Vision Ias Sociology Test-3 Mains 2022 (Optional)

VISION IAS
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APPROACH – ANSWER: SOCIOLOGY MOCK TEST - 2095 (2022)
SECTION – A
1. Write a short note on each of the following in not more than 150 words. 10 x 5 = 50
(a) Sanskritization involves ‘positional change’ in caste system without any ‘structural’ change.
Analyse.
Answer:
Sanskritization is a process by which a “low” Hindu caste, or tribal or other group, changes its
customs, ritual, ideology, and way of life in the direction of a high, and frequently, a “twice” born
caste. It is followed by a claim to a higher position in the caste hierarchy than traditionally
concealed to the claimant caste by the local community. Such claims are made over a period of time,
sometime a generation or two before they are conceded. M.N. Srinivas first used the term
Sanskritization in his book Religion and society among Coorgs of South India.
‘Low Caste Hindu’ Adopt high caste

/ Tribals or other rituals , customs , SANSKRITIZATION
groups lifestyle
Through Sanskritization, i.e., by changing customs, rituals, ideology and way of life towards upper
castes people belonging to a particular caste claim a superior status on the caste hierarchy.
• Sanskritization, however, led only to positional change but not structural change. This
means that the perceived positions of different castes may change but it would not affect the
Hindu belief in caste hierarchy. It means, while individual castes move up or down, the
structure as such remains the same.
• Sanskritization occurred sooner or later in those castes which enjoyed political and economic
power but have not rated high in ritual ranking (that is, there was a gap between their ritual and
politico- economic positions).
• The theory of Sanskritization recognizes the great regional variation of caste groups across
linguistic, ethnic, and geographical boundaries, and the local power struggles that may shift a
subcaste group's position in the hierarchy, even if it does not lead to any structural change in
the overarching caste schema. Sanskritization is a culturally specific case of specific case of the
universal motivation towards ‘anticipatory socialization’ to the culture of a higher group in the
hope of gaining its status in future without any change caste structure.
• Sanskritization explains only socio-cultural mobility and that to in a very limited way.
Srinivas is not clear about the fact that whether a lower caste as a whole moves up to a higher-
strata or only a group of Sanskrit families of a particular caste move up leaving behind the other
families of the caste.
D.N. Majumdar has shown in his study of Mahana village, in U.P., that there is no tendency among
the lower castes to adopt the customs and manners of higher caste nor does it help in elevating the
status of any caste. There are more signs of the reverse process namely de Sanskritization in
evidence all over the country. In desanskritisation the members of higher caste abandon their
dress and rituals, for example Kashmir Pandits. According to him, the shrinkage of distance between
castes is not due to Sanskritisation but its reverse. The process of Sanskritisation serves as a
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“reference group”. It is through this process a caste group tries to orient its beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes and “life-styles” in terms of another superior or dominant group, so that it can also get
some recognition.
1. (b) Recently Pasmanda Muslim group demanded caste census for Muslims too. In this context,
discuss the presence of caste among muslims.
Answer:
Caste is an exclusionary social stratification system that not only plagues the Hindu society but a
common feature among all religious communities in this region, and it plays a pivotal role in the
distribution and control of knowledge, power, property, resources, sexuality and dignity.
Indian Muslims are stratified into three main castes:
Ashrafs • The ‘nobles’, who trace their ancestry to inhabitants of the Arab
peninsula or Central Asia or are converts from Hindu upper castes
Ajlafs •The ‘commoners’, who are said to be converted from Hindu low
castes.
Arzals •The ‘despicable’, who are said to be Dalit converts.
In short, Ashrafs are the Brahmin equivalent, Ajlafs are the Vaisya equivalent and Shudras,
and Arzals are the Atishudras or Dalit equivalents of Islam.
• At the top of the hierarchy are the ‘Ashraf’ Muslims who trace their origin either to western or
central Asia (for instance Syed, Sheikh, Mughal, Pathan, etc or native upper caste converts like
Rangad or Muslim Rajput, Taga or Tyagi Muslims, Garhe or Gaur Muslims, etc). Syed biradari is
highly revered and their status is almost symmetrical to the Brahmins in Hinduism.
• Pasmandas include Ajlaf and Arzal Muslims, and Ajlafs' statuses are defined by them being
descendants of converts to Islam and are also defined by their pesha (profession)
Ghaus Ansari (1960) named the following four broad categories of Muslim social divisions in
India:
• Ashraf, who claim foreign-origin descent. e.g., Sayyid, Sheikh, Mughal, Abbasi and Pathans
• Converts from upper castes e.g., Muslim Rajputs, Muslim Jats, Arain
• Converts from other Indian Tribes e.g., Darzi, Dhobi, Mansoori, Gaddi, Faqir, Hajjam (Nai),
Julaha, Kabaria, Kumhar, Kunjra, Mirasi, and Teli
• Converts from untouchable castes. e.g., Muslim Mochi, Bhangi,
Both, the Sachar Committee Report and the Ranganath Mishra Committee Report have brought
to light several abuses and discriminations that an average Muslim Ajlaf/Arzal face every day,
including social segregation, untouchability, limited or no access to education, and
underrepresentation. The old Bahujan movement’s slogan ‘Dalit-pichda eksaman, Hindu ho ya
Musalman’ stands vindicated by these reports.
Ashrafism, Syedism, Zatism, Sharifism, Biradarism, and the Quom System are aspects of the caste
system among Muslims in South Asia.
1. (c) Explain the Interactional approach to study of caste in India.

Answer:
Caste (locally referred to as “jati”) is defined as ‘hereditary, endogamous group, which is usually
localised. It has a traditional association with an occupation and a particular position in the
local hierarchy of castes. Relations between castes are governed, among other things, by the
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concepts of pollution and purity, and general maximum commensality that occurs within the
caste” (Srinivas).
Some of the major approaches for explaining the caste system are;
• Attributional approach: The attributional approach to caste analyses caste in terms of the
various immutable characteristics of caste. The sociologists such as G S Ghurye, J H Hutton,
using this approach, define caste system through its significant features.
• Interactional approach: The interactional approach to study of caste system talks about the
caste in terms of a ranking of a caste in practical and local areas. It is manifested in patterns of
interpersonal behaviour and in patterns of association. The interactionists focused on the
power equation in the political economy and their rationalization in terms of democratic polity
and a planned or market economy.
Interactional approach takes into account how castes are actually ranked with respect to one
another in a local empirical context.
• Weber has explained caste in terms of his idea of status group. By applying Weberian modes to
the study of south Indian villages Andre Beteille pointed out a trend towards a shift from a
closed to an open stratification system. Today caste, power and class are not in one hand. A
person may be a high caste person but powerless and poor. So, there is status inconsistency
• According to Bailey, caste dynamics and identity are united by the two principles of
segregation and hierarchy. He feels that “Castes stand in ritual and secular hierarchy
expressed in the rules of interaction”. By secular hierarchy he meant the economic and
political hierarchy, rituals being part of the religious system. The ritual system overlaps the
political and economic system. Bailey (1957) explained his viewpoint with reference to village
Bisipara in Orissa. He has shown how the caste situation in Bisipara is changed and becomes
more fluid after Independence when the Kshatriyas lost much of their land. This caused a
downslide in their ritual ranking as well. There was a clearly discernible change in the
interaction patterns, such as, the acceptance and non-acceptance of food from other castes.
• Marriot studied the arrangement of caste ranking in ritual interaction. He confirmed that ritual
hierarchy is itself linked to economic and political hierarchies. Usually economic and political
ranks tend to coincide. That is to say both ritual and non-ritual hierarchies affect the ranking in
the caste order though ritual hierarchies tend to play a greater role.
• Dumont added a new dimension to the study of caste in an interactional perspective. According
to him the local context has a role in caste ranking and identity, but this is a response to the
ideology of hierarchy which extends over the entire caste system. For Dumont caste is a special
type of inequality and hierarchy is the essential value underlying the caste system. It is this
value that integrates Hindu society. The various aspects of the caste, are based on the
principle of opposition between the pure and impure underlying them. ‘Pure’ is superior
to the ‘impure’ and has to be kept separate.
In pre-Independent India Sanskritization was the way of mobility but in post-independence period
Sanskritization was rejected. The Buddhist movement gives evidence of this rejection. Damle and
Lynch tried to explain present caste mobility by using the concept of ‘reference group’. They
found that the process of modernization itself brings forth and exacerbates the competing
loyalties of citizenship and caste statuses in the struggle of a new state to become a nation. This is
now the role of caste in India.
1. (d) Enumerate the distinctive characteristics of the Tribes in India.

Answer:
W. H. R. Rivers defines tribe as “a social group of a simple kind, the members of which speak a
common dialect, have a single government and act together for such common purposes as warfare.”
Distinctive Characteristics of the Tribes in India
• Definite common topography: Tribal people live within a definite topography and it is a
common place for all the members of a particular tribe occupying that region. In the absence of
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a common but definite living place, the tribals will lose other characteristics of a tribal life, like
common language, way of living and community sentiment, etc.
• Sense of unity: Sense of unity is an invariable necessity for a true tribal life. The very existence
of a tribe depends upon the tribal’s sense of unity during the time of peace and war.
• Endogamous group: Tribal people generally do not marry outside their tribe and marriage
within the tribe is highly appreciated and much applauded. But the pressing effects of changes
following the forces of mobility have also changed the attitude of tribals and now, inter-tribal
marriages are becoming more and more common.
• Common dialect: Members of a tribal community exchange their views in a common dialect.
This element further strengthens their sense of unity.
• Ties of blood relationship: Blood relationship is the greatest bond and most powerful force
inculcating the sense of unity among the tribals.
• Protection awareness: Tribal people always need protection from intrusion and infiltration
and or this a single political authority is established and all the powers are vested in this
authority. The safety of the tribal is left to the skill and mental power of the person enjoying
political authority. The tribal chief is aided by a tribal committee in the events of contingencies.
Tribe is divided into a number of small groups and each group is headed by its own leader.
• Distinct political organisation: Every tribe has its own distinct political organisation which
looks after the interests of tribal people. The whole political authority lies in the hands of a
tribal chief. In some tribes, tribal committees exist to help the tribal chief in discharging his
functions in the interests of the tribe.
• Common culture: Common culture of a tribe derives from the sense of unity, which depends on
sharing a common language, common religion, common political organisation. Common culture
produces a life of homogeneity among the tribals.
• Importance of kinship: Kinship forms the basis of tribal social organisation. Most tribes are
divided into exogamous clans and lineages.
• Egalitarian values: The tribal social organisation is based on the principle of equality. Thus,
there are no institutionalised inequalities such as in the caste system or sex-based inequalities.
Thus, men and women enjoyed equal status and freedom. However, some degrees of social
inequality may be found in case of tribal chiefs or tribal kings who enjoy a higher social status,
exercise political authority and possess wealth.
• Simple form of religion: Tribes believe in certain myths and a rudimentary type of religion.
Further, they believe in totems which is at symbolic object signifying objects having mystic
relationship with members of the tribe.
1. (e) From dwindling numbers to identity crisis, religious minorities are facing multiple
problems in India. Critically discuss.
Answer:
Being the second-largest country in terms of population, India is a multitude of various religious
communities. Six communities are declared as minority communities namely Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians as per clause (c) of section 2 of the National Commission
for Minorities Act, 1992. The term “minority” or “minorities” is used in the Constitution in some
articles like Article 29, Article 30, Article 350(A), and 350(B) but a concrete definition is not given in
the Constitution.
Jaganath Pathy (1988) has also listed out the defining properties of minority group. In his opinion,
the minorities are:
• subordinate in some way to the majority,
• distinguishable from the majority on the basis of physical or cultural features,
• collectively being regarded and treated as different and inferior on the basis of these features,
and
• excluded from the full participation in the life of the society.
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Some of the major problems faced by minorities in India are as follows:

• Issue of dwindling numbers: According to a report on the country’s religious composition by
the Pew Research Centre, population growth rates have declined for all of India’s major
religious groups, but the slowdown has been more pronounced among religious minorities,
which outpaced Hindus in earlier decades.
o India’s Parsi-Zoroastrian population has been falling every decade since 1941.
• Problem of Identity: Because of the differences in socio-cultural practices, history and
backgrounds, minorities have to grapple with the issue of identity everywhere which give rise
to the problem of adjustment with the majority community. A nation state prefers, if possible, a
homogenous religion, language, ethnic identity etc. In the words of Clude “The rise of the
problem of minorities was a logical consequence of the ascendancy of nationalism. It has
injected into politics the principle that the state should be nationally homogeneous and a nation
should be politically united.” Homogeneity is never a reality thus there are constant efforts by
the majority to assimilate the minority. The minorities are made to abandon their ethnic,
religious cultural and linguistic characteristics which differentiate them from the dominant
group.
• Problem of Security: Different identity and their small number relative to the rest of the
society develops feeling of insecurity about their life, assets and well-being. This sense of
insecurity may get accentuated at times when relations between the majority and the minority
communities in a society are strained or not much cordial.
• Problem Relating to Equity: The minority community in a society may remain deprived of the
benefit of opportunities of development as a result of discrimination. Because of the difference
in identity, the minority community develops the perception of the sense of inequity.
• Problem of Lack of Representation in Civil Service and Politics: Though the Constitution
provides for equality and equal opportunities to all its citizens including the religious
minorities, the biggest minority community, that is, Muslims in particular, have not availed
themselves of these facilities. The Sachar Committee concluded that the conditions facing
Indian Muslims was below that of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. There is a feeling
among them that they are neglected.
• Discrimination: While the minority groups are allowed to preserve their distinct
characteristics, they are also subjected to a great deal of discrimination. The discrimination may
be in the form fewer government funds for minority educational institutions etc. Very often they
are discriminated in their social life. They are subjected to ridicule and segregation which
further compels them to stay away from the majority. That is why we find that minority groups
stay together in ghettos away from the majority.
• Failure to uphold Secularism: India has declared itself as a “secular” country. The very spirit
of our Constitution is secular. Almost all political parties including the Muslim League claim
themselves to be secular. But in actual practice, no party is honest in its commitment to
secularism, purely religious issues are often politicised by these parties. Similarly, secular issues
and purely law and order problems are given religious colours. These parties are always waiting
for an opportunity to politicalise communal issues and take political advantage out of it. Hence,
the credibility of these parties in their commitment to secularism is lost. This has created
suspicion and feeling of insecurity in the minds of minorities.
However, despite of these issues, there are some minorities like the Parsees and the Sikhs in India
which are as affluent as some of the majority community of the Hindus. The liberal democratic
constitution of India furnishes the principles of equality before law and equal protection of law
besides equal opportunity in the affairs managed by the government.
2. (a) It is often argued that Indian society is marked by unity and diversity. In light of this, trace
the forms of diversity and bonds of unity in Indian Society. 20
Answer:
Ordinarily diversity means differences. For our purposes, however, it means something more than
mere differences. It means collective differences, that is, differences which mark off one group of
people from another. These differences may be of any sort: biological, religious, linguistic etc. On the
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basis of biological differences, for example, we have racial diversity. On the basis of religious
differences, similarly, we have religious diversity. The point to note is that diversity refers to
collective differences.
Unity means integration. It is a social psychological condition. It connotes a sense of one-ness, a
sense of we-ness. It stands for the bonds, which hold the members of a society together.
Forms of Diversity:
• Racial Diversity:
o Herbert Risley had classified the people of India into seven racial types. These are (i)
Turko-Iranian, (ii) Indo-Aryan, (iii) Scytho-Dravidian, (iv) Aryo-Dravidian, (v) Mongolo-
Dravidian, (vi) Mongoloid, and (vii) Dravidian.
o B.S. Guha (1952) has identified six racial types (1) the Negrito (Negritos are the people
who belong to the black racial stock as found in Africa.), (2) the Proto Australoid (The
Proto-Australoid races consist of an ethnic group, which includes the Australian aborigines
and other peoples of southern Asia and Pacific Islands.), (3) the Mongoloid (The
Mongoloids are a major racial stock native to Asia, including the peoples of northern and
eastern Asia. For example, Chinese, Japanese, etc.), (4) the Mediterranean (The
Mediterranean races relate to the Caucasian physical type, i.e., the white race), (5) the
Western Brachycephals, and (6) the Nordic (These races belong to the physical type
characterised by tall stature, long head, light skin and hair, and blue eyes. They are found in
Scandinavian countries, Europe).
• Linguistic Diversity: While the famous linguist Grierson noted 179 languages and 544 dialects,
the 1971 census on the other hand, reported 1652 languages in India which are spoken as
mother tongue. Not all these languages are, however, equally widespread. Many of them are
tribal speeches and these are spoken by less than one percent of the total population. Here you
can see that in India there is a good deal of linguistic diversity.
• Religious Diversity: India is a land of multiple religions. We find here followers of various
faiths, particularly of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism,
among others. Then there are sects within each religion. Hinduism, for example, has many sects
including Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava.
• Caste Diversity: India is a country of castes. The term caste is generally used in two senses:
sometimes in the sense of Varna and sometimes in the sense of Jati.
o Varna refers to a segment of the four-fold division of Hindu society based on functional
criterion. The four Varna are Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra with their specialised
functions as learning, defence, trade and manual service.
o Jati refers to a hereditary endogamous status group practising a specific traditional
occupation. There are more than 3,000 jati in India. These are hierarchically graded in
different ways in different regions.
o It may also be noted that the practice of caste system is not confined to Hindus alone. We
find castes among the Muslim, Christian, Sikh as well as other communities. You may have
heard of the hierarchy of Shaikh, Saiyed, Mughal, Pathan among the Muslim. Furthermore,
there are castes like teli (oil pressure), dhobi (washerman), darjee (tailor), etc. among the
Muslim.
Bonds of unity in India:
• Geo-political Unity: The first bond of unity of India is found in its geo-political integration.
India is known for its geographical unity marked by the Himalayas in the north end and the
oceans on the other sides. Politically India is now a sovereign state. The same constitution and
same parliament govern every part of it. People of India share the same political culture marked
by the norms of democracy, secularism and socialism.
• The Institution of Pilgrimage: Another source of unity of India lies in what is known as temple
culture, which is reflected in the network of shrines and sacred places. From Badrinath and
Kedarnath in the north to Rameshwaram in the south, Jagannath Puri in the east to Dwaraka in
the west the religious shrines and holy rivers are spread throughout the length and breadth of
the country. Closely related to them is the age-old culture of pilgrimage, which has always
moved people to various parts of the country and fostered in them a sense of geo-cultural unity.
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• Tradition of Accommodation:
o The first evidence of accommodation lies in the elastic character of Hinduism, the
majority religion of India. It is common knowledge that Hinduism is not a homogeneous
religion, a religion having one God, one Book and one Temple. Indeed, it can be best
described as a federation of faiths. Polytheistic (having multiple deities) in character, it goes
to the extent of accommodating village level deities and tribal faiths.
o Another evidence of it lies in its apathy to conversion. Hinduism is not a proselytising
religion. That is, it does not seek converts. Nor has it ordinarily resisted other religions to
seek converts from within its fold. This quality of accommodation and tolerance has saved
the way to the coexistence of several faiths in India.
• Tradition of Interdependence: One manifestation of it is found in the form of Jajmani system,
i.e., a system of functional interdependence of castes.
Thus, India is quite blessed with different forms of diversity which gets strengthened by different
bonds of unity. However, there have been incidences of divisive and secessionist tendencies
embedded within this diverse culture of India which had led to different riots at times.
2. (b) The combination of text with the context by M.N Srinivas provided a realistic and practical
picture of Indian Society. Discuss. 20
Answer:
Structural functional approach in Indian sociology is the most popular, most developed and most
coherent approach in sociology after independence. This approach has been adopted to study
village communities, caste structure, family – kinship structure etc.
The structural-functionalist perspective relies more on the fieldwork tradition to know the social
reality so that it can also be understood as ‘contextual’ or ‘field view’ perspective of the social
phenomenon. Srinivas maintained that problems in Indian society e.g., agrarian conflicts,
inequalities, ethnicity, communalism, and regionalism should be understood in the context of
interrelationships that connect them with other aspects of life.
The structural-functional approach in Sociology has its roots in the British social anthropology,
pioneered by Radcliff Brown and Malinowski. The British anthropologists based their analysis of
society ‘organic analogy’. They in their analysis of society,
a) emphasized on studying society ‘here and now’ (synchronic studies) i.e., the empirical structure.
b) They shifted the focus from ‘macro-approach’ to ‘micro-approach’ (study of small-scale
society).
c) The study of societies should be based not on ‘conjectural history’ rather it should be done using
the scientific method of observation, comparison (fieldwork-based studies) and arriving at
generalization.
• The structural-functional approach in Indian sociology for the analysis of Indian society was
introduced by M. N. Srinivas initiated the tradition of ‘macro-sociological generalizations’ on
‘micro-sociological insights’ and gave a sociological perspective to anthropological
investigations of small-scale communists. He wanted to understand Indian society not on the
basis of western concepts or indigenous sacred texts, but from direct observation or field
study. According, to him the knowledge about the different regions of Indian society can be
attained through field work and not from sacred texts.
• Micro-level findings through intensive ‘field studies’ rather than ‘book-view’ has been a
remarkable step in the understanding of the Indian social structure. It reflects sociology of
nativity.
• Book-View vs. Field-View: Srinivas was keen to differentiate between a book-view of society
(based on religious literature and an Indological perspective) and a field-view of society in the
Indian context (derived from in-depth fieldwork and sociological approach). Books have
remained an indispensable part of people's lives in India. They provided norms and laid out the
normative code of behaviour. In urban areas, norms and normative code of behaviour were
imposed by rulers. In rural areas, however, dominant castes or councils of individual castes
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enforced norms and normative code of behaviour. Noticeable cultural diversity exists not only
between regions, but also across castes and ethnic groups. He noticed a significant gap
between the book-view of society and the field-view of society. In reality, the disjunction
between the two provided a unique viewpoint on understanding how caste regulates social
relations across time.
However, though his work has provided ‘empirically sound’ categories, concepts and theories, it
often becomes difficult to apply or ‘generalized’ it at the ‘macroscopic’ level.
• Functionalism presupposes that a distinction be made between the subject and the object, and
suggests that the researcher distinguish and distance himself from the object of his study. In
Srinivas’ work, ethnography merely mirrors the researcher’s ideology. According to Sujata Patel,
this creates methodological ambiguities.
• M. N. Srinivas’s through his work refers those Indian traditions are found in caste, village and
religion. It therefore makes it appear that Indian social structure is on par with the advocates of
Hindutva, or cultural nationalism. According to Doshi, any tradition emanating from caste
system cannot be nations tradition as the constitution has rejected it.
• The Marxists critique M. N. Srinivas’s understanding of the social structure as ‘conservative’
and ‘status-quoist’. The understanding of the social structure, completely ignores possibility of
presence of hidden contradiction in society.
• According to Subaltern scholars like, Gail Omvedt, Srinivas’s sociology suffers from
‘Brahminical domination’. In his conceptual framework, the traditions of the lower castes and
Dalits have no place, nowhere in village India. His understanding was therefore more elitist and
presented the upper caste view.
• According to Yogendra Singh, Srinivas in his analysis of social change in the Indian social
structure talks only of processes of ‘negotiation’ and ‘accumulation’ rather than ‘quantitative’
changes coming in the traditional structures of Indian society, ex. of caste association
functioning as interest groups, in democratic politics.
Understanding of the Indian social structure through the ‘structural functional’ perspective
contributed at two levels, firstly, firmly establishing Indian sociology by providing indigenous
concepts and secondly providing a scientific critique to the then dominant colonial understanding of
Indian society.
2. (c) Tribes are said to have accepted ethos of caste structure and absorbed within it. Critically
analyse the changing dynamics between caste and tribe. 10
Answer:
Caste and Tribe, represent two different forms of social organizations. Castes have been treated as
one regulated by the hereditary division of labour, hierarchy, principle of purity and pollution, civic
and religious disabilities, etc. Tribes on the other hand have been seen as one characterized by the
absence of features attributed to the caste.
The two types of social organizations are also considered as governed by the different set of
principles.
It is said that bonds of kinship govern the tribal society. Each individual is hence considered to be
equal to others. The lineage and clan tend to be the chief unit of ownership as well as of production
and consumption. In contrast inequality, dependency and subordination is an integral feature of
caste society. It is also said that tribes do not differentiate as sharply as caste groups do, the
differences between the utilitarian and non-utilitarian function of the religion.
Caste groups tend to maintain different forms, practices and behaviour pattern for each of these
two aspects of the religion. Tribes in contrast maintain similar forms, practices and behaviour
pattern for both function of the religion.
Tribes and castes are also shown to be different in respect of the psychological disposition of its
members. Tribes are said to take direct, unalloyed satisfaction in pleasures of the senses whether in
food, drink, sex, dance or song. As against this caste people maintain certain ambivalence about
such pleasures.
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Max Weber writes in Social Structure that when an Indian tribe loses its territorial significance it
assumes the form of an Indian caste.
In this way the tribe is a local group whereas caste is a social group.
According to Ghurye tribal people are backward Hindus differing only in degrees from the other
segments of Hindu society.
Andre Beteille observed certain differences between tribes and castes. The tribes are relatively
isolated. They follow their own religion and practices which are not common in Hinduism. Language
is a criterion of difference as tribes speak their local dialect for example Mundas and Oraons of
Chotanagpur speak different dialects but Bhumij have lost their tribal dialect and speak dominant
language of the area.
According to Bailey tribe and caste should be viewed as continuum, i.e., Tribe-caste
continuum. He seeks to make distinction not in terms of totality of behaviour but in more limited
way in relation to the political economic system. A caste society is hierarchical while a tribal society
is segmentary and egalitarian.
But in contemporary India both caste and tribe are being merged into a different system
which is neither one nor the other.
The tribes in India have been influenced by certain traditions of the communities around them.
Major neighbouring community in all the areas has always been Hindus. As a result, from the very
period there have been several points of contact between the Hindus of the area and tribal
communities living within it. The nature and extent of contact the pattern of mutual participation
and characteristics of revitalization movements have been different in different parts of India.
The ethnographic records establish that the contacts varied from semi-isolation to complete
assimilation. The numerous castes among Hindus have emerged out of the tribal stratums. The
recent studies of tribes of Himalayan western and middle India have left no doubt that some of the
tribes are Hinduized to the extent that they have been assimilated with the different castes at
different levels in the caste system.
The study of two major Central Himalayan tribes Tharu and Khasa reveals that though they have a
tribal matrix and continue to practice certain distinctive tribal customs, they have been accepted as
Kshatriya. Their culture has been modelled on the ways of living of the Rajput’s and Brahmins of the
neighbour plain areas.
With the long and continuous contacts with the regional Hindu castes the tribals of Kharwars have
been assimilated as Rajput castes. There are numerous other tribes which have undergone selective
acculturation and have added selected traits or features of the regional Hindus to their respective
traditional cultures. In this practice of acculturation most of them failed to occupy any rank in the
castes hierarchy while few of them were integrated into the lower strata of the Hindu social system.
3. (a) A. R. Desai’s understanding of Indian Nationalism is paradoxical to the Nationalist

understanding of Nationalism. Comment. 20
Answer:
Search for Nationalism is not a sociological stereotype, it is a dynamic process driven by various
motives, drives, speculations, contradictions confusions in human history.
Nationalist understanding of Nationalism: Nationalists like Nehru, MG Ranade, KN Panikkar
conceptualise that rise of Indian Nationalism is a product of India’s urban educated middle class
driven by liberal western values making an attempt to go for the reforms in traditional social
institutions - modern education taking away superstitious dogmas from lives of the people &
promote territorial integration thereby strengthening India’s unity. Nationalists also consider that
Congress Movement & Freedom Struggle in India were instrumental for the rise of Indian
Nationalism.
A. R. Desai’s understanding of Indian Nationalism: The Nationalist viewpoint stands opposite to
A R Desai’s understanding of Indian Nationalism. Being a Marxist, he takes into account how
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economic history located in the base of the society influences to superstructure of politics &
political mobilization. He writes that prior to the British rule the concept of nationalism was absent
because people of India were living in village communities and were dependent on agriculture.
Jajmani system, continued to be the socio-economic history of pre-British India for which people
did not come up together & manifested organized struggles against the Mughal rulers.
With the consolidation of economic interests & development of industrial infrastructure and
subsequently the entry of British goods in Indian markets destroyed the traditional fabric of Indian
market and society (Jajmani system) which accelerated the burden on poor peasants & craftsmen,
artisans, etc leading them towards mass poverty. Indian peasants suffered debt-trap, forced eviction
from land, were exploited at the hands of British loyalists zamindars. Thus, peasants from different
parts of the country supported by their local leaders waged a revolt- 1857 Revolt- 2nd phase of
Indian Nationalism.
According to Desai, Nationalism in India was a bourgeoisie construct for the furtherance of
their selfish interests- 3rd phase of Indian Nationalism. The Indian industrialists funded the Indian
middle class to hold meetings, organize public protests against the British as Indian industries had
collapsed absolutely & British monopoly was established in India by 1880s (12 industries owned by
Indians). 4th phase of Indian Nationalism- began with the Kisan Sabha Movements.; which were
instigated by the local leaders having socialist orientation to mobilize Indian peasantry against the
zamindars by refusing to pay taxes.
Thus, Desai holds that Nationalism in India is a bourgeoisie construct for the furtherance of their
interests.
3. (b) The impact of colonial rule in India has brought about far-reaching changes in social,
political and economic structure of Indian society. Discuss. 20
Answer:
Colonialism simply means the establishment of rule by one country over another. The impact of
British rule in India has brought about far-reaching changes in Indian society:
1. Changes in social structure:
• Growth of Social Classes in India: In rural areas, classes consist principally of a)
landlords, b) peasant proprietors, c) tenants d) agricultural labourers and e) artisans.
In the urban areas social classes comprise principally (a) capitalists (commercial and
industrial), (b) corporate sector (c) professional classes, (d) petty traders and shopkeepers
and (e) working classes.
• Growth of new ideas: When the British came to India, they brought new ideas such as
liberty, equality, freedom and human rights from the Renaissance, the Reformation
Movement and the various revolutions that took place in Europe. These ideas appealed to
some sections of our society and led to several reform movements in different parts of the
country.
• Women Empowerment: Many legal measures were introduced to improve the status of
women. For example, the practice of sati was banned in 1829 by Lord Bentinck, the then
Governor General. Widow Remarriage was permitted by a law passed in 1856. A law
passed in 1872, sanctioned inter-caste and inter-communal marriages. Sharda Act was
passed in 1929 preventing child marriage. The act provided that it was illegal to marry a
girl below 14 and a boy below 18 years.
• Growth of Education: The intention behind growth of modern education was to create a
class of Indians who were loyal to the British and were not able to relate to other Indians.
This class of Indians would be taught to appreciate the culture and opinion of the British. In
addition, they would also help to increase the market for British goods. They wanted to use
education as a means to strengthen their political authority in the country.
2. Changes in Political Structure: A hierarchy of Bureaucracy was established with a well-
defined hierarchical management system. The British also introduced a new system of law and
justice in India. A hierarchy of civil and criminal courts was established. The laws were
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codified and attempts were also made to separate the judiciary from the executive. Efforts were
made to establish the ‘Rule of Law’ in India.
3. Changes in Economic Structure:
• Change in Agriculture: British created individual ownership rights in land by introducing
several land reforms during the eighteenth century, such as the Permanent Settlement, the
Ryotwari settlement, and the Mahalwari settlement. With this, land became private
property, a commodity in the market. This commercialisation of agriculture, in turn,
stimulated the growth of trade and commerce in India.
• Development of Railways and Industry: Alongside the growth of trade and commerce,
there was rapid development of the transport system in India.
Some of the cultural and legal changes that took place as a result of British rule continue to affect
our life even today. The rails, the club life, the imperial buildings like the Rashtrapati Bhavan and
the Parliament are reminiscent of the British rule in India. Many food items like bread, tea and cake
that we consume today are a direct result of our interaction with Europeans during the British rule.
English language itself is a legacy of the British rule and continues to be the lingua franca of Indians
seeking employment in their own country.
3. (c) India social system is organized around caste structure; therefore, caste and politics can
never be separated. Critically analyse the statement. 10
Answer:
Rajni Kothari examined the ‘relationship between caste and politics’ by analysing the issue as to
what happens to the political system because of the involvement of caste consideration in voting.
The publication of ‘Caste in Indian Politics’, a collection of essays edited by him can be considered
as the ‘first systematic attempt to examine the interplay between caste and politics
comprehensively.’
He found that three factors—education, government patronage, and slowly expanding
franchise (including 18–21-year-old young persons in the electorate)—have ‘penetrated the caste
system because of which it has come to affect democratic politics in the country.’
Relationship can be seen in the following ways: -
• Caste is used in political mobilization, in garnering votes and even for selection of candidates
as per the caste of voters in a particular region.
• The caste identifications have given a new relevance to the electorate system. It is not only
the large castes which affect politics but also the smaller castes which have become important in
seeking votes.
• For those castes which are at the bottom of the hierarchy, voting right serves as a powerful
activity. The lower the social and economic status of a caste, the higher the importance of the
vote.
• Political parties also mobilise caste support. Parties mobilize castes for their functioning and
seek their support in winning elections.
• At the village level, politics is dominated by caste. Each caste wants to get maximum power in
the village set up. The groupism in rural politics is centred around mostly on castes and to some
extent on class and other factors.
• Rajni Kothari points out that caste is becoming more and more strengthened because these
castes are forming caste association. In the political sphere, the caste associations ask their
members to vote the persons belonging to their own caste.
• Kothari draws four conclusions from the relationship between caste and politics:
1. New elite structure has emerged in politics which is drawn from different castes but shares
a ‘common secular outlook and is homogeneous in terms of some values.’
2. Castes have assumed new organisational form. Thus: a. ‘caste associations’ are now
functioning at various levels (universities, hostels, clubs, government offices, etc. b. ‘caste
conferences’ have be-come broad-based; and c. ‘caste federations’ have emerged.
3. Castes have started functioning on a factional basis. These factions ‘not only divide political
groups but also social groups.’
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4. The caste identifications have given a new relevance to the electorate system. It is not only
the large castes which affect politics but also the smaller castes which have become
important in seeking votes.
As a result of this interplay, Professor Kothari states that “It is not politics that gets caste ridden,
it is caste that gets politicised.” Although the politics in India cannot be explained entirely in
terms of caste, caste is an important element in the politics. The caste influences political activity
from Panchayat right up to Parliament. While the Caste System is breaking down in social and
cultural fields; conflicts between castes are intensified by party politics.
4. (a) Yogendra Singh’s evaluation of social change in India is the departure from the earlier
analysis of social change. Discuss. 20
Answer:
Social change is the change in established patterns of social relationships, or change in social
values, or change in structures and sub structures operating in society. Indian society, has been a
‘society in transition’, particularly due to influences of British colonialism, and social change in
India, both in the colonial and post - Independence India has been analyzed by various scholars
using different perspectives. According to Yogendra Singh, Indian society being a society of ‘great
historical depth’ and ‘plurality of traditions’, propositions about social change should be
comprehensive and adequate. He has cited various limitations of different traditions of evaluation of
social change in India.
1. Due to the nationalistic aspirations social change was transformed from a normal social
process to being treated as something ‘desirable.’ Some social scientists treated change
synonymously with ‘development and progress.’ This introduced ‘non-scientific elements’ in the
evaluation of social change in India.
2. Studies suffer from ‘value biases and structural realities are ignored. The difference between
dialectical and functionalist analysis are exaggerated due to ideological reasons.
Pointing out the limitations of the earlier
approaches in the study of social change in
India like:
• Evolutionary approach
• Cultural approach
• Ideological approach
• Structural approach,
he proposed a ‘integrated approach’ to
provide a comprehensive perspective on
social change in India. The ‘integrated
approach’ provides a new ‘paradigm’ to
observe and describe social change in India,
by integrating the underlying similarities in the conceptual categories and theoretical formulations
of the above four approaches, to studying social change. The paradigm has the following features.
a) Substantive domain: It refers to the ‘domain of the phenomena’ which is undergoing change,
i.e., whether it is at the level of ‘culture or social structure’.
b) Context: It refers to where the change producing processes begin and materialize. It could begin
at the ‘micro’ or ‘macro’ levels. Macro-structures consist of role relationships which have a pan-
Indian extension of boundaries, e.g., bureaucracy, industry, market. Micro Structures have
limited boundaries such as kinship, family, caste, and tribe.
c) Sources of change: The causal sources of change can be either ‘endogenous’ (Orthogenetic)
or ‘exogenous’ (Heterogenetic). Endogenous refer to changes from within the social system
and Exogenous refer to diffusion of culture from without the social system.
d) Direction of change: It is taken to be as ‘evolutionary linear’, from traditionalization to
modernization. Modernization represents the net balance of changes following from
heterogenetic contact.
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Applying this paradigm Yogendra Singh, analyses social change in India. He makes a distinction
between social change and modernization, arguing that social change need not always mean
modernization. He views modernization in India primarily as an:
• evolutionary linear change
• structural change.
continuity
Characteristics
hierarchy of holism
Tradition
transcen
dence
These were the basic aspects of tradition. Modernization in India commenced only with its contact
with the West, which brought about vast changes in the Indian social structure. Islamization
(Heterogenetic) and Sanskritization within Hinduism (Orthogenetic) led to ‘cultural
transformations’ in India, both at the level of ‘little traditions’ (micro) and ‘great
traditions’(macro). However, these sources of change led only to ‘positional changes’ and did not
lead to any basic structural changes. Whatever structural changes occurred in the pre-contact
phase were ‘oscillatory’ in nature rather than ‘evolutionary’ (pre- industrial cities, migration).
With the establishment of the British rule in India, modern cultural norms and forms of social
structure were introduced. The impact of the West was fundamentally different from that of Islam,
although both were heterogenetic and both began with political domination. In the beginning the
contact led to the growth of a ‘modernizing sub-culture or little tradition of Westernization,
during the seventeenth century in Bengal, Madras and Bombay. Subsequently, there also emerged
sects which emphasized assimilation of Western cultural norms, for ex, Brahmo Samaj, Pratharna
Samaj. These movements and the consolidation of the British power, in the middle of the nineteenth
century , led to the institution of a ‘modernizing Great Tradition,’. It’s components were
universalistic legal system, expansion of western form of education, urbanization, industrialization.
Along with this structural modernization also took place, in the emergence of rational bureaucratic
systems of administration, judiciary, army and industrial bureaucracy, along with a nationalist
leadership.
One important feature of Indian modernization during the British period, was it was ‘selective and
segmental.’ It was not integrated with the ‘micro – structures of Indian society,’ such as family,
caste, village community. Some British administrators were wrongly impressed with the ‘static
nature and autonomy’ of these micro structures compared with the rest of India. This was especially
so about the notion of the village community and the caste system. These historical factors have
deeply influenced the process of modernization which followed during the post -colonial period.
Following Independence, modernization process in India has undergone a basic change from its
colonial pattern. As an integral part of ‘developmental strategy’, modernization has been envisaged
for all levels of cultural and structural systems. Discontinuity in modernization between ‘macro -
structures and micro -structures’ and between Little and Great Traditions, as during the British
regime has been consciously abolished. Introduction of adult suffrage and a parliamentary form of
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political structure have carried politicization to every sector of social organization. Legal reforms in
Hindu marriage and inheritance laws have impacted the foundations of traditional Hindu family
structure. Rural development Projects carried the cultural norms and role -structures of modernity
to each and every village in India coupled with elective village panchayats, introducing the villagers
to bureaucratic forms of participation.
As the process of modernization becomes all encompassing, it also generates inter - structural
tensions and conflicts between traditions. (past and contemporary). The cultural pre-requisites of a
comprehensive modernization necessitate adaptive changes in the system of values, which come in
direct confrontation with traditional cultural values and norms. However, according to Yogendra
Singh, despite continual tensions and contradictions, the chances of ‘structural breakdown’ are
minimal as democratic values have fairly institutionalized in the political system. Caste has
undergone a rational self-transformation into associations. Cultural gap which has widened
between various levels of elite (political and non - political) does not go far enough to introduce
major conflict about the ideology of modernization.
Future course of modernization in India would depend much on the manner in which the tensions
are resolved as modernization gathers momentum. The contradictions also symbolize the frictions
caused by upward movement of hitherto suppressed aspirations and interests of groups. Protest
movements are inevitable in democratic transition to modernization. A major assumption would be
that at no stage in the process of development would conciliation as a goal of resolving
contradictions be replaced by a policy of controlled suppression. Though integrated and
comprehensive, yet Yogendra Singh s analysis of social change has been subjected to criticisms.
Gunnar Myrdal, rejects the evolutionary theory of change and argues that social change could be
‘circular.’
4. (b) The idea of Indian villages as simple, static and self-sufficient provided by colonial
administrators has been criticised by many scholars. Discuss. 20
Answer:
India’s village can be traced far back in history which creates a sense of timelessness and continuity.
The Arthashastra (400 BCE-200AD) provides us with a classification of the king’s duties related to
the administrative affairs of the village. In the medieval times Al Biruni’s Kitab al Hind (early
eleventh century) gives us an account of the caste occupation-based organisation in the village
Colonial idea of Indian Villages:
• According to Charles Metcalfe, ‘the Indian village communities were little republics, having
nearly everything they wanted within themselves and almost independent of foreign relations.
They seemed to last where nothing else lasted. Dynasty after dynasty tumbled down; revolution
succeeded revolution but the village community remained the same’
• Such a representation of the Indian villages a simple, ‘unchanging entities’, (‘They seemed to last
where nothing else lasted)’, made many Marxist scholars argue that the British rule was an
‘unconscious tool of history’ breaking stagnation of the Indian society founded on ‘unchanging
village communities.
• The Orientalists (Book-view) described the Indian village as an ‘idyllic’ social reality, with
‘Varna’ system of caste hierarchy and complete functional integration between the different
occupational groups (castes).
Critique: However, many anthropological studies (Village studies), conducted in the 1950’s and
1960’s, by many Indian sociologists and anthropologist, contested and demolished the ‘myth’ of the
self-sufficiency of the Indian villages.
• The findings of these village-studies, based on extensive ‘field-work’, concluded that the Indian
village was never self-sufficient. It was argued that the Indian village always maintained ‘links’
with the larger society and centres of Indian civilization Migration and movement for work and
trade, village exogamy, administrative linkages, inter-regional markets, inter-village economic
ties, caste networks, pilgrimage, fairs, festivals and other activities always served as bridges
with the neighbouring villages and the larger society.
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• According to Andre Beteille, there was no reason to believe that the village he studied
(Sripuram), was fully self-sufficient in the economic sphere. M. N. Srinivas, while conducting his
field-studies in Rampura, Mysore contented the colonial notion of the Indian villages and argued
that the village was always a part of a ‘wider entity’. It always maintained social, political and
economic ties at the regional level. The Indian sociologists argued that the Indian village was
undoubtedly the most ‘representative unit’ of the Indian social life and the most important
source of ‘identity’ to its residents, but to portray them as ‘atomistic’ non-changing entities
would be a complete distortion of the Indian social empirical reality.
• The idea of the Indian village being ‘monolithic structure’ with complete social harmony and
functional integration between the different occupational groupings, was further questioned by
the empirical findings of the village studies. S. C. Dube, identified six factors that contributed to
status-differentiation or inequality in the village community, while doing his field-work in
Shamirpeth village. These being (a) caste and religion (b) land-ownership (c) wealth (d)
position in government service and village organization (e) age (f) distinctive personality traits.
He noted that though the village faced the outside world as an ‘organized, compact whole’, there
did exist ‘groups and factions’ within the village settlement. Almost all the village studies of
offered detailed descriptions of the prevailing ‘differences’ of caste, class and gender in the
village social life.
• M. N. Srinivas through the concepts of ‘Sanskritization’ and ‘Dominant castes’, critiqued the
colonial understanding of ‘caste’ in village India. According to him, the idealized model of ‘Varna
system’ portrayed the caste hierarchy as a ‘closed and rigid’ system of stratification. However, at
the empirical level, there exists some room for mobility, especially in the middle regions, with
regard to mutual positions.
Hence, The Indian sociologists and anthropologists, through their ‘village studies’ convincingly
argued that through the Indian villages were based on ‘unity-reciprocity’ combination in terms of
their internal organization and structures, this did not in any way mean the absence of ‘horizontal
ties’ between villages and villages/urban areas.
Similarly, the ‘unity-reciprocity’ framework for understanding the Indian village did not completely
exclude from it the idea of ‘social differentiation and inequality’ in this village community in terms
of caste, class and gender.
Therefore, the colonial understanding of the Indian village’ reduced it to an ‘ideological-category’
distributing the native life in a way much removed from the empirical reality.
4. (c) Recently, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan expressed
concerns over continuation of reservations in jobs and education. In this context, discuss
whether reservation system needs a re-evaluation? 10
Answer:
Since the day caste-based reservations were implemented in India, there has been simmering
disgruntlement among the groups. The resentment may have increased over the past few decades
due to the expansion of reservation policy, which now incorporates backward classes as well.
Why caste-based reservations still need to be continued way they are?
• Despite the continuation of reservations for over six decades, discrimination against Dalits is
still a part of everyday life.
• Social Attitudes Research for India (SARI) – revealed that 52% of 1,270 adults in Delhi and
72% of 1,473 adults in UP have not heard of “reservations” or “aarakshan”.
• Professional achievements of upper caste individuals are enough to wash away their caste
identity, this can never be true for the lower caste individual.
• Recently, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: a narrow concept of merit only allows upper caste
individuals to mask their obvious caste privilege. Such a narrow concept allows upper caste
individual to relegate the achievement of Dalits and others reserved classes as being a
consequence of caste-based reservation afforded to them.
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• Sixty-four years after caste untouchability was abolished by the Constitution, more than a fourth
of Indians say they continue to practise it in some form in their homes, as revealed by a study by
National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the University of Maryland, US.
• According to data presented by Education Minister in the Rajya Sabha, in Indian Institute of
Science (IISc) Bengaluru, only 2.1 per cent candidates admitted to the PhD programmes were
from the ST category, 9 per cent were from SC and 8 per cent from OBC categories from 2016-
2020.
• In the 17 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), 1.7 per cent of total PhD
candidates were from ST category, 9 per cent from SC and 27.4 per cent from OBC. These trends
are similar or even worse in other institutes like NITs and IISERs.
• Only one of the 89 secretaries posted at the Centre belongs to the Scheduled Castes (SC), while
three belong to the Scheduled Tribes, latest government data tabled in Parliament shows.
Re-evaluation is needed?
• Intense politicization of caste-based reservation.
• Social mobility has occurred through the years and need to recognize class within caste.
• Special focus most backward sub castes are needed. For ex., within SCs Jatavas have good
representation in education and jobs, same for Meena’s among STs. Focus should be on most
backward castes
• Simplification, legislative sunsets and periodic reviews should be important principles in the
redesign.
SECTION – B
5. Write a short note on each of the following in not more than 150 words. 10 x 5 = 50
(a) Discuss Andre Béteille’s conception of natural and social inequality.
Answer:
Andre Béteille’s critical contribution has been contextualizing local concepts and understandings,
such as caste and class, hierarchy and equality, and in more universal and generalized theories of
inequality, stratification and justice.
Béteille developed Tocqueville’s idea that all systems are mixed and that in real situations pure
hierarchy or equality does not exist. What exists, however is, “moving equilibrium between
incompatible and ever-varying forces”. Béteille proposed a distinction between harmonic system
(in which society is divided into groups that are hierarchically placed and the ordering is
considered as appropriate) and disharmonic systems (in which there is no consistency between
the order in which groups are arranged and the natural scheme of things i.e., there is a discrepancy
between the existential and normative orders). He explained the disharmonic system in terms of
one which upholds equality as an ideal but practices inequality. The paradox of modern societies, so
acutely evident in India, is not equality in principle but inequality in practice.
Beteille has attempted to answer the question of natural inequality in a qualified way with a lot of
examples from the happenings in the society. In Béteille’s own words “The great paradox of the
modern world is that everywhere men attach themselves to the principle of equality and
everywhere, in their own lives as well as in the lives of others, they encounter the presence of
inequality. The more strongly they attach themselves to the principles or the ideology of equality
the more oppressive the reality becomes”.
People often encounter natural inequality which is related to differences in capacities in potential,
abilities bestowed on individuals by nature that make for unequal endowment of opportunities
available to them. Nature has endowed human only with differences or potential differences. With
human beings these differences do not become inequalities unless and until they are selected,
marked out and evaluated by processes that are cultural and not natural.
According to Andre Béteille, the idea of natural inequality has little independent value in itself. In
fact, according to him, its value depends on the reality of social inequality. He says, “if there had
been no social inequality to contend with, it is doubtful that people would give very much thought
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to natural inequality.” He also contends that it is through this social process of gradation, people are
made to recognize inequality as inherent and justify social inequality as a manifestation of ‘natural
inequalities. For him, this is important as inequality is a necessity of modern men for the
distribution of rewards based on merits wherein rewards and merits are decided through a social
process.
Consider the example of the two children — one who is blind by birth and the other who has normal
vision. The two children are endowed with unequal abilities that make them perform the same task
with unequal precision. So long as we do not evaluate the performance of the two children and
judge their abilities, there is no perception of inequality — natural or social. The two children are
said to be differently endowed by nature. Natural inequality between them is perceived when we
assess their performance. We then refer to natural inequality to mean inequality meted out by
nature itself. Natural inequality becomes the basis of providing opportunities and resources,
providing privileges and discriminations that form the groundwork of social inequality. One
example of social inequality is enfolded in division of labour which is accompanied with inequality
in status and power. Simplistically viewed, division of labour corresponds with social
differentiation. Some positions are held in esteem while are associated with subjugation.
5. (b) Elaborate on ‘Daniel Thorner’s division of the agrarian population of India into different
class categories
Answer:
Amongst the earliest attempts to categorize the Indian agrarian population into a framework of
‘social classes’ was that of a well-known economist, Daniel Thorner. Traditionally it was believed,
except by the Marxists, that ‘class structure was not applicable to India as it is divided along caste
lines.’ Later on, it was accepted that class divisions had come to exist in agrarian communities due
to capitalistic transformation. However, classification of classes remained problematic as a ‘uniform
criterion could not be used due to the variation in fertility of land and availability of irrigation.’
Hence, sociologists took up the challenge to develop a set of criteria. Thorner suggested that one
could divide the agrarian population of India into different class categories by adopting
three criteria:
• types of income earned from land (such as ‘rent’ or ‘fruits of own cultivation’ or ‘wages’).
• the nature of rights held in land (such as ‘proprietary’ or ‘tenancy’ or ‘share-cropping rights’ or
‘no rights at all’)
• the extent of field-work actually performed (such as ‘absentees who do no work at all’ or ‘those
who perform partial work’ or ‘total work done with the family labour’ or ‘work done for others
to earn wages’)
DANIEL THORNER
CLASSIFICATION OF
AGRARIAN POPULATION
1. Malik
2. Kisans
3. Mazdoor
On the basis of these criteria, he suggested the following model of agrarian class structure in India:
1. Maliks, whose income is derived primarily from ‘property rights in the soil’ and whose
common interest is to keep the level of rents up while keeping the wage-level down. They
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collect rent from tenants, sub-tenants and sharecroppers. They could be further divided into
two categories,
• the ‘big landlords’, holding rights over large tracts extending over several villages; they are
‘absentee owners/rentiers’ with absolutely no interest in land management or
improvement;
• the ‘rich landowners’, proprietors with considerable holdings but usually in the same
village and although performing no field work, supervising cultivation and ‘taking personal
interest in the management and improvement of land.’
2. Kisans are ‘working peasants’, who own small plots of land and work mostly with their ‘own
labour and that of their family members.’ They own much lesser lands than the Maliks. They too
can be divided into two sub-categories,
• ‘Small landowners’, having holdings sufficient to support a family;
• Substantial tenants’ who may not own any land but cultivate a large enough holding to
help them sustain their families without having to work as wage labourers.
3. Mazdoors, who ‘do not own land’ themselves and earn their livelihood primarily by working
as ‘wage labourers or sharecroppers’ with others. When they are not able to find work, they
may migrate to other states either for working as agricultural labourers or as construction or
industrial labourers.
Thorner’s classification of agrarian population has not been very popular among the students of
agrarian change in India. It has been considered inadequate as ‘Kisan’ is a very broad category. Utsa
Patnaik modified the approach used by Thorner and used the ratio of outside labour to family
labour for the purpose of classification. It indicates the intensity of agricultural activity at a
particular place. She delineated class categories such as landlords, rich peasants, middle peasants,
poor peasants, and labourers.
5. (c) Discuss various sociological perspectives on tribal integration and autonomy in India.
Answer:
W. H. R. Rivers defines tribe as “a social group of a simple kind, the members of which speak a
common dialect, have a single government and act together for such common purposes as warfare.”
BROAD APPROACHES TO TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT
Isolationist Approach Assimilationist Approach Integrationist Approach

The first approach was a The 'assimilationist' The past experience of
legacy of the British regime, approach is the approach the policies of isolation
and is usually described as which paved the way for
'leave them untouched'. The and assimilation, forced
the tribal people to mingle the planners to take the
policy was to isolate the tribal with the neighbouring non-
population from the masses. tribals. In India, the process middle way between the
The British took deliberate two; which is called the
efforts not to develop
of assimilation took place in
different parts of the integrationist approach.
communication in the tribal
areas. Tribals were kept away country, resulting in the This approach was mainly
from the rest of the gradual acceptance of the brain-child of
population. Hindu culture by the tribals. Jawaharlal Nehru.
Various sociological perspectives on tribal integration and autonomy in India:

• Verrier Elwin advocated that the tribals are a very special people who must be kept separate
from the rest of Indian society in order to conserve and preserve their ethnic identity, their
tribal social structures, their culture and their way of life. He strongly believed that contact with
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the rest of India would place the tribals in an unequal contest with the nontribal people and
would expose them to virtually unlimited exploitation.
• Ghurye believes that most of the tribes have been Hinduized after a long period of contact with
Hindus. He holds that it is futile to search for the separate identity of the tribes. They are
nothing but the ‘backward caste Hindus’. Their backwardness was due to their imperfect
integration into Hindu society. The Santhals, Bhils, Gonds, etc., are its examples.
• D.N. Majumdar first raised the notion of the Indian tribes being in a state of transition. There is
no doubt that major changes have been taking place among the tribal people. Their isolation has
been broken down or been reduced. As one looks into the social institutions of the tribes, one
can see clearly that they have gradually been transformed.
• Prof. Virginius Xaxa tries to define a tribe as a community or as Jana. According to him, the
conceptualization of tribes as Jana will lead to the study of dynamics of transformation of tribes
on their own terms and not as a process of disintegration of tribal identity into larger stratified
societies.
• K.S. Singh notes, “As surpluses emerged, economic differentiation and social stratification
developed in tribal society.” The penetration of British Colonialism also altered the living
conditions and patterns of Indian tribal societies. Initially we find no concept of private
property amongst the tribal groups. Kosambi notes that land was only a territory and not a
property. Food was shared by all. With the subsequent introduction of various measures, land
gradually got converted into private property.
• Surajit Sinha opposed the existing idea that tribes were an isolated people. Sinha realised that
to understand tribes in India, one has to put them in a proper perspective. He says that it was
the British scholars who felt that tribes were outside the frame of Varna-Jati system. He further
talked of ‘mutually adaptive strategies of Indian civilization’ vis a vis tribal culture. The
civilization absorbed the tribes but maintained their identity and also determined their
isolation. The modern nation- state is trying to ensure full participation of tribes as equals.
• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru formulated the Tribal Panchsheel:
o Tribals should be allowed to develop according to their own genius.
o Tribals’ rights in land and forest should be respected.
o Tribal teams should be trained to undertake administration and development without too
many outsiders being inducted.
o Tribal development should be undertaken without disturbing tribal social and cultural
institutions.
o The index of tribal development should be the quality of their life and not the money spent.
5. (d) Construct a sociological narrative on raising the legal age of marriage for women in India.
Answer:
Recently, Government introduced The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the
Parliament which seeks to increase the minimum age of marriage of females to 21 years from the
current 18 years. Raising the legal age of marriage for women has many positive aspects like:
• Women Empowerment: Raising the legal age of marriage for women is imperative to tackle
gender inequality and gender discrimination and to put in place adequate measures to secure
health, welfare and empowerment of our women and girls and to ensure status and opportunity
for them at par with men.
• Labour force participation: The lower participation of women in the workforce is also partly
attributable to lack of education, marriage and domestic responsibilities. Women participation
in the labour market is the best way of empowering them. With a rise in the age at marriage
they may be able to participate in the labour market before marriage; hence, it will be easier for
them to continue to work even after marriage. All this is expected to reduce the fertility rate. It
also gives them greater bargaining power to deal with social evils like dowry.
• Addressing other gender inequalities: According to Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development
Economics and Environment, raising the legal age of marriage is an indirect attempt to address
other gender inequalities, such as girls being pulled out of school for marriage; the health risks
from pregnancies, including maternal mortality, that early marriage entails; the unpreparedness
of girls in bringing up children if they are themselves children, and so on.
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o The National Family Health Survey found that 23.3 per cent of women in the age group of 20
to 24 years were married before they turned 18. About 6.8 per cent of women in the age
group of 15-19 years were already mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey. Just 41
per cent of them have had more than ten years of schooling as against 50.2 per cent of men.
However, there are even concerns raised against this move like:
• Increasing the age of marriage will either harm or have no impact by itself unless the root
causes of women’s disempowerment are addressed. The age of marriage was increased from 16
to 18 in 1978 in order to provide better opportunities for women’s education and improve their
health. However, the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5 2019–’21) has brought out
the dismal fact that 40 years later, we still have an alarming rate of child marriages at 23%.
• There is also a concern that if a girl married at 18 or 19 faces matrimonial problems, and
approaches the court for redress, her husband may plead that the marriage is not valid, and she
is devoid of rights.
• Enacting a statute does not impose a financial burden on the government. Creating the
infrastructure to provide easy access to education and health care does. It appears that the
government has paid only lip service to the cause of women’s empowerment by increasing the
marriage age.
5. (e) Jainism and Buddhism grew as a reaction to Brahmanical orthodoxy. Comment.

Answer:
The sixth century B.C. was an important stage in Indian history as far as the development of new
religions is concerned. In this period, we notice a growing opposition to the ritualistic orthodox
ideas of the Brahmanas. This ultimately led to the emergence of many heterodox religious
movements. Among these Buddhism and Jainism developed into well organised popular religions.
The new religious ideas during this period emerged out of the prevailing social, economic and
religious conditions.
Reasons which contributed to growth of Jainism and Buddhism:
i) The Vedic religious practices had become cumbersome, and in the context of the new society of
the period had become in many cases meaningless ceremonies. Sacrifices and rituals increased and
became more elaborate and expensive. With the breakup of communities, the participation in these
practices also became restricted and as such irrelevant to many sections in the society.
ii) Growing importance of sacrifices and rituals established the domination of the Brahmanas
in the society. They acted both as priests and teachers and through their monopoly of performing
sacred religious rites, they claimed the highest position in the society which was now divided into
four varnas.
iii) Contemporary economic and political developments, on the other hand, helped the
emergence of new social groups which acquired considerable economic power. There were
merchants living in cities or even rich agricultural householders who possessed considerable
wealth. Similarly, the Kshatriyas, whether in the monarchies, came to wield much more political
power than before. These social groups were opposed to the social positions defined for them by
the Brahmanas on the basis of their heredity. As Buddhism and Jainism did not give much
importance to the notion of birth for social status, they attracted the Vaisyas to their folds.
Similarly, the Kshatriyas i.e., the ruling class were also unhappy with Brahmanical domination.
Briefly put, it was basically the discontent generated by the dominant position of the Brahmanas in
the society, which contributed to the social support behind the new religious ideas.
It is worth remembering that both Buddha and Mahavira came from Kshatriya class but in their
search for answers to the pressing problems of society they went beyond boundaries set by their
birth. They all represented the new society which was emerging in the sixth century B.C. and
Buddha and Mahavira, and other thinkers of those times, in their own ways, responded to the
problems of a new social order. The Vedic ritualistic practices had ceased to be of much relevance to
this new social order.
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Buddha and Mahavira, were by no means, the first to criticise the existing religious beliefs. Many
religious preachers before them, like Kapila, etc. had already highlighted the evils of the Vedic
religions. They also developed new ideas on life and God. New philosophies were also being
preached. However, it was Buddha and Mahavira, who provided an alternative religious order.
6. (a) As individuals, families, communities, and societies increasingly become integrated into
new complex globalized systems, their values, traditions, and relationships change. In this
context discuss impact of globalization on family as a social institution. 20
Answer:
Globalisation can be depicted as increasing global interconnectedness. It is a process rather than
an outcome, which refers to the trend toward the growing interconnectedness of different parts of
the world, not to their being interconnected. It primarily is an interchange of economic, social,
cultural, political, technological attributes that takes place between societies when different
societies come into contact with each other.
In our contemporary environment, globalization directly and indirectly affects family life through
the strategies and programs created by economic and social policies.
A. Structural Impact:
• Nuclearization of family: Increasing mobility of younger generation in search of new
employment and educational opportunities allegedly weakened the family relations due to
emergence of nuclear setup.
• Job opportunities abroad as well as advent of MNCs in metro cities has given rise to Living
Apart together families.
• New forms of family are emerging: for example, Single parent households, live-in
relationship, female headed households, dual-career family (both husband and wife are
working), same sex couples etc.
• The family bonding and ties have started loosening due to physical distance as it rendered
impracticable for family members to come together as often as earlier. This affected the
earlier idealized notion of 'family' as the caring and nurturing unit for children, the sick and
elderly.
• Traditional authority structure has changed. The head of the family- father/grandfather
have started losing their authority to the bread winner of the family.
B. Functional Impact:
• Traditionally family served the role of providing education to the younger generation, role
of production within the family etc. However, this role has been taken over by functional
alternatives like Schools, Colleges, industries etc. due to growing division of labour and
specialization of the work.
• With more women joining the workforce system, the care of aged within families has
declined.
• In nuclear families, there has been a change in marital rules and distributions of powers.
• Total subordination of women to men and strict disciplinarian role of father towards
children are changing. There is now witnessed emergence of Symmetrical families based
on companionship where decision making is now getting decentralised.
• Finding partners: younger generations have started depending on internet marriage sites
like 'Shadi.com, Bharat Matrimony' etc. Family involvement in finding a groom / bride is
reducing. However, the tradition of arranged marriages is still relevant in Indian society.
Individualism in younger generation is increasing, many of them don’t believe in total
surrender of their individual interests to family interests.
However, despite of this impact, certain functions are still specific to family like:
• Primary socialization of children
• Agency of social control
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6. (b) The last few decades of economic development and democratic governance have also
transformed the structures of social stratification in India. In the context discuss the evolution
of middle class in India. 20
Answer:
“A healthy middle class is necessary to have a healthy political democracy. A society made up
of rich and poor has no mediating group either politically or economically.” — Lester Thurow.
The middle class falls in the middle of the social hierarchy and occupies a socioeconomic position
between the working and upper classes. The measures of what constitutes members of this class
differ significantly among nations because of international cultural and economic variations.
As Pavan K. Verma points out in his work on the middle class, from the circumstances of their
origin and growth, the members of the educated class such as government servants, lawyers, college
teachers and doctors constituted the bulk of the Indian middle class. This middle class, in his
opinion, was largely dominated by the traditional higher castes.
• ORIGIN OF MIDDLE CLASS IN INDIA
B.B. Mishra (1961) in his seminal work on the middle classes in India had concluded that
institutions conducive to capitalist growth were not lacking in India prior to the British rule.
Pre-British India did witness an Indian artisan industry as well as occupational specialization
and additionally a separate class of merchants. The guild power remained purely money power
unsupported by any authority of a political or military nature.
According to him, The British rule resulted in the emergence of a class of intermediaries
serving as a link between people and the new rulers.
The aim of the British was to create a class of imitators and not originators of new values and
methods.
• THE MIDDLE CLASS IN INDIA: 1947–1990
The “colonial” middle class from the days of British rule prior to 1947 was slowly transformed
into a “new” middle class, who increasingly began being defined in terms of consumption
behaviour, with the country moving gradually toward a market-led capitalist economy.
The 20th century witnessed an entrepreneurial surge in the last decade after 1991 and the
expansion of the middle class in the last two decades after 1980. After growing at a rate of 3.5%
a year from 1950 to 1980, India’s economic growth rate increased to 5.6% in the decade of the
80s. It climbed further to 6.3% in the decade of 1990s. In these 2 decades the middle class more
than tripled. Between 1998- 2000, $2.5 billion in venture capital funds have come to India
(McKinsey’s studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between the availability of
venture funds and the proliferation of business start-ups). Writing about this middle class, Das
argued that as a result of changing trends, a new kind of entrepreneur has emerged in India.
• THE GROWTH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS: 1991–2015
Economists from Mumbai University in India defined the middle class as consumers spending
from US $2 to $10 per capita per day.13 By this definition, approximately half of India’s
population of 1.3 billion is now in the middle class. The fastest growth is in the lower middle
classes, who spend between US $4 and $6 per day. This group now includes carpenters, street
vendors, decorators, and drivers, amongst others. Most of these sectors have minimal barriers
to entry, and many from the lower classes can easily “move up” to this group. The lower middle
classes have approximately a third of their income left for discretionary spending after
accounting for food and shelter. This allows them to buy consumer goods, get health care, and
pay for their children’s education.
As Gurcharan Das notes, although the reforms after 1991 have been slow, hesitant and
incomplete, yet they have set in motion a process of profound change in Indian society. It is
Joseph Schumpeter who coined the term ‘entrepreneur’. Contrary to earlier times, the new
millionaires today are looked up to with pride and even reverence. For they are a new
meritocracy — highly educated entrepreneur professionals who are creating value by
innovating in the global knowledge economy.
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• MIDDLE CLASS IN INDIA: 2015–present

The emergence of a sizeable middle class in the last decades is widely regarded with hope by the
modernisers and fear by the traditionalists as the single most important development in the
ongoing transformation of Indian society.
India is expected to see a dramatic growth in the middle class, from 5 to 10 percent of the
population in 2005 to 90 percent in 2039, by which time a billion people will be added to this
group
According to a survey by NCAER the middle class grew from 8% of the population in 1986 to
18% in 2000 which is about 185 million. It appears that for many modern sociologists of India,
the emergent middle class is a harbinger of modernity but the question of great relevance is
how one defines modernity. Can one define the middle class as modern, based on material
progress or is the middle-class ethos to be analysed in a more deep rooted manner with regard
to the basis of formation of social relations among people who constitute the middle class.
6. (c) The purity of the caste can be ensured through closely guarding women who form the pivot
for the whole structure. In light of this statement, discuss how gender and caste are related to
each other. 10
Answer:
Understanding the subordination of women and the superiority enjoyed by men in the socio-
cultural and economic realms is highly significant as it explicitly brings out how caste stratification
and gender stratification mediate each other. The suppression of women in history (as is also now
though not widely) was essential to maintenance of caste hierarchy.
• Endogamy: Caste practice endogamy. In fact, caste cannot be reproduced without endogamy
and it is because of this that endogamy is considered to be the tool for expression and
continuation of caste and gender subordination. It is through this rule of marriage that discrete
caste categories continues and ritual purity of caste is maintained. The safeguarding of caste
structure is achieved through the highly restricted movement of the women. Women are
regarded as gateways, literally points of entrance into the caste system. Thus, the purity of the
caste can be ensured through closely guarding women who form the pivot for the whole
structure. Caste blood is always bilateral i.e., its ritual quality is received from both parents.
Thus, ideally both parents must be of the same caste.
• A union where a boy of upper caste marries a girl of lower caste was approved and called
anuloma while marriage of woman of ritually pure group with man of lower ritual status was
strongly disapproved and called pratiloma. In fact, children born out of the latter form of
marriage were considered as untouchables. The idea being emphasised here is that woman as
guardian of “purity” is not to lower herself but she could be raised high. To reinstate, the
blood purity of the lineages and also the position of family within the wider social hierarchy
was directly linked to the purity of women. Women are considered to be repositories of family
honour.
• Patriarchy is part of all identity construction. Gender, class and caste intersect with patriarchy.
Men mostly enjoy more power. Women, on the other hand, occupy a lower position in all
identity groups and sub-groups.
The chastity of women is strongly related to caste status. Generally, the higher ranking the caste,
the more sexual control its women are expected to exhibit. Brahman brides should be virgin, faithful
to one husband, and celibate in widowhood. By contrast, a sweeper bride may or may not be a
virgin, extramarital affairs may be tolerated, and, if widowed or divorced, the woman is encouraged
to remarry. For the higher castes, such control of female sexuality helps ensure purity of
lineage-of crucial importance to maintenance of high status.
Women in upper caste societies live their lives largely within the familial parameters. Their
mobility is severely restricted and they are not permitted to go out for work. Women play the key
role in maintaining the sanctity and purity of the home. The bodily purity of upper castes is believed
to be linked to what is ingested. Leela Dube, a renowned feminist anthropologist has argued that
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women play an important role in maintaining caste boundaries through preparation of food and in
maintaining its purity. The higher the location of the women in the caste hierarchy, the greater are
the control on women.
7. (a) GS Ghurye liberated the study of Indian society from the colonial biases and laid the true
foundation of the discipline of sociology in India. Substantiate this statement. 20
Answer:
GS Ghurye is a towering figure in intellectual and academic circles for his unique contribution in
the field of Indian sociology. He has often been acclaimed as the ‘father of Indian sociology’.
Ghurye had been engaged in building up the entire first generation of Indian sociologists in post-
independence period. Despite his training at Cambridge under W.H.R. Rivers (diffusionism),
Ghurye was not dogmatic in the use of theory and methodology. He seems to have believed in
practicing and encouraging disciplined eclecticism in theory and methodology. He was influenced
by the ideology of Indian freedom struggle and uniqueness of Indian culture and thought which is
reflected in his writings also. Thus, he liberated study of Indian society from the colonial biases by
adopting his unique approach. That’s why Ghurye is characterized as a practitioner of
theoretical pluralism.
Theoretical pluralism means that in principle it is possible to construct several different theories
for explanation of the same data and that doing so may contribute to the growth of knowledge, since
development of each of the different approaches may lead to important insights about reality.
Various works of Ghurye:
1. Indology: ‘Indology’ literally means ‘systematic study of Indian society and culture’. Task of
Indological perspective is to interpret and understand Indian society on the basis of traditional
religious text, ancient legal, historical documents, literary works and even archaeological
evidence. Ghurye was initially influenced by the reality of diffusionist approach of British
social anthropology but subsequently he switched on to the studies of Indian society of
Indological and anthropological perspectives. He emphasized on Indological approach in the
study of social and cultural life in India and the elsewhere. Ghurye utilized literature in
sociological studies with his profound knowledge of Sanskrit literature, extensively quoted from
Vedas, Shastras, epics and poetry of Kalidasa or Bhavabhuti to shed light on the social and
cultural life in India.
2. Caste and Kinship: Ghurye’s Caste and Race in India (1932), which cognitively combined
historical, anthropological and sociological perspectives to understand caste and kinship system
in India. He tried to analyse caste system through textual evidences using ancient texts on the
one hand and also from both structural and cultural perspectives on the other hand. Ghurye
studied caste system from a historical, comparative and integrative perspective. Later on, he did
comparative study of kinship in Indo-European cultures.
3. Tribe: Ghurye’s works on the tribes were general as well as specific. He wrote a general book on
Scheduled Tribes in which he dealt with the historical, administrative and social dimensions of
Indian tribes. Ghurye presented his thesis on tribes at a time when a majority of the established
anthropologists and administrators were of the opinion that the separate identity of the tribes is
to be maintained at any cost. Ghurye, on the other hand, believes that most of the tribes have
been Hinduized after a long period of contact with Hindus. He holds that it is futile to search for
the separate identity of the tribes. They are nothing but the ‘backward caste Hindus’. Their
backwardness was due to their imperfect integration into Hindu society. The Santhals, Bhils,
Gonds, etc., who live in South-Central India are its examples. There has been fierce debate
between G.S. Ghurye and Verrier Elwin. Elwin in his book Loss of Nerve said that tribals
should be allowed to live in isolation, whereas Ghurye argued that tribals should be
assimilated into Hindu castes.
4. Culture and Civilization: According to Ghurye, culture constitutes the central or core
element for understanding society and its evolution. In fact, culture is a totality involving the
entire heritage of mankind. Ghurye’s abiding interest was to analyse the course of cultural
evolution and the nature of heritage which mankind has denied from the past. Ghurye had a
strong faith in the power of man to preserve the best of his old culture, while creating from his
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own spirit of new culture. He was more concerned with the process of evolution of Hindu
civilization, which has been termed as a ‘complex civilization’ and Ghurye thought that for
analysing the dynamics of culture in such a long historical civilization. In this context, the
process of acculturation is more relevant than the process of diffusion. He thinks that the
challenging task of a sociologist is to analyse this complex acculturation process in India.
According to him, India has been the home of many ethnic stocks and cultures from pre-historic
times. In his analysis of caste, Ghurye refers to how caste system was developed by the
Brahmins and how it spread to other sections of the population.
5. National Unity and Integration: Ghurye had interest in contemporary Indian situations. As a
sociologist, he had been extremely concerned with the concept of integration, the process of
national unity in India, and the contemporary challenges to the situation. This concern became
apparent even at the time he wrote Caste and Race in India in 1932 and The Aborigines-so-
called-and their Future in 1943.
Thus, the sweep of Ghurye’s works had profound influence on the development of the sociology in
India. He showed India to an inexhaustible mind where sociologists and social anthropologists
could conduct endless explorations. He indicated innumerable but unexplored dimensions of Indian
society, culture and social institutions, which would occupy social analysis for decades and thus, can
be truly said that GS Ghurye liberated the study of Indian society from the colonial biases and laid
the true foundation of the discipline of sociology in India.
7. (b) While caste remains an important dimension of modern social life, its relevance is mostly
limited in contemporary times. Critically discuss. 20
Answer:
Sociologists have defined caste (locally referred to as “jati”) as ‘hereditary, endogamous group,
which is usually localised. It has a traditional association with an occupation and a particular
position in the local hierarchy of castes. Relations between castes are governed, among other things,
by the concepts of pollution and purity, and general maximum commensality that occurs
within the caste” (Srinivas 1962).
It is argued that the relevance of caste has mostly limited in contemporary times as:
• The process of industrialisation and urbanisation (migration of people from villages to
cities) affected caste structure to a great extent. Industrial growth provided new sources of
livelihood to people and made occupational mobility possible. With new transportation
facilities, there was frequent communication. People of all castes travelled together and there
was no way to follow the prevalent ideology of ritual purity and pollution between castes.
Taboos against food sharing started weakening when industrial workers from different castes
lived and worked together.
• Urbanisation and growth of cities also changed the functioning of the caste system. Kingsley
Davis (1951) held that the anonymity, congestion, mobility, secularism and changeability of the
city makes the operation of the caste virtually impossible.
• Ghurye (1961) holds that changes in the rigidities of the caste system were due to the growth of
city life.
• M N Srinivas (1962) holds that due to the migration of Brahmins to the towns, the non-
Brahmins refused to show same respect to them which they showed before, and inter-caste
eating and drinking taboos were also weakened. Quite significantly, the superiority of the
Brahmins has been challenged, once considered a religious dogma and was based on birth, is no
more so, as it was in the past.
• The socio-religious reforms movements, merger of some states, spread of modern education,
growth of modern profession, spatial mobility and the, spread of market economy accelerated
the process of modernisation and development. Consequently, changes and the process of
social mobility in the caste system gained momentum.
• Ram Krishna Mukherjee (1958) stated that both the economic aspect (change in occupational
specialisation) and the social aspect (adoption of higher caste customs, giving up polluting
professions, etc.) of the caste system, have vastly changed the caste system. He said that change
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is more specific in urban areas where rules on social interaction and, caste commensalities have
relaxed and civil and religious disabilities of lower castes have been lifted.
However, despite of this, caste still remains an important dimension of modern social life as it is
evident from following arguments:
• Endogamy: Endogamy means marriage within the caste. Traditionally, Caste System imposes
certain restrictions on the institution of marriage. Due to this restriction, the members of a
particular caste are forced to marry within its own caste. Thus, a strong caste feeling develops
among them which lead to caste consciousness.
• Industrialization: Due to the industrialisation, different types of factories and industries set up
in different parts of the country. As a result of which the people of different castes work there
and form various organizations on the basis of caste which results caste consciousness.
• Reservation Policy: Some special privileges / affirmative action has been provided to low
castes in form of reservation policy. Due to the reservation policy, the people of lower caster are
experiencing social mobility creating a sense of relative deprivation among the people of higher
caste which is evident in demand of reservations by dominant caste. Thus, affirmative action in
a way has allowed caste consciousness to exist till date.
• Rajni Kothari found that three factors—education, government patronage, and slowly
expanding franchise (including 18–21-year-old young persons in the electorate)—have
‘penetrated the caste system because of which it has come to affect democratic politics in the
country.’
Thus, the caste system has influenced all the areas like education, economy, politics, marriage, and
religion and became the part of Indian collective conscience. There is a significant influence of caste
from birth to death in the life.
7. (c) Discuss the regional variation in kinship in North and South India. 10
Answer:
Kinship is defined as “a social relationship based upon family relatedness”. The relationship which
may be consanguineal (based on blood) or affinal (based on marriage), de-termines the rights and
obligations of related persons. As such, kinship system is referred to as “a structured system of
statuses and roles and of relationship in which the kin (primary, secondary, tertiary and distant) ire
bound to one-another by complex interlocking ties”.
kinship in North India:
Irawati Karve (1953: 93) identified the northern zone as the region that lies between the
Himalayas to the north and the Vindhya ranges to the south. Some of the features are:
• Patrilineage: kinship organisation in North Kinship India is based on unilineal descent groups
based on male descent. Members of patrilineages form land holding cooperate groups that may
also engage in conflict with similar but rival groups.
• Caste and Subcaste: A Caste usually refers to a jati or a local group but many units known as
castes refer to a community that has a name and occupation but may be sub-divided into
smaller units based on some criteria that separates them out for marriage.
• Fictive Kin: We should also mention, the recognition of fictive kinship in Indian society. Often,
people, who are not related either by descent or marriage, form the bonds of fictive kinship with
each other. for example, a woman may tie a rakhi on a man and he becomes her fictive brother.
• Clan Exogamy: Belonging to one’s natal descent line is best expressed in matters of marriage.
No man is allowed to marry a daughter of his patriline. In North India lineage ties up to five or
six generations are generally remembered and marriage alliances are not allowed within this
range.
• No Repetition: Both patrilateral and matrilateral cross-cousin marriages are not allowed in
North India.
• Village Exogamy: Another related kind of exogamy, which exists in North India, is village
exogamy. A village usually has members of one or two lineages living in it. Members belonging
to the same lineage are not permitted to intermarry. This principle extends even to the villages,
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which have more than two lineages. In other words, a boy and a girl in a village in North India
are like a brother and sister and hence cannot intermarry.
Kinship in South India:
• Though patrilineal and patrilocal family is the dominant family type for the greater number of
castes and communities (for example, Namboodris), there are important sections of population
which are matrilineal and matrilocal (for example, Nayars); also, there are quite a few castes
whose systems possess features of both patrilineal and matrilineal organi-sations (for example,
Todas).
• Matrilineal joint family, called Tarwad, is found amongst the Nairs of Malabar in Travancore and
a few other groups.
• Cross-cousin marriage: It is a type of preferential marriage between a man and his mother’s
brother’s daughter. Some castes, such as the Kallar of Tamil Nadu, Havik Brahmin of Karnataka,
some Reddy castes of Andhra Pradesh, allow this type of cross-cousin marriage.
• Marriage between maternal parallel cousins, that is, between children of two sisters, is not
permissible.
• There is a system of preferential mating in the south. In a large number of castes, the first
preference is given to elder sister’s daughter, second preference to father’s sister’s daughter,
and third preference to mother’s brother’s daughter. However, today cross-cousin marriage and
especially the uncle-niece marriage is beginning to be considered as outmoded and a thing to be
ashamed of among those groups which have come in contact with the northern Indians or with
western culture.
8. (a) “Modern society is characterized by departure from tradition and religion to individualism
and rational organization of society”. In the context of this statement, discuss to what extent
the institution of marriage in Indian society has undergone changes. 20
Answer:
Marriage, is the cornerstone of a society involving social sanction, generally in the form of civil or
religious ceremony, authorizing two persons of opposite sexes to engage in sexual union. According
to Majumdar, the main goals of marriage are
a) sexual gratification
b) need for a dependable social mechanism for care of children
c) transmission of culture
d) economic needs and inheritance of property.
Modern society is characterised by departure from tradition and religion to individualism and
rational organization of society. The paradigm of modernity in India is not yet complete and hence
all institutions in Indian society are characterized by modern as well as traditional characteristics.
Changes in the social fabric have impacted the institution of marriage in terms of how it works and
also in terms of how it is perceived by the society.
In the traditional Hindu society, the primary purpose of marriage was dharma or the fulfilment of
one’s duties. Islam views marriage as “sunnah” (an obligation), which every Muslim must fulfil.
Thus, there was little idea of ‘individual interest’ in marriage. As the traditional society is
changing into a modern one, these reasons have been relegated to minor position. The main
motivations now are to escape the feelings of loneliness, i.e., companionship, all other reasons being
secondary to it.
The dissolution of marriage relationship has become easier with laws permitting divorce as well as
making the process easier by making it contingent on “irretrievable breakdown of marriage”. The
customary ban on remarriage of widows of higher castes among the Hindus is also being relegated
more and more into obscurity. Those with education and relative affluence, thereby higher social
status, do not observe such customs and the law of the land permits such marriages. Widow
Remarriage is also permissible now in the Indian society on account of changes brought in by
legislations in this respect.
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The above two changes have also raised a question towards ‘marriage being treated as a sacrament’.
Scholars are of the opinion that permitting divorce has not affected the sanctity of marriage because
divorce is used only as a last resort. K.M. Kapadia says “Marriage continues to be sacrament;
only it is raised to an ethical plane”.
Goals of marriage are changing in general and for the ‘urban and educated sections’ of the
population in particular. A clear preference for small-size family has replaced the older notions of
family with a large number of children especially sons being the source of status for parents. On the
individual level, younger couples view marriage as a ‘relationship for self-fulfilment’ rather than
primarily for procreation.
The “New Indian Marriage” is no longer seen as an inevitable stage of life, but as a ‘life domain’
that needs to be nurtured and configured to provide emotional fulfilment. It is owned by both
partners in the marriage and not by everyone else. This is true even in “arranged marriages”, for,
the “New Indian” tends to participate more actively in the search for a spouse through matrimonial
portals and so on, as a result of which the sense of ‘ownership of the marriage’ is generally higher
than it used to be in the past.
The field of spouse selection has been restricted traditionally on account of religion, caste, class,
kinship etc. Now except for making the marital adjustment easier, caste endogamy serves no
function for the society. Instances of inter –caste, inter –community marriages are on the rise. The
rules of exogamy namely ‘gotra’ and ‘sapinda’ among the Hindus, are followed to a large extent even
today though there have been cases of same gotra marriages.
Change in party to selection has been witnessed a shift from parental to joint and even individual in
some cases. The emerging trend in the ‘middle and upper class educated youth’ in the urban areas is
parents selecting the partners in consensus and involvement with children. Before performing the
marriage, they permit them to mix with and know each other. But this type of free interaction is
totally absent in rural areas and the lower-class people in urban areas. Free selection of spouse,
which is now substantially more than in the past is becoming the norm.
Median age at marriage in India remains ‘low’ though it has been rising consistently since 1930
onwards. A tendency towards post-puberty marriages both in rural and urban areas has developed.
The reasons for this being:
• spread of education, particularly among females
• necessity of specialized education for getting jobs
• freedom for mate selection
• desire to control size of family and raising living standards.
The economic dynamics within the marriage relationship has proceeded towards more ‘equality’
with gradual improvement in the status of women in society. Bilateral decision-making in the family
has challenged traditional notions like ‘the man is the head of the family’ and other notions like
‘man is the bread earner and woman, the home maker’. Women are now dabbling with multiple
responsibilities of being home makers and breadwinners simultaneously. Louis Dumont had
famously described the Hindu marriage as the “most prestigious” and “most expensive” family
ceremony.
In ancient times, the dowry was considered a woman's wealth-property due to a beloved daughter
who had no claim on her natal family's real estate. In the late twentieth century, throughout much of
India, dowry payments have escalated, and a groom's parents sometimes insist on compensation for
their son's higher education and even for his future earnings, to which the bride will presumably
have access. The larger proportion of the dowry has come to consist of goods and cash payments
that go straight into the hands of the groom's family. This has become an onerous burden for the
bride s family. Some analysts have related the growth of this phenomenon to the growth of
‘consumerism’ in Indian society.
The practice of dowry is fast diffusing into other groups too, where large dowries are currently
replacing ‘traditional bride-price payments.’ Even among Muslims, previously not given to
demanding large dowries, reports of exorbitant dowries are increasing. With increase in free
selection of spouse, public enlightenment and increasing education it can be hoped that this system
will decline.
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With globalization of culture and liberalization of economy, the phenomena of the wedding
ceremony is the most visible reference to marriage in India, which in contemporary times is best
captured through the expression of ‘Big fat Indian wedding’ which are ostentatious and involve
status competition. This phenomenon further reinforced through media images, is fast becoming a
pan – India phenomena.
Contemporary society is also characterized by issues like serial monogamy, single parenthood,
voluntary single status and the like which actively impinge on the institution of marriage.
Therefore, deep changes in the institution of marriage have occurred, due to various forces of
change, across different communities in the Indian society.
8. (b) Land reform measures since Independence have brought about some change in rural India.
In this context evaluate the progress and the performance of the land reforms measures
undertaken. 20
Answer:
Land reforms, were designed to break the old ‘feudal socio-economic structure’ or rural India, to
provide fillip to ‘modernization of agriculture’ and increase ‘agriculture productivity’. So, broadly
the objectives were to usher in an egalitarian society, stop exploitation in all forms.
• Because of the abolition of intermediary, more than 200 lac tenants were brought in direct
contact with the state
• 60 lakh hectares of waste follow land distributed to landless and marginal farmers. 77 lakh
tenants were conferred ownership rights in respect of 56 hectares of land.
Land reforms, were a ‘political instrument intended to bring about transformation in the agrarian
class structure. Many sociological studies, have focused on the significant trends of processes of
change in the agrarian social structure. They are:
• There is a wide gap between land ‘reform ideology projected during the freedom struggle or
even thereafter and the actual measures introduced for land reforms. Consequently, socialist
transformation in the class structure of the villages has not taken place.
• The emerging trends in the agrarian class structure in post-independence period, has been
summarized by B. C. Joshi as: a. It led to the decline of feudal customary types of tenancies. It
was replaced by a more exploitative and insecure lease arrangement.
• The taking over of the estates of the zamindars and absentee landlords was carried out on the
basis of payment of compensation to its landlord by the tenants, before they secure ownership
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rights to the land, they were tilling. This constituted a basic limitation on the possibility of
transfer of land from non-cultivating to the cultivating classes. Only those rich tenants who
could pay a compensation, could acquire ownership rights. The poorer sections of cultivating
tenants who could not afford to pay the compensation were either forced to borrow money or
were denied ownership rights.
• The Land Ceiling Acts, in most of the states proved to be toothless. While some very large
estates were broken up, in most cases landowners managed to divide the land among relatives
and others, in the so-called ‘benami transfers’, which allowed them to keep control over the
land. Zamindari abolition did not wipe out landlordism, it only removed the top-layer of
landlords in the multi-layered agrarian structure.
• Vested interests in the form of upper/middle peasantry were blocked the progress of reforms in
collusion with the land revenue/administrative machinery, taking advantage of loopholes in the
law, exemptions and delays in the judicial process.
• In some states however, minimum wages for agricultural labour are being ensured, a point
which also became part of reforms later.
• Re-distribution of land has not succeeded, in pushing up productivity levels as the farmers have
to be backed up by inputs, better agricultural practices.
• Even other Land Reform Movements, like Bhoodan Movement, and operation Barga, met with
limited success.
• According to Jan Breman, there has been a shift from patronage to exploitation.
• The failure of LR, have bred extremist movements like the PWG in Telengana area of A. P. The
Maoist communist centre in Bihar and inter-caste tensions.
• Even to-date, the crises the nation faces like farmers suicides, agrarian unrest, increased naxal
violence (Chhattisgarh, A. P.), can be traced to the inadequate implementation of I. R.
• According to Vyas, most of the political leadership did not effectively implement the land-
reform policy, as a result the nexus between land, class and political domination sustained.
• Arvind Das (Republic of Bihar) and Anand Chakravarty (Purnia distt. of Bihar), have talked
about hegemonistic linkage between Dominant caste, landholders and power.
• Daniel Thorner (Agrarian Prospects in India), finds that the post land reform period, the nexus
between land and caste, hold, stands unchanged.
• P. Sainath, we could not push through land reforms in 6 decades, but are clear an SEZ in 6
months.
• In one estimate, about 85% of rural households are either landless, sub-marginal, marginal or
small farmers.
On the whole, it is still argued that the agrarian structure, although it has changed substantially
from colonial times to the present, remains highly unequal. This structure puts constraints on
agricultural productivity. Land reforms are necessary not only to boost agricultural growth but also
to eradicate poverty in rural areas and bring about social justice.
8. (c) Within the informal workforce, there is persistent gender-based occupational segregation.
In this context, analyse the feminization of informal labour. 10
Answer:
In India, 94% of women are employed in the unorganised sector, involved in work which lacks
dignity of labour, social security, decent and timely wages and in some cases, even the right to be
called a ‘worker’.
The NSSO data (2011-12) shows that a majority of women take on employment in the primary
sector, within the realm of agriculture and farm work. Within the manufacturing sector, they are
found to be employed in low paying, casual, home-based work or in unpaid work within family run
enterprises. In the tertiary sector, women are seen more in number in retail trade, education-
related work and paid domestic household work. All of these sectors provide women the flexibility
to manage their unpaid and care responsibilities along with paid work but in an informal setup.
The ILO (2018) report shows that in most developing countries, the gender dimension of
informality is closely related to poverty, indicating that women informal workers are poorer
relative to men informal workers.
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In India, there have been trends towards feminization of labour, but this has been broadly in the
informal sector. Some reasons for feminization of labour in informal sector are:
• High Dependency on Agriculture: Around half the population of India is dependent on
agriculture, which is a part of the informal sector. Women are becoming increasingly important
in agriculture due to out-migration of their husbands.
• Lack of skills which are necessary for formal sector employment. Lack of accessibility to formal
employment, as they might have to travel or migrate, which is not desirable or feasible
• Also, participation of women in MGNREGA is increasing gradually, which is helping in this
feminization.
• Small industries and informal sector are being organized into SHGs and other small companies,
which are dominated by women, hence adding to it.
A recent film developed by the Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) on the situation of informal
women workers of Delhi highlights that woman informal workers have to deal with numerous
challenges at the workplace. These include difficulty at all levels –
• finding consistent work
• untimely and ad hoc payment of wages
• unhygienic, hazardous working conditions
• lack of appropriate tools and basic facilities
• inability to take leave
• wage cuts
• harassment and abuse.
• Their need to constantly give time to their care and domestic work responsibilities complicates
their situation.
COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying pre-existing gender inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities across
every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection. The immediate economic
impact of the pandemic induced lockdown is already being felt by informal workers. Women are
likely to bear the brunt of job losses the most, given that the pre-lockdown significant and widening
gender gaps in workforce participation rates, employment and wages were expected to intensify
during the post-lockdown period.
The recent Maternity Benefits Act 2017 as well as the Labour Code on Social Security 2018
have also failed to take on board the challenges that women in informal work face and the complex
nature of the work that they do.
There is a need for specific policy intervention which can ease this burden of work for them to a
certain extent. Regular provisioning of basic public services and full day child care facility to all
women can help to some extent, in bringing more women to work arena where they can freely
negotiate for work that recognises their labour.
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VISION IAS

‘Low Caste Hindu’ Adopt high caste

Arzals •The ‘despicable’, who are said to be Dalit converts.

1. (c) Explain the Interactional approach to study of caste in India.

1. (d) Enumerate the distinctive characteristics of the Tribes in India.

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Some of the major problems faced by minorities in India are as follows:

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3. (a) A. R. Desai’s understanding of Indian Nationalism is paradoxical to the Nationalist

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BROAD APPROACHES TO TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT

Isolationist Approach Assimilationist Approach Integrationist Approach

Various sociological perspectives on tribal integration and autonomy in India:

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5. (e) Jainism and Buddhism grew as a reaction to Brahmanical orthodoxy. Comment.

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• MIDDLE CLASS IN INDIA: 2015–present

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Copyright © by Vision IAS

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