Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
The post independent Indian state‟s caste considerations had some contradictions. Elucidate on these contradictions.
Advertisements
Solution
The state was committed to the abolition of caste and explicitly wrote this into the Constitution. On the other hand, the state was both unable and unwilling to push through radical reforms which would have undermined the economic basis for caste inequality. At yet another level, the state assumed that if it operated in a caste-blind manner, this would automatically lead to the undermining of caste based privileges and the eventual abolition of the institution. For example, appointments to government jobs took no account of caste, thus leaving the well-educated upper castes and the ill-educated or often illiterate lower castes to compete on “equal” terms. The only exception to this was in the form of reservations for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
What are some of the rules that the caste system imposes?
In what sense has caste become relatively ‘invisible’ for the urban upper castes?
The hierarchical ordering of castes is based on the distinction between ____________.
The ____________ sociologist and social anthropologists were known for his works on the caste system and terms such as 'sanskritisation' and 'dominant caste'.
The watchwords "One Caste, One Religion, One God for all men" were given by:
Which of the following is not true about the intervention of the colonial state and its impact on the institution of caste?
In regions where the non-sanskritic castes were dominant, it was their influence that was stronger. Identify the most appropriate concept to refer this phenomenon.
Which of the following is true for caste?
______ passed a law that recognised SC's and ST's.
What made it difficult for the caste-segregated patterns of social interaction to survive?
What brought about major changes in the institution of caste?
Who contributed to the development of sanskritisation and the dominant caste?
How did the British understand the caste system's complexity?
Not all of the changes in Social Institutions brought about by the British were intended or deliberate. Give an example to justify the statement.
One of the most significant yet paradoxical changes in the caste system in the contemporary period is that it has tended to become ‘invisible’ for the upper caste, urban middle, and upper classes. Elaborate.
Castes also involve sub-divisions within themselves, i.e. Castes almost always have subcastes and sometimes sub- castes may also have sub-sub-castes. This is referred to as a ______.
Which of the following makes dominant caste dominant?
Identify the two sets of principles used to understand the caste system. Define any one set.
Assertion (A): Castes are not only unequal to each other in ritual terms they are also supposed to be complementary and noncompeting groups.
Reason (R): Each caste has its own place in the system which cannot be taken by any other caste.
Caste system stood for different connotations in different time periods. Do you agree with the given statement? Give reasons for your answer.
Which of the following statements is not true for the institution of caste today?
