Full answers to all six exercise questions from the NCERT textbook Political Theory, Chapter 3 “Equality”, in the English edition’s own wording, followed by every question and activity printed inside the chapter (Let’s Do It, Let’s Debate, Let’s Think, cartoons, margin notes and tables). Try answering them yourself first, then check.
1Is inequality natural, or is equality?
Some people argue that inequality is natural while others maintain that it is equality which is natural and the inequalities which we notice around us are created by society. Which view do you support? Give reasons.
Answer: The second view, that equality is natural and inequality is created by society, is the more defensible one. The chapter establishes that all human beings deserve equal worth and respect because of their shared humanity, this is the baseline. The inequalities we actually see, based on wealth, caste, gender or race, arise from institutions and customs that society itself builds, such as the caste system or the assumption that women are “the weaker sex”. History shows that inequalities once called “natural” (women being less intelligent, Black people being less capable) were later exposed as products of differences of power, not of anything inborn. So inequality is not a law of nature, it is something society constructs, and can therefore also be undone.
2Is absolute economic equality possible or desirable?
There is a view that absolute economic equality is neither possible nor desirable. It is argued that the most a society can do is to try and reduce the gaps between the richest and poorest members of society. Do you agree?
Answer: Yes, this view matches the chapter’s own position. The chapter states plainly that “absolute equality of wealth or income has probably never existed in a society.” People differ naturally in talent, effort and choice, so some difference in income is inevitable and does not by itself need fixing, since equality does not mean wiping out every difference. What genuinely needs attention is entrenched inequality, where one class stays wealthy and another stays poor across generations, since that can build resentment and even violence. So the realistic and desirable goal is not perfect equality but narrowing the gap between the richest and poorest through equal opportunity, exactly what most modern democracies attempt.
3Match the concepts with instances
Match the following concepts with appropriate instances:
(a) Affirmative action (b) Equality of opportunity (c) Equal Rights
(i) Every adult citizen has a right to vote (ii) Banks offer higher rate of interest to senior citizens (iii) Every child should get free education
Answer:
| Concept | Matched instance |
|---|---|
| (a) Affirmative action | (ii) Banks offer a higher rate of interest to senior citizens, favourable treatment for a specific category |
| (b) Equality of opportunity | (iii) Every child should get free education, so that everyone gets an equal chance to develop |
| (c) Equal Rights | (i) Every adult citizen has a right to vote, the same right for everyone without distinction |
4Price intervention for small and marginal farmers
A government report on farmers’ problems says that small and marginal farmers cannot get good prices from the market. It recommends that the government should intervene to ensure a better price but only for small and marginal farmers. Is this recommendation consistent with the principle of equality?
Answer: Yes, this recommendation is consistent with the principle of equality. The chapter is clear that equality does not mean treating everyone identically at all times, sometimes a group in a genuinely weaker position needs differential treatment to reach the same starting line as everyone else. Small and marginal farmers have far less bargaining power in the market than large farmers, so targeted intervention for them helps level the playing field, in the same way ramps for disabled people or affirmative action for disadvantaged communities are considered justified. This is not favouritism, it is a measure that promotes equality rather than undermining it.
5Which of these violate equality?
Which of the following violate the principles of equality? And why?
(a) Every child in class will read the text of the play by turn.
(b) The Government of Canada encouraged white Europeans to migrate to Canada from the end of the Second World War till 1960.
(c) There is a separate railway reservation counter for the senior citizens.
(d) Access to some forest areas is reserved for certain tribal communities.
Answer:
| Situation | Violates equality? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Reading the play by turn | No | Everyone gets an equal, identical turn; no distinction is made between students |
| (b) Canada’s white-migration policy | Yes | Distinction made purely on race/origin, a direct violation of the basic principle of equality |
| (c) Separate counter for senior citizens | No | Justified differential treatment, a genuine need of the elderly, does not take away anyone’s equal rights |
| (d) Forest areas reserved for tribal communities | No | A form of affirmative action, protecting the livelihood and cultural rights of communities who depend on that access |
6Arguments for women’s right to vote
Here are some arguments in favour of the right to vote for women. Which of these are consistent with the idea of equality? Give reasons.
(a) Women are our mothers. We shall not disrespect our mothers by denying them the right to vote.
(b) Decisions of the government affect women as well as men, therefore they also should have a say in choosing the rulers.
(c) Not granting women the right to vote will cause disharmony in the family.
(d) Women constitute half of humanity. You cannot subjugate them for long by denying them the right to vote.
Answer:
| Argument | Consistent with equality? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (a) “Women are our mothers” | No | An emotional, family-respect argument, not grounded in equal citizenship |
| (b) Government decisions affect women too | Yes | Directly based on political equality, anyone whose life a government’s decisions affect deserves a voice in choosing it |
| (c) Avoiding family disharmony | No | A practical, social-harmony argument, not an equality-based argument |
| (d) Women are half of humanity | Yes | Directly based on the equal worth and dignity of all human beings, the foundation of the equality principle |
7 In-text Questions
The chapter also asks questions inside the text: in its Let’s Do It, Let’s Debate and Let’s Think boxes, in its cartoons and margin notes, and under its data tables. They are answered below in the order in which they appear in the book, in the English edition’s own wording. Activities and debates have no single right answer; the model answers show what a good response contains.
Q. Search for quotations from different religious scriptures that affirm the ideal of equality. Read these in the classroom.
Answer. This is a classroom activity. The chapter’s own starting point is that equality is implicit in all faiths and religions, because they proclaim all human beings to be the creation of God. Look for passages that say all people come from one source, are brothers and sisters, or are equal before God, for example in the Vedas and Upanishads, the Guru Granth Sahib, the Qur’an, the Bible, and the teachings of the Buddha and of saints such as Kabir. Note the source of each quotation (scripture, chapter or verse) and read it aloud in class. Then connect it to the chapter: the idea of a shared humanity in these texts is the same idea that lies behind universal human rights.
Q. Everyone I know believes in a religion. Every religion I know preaches equality. Then why is there inequality in the world?
Answer. Because accepting an ideal is not the same as living by it. The chapter calls this a paradox: almost everyone accepts the ideal of equality, yet almost everywhere we encounter inequality. Inequality is kept alive by social institutions and rules, such as the caste system, customs that deny women equal rights of inheritance, and the private ownership of key resources, and by people who benefit from privileges of rank, wealth or status. Belief alone does not change these structures; laws, policies and social movements are needed, which is why equality has had to be fought for, from the French Revolution to the struggles of women and dalits today.
Q. Here are some findings from the Census of India held in 2011 about household amenities and assets. Where would your own family fit? (Put ✓ or ✗ for your family.)
Answer. This is a self-assessment activity. Tick each amenity your family has (electricity connection, tap water in the house, bathroom in the house, television, scooter/moped/motorcycle, car/jeep/van) and compare your row with the rural and urban figures: 55% and 93% for electricity, 35% and 71% for tap water, 45% and 87% for a bathroom, 33% and 77% for a television, 14% and 35% for a two-wheeler, and 2% and 10% for a car. The point of the activity is to see how wide the rural-urban gap is, not to memorise the figures.
Q. Why talk about global or national inequalities when all around us there are inequalities to which nobody seems to object? Just look at the way my parents favour my brother over me.
Answer. Both matter, and they are connected. The everyday inequality in the note, a family favouring a son over a daughter, is exactly the kind of inequality the chapter discusses: feminists show that it comes from patriarchy, a system that values men more than women, and that it is produced by society, not by nature. Inequalities “to which nobody seems to object” are often the most entrenched ones, because long practice makes them look natural. Global and national figures show the same pattern on a large scale. Noticing inequality at home is therefore the first step to understanding inequality in the country and the world, not a reason to ignore it.
Q. “Men are superior to women. It is a natural inequality. You can’t do anything about it.” / “I get more marks than you in every subject. And I also help my mother in housework. What makes you superior?”
Answer. The cartoon shows how a social inequality is passed off as a natural one. The boy claims superiority as something inborn, but the girl’s record (better marks in every subject, and housework as well) shows there is no natural basis for it. The chapter explains that women were long described as “the weaker sex”, considered timid and of lesser intelligence, and this was used to justify denying them equal rights; such assessments are now seen as distinctions made by society out of differences of power, not inborn characteristics. The girl’s “double burden” of studies and housework is also what feminists point to.
Q. Are the differences in the educational attainment of different communities depicted in the table below significant? Could these differences have taken place just by chance? Or do these differences point to the working of the caste system? Which factor other than the caste system do you see at work here?
Answer. Yes, they are significant. Graduates per thousand persons in urban India range from 47 among Scheduled Castes to 315 among Other Religions, against an all-India average of 155, a gap of more than six times between the lowest and the highest group (NSSO, 55th round, 1999-2000). A pattern this wide and this consistent cannot be chance. It points to the working of the caste system: Scheduled Castes (47) and Hindu OBCs (86) are far below Hindu upper castes (253). But caste is not the only factor, because the table also shows differences between religious communities (Muslims 61, Christians 237, Sikhs 250), which point to economic condition and poverty, access to good schools, and the social position of the community. Several factors work together.
Q. Women should be allowed to join the combat units of the army and go up to the highest position.
Answer. Points for the motion: equality means that the opportunities a person enjoys must not be pre-determined by birth, and gender is a birth characteristic; the chapter shows that the idea of women as “the weaker sex” was a social belief, not a natural fact; and denying women combat roles also blocks them from the highest positions, which is an inequality of opportunity. Points that may be raised against: the special physical demands of combat, and practical arrangements in the field. A balanced answer can argue that standards should be the same for every candidate, man or woman, and that where special facilities are needed (as with maternity leave at the workplace) they enhance equality rather than infringe it. Give your own view with reasons.
Q. Find out more about racial inequality in the US. Which group or groups in our country suffer from similar inequality? What kind of policies have been adopted in the US to reduce this inequality? Is there something to be learnt from their experience? Can they learn something from our experience?
Answer. The cartoon, titled “A Dream Deferred” (R.J. Matson, 2006), shows Martin Luther King Jr. surrounded by figures on the state of racial inequality: 1 million African American men under 40 are behind bars, 13% of Black male adults have lost the right to vote, the minimum wage fell 35% in real terms between 1968 and 2006, and the top 20% own 83% of all wealth while the bottom 20% have no wealth. In India, the groups facing a similar, birth-based and entrenched inequality are the dalits (Scheduled Castes) and the Scheduled Tribes. To reduce racial inequality the US ended legal segregation through civil rights laws and used affirmative action, such as special consideration in admissions and jobs. India has abolished untouchability and relied mainly on the policy of reservations, quotas or reserved seats in education and jobs. Each can learn from the other: India can learn from the wider range of US measures such as preferential spending on scholarships and support, and the US can learn from India’s long experience of a constitutionally backed reservation system. (This is a research question; add your own findings.)
Q. Make a list of all the social and economic inequalities that you notice among the students of your own school.
Answer. This is a classroom activity. A good list separates the two kinds. Economic: who can afford private coaching, books and stationery, computers or internet at home, school trips and fees, transport. Social: differences of caste, religion, language or region in who sits or eats together, gender (for example girls being asked to stay home for housework, or boys being preferred for sports), and first-generation learners whose parents could not help with studies. Then ask the chapter’s question for each item: does it come from the student’s own choices, or from the family or circumstance into which the student was born? The second kind is what advocates of equality want to reduce.
Q. Make a list of all the facilities that students with various kinds of physical handicaps would need to learn as any other student. Which of these facilities are available in your school?
Answer. This is a classroom survey. Facilities needed include: ramps, handrails and a lift, and classrooms on the ground floor (for wheelchair users); accessible toilets; Braille books, audio books, screen-reading computers and a writer or extra time in examinations (for visually challenged students, as the chapter notes that computers can help blind people); hearing aids, sign language support and front seating (for hearing-impaired students). Mark which ones your school has. This activity illustrates the chapter’s point that such differential treatment is not an infringement of equality but an enhancement of it, since it gives every student an equal chance to learn.
Q. Policies of affirmative action for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be extended to admission to private educational institutions.
Answer. For the motion: affirmative action is meant to correct the cumulative effect of past inequalities, and a large and growing share of seats in higher and professional education is in private institutions, so leaving them out limits equality of opportunity; first-generation learners and students who cannot pay for coaching or high fees are at a disadvantage everywhere. Against the motion: critics argue that reservations arbitrarily deny other sections their right to equal treatment and are a form of reverse discrimination, and private institutions may argue for freedom to choose their own students. A balanced answer can use the chapter’s distinction between equality as a guiding principle of state policy and the equal rights of individuals, and judge any policy by its success in making society more egalitarian and fair to all. Give your own view with reasons.
Q. Consider the following situations. Is special and differential treatment justified in any of the following?
- Working women should receive maternity leave. Justified. Without maternity leave women cannot seriously compete for jobs; the chapter gives this as the example of women needing to be treated differently to enjoy the same rights as men.
- A school should spend money to buy special equipment for two visually challenged students. Justified. The equipment gives them an equal chance to learn, just as ramps give disabled people equal access; the number of students does not change the principle.
- Geeta plays brilliant basketball, so the school should build a basketball court for her so that she can develop her skills further. Not justified as special treatment. Talent is not a disadvantage that has to be removed for Geeta to enjoy equal rights; a court may be a good idea for all students, but building it for one student is a privilege, not a measure for equality.
- Jeet’s turban and Irfan’s Friday prayers. Partly justified. Respecting Irfan’s prayer time and Jeet’s turban protects their freedom of belief, so reasonable accommodation can be made (for example scheduling extra classes on another day). But the safety purpose of a helmet should not simply be dropped; the school should look for a way to protect Jeet’s safety that respects his turban. Differential treatment is justified only when it helps a person enjoy the same rights, not when it puts them at risk.
- An equality-based argument rests on equal human worth or equal citizenship, not on sentiment or convenience
- Differential treatment is justified only when it corrects a genuine disadvantage or historical disadvantage and helps reach a level playing field