Caste
Quotables
Dr. BR Ambedkar
Caste is not merely a division of society. It is a state of mind.
- 97% manual scaverngers are SC - MoSJE
- 45% Inidans prefer same caste neighbor - Lokniti CSDS 2021
Family
Joint Family
Quotables
Amartya Sen on Joint Family
The JF is not just a living arrangement, but a cultural institution that embodies the Indian ethos of interdependence and collective responsibility.
- 18-20% Indian households are joint families - NFHS-5
- Rural: 22%
- Urban: 15%
Diversity
- Ek Bharat, Sreshth Bharat
- UNESCO Atlas of Endangered Languages: India has 197+ endangered languages
- Ethnologue (2023): India is 4th most linguistically diverse country globally
Linguistic Diversity
- cultural enrichment, national heritage, soft power through film industry
- regional representaiton, multilingualism
- enhancing communication, compassion, mutual understanding
downsides:
- marginalization of minor/tribal languages
- separatism movements, linguistic states
- hindi hegemony perception, opposition to NEP2020
- weakening of collective nationhood
Women
Patriarchy
- Negotiated Patriarchy: not rejecting the institution, but negotiating better terms within it
Inheritance
- socialized to perceive themselevs as “the other”, becoming “outsiders” in their own family
- said to be compensated through downry, property belongs to male lineage, dual loyalties
- lack of support from society in exercising her rights
- customary, religious practices, high litigation cost, time constraints, bureaucratic complexities, low legal awareness
Economist Bina Agarwal
Property is not just wealth; its power for women to stand tall.
- Daughters equal coparceners with equal birthrights
- Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005
- Vineeta Sharrma case 2020
- only 15% indian women own land (alone or jointly) - NFHS-5
Domestic life
India Time Use Survey 2025
- Girls conditioned from childhood to take up domestic burden
- 460min/day domestic chores around age 30
- lower time for leisure or self, compared to boys
Secularism
- religious polarization, communal violence
- Muzaffarnagar 2013, Delhi 2020
- politicization of religion, divisive narratives (temple mosque disputes), social boycotts
- limited inter community relationships, religious stereotype
- ghettoization of religious minorities, undermins substantive equality
- Sachar Committee
- selective application of secular principles, inconsistency in implementation
- Pew Research: 63% Hindu w/ college degrees say they’d willing to accept a Muslim in their neighborhood copmared to 56% of those with less education
Jawaharlal Nehru
Secularism is not irreligion, but equal respect for all religions.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
Secularism is not a wall that separates but a bridge that connects.
Globalization
Process that involves increasing integration of world’s economies, cultures, politics and environments. Characterized by mvmt of goods, services, capital, people, ideas, knowledge & tech across borders.
Child Labour
- 10.1M child labours in 5-14 age group (Census 2011)
- Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986
- both a cause & consequence of poverty
Why?
- poverty, economic compulsion, family debt, vicious cycle of poverty
- informal economy, unregulated sectors, docile nature
- weak enforcement, legal loopholes, family enterprises
- cultural & social norms (eg. Weaving in varanasi)
- lack of education, economic resilience among parents
- lack of access to equality education for child
Extra
- Brazil, Bangladesh: conditional cash transfer programmes effectively reduced child labour by incentivizing school attendance
Mahatma Gandhi
Exploitation of children is a sin against humanity, rooted in ignorance and apathy.