Scribd
Upload
334 views

Civics - Chapter 1 Class 7

This document summarizes a chapter about equality in India. It discusses how the Indian constitution guarantees equality for all citizens regardless of religion, caste, gender or class. However, it also highlights that in practice, many forms of inequality continue to exist. It provides examples of discrimination faced by Dalits and Muslims in accessing education and housing. While laws and government schemes aim to promote equality, longstanding social inequalities persist and achieving full equality remains a challenge for Indian democracy.

Uploaded by

Zahir Bagdadi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
334 views

Civics - Chapter 1 Class 7

This document summarizes a chapter about equality in India. It discusses how the Indian constitution guarantees equality for all citizens regardless of religion, caste, gender or class. However, it also highlights that in practice, many forms of inequality continue to exist. It provides examples of discrimination faced by Dalits and Muslims in accessing education and housing. While laws and government schemes aim to promote equality, longstanding social inequalities persist and achieving full equality remains a challenge for Indian democracy.

Uploaded by

Zahir Bagdadi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 16

CIVICS CHAPTER-1

CLASS-7
ON
EQUALITY
On Equality
India is a democracy.
Equality is a key feature of democracy and
influences all aspects of its functioning.
In this chapter you will read more about
equality – what it is, why it is important in
a democracy, and whether or not everyone
is equal in India.
Equal right to vote
Lets begin by looking at Kanta story who is
standing in line to cast her vote on election
day.
In a democratic country, like India, all
adults irrespective of what religion they
belong to, how much education they have
had, what caste they are, or whether they are
rich or poor are allowed to vote.
The idea of universal adult franchise is
based on the idea of equality because it
Equal right to
vote(cont…)
But as her day goes on, Kanta becomes less
certain about what this equality really means.
Her daughter is sick but she cannot take the day
off from work because she needs to borrow
money from her employers to take her child to
the doctor.
Her job as a domestic help tires her out, and
finally she ends her day by again standing in a
long line.
This line, in front of the government hospital, is
unlike the one in the morning because most of the
people standing in it are poor.
Other kinds of equality
Apart from being poor, people in India experience
inequality in different ways.
One of the more common forms of inequality in India
is the caste system.
Now let us read a story about the experiences of a
Dalit child attending school.
Dalit is a term that the so-called lower castes use to
address themselves.
Other kinds of equality(cont…)
Omprakash Valmiki is a famous Dalit writer. In
his autobiography, Joothan, he talks about his
experiences of growing up as a dalit boy.
Omprakash was made to sweep the school and the
playground and this only came to an end when his
father, who happened to be passing by, saw his son
sweeping.
Other kinds of equality(cont…)
The second story is a story about Mr and Mrs Ansari
who were looking to rent an apartment in the city.
They had the money and so paying the rent was no
problem.
They visited the first apartment when the landlady
found out their names, she made an excuse about how
she could not rent the house to someone who ate meat
because the building did not have any non-vegetarian
residents.
Other kinds of equality(cont…)
The same excuse was repeated in the second and the
third apartments.
Finally, the property dealer told them that they might
want to change their names and call themselves Mr
and Mrs Kumar.The Ansaris were reluctant to do
this and decided to look some more.
Recognising dignity
You have understood by now that the caste we are
born into, the religion we practice, the class
background we come from, whether we are male or
female – these are often the things that determine why
some people are treated unequally.
When persons are treated unequally, their dignity is
violated. The dignity of both Omprakash Valmiki and
the Ansaris was violated because of the way in which
they were treated.
Omprakash and the Ansaris do not deserve to be
treated like this.They deserve the same respect and
dignity as anyone else.
Equality in Indian Democracy
The Indian Constitution recognises every person as
equal.
This means that every individual in the
country, including male and female persons from all
castes, religions, tribes, educational and economic
backgrounds are recognised as equal.
This recognition of equality includes some of the
following provisions in the Constitution: first that
every person is equal before the law.
Equality in Indian
Second, noDemocracy(cont…)
person can be discriminated against on
the basis of their religion, race, caste, place of birth
or whether they are female or male.
Third, every person has access to all public places
including playgrounds, hotels, shops and markets.
Fourth, untouchability has been abolished.
Equality in Indian
Democracy(cont…)
The two ways in which the government has tried to
implement the equality that is guaranteed in the
Constitution is first through laws and second through
government programmes or schemes to help
disadvantaged communities.
Issues of Equality in other democracies
in the United States of America, the African–
Americans whose ancestors were the slaves who were
brought over from Africa, continue to describe their
lives today as largely unequal.
This, despite the fact that there was a movement in the
late 1950s to push for equal rights for African–
Americans.
Prior to this, African–Americans were treated
extremely unequally in the United States and denied
equality through law.
Civil rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on
the basis of race, religion or national origin.
Challenge of democracy
There are always communities and individuals
trying to expand the idea of democracy and push
for a greater recognition of equality on existing
as well as new issues.
Summary
The Constitution of India guarantees equality to all
citizens.
This chapter discusses the need for equality through
highlighting the inequalities that continued to be
practised and experienced by various communities.
The Government role in passing laws and instituting
policies is discussed to show the commitment to the
alleviation of existing inequalities is a major part of
the work that government undertake.
An issue of inequality in the United States of America
to highlight that this is a global phenomenon.
Thank you

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy