Directions : In the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
Assertion (A):A significant yet paradoxical change 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.
Reason (R): Caste plays no part in their private lives.

Directions : In the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
Assertion (A): Matriarchy, unlike patriarchy, has been a theoretical rather than an empirical concept.
Reason (R): There is no historical or anthropological evidence of matriarchy –i.e., societies where women exercise dominance.

Directions : In the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
Assertion (A): Castes are supposed to be complementary and competing groups.
Reason (R): Each caste has its own place in the system which cannot be taken by any other caste.

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same:

“Tribe’ is a modern term for communities that are very old, being among the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. Tribes in India have generally been defined in terms of what they were not. Tribes were communities that did not practice a religion with a written text; did not have a state or political form of the normal kind; did not have sharp class divisions; and, most important, they did not have caste and were neither Hindus nor peasants. The term was introduced in the colonial era. The use of a single term for a very disparate set of communities was more a matter of administrative convenience… In terms of positive characteristics, tribes have been classified according to their ‘permanent’ and ‘acquired’ traits.”

Q. If we look at the share of tribals in the state population, then the North Eastern states have the highest concentrations, with all states, except ____________, having concentrations of more than 30%.

Fill in the blanks using the following options:

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same:

“Tribe’ is a modern term for communities that are very old, being among the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. Tribes in India have generally been defined in terms of what they were not. Tribes were communities that did not practice a religion with a written text; did not have a state or political form of the normal kind; did not have sharp class divisions; and, most important, they did not have caste and were neither Hindus nor peasants. The term was introduced in the colonial era. The use of a single term for a very disparate set of communities was more a matter of administrative convenience… In terms of positive characteristics, tribes have been classified according to their ‘permanent’ and ‘acquired’ traits.”

Q. Which of the following is NOT a permanent trait of tribes in India?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same:

“Tribe’ is a modern term for communities that are very old, being among the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. Tribes in India have generally been defined in terms of what they were not. Tribes were communities that did not practice a religion with a written text; did not have a state or political form of the normal kind; did not have sharp class divisions; and, most important, they did not have caste and were neither Hindus nor peasants. The term was introduced in the colonial era. The use of a single term for a very disparate set of communities was more a matter of administrative convenience… In terms of positive characteristics, tribes have been classified according to their ‘permanent’ and ‘acquired’ traits.”

Q. Which of the following is not a physical-racial criterion for defining the tribes in India?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same:

“Tribe ’is a modern term for communities that are very old, being among the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. Tribes in India have generally been defined in terms of what they were not. Tribes were communities that did not practice a religion with a written text; did not have a state or political form of the normal kind; did not have sharp class divisions; and, most important, they did not have caste and were neither Hindus nor peasants. The term was introduced in the colonial era. The use of a single term for a very disparate set of communities was more a matter of administrative convenience …In terms of positive characteristics, tribes have been classified according to their ‘permanent ’and ‘acquired ’traits.”

Q. According to Census Report 2011, it is ____% of the population of India, or about 104 million tribal persons in the country, or about 104 million tribal persons in the country.

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: “Compared to the ancient past, we know a lot more about caste in our recent history. If modern history is taken to begin with the nineteenth century, then Indian Independence in 1947 offers a natural dividing line between the colonial period (roughly 150 years from around 1800 to 1947) and the post-Independence or post-colonial period (the six decades from 1947 to the present day). The present form of caste as a social institution has been shaped very strongly by both the colonial period as well as the rapid changes that have come about in independent India.”

Q. Which of the following is an example of the economic changes affecting caste?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: “Compared to the ancient past, we know a lot more about caste in our recent history. If modern history is taken to begin with the nineteenth century, then Indian Independence in 1947 offers a natural dividing line between the colonial period (roughly 150 years from around 1800 to 1947) and the post-Independence or post-colonial period (the six decades from 1947 to the present day). The present form of caste as a social institution has been shaped very strongly by both the colonial period as well as the rapid changes that have come about in independent India.”

Q. Choose the incorrect statement about the position of caste and caste-based issues in the nationalist movement.

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: “Compared to the ancient past, we know a lot more about caste in our recent history. If modern history is taken to begin with the nineteenth century, then Indian Independence in 1947 offers a natural dividing line between the colonial period (roughly 150 years from around 1800 to 1947) and the post-Independence or post-colonial period (the six decades from 1947 to the present day). The present form of caste as a social institution has been shaped very strongly by both the colonial period as well as the rapid changes that have come about in independent India.”

Q. In which area has caste proved to be the strongest?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: “Compared to the ancient past, we know a lot more about caste in our recent history. If modern history is taken to begin with the nineteenth century, then Indian Independence in 1947 offers a natural dividing line between the colonial period (roughly 150 years from around 1800 to 1947) and the post-Independence or post-colonial period (the six decades from 1947 to the present day). The present form of caste as a social institution has been shaped very strongly by both the colonial period as well as the rapid changes that have come about in independent India.”

The post-Independence Indian state inherited and reflected the contradictions of the nationalist movement.

Q. Choose the incorrect statement about the postIndependence India state?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: Opinions also differ on the exact age of the caste system. It is generally agreed, though, that the four varna classification is roughly three thousand years old. However, the ‘caste system’ stood for different things in different time periods, so that it is misleading to think of the same system continuing for three thousand years. In its earliest phase, in the late Vedic period roughly between 900 — 500 BC, the caste system was really a varna system and consisted of only four major divisions. These divisions were not very elaborate or very rigid, and they were not determined by birth. Movement across the categories seems to have been not only possible but quite common. It is only in the postVedic period that caste became the rigid institution that is familiar to us from well-known definitions.

Q. Castes were traditionally linked to occupations. Caste based occupations are ___________ in nature.

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: Opinions also differ on the exact age of the caste system. It is generally agreed, though, that the four varna classification is roughly three thousand years old. However, the ‘caste system’ stood for different things in different time periods, so that it is misleading to think of the same system continuing for three thousand years. In its earliest phase, in the late Vedic period roughly between 900 — 500 BC, the caste system was really a varna system and consisted of only four major divisions. These divisions were not very elaborate or very rigid, and they were not determined by birth. Movement across the categories seems to have been not only possible but quite common. It is only in the postVedic period that caste became the rigid institution that is familiar to us from well-known definitions.

Q. Membership in a caste involves strict rules about marriage. Marriages are restricted to members of the caste group. What do we call this practice?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: Opinions also differ on the exact age of the caste system. It is generally agreed, though, that the four varna classification is roughly three thousand years old. However, the ‘caste system’ stood for different things in different time periods, so that it is misleading to think of the same system continuing for three thousand years. In its earliest phase, in the late Vedic period roughly between 900 — 500 BC, the caste system was really a varna system and consisted of only four major divisions. These divisions were not very elaborate or very rigid, and they were not determined by birth. Movement across the categories seems to have been not only possible but quite common. It is only in the postVedic period that caste became the rigid institution that is familiar to us from well-known definitions.

Q. Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about the term jati?

Read the following text and answer the following questions on the basis of the same: Opinions also differ on the exact age of the caste system. It is generally agreed, though, that the four varna classification is roughly three thousand years old. However, the ‘caste system’ stood for different things in different time periods, so that it is misleading to think of the same system continuing for three thousand years. In its earliest phase, in the late Vedic period roughly between 900 — 500 BC, the caste system was really a varna system and consisted of only four major divisions. These divisions were not very elaborate or very rigid, and they were not determined by birth. Movement across the categories seems to have been not only possible but quite common. It is only in the postVedic period that caste became the rigid institution that is familiar to us from well-known definitions.

Q. Which of the following is not a principle on which the caste system is based?