🌍 Equality (समानता) – Class 11 Political Science
❇️ Meaning of Equality (समानता का अर्थ)
- Equality means that all human beings are equal in every aspect because they are born equal as human beings.
- Everyone should have equal opportunities for education, wealth, and social status in society.
❇️ Equality (समानता)
- Equality is one of the most important Fundamental Rights (मौलिक अधिकार).
- It claims that due to common humanity, all people deserve equal respect and dignity. This idea is the foundation of Universal Human Rights (सार्वभौमिक मानवाधिकार).
- Even though laws in many countries include equality, society still shows inequalities in wealth (धन), property (सम्पदा), opportunities (अवसर), work (कार्य), status (स्थिति), and power (शक्ति).
- According to equality, a person’s opportunities and treatment should not be based on birth or social circumstances.
- Natural inequalities (प्राकृतिक असमानताएं) arise due to different talents and abilities, while social inequalities (समाज जनित असमानताएं) come from unequal opportunities and exploitation.
🌟 Positive Aspect of Equality (समानता का सकारात्मक पहलु)
- Providing sufficient opportunities for individuals to develop their abilities.
- Abolishing special privileges (विशेष विशेषाधिकार) given to certain groups in society.
🔺 Three Dimensions of Equality (समानता के तीन आयाम)
🏛️ 1. Political Equality (राजनीतिक समानता)
- Equal citizenship for all citizens.
- Right to vote, form associations, and freedom of expression.
💰 2. Economic Equality (आर्थिक समानता)
- Reducing the gap between rich and poor groups.
- Though complete equality in wealth/income is difficult, a democratic state ensures equal opportunities so that people can improve their condition.
👥 3. Social Equality (सामाजिक समानता)
- Along with equal rights, citizens must get access to essential needs: health facilities, education, nutritious food, and minimum wages.
- Ensuring equal rights for women and disadvantaged groups (वंचित वर्ग) is also the duty of the state.
🎯 Importance of Equality (समानता का महत्त्व)
- Equality is essential for freedom.
- Prevents discrimination based on caste, religion, language, race, color, or gender.
- Necessary for social justice (सामाजिक न्याय) and social freedom (सामाजिक स्वतंत्रता).
- Ensures rule of law (कानून का शासन) in democracy, otherwise democracy has no value.
- Fundamental Rights become meaningful only through equality.
- Equality is a must for the development of all.
📕 Marxism (मार्क्सवाद)
- To remove social and economic inequalities, private ownership must end, and people should control economic resources.
- Marxists believe in establishing equality through public ownership (जनता का स्वामित्व) of resources.
📘 Liberalism (उदारवाद)
- Liberals support competition (प्रतिस्पर्धा) in distribution of resources, but also consider state intervention (राज्य का हस्तक्षेप) necessary.
- They believe open competition brings out the most capable individuals from all sections of society.
📗 Socialism (समाजवाद)
- Socialism means minimizing inequalities and ensuring fair distribution (न्यायपूर्ण बंटवारा) of resources.
- Indian socialist thinker: Ram Manohar Lohia.
- Both Socialism & Marxism emphasize that economic inequalities create social inequalities, so private ownership must be replaced with public control.
🇺🇸 Racial Inequality in the USA (संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका)
- Civil Rights Act 1964 abolished racial and religious discrimination.
- Barack Obama, an African-American, became US President twice – a symbol of rejection of racism.
- However, racial violence against black people still exists.
🇮🇳 Steps Taken by Indian Government (भारत सरकार द्वारा कदम)
✔️ Equality before Law (Article 14)
✔️ Abolition of Untouchability (Article 17)
✔️ Reservation for SC & ST in Parliament and State Assemblies
✔️ Reservation in Government Services for SC, ST & OBC
✔️ 33% Reservation for Women in Local Government (Article 73-74)
✨ Differential Treatment (Reservation)
❇️ Meaning of Differential Treatment (आरक्षण)
- 🔹 Differential treatment means making certain policies like reservation (आरक्षण) by keeping in mind the differences among people, so that every section of society can get equal access (समान पहुंच) to opportunities.
- 🔹 In some countries, this policy is also called Affirmative Action (सकारात्मक कार्यवाही).
❇️ Women and Equal Rights 👩🍼
- 🔹 The struggle of women for equal rights (समान अधिकार) is mainly connected with the feminist movement (नारीवादी आंदोलन).
- 🔹 Maternity leave (मातृत्व अवकाश) and such special rights are extremely necessary for women.
❇️ Purpose of Differential Treatment 🎯
- 🔹 The aim of reservation or special privileges (विशेषाधिकार) is to promote a just and equal society (न्यायपरक व समानता मूलक समाज).
- 🔹 It is not meant to re-establish privileges for already advantaged groups.
⚖️ Existing Inequalities in India
- 💰 Income Inequality (आय की असमानता)
- 👩🦰 Gender Inequality (लैंगिक असमानता)
- 🏚️ Slums and Poor Living Conditions (मलिन बस्तियाँ)
- 🎓 Educational Inequality (शैक्षिक असमानता)
