dowry system, etc.

Female Feticide – Killing the baby inside the womb or abortion. Technology has made it easier for parents to get rid of the ‘unwanted girl child’. It is sad that discrimination begins in the womb itself. The preference for a male child is attributed to socio-cultural-economic and religious traditions in society and this leads to increase in female foeticide.

Unsafe motherhood and unsafe abortion – Maternal mortality in India is high. Women in India die every year due to pregnancy related setbacks like frequent childbearing, improper care and low childbirth facilities. Indian women also suffer from anemia, tuberculosis, poor nutrition, inadequate and imbalanced diets due to discriminatory treatment as well as economic poverty.

Dowry and Dowry deaths – the girl child is considered ‘paraya dhan’ (other’s asset) and thus an economic burden when it comes to marriage and dowry. Post marriage harassment for higher and more dowry leads to dowry deaths.

Education – child marriages are common in India and this keeps girls away from gaining basic education. The girls are compelled to take up household responsibilities. Thus due to illiteracy their status does not improve.

Poverty – is responsible for declining sex ratio. Women and girls are deprived of nutritious food and thus are unable to live a healthy life.

Social status of women – families prefer male children over female for reasons like dowry etc. The low status given to women right from birth leads to discrimination against women from the cradle to the grave.

Lack of empowerment of women – Women are not given equal opportunities. Moreover, due to lack of education they are unable to establish roles in society.

Male domination – Patriarchal society leads to discrimination against female children. Thus sex determination and female foeticide is adopted to control female births.

Schemes to combat the problem of declining sex ratio:

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao – was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to generate awareness and improve the welfare services meant for women.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account – is a scheme by the Ministry of Finance. This initiative aims at opening an account for the girl child in a post office or public sector bank. The account can be operated by the girl post the age of 10 years.

Girl Child Protection Scheme – aims at preventing gender discrimination by protection the rights of the girl child.

Aapki Beti, Humari Beti – The Haryana Government launched this scheme where a sum of Rs.21,000/- would be deposited by the state government in the account of every newborn girl. The scheme would be implemented in rural and urban areas and targeted girl children of Scheduled Caste and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

PCPNDT Act – The Indian Governmetn passed the Pre Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) (PCPNDT) Act in 2004 to ban and punish pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide.

SOCIALLY HANDICAPPED

An individual who is in need of security, educational help and rehabilitation because of specific family and social environment, and an individual who is deprived of care, education and peaceful healthy life is socially handicapped. 

Socially weak individuals – are neglected by society and are exploited physically and psychologically and may therefore suffer from inferiority complex. E.g. orphans, homeless, rejected, victimized persons, aged, etc.

Autistic – Autism is regarded as a severe developmental disability that begins in the first three years of life. It is a neurological disorder that changes the way the brain functions. 

Rett Syndrome – is a unique developmental disorder that begins during infancy. It affects girls buy may also be diagnosed in boys. It affects brain function – cognitive, movement, sensory, emotional and motor functions. It has an impact on hearing, speech, breathing, cardiac function as well as chewing, swallowing and digestion.

Juvenile Delinquents – The term ‘delinquency’ is used for socially undesirable acts of persons below the age of 18. Delinquent behavior include truancy (staying away from school without permission), taking drugs, destroying property, stealing, robbery and murder.

Students with Learning Disabilities – Poor academic achievement, short attention spans, impulsive control problems and lack of motivation are some characteristics of students with learning disabilities. This results in weak social skills.

Socially handicapped also include those who are forced into beggary at a very young age. The lack in communication skills and underestimate themselves. They are demotivated and fail to fit in with normal elements of society.

Socially handicapped also include those who live a suppressed life and who have never had the opportunity to air their problems. E.g. bonded laborers.

Socially handicapped also include rape victims and females forced into prostitution as they have an identity crisis. They lead a life they had not dreamt of and gradually lose contact with society. They find it difficult to adjust to societal norms.

Rehabilitation, education, improvement in standard of living, counselling and therapy can be some ways to help socially handicapped. However, the most important factor is for all of us to be aware, considerate, understanding and compassionate towards socially handicapped. 

Watch the video by clicking the link: Socially Handicapped

TRIBAL, RURAL & URBAN CHARACTERISTICS, INDIA

TRIBAL CHARACTERISTICS

Click the link for the details of Tribal Characteristics Tribal Rural & Urban Characteristics of Society

RURAL CHARACTERISTICS

Rural Community is the area which is under development.

Characteristics of Rural community:

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          Size – Village communities are smaller in area than urban communities.

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     Relationships – Higher face to face contact due to low population

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     Occupation – the main occupation in the rural areas is agriculture.

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     Close contact with nature – as the daily activities involve contact with natural environment. They depend on nature for food, clothing and shelter.

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        Homogeneity of population – most of the population is connected through agriculture and other occupations

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       Social stratification – is traditional and based on caste.

-         Social interaction – is stable and continuous. Family fulfills the needs of the members and exercises control over members.

URBAN CHARACTERISTICS

Urban areas are developed. Towns, cities and suburbs are termed as urban areas. They follow non agricultural occupations. There is a high density of population with housing facilities, commercial buildings, roads, railways and bridges.

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        Size – Urban communities are much larger than rural communities.

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         Density of population – is greater than rural

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          Family – Individual is considered more important than community. Nuclear families are more popular in urban areas.

-          Marriage – more love marriages than arranged marriages. Also a greater number of divorces. Sons and daughters have considerably more freedom in choosing their life partners.

-          Occupation – major occupations are in administrative, industrial and professional fields.

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      Class extremes – All classes of people co-exist. One can see slums alongside apartments.

-          Social homogeneity – cities are comprised of diverse people, races and cultures. There is a variety in the food habits, dress, living conditions, religious beliefs, customs and traditions of the people.

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         Social distance – most cities are impersonal in nature. There is lack of personal involvement in the affairs of others.

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          Mobility – there is high social mobility and social status is not determined by heredity or birth but by merit, capacity and intelligence.

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          Materialism – High importance is given to wealth, financial assets, salaries, costly homes and material possessions.

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          Individualism – Urbanites are obsessed with their own welfare and happiness.

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          Rationality – most relationships are based on gain and loss and people work o contractual basis. Once the contract is over the relationship is over.

MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY OF INDIAN SOCIETY

India is a multicultural and multipluralistic society. It is a democracy punctuated by religious plurality.

Multiculturalism is defined as the state of co-existence of diverse cultures. Cultures include racial, religious, linguistic differences, diverse patterns of thinking and communication styles. Multiculturalism aims at preservation of different cultures and their identities within a unified society as a state or nation.

Characteristics of Multicultural Diversity of Indian society:

Religions

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          India is a democratic, socialist and secular republic and has no state religion.

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          India is the birthplace of many word religions and all major work religions are practiced here.

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         In India, people of different religions and cultures live in harmony. The message of love and brotherhood is expressed by all religions and cultures in India.

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     The major religions of India are Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism.

Watch the video presentation by clicking the link:Religions of India

Languages

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      The languages of India are from various language families – the major being Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 74% and Dravidian languages spoken by 24%.

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     Other languages spoken belong to Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman and a few minor language families

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      The principal official language of the Republic of India is Hindi while English is the secondary official language.

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         The Constitution of India recognizes 22 languages and there are a total of 1,652 languages and dialects in India.

Race and Ethnicity

Indian population is polygenetic and is made up of a mixture of races. There are many diverse ethnic groups in India.

The 6 main ethnic groups are:

Negrito – earliest people to come to India. They have survived in their natural habitat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Some examples are Jarawas, Onges, Sentinelese and the Great Andamanese.

Proto-Austroloids or Austrics – arrived after the Negroids. They were people with wavy hair distributed all over their brown bodies, long faces with low foreheads and prominent eye ridges, thick jaws, noses with low and broad roots, large teeth and palates and small chins.

Mongoloids – settled mainly in the North Eastern regions of India in Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura. They are also found in West Bengal, Sikkim and Ladakh. They have a yellowish complexion, oblique eyes, high cheekbones, thin hair and are of medium height.

Mediterranean or Dravidian – are people of South India. It is believed that they came here before the Aryans and have different sub-groups such as Paleo-Mediterranean, true Mediterranean and Oriental Mediterranean. It is said that they build the city civilization of Indus Valley the remains of which can be found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

Western Brachycephals – These include the Alpinoids, Dinarics and Armenoids. The Parsis and Kodavas also fall in this category. They have broad heads and lived mainly on the western side of the country along the Ganga valley and the delta, parts of Kashmir, Kathiawar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Nordic Aryans or Indo – Aryans – were the last to migrate to India between 2000 and 1500 BC. They mainly settled in the northern and central part of India.

Caste System

This was the traditional social structure and is composed of four varnas or castes.

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        Brahmins – the highest caste made up of intellectuals such as scholars and priests

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       Kshatriyas – made up of rulers, landlords and warriors.

-       Vaishyas – composed of traders, shopkeepers, moneylenders, farmers and artisans. The main occupation was trading and banking

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       Shudras – composed of laborers, craftworkers, servants and slaves.

Demographic composition

Demographics is the statistical data of the socio-economic characteristics of a population in a particular region, such as age, gender, religion, marital status, educational qualification, income, etc. of the people within the population.

India is a vast country – the 7^th largest in the world. It as the second highest population in the world. India is divided in to states and each state has a different demographic composition based on religion, gender, caste, education, etc.

TOLERANCE, PEACE AND COMMUNAL HARMONY (INDIA)

TOLERANCE

The word ‘tolerance’ means ‘the willingness to accept opinions or behavior you may not agree with’. It means to express one’s point of view in a decent and respectful way while respecting the sentiments of others.

Tolerance is necessary in all spheres of life, at every stage and level. It helps establish peace in society.

Importance of tolerance:

Accept religions differences – Victor Hugo observes that ‘Tolerance is the best religion’. 

Peoples religious practices and worship is a personal thing and they have the right to believe in the religion they want. If there is tolerance, there would be few quarrels on the basis of religion.

Brings community together – When individuals respect and value religious differences and ethical beliefs, they are able to learn from each other. Thus, it destroys prejudice and encourages community building.

Respect each one’s ideas and thoughts – If we are tolerant, we are able to respect and appreciate each one’s ideas and thoughts and thus people can feel valued and respected.

Peaceful world – While world leaders struggle with arms race, and are trying to gain supremacy over the other, it is important to promote tolerance. In order to avoid mass destruction, tolerance will pave the way for a peaceful world

Good relationship – Tolerance is required for good and long relationships. If one is rigid in one’s thought process, misunderstandings occur, and it affects relationships. Tolerance saves relationships.

Teamwork and coordination – Tolerance is very essential at the workplace. With employees from different cultural, social and religious backgrounds working together, things can get challenging. Tolerance facilitates teamwork and coordination among employees.

PEACE & COMMUNAL HARMONY

Peace refers to absence of war. It is a state of being free from any form of human conflict and violence. When there is peace in a country, people are able to progress and there is development and prosperity. This enables an improvement in the standard of living of all citizens. Peace creates trust, tolerance and brotherhood among people.

India is a country with a number of religions and religious beliefs and practices as well as cultures and is an important example of communal harmony to the world.

Importance of peace and communal harmony

It improves economic performance of the country

It helps to bring cooperation among people of different communities

It develops a sense of brotherhood and reduces communal clashes

It brings success in the lives of every individual

It reduces crime in society

It encourages innovation

It ensure we live in a better world and create an even better one for generations to come.

ROLE OF WOMEN IN INDIAN POLITICS

The participation of women in politics is not a new phenomenon. In the Vedic period, women had the right to become members of Sabha and Samiti. However, their position declined during the post Vedic period and they were confined to the home. Over the years, women have faced many inequalities and have been regarded inferior to men.

The Indian Freedom Struggle has seen many women revolutionaries play an important role. Thus, the freedom movement led many women into the political arena.

Women today participate in local and state administration. India has had a woman Prime Minister, a women President, and women are involved in national politics.

Problems faced by women

Educational preference given to men over women

Lack of education is one of the drawbacks of why women do not get an opportunity to be in the 

forefront. Moreover, they are oppressed and discriminated against. There is still a struggle to assert themselves in a patriarchal society.

Women paid lower wages

Discriminated in land and property rights

Face violence inside as well as outside the home

Negative social and legal environment leads to lack of confidence and inability to work in public sphere.

The declining sex ration in India depicts the low gender equality status.

Increasing violence and crimes against women keeps them in a marginalized situation in employment, education and health sectors.

Women need to participate in politics because:

The larger the number of women in public office, the greater the opportunity to put forward their demands and gender biases can be reduced.

There will be Gender Responsive Governance. Gender Responsive Governance is defined as ‘a process that embodies measures, attitudes and practices of different stakeholders, both men and women, at different levels of governance with a clear purpose to impact issues that foster women’s empowerment and promote gender equality and social justice. It is a process that promotes and sustains the ability of women to fully participate in the governance and development process, enhances their ability to raise critical questions about inequity and collectivize without fear and pressure, and ensures gains from services’.

Women can learn from the examples and explore the strategies that women employ to access the public sphere in the context of socio-political system. Women can learn from the women who have been successful in subverting the boundaries of gender and in operation in a very aggressive male dominated sphere.

If women actively participate in a democracy, there will be equality and participation of all its citizens. Also, by participating in politics, women are more aware of their rights and can improve their life and that of their families.

The Constitution of India provide equality for all and tries to remove gender inequalities by banning discrimination based on gender, etc.

Indian political parties have created women’s wings. E.g. BJP Mahila Morcha, All India Mahila Congress and National Federation of Indian Women.

Various reform movements throughout our history of independence have struggled for reservation of seats for women in panchayats and other public bodies.

Educated women who participated in the freedom struggle are – Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Aruna Asaf Ali – and they motivated other women to enter politics.

Indira Gandhi made a great impact on Indian Democracy. As the first woman Prime Minster she rose to be one of the most powerful women in the world.

Mamta Banerjee – from West Bengal with the popular support of the masses rose to be a powerful political leader.

First woman President Pratibha Patil was elected only after 50 years of independence.

Sonia Gandhi has led the Congress Party for a number of years.

Sushma Swaraj – Delhi’s first woman Chief Minister (1998) and Union Minister for External Affairs (2014).

However the majority of women in the Indian Parliament are from the elite class.

Measures to overcome the challenges and increase the participation of women in politics

Eliminate discrimination – All barriers discriminating against participation of women should be removed.

Promote gender equality – Ensure that women participate in the leadership of political parties on equal basis with men.

Encourage them to vote and participate in public and political association – women have equal voting rights, however, do not vote in all elections. Women must be encouraged to exercise their vote and participate in associations and organizations concerned with the political life of the country.

Women should participate in all internal policy making structure – government must encourage women’s participation in policy making.

Change traditional mindset – and encourage women to participate in politics and business.

Media coverage – Equitable media coverage for female candidates in office will enable the people to accept female candidates and break stereotypes.

Advocacy Campaigning – support from women’s organizations and civil society, arranging development programs for women and providing financial support for female candidates, and punishment for those who violate gender equality.

Conclusion

India still suffers from inequalities. Political participation of women will help address many complex issues in today’s world, particularly political issues, as women comprise more that half the population of the world.

LINGUISM

 India is a land of many languages. Post independence the states were reorganized on linguistic basis.

 The Constitution of India has approved of 22 languages. The Constitution of India has designated the official language of the Government of India as Hindi written in the Devanagari script, as well as English. Hindi and English are used for official purposes such as parliamentary proceedings, judiciary, communications between the Central Government and State Government. States within India have the liberty to specify their own official language through legislation.

CAUSES OF LINGUISM

Literature – love of literature creates and strengthens a sense of loyalty to a particular language among groups.

Geographical conditions – people living in a particular locality tend to speak the same language. This promotes local identity and distinctiveness and reinforces love for ones own language

Historical causes – the freedom struggle has been related to the language and thus the states were divided on linguistic grounds.

Political causes – narrow minded political parties create linguistic feeling among the people of a locality and exploit their sentiments during elections

Psychological causes – language raises emotional feelings for a homogenous group.

Linguistic groups are tied together by a common interest and it leads to a spirit of regionalism and a feeling or separatism in the minds of the citizens.

CONSEQUENCES OF LINGUISM

Regionalism -  linguism ultimately leads to regionalism

Formation of regional political parties – linguism has led to formation of regional political parties in some states. These political parties often complicate Center – State relations.

Harassment of linguistic minorities – the state reorganization commission had provided for safeguard of linguist minorities but in reality, this is not so. As a result, complications develop which threaten national unity.

Demand for separate states – linguist conflicts because of selfish politicians leads to partition of states.

Erosion of national feeling – linguistic and regional loyalties take away from national loyalty.

Inter state border disputes – arise especially in border areas. For e.g. goans are divided on the basis of Konkani and Marathi.

REMEDIAL MEASURES

Development of a common script for all languages – Currently there are a number of scripts in India and a common script could break the barrier that separates one language from another. M. N. Srinivas suggests the use of the Roman script

Development of a common language – Hindi has been recognized as the national language. However, over the years there have been problems with regard to the same. Thus, this should be tackled with utmost care

Ban on regional political parties – that promote linguism and divide the people for selfish gain.

The Sarkaria commission (appointed in 1983 to examine the language problem in India) recommended that styles, forms and expression of English along with other regional languages re to be retained in the process of development of official language. The three languages formula such as regional language, Hindi and English should properly be implemented.