In Kesarpur, a village in central India, the villagers' general meeting was held last month to discuss a new drinking water scheme. A few large landowners did almost all the talking. Many women sat at the back and did not speak, and most landless labourers left early to reach their daily wage work. The panchayat secretary noted that the water scheme was approved by those who stayed till the end.
In a society with sharp inequalities, on which grounds is democratic participation, like that at Kesarpur's last meeting, hindered?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Gender, caste and class
Option (1) Gender, class and language — Incorrect. Gender and class are grounds the passage shows at work. Language is not one of the three grounds for unequal societies; the third is caste.
Option (2) Age, gender and literacy — Incorrect. Gender is one ground, but age and literacy are not among the three. Participation is hindered by gender, caste and class.
Option (3) Gender, caste and class — Correct. In a society with sharp inequalities, democratic participation is hindered on grounds of gender, caste and class. At Kesarpur, landowners dominate, women stay silent and labourers leave early.
Option (4) Class, religion and region — Incorrect. Class is one ground, but religion and region are not among the three. The other two grounds are gender and caste.
NCERT (2026-27): “Ideals of Panchayati Raj … |