In this chapter, this term is used to refer to a cultural context, in which the customs and practices that are followed are those of the dominant community.

(i) Muslims are marginalised community in India because in comparison to other communities, they have, over the years, been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development.
(ii) Like other minorities, Muslim customs and practices are sometimes quite distinct from what is seen as the mainstream. Some Muslim may wear a burqa, sport a long beard, wear a fez, and these become ways to identify Muslims. Because of this, they tend to be identified differently and some people think they are not like the' rest of us'. Often, this becomes the excuse to treat them unfairly, and discriminate against them.

She is trying to convey the fears and insecurities that she and other members of her community live with because they are a minority.

Yes,special measures are required to address this. Government can introduce free school books, school dresses, nutritious food for all to attract the children.

Metals like iron and aluminium are important in present-day India.
They are required for building infrastructure including roads, bridges, rail-lines, aeroplanes ete. They come from the mines of iron ore and " aluminium ore under forest lands. Yes, there are Adivasi populations inhabiting those places.

(i) Marginalised groups are those who are deprived from the mainstream society. They are subjected to many forms of discrimination and are often denied from resources and opportunities.
(ii)Many a times, these downtrodden sections are not allowed to mix with the rest of the society. These include slaves, people with diseases like leprosy, people who perform jobs that are thought to be polluting like cleaning sewers, people belonging to indigenous tribes and the 'blacks'.
(iii) Traditionally, women in almost all the societies are marginalised. In India, the practice of caste system has resulted in the creation of a section of people who are excluded from the society or marginalised.
(iv) People working as leather workers, manual scavengers, etc. are treated as outcastes and are subject to humiliation and suppression.

(i) The Adivasi population is unique in social structure  as they show little differences or hierarchy.
(ii) They are away from biasis of caste or religion.
(iii) They practice a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduisum and Christianity.
(iv) Their religious practices include worship of ancestors, village, nature and nature related spirits.
(v) The village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves within the village boundary, while the ancestral ones are usually worshipped at home.
(vi) They are influenced by the surrounding religions like Shakta, Vaishnav, Buddhism or Christianity.
(vii) Basically, they are influenced by the dominant religions of the State around them.
(viii) Adivasis have their own language and many modern Indian languages are derived from them.
(ix) Santhali is the one of the most recognizable languages of Adivasis.

(i) People who were formerly treated as untouchables in the society are called Scheduled Castes.
(ii) The chief provisions for uplifting and safeguarding the interests of the SCs and STs are the following:
(a) Article 46 of the Constitution provides, "The care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular of the SCs and the STs, shall protect them from social injustice and all form of exploitation".
(b) Article 17 declares, "Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. It enforces that any disability arising out of the untouchability shall be an offence punishable with law."
(c) According to article 275, "There shall be a pay out of the consolidated fund of India as grants- in-aid of the revenues of states. Such capital and recurring sums as may be undertaken by the state, with the approval of the government for the purpose of raising the level of administration of the scheduled areas therein to that of the administration of the rest of that state."
(d) The Preamble to the Constitution of India, the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of the State Policy also contain several provisions for safeguarding interests of the SCs and STs.
Implementation of the Constitution provisions :
To implement the above Constitution provisions, several steps have been taken for the welfare and upliftment of the weaker sections of the society. These include:
(i) Jobs in the government are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
(ii) Seats are reserved for SCs and STs in educational institutions.
(iii) Some constituencies of Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies are reserved for the SC and ST candidates. In such constituencies, only a SC or ST
candidate can contest the elections.
(iv) Provisions have been made for various competitive examinations to improve the representation of SCs and STsin various services.
(v) Book banks have been provided to SC and ST students aspiring for Engineering and medical courses.
(vi) Scholarship and grants for higher education from abroad are also given.
(vii) Hostel facility for SC and ST girls studying in schools, colleges and universities have been given. Most of the above provisions are common to both, the SC and ST people.
(viii) Vocational Training Programmes have been started in tribal areas by opening educational institutions for the promotion of female literacy in these areas.

Adivasis, the term literally means original inhabitants. Adivasis originally lived in or near forest regions. They were engaged in cultivation, agriculture, hunting, gathering etc. They were aware of the different plant species available in the forest and their utilities. They lived in close harmony with nature.
However, with change in forest policies and intervention of government and private industries, the Adivasis were forcefully evicted from their land. Since the forest.areas were found to be rich in metal ores, tirriber, other forest products and also suitable for" agriculture, the tribals were evicted from there. They were then deprived of their place of living and livelihood and forced to move to cities in search of work.