Social Marginalisation & Justice

• Marginalisation — when groups are pushed to the edges of society; denied equal rights and opportunities.
• Who is marginalised in India: Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes), Dalits, religious minorities, women.
• Constitutional safeguards for marginalised groups.
• Reservation policy — what it is, why it exists, controversies.
• Role of social movements in fighting marginalisation.

What is marginalisation?

Groups experience marginalisation when they:

• Are denied access to resources (land, education, healthcare).
• Face discrimination in employment, housing, public spaces.
• Are excluded from political decision-making.
• Have their culture and language suppressed.

Marginalisation is not just about being poor — it is about systematic exclusion based on identity (caste, religion, gender, ethnicity).

Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes)

• About 8.6% of India's population (104 million); spread across 700+ communities.
• Major tribes: Santals (Jharkhand/WB), Gonds (MP/Maharashtra), Bhils (Rajasthan/Gujarat), Nagas (Nagaland), Mizos.
• Historically lived in forests; economy based on forest produce, shifting cultivation.
• Displacement: dams (Narmada), mining, National Parks have displaced millions — often without adequate compensation.
• Land rights: Forest Rights Act (2006) gave tribals right to forest land they had cultivated.
• Constitution: Scheduled Tribes (STs) get reservations in education, jobs, political representation.

Dalits (Scheduled Castes)

• Communities historically placed at the bottom of caste hierarchy; labelled "untouchables."
• About 16.6% of India's population (~200 million).
• Untouchability — practice of discrimination based on birth — constitutionally abolished (Article 17).
• Atrocities: violence, denial of temple entry, well access, forced to do degrading work.
• Dr B.R. Ambedkar — born Dalit; led movement for Dalit rights; architect of Constitution; converted to Buddhism in 1956.
• Laws: Protection of Civil Rights Act (1955); SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (1989).

Religious minorities

• Muslims (14.2%), Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.7%), Buddhists (0.7%), Jains, Parsis.
• Secular Constitution guarantees right to practice and propagate religion.
• Communal violence — riots targeting minorities a recurring challenge.
• Constitutional protections: minorities can run their own educational institutions (Article 30).

Women

• Gender is a major axis of marginalisation.
• Challenges: wage gap, domestic violence, restricted mobility, low political representation.
• Constitutional guarantee: equality (Articles 14–15), no sex discrimination.
• Laws: Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005), Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act (2013).

Constitutional safeguards

Reservation policy

• SC: 15%, ST: 7.5%, OBC: 27% (Mandal Commission recommendation, 1980; implemented 1990).
• Aim: compensate for historical discrimination; provide equal opportunity.
• Controversy: critics say merit suffers; supporters say without reservation, discrimination continues; Supreme Court upheld reservations (Indra Sawhney case, 1992) with 50% cap.

Social movements for justice

• Dalit Panthers (1972, Maharashtra) — radical movement for Dalit rights.
• Narmada Bachao Andolan — protested displacement of tribals by Sardar Sarovar Dam.
• Self-Respect Movement (Periyar, Tamil Nadu) — fought caste hierarchy.
• Chipko Movement — forest rights; women hugged trees to prevent logging.

• What is marginalisation? Give two examples from India.
• Who are Adivasis? What challenges do they face?
• What does Article 17 of the Constitution say?
• What is the reservation policy? What percentages are reserved for SCs and STs?
• Name one social movement that fought for the rights of a marginalised group.

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Marginalisation.