Democracy and Diversity Class 10 Notes Social Science (S.St)
Civil Rights Movement in the USA• This is a set of events and reform movements aimed at abolishing legal racial discrimination against African-Americans.
• The movement is led by Martin Luther King during the period of 1954-1968.
Differences, similarities, divisions
What is Social Differences
• Social Differences are social identities based on accident of birth or on individual choices.
Origin of Social Differences
• Most of the social differences are based on an accident of birth.
• Some of the differences are based on our choices.
Social Division
• It is a situation of conflict based on social inequalities such as religion, caste etc.
• Every social difference does not lead to social division. Social differences divide similar people from one another, but they also unite very different people.
Overlapping Differences
• Social division takes place when some social differences overlaps with other differences.
Cross-cutting differences
• If Social differences cross cut one another, it is difficult to pit one group of people against other.
Politics of social divisions
• Democracy involves competition among various political parties.
• Competition divides society and turns them into political divisions which ultimately lead to conflict, violence or even disintegration of a country.
Three factors that determine the outcome of politics of social divisions
• The outcome depends on how people perceive their identities.
→ If people see their identities in singular and exclusive terms, it becomes very difficult to accommodate.
• Depends on how political leaders raise the demands of any community
→ It is easier to accommodate demands that are within the constitutional framework and are not at the cost of another community.
• Depends on how the government reacts to demands of different groups
→ If the rulers are willing to share power and accommodate the reasonable demands of minority community, social divisions become less threatening for the country.