Social Inequality and Exclusion: Caste, Tribe, Gender, Disability and Marginalisation
What the exam tests
This domain asks you to explain how caste, tribe, gender and disability produce inequality and exclusion, and how marginalisation operates. Questions often require examples and awareness of affirmative action.
Core rules and concepts
- Caste inequality includes untouchability, endogamy and occupational restriction; affirmative action addresses historical exclusion.
- Tribe refers to groups with distinct culture, territory and history; land alienation and forest rights are key issues.
- Gender inequality is sustained by patriarchy, unequal work burdens, violence and lower labour-force participation.
- Disability is understood through the social model: barriers, not only impairment, exclude people; the RPwD Act 2016 protects rights.
- Marginalisation is exclusion from resources, voice and decision-making; it can be multiple and intersecting.
Worked example
A disabled woman in a rural area may face gender, disability and rural poverty together. A policy that addresses only disability or only gender misses her experience. Intersectional analysis shows why single-axis approaches fail.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating caste as abolished.
- Confusing tribe with caste.
- Reducing disability to medical impairment.
- Ignoring intersectionality.