Marginalisation is the
process whereby something or someone is pushed to the edge of a group and
accorded lesser importance. This is predominantly a social phenomenon by which
a minority or sub-group is excluded, and their needs or desires ignored.
What does it mean to be Socially Marginalised:
(i) To be marginalized
is to be forced to occupy the sides or fringes and thus not be at the centre of
things.
(ii) Sometimes
marginalized groups are viewed with hostility and fear.
(iii) There is a sense
of difference & exclusion which leads to communities not having access to
resources & opportunities & in their inability too assert their rights.
(iv) To make certain
groups in society feel marginalized, there are economic, social, cultural and
political factors. Thus, marginalization is seldom experienced in one sphere.
Who are Adivasis:
(i) The term ‘Adivasis’
refers to the 'original inhabitants'. They are communities who lived and often continue to live in
close association with forests.
(ii) Around 8% of
India's population is Adivasi. There are over 500 different Adivasi groups in
India, They are not a homogeneous population.
(iii) Many of India's
most important mining and industrial areas are situated in Adivasi areas.
(iv) Adivasis are
particularly numerous in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh, West Bengal, and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Orrisa is home to
more than 60 different tribal groups.
(v) Adivasis practice a
range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism and
Christianity. Their religions themselves have influenced dominant religions of
the empire around them.
(vi) They have most
distinctive societies because there is often very little hierarchy among them.
This makes them radically different from communities organised around
principles of caste system.
(vii) Adivasis worship
ancestors, own village and nature spirits. They have been influenced by
different religions, like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and Christianity.
(viii) Adivasis have
their own languages,which was as old as Sanskrit. Santhali has the largest
number of speakers and has a significant body of publication.
Adivasis and Stereotyping:
Stereotypes are
characteristics imposed upon groups of people because of their race,
nationality and sexual orientation, among others.
(i) Adivasis are
invariably portrayed in very stereotypical ways-in colourful costumes, headgear
and through their dancing.
(ii) Adivasis are blamed
for their lack of advancement as they are believed to be resistant to change or
new ideas.
(iii) People believe
that the Adivasis are exotic and belong to primitive and backward background.
Adivasis and Development:
(i) Forests play a
crucial role in the development of all empires and settled civilization in
India. As they provide with-
- Metal ores- iron & copper, gold & silver
- invaluable timber
- medicinal herbs
- animal products, like wax, lac & honey
- animals
(ii) Adivasis had deep
knowledge of forest. Often empires heavily depended on Adivasis for the crucial
access to forest resources.
(iii) In today’s world,
Adivasis are considered marginal and powerless communities.
(iv) In the pre-colonial
world, they were traditionally ranged hunter-gatherers and nomads and they
lived by shifting agriculture and cultivating at one place.
(v) For the past two
hundred years, Adivasis have been forced through economic changes, forest
policies and political force applied by State to migrate as workers in
plantations, industries and as domestic workers.
(vi) Forest lands have
been cleared for timber and to get land for agriculture and industry.
(vii) Huge tracts of
lands have gone under the waters of hundreds of dams that have been built in independent
India.
(viii) Losing their
lands and access to the forests means that tribals lose their main source of
livelihood and Adivasis have migrated to cities in search of work.
(ix) They get caught in
the cycle of poverty and deprivation. Almost 45% of tribal groups in rural
areas and 35% in urban areas live below the poverty line.
(x) As a result, Many
tribal children are malnourished and aloso literacy rate is also very low among
tribals.
(xi) When Adivasis are
displaced from their lands, they lose much more than a source of income. They
lose their traditions & customs.
Minorities and Marginalisation:
(i) The term minority is
most commonly used to refer to communities that are numerically small in
relation to the rest of the population.
(ii) It encompasses
issues of power, access to resources and has social & cultural dimensions.
(iii) Safeguards are
needed to protect minority communities against the possibility of being
culturally dominated by the majority. They also protect them against any
discrimination & disadvantage that they may face.
(iv) The Constitution
provides these safeguards because it is committed to protecting India’s
cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice.
Muslims and Marginalisation:
(i) Muslims are 13.4% of
India’s population and are considered to be a marginalized community in India.
(ii) They have over the
years been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development, of basic
amenities, literacy and public employment.
(iii) Recognizing that
Muslims in India were lagging behind in terms of various development in
indicators, the government set up a high-level committee in 2005.
(iv) The report of the
community suggests that Muslim community is comparable to that of other
marginalized communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
(v) According to the
Report of average years of schooling, for Muslim children between ages of 7-16
is much lower than that of other socio-religious communities.
(vi) Muslim customs and
practices such as wearing burqa and fez make them different from others. Because of this, they tend to be
identified differently and some people think they are not like the ‘rest of
us’. This often becomes an excuse to treat them unfarily.
(vii) This social
marginalization of Muslims in some instances has led to their migration from
places where they have lived, often leading to the ghettorisation of the
community.
*Ghettoisation: A ghetto is an area or locality that is populated
largely by members of a particular community. Therefore, a process that leads
to such a situation. This may occur due to
various social, cultural and economic reasons.
(viii) The experience of
all these groups point to the fact that marginalistaion is a complex phenomenon
requiring a variety of strategies, measures and safeguards to redress the
situation.
(ix) Every citizen has a
stake in protecting the rights defined in the Constitution and the lawas and
policies framed to realise these rights.
(x) Without these, no
one will ever be able able to protect the diversity that makes one's country
unique.
Conclusion:
(i) There are different
reasons for each of the communities being marginalised, each experiences
marginalisation in different ways.
(ii) Marginalistaion is
often linked to experiencing disadvantage, prejudice and powerlessness.
(iii) In India, there
are several more marginalised communities like Dalits.
(iv) Marginalisation
results in having a low social status and not having equal access to education
and other resources.
(v) Marginalized
communities want to maintain their cultural distinctiveness while having access
to rights, development and other opportunities.
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