On Equality - iSTUDYNCERT.com

Here is the class notes from Class NCERT Civics- Chapter 1: “On Equality”

It is an essential aspect of all democracies.
The idea of universal adult franchise is based on the idea of equality because it states that every adult in a country, irrespective of their wealth and the communities she/he belongs to, has one vote.

Omprakash Valmiki is a famous Dalit writer. In his autobiography, Joothan, he wrote how he faced discrimination on the basis of lower caste.

first that every person is equal before the law.
Second, no person can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, race, caste, place of birth or whether they are female or male.
Third, every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops and markets. All persons can use publicly available wells, roads and bathing ghats.
Fourth, untouchability has been abolished.

There are several laws in India that protect every person’s right to be treated equally.
Government started midday meal scheme.
- This refers to the programme introduced in all government elementary schools to provide children with cooked lunch.
- Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to introduce this scheme, and in 2001.
- This programme has also helped reduce caste prejudices because both lower and upper caste children in the school eat this meal together.
- In a few places, Dalit women have been employed to cook the meal.

Many democratic countries around the world, the issue of equality continues to be the key issue around which communities struggle.
In the United States of America, the African–Americans whose ancestors were the slaves who were brought over from Africa, continue to describe their lives today as largely unequal.
On 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks, an African- American woman refused to give up her seat on a bus to white man.
Her refusal that day started a huge agitation against the unequal ways in which African–Americans were treated and which came to be known as the Civil Rights Movement Rights Movement.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion or national origin.

The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to
- access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment;
- the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public