Gender, Religion and Caste

Why this chapter matters for UPSC: This is NCERT's Chapter 3 in the rationalised Reprint 2026-27 (the site keeps its old number, 4, after the dropped "Democracy and Diversity"). It opens with a claim: "The existence of social diversity does not threaten democracy." It then asks of gender, religion and caste how each division shows itself in India and whether its expression in politics helps or harms democracy. GS1 asks the society half (patriarchy, communalism, caste and its change); GS2 the politics half (women's representation, the secular state, caste in elections).

Contemporary hook: The Women's Reservation Act that NCERT says "will give 33 percent reservation" is the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. It came into force on 16 April 2026, but no seat is reserved yet: the reservation waits for a delimitation based on the first Census after commencement (Article 334A). That Census, Census 2027, will also record caste, where NCERT still says "The Census does not yet count the Other Backward Classes". Meanwhile 74 women were elected to the Lok Sabha in 2024, fewer than the 78 behind NCERT's 14.36% for 2019.

🧠 First Principles — Read This First

Three divisions, three different verdicts. NCERT does not treat every social division alike. Gender and religion are "two instances of the expression of social divisions in the arena of politics, one largely positive and the other largely negative", and caste "has both positive and the negative aspects". The test each time is the same: does the political expression of the difference help a disadvantaged group claim its share, or does it set one group against another?

Gender is social, not biological. The gender division is "a form of hierarchical social division seen everywhere, but is rarely recognised in the study of politics". It is treated as natural, yet "it is not based on biology but on social expectations and stereotypes".

Religion in politics is not the problem; communalism is. Gandhiji, human rights groups and the women's movement all brought religion into politics, and NCERT approves: "These political acts are not wrong as long as they treat every religion equally." The problem begins "when religion is seen as the basis of the nation", and grows when religion is expressed "in exclusive and partisan terms".

Caste in politics cuts both ways. Caste is special to India. In politics it gave groups once treated as low a voice, but "politics based on caste identity alone is not very healthy in a democracy". NCERT's sharpest line: "it is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is the caste that gets politicised".

PART 1 — Quick Reference

Table 1: How men and women spend a day (NCERT's time-use table)

Source: NCERT, Democratic Politics II, Class X, ch. 3 "Gender, Religion and Caste", Reprint 2026-27, p. 4, citing Government of India, Time Use Survey, 1998-99 (six States).

Paid and household work come to 7 hours 40 minutes for women and 6 hours 30 minutes for men, hence "On an average, an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day."

Table 2: Women in elected bodies: NCERT's figures and the latest

Source: NCERT ch. 3, pp. 6-7; Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parline, averages and monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, as of 1 August 2026; ADR analysis of the 2024 Lok Sabha winners; PIB, 11 March 2026 (panchayats only, where NCERT counts rural and urban bodies).

Table 3: Women's share of lower-house seats by region, 2018 and 2026 (%)

Source: NCERT ch. 3, p. 6 (directly elected houses, IPU data as on 1 October 2018); IPU Parline, lower and single chambers, as of 1 August 2026. IPU now treats the Nordic countries as a sub-region of Europe and reports Middle East and North Africa instead of Arab States, so those rows are not like for like; its 2026 South Asia figure is 15.9%.

Table 4: Religion and caste in India's population (NCERT, Census 2011)

Source: NCERT ch. 3, p. 11. The SC (16.63%) and ST (8.63%) shares recomputed from the Census 2011 Primary Census Abstract match NCERT's rounded figures.

NCERT adds that SC, ST and OBC together are "about two-thirds of the country's population and about three-fourths of the Hindu population"; since 1961 the Hindu, Jain and Christian shares have declined marginally and the Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist shares risen slightly.

Table 5: Below the poverty line by caste and community, 1999-2000 (% of each group)

Source: NCERT ch. 3, p. 13, citing the National Sample Survey Organisation, 55th Round (1999-2000). 'Upper caste' means not SC, ST or OBC; the poverty line was Rs 327 per person per month in rural areas and Rs 454 in urban areas.

Table 6: NCERT lines that have dated, and the record now

Source: NCERT ch. 3, pp. 4-8 and 11; Census 2011 Primary Census Abstract (computed); Code on Wages, 2019 and S.O. 5322(E), 21 November 2025; Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 and S.O. 1922(E), 16 April 2026; PIB, 25 April 2026.

Table 7: The secular state: NCERT's four provisions and the Constitution's text

Source: NCERT ch. 3, p. 10; Constitution of India, Articles 15, 17 and 25.

PART 2 — Concepts & Narrative

Gender and politics: the public/private division

Boys and girls are brought up to believe that the main responsibility of women is housework and bringing up children. The result is a sexual division of labour. Men do not think they cannot do housework; they think it is for women. "Most tailors or cooks in hotels are men": once the same work is paid, men take it up. Nor do women stay at home: in villages they fetch water, collect fuel and work in the fields, and in towns poor women work as domestic helpers. In fact "the majority of women do some sort of paid work in addition to domestic labour", but their work is not valued.

The political consequence: "although women constitute half of the humanity, their role in public life, especially politics, is minimal in most societies". Earlier only men could vote and contest. Women organised and agitated for equal rights, and "there were agitations in different countries for the extension of voting rights to women". These agitations demanded a better political and legal status for women and better chances in education and careers; more radical movements, which NCERT calls feminist movements, "aimed at equality in personal and family life as well". Women now work as scientists, doctors, engineers, lawyers, managers and college and university teachers, and in Scandinavian countries, "such as Sweden, Norway and Finland", the participation of women in public life is very high.

Five ways women are held back in India

"Ours is still a male-dominated, patriarchal society." NCERT lists the forms this takes.

1. Education. NCERT's undated literacy figures are 54% for women and 76% for men (64.63% and 80.88% in Census 2011, Table 6), and "a smaller proportion of girl students go for higher studies": girls do as well as boys at school, but parents prefer to spend on their sons.
2. Work. Women do more work than men, much of it unpaid and invisible (Table 1), and fewer of them hold highly paid jobs.
3. Wages. NCERT cites the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, and notes that women are still paid less than men in sport, cinema, factories and fields, even for the same work. The 1976 Act has since been replaced (box below).
4. Sex ratio. Many parents prefer sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted, so the child sex ratio, girls per thousand boys, has fallen to "merely 919" (Census 2011). On NCERT's "below 850 or even 800 in some States", see Table 6: no State was below 800.
5. Safety. Harassment, exploitation and violence follow women at home and outside. "Urban areas have become particularly unsafe for women."

Women's political representation

Issues that concern women's well-being get little attention while men dominate decision-making. So many feminists and women's movements concluded "that unless women control power, their problems will not get adequate attention", and that the way to this is more women as elected representatives.

NCERT's numbers: women's share of the Lok Sabha "has touched 14.36 per cent of its total strength for the first time in 2019", and their share in the State assemblies is less than 5% (NCERT gives no year for this figure). India is in the "bottom group of nations in the world", and "India is behind the averages for several developing countries of Africa and Latin America". In government, "cabinets are largely all-male even when a woman becomes the Chief Minister or the Prime Minister".

The remedy NCERT points to is a legal requirement for a fair share of women in elected bodies. Panchayati Raj did this: one-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities are reserved for women, and NCERT counts "more than 10 lakh elected women representatives in rural and urban local bodies". Its conclusion: "Gender division is an example that some form of social division needs to be expressed in politics." Disadvantaged groups gain when their division becomes a political issue.

NCERT's margin asks: "If casteism and communalism are bad, what makes feminism a good thing?" The chapter's verdicts point to an answer: feminism asks for equal rights and opportunities for women and men; communal politics seeks one community's dominance.

Religion, communalism and politics

The religious division "is not as universal as gender", but religious diversity is widespread. NCERT's references to Northern Ireland "in Chapter 3" point to the dropped old chapter (Table 6). Unlike gender differences, religious differences are often expressed in politics. NCERT's three examples are not communal:

• Gandhiji used to say that "religion can never be separated from politics". By religion he meant not Hinduism or Islam but the moral values that inform all religions: "politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion".
• Human rights groups "have demanded that the Government should take special steps to prevent communal riots and protect religious minorities".
• The women's movement has argued that family laws of all religions discriminate against women, and has asked the government to make them more equitable.

These acts bring religion into politics, but "These political acts are not wrong as long as they treat every religion equally."

Communalism begins when religion is made the basis of the nation and becomes acute when one religion and its followers are pitted against another: when beliefs of one religion are presented as superior, when demands of one group are formed in opposition to another, and when state power is used to establish the domination of one religious group. "Communal politics is based on the idea that religion is the principal basis of social community." Its reasoning: followers of one religion form one community with the same interests, and followers of different religions cannot belong to the same social community; in its extreme form they cannot live as equal citizens within one nation. NCERT's answer: "This belief is fundamentally flawed." People of one religion do not share the same interests in every context, and "There are many voices inside every community."

The secular state

"Communalism was and continues to be one of the major challenges to democracy in our country." The makers of the Constitution chose the model of a secular state, through provisions NCERT says "we studied last year" (Table 7): no official religion; freedom to follow any religion or none; no discrimination on grounds of religion; and the state's power to intervene in religion to secure equality within communities, as in banning untouchability. So "secularism is not just an ideology of some parties or persons"; it is one of the foundations of the country. Communalism is not a threat to some people only: "It threatens the very idea of India."

The Constitution is not enough on its own. "A secular Constitution like ours is necessary but not sufficient to combat communalism." Communal prejudices have to be countered in everyday life and religion-based mobilisation in politics.

Caste inequalities

"Unlike gender and religion, caste division is special to India." All societies have some occupational division; under the caste system "hereditary occupational division was sanctioned by rituals". Members of a caste were to marry within the group and not eat with others, and 'outcaste' groups were subjected to untouchability. Reformers "like Jotiba Phule, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar Ramaswami Naicker" worked for a society without caste inequality. Economic development, large-scale urbanisation, the growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility and the weakening of landlords' position in villages broke down the old notions of caste hierarchy. "The Constitution of India prohibited any caste-based discrimination and laid the foundations of policies to reverse the injustices of the caste system."

Caste has not disappeared. "Even now most people marry within their own caste or tribe." "Untouchability has not ended completely, despite constitutional prohibition." Groups that had access to education in the past did well in the new economy, so there is a "disproportionately large presence of 'upper caste' among the urban middle classes". "Caste continues to be closely linked to economic status."

Caste in politics

"As in the case of communalism, casteism is rooted in the belief that caste is the sole basis of social community." NCERT finds caste in politics in four forms:

1. Parties choose candidates with the caste composition of the electorate in mind.
2. Parties and governments try to include representatives of different castes and tribes when forming a government.
3. Parties and candidates appeal to caste sentiment, and some parties are known to favour some castes.
4. Universal adult franchise and one-person-one-vote compelled leaders to mobilise support; "It also brought new consciousness among the people of castes that were hitherto treated as inferior and low."

Politics in caste. Politics also changes caste, in three forms: each caste group tries to incorporate neighbouring castes or sub-castes once excluded from it; caste groups form coalitions with other castes through dialogue and negotiation; and new groupings such as 'backward' and 'forward' castes enter politics. Positively, caste politics gave Dalits and OBCs room to demand their share of power and better access to decision-making. Negatively, it diverts attention from poverty, development and corruption, and can lead to tension, conflict and violence.

What the pre-2023 edition said (removed in the rationalisation)

In the 2020-21 edition this was Chapter 4, and it began "In the previous chapter we noted that the existence of social diversity" does not threaten democracy; that previous chapter, "Democracy and Diversity", was dropped. On women's reservation the old text said: "A bill with this proposal has been pending before the Parliament for more than a decade. But there is no consensus over this among all the political parties. The bill has not been passed." The current book replaces this with the 2023 Act. The old book said human rights groups "have argued that most of the victims of communal riots in our country are people from religious minorities"; the current book drops that claim and says they ask for steps "to prevent communal riots and protect religious minorities". The figures (14.36%, "more than 10 lakh", 54 and 76, 919) and the twelve exercises are unchanged.

Source: NCERT, Democratic Politics II, Class X, ch. 4, 2020-21 edition (reprint January 2020), pp. 1, 7 and 8, as archived by the Wayback Machine, 9 October 2021.

PART 3 — UPSC Integration

Frames for Mains Answers

1. Patriarchy and the working woman. Start with NCERT's public/private division and the double load in Table 1: paid work plus housework, one hour more than men every day. Add the wage gap and its law (Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, now section 3 of the Code on Wages, in force from 21 November 2025), then the cabinets that stay "largely all-male". Conclude that work outside the home has not ended the work inside it.

2. Religiosity and communalism. NCERT draws the line: religion in politics is legitimate while it treats every religion equally (Gandhiji, human rights groups, the women's movement), and turns communal when religion is made the basis of the nation. Use the four forms, with mobilisation through "sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal and plain fear" as the point where religiosity becomes communalism, and the secular provisions (Table 7) as the constitutional answer that is "necessary but not sufficient".

3. Has caste lost its relevance? Change: urbanisation, education, occupational mobility, the constitutional ban on discrimination. Persistence: endogamy, untouchability "has not ended completely", the link with economic status (Table 5). In politics, caste matters but does not decide elections alone (no constituency has a single-caste majority), and politics in turn reshapes caste. Close with Census 2027, which will enumerate caste (Table 6).

4. Women's representation: local bodies and legislatures. Panchayats show what reservation does: women now hold about 46% of panchayat seats against a one-third minimum (PIB, 11 March 2026). Whether that has changed the patriarchal character of politics is the 2019 question; answer with NCERT's reasoning that women's problems get attention only when women control power. For legislatures, the 106th Amendment is in force but waits on Census 2027 and delimitation (Article 334A); meanwhile women won 74 Lok Sabha seats in 2024. For civil society (the 2023 question), use NCERT's chapter on parties: pressure on parties "through petitions, publicity and agitations".

Exam Strategy

Prelims fact-traps:

• NCERT's answer to "seats are reserved for women in" is Panchayati Raj bodies; the 106th Amendment's reservation operates only after delimitation, and then for fifteen years.
• The Act reserves "As nearly as may be, one-third" of directly elected seats, including seats for SC and ST women, in the Lok Sabha, the State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly; nothing for the Rajya Sabha or the Legislative Councils.
• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 was repealed by the Code on Wages, 2019, in force from 21 November 2025.
• Untouchability is abolished by Article 17; freedom of religion is Article 25; non-discrimination on religion, caste and sex is Article 15.

Practice Questions

Questions 1-5 are NCERT exercises 7-10 and 12. Practice (UPSC-pattern, not past papers): questions 6-9.

1. When we speak of gender divisions, we usually refer to:
(a) Biological difference between men and women
(b) Unequal roles assigned by the society to men and women
(c) Unequal child sex ratio
(d) Absence of voting rights for women in democracies

Answer: (b). NCERT: the gender division is "not based on biology but on social expectations and stereotypes".

2. In India seats are reserved for women in
(a) Lok Sabha
(b) State legislative assemblies
(c) Cabinets
(d) Panchayati Raj bodies

Answer: (d), NCERT's key, still right for seats actually reserved: the 106th Amendment is in force, but its reservation begins only after the delimitation required by Article 334A.

3. Consider the following statements on the meaning of communal politics. Communal politics is based on the belief that: A. One religion is superior to that of others. B. People belonging to different religions can live together happily as equal citizens. C. Followers of a particular religion constitute one community. D. State power cannot be used to establish the domination of one religious group over others. Which of the statements are correct?
(a) A, B, C, and D
(b) A, B, and D
(c) A and C
(d) B and D

Answer: (c). B and D describe secular thinking, not communal politics.

4. Which among the following statements about India's Constitution is wrong? It
(a) prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion
(b) gives official status to one religion
(c) provides to all individuals freedom to profess any religion
(d) ensures equality of citizens within religious communities

Answer: (b). "There is no official religion for the Indian state."

5. Match List I with List II: 1. A person who believes in equal rights and opportunities for women and men; 2. A person who says that religion is the principal basis of community; 3. A person who thinks that caste is the principal basis of community; 4. A person who does not discriminate others on the basis of religious beliefs. A. Communalist, B. Feminist, C. Secularist, D. Castiest.
(a) B C A D
(b) B A D C
(c) D C A B
(d) C A B D

Answer: (b). Feminist, communalist, castiest, secularist.

6. Consider the following statements about the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023:
1. It provides for reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies and the Legislative Assembly of Delhi.
2. The seats reserved for women include seats reserved for women of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
3. Seats for women were reserved in the Lok Sabha from 16 April 2026.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b). The Act is in force from 16 April 2026, but the reservation awaits delimitation (Article 334A).

7. Consider the following statements about Census 2011:
1. The child sex ratio was about 919 girls per 1,000 boys in the age group 0-6.
2. At least one State had a child sex ratio below 800.
3. Among States, Haryana had the lowest child sex ratio.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b). Haryana was lowest at 834; ratios below 800 occurred only in districts.

8. Which of the following Acts were repealed by the Code on Wages, 2019?
1. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
2. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
3. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d). Section 69 repeals all three and the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

9. Consider the following statements:
1. Census 2011 enumerated Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
2. Census 2011 enumerated Other Backward Classes.
3. The decision to include caste enumeration in Census 2027 was taken in April 2025.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b). The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decided on 30 April 2025.

NCERT exercises (short answer): where women in India are discriminated against or disadvantaged; the forms of communal politics, with an example of each; how caste inequalities continue; two reasons caste alone cannot decide election results; women's representation in India's legislatures; two constitutional provisions that make India secular; and the fill-in, social divisions based on "caste" are peculiar to India.

📦 Revision Capsule

Sources

• NCERT, Democratic Politics II, Textbook in Political Science for Class X, ch. 3 "Gender, Religion and Caste", Reprint 2026-27 — ncert.nic.in PDF.
• NCERT, Democratic Politics II, ch. 4, 2020-21 edition (file jess404.pdf in the whole-book zip), as archived on 9 October 2021 — Wayback Machine.
• Government of India, Time Use Survey, 1998-99; National Sample Survey Organisation, 55th Round (1999-2000); National Sample Survey, 2004-05; Prime Minister's High Level Committee (Sachar Committee) (all as cited by NCERT).
• Ministry of Law and Justice, The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, Gazette of India, 28 September 2023 — egazette.gov.in PDF.
• Ministry of Law and Justice, notification S.O. 1922(E), 16 April 2026, bringing the Act into force — egazette.gov.in PDF.
• Constitution of India, Articles 15, 17, 25, 330A, 332A and 334A — legislative.gov.in.
• Ministry of Labour and Employment, The Code on Wages, 2019 (No. 29 of 2019) — labour.gov.in PDF.
• Ministry of Labour and Employment, notification S.O. 5322(E), 21 November 2025, Gazette of India copy — livelaw.in PDF.
• Census of India 2011, Primary Census Abstract, India and States, State and district level — censusindia.gov.in catalogue.
• PIB, "Census 2027: India's First Digital Enumeration Exercise", 25 April 2026 — static.pib.gov.in PDF.
• Inter-Parliamentary Union, Parline, averages and monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, as of 1 August 2026 — averages, ranking.
• Election Commission of India data on the 2024 general election, PIB, 26 December 2024 — PIB 2088064.
• Association for Democratic Reforms, analysis of the winners of Lok Sabha 2024 — adrindia.org.
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj, "Sashakt Panchayat-Netri Abhiyan Places Women at the Helm of Grassroots Democracy", PIB, 11 March 2026 — PIB 2238655.
• World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2026 — weforum.org.