Understanding Marginalisation

Why this chapter matters for UPSC: Social justice and marginalisation are core GS2 themes — appearing as questions on reservation policy, SC/ST atrocities, tribal rights, minority rights, and welfare schemes. The conceptual framework (forms of marginalisation, constitutional remedies) connects directly to contemporary debates like sub-categorisation of OBC reservations, the 103rd Amendment (EWS quota), and implementation of the Forest Rights Act.

PART 1 — Quick Reference Tables

Major Marginalised Groups in India

Constitutional Protections for Marginalised Groups

Reservation Policy at a Glance

PART 2 — Detailed Notes

What is Marginalisation?

Scheduled Castes — Dalits

Dalits (formerly called "untouchables") constitute ~16.6% of India's population (Census 2011). Historically subjected to:

• Untouchability: Banned by Article 17 of the Constitution; operationalised through the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955
• Manual scavenging: Prohibited by the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013; yet fully eradicated — NCRB reports hundreds of deaths in sewers/septic tanks annually
• Atrocities: The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, amended in 2016 (added new offences: garlanding with footwear, forcing to eat garbage, denying water access, posting humiliating material on social media); amendment overturned automatic anticipatory bail exclusion after SC dilution in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan (2018) — restored by Parliament via 2018 Amendment

Scheduled Tribes — Adivasis

India recognises 705+ Scheduled Tribes constituting ~8.6% of the population. They are the most economically deprived group, with the highest poverty rates and the lowest human development indicators.

Key issues:

• Land and forest rights: Historically dispossessed; the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006 recognises individual and community forest rights of Adivasis (and other forest dwellers with 75+ years residency)
• Displacement: Development projects (dams, mines, wildlife sanctuaries) have displaced an estimated 5–8 crore tribals since 1947; the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) led by Medha Patkar protested the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River
• PESA 1996: Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act — extends gram sabha powers to 5th Schedule areas; gram sabha consent required for land acquisition and minor forest produce

Minorities

Article 29 protects the right of any section of citizens having a distinct language, script, or culture to conserve the same. Article 30 grants religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) — statutory body under the NCM Act 1992 — monitors implementation of minority safeguards. It covers six religious minorities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis), and Jains (added 2014).

Women

Despite forming ~48.5% of the population, women face structural marginalisation through:

• Gender pay gap (~19% per PLFS data)
• Political under-representation (Women's Reservation Act 2023 — 106th Amendment — reserves 1/3 seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies; operative after next delimitation exercise)
• Domestic violence (Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005)
• NFHS-5 (2019–21): Sex ratio at birth 929 females per 1000 males — reflecting son preference and sex-selective practices

Forms of Marginalisation

Exam Strategy

Prelims traps:

• Article 17 abolishes untouchability; Article 15 prohibits discrimination — do not conflate
• SC/ST PoA Act was enacted in 1989, amended in 2016 and 2018 (Parliament reversed SC dilution)
• OBC reservation (27%) is based on Mandal Commission recommendations, upheld in Indra Sawhney (1992); the 50% ceiling was set in this same judgment; EWS 10% breaches it — upheld in Janhit Abhiyan (2022)
• Creamy layer applies to OBC reservations (not SC/ST reservations) — Supreme Court reiterated in Indra Sawhney
• FRA 2006 recognises rights of both Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (75+ years of forest dependency)
• PESA 1996 applies only to 5th Schedule (tribal) areas — not 6th Schedule areas (Northeast) which have their own Autonomous District Councils

Mains angles:

• Sub-categorisation of SC/ST reservations: Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024) — 7-judge SC bench allowed sub-categorisation within SC/ST for more backward among the backward; implications for reservation policy
• EWS reservation and the challenge to the 50% ceiling: evolution of India's reservation jurisprudence
• Forest Rights Act — implementation gaps and tribal displacement

Previous Year Questions

Prelims:

1. Consider the following statements about the Forest Rights Act 2006:
   

   1. It recognises rights of Scheduled Tribes who have been residing in forests for generations
      
   2. It also covers Other Traditional Forest Dwellers with 75 years of forest residency
      
   3. Community forest rights are not covered under the Act
      Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
      (a) 1 only
      (b) 1 and 2 only
      (c) 2 and 3 only
      (d) 1, 2 and 3

2. Which constitutional amendment introduced the 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)?
   (a) 101st Amendment
   (b) 102nd Amendment
   (c) 103rd Amendment
   (d) 106th Amendment

Mains:

1. "The Constitution of India is not only a political document but also a social charter." Examine this statement with reference to the provisions for the protection of marginalised communities. (CSE Mains 2022, GS Paper 2, 15 marks)

2. Discuss the significance of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 in empowering tribal communities. What are the challenges in its implementation? (CSE Mains 2020, GS Paper 2, 15 marks)