NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Civics Chapter 7 –

Understanding Marginalisation
1. Write in your own words two or more sentences of what you understand by the word
‘marginalisation’.

Answer: A social process of being confined to lower social standing is marginalisation. It involves
people being denied their fundamental rights, which results in lowering their social and economic status.
It is a situation when a particular social group is forced to live on the fringes rather than in the
mainstream. A marginalised section of society does not get opportunities for social and economic
development.

2. List two reasons why Adivasis are becoming increasingly marginalised.

Answer: Adivasis are being increasingly marginalised for the following two reasons:

1. Changes in forest laws have deprived the Adivasis of access to forest produce.
2. The construction of factories and other projects in tribal areas have forced many tribal people to
migrate to other places in search of a livelihood.
3. Write one reason why you think the Constitution’s safeguards to protect minority communities
are very important.

Answer: The safeguards to protect minority communities are necessary because the majority
community may culturally dominate the minority communities, and the minority communities might
become marginalised.

4. Re-read the section on Minorities and Marginalisation. What do you understand by the term
minority?

Answer: A minority is a community that is numerically small in relation to the rest of the population. A
particular religious section which has a low percentage in population compared to the major religious
community is called a minority.

The Constitution of India provides safeguards to linguistical and religious minorities as a part of its
fundamental rights and ensures that minorities do not face any disadvantage or discrimination. In India,
Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, etc., are included as minorities.

5. You are participating in a debate where you have to provide reasons to support the following
statement: ‘Muslims are a marginalised community.’ Using the data provided in this chapter, list
two reasons that you would give.

Answer: As per the data provided in the chapter, the literacy rate of the Muslim population in India is
only 59%, which is the lowest compared to 65% among Hindus, 70% among Sikhs, 73% among
Buddhists, 80% among Christians, and 94% among Jains.

Also, only 3% of Muslims represent the esteemed Indian Administrative Service Cadre. The above
statistics support that Muslims are a marginalised community in India.
 NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Civics Chapter 7 –
Understanding Marginalisation
6. Imagine that you are watching the Republic Day parade on TV with a friend, and she remarks,
“Look at these tribal people. They look so exotic. And they seem to be dancing all the time.” List
three things that you would tell her about the lives of Adivasis in India.

Answer: Adivasis have a deep knowledge of forests. They were hunters and gatherers and lived like
nomads. They practised shifting agriculture and also cultivated in a single place. Their deep knowledge
of forests made them indispensable to the rulers of various empires during the pre-colonial period in
India. They have their own language and have influenced the formation of various Indian languages,
Bengali being one of them.

7. In the storyboard, you read about how Helen hopes to make a movie on the Adivasi story. Can
you help her by developing a short story on Adivasis?

Answer: Students have to do this by themselves.

8. Would you agree with the statement that economic marginalisation and social marginalisation
are interlinked? Why?

Answer: Social marginalisation and economic marginalisation are interlinked. Social marginalisation
forces a social group out of the mainstream, resulting in a lack of opportunities for skill development
and education. This means that the people from marginalised sections will not have proper access to
quality healthcare, which in turn means that a child from the marginalised section does not develop into
a financially stable adult who otherwise is capable enough to ensure a better income. Thus, the
individual who is left behind in socio-economic development also becomes economically marginalised.