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.

This is because:
(a) There is no official religion of the Indian state.
(b) The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any religion.
(c) The Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities.

This is because:
(a) There is no official religion of the Indian state.
(b) The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any religion.
(c) The Constitution allows the state to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities.

It is the movement organized by various women organizations to create equality for women in all spheres of life.
The major demands of this movement are as follows:
(a) Enhancing the political and legal status of women.
(b) Improving their educational and career opportunities.
(c) Equality in personal and family life of women.
(d) Extension of voting rights to women.

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.

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, the women's participation in the political area is very low. The women's strength in the Lok Sabha is 14.36%. Their share in State Assemblies is less than 5%. The share of women legislators in India is behind those of several developing countries of Latin America and Africa.
In the panchayats and municipalities, it is legally binding to fill one-third of the seats by women candidates. This has resulted in 10 lakh elected women representatives in rural bodies which is more than urban local bodies.

The two reasons which show that caste alone cannot determine election results in India are
(i) No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community. When people say, the caste is a 'vote bank' of one party, it usually means that a large proportion of voters from that caste vote for that party.
(ii) No parliamentary constituency in the country has a clear majority of one single caste. So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win elections.

Different forms of the communal politics:
(a) The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religious. This is so common that we often fail to notice it, even when we believe in it.
(b) A communal mind often leads to political dominance of one's own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, it takes the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit.
(c) Political mobilization on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders and emotional appeal, in order to bring the followers of one religion together in the political arena. In electoral politics, this often involves special appeal of votes in the name of religion.
(d) Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots at the time of the Partition. The post-independence period has also seen large-scale communal violence.

Different forms of the communal politics:
(a) The most common expression of communalism is in everyday beliefs. These routinely involve religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities and belief in the superiority of one's religion over other religious. This is so common that we often fail to notice it, even when we believe in it.
(b) A communal mind often leads to political dominance of one's own religious community. For those belonging to majority community, it takes the form of majoritarian dominance. For those belonging to the minority community, it can take the form of a desire to form a separate political unit.
(c) Political mobilization on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders and emotional appeal, in order to bring the followers of one religion together in the political arena. In electoral politics, this often involves special appeal of votes in the name of religion.
(d) Sometimes communalism takes its most ugly form of communal violence, riots and massacre. India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots at the time of the Partition. The post-independence period has also seen large-scale communal violence.

Communalism can take several forms in politics like
(i) The most common expression of communalism is of communal superiority in our everyday beliefs. For example, Militant religious groups.
(ii) Sometimes, communalism takes its worst form in riots. India and Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots at the time of partition.
(iii) A communal mind often leads to a quest for political dominance of one's own religious community.
(iv) Political mobilisation based on religion is another form of communalism. This involves the use of sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal to bring the followers of one religion together in political areas. In India. politicians are trying to influence voters exploiting their religious sentiments from the two largest religious communities in the country.