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Secularism means no special status is given to any religion. It is just not an ideology of some parties or persons.

(i) There is no official religion for the Indian states, unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, or that of Islam is Pakistan.

(ii) The constitution provides freedom to all tcl protest, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any.

(iii) The Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.

(iv) The Constitution allows state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities. For example, it bans untouchability.

Beneficial:

(i) Influence of religion can make politics value based.

(ii) Religious communities can politically express their needs and interests.

(iii) Political authorities can monitor and control religious discrimination and oppression.

Problematic:

(i) Religion can become the base for the development of nationalist sentiments which can lead to conflicts.

(ii) Political parties will try to make political gains by pitting one group against the other.

(iii) State power may be used to establish the domination of one religious group over another.

Mahatma Gandhi

Beneficial:

(i) Influence of religion can make politics value based.

(ii) Religious communities can politically express their needs and interests.

(iii) Political authorities can monitor and control religious discrimination and oppression.

Problematic:

(i) Religion can become the base for the development of nationalist sentiments which can lead to conflicts.

(ii) Political parties will try to make political gains by pitting one group against the other.

(iii) State power may be used to establish the domination of one religious group over another.

Communalism: It means attempts to Promote religious ideas between groups of people which are identified as different communities.

Communalism can take various forms in politics:

(i) The most common expression o{ communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotype of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religions. This is so common that we often {ail to notice it, even when we believe in it.

(ii) A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one's own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, this takes the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit.

(iii) Political mobilisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion together in the political arena.

(iv) Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre.

Communalism: It means attempts to Promote religious ideas between groups of people which are identified as different communities.

Communalism can take various forms in politics:

(i) The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotype of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religions. This is so common that we often fail to notice it, even when we believe in it.

(ii) A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one's own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, this takes the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit.

(iii) Political mobilisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion together in the political arena.

(iv) Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre.

Communalism: It means attempts to Promote religious ideas between groups of people which are identified as different communities.

Communalism can take various forms in politics:

(i) The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotype of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religions. This is so common that we often fail to notice it, even when we believe in it.

(ii) A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one's own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, this takes the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit.

(iii) Political mobilisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal and plain fear in order to bring the followers of one religion together in the political arena.

(iv) Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre.

Two measures to check communalism in India are:

(i) Communal prejudices and propaganda need to be countered in everyday life.

(ii) Religion-based mobilisation needs to be countered in the arena of politics.

In our country women still lag much behind men despite some improvements since Independence. Women face disadvantage, discrimination and oppression in various ways:

(i) The literacy rate among women is only 54 percent as compared with 76 percent among men.

(ii) Similarly, a smaller proportion of girl student go for higher studies. Girls are performing as well as boys in school. But they drop out because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boys' education rather than spending equally on their sons and daughters.

(iii) The proportion of if women among the highly, paid and valued jobs is still very small. On an average an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man everyday.

(iv) The Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work. However in almost all areas of work, from sports and cinema, to factories and fields, women are paid less than men/ even when both do exactly the same work.

(v) In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. Such sex-selective abortion led to a decline in child sex ratio.

(vi) Woman face harassment, exploitation and violence on the domestic front.

(i) Women should be given proper education so that they are aware of their rights and duties and participate actively in all political occasions.

(ii) Every woman should be self-reliant so that she enjoys a respectable position in the society and is confident about her meaningful contribution to politics as well.

(iii) It should be legally binding to have a fair proportion of woman in the elected bodies. That is why 1/3rd of seats in local government bodies in panchayats and in municipalities are now reserved for women.

In our country women still lag much behind men despite some improvements since Independence. Women face disadvantage, discrimination and oppression in various ways:

(i) The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent as compared with 76 per cent among men.

(ii) Similarly, a smaller proportion of girl student goes for higher studies. Girls are performing as well as boys in school. But they drop out because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boys' education rather than spending equally on their sons and daughters.

(iii) The proportion of if women among the highest, paid and valued jobs is still very small. On an average, an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day.

(iv) The Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work. However in almost all areas of work, from sports and cinema to factories and fields, women are paid less than men/ even when both do exactly the same work.

(v) In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. Such sex-selective abortion led to a decline in child sex ratio.

(vi) Woman face harassment, exploitation and violence on the domestic front.

In our country women still lag much behind men despite some improvements since Independence. Women face disadvantage, discrimination and oppression in various ways:

(i) The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent as compared with 76 per cent among men.

(ii) Similarly, a smaller proportion of girl student goes for higher studies. Girls are performing as well as boys in school. But they drop out because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boys' education rather than spending equally on their sons and daughters.

(iii) The proportion of if women among the highest, paid and valued jobs is still very small. On an average, an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day.

(iv) The Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work. However in almost all areas of work, from sports and cinema to factories and fields, women are paid less than men/ even when both do exactly the same work.

(v) In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. Such sex-selective abortion led to a decline in child sex ratio.

(vi) Woman face harassment, exploitation and violence on the domestic front.

Sweden, Norway and Finland

Advantages:

(i) It gives disadvantaged groups the opportunity to demand a share in power and decision- making.

(ii) Many political parties take up the issue of ending caste discrimination.

(iii) Measures for uplifting the status of the backward castes will be undertaken.

Disadvantages:

(i) Caste-based politics diverts attention from main issues such as poverty, corruption etc.

(ii) Caste based politics leads to tensions, conflicts and violence.

Advantages:

(i) It gives disadvantaged groups the opportunity to demand a share in power and decision- making.

(ii) Many political parties take up the issue of ending caste discrimination.

(iii) Measures for uplifting the status of the backward castes will be undertaken.

Disadvantages:

(i) Caste-based politics diverts attention from main issues such as poverty, corruption etc.

(ii) Caste based politics leads to tensions, conflicts and violence.

16.2%.........

Secular.............

Religion..............

Religion...........

(i) Gender division is a form of hierarchical social division based on social expectation and stereotypes.

(ii) Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up children.

(iii) There is a sexual division of labour in most families where women do all the household chores and men work outside the home.

(iv) Majority of women do some paid work in addition to domestic labour both in rural and Urban areas but work is not valued and does not get recognition.

(v) Women constitute half of the humanity, their role in public life, especially politics is minimal in most societies.

(vi) In our country, women still lag behind men as ours is still a male-dominated patriarchal society. Women face disadvantage, discrimination and oppression in various ways.

The religious community in majority is given a prominent place in the government.