Introduction: Tackling Marginalization through Democratic Rights

Confronting marginalization is the proactive effort to address and eliminate the systemic exclusion, discrimination, and social disadvantage faced by marginalized groups. It involves recognizing and challenging the factors that perpetuate inequalities based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, and other characteristics. 

Struggle by Marginalized Communities: Various Struggles and Democratic Rights

• Understanding Marginalization: Understanding marginalization through examples of Tribals and Muslims, two different groups who experience inequality and discrimination. 
• Inequality and Discrimination: Though powerless, these groups have fought, protested and struggled against being excluded or dominated by others. 
• Diverse Strategies: They have attempted to overcome their situation by adopting a range of strategies in their long history. 
• Struggles Against Exclusion: Religious solace, armed struggle, self-improvement and education, economic uplift etc. – there appears to be no one way of doing things.
• Diverse Strategies: In all cases, the choice of struggle has depended on the circumstances that the marginalized find themselves in.
• Democratic Rights and Citizenship: Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, women, and other marginal groups argue that simply by being citizens of a democratic country, they possess equal democratic rights that must be respected.
  • Many among them look up to the Constitution to address their concerns. 

Constitution as a Hope: Safeguarding Marginalized Struggles through Democratic Rights

• It is important to study how the Constitution of India is something that acts as a shield for the marginalized groups in the course of their struggles. 
  • Democratic Rights under the Constitution are translated into laws to protect groups from continued exploitation.
• Thus, the government’s efforts should be to formulate policies to promote the access of these groups to development.

Measures to Empower Marginalized Sections: Recognizing Struggles and Upholding Democratic Rights

• Recognition of Struggles: The above-mentioned struggles of marginalized sections were recognised by the Constituent Assembly. 
• Empowering Marginalized Communities: It has attempted to strengthen marginalized sections by ensuring Democratic Rights to them and also mandated subsequent governments to take appropriate measures to ensure equal rights to them. 

Invoking Fundamental Rights: Empowering Marginalized Voices

• Constitutional Principles: The Constitution lays down the principles that make our society and polity democratic, embodying the essence of Democratic Rights.
• Fundamental Rights: These principles find their place in the list of Democratic Rights.
  • These rights are available to all Indians equally.
• As far as the marginalised are concerned, they have drawn on these rights in two ways:
  • First, by insisting on their Democratic RightsF, they have forced the government to recognise the injustice done to them.
  • Second, they have insisted that the government enforce these laws. 
• Influence on New Legislation: In some instances, the struggles of the marginalized have influenced the government to frame new laws, in keeping with the spirit of Democratic Rights.
• Prohibit Untouchability: Instances of untouchability have been prohibited by Article 17 of the Constitution. 
• Recognition of Injustice: It means that no one can henceforth prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering temples, using public facilities, etc.
• Punishable Crime: It means that it is wrong to practice untouchability, and this practice will not be tolerated by a democratic government. In fact, untouchability is a punishable crime now.

Role of Government in Promoting Social Justice: Government Initiatives and Democratic Rights

• Constitutional Implementation: As part of their effort to implement the Constitution, both state and central governments create specific schemes for implementation in tribal areas or in areas that have a high Dalit population, thereby upholding the essence of Democratic Rights.
• Inclusive Policies: In addition to providing certain facilities, the government also operates through laws to ensure that concrete steps are taken to end inequity in the system, aligning with the principles of Democratic Rights.
• Reservation Policy: One such law/policy is the reservation policy that today is both significant and highly contentious.
• Social Inequity Addressed: This law which reserves seats in education and government employment for Dalits and Adivasis, are based on an important argument – that in a society like ours, where for centuries sections of the population have been denied opportunities to learn and to work in order to develop new skills or vocations, a democratic government needs to step in and assist these sections.

Working of Reservation Policy: Democratic Rights in Education and Employment

• Caste and Tribe Certificates: Governments across India have their own list of Scheduled Castes (or Dalits), Scheduled Tribes and backward and most backward castes. 
  • The central government too has its own list on similar lines. 
• Government Lists: Students applying to educational institutions and those applying for posts in government services are expected to furnish proof of their caste or tribe status, in the form of caste and tribe certificates.
• Reservation Benefits: If a particular Dalit caste or a certain tribe is on the government list, then a candidate from that caste or tribe can avail of the benefit of reservation.
• Admission Criteria: For admission to colleges, especially to institutes of professional education, such as medical colleges, governments define a set of ‘cut-off’ marks.
• Cut-Off Marks: This means that not all Dalit and tribal candidates can qualify for admission, but only those who have done reasonably well and secured marks above the cut-off point can avail such benefits
• Special Scholarships: Along with these, governments also offer special scholarships for these students.

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