📖 PART 1: What does it mean to be Socially Marginalised?

AI PROMPT FOR IMAGE: A conceptual visual showing a large group of people forming a circle in the center, enjoying resources and wealth. Outside the circle, a few diverse individuals are pushed to the 'margins' or edges, looking in. Highlights the feeling of exclusion and lack of access.

In society, there are groups of people or communities who 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.

• Marginalisation results directly in communities having a low social status.
• It leads to them not having equal access to education and other resources.

🌳 PART 2: Who are Adivasis?

The term Adivasi literally means ‘original inhabitants’. They are communities who lived, and often continue to live, in close association with forests. Around 8% of India’s population is Adivasi.

• Rich Diversity: Adivasi societies are very distinct because there is often very little hierarchy among them. This makes them radically different from communities organized around principles of caste or ruled by kings.
• Religion: They practice a range of tribal religions distinct from Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. These often involve the worship of ancestors, village, and nature spirits. (However, during the 19th and 20th centuries, large numbers converted to Christianity).
• Language: They have their own languages (e.g., Santhali), which have significantly influenced the formation of mainstream Indian languages.

Stereotyping and Marginalisation of Adivasis

AI PROMPT FOR IMAGE: An emotive illustration comparing two scenes: Left side shows an Adivasi family living harmoniously in a lush, green forest gathering herbs. Right side shows the same family displaced in a crowded, dirty urban slum after their forest was cleared for a massive mining project.

• In India, we usually showcase Adivasi communities holding stereotypical images – in colourful costumes, headgear, and dancing. We often mistakenly believe that they are exotic, primitive, and backward.
• Displacement: From the 1830s onwards, due to the need for timber, agriculture, and mining operations (especially in regions like Chota Nagpur), Adivasis have been forcefully displaced from their ancestral lands.
• Losing their lands and access to the forest meant losing their main sources of livelihood and food. Many migrated to cities in search of work, where they are employed for very low wages.
• As a result, they get caught in a cycle of poverty and deprivation (around 45% of tribal groups in rural areas and 35% in urban areas live below the poverty line).

🕌 PART 3: Minorities and Marginalisation

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 they may face.

Muslims and Marginalisation

According to the 2011 census, Muslims form 14.2% of India’s population. Over the years, they have been considered as a marginalised community in India because they have been deprived of the benefits of socio-economic development compared to other communities.

• They lag behind in basic amenities (like pucca houses, electricity, and tap water).
• They have lower literacy rates compared to other religious groups.
• They are under-represented in public employment.
• Social Stereotyping: Some identify Muslims simply by wearing a explicitly religious signs (like a burqa or long beard). Because of this, they tend to be identified differently and some people think they are not like the 'rest of us'. This often becomes an excuse to treat them unfairly, leading to ghettoisation.