Indian Social Structure

Louis Dumont's theory of caste system emphasizes the structural nature of caste hierarchy, where purity and pollution are the fundamental principles organizing the caste system. His work 'Homo Hierarchicus' argues that caste is based on the structural opposition of pure and impure, making it a structural approach rather than interactional, attributional, or traditional.

M.N. Srinivas identified multiple criteria for determining a 'dominant caste' in Indian villages. Control of land and economic resources (1) provides the material foundation for dominance. Numerical strength (2) ensures political leverage through voting power. Relatively high ritual status in the caste hierarchy (3) confers social prestige. Educational status (6) is crucial for modern sources of power and influence. The answer C correctly combines these four key criteria. Statement 4 about 'clean occupations' is not part of Srinivas's original framework, and political authority (5) is typically an outcome rather than a determining criterion.

Economic independence is recognized as the most significant factor in changing women's position in modern Indian families. Financial autonomy enables women to make decisions, challenge traditional roles, and assert their rights within the household structure.

The Garo tribe in Meghalaya is known for practicing both polygamy (multiple wives) and polyandry (multiple husbands), though polyandry is rare. Khasi (A) is matrilineal but not polyandrous, Naga (C) tribes are generally monogamous, and Nair (D) had matrilineal practices with polyandry historically but not both forms.

G.S. Ghurye, a prominent sociologist, viewed caste as an extended kin group. He argued that caste functions like a large family unit, with rules of endogamy (marriage within the group) and concepts of gotra and lineage operating similarly to kinship structures. This perspective is unique to Ghurye among the options provided.

Gandhiji coined the term 'Harijans' (meaning 'people of God') in 1932 for the lower castes as he opposed the term 'Untouchables'. 'Dalits' is the modern political term adopted later, while 'Kshatriyas' is a varna category not used by Gandhi for this purpose.

Peasants are typically small-scale agricultural producers who work for subsistence using family labor. They generally occupy a subordinate or marginalized position in state-centered societies, rather than a privileged one.

Folk societies, as described by Robert Redfield, are characterized by ascribed status, not achieved status. Achieved status is a feature of modern, urban societies.

Owen Lynch's 'The Politics of Untouchability' (1969) is a classic ethnographic study of the Jatavs of Agra. It explores how they used political participation and conversion to Buddhism to achieve social and economic mobility within the Indian caste system.

Patrilateral parallel cousin marriage (marriage with the father's brother's daughter) is a specific kinship practice found among certain Muslim groups, such as the Dhund of the Murree Hills. It is generally absent in the Hindu kinship systems of the Rajputs or the Bhil tribes.

F.G. Bailey proposed the 'Tribe-Caste Continuum' to argue that tribes and castes are not distinct categories but represent different points on a scale of political and economic organization. This model helps explain the integration of tribal groups into the broader Hindu social structure.

The scholars are swapped: Louis Dumont argued that caste is an expression of hierarchy rather than stratification, while Gunnar Myrdal (and others like Berreman) viewed caste as a rigid form of class. Thus, neither pair is correctly matched.

Thomas Beidelman provided a conflict-theory critique of the Jajmani system, arguing that it was not a system of benevolent interdependence but an exploitative mechanism used by dominant castes to control and exploit the labor of lower castes.