Key Points

This is a system where household work like cooking and cleaning is assigned to women, and work outside the home is assigned to men. This division is based on social expectations and stereotypes, not biological ability.

Patriarchy refers to a system that values men more and gives them power over women. India is largely a patriarchal society where women face disadvantage, discrimination, and oppression.

These are movements aimed at achieving equality in personal and public life for women. They advocate for enhancing the political and legal status of women and improving their educational and career opportunities.

The proportion of women in legislative bodies in India is very low. In 2019, women members in the Lok Sabha reached 14.36 percent for the first time, while their share in state assemblies is less than 5 percent.

In India, one-third of seats in local government bodies like panchayats and municipalities are reserved for women. The Women's Reservation Act, 2023, aims to reserve 33 percent of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

Communalism is a political ideology based on the belief that religion is the principal basis of a social community. It involves thinking that followers of one religion have the same interests, which are different from and often in conflict with other religions.

Communalism can take various forms, including religious prejudice in daily life, the quest for majoritarian dominance, using sacred symbols for political mobilization, and, in extreme cases, communal violence and riots.

The Indian Constitution establishes a secular state with three key features: there is no official religion, all individuals have the freedom to practice any religion, and the state prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

The caste system is a form of social hierarchy unique to India, based on hereditary occupational divisions. It was traditionally rigid, sanctioned by rituals, and involved exclusion and discrimination against lower castes.

Social reformers and political leaders like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar, and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker worked to establish a society free from caste inequalities.

Despite modernization, urbanization, and constitutional prohibitions, caste has not disappeared from contemporary India. It continues to be closely linked to economic status and social practices like marriage.

Caste plays a significant role in politics, as parties often select candidates based on the caste composition of an area and make appeals to caste sentiments to gather votes.

Caste alone does not determine election outcomes. This is because no single constituency has a clear majority of one caste, and voters consider other factors like party loyalty and government performance.

Politics also influences the caste system, a process known as the politicisation of caste. This occurs when caste groups form coalitions, negotiate for power, and new political identities like 'backward' and 'forward' caste groups emerge.

Caste politics has both positive and negative aspects. It has helped disadvantaged communities like Dalits and OBCs gain better access to decision-making, but it can also lead to social conflict and divert attention from issues like poverty and development.