Question

How are religious differences expressed in politics ?

CBSE Class X Social Science SA ( 3 marks)

Answer 1

The religious differences are often expressed in the field of politics, i.e. :
(i) Gandhiji used to say that religion can never be separated from politics, what he meant by religion was not any particular religion like Hinduism or Islam but moral values that infirm all religions. He believed that politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion.
(ii) Human right groups in our country have argued that most of the victims of communal riots in our country are people from religious minorities. They have demanded that the government take special steps to protect religious minorities.
(iii) Womens’ movement has agreed that family laws of all religions discriminate against women. So they have demanded that government should change these laws to make them more equitable.

Answer 2

Dear student,

a.  Issues like gender for instance,have also got  political expression so as to bring about  women empowerment, to deal with issues of domestic violence etc. The issue of women's representation has always been the talking point amongst the political fraternity and society alike, Much has been achieved ever since we gained Independence, from providing legal political equality, liberty to reservation of seats in the local government bodies for women. despite this,  participation of women remain low because  the very notion of patriarchy is so well entrenched in Indian society which propagates women's subordination to men as natural and inevitable.
b. However, religious issues gets more reflected in politics.
c. Today religion as a social factor is exploited by the politicians for electoral gains, who uses religious symbols, values to incite the masses against a particular religious community.For Example, Demand for a  separate Sikh State of Khailstan was intended to divide people across religious lines. It resulted  in 1984 communal clashes where the Sikhs were targeted.
d. Similarly, communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims from time to time are more politically motivated where political parties have pitted one group against another for electoral gains. We may give example of 1992, communal riots , followed by riots in Bombay, Godhra riots 2002, recently Muzaffarnagar riots where Muslims have been targeted.