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Universal adult franchise means that the right to vote to all the citizens of age group 18 or above without any discrimination of caste, colour, class, religion or gender. In Universal Adults Franchise all citizens have the right to vote irrespective of gender.

OBC is referred to as “Other backward classes.” After independence, OBCs have been identified through specially appointed commissions. The Kalelkar Commision laid down four criteria to identify OBCs: low social position in caste hierarchy, lack of general educational advancement among the majority of the caste/ community, inadequate or lack of representation in government service, and industry.

Stereotypes are characteristics imposed upon particular groups of people on the basis of their caste, religion, sex, and nationality. It is a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.

India is a very big country with a number of communities, religions, and caste. So, it becomes necessary to have secularism in India in order to maintain equality within all religious communities. Under Indian secularism, no one is to be discriminated and everyone has the right to practice any religion of their choice.

It is true that women’s political representation is very less. Women are thought to be confined to the house. They are supposed to do all the household chores and take care of children. One of the main reasons being the patriarchal nature of our society. Even today, in many villages, girls are not allowed to study which results in lesser women in the educational sphere. Less exposure to the outside world confines the women to their homes.

• Indian model of secularism does not support any one particular religion or community. It treats all citizens equally.
• It gives freedom to all the citizens to practice any religion of their choice.
• It is against the discrimination of people on the bases of religion.
• The state has a right to intervene in the matters of religion in order to maintain equality among communities.

Two main bases are gender and religion. Women are mostly discriminated on the basis of gender in terms of payment of equal wages, respect in society, lower status in domestic matters, etc.

Religion is another factor of division. Many a times, the majority inflicts some dominance over the minority in various ways.

Biologically there is no discrimination between the girl and boy child. Gender discrimination is present in our society because of the patriarchal thinking. Women are thought to do household chores and take care of children and men are supposed to work outside of the house and earn money. There is also discrimination of labor on the bases of sex. Women are paid less for their work as compared to men. These ideas have been a part of the society since ages which has aggravated the condition of women.

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work. According to this Act, all the workers should get equal wages, and there should be no discrimination on the bases of their gender. According to our constitution men and women, both are equal in status so they should be paid equally for their work.

In many parts of India parents prefer sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born because of their patriarchal thinking. They think that a boy child will live with them and will take care of them when they get old. Also, they think that at the time of marriage of their son they will receive expensive gifts. Apart form that, there is an orthodox mentality that if they invest in a boy’s education they will get the benefits later on as the girl will eventually get married.

No, though it is true that Caste and Vote bank factors control the election to some extent in India. Candidate of the party influence people and appeal on the basis of caste sentiments to get their support. They get support especially from the people who have an orthodox mindset. These people form the ‘Vote Bank’ of that party.
But at the same time, there has been tremendous improvement in the way elections are held today. Increase in literacy rate and education levels in society has made many citizens aware of right choices.

Mostly we notice that the participation of women in public life is very less almost in all the countries. But, there are some countries which are exceptions, where we see the participation of women is very high and very active. These countries are Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

Communalism has this belief that people of a different religion cannot live together in one single nation as equal citizens. The only solution is that they could live in a different nation or one could dominate others. Two situation in which problem of communalism becomes acute are as follows: 

• In politics, religion is often expressed as exclusive and as a supporter of the various parties. The problem arises when one religion was set against another 

• Beliefs of one religion were made superior against the other religions or the demand of one religion was given preference over another one.

The term ‘casteism’ refers to the discrimination made on the basis of the caste system. It believes that caste is the only foundation of the social community. This implies, people belong to the natural social community and have a common interest which they are not supposed to share with any other community.

The following are the two measures to check casteism in India. 

• Spread of education: Education upgrades one’s level of thinking and helps in eradicating the misconceptions of one’s mind. All possible steps should be taken to educate the masses. 
• Economic equality: Inequality in the economic life creates the feeling of superiority and inferiority among the members of different caste groups. Steps need to be taken to maintain economic equality of all castes. 
• Abolition of Reservation Policy: Reservation in government job, education and other sectors creates conflicting attitude among the members of two different castes. When the people of higher castes having adequate educational qualification are deprived of all facilities, they revolt against the lower caste people. 
• Political reforms: Political leaders and parties based on caste should be banned from the political horizon. 
• The name and aim of educational institutions referring to castes need to be given up.

Caste inequalities have not completely disappeared from India. Even today, most people marry within their own caste or tribe. Despite constitutional prohibition, untouchability has not ended completely. Education is not easily available to the so called 'low castes'. Economic status is closely linked to the caste system. In modern India, like in pre-independence India, the poor are mostly the 'low castes' while the rich are the 'high castes', thereby showing that caste inequalities are still continuing in India.

Caste alone cannot determine election results in India because:
No parliamentary constituency has a clear majority of one single caste.
No party wins all the votes of a particular caste.

Politics too influences the caste system and caste identities by bringing them into the political arena. Thus, it is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is the caste that gets politicised. 

Politics in caste normally takes the following forms : 

(i) Wide base : Each caste tries to widen its base to gain majority. Each caste group tries to become bigger by incorporating within it, the neighbouring castes or sub-castes which were earlier excluded from it. 

(ii) Coalition : Various caste groups are required to enter into a coalition with other castes or communities, and thus enter into a dialogue and negotiation. This strengthens the basic structure of democracy. 

(iii) New groups : New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ caste groups.

Feminist Movements. 

(i) Political expression of gender division and political mobilisation on this question helped to improve the women’s role in public life. 

(ii) Now, women are working in occupations such as scientists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, managers, and college and university teachers which were earlier not Ans. considered suitable for women. 

(iii) In some parts of the world, for example, By reserving some seats in the Lok Sabha in the Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway and Finland, the participation of women in public life is very high. 

The concept of a secular state in India purports equal treatment all religions and to be officially neutral in the matters of religion. 

The following are the features which make India a secular state. 

• Unlike Christianity in America or Buddhism in Sri Lanka, India does not purport to or give special recognition to any religion. The Constitution of India has nowhere prescribed a particular religion. 
• All Citizens of India and all communities and sects in India have been given freedom to practice, profess and propagate any religion under the Fundamental rights of the Constitution. 
• The Constitution of India has clearly put a ban on any discrimination on the ground of religion. It provides for equal opportunity for all individuals irrespective of their religion.

(i) To make it legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies 

(ii) By reserving some seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies for women. 

(iii) Political parties should also give due representation to women members. 

(iv) By raising the literacy rate.

No, I do not think that the caste system is coming to an end in India. From time immemorial, the caste system has been an inseparable part of Indian society and has been deeply rooted in our culture. It is entrenched in the society and brings about discrimination. Even though a number of government policies have been implemented, the caste system has not been completely eradicated.

The following are the instances to support this argument.

• Even though the constitution provides for various provisions for marrying outside the caste, most people in India still marry in their caste.
• Citizens of the country, while casting their votes, usually vote for a candidate of their own caste, rather than any other caste irrespective of the credibility of the candidate. 
• Political parties keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate before choosing a candidate to represent their party so as to get necessary support for benefiting their election spree. 
• Untouchability still has not completely eradicated from the Indian society even though the constitution prohibits any kind of untouchability. 

The constitutional provisions which make India a ‘secular state’ are as follows. 

• The Constitution of India does not give special recognition to any religion and there is no state religion in India, unlike, Christianity in America, and Buddhism in Sri Lanka. 
• All individuals and communities have been given freedom to practice, profess and propagate any religion. 
• The Constitution of India has put a ban on any discrimination on the grounds of religion. 
•  According to the constitution, the state cannot intervene in the matters of religion to promote religious equality.

Two constitutional provisions that make India a secular state are:
The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any.
The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

When it comes to representation of women in legislative bodies, India is among the bottom group of nations in the world. Women’s representation has always been less than 10% in Lok Sabha and 5% in the State Assemblies.
On the other hand, the situation is different in the case of local government bodies. As one-third of seats in local government bodies (panchayats and municipalities) is reserved for women, there are more than 10 lakh elected women representatives in rural and urban local bodies.

The following points sum up how women are still discriminated against and oppressed in India. 

Literacy rate: The first and foremost discrimination is in the field of education where the literacy rate among women is only 66 per cent when compared to a high 82 per cent in males. Even otherwise, parents prefer educating spending their resources of education of a male child rather than a female child. 

Sex ratio: The sex ratio in India is as low as 940 females per 1000 males. The proportion of women as compared to men is very low. A major reason behind this is that parents prefer having a male child over a female child keeping in view the future perspective. 

Unpaid work: The proportion of highly-paid women is very less when compared to highlypaid men. Though on an average, Indian women work one hour more than men every day but they are not equally paid and thus their work is also not often valued as much as that of men. 

Domestic violence: Women every day in Indian society are harassed, exploited, and subjected to all sorts of violence behind the closed doors. Both in urban and rural areas, domestic violence is one of the most prominent form of discrimination faced by women. Many cases of domestic violence and dowry deaths are reported in the media every day. 

Female foeticide: In India, a male child is considered a blessing and a female child is considered a bane. This has come to an extent where the female child is killed in the womb of the mother. This killing of foetus is known as foeticide. Female foeticide is prevalent in both urban and rural areas.

The following points sum up how women are still discriminated against and oppressed in India. 

 Literacy rate: The first and foremost discrimination is in the field of education where the literacy rate among women is only 66 per cent when compared to a high 82 per cent in males. Even otherwise, parents prefer educating spending their resources of education of a male child rather than a female child. 

Sex ratio: The sex ratio in India is as low as 940 females per 1000 males. The proportion of women as compared to men is very low. A major reason behind this is that parents prefer having a male child over a female child keeping in view the future perspective. 

Unpaid work: The proportion of highly-paid women is very less when compared to highlypaid men. Though on an average, Indian women work one hour more than men every day but they are not equally paid and thus their work is also not often valued as much as that of men. 

Domestic violence: Women every day in Indian society are harassed, exploited, and subjected to all sorts of violence behind the closed doors. Both in urban and rural areas, domestic violence is one of the most prominent form of discrimination faced by women. Many cases of domestic violence and dowry deaths are reported in the media every day. 

Female foeticide: In India, a male child is considered a blessing and a female child is considered a bane. This has come to an extent where the female child is killed in the womb of the mother. This killing of foetus is known as foeticide. Female foeticide is prevalent in both urban and rural areas.

Communalism is a situation when a particular community tries to promote its own interest at the cost of other communities. Communal politics is based on the idea that religion is the principal basis of social community. 

Communalism involves thinking along the following lines: 

• The followers of a particular religion must belong to one community.

 • Their fundamental interests should be the same. Any difference that they may have is irrelevant or trivial for community life. 

• Communalism also follows that people who follow different religions cannot belong to the same social community. If the followers of different religions have some commonalities, these are superficial and immaterial. Their interests are bound to be different and involve a conflict.

 • Sometimes, communalism leads to the belief that people belonging to different religions cannot live as equal citizens within one nation. Either one of them has to dominate the rest, or they have to form different nations.

 (i) Constituencies are a mixture of people belonging to different castes : No parliamentary constituency in the country has a clear majority of one single caste. So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win elections. 

(ii) Different choices even within caste : No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community because even within the community, people have different choices. When people say that a caste is a ‘vote bank’ of one party, it usually means that about two-thirds of the voters of that community. 

(iii) Hunt for a dominating caste : Most of the political parties may put up candidates from the majority caste. But even this cannot guarantee their victory because some voters have more than one candidate from their castes, while many voters have no candidate from their castes. History of elections : According to history of Indian elections, the ruling party and the sitting Member of the Parliament (MP) or Member of the Legistative Assembly (MLA) frequently lose elections in our country. This proves that though casteism and communalism play a major role in politics, but elections are not about caste and communalism.

Yes, it is true that caste plays an important role in politics or in electoral politics but there are various other factors that matter in electoral politics such as – 

• There is not even a single parliamentary constituency in the country that has a majority based on single caste. This implies that to win the elections every candidate and party has to win the confidence of more than one caste or community. 

• There is no such party that wins the vote of all the voters of the single caste or community. When the term ‘vote bank’ is used with reference to caste, it means the maximum number of votes getting from the voters of all the caste or community. 

• Many political parties choose their candidates from the caste that is believed to dominate the electorate in a particular constituency. Some voters have many candidates standing in elections from their caste while many voters have no candidate from their caste. 

• If it is believed that all castes and communities have their strong political preferences than no ruling party and the sitting MP or MLA lose elections frequently in our country. 

People have an attachment to the political party more than their caste and community. Thus, other factors also dominated in electoral politics and not just the caste.

(i) In some situations, expression of caste differences in politics gives many disadvantaged communities the space to demand their share of power. 

(ii) In this sense, caste politics has helped people from the Dalits and the OBC castes to gain better access to decision making. 

(iii) Several political and non-political organisations have been demanding and agitating for the end of discrimination against particular castes, for more dignity and more access to land, resources and opportunities. 

Negative : 

(i) It disrupts social harmony. 

(ii) It can divert attention from other pressing issues like poverty, corruption, etc.

(i) While choosing candidates : When parties choose candidates in elections, they keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate, and nominate candidates from different castes so as to get necessary support to win elections. 

(ii) While forming a government : When the governments are formed, political parties usually take care that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it. 

(iii) While campaigning : Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to people to give them their votes on the basis of caste. Some political parties are known to favour some castes, and are seen as their representatives. . 

(iv) Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote, has compelled the political leaders to raise the caste-based issues during elections. They do so to mobilise and secure political support. It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low.

In the recent decades, cast barriers have been breaking down in India because of the following reasons. 

• It has been the efforts of social reformers that people have realised the caste based differences had no logic. 
• The economic development, large scale urbanisation and occupational mobility has further erased the caste barriers. 
• Spread of literacy and education has also played a great role in upgrading the beliefs and ideologies of the people. 
• Complete eradication of landlordism has resulted in the decline of caste system. 
• The constitutional provision of prohibiting caste based discriminations in every form and providing equal opportunities to all has reversed the caste injustices. 

Politics and religion can be a deadly combination if not used wisely. It should be for the good of the people rather than used as a weapon to settle scores. 

Religion can be used in politics in a positive manner in the following ways.

• Politics should be guided by the ethics and values of religion. 
• We should raise our demands as a religious community but not at the cost of other religions. 
• Political leaders should also ensure that religion is not used as a medium of oppression and discrimination. They should have equal response to different religious conflicts or demands.

In politics, ideas, ideals and values derived from religion play an important role. As a member of the religious community, every person should be able to express their needs, interests and demands. In order to prevent discrimination and oppression against anyone, an individual with power should regulate the practice of religion. All these actions are correct as long as they treat everyone equally. No, Religion should not be the basis of the nation. It is because- 

• In politics, religion is often expressed as exclusive and as a supporter of the party. The problem arises when one religion was set against another. All this happens when Beliefs of one religion were made superior against the other religions. 

• The demands of one religion were given preference over another one. 

• State power was used to impose the authority of one religious group over the remaining one. 

This way of using religion in politics is often termed as ‘communal politics’.

Social equality refers to the society where everyone is treated equally irrespective of any discrimination. It means they are provided with the freedom of speech, Right to Vote, Right to equality, etc. In India, all these laws have been implemented to assure social equality especially in a country like India with social and religious diversity. 

• In India, there is no official religion. Like Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan and Christianity in England, the Indian constitution do not give any special status to any religion. 

• Indian constitution ensures social equality by allowing an individual to profess, practice and propagate any religion of their choice. 

• Discrimination on the basis of religion is prohibited according to the Indian constitution. 

• To ensure equality, the constitution is allowed to interfere in matters related to religion within religious communities. For instance, In India, untouchability is banned. 

All these steps have been taken to ensure social and other kinds of equality in India.

Communalism as an ideology and a social phenomena believes in the following: 

• People following one religion should be in one community and their interests should also be the same. 

• People following different religion cannot belong to the same community. 

• If they have any differences then it will be insignificant for the community life. 

• If the followers of the different religion share some common thoughts than it will be considered as superficial. It means their interest should remain different and involve the difference in opinions and conflicts. 

Thus, communalism has this belief that people of a different religion cannot live together in one single nation as equal citizens. The only solution is that they could live in a different nation or one could dominate others. This is an incorrect belief as this cannot be possible that people of one religion would have the same opinion and aspirations in every context. Everyone plays different roles, have different positions and identities. Every individual in the community has the right to say and they deserve to be heard. So of the attempt was made to bring people together on the basis of a different context than religion than many voices within the community will get suppressed.