A state that has no official religion and grants equal status to all religions is called a secular state. The Constitution of India ensures secularism through the following provisions (any two)
(i) There is no official language for India.
(ii) Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, that of Islam in Pakistan and Christianity in England, our Constitution does not give any special status to any religion.
(iii) Under the Right to Freedom of Religion, our Constitution provides to all citizens freedom to profess, practise and propagate any religion or not to follow any.
(iv) Our Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion.
(v) The Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities.

Caste can take various forms in politics.
(i) When parties choose candidates in elections, they keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate and nominate candidates from different caste to muster necessary support to win elections.
(ii) When governments are formed, political parties usually make sure that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it.
(iii) Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste sentiment to muster support. Some political parties are known to favour some castes and are seen as their representatives.
(iv) There are many associations and even political parties formed in the name of castes. They openly contest in the election to protect the interests of a particular caste.
(v) Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote compelled political leaders to gear up to the task of mobilizing and securing political support. It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low. The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else.

Caste can take various forms in politics.
(i) When parties choose candidates in elections, they keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate and nominate candidates from different caste to muster necessary support to win elections.
(ii) When governments are formed, political parties usually make sure that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it.
(iii) Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste sentiment to muster support. Some political parties are known to favour some castes and are seen as their representatives.
(iv) There are many associations and even political parties formed in the name of castes. They openly contest in the election to protect the interests of a particular caste.
(v) Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote compelled political leaders to gear up to the task of mobilizing and securing political support. It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low. The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else.

Caste can take various forms in politics.
(i) When parties choose candidates in elections, they keep in mind the caste composition of the electorate and nominate candidates from different caste to muster necessary support to win elections.
(ii) When governments are formed, political parties usually make sure that representatives of different castes and tribes find a place in it.
(iii) Political parties and candidates in elections make appeals to caste sentiment to muster support. Some political parties are known to favour some castes and are seen as their representatives.
(iv) There are many associations and even political parties formed in the name of castes. They openly contest in the election to protect the interests of a particular caste.
(v) Universal adult franchise and the principle of one-person-one-vote compelled political leaders to gear up to the task of mobilizing and securing political support. It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low. The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else.

In India, women are discriminated and disadvantaged in the following ways:
(i) Low literacy: The literacy rate among women is only 54% compared with 76% among men. Similarly, a smaller proportion of girl students go for higher studies. When we look at school results, girls and boys perform equally, if not better in some places. But they drop out because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boy's education rather than spending equally on their sons and daughters.
(ii) Low Position: The proportion of women among the highly paid and valued jobs is still very small. On an average, an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day. Yet much of her work is not paid and therefore often not valued.
(iii) Low Pay: The Equal Wages Act provides that equal wages should be paid to equal work. However in almost all areas of work, from sports and cinema, to factories and fields, women are paid less than men, even when both do exactly the same work.
(iv) Preference of a male child: In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. Such sex-selective abortion led to a decline in child sex ratio (number of girl children per thousand boys) in the country to merely 927.
(v) Exploitation: There are reports of various kinds of harassment, exploitation, and violence against women. Urban areas have become particularly unsafe for women. They are not safe even within their own home from beating, harassment and other forms of domestic violence.

Women, in our country, are discriminated in the following aspects
(i) Literacy Rate The literacy rate among women is only 65.46% as compared with 82.14% among men. Similarly, a few number of girl students go for higher studies because parents prefer to spend their resources for their boys' education than spending equally on their daughters.
(ii) Unpaid Work The proportion of women among the highly paid and valued jobs is still very small. Though on an average, Indian women work one hour more than men everyday, most of them are not paid equally and therefore, their work is often not valued.
(iii) Sex Ratio In many parts of India, parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. This has led to a decline in the child sex ratio (the number of girl children per thousand boys) in the country.
(iv) Domestic Violence There are reports of various kinds of harassment, exploitation and violence against women. Both urban as well as rural areas have become unsafe for women. They are not safe even within their own homes from beating and other forms of domestic violence.

As in the case of religion, politics based on caste identity alone is not very healthy in a democracy. It can divert attention from other pressing issues like poverty, development and corruption. In some cases caste division leads to tensions, conflict and even violence.

Political leaders and social reformers like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, Dr.Br.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker advocated and worked to establish a society in which caste in equalities are absent.

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.

When beliefs of one religion are presented as superior to those of other religious when the demands of one religious group are formed in opposition to another and when state power is used to establish domination of one religious group over the rest it is called communal politics.

It is a male dominated society where women face disadvantage, discrimination and oppression in various ways.

The gender division is based on social expectations and stereotypes.

Sweden and Norway are the two countries where women's participation in public life is very high.

(a) It is based on the idea that religion is the principal basis of social community.
(b) The followers of a particular religion must belong to one community with the same fundamental interests.
(c) Any difference that they may have is irrelevant or trivial for community life.
(d) It also follows of different religion have some commonalities these are superficial and immaterial.
(f) Their interests are bound to be different and involve a conflict.
(g) In its extreme form communalism leads to the belief that people belonging to different religions cannot live as equal citizens within one nation.
(h) Either, one of them has to dominate the rest or they have to form different nations.

(a) Caste system was based on exclusion of and discrimination against the 'outcast' groups.
(b) They were subjected to the inhuman practice of untouchability.
(c) With economic development, large scale urbanization, growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility and the weakening of the position of landlords in the villages, the old notions of caste hierarchy are breaking down.
(d) The Constitution of India prohibited any cate-based discrimination and laid the foundation of policies for reversing the injustices of the caste system.
(e) Eve now most people marry within their own caste or tribe. Untouchability has not ended completely, despite constitutional prohibition.
(f) The political leaders and social reformers like JotibaPhule, Gandhiji, B.R.Ambedkar and PeriyarRamaswamiNaivker advocated and worked to establish a society in which caste inequalities are absent.