Understanding Marginalisation

In the social environment too, groups of people or communities may have the experience of being excluded. Their marginalisation can be because they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community."

• To be marginalised is to be forced to occupy the sides or fringes and thus not be at the centre of things.
• In the social environment, groups of people or communities may have the experience of being excluded. Their marginalisation can be because they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community.
• They may also feel marginalised because they are poor, considered to be of 'low' social status and viewed as being less human than others. Sometimes, marginalised groups are viewed with hostility and fear. This sense of difference and exclusion leads to communities not having access to resources and opportunities and in their inability to assert their rights. They experience a sense of disadvantage and powerlessness vis-a-vis more powerful and dominant sections of society who own land, are wealthy, better educated and politically powerful. Thus, marginalisation is seldom experienced in one sphere. Economic, social, cultural and political factors work together to make certain groups in society feel marginalised.

1.0Who are Adivasis?

Adivasis - the term literally means 'original inhabitants' - are communities who lived, and often continue to live, in close association with forests. Around 8 per cent of India's population is Adivasi and many of India's most important mining and industrial centres are located in Adivasi areas Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai among others. Adivasis are not a homogeneous population: there are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India. Adivasis are particularly numerous in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. A state like Odisha is home to more than 60 different tribal groups. Adivasi societies are also most distinctive because there is often very little hierarchy among them. This makes them radically different from communities organised around principles of jati-varna (caste) or those that were ruled by kings.

Adivasis practise a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. These often involve the worship of ancestors, village and nature spirits, the last associated with and residing in various sites in the landscape - 'mountain-spirits', 'river-spirits', 'animal-spirits', etc. The village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves within the village boundary while the ancestral ones are usually worshipped at home. Additionally, Adivasis have always been influenced by different surrounding religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and Christianity. Simultaneously, Adivasi religions themselves have influenced dominant religions of the empires around them, for example, the Jagannath cult of Odisha and Shakti and Tantric traditions in Bengal and Assam. During the nineteenth century, substantial numbers of Adivasis converted to Christianity, which has emerged as a very important religion in modern Adivasi history.

The above two images of tribal communities in their traditional costumes are often the only ways in which Adivasi communities are represented. This then leads us to think of them as being exotic and backward Adivasis have their own languages (most of them radically different from and possibly as old as Sanskrit), which have often deeply influenced the formation of 'mainstream' Indian languages, like Bengali. Santhali has the largest number of speakers and has a significant body of publications including magazines on the internet or in e-zines.

(a) Adivasis and stereotyping: In India, we usually 'showcase' Adivasi communities in particular ways. Thus, during school functions or other official events or in books and movies, Adivasis are invariably portrayed in very stereotypical ways - in colourful costumes, headgear and through their dancing. Besides this, we seem to know very little about the realities of their lives. This often wrongly leads to people believing that they are exotic, primitive and backward. Often Adivasis are blamed for their lack of advancement as they are believed to be resistant to change or new ideas.

(b) Adivasis and development: Forests were absolutely crucial to the development of all empires and settled civilisations in India. Metal ores like iron and copper, and gold and silver, coal and diamonds, invaluable timber, most medicinal herbs and animal products (wax, lac, honey) and animals themselves (elephants, the mainstay of imperial armies), all came from the forests. In addition, the continuation of life depended heavily on forests, which help recharge many of India's rivers and, as is becoming clearer now, crucial to the availability and quality of our air and water. Forests covered the major part of our country till the nineteenth century and the Adivasis had a deep knowledge of, access to, as well as control over most of these vast tracts at least till the middle of the nineteenth century. This meant that they were not ruled by large states and empires. Instead, often empires heavily depended on Adivasis for the crucial access to forest resources.

Powerless communities - This is radically contrary to our image of Adivasis today as somewhat marginal and powerless communities. In the pre- colonial world, they were traditionally ranged hunter- gatherers and nomads and lived by shifting agriculture and also cultivating in one place. Although these remain, for the past 200 years Adivasis have been increasingly forced - through economic changes, forest policies and political force applied by the State and private industry - to migrate to live as workers in plantations, at construction sites, in industries and as domestic workers. For the first time in history, they do not control or have much direct access to the forest territories.

Forest lands have been cleared for timber and to get land for agriculture and industry. Adivasis have also lived in areas that are rich in minerals and other natural resources. These are taken over for mining and other large industrial projects. Powerful forces have often collided to take over tribal land. Much of the time, the land is taken away forcefully, and procedures are not followed. According to official figures, more than 50 per cent of persons displaced due to mines and mining projects are tribals. Another recent survey report by organisations working among Adivasis shows that 79 per cent of the persons displaced from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand are tribals. Huge tracts of their lands have also gone under the waters of hundreds of dams that have been built in independent India. In the Northeast, their lands remain highly militarised. India has 101 national parks covering and 543 wildlife sanctuaries covering 1,19,776 sq km. These are areas where tribals originally lived but were evicted from. When they continue to stay in these forests, they are termed encroachers.

Losing their lands and access to the forest means that tribals lose their main source of livelihood and food. Having gradually lost access to their traditional homelands, many Adivasis have migrated to cities in search of work where they are employed for very low wages in local industries or at building or construction sites. They, thus, get caught in a cycle of poverty and deprivation. 45 per cent of tribal groups in rural areas and 35 per cent in urban areas live below the poverty line. This leads to deprivation in other areas. Many tribal children are malnourished. Literacy rates among tribals are also very low. When Adivasis are displaced from their lands, they lose much more than a source of income. They lose their traditions and customs - a way of living and being.

2.0Minorities and Marginalisation

• The Constitution provides safeguards to religious and linguistic minorities as part of our Fundamental Rights.
• The term minority is most commonly used to refer to communities that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. However, it is a concept that goes well beyond numbers. It encompasses issues of power, access to resources and has social and cultural dimensions.
• The Indian Constitution recognised that the culture of the majority influences the way in which society and government might express themselves. In such cases, size can be a disadvantage and lead to the marginalisation of the relatively smaller communities. Thus, safeguards are needed to protect minority communities against the possibility of being culturally dominated by the majority.
• They also protect them against any discrimination and disadvantage that they may face. Given certain conditions, communities that are small in number relative to the rest of society may feel insecure about their lives, assets and well-being.
• This sense of insecurity may get accentuated if the relations between the minority and majority communities are fraught. The Constitution provides these safeguards because it is committed to protecting India's cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice.
• The judiciary plays a crucial role in upholding the law and enforcing Fundamental Rights.
• Every citizen of India can approach the courts if they believe that their Fundamental Rights have been violated.

3.0Muslims and Marginalisation

• According to 2011 census, Muslims are 14.2 per cent of India's population and are considered to be a marginalised communities in India today because in comparison to other communities, they have over the years been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development.
• Recognising that Muslims in India were lagging behind in terms of various development indicators, the government set up a high-level committee in 2005. Chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar, the committee examined the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India.
• The report discusses in detail the marginalisation of this community. It suggests that on a range of social, economic and educational indicators the situation of the Muslim community is comparable to that of other marginalised communities like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• For example, according to the Report the average years of schooling for Muslim children between the ages of 7-16 is much lower than that of other socio-religious communities.
• Economic and social marginalisation experienced by Muslims has other dimensions as well. Like other minorities, Muslim customs and practices are sometimes quite distinct from what is seen as the mainstream.
• Some- not all- Muslims may wear a Burqa, sport a long beard, wear a fez, and these become ways to identify all 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 an excuse to treat them unfairly, and discriminate against them.
• The social marginalisation of Muslims in some instances has led to them migrating from places where they have lived, often leading to the ghettoisation of the community. Sometimes, this prejudice leads to hatred and violence.
• We saw how in the case of the Muslim community there is a link between economic and social marginalisation. Earlier in this chapter, you read about the situation of Adivasis.
• We have also read about the unequal status of women in India. The experiences of all these groups point to the fact that marginalisation is a complex phenomenon requiring a variety of strategies, measures and safeguards to redress this situation.
• All of us have a stake in protecting the rights defined in the Constitution and the laws and policies framed to realise these rights. Without these, we will never be able to protect the diversity that makes our country unique nor realise the State's commitment to promote equality for all.

4.0Conclusion

• Thus, we have understood what marginalisation means, we have understood this with the help of different examples. If we have also seen that marginalisation is linked to experiencing disadvantage, prejudice and powerlessness. In India there are several more marginalised communities, like Dalits.
• Marginalisation result in having a low social status and not having equal access to education and other resources.
• Yet, the lives of marginalised people can and do change. Thus no one is marginalised all the time in exactly the same way. If we go back to the two examples of marginalisation we have discussed; we will see that each of these groups has a long history of struggle and resistance. Marginalised communities want to maintain their cultural distinctiveness while having access to rights, development and other opportunities.
• In the next chapter, we will read about how different groups have confronted marginalisation.

5.0Glossary

1. Hierarchy - A graded system or arrangement of persons or things. Usually, persons at the bottom of the hierarchy are those who have the least power. The caste system is a hierarchical system and Dalits are considered to be at the lowest end.
2. Ghettoization - A ghetto is an area or locality that is populated largely by members of a particular community. Ghettoization refers to the process that leads to such a situation. This may occur due to various social, cultural and economic reasons. Fear or hostility may also compel a community to group together as they feel more secure living amongst their own. Often a 'ghettoised' community has few options of moving out, which may lead to them becoming alienated from the rest of the society.
3. Mainstream - Literally this refers to the main current of a river or stream. In this chapter it is used to refer to a cultural context in which the customs and practices that are followed are those of the dominant community. In connection with this, mainstream is also used to refer to those people or communities that are considered to be at the centre of a society, i.e., often the powerful or dominant group.
4. Mainstream - Literally this refers to the main current of a river or stream. In this chapter it is used to refer to a cultural context in which the customs and practices that are followed are those of the dominant community. In connection with this, mainstream is also used to refer to those people or communities that are considered to be at the centre of a society, i.e., often the powerful or dominant group.
5. Displaced - In the context of this chapter this refers to people who are forced or compelled to move from their homes for big development projects including dams, mining etc.
6. Militarised - An area where the presence of the armed forces is considerable.
7. Malnourished - A person who does not get adequate nutrition or food.

6.0MIND MAP