Confronting | Class 8 Social Science Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 4 min read
Confronting – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Confronting from Class 8 Social Science, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
Laws for the Marginalised
This section discusses how the government enacts specific laws and policies to protect marginalised communities and promote social justice. Besides Fundamental Rights, the government creates targeted schemes and legal frameworks to address historical inequalities faced by Dalits, Adivasis, and other groups. For example, free or subsidised hostels for Dalit and Adivasi students help overcome educational barriers in remote areas. The reservation policy is a significant legal measure that reserves seats in education and government jobs for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and backward classes. This policy acknowledges centuries of denied opportunities and aims to provide equitable access to learning and employment. Candidates must provide caste or tribe certificates to avail these benefits, and admissions often require meeting cut-off marks to ensure merit. The government also offers scholarships and special schemes, such as for girls in government schools, to further promote social justice. This section highlights the ongoing role of laws and policies in addressing systemic discrimination and promoting equality.
📊 Diagram: Includes a table listing schemes such as scholarships, special police stations, and schemes for girls in schools, explaining their purpose and role in promoting social justice.
🧪 Activity: Students are asked to state reasons why reservations play an important role in social justice and to fill a table describing schemes, their purpose, and how they promote social justice.
🔗 Connection: Prepares the reader to understand specific laws protecting Dalits and Adivasis in the next section.
Frequently asked questions
1. List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with dignity and as equals. Re-read the Fundamental Rights listed on page 14 to help you answer this question.
Two Fundamental Rights that Dalits can draw upon are:
1. Right to Equality (Article 14, 15, 17): This ensures that Dalits are treated equally before the law and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 17 specifically abolishes 'untouchability'.
2. Right to Freedom (Article 19): This includes freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession, which Dalits can use to assert their rights and dignity.
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2. Re-read the story on Rathnam as well as the provisions of the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now list one reason why you think he used this law to file a complaint.
Rathnam used the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to file a complaint because this law specifically protects Dalits and Adivasis from atrocities and discrimination. The Act provides legal provisions to punish those who commit offences against these communities, including social boycott, violence, and humiliation. Rathnam likely used this law as it offers a strong legal framework to seek justice against the atrocities he faced.
3. Why do Adivasi activists, including C.K. Janu, believe that Adivasis can also use this 1989 Act to fight against dispossession? Is there anything specific in the provisions of the Act that allows her to believe this?
Adivasi activists like C.K. Janu believe that Adivasis can use the 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to fight against dispossession because the Act includes provisions that protect Adivasis from being forcibly removed from their land and from other forms of exploitation and atrocities. The Act recognizes the vulnerability of Scheduled Tribes and provides legal recourse against acts that deprive them of their rights, including land rights. This legal protec
4. The poems and the song in this Unit allow you to see the range of ways in which individuals and communities express their opinions, their anger and their sorrow. In class, do the following two exercises: (a) Bring to class a poem that discusses a social issue. Share this with your classmates. Work in small groups with two or more poems to discuss their meaning as well as what the poet is trying to communicate. (b) Identify a marginalised community in your locality. Write a poem, or song, or draw a poster etc to express your feelings as a member of this community.
(a) Students should bring a poem discussing a social issue such as discrimination, poverty, or inequality. In groups, they should discuss the poem's themes, emotions, and the poet's message, fostering understanding of social concerns.
(b) Students should identify a marginalised community in their locality and creatively express their feelings through a poem, song, or poster. This exercise encourages empathy, awareness, and creative expression related to social marginalisation.
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Clear NCERT-aligned notes on Law and Social for Class 8 Social Science.
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Clear NCERT-aligned notes on Law and Social for Class 8 Social Science.
- Law and Social | Class 8 Social Science Notes
Clear NCERT-aligned notes on Law and Social for Class 8 Social Science.