BharatNotes Marginalised
adjective; also verb (transitive), past tense and past participle of "marginalise"Usage in a UPSC answer
Inclusive growth remains elusive so long as marginalised communities such as manual scavengers, denotified tribes and the urban informal workforce are left outside the ambit of welfare delivery and credit access.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
marginalise (v), marginalisation (n), marginal (adj), marginally (adv), marginalising (v pres.p)
Root
Latin margō = edge, border; -alize = make into; -ed = past participle suffix
Etymology
From margin (Latin margō, "edge, border") + -alize + -ed; the verb marginalize entered English usage in the early 20th century, with the OED's earliest evidence from the social sciences.
Memory Hook
Pushed to the MARGIN of the page, the marginalised are pushed to the margin of society, where they have no say.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
Pushed to the edge of social, economic and political participation. The analytical value of the term is that it is relational rather than residual, since a group is not left behind by accident but placed at the margin by processes that simultaneously advantage others, so the question to ask is through what mechanism rather than merely who. The forms are worth separating: economic marginalisation into informal work without social security, social marginalisation by caste or disability, political marginalisation through absence of representation, and spatial marginalisation in remote settlements or slums that services do not reach. Groups beyond the standard list deserve mention, particularly the denotified and nomadic tribes, who still carry the stigma of the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 despite its repeal in 1952. The policy insight is that universal schemes reach the marginalised last, because access requires documentation, a fixed address and digital capability that marginalisation itself denies.
Don’t Confuse It With
Marginalisation is the process of pushing a group to the edge, exclusion the resulting condition, and vulnerability an exposure to harm that may exist without either. Deprivation is the measurable lack of what is needed, whereas marginalisation names the process producing it. Inclusion is the corrective applied from outside, while empowerment expands the group's own capacity to act, which is why the two are not interchangeable.
Hindi Meaning
हाशिए पर (hāshiye par); सामाजिक बहिष्करण (sāmājik bahishkaran) for social exclusion.
Common Questions
- What is the difference between marginalisation and exclusion?
- Marginalisation is the process that pushes a group to the edge of participation, while exclusion is the resulting state of being kept out.
- Why do universal schemes reach the marginalised last?
- Because claiming a benefit typically requires documentation, a fixed address and digital access, and it is precisely those things that marginalisation deprives people of.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Mains 2019 · GS2 · 15 marks — International Relations
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Marginalised” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
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