QUESTION 19
GS1
15 marks
Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static?
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Explain why caste in India changes in some respects (status, occupation, politics) and stays fixed in others (birth, endogamy, discrimination).
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Fluid: Sanskritisation and Westernisation, occupational change, urban anonymity, new caste coalitions in politics, change in caste categories (OBC, SC lists)≈65 words
- 2Static: ascription by birth, endogamy, honour violence, untouchability, caste in matrimonial ads≈65 words
- 3Why both: economic change alters status, but kinship and marriage keep the boundary≈65 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Define caste identityFluid features with examplesStatic features with examplesExplanation of the paradoxConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Not using sociological concepts like Sanskritisation or dominant caste
- Giving only examples of change and ignoring endogamy
Draw this
- Two-column table: what changes / what stays, each with one example
Value addition
- ConceptM.N. Srinivas: Sanskritisation and the 'dominant caste' show how caste groups can move up the local hierarchy.M.N. Srinivas, Social Change in Modern India
- DataIndia Human Development Survey found only about 5% of Indian marriages are inter-caste.IHDS-II, NCAER and University of Maryland
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 9 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 35 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 11 minutes, then get it checked.