Q.Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow : "There cannot be any divided loyalty" Govind Ballabh Pant argued that in order to become loyal citizens people had to stop focusing only on the community and the self : For the success of democracy one must train himself in the art of self-discipline. In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There cannot be any divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be centred round the State. If in a democracy, you create rival loyalties, or you create a system in which any individual or group, instead of suppressing his extravagance, cares nought for larger or other interests, then democracy is doomed. (15.1) What are the major attributes of a loyal citizen ?

Let’s start with something you already know. Think of a school classroom. There is a majority — the group that sets the tone, decides what music plays at lunch, or what language most people speak. Then there is a smaller group that does not quite fit that pattern. Maybe they speak a different language at home, or follow a different festival calendar, or have a different skin colour. That smaller group is not just “fewer in number” — they often feel that the rules, the holidays, the textbooks, even the jokes, are not made with them in mind. That feeling of being outside the mainstream, of having your identity treated as “different” or “less normal,” is the seed of the concept of a minority group.

The precise definition, as you will find in your NCERT Sociology textbook (Class 12, Indian Society), comes from the sociologist Louis Wirth. He said: A minority group is a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.

Let’s break that down into the three essential features your syllabus expects you to remember:

• Physical or cultural traits that are visible and devalued: The group is marked by something society looks down upon — skin colour, language, religion, caste, ethnicity, or even a disability. These traits are usually inherited and not easily changed.
• Unequal treatment and exclusion: The group receives less access to jobs, education, housing, political power, or social respect. They are often segregated, either by law or by custom.
• A sense of group identity and shared disadvantage: The members know they are being treated unfairly because they belong to that group. This shared experience creates a collective identity — a “we” feeling that is born from facing the same barriers. …