BSOC 132
SOCIOLOGY OF INDIA
BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment July 2021 & Jan 2022
Q. 1. Describe how society in India is a unity in diversity with suitable illustrations.
Ans. On this is India, a land of multicolored landscapes ranging from the desert to the mangroves, from the tall mountains to the fertile plains and the pristine rivers to the salty ocean, where diversity stands as one.
From the Indus Valley Civilization to India today, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and many, other religions peacefully co-exist! –Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha, Dravida, urkala Banga,” Rabindranath Tagore put the diverse spirit into our National Anthem.
Unity in Diversity is one of India’s most powerful characteristics. India has proved throughout years and years of history that diversity does not pull people apart, it brings them closer together.
India’s diverse culture all starts in its history. India’s long history starts off with the Indus Valley Civilization.
Then the Harrapan Civilization conquered and ruled. From the Harrapan Civilization to the British rule, there were many rulers and empires that influenced India’s diversity.
The first settlers were the Aryans. They traveled from Persia (modern-day Iran) and brought with them new foods, religions, and a different language. The Aryans were a part of the rainbow of diversity.
The Mauryans were next in line to conquer India. They were one of the first empires in India to have a very intricate social structure and hierarchical administration.
The next empire was the Gupta Empire. They ruled the Northern part of India. The people, who lived in the Northern part of India, had different customs and traditions then the people who live in the south.
These empires also brought diversity into Indian culture. After all of these empires came the Mughal Empire.
The Mughals were mostly Arabs from Persia and the Middle East. When they came to India, they traded lots and lots of new items.
With them, they also brought a new religion called Islam. One of the most prominent Mughal kings was Akbar. Akbar brought to action armies and other defense strategies.
The Mughal Empire brought lots and lots of diversity into India’s already diverse culture. These empires stabilized India for the future. These empires created India’s rainbow of diversity.
India’s history is layered, just like a rainbow. That is what makes it different from other countries. Each layer has a big influence on what India is today.
In America, when the Europeans conquered they marginalized the natives and brought in their own culture.
In India the openness of the dominant culture has traditionally embraced the culture of foreign invaders. As a result the Indian culture that evolved through the ages shows the various layers of influence.
Mahatma Gandhi supported non-violence with all his heart. In all of the marches and protests, there were people of many different races and cultures and dialects.
This has created an alloy where the qualities of each element remain distinct yet at the same time strengthen the qualities of the other thereby making a durable product.
Present-day India is replete with examples of the same. Just 6 years ago, Sonia Gandhi was elected as president. She is Italian-born and was raised in a typical Roman Catholic family, who is the president of India. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
In her presidency, she was joined by Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, who was later sworn in by the next president Abdul Kalam in a country that is 80.5% Hindu.
Indian cuisine reflects this diversity. Every civilization, empire or country that has ruled or even stepped one foot in India has brought a small but powerful influence into Indian food.
The Persian influence is reflected in the various meat dishes of the North.
The Portuguese brought in chilies and tomatoes from the new world. This became an instant hit on the subcontinent and is today an integral part of Indian cuisine all over India and in the Indian diaspora all over the world.
Present-day India has embraced the fast-food culture with equal enthusiasm.
Looking at India’s demographics astounded me, specifically the linguistic and religious demographics. The numbers may range from 80% to 0.1% but still that is a very large amount.
India’s population today is around 1.17 billion people. The amount of people who are under the category Other Religions and Persuasions’ are 0.6%.
This number may not sound big, but it is 6,639,626 out of 1.17 billion people. India’s linguistic demographics are amazing as well. India has so many languages, and versions that are uncountable. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
A language has a huge history underneath the words that are spoken. Each word derives from an ancient seript and comes out of the mouth like a lullaby.
The basis of most Indian languages is Sanskrit, which is classified as Indo-European in origin. Hindi has a strong Urdu influence.
Marathi has a large number of Farsi words. This indicates a cultural give and take that has withstood the test of time.
Though India may be mostly unified, there are a few flaws. The pristine rivers do sometimes fill deep with blood. Diversity comes with a price; it brings in new views of the world, which sometimes trigger acts that are ruthless and cruel.
Inspite of these clashes, the theme endures with a unique resilience that is the grounding aspect of Indian culture. The cultural caravan has expanded as it winds its way through turbulent and peaceful times.
Diversity makes India distinctive from other places in the world. A land without diversity would be like a house without people, boring and predictable.
Though that house needs more than people, it needs to have all the five senses, just like diversity.
Famous leaders like Gandhi had many views on diversity. One of Gandhiji’s most famous quotes was, “I consider myself a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist and Confucian.” This simple sentence says it all. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
With increasing globalization, instant communication, migration of people, beliefs, and ideas there will be a nonhomogenous population all over the planet.
This will be the changing face of the United States and the rest of the world will not be far behind. India then becomes a role model for others to follow.
Q. 2. In what ways did society in India change in terms of its economy and society after 1990s?
Ans. Liberalization, Poverty and Social Change: A large section of the Indian society is suffering from poverty.
Objectively poverty implies a dehumanizing condition in which people are unable to look after their basic needs. Subjectively poverty stands for perceived deprivation.
As such it is relative and anybody can feel poor by comparing himself as herself with a rich person. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Poor people lack the necessary resources and capacity to satisfy basic needs like food, shelter, health, and education.
They live under difficult conditions which are not conducive for development of their human potential. Poverty interferes with development in many ways.
For instance, lack of or inadequate nutrition arrests mental development during early childhood.
The unavailability of stimulating environment and absence of effective role models decreases the motivation level. A large section of poor children do not go to school. Even if they go they become dropouts and fail to complete education.
The government has started the campaign named Garibi Hatao in the year 1970 which became the big hit.
In early 1990s the Indian economy had witnessed dramatic policy changes.
The idea behind the new economic model known as Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization in India (LPG), was to make the Indian economy one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
An array of reforms was initiated with regard to industrial, trade and social sector to make the economy more competitive.
The economic changes initiated have had a dramatic effect on the overall growth of the economy. It also heralded the integration of the Indian economy into the global economy.
The Indian economy was in major crisis in 1991 when foreign currency reserves went down to $ 1 billion and inflation was as high as 17%.
Fiscal deficit was also high and NRI’s were not interested in investing in India. Then the following measures were taken to liberalize and globalize the economy
The Government of India started the economic liberalization policy in 1991. Even though the power at the center has changed hands, the pace of the reforms has never slackened till date.
Before 1991, changes within the industrial sector in the country were modest to say the least.
The sector accounted for just one-fifth of the total economic activity within the country. The sectoral structure of the industry has changed, albeit gradually.
Most of the industrial sector was dominated by a select band of family-based conglomerates that had been dominant historically. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Post-1991, a major restructuring has taken place with the emergence of more technologically advanced segments among industrial companies.
Nowadays, more small and medium-scale enterprises contribute significantly to the economy.
By the mid-90s, private capital had surpassed public capital. The management system had shifted from the traditional family-based system to a system of qualified and professional managers.
One of the most significant effects of the liberalization era has been the emergence of a strong, affluent and buoyant middle class with significant purchasing powers and this has been the engine that has driven the economy since.
Another major benefit of the liberalization era has been the shift in the pattern of exports from traditional items like clothes, tea and spices to automobiles, steel, IT, etc.
The “Made in India’ brand, which did not evoke any sort of loyalty has now become a brand name by itself and is now known all over the world for its quality.
Also, the reforms have transformed the education sector with a huge talent pool of qualified professionals now available, waiting to conquer the world with their domain knowledge.
Assignment Two Q. 3. Define the concept of class. Discuss the structure of class in urban India.
Ans. The Concept of Class: Ossowski (1967) proposes that there are three assumptions which are common to all conceptions of class society. They are as follows:
1. Classes are the most comprehensive groups in the social structure. They are differentiated groups in society but are dependent on each other.
2. In a class, the membership of an individual is relatively present.
3. Each class is accorded certain privileges and discriminations that have a bearing on its social status. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Thus, on the basis of social status, privileges, and discrimination, different classes are treated as superior or inferior.
Marx identified the privilege of exploiting other men’s labor as the fundamental basis of class differentiation. Again, each class occupies a distinct position in the class hierarchy.
The awareness of the place of one’s class in the class is referred to as class-consciousness. The other characteristic of the class is social isolation which points to social distance and the absence of close social contact between classes.
Two main perspectives have tried to understand the concept of class. One is the nominalist perspective (the American School of Thought) and the other is the realist perspective (the European School of Thought).
The nominalist emphasizes social status as the basis of class. However, the realist perspective defines social class as a real ensemble that is determined by material facts and by the collective consciousness of the people.
The denotation of the Term ‘Class’
Sociological theories use the term class in ways (Ossowski, 1967). First is the general sense where each class may be regarded as one of the basic components of the social structure, may be called a class’.
Ossowski says, “Of the two specifying versions of the concept of class…the first shows us a social class as a group in respect of the relations of property.
Some caste or estate-systems can at the same time be economic class systems …one can speak of the class’ aspect of caste relation or the estate aspect of the class system.”
The class system is contrasted with group systems based on an individual’s ascription to a certain group. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
The Class Structure
The word “class” originated from the Latin term “Classis” which refers to a group called arms, a division of the people.
In the rule of a Roman king, Servius Tullious, the Roman society was divided into five classes or orders according to their wealth. The class was applied to large groups of people into which human society came to be divided.
Marx’s sociology is, a sociology of the class struggle, which means one has to understand the Marxian concept of class in order to appreciate Marxian philosophy and thought.
Under the title of social classes, Marx distinguished three classes related to three income sources:
(a) Owners of simple labour power or labourers whose main source of income is labour.
(b) Owners of capital or capitalists whose main sources of income is profit or surplus values.
(c) Land owners whose main source of income is ground rent.
In that way modern class structure of society could be divided into three major classes:
(a) Salaried labourers
(b) Capitalists BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
(c) Landowners
At broader level society could be divided into two classes:
(a) Haves (bourgeoisie)
(b) Have nots (proletariats).
Criteria for Determination of Class: According to Marx Human grouping will be called a class and which grouping would not be considered as class. Social class has two major criteria:
(a) Objective Criteria
(b) Subjective Criteria.
(a) Objective Criteria: According to Marx relationship alone is not sufficient to determine the class. It is not sufficient for class to be “Class in itself” but it should also be classified for itself.
Class in itself hereby means the objective criteria of any social class. Marx was not simply satisfied with the objective criteria above.
He emphasized upon the other major criteria, i.e. class for “Itself or the subjective criteria.
(b) Subjective Criteria: Human grouping with the relationship would make a category not a class, if subjective criteria are not included. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
All people have same consciousness so similar consciousness of class serves as the basis for uniting its members for organising social action.
Here, class consciousness towards acting together for their common interests is “Class for itself”, according to Marx.
Classification of Societies in History and Emergence of Classes: Marx differentiated stages on the basis of regime or modes of production. He distinguished four major modes of production:
(a) Asiatic
(b) Ancient
(c) Feudal
(d) Capital
We predicted all social development will culminate into a stage called communism. These are the various stages of human history, i.e.
(a) Primitive communal
(b) Slave owning
(c) Feudal
(d) Capitalist
(e) Communist stage.
(a) The Primitive-communal System: The primitive communal system was the first and lowest form of organisation of people. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
In this system of very low level of forces of production, the relations of production were based common ownership of the means of production.
In these situation exploitation of human by human did not exist because of two vital relations.
1. The tools were very simple that they could be produced by anyone. No person had the monopoly of ownership over the tools.
2. Production was at low-level. The production was just sufficient to meet the needs of the people provided everybody worked. It was a the situation of no master and no servant.
(b) The Slave Owning Society: In the slave owning society, protective tools were perfected and bronze and iron tools replaced the stone and wooden implements.
Large scale agriculture, livestock raising, mining and handicrafts developed.
The relations were based on the slave owner’s absolute ownership of both the means of production and the slave and everything they produced.
With the passage of time the class conflict between the classes of slave owners and the slaves became acute and it was manifested in slave revolts.
3. The Feudal Society: The progressive development of productive forces continued under feudalism. People began using inanimate sources of energy, i.e. matter, mind and human labour. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
The development of forces of production led to the emergence of feudal relations of production.
These relations were based on the feudal lord’s ownership of the serfs (landless peasants).
Therefore, the new forces of production also changed the relations of production culminating into a change in the mode of production from feudalism to capitalism.
Intensification of Class Conflict under Capitalism: Marx and Engel’s described the capitalist productive forces in the “Manifesto of the Communist Party.”
The vigorous growth of the forces of production was helped by the capitalist relations of production based on private capitalist ownership.
Under capitalism, the produces the proletariat are legally free, being attached neither to the land nor to any particular factory.
Marx said that the capitalist system symbolisms the most acute form of inequality, exploitation and class antagonism. This paves the way for a socialist revolution which would lead to a new stage of society, i.e. communism. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Due to the exploitation the relatively free labourers became conscious of their class interest and organise themselves into a working class movement.
This working class movement intensified its struggle against the bourgeois’s class.
It begins with bargaining for better wages and working conditions and culminates into an intensified class conflict, which is aimed at overthrowing coming to the capitalist system.
Class and Class Struggle: According to Marx the mode of production or economic structure is the base or foundation of society.
Any change in infrastructure will cause fundamental changes in the superstructures and consequently in a society.
With the enhancement in the forces of production there was increased productivity.
This caused private ownership of the means of production and change in the relations of production.
This marked the end of primitive communal system and thus began the long history of inequality, exploitation and class conflict, coinciding with emergence of slave owing society.
In slave-owing society the class conflict was on peak causing a change in mode of production from slavery to a feudalistic mode of production. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
According to Marx, society is a history of class struggle, that means the entire history of society is studded with different phases and periods of class struggle.
The history of class struggle begins in the slave owing society and continues through feudal society where this class struggle is between classes of the feudal lords and the landless agricultural labourers or serfs.
Due to change in mode of production and class struggle a new stage of society, i.e. capitalism replaces the age-old feudal system. In the capitalistic mode of production, the class antagonism acquires most acute dimensions.
Q. 4. What is a family? How many types of family are found in India? Discuss.
Ans. Family: Meaning and Functions: The family a social institution is the most fundamental of all social groups and it is universal in its distribution from time immemorial.
It is fundamental and persistent social group, a basic social institution at the very care of society. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
The family is a group defined by a sex relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.
It may include collateral or subsidiary relationship, but it is constituted by the living together of mates forming with their offspring a distinctive unity.
This unit has certain common characteristics everywhere in human society.
The values institutionalized in the family have long been regarded as important enough to warrant strong measures against any behaviour that violated them.
Not only has the family been defined as fundamental to the existence of society, but it has been viewed as a source of morality and decent content.
It has also been defined as a primary force for controlling behaviour and civilizing the human animal. The members of a family typically live together under one roof and constitute a single household.
The family is composed of persons who interact and communicate with each other in their social roles like of husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, etc.
Types of Family: On the basis of authority that a person holds in a family, families are of two types: BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
(a) Matriarchal Families: In such families the mother holds the major authority. The mother and her family stay together and the family name of the mother’s side is given to her children.
The husband comes to stay with the wife’s relatives.
(b) Patriarchal Families: The authority in such a family lies with the father. The wife goes to stay with her husband and his relatives after their marriage. Children carry father’s name. The father holds the authority to take major decisions.
On the basis of the type of marriage, families have been classified as:
(a) Monogamous Family: In this family, the married couple and their children stay. It is formed on the basis of a single marriage.
(b) Polygamous Family: When one male or a female marries more than one female or male, a polygamous family is formed. This type of family is neither common in modern societies, nor it bears the approval of the society.
Families with at least one parent and one child are viewed as a normative definition of the family in most if not all societies. Also part of the normative family would be all others who are closest to the individual. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Not only is the parent-child relationship a normative nuclear family in most societies, the definition of a normal family and nuclear families also includes couples in close relationships that lead to common-law relationships or marriage relationships.
The joint family includes three generations living together under a same roof – husband, wife with married children, their spouse, unmarried children, grandparents, etc.
Today, traditional families are now in the minority for the first time. At present various alternate family groups (other than normative family patterns) are also emerging with different roles and functions.
The United Nations in 1994, defines family as the family within the household, a concept of particular interest, is defined as those members of the household who are related to a specified degree, through blood, adoption or marriage.
The degree of relationship used in determining the limits of the family in this sense is dependent upon the uses to which the data are to be put and so cannot be established for worldwide use. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Thus, “Consensual Unions’ also have been included to fit in all emerging alternate family forms like single-parent families, adoptive families, only grandparent-grandchild family, etc.
Q. 5. Describe the relationship between religion and society mentioned by Marx and Weber.
Ans. Religion and Society: Though religion is personal, yet it has a social aspect and social role to play. It has been a powerful agency in society and perform several social functions.
Religion is the ultimate source of social cohesion. It is the foundation upon which social values rest.
It emphasizes, in one form or the other, the consequences resulting from behavior. Rewards or punishments follow approved or disapproved actions.
Religions support the folkways and customs by placing the powerful sanctions of the supernatural behind them. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Thus, religion is the integrating and unifying force in human society. But at the same time there have been negative effects. Marx called religion The Opiate of the Masses’ which has kept them in degrading subjection.
Sometimes religion has degenerated in dogmatism and bigotism, denying freedom of thought.
Wars have been fought in its name and caused communal tensions which stand to threaten the national solidarity.
Despite this religion has been the propagator of basic values and ethical codes which provide cohesion to society and integration to personality.
In spite of his influence on the subject, Karl Marx never studied religion in any detail. His ideas were mostly derived from the writings of several early 19th century theologists and philosophers.
One of these was Ludwig Feuerbach who wrote The Essence of Christianity. According to Feuerbach, religion consists of ideas and values produced by human beings in the course of their cultural development but mistakenly projected on to divine forces or Gods.
Feuerbach uses the term alienation to refer to the establishment of Gods or divine forces as distinct from human beings. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Marx accepts the view that religion represents human self-alienation. He declared in a famous phrase that religion has been the opium of the people.
Religion defers happiness and rewards to the after life, teaching the resigned acceptance of existing conditions in this life.
Attention is thus diverted from inequalities and injustices in this world by the promise of what is to come in the next.
Religion has a strong ideological element, religious beliefs and values often provide justifications for inequalities of wealth and power In Marx’s view teligion in its traditional form will and should disappear.
Max Weber, on the other hand, initiated a large-scale study of religions around the globe. His principal interest was in large, global religions with millions of believers.
He conducted in-depth studies of Ancient Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904/1958), Weber examined the impact of Christianity on Western thinking and culture.
The fundamental purpose of Weber’s research was to discover religion’s impact on social change. For example, in Protestantism, especially the Protestant Work Ethic,” Weber saw the roots of capitalism. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
In the Eastern religions, Weber saw barriers to capitalism. For example, Hinduism stresses attaining higher levels of spirituality by escaping from the toils of the mundane physical world.
Such a perspective does not easily lend itself to making and spending money.
To Weber, Christianity was a salvation religion that claims people can be “saved” when they convert to certain beliefs and moral codes.
In Christianity, the idea of “sin” and its atonement by God’s grace plays a fundamental role.
Unlike the Eastern religions’ passive approach, salvation religions like Christianity are active, demanding continuous struggles against sin and the negative aspects of society.
Protestantism and Capitalism: According to Max Weber, religion is not merely the conservative force as portrayed in the work of Karl Marx. Rather, Weber saw religion as a force that can promote dramatic social change.
Weber’s work points out that industrial capitalism in Europe paralleled the rise of Calvinism. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
The doctrine of predestination, central to this religion, was a key variable in causing people to seek material success as a sign that God favoured them.
Weber believed that the “Spirit of Capitalism” emerged from the protestant “work ethic”.
Liberation Theology: Liberation theology is a fusion of Christian principles with political activism, often Marxist in character. Adherents believe that as a matter of faith and justice greater social equality must be promoted.
Section C
Q. 6. What is a tribe?
Ans. Tribe as Community: A tribe can be defined as a community living in hilly forest or well-demarcated areas having its own culture, religion, language, and strong ethnic identity.
Anthropologists have explained tribe as a social group with territorial affiliation, endogamous in nature, with no specialization of functions, ruled by tribal chiefs,’ hereditary or otherwise, united in language dialect, recognizing social distance with other tribes or castes, traditions, beliefs and customs, conscious of their ethnic and territorial homogeneity.
“Tribe’ is a modern term for communities that are very old, being among the oldest inhabitants of the subcontinent. Tribes in India have generally been defined in terms of what they were not. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
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.
The tribes in India have been influenced by certain traditions of the communities around them. The 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
Q. 7. How many languages are there in India.
Ans. India, the country which occupies the greater part of South Asia is also one of the rapidly-developing countries. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
In the world, India is the seventh-largest country by area as well. With a population of more than 1.2 billion, it consists of a diverse population belonging to different nationalities and religions.
We all know the importance of language in easing communication and correspondence among individuals.
This comes as no surprise, therefore, that the language of any country is the medium that makes communication possible among its people.
Just like the diverse nationalities, India consists of people who speak different languages. According to some statistics, there are approximately 121 languages spoken in the country by more than 10,000 people.
Moreover, more than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as their mother tongue.
Q. 8. What is secularism? Give an example.
Ans. Secularism: Meaning and Definition: Secularism is the part of new ideas in the West. Modern western secularism was the result, for the search of religious wars, it was that the need to separate the domain of the state from the Church.
Secularism ensures a strong sense of identification like family, race, religion and class.
‘Secularism has its origin from western countries and relates to the separation of the Church from the state, giving the state a position of neutrality between different religions at the same time guaranteeing all citizens the right to profess any one of them.
Secular is used as a contrast with the word religious. Sometimes people believed that secularism is opposed to religion but it is used as religion having nothing to do with the conduct of state affairs. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
The Indian Constitution and Secularism
Rajeev Bhargava said that the Indian Constitution had adopted the principles of secularism because of deteriorating Hindu-Muslim relations and the partition were major cause to adopt secularism.
In order to avoid a Bosnia like Infesno in India, secular institutions are essential.
Separate electorate on the basis of religion, reserving jobs, constituencies or organising the states of the Indian Union on the basis of religion to avoid these disasters religion was excluded from the state institutions.
Secularism is adopted in India to promote inter-communal solidarity and to protect ordinary life in India. Because of secularism Indian states attempts child marriage as illegal and permit Dalits into the temple. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
Indian secularism critics said that the Indian Constitution intervene in Hinduism and some of its oppressive social practice which goes against the norms of a secular state.
Secularism was based to maintain a principled distance from religion and could address itself when the matters rising out of religious concerns need to arise.The
Constitution of India introduces secularism to convey the message that India would not construct its citizenship and nationality on the basis of religious identity. Secular states involve three interrelated sets of relationships:
(a) Religion and the individual (freedom of religion)
(b) The state and the individual (citizenship)
(c) The state and religion (separation of state and religion.
According to Laxmi Kant Mitra by secular, he means “The state is not going to make any discrimination on the ground of religion or community against any person professing any particular form of religious faith.”
In 1976 by 42nd amendment the word secular was incorporated into the Preamble of the Constitution. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
The Preamble was amended for the words the words Sovereign, Socialist Secular, Democratic Republic’, were substituted.
Constitution suggests the state would be separate from religion and would guarantee religious freedoms, Citizens of all faiths, to not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion.
Article 15 of Fundamental Rights implies that the state shall not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion, caste, sex, race, and place of birth.
Article 16 guarantees that no Indian citizen would be discriminated against in matters of public employment on the basis of religion.
Article 25 guarantees the freedom of conscience and the right to freely propagate profess and practice any religion.
Article 27 states that the state will not compel any citizen to pay any taxes for the promotion of maintenance of any particular religion or religious institution.
Article 28 gives the freedom to all religions to set up trusts and institutions, acquire property and manage their own affairs.
Articles 325 and 326 provide the principle of non-discrimination among citizens in the area of voting and representation on the basis of religion, race or sex. India has no state religion.
Q. 9. Define the concept of caste.
Ans. “The Latin word ‘castus’ meaning ‘pure’ is the root word for caste.
Portuguese word ‘casta’ meaning race lineage or pure stock was taken as the root of caste by the Portuguese since they thought caste was intended to keep the purity of blood. Till the 17th century caste was not used in the Indian sense.
Caste is used to describe the total system of Indian social stratification on the one hand, while on the other it denotes some district aspects of this total system such as varna, jati and gotra. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
A lot of confusion has been created due to the careless use of the English word ‘caste’. According to Manu, there are four varnas and over fifty jatis.
But even in this type of classification confusion occurs because, for example, Brahmin can called varna as well jati.
Risely defines caste “As a collection of families or groups of families” which have a common name, common descent from a mystical occupation and form a homogenous community. Caste is endogenous.
According to Ketkar, caste has two characteristics:
(i) In born membership, and
(ii) Endogamy.
Majumdar and Madan and Bougle have also attempted their own definitions of caste.
Q. 10. What is social change?
Ans. Social change is a universal phenomenon. It occurs in all societies.
The population changes, technologies expand, material equipment changes, ideologies and values take on new components and institutional structures and functions undergo reshaping changes in culture are related to changes in society.
Speed of social change is not uniform. Also it is not uniform in each age or period in the same society. BSOC 132 Free Solved Assignment
It widely varies in scope and one can talk of small scale and large scale changes. Social changes may be broadly characterised as modifications or replacements.
It may be a modification of physical goods or social relationships e.g. old authoritarian family.
The change also takes the form of replacement. New material of non-material form supplants the old one. Definite prediction of social change cannot be made and may occur due to a variety of factors.
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