CBSE Class 10 Social Science Political Science Revision Notes Chapter 4 Gender, Religion and Caste 2026–27

Q.1 Mention the status of women’s participation in Indian legislative bodies.

Answer

Women’s participation in political arena in India is very low. It is not even 10% in Lok Sabha & 5% in State assemblies.
India is lagging behind in women participation in politics than several developing countries of Latin America & Africa.
One probable solution is to make legal provision for the minimum number of seats to be filled by female candidates. As it is in the case of Panchayats & municipalities where 1/3rd of the seats are reserved for women.

Q.2 Discuss the caste hierarchy in India & reasons for its decline in India.

Answer

In India castes are divided into 4 major groups on the basis of occupation from ancient days. Namely Brahmans, ‘Kshaitriyas’, ‘Vaishayas’ & ‘Sudras’. Brahamans were the ‘Pandits’ & ‘Brahamans’ and they were given the high priority. ‘Kshatriyas’ were the ‘warriors’ & ‘Kings’. They also enjoyed lot of power. All the ‘merchants’ & trades came under ‘Vaishyas’. Dalits & untouchables came under ‘Sudras’ , the sudras were always discriminated & given the least importance:

There various factors for decline of castism in India as few of them are:
i) Many great leaders like ‘Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Jotiba Phule & Periyar Ramaswami Naicker worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities were absent.
ii) Now in Urban areas it does not matter with whom you are walking with or who is the person sitting next to you.
iii) The constitution of India prohibited any caste or creed based discrimination & laid the foundations of policies to reverse the injustice of caste system.
iv) Education bring major change in mind setup and approach of Indian people.

Q.3 Mention the steps taken by the govt. for women representation in political sphere in India.

Answer

It is important to have a fair proportion of women in elected bodies. This is what Panchati Raj has done.
i) One-third of seats in the local govt. bodies in panchayats & municipalities are reserved for women.
ii) There are more than 10 lakh elected women representatives in rural & urban bodies.

But still in India the percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha has never reached 10% of its total share. Their share in state assemblies is less than 5%. India is still far behind the averages of several countries of Africa & Latin America.

Q.4 Discuss the factors why women still lag behind the men in India?

Answer

Division of labour based on gender of the person is common in India. Generally all the household work is done by women which is not paid & not recognized. While men, prefer to do the paid work. However the role of women in society has changed, yet she has to go a long way in the journey for equality. Some of the factors where women lag behind men are:

i) Education : Literacy rate of women is still lower than man. It is 54% against 76% in men. This is mainly due to preference of a male child over female, because of very small %age of girls going for higher education, the drop-out rate is higher among the girls.

ii) Proportion of women in paid jobs : Women still a small share in highly paid jobs. They are usually considered incapable of high paid jobs & her work is not given importance.

iii) Preference of a male child :- Indian parents prefer to have male child over a female child.As she is considered as burden for the parents who have to earn for her dowry. While a boy child is considered a asset for the family who earn & increase family income.

iv) Crime against women :- There are various instances of crime against women where they are exploited & harassed at there workplace & their home.

Thus all the above mentioned factor have kept the women from actively participating in the work outside their homes & have confined her to house. Any role played by women outside the household work is yet not respected & recognized by the society.

Q.5 Mention the factors that people keep in mind during election except the caste.

Answer

Political parties try to use caste to gain vote in the elections. It is not necessary that people from same caste vote for same, political parties other things are important in politics:
i) Votes are generally given on the basis of previous performance of political parties.
ii) Voters have a particular attachment due to its policies.
iii) People have varied interests & vote for the party that promises to fulfill them in a better way.
iv) Economic status also influence the voter’s interests.
v) Development and basic needs with parties response to them .

Q.6 State reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine elections result in India.

Answer

Under the caste system work is divided among the people on the basis of their caste which gradually became hereditary. In politics members of same caste are believed to be from same community. However politics is not only about caste, the reasons are:-
i) No state legislature in the country has a majority of any caste group & every caste group has its presence in the parliament which means that no caste group can be ignored.
ii) It is not necessary that people of the same caste vote for same political party, they have difference demands & vote according to their choice.
iii) It does not happen that there are candidates from every caste, it might also happen that there are one candidate from one caste & no candidate from the other.

Q.7 What does, political mobalisation on communalism mean?

Answer

Communalism means promoting the idea of one religion within a particular group & undermining the ideas of other religions. It becomes a problem when religion is used as a tool to divide the society. It takes a shape of political mobilization on communal lines in following ways:-
i) When political leaders appeal to different religions to gain vote.
ii) It involves the use of sacred religions symbol & leaders do appeal to the people of that religion.
iii) Political leaders pay special attention to demands of one religion at the cost of other religions.

Q.8 Define communal politics & why is this idea fundamentally flawed?

Answer

The use of religion in politics where one religion is shown as superior to other religion is called communal politics.
i) It is based on the idea that religion is the only basis of forming a community.
ii) It believes that followers of one religion belong to the same community & have same interests, ideas & opinions.
iii) It follows that people belonging to different religions cannot be a part of same community having different ideas & demands.
iv) In extreme cases of communalism it follows that people belonging to different religions cannot live in same nation.

However this belief is fundamentally flawed:-
i) It is not necessary that people of same religion have identical ideas & demands.
ii)The demand & interests of the people depend upon the role they play on the society, the position & status they enjoy in the society rather than on the religion they follow.

Q.9 Why does communalism problem became acute?

Answer

Communalism means promoting idea of a particular religion & disregarding the other religions.It becomes a problem when religion is seen as the only identifying factor & the problem becomes acute when;

i) Religion is used in politics as the exclusive factor where people belonging to different religions are treated differently.
ii) Demands of one religion are against the demands of other religion which is a cause of distrust between them.
iii) Beliefs & ideas of one religion are shown to be superior to the beliefs & ideas of other religion.
iv) State power is used to show the domination of one religion as against the other religion.

Q.10 Why is the work done by males more visible than the work done by the females?
OR
Discuss the gender issue with reference to politics.

Answer

i) Work is generally divided on the basis of gender of a person irrespective of capabilities.
ii) Women in the family generally do unpaid work such as cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, etc. where no specific skill is required, as per common belief.
iii) Work done by males is respected more in the society as they earn money for their work and learn skills needed for their work.
iv) Women are considered less powerful and softer than men.

Q.11 Define ‘Sexual Division of Labour’.

Answer

The term ‘Sexual Division of Labour’ means that work is divided between the males and the females according to their gender. While assigning or dividing the work, the capability of the person is not a consideration and only the gender is taken into consideration. Generally, all the household unpaid work is assigned to the females and males are supposed to go out for work and earn livelihood for the family.

Q.12 Name few leaders who worked for the caste problem in India.

Answer

1. Mhatama Gandhi
2. Jotiba Phule
3. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
4. Periyar Ramaswami
5. Naicker

Q.13 What is the major religion of India?

Answer

Hinduism is the majority religion of India. Indian secular state does not favour any religion. India is a secular state, and this was recognised by including the term ‘Secular’ in the preamble by the 42nd amendment. Though – Non-official religion:

– 80.54 % Hindus,
– 13.4 % Muslim
– 2.3% Christian
– 1.9% Sikh,
– 0.8 % Buddhists
– 0.4% Jain etc.

Q.14 Laws concerning family matters – Marriage divorce, adoptation etc.

Answer

Family Laws.

Q.15 A system where mother is the head of the family –

Answer

Matriarchy/ Matriarcal concept is a family run on will and decision making of a mother, as mother or a lady is the head.

Q.16 A system where father is the head of the family ?

Answer

Patriarchy.It is the family which runs on the will and decision making of a father, who is the head of that family.

Q.17 What is the meaning of the term ‘Major Religion’?

Answer

The main religion, followed by most of the country’s population and declared as the religion of the state. The government protects and aides this religion. Major religions of some countries are:
Sri Lanka: Buddhism
Pakistan: Islam
Nepal: Hinduism
U.K.: Christianity ( Catholic)

Q.18 Define Literacy Rate.

Answer

Literacy rate is the ratio of educated people among the whole population of a country. It is counted on the basis that how many people have atleast elementary education. It is also counted on gender basis ratio.

Literacy Rate is 65.38% in 2001

Male literacy rate – 75.85% (76% approx)

Female literacy rate – 54%

Q.19 Define Secular.

Answer

Secular : It means being neutral & giving special reference to any religion. Secularism involves giving the freedom to people to follow any religion of their choice & treat every religion equally.

Q.20 Define communal politics.

Answer

Communal politics: The use of religion for political purpose where one religion is shown as superior to the other religion is called communal politics. Generally in this one religious group is against the other religious groups, demanding favours for own community.

Q.21 Define the Communalism.

Answer

Communalism : It is an attempt to promote religious ideas between groups of people from different communities. It is a negative phenomena to unite people or groups under one umbrella of religion to fight for own community interest.

Q.22 Define Feminism.

Answer

Feminism is concerned with the empowerment of women and giving them equal status in the society as men. There should be a developed and positive approach for empowerment and upliftment of women. It is a belief in world that the equal social, political and economic rights should be given for both men and women in the society. It is strongly believed that the gender of the person should not decide the availability of jobs and opportunities for a person.

Q.23 Define a Sex ratio.

Answer

Sex ratio: It is defined as number of females per 1000 male in a country, in a given period of time. According to the census of 2001 the sex ratio was 933:1000 means there are 933 females in ratio of 1000 males.

Q.24 Define Urbanisation.

Answer

Urbanisation : The change of rural or village society with advance technology, modern facilities, planned developement of market and industy is known as Urbanisation.e.g. The near by countrysides of Delhi/Noida also get urbanised due to shift of technology,industries & people etc.

Q.25 Communalism can take various forms in politics. Explain.

Answer

i. The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotypes 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. In electoral politics, this often involves special appeal to the interests or emotions of voters of one religion in preference to others.

iv. Sometimes, communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots at the time of the Partition. The post-Independence period has also seen large scale communal violence.

Q.26 The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else. How can you say that this is far from true and that it is the caste that actually gets politicized?

Answer

i. 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. No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community. When people say that a caste is a ‘vote bank’ of one party, it usually means that a large proportion of the voters are from that caste.

iii. Many political parties may put up candidates from the same caste (if that caste is believed to dominate the electorate in a particular constituency). Some voters have more than one candidate from their caste, while many voters have no candidate from their castes.

iv. The ruling party and the sitting MP or MLA frequently lose elections in our country. That could not have happened if all castes and communities were frozen in their political preferences.

v. Thus, we can say that it is not politics that gets caste-ridden; it is the caste that gets politicised.

Q.27 ……………………… means shift from one occupation to another, usually when a new generation takes up occupations other than that practiced by their ancestors.

Answer

Occupation mobility means shift from one occupation to another, usually when a new generation takes up occupations other than that practiced by their ancestors.

Q.28 A state that has no official religion and grants equal status to all religions is called a …………. state.

Answer

A state that has no official religion and grants equal status to all religions is called a secular state.

Q.29 The ………… provided that equal wages should be paid to equal work to men and women for equal work.

Answer

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, provides that equal wages should be paid to men and women for equal work.

Q.30 Political mobilisation on religious lines is a form of ………………

Answer

Political mobilization on religious lines is a form of communalism.

Q.31 …………… is an example that shows that some form of social division needs to be expressed in politics in India.

Answer

Gender division is an example that shows that some form of social division needs to be expressed in politics in India.

Q.32 New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena, like ……………. and ………. Groups.

Answer

New kinds of caste groups have come up in the political arena, like ‘backward’ and ‘forward’ caste groups.

Q.33 Social reformers like Jyotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker advocated and worked to establish a society in which ………….. are absent.

Answer

Social reformers like Jyotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker advocated and worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.

Q.34 The representation of women in Indian Parliament is still low as compared to European countries because of __________________.

Answer

The representation of women in Indian parliament is still low, as compared to European countries, because of lack of legal quotas and reservation policy for women.