Question

how are the social division reflected in politics explains

Answer 1

Social divisions in a country arereflected in politics in the many ways:

(i) Political parties make different promises to different communities during election forvotes.

(ii) In elections, people tend to vote on the basis of social divisions. They vote for the candidate of their own community in the hope that he will look after their interest in a better way than the candidate belonging to other community.

Answer 2

A combination of social divisions and politics can be really dangerous. A democracy involves competition among various political parties. As their competition tends to divide society, if they start competing in terms of some existing social divisions, then it can convert those social divisions into political divisions, which can lead to conflict, violence and even disintegration of the country. An example of this is the disintegration of Yugoslavia into six independent countries.

However, the combination of social divisions and politics is not always negative. The political expression of social divisions allows marginalised and disadvantaged social groups to express their grievances and ask the government to rectify them. The system of reservation of seats in Indian legislatures for the socially disadvantaged has allowed such social groups to have an adequate representation in the decision-making process.