ITL PUBLIC SCHOOL Pre-SA2 ( ) Social Science Handout Class VIII Subject: Civics CHAPTER- LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

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1 ITL PUBLIC SCHOOL Pre-SA2 ( ) Social Science Handout Class VIII Subject: Civics Instructions: Handout should be read only after reading the chapter Value points/key words should be focused on du ring revision. CHAPTER- LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE 1. LAW ON MINIMUM WAGES 1) To protect people from exploitation the government makes certain laws. These laws try to ensure that the unfair practices are kept at a minimum in the markets. 2) To ensure that workers are not underpaid or are paid fairly, there is a law on minimum wages. 3) In the eyes of the law it is illegal or wrong to deny workers their wages. 4) There are laws that protect the interests of producers and consumers in the market. 5) The government has to ensure that these laws are implemented which means that the law must be enforced. 6) Enforcement becomes even more important when the laws, the government can control the activities of individuals or private companies so as to ensure social justice. 7) Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution like Right against Exploitation say that no one can be forced to work for low wages or under bondage. 8) The Constitution lays down no child below the age of 14years shall be employed to work in any factory or mines or engaged in any other hazardous employment. Q.1 Why do we need a law on minimum wages? Protection workers interest, paid fairly illegal to deny wages Check on the unfair practices, 2. BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY 1) The world s worst industrial tragedy took place in Bhopal 24yrs ago. 2) Union Carbide (UC) an American company had a factory in the city in which it produced pesticides. MIC, a highly poisonous gas, started leaking on 2 December 1984,at midnight from the factory. 3) Within three days more than 8000 people were dead, hundreds of thousands were maimed. 4) UC stopped its operation but left behind tons of toxic chemicals. 5) 24yrs later, people are still fighting for justice, for safe drinking water, for health care facilities and jobs for the people poisoned by UC. Q.1 Do you think the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy got justice? Discuss. UC refused to accept responsibility Government filled a $3 billion compensation Accepted a lowly $470 million in Appeal against the settlement

2 Supreme Court judgement Damage done can t be retrieved. 3. WORKER S RIGHTS 1) One reason why foreign companies come to India is for cheap labour. Wages that the companies pay to workers are far higher than what they have to pay to workers in poorer countries like India. 2) For lower pay, companies can get longer hours of work. Additional expenses such as for housing facilities for workers are also fewer. Thus, companies can save costs and earn higher profits. 3) One part of the answer lies in what is perceived as the worth of an Indian worker. 4) One worker can easily replace another. Since there is so much unemployment, there are many workers who are willing to work in unsafe conditions in return for a wage. Making use of the workers vulnerability, employers ignore safety in workplaces. 5) Thus, even so many years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, there are regular reports of accidents in construction sites, mines or factories due to the callous attitude of the employers. Q.1 What are the advantages to foreign companies in setting up production in India? Cheap labour Far lower pay Additional expenses, housing facilities, fewer. Cost cutting, more dangerous means. Poor working conditions Long working hours Easy availability of workers High profits 4. ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY LAWS 1) As the lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is not violated. 2) Instead of protecting the interests of the people, their safety was being disregarded both by the government and the private companies. 3) With more industries being set up both by local and foreign businesses in India, there is a great need for stronger laws protecting workers rights and better enforcement of these laws. Q.1 What do we mean when we speak of law enforcement? Who is responsible for enforcement? Why is enforcement so important? Law enforcement -a law is obeyed. The government is responsible. The duty of the government - the Right to life. 5. NEW LAWS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT 1) In 1984, there were very few laws protecting the environment in India, and there was hardly any enforcement of these laws. 2) The environment was treated as a free entity and any industry could pollute the air and water without any restrictions. Whether it was our rivers, air, and 3) groundwater - the environment was being polluted and the health of people disregarded. 4) The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of environment to the forefront. Several 5) thousands of persons who were not associated with the factory in any way were greatly affected because of the poisonous gases leaked from the plant. 6) This made people realize that the existing laws, though weak, only covered the individual worker and

3 not persons who might be injured due to industrial accidents. 7) In response to this pressure from environmental activists and others, in the years following the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian government introduced new laws on the environment. Henceforth, the polluter was to be held accountable for the damage done to environment. The environment is something that people over generations will share, and it could not be destroyed merely for industrial development.. Q1. How was environment treated earlier? What has been the change in perception? Discuss. The environment a free entity,industrial pollution Environmental pollution, health disregarded. The Bhopal disaster. Environmental activist s role. The polluter held accountable. The environment t could not be destroyed. Q2. What are the sources of environmental pollution? Discuss with respect to (a) air; (b) water and (c) soil. a) Air: too many vehicles on the roads. Steps taken to reduce it: No concrete steps. Housing colonies, plant tree. Awareness campaigns, stick bills. b) Water:- submersible pumps, wastage of water. use of showers. Water pollution by soap water human waste left on the open ground Steps that can be taken-a meter installation,tanks. c) Soil: use of non-biodegradable materials, excess use of fertilizers Q.3 What are the steps being taken to reduce the pollution? spreading awareness:- Campaigns or Sticking posters. Governments involvement. Strict laws and rules. CHAPTER UNDERSTANDING MARGINALIZATION 1. ADIVASIS 1) Adivasi term literally means original inhabitants or communities who lived, and often continue to live, in close association with forests. 2) Around 8 per cent of India s population is Adivasis and many of India s most important mining and industrial centres are located in Adivasis areas Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai 3) Adivasis are not a homogeneous population: there are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India. 4) They practice a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism Christianity. 5) They often involve the worship of Ancestors, village, and nature spirits, the last associated with and various sites in the landscape- mountain-spirits. river-spirits, animal spirits etc. 6) The village spirits are often worshipped at specific sacred groves within the village boundary while the ancestral ones are usually worshiped at home.

4 7) They are often influenced by surrounding religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and Christianity. Possible questions Q.1 What does it mean to be socially marginalized? Socially marginalized - forced to occupy the sides Dominance by the majority. Q.2 What is marginalization? Reduction of power of certain people. Example- Tribals, OBC s, Religious minorities and women. Q.3 Who are Adivasis? Meaning of the term adivasi Around 8 per cent Adivasis Adivasis, homogeneous population Q.4 Name some places inhabited by Adivasis? Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and north eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Q5. Write a note on religious Practices of Adivasis? practice a range of tribal religions worship of Ancestors, village, nature spirits village spirits worshipped. influenced by surrounding religions Q6. How has the adivasis contributed towards the development of the country? Forests cover in India. Adivasis s knowledge of various tracts Dependence on Adivasis, forest resources. Q7. Why are tribal communities poor? Losing land, access to the forest. Loss of livelihood and food. Adivasis migration, search of work. Very low wages. Displacement- loss more than a source of income. Tribal children malnourished. Low literacy rate. 2. MIINORITIES AND MARGINALIZATION 1) The term minority is most commonly used to refer to communities that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. 2) The Indian constitution recognized 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 marginalization of the relatively smaller communities.

5 3) As a result safeguards are needed to protect minority communities against the possibility of being culturally dominated by the majority. 4) The constitution provides these safeguards because it is committed to protect India s cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice. Possible questions Q1. Why has the constitution safeguarded the minority? What could be the ill effect of not doing so? safeguards India s diversity. Promotes equality as well as justice. safeguards needed for minority protection. lead to the marginalization, smaller communities. 3. MUSLIMS AND MARGINALIZATION 1) Muslims are 13.4 % of India s population and are considered to be a marginalized community in India because in comparison to other communities, they have over the years been deprived of the benefits of social economic development. 2) Recognizing that Muslims in India were lagging behind various development indicators, the government set up a high level committee in ) A report was made by the committee, which examined the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India. 4) Due to different religious customs and practices of Muslims, they were considered quite different; as a result, they tend to be identified differently and some people think that they are not like the rest of us. 5) Often this becomes an excuse to treat muslims unfairly, and discriminate them. 6) Social marginalization of Muslims in some instances had led them to migrate from one place to other where they have lived, which often leads to ghettoization of the community. Possible questions Q1. Mention the largest religious minority in our country. Muslims 13.4 per cent of India s population Considered marginalized community Deprived of the benefits,socio economic development Q2. Muslims are marginalized community Give two reasons? Muslims marginalized community. benefits deprived of development. Distinct Muslim customs and practices. some people s view, not like rest of us. unfairly treatment, discriminate against them. Q3. How does the constitution of India protect the right of the minorities? Indian constitution, culture of the majority. Constitution safeguards, minorities. Protection minority communities. Culturally majority dominance,protection against discrimination. Disadvantage that they may face. feeling of insecurity, lives, assets, well being. The constitution, protection of India s culture diversity. Promoting equality& justice. Q4. Would you agree with the statement that economic and social marginalization are interlinked? Why?

6 The social marginalization of Muslims, ghettoisation. Low literacy rate, Muslims. Low employment, Muslims. Prejudice, hatred and violence. Tribals loss of sources of livelihood and food. Tribal children,malnourished. Low literacy rates, tribals. CHAPTER PUBLIC FACILITIES 1. WATER AS A PART OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO LIFE 1) Water is essential for life and for good health. 2) India has one of the largest numbers of cases of diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, cholera. 3) Over 1600 Indians, most of them children below the age of five reportedly die every day because of water related diseases 4) The constitution recognizes the right to water as being a part of the right to life under Article 21. 5) This means that water is the right is the every person, whether rich or poor, to have sufficient amounts of water to fulfill his/her daily needs at a price that he/she can afford. Q1. Write a short note on Water a part of Fundamental Right to Life. The Constitution of India- the right to water,article 21. right of every person rich or poor. Universal access to water. 2. PUBLIC FACILITIES 1) Facilities that need to be provided by the government for everyone.eg: sanitation 2) Once it is provided, its benefits can be shared by many people. 3. THE GOVERNMENTS ROLE 1) Given that public facilities are so important, government carries the responsibility of providing these to the people. 2) As private companies operate for profit in the market, public facilities are not provided by private companies. 3) Also private company will probably not be interested in undertaking such work. 4) Private companies provide public facilities but at a price that only some people can afford. Q.1 Why most of the private hospitals & private schools are located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas? Not a constant supply of electricity. Lack of infrastructure Poor cannot afford 4. WATER SUPPLY TO CHENNAI: IS IT AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE? 1) Water supply in Chennai is marked by shortages. 2) Municipal supply only meets about half the needs of the people of the city, on an average. 3) There are areas which get water more regularly than others. 4) Those areas that are close to the storage points get more water whereas colonies further away receive less water. 5) The burden of shortfalls in water supply falls mostly on the poor. 6) The middle class, when faced with water shortages, are able to cope through a variety of private means such as digging bore wells, buying water from tankers and using bottled water for drinking. 7) There is insufficient access to safe water.

7 Q.1 Why do you think that there are so few cases of private water supply in the world? expensive private companies profits people cannot afford Q.2 How is sale of water by farmers to water dealers in Chennai affecting the local people? Do you think local people can object to such exploitation of ground water? Can the government do anything in this regard? Many private companies are providing water to cities by burying it from the Farmers living in nearby villages. This affects the local people in the following ways:- Ground water levels, dropped drastically. No water for agriculture. Drinking water supplies, affected. result in decline of water level. People s objection takes away their fundamental rights Govt. role- More strict law and policies 5.IN SEARCH OF ALTERNATIVES 1) The situation in Chennai is not unique 2) The shortage in municipal water is increasingly being filled by an expansion of private companies who are selling water for profit. 3) The supply of water per person in an urban area in India should be 135 litres per day. 4) Whereas in slums people have to make do with less than 20 litres a day per person, people living in luxury hotels may consume 1600 litres of water per day. 5) A shortage of municipal water is often taken as a sign of failure of the government. Q.1 Do you think the distribution of public facilities in our country is adequate and fair? shortage of such facilities. The burden on the poor. The middle class able to cope variety of private means. people who can t afford, deprived of a decent life. Q.2 What do you think can be done to conserve water and improve its supply? Judicious use of water- conserve water. rainwater harvesting services of private companies,transporting and distributing water. Citizens of the country, right to all the facilities, equitable manner. Q.3 Why do you think that government must assume the overall responsibility for public facilities even if it gets private companies to do a part of it? Private companies,profit. public facilities there is no profit. private companies not interested. Private companies facilities, some people can afford Public facilities - basic needs. The constitution -the Right to life.. responsibility, public facilities- of government.