Question 1.
List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they should be treated with dignity and as equals. Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed on page 14 (of NCERT Textbook) to help you answer this question.
Answer:
The following are the two Fundamental Rights in the constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they should be treated with dignity and as equals :
(1) Right to Equality – All persons are equal before the law. This means that all persons shall be equally protected by the laws of the country. It also states that no person can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, caste or sex. Every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops, etc.
(2) Right to Freedom – This includes the right to freedom of speech and expression, the right to form associations, the right to move freely and reside in any part of the country, and the right to practice any profession, occupation, or business.
Question 2.
Re-read the story on Rathnam as well as the provisions of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think he used this law to file a complaint.
Answer:
- Rathnam used the law to file a complaint because he was forced to leave the village along with his mother and other members of his family.
- He filed the complaint against the domination and violence of the powerful castes of the village.
Question 3.
Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight against dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of the Act that allows her to believe this?
Answer:
The Act sets out to punish anyone who wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred.
Adivasi activists refer to the 1989 Act to defend their right to occupy land that was traditionally theirs. Activists have asked that those who have forcibly encroached upon tribal land, should be punished under this law.
C.K. Janu, an Adivasi activist, has also pointed that in cases where tribals have already been evicted and cannot go back to their lands, they must be compensated. That is, the government must draw up plans and policies for them to live and work elsewhere.
Question 4.
The poems and the song in this Unit allow you to see the range of ways in which individuals and communities express their opinions, their anger, and their sorrow. In class, do the following two exercises:
(a) Bring to class a poem that discusses a social issue. Share this with your classmates. Work in small groups with two or more poems to discuss their meaning as well as what the poet is trying to communicate.
(b) Identify a marginalized community in your locality. Write a poem, or song, or draw a poster, etc. to express your feelings as a member of this community.
Answer:
(a) Frame a poem of your own and do the activity which this question asks you to do.
(b) Yes. The marginalized community in our locality is the scheduled caste community. Now frame a poem or song or draw a poster, etc. to express your feelings as a member of this community.
Hints: A Poster
- An SC member wants to enter a Hindu Temple.
- The Priest asks him not to do so.
- Visitors to the temple belonging to Hindu powerful people beat the SC member and throw him away out of the gate of the temple.