Chapter 1
What is a Just Society?
A just society isn't one without conflict — it's one where everybody has a fair chance.
Key words
- justice
- fairness in the way people are treated and the way decisions are made.
- caste
- a social class one is born into, historically used in India to limit opportunity.
- constitution
- the document that sets out the basic rights and rules of a country.
- public benefit
- doing something that helps people beyond a private group.
The Pupil Who Sat on the Floor
In the 1900s, in a town called Satara, a thirteen-year-old boy walked to school each morning with a piece of sacking under his arm.
He was a brilliant student. His teachers said so. But because of the caste he was born into, he was not allowed to sit on the school bench. He sat on his sack, alone, at the back of the classroom.
The boy's name was Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.
He went on to read at Columbia University in New York, at the London School of Economics, and at Gray's Inn in London.
He returned to India and helped write his country's Constitution — the rulebook that finally said: every citizen is equal under the law.
He spent his life arguing one simple idea: a just society is one where the rules give every child a fair start, no matter who their parents are.
"I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved."
Map the Fairness in Your School
- In groups of three, list three rules in your school that exist to keep things fair.
- List three rules whose purpose you are not sure about.
- Discuss: which group of pupils benefits most from each rule? Does any rule unintentionally exclude anyone?
- Present one suggestion to the class for making one rule fairer.
Debate together
- ·Is a rule still fair if it treats everyone exactly the same — but some people start with less?
- ·If Ambedkar visited your school today, what one thing do you think he'd praise? What would he change?
- ·How is the freedom to learn linked to other freedoms (like the freedom to choose a job)?
Written task
In 150 words, describe a time when you saw something unfair happen — at school, at home, or in the news. What made it unfair, and what would a 'just' response have looked like?