NCERT Book Class 6 Civics Diversity and Discrimination

Chapter 2

Diversity and

Discrimination

Difference and Prejudice here are many things that make us what we are – how we live, the languages we speak, what we eat, wear, the games we play and the things we celebrate. All of these are influenced both by the geography and history of the place where we live. You will get an idea of how diverse India is if you look even briefly at the following statement:

There are eight major religions in the world. Every single one of them is practised in India. We have more than 1600 languages that are people's mother tongues, and there are more than a hundred dance forms. Yet this diversity is not alwayscelebrated. We feel safe and secure with people who look, talk, dress and think like us.

Sometimes when we meet people who are very different from us we may find them strange and unfamiliar. At times we may not understand or know the reasons why they are different from us. People also form certain attitudes and opinions about otherswho are not like them.

When our opinions about certain people are always negative – seeing them as lazy, cunning, stingy – as some of the statements above, then these become prejudices that we carry about them.

Prejudice means to judge other people negatively or see them as inferior. When we think that only one particular way is the best and right way to do things we often end up not respecting others, who may prefer to do things differently. For example if we think English is the best language and other languages are not important, we are judging these other languages negatively. As a result, we might not respect people who speak languages other than English.

We can be prejudiced about many things: people's religious beliefs, the colour of their skin, the region they come from, the accent they speak in, the clothes they wear etc. Often, our prejudices about others are so strong that we don't want to form friendships with them. At times, we may even act in ways that hurt them.

Creating Stereotypes 

All of us are familiar with gender differences. What does it mean to be a boy or a girl? Many of you would say, "We are born as boys and girls. It is a given. What is there to think about?" Let's see if this is the case.

If we take the statement ''They don't cry", you'll see that this is a quality that is generally associated with boys and men. As babies or children when boys fall and hurt themselves, their parents and other family members often console them by saying "Don't cry. You are a boy. Boysare brave, they don't cry." As children grow up they start believing that boys do not cry so that even if a boy feels like crying he stops himself from doing so. He also believes that crying is a sign of weakness. So, even though both boys and girls sometimes want to cry, especially if they are angry or in Arrange the statements given below in

QUESTIONS

2. How can the stereotype that girls are a burden on their parents affect the life of a daughter? Imagine this situation and list at least five different effects that this stereotype can have on the way daughters   get treated in the house.

3. What does the Constitution say with regard to equality? Why do you think it is important for all people to be equal?

4. Sometimes people make prejudiced comments in our presence. We are often not in a position to do anything about this because it is difficult to say something right then and there. Divide the class into groups and each group discuss what they could do in one of the following situations:

a. A friend begins to tease a classmate because he is poor.

b. You are watching TV with your family and one of them makes a prejudicial comment about a particular religious community.

c. Children in your class refuse to share their food with a particular person because they think she is dirty.

d. Someone tells you a joke that makes fun of a community because of their accent.

e. Some boys make remarks about girls not being able to play games as well as them. Discuss in class what the different groups have suggested for the above situations, and also talk about the problems that can come up when raising the issue.

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 6 Civics Diversity and Discrimination