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Framing The Constitution

Question
CBSEENHS12028073

Read the following excerpts and answer the Questions that follow:

The real minorities are the masses of this country. Welcoming the Objectives Resolution introduced by Jawaharlal Nehru, N.G. Ranga said : Sir, there is a lot of talk about minorities. Who are the real minorities ? Not the Hindus in the so-called Pakistan provinces, not the Sikhs, not even the Muslims. No, the real minorities are the masses of this country. These people are so depressed and oppressed and suppressed till now that they are not able to take advantage of the ordinary civil rights. What is the position ? You go to the tribal areas. According to law, their own traditional law, their tribal law, their lands cannot be alienated. Yet our merchants go there, and in the so-called free market they are able to snatch their lands. Thus, even though the law goes against this snatching away of their lands, still the merchants are able to turn the tribal people into veritable slaves by various kinds of bonds, and make them hereditary bond-slaves. Let us go to the ordinary villagers. There goes the moneylender with his money and he is able to get the villagers in his pocket. There is the landlord himself, the zamindar, and the malguzar and there are the various other people who are able to exploit these poor villagers. There is no elementary education even among these people. These are the real minorities that need protection and assurances of protection. In order to give them the necessary protection, we will need much more than this Resolution .

A.

How is the notion of minority defined by N.G. Ranga?

B.

Do you agree with Ranga? If not, mention who are the real minorities according to you and why?

C.

xplain the conditions of ordinary villagers.

D.

Describe the living conditions of the tribals.

Solution

A.

The real minorities according to N.G. Ranga were the poor and downtrodden in particular the tribals and the villagers.

B.

I feel that defining the concept of minorities only in economic terms is not right. Minorities also include the religious minorities and the depressed classes who have been marginalised by society.

C.

The villagers were denied elementary education. They were expolited by zamindar, malguzar and landowners.

D.

The tribals were regarded as being backward and were therefore spumed by society. Moreover, their lands were snatched away and they were deprived of their forests and pastures.