Sociology 12th Previous Year Question Paper 2019 (CBSE)

Sociology

Q.1. What is social about social inequality?

Answer: Social inequality is social as it is :

Not about individuals but groups.
Not economic thought a link is usually found between social and economic inequality.
Systematic and structured, which means there is a definite pattern to social inequality.

Q.2. In what ways can status symbols be identified?

Answer: The status symbol is perceived as a visible, external denotation of one’s social position in terms of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols.

For example brand of a cell phone, model of a car, brand of a watch, etc. The term status symbol was coined by Max Weber.

Q.3. How does India benefit from a demographic dividend?

Q.3. State the importance of demographic data.

Answer: According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Demographic Dividend refers to “the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population (15 to 64) is larger than the non-working-age share of the population (14 and younger, and 65 and older).” There is a great influence of demographic dividend on economic growth because the demographic dividend is the economic benefit that can arise when a population has a relatively large proportion of working age people, and effectively invests in their empowerment, education and employment. This simply means that because most of the citizens are working, economic growth goes up.

Answer: Importance of demographic data is :

It helps in analysing and keeping a check on the health status and ratio of a particular place.
Demographic data is important for planning and implementation of state policies, especially those for economic development and general public welfare.

Q.4. With the help of an example, highlight the concept of participatory democracy.

Answer: Participatory democracy is direct democracy. It means that all citizens are actively involved in all sorts of important decisions related to the country.

Example : Participating in a democracy by voting allows the citizens of the nation, to make changes to the country’s administration and put forward their collective thoughts. A free press is another part of a larger freedom because it gives citizens the right to be informed.

Q.5. Economist and others have often made a distinction between the organised or formal and the unorganised or informal sector. Justify.

Answer:

Q.6. ‘Social movements also develop distinct modes of protests.’ What are these ?

Answer: Social movement activists hold meetings to mobilise people around the issues that concern them.

They also include campaigns like lobbying with the government, media and other important makers of public opinion.

Candle march and torchlight processions, use of black cloth, street theatres, songs, poetry etc. are other distinct methods of protests.

Q.7. ‘Federal system has worked fairly well, though there remain many contentious issues.’ Mention any two issues.

Q.7. How can commitment to the protection of minorities also be a challenge to the State.

Answer: Following are the issues that India still faces :

Increasing inter regional, economic and infrastructural inequalities.
The states are not developed in some uniform manner, some are well developed while some to receive attention. This creates discord among the citizens and a feeling of alienation.
The market economy tends to increase the gap between developed and backward classes. The rich tend to get richer while the poor tend to get poorer.

Answer: States will always be held accountable for their compliance with human rights, but they also need to create conditions for releasing those rights :

To maintain that kind of environment in state which makes them comfortable to live in society is a challenge.
Most states fear that recognizing such differences will result in social fragmentation.
States which respect minority rights and appeal for secession face challenges in terms of communal tensions which arise often. Altercations along with the insecurity in the majority community begins to develop.

Q.8. What do you understand by ascriptive identities ?

Q.8. Identify the religious diversity found in India.

Answer: It is a community identity based on the birth and belonging rather than on some form of acquired qualification or accomplishment. It is an identity with one’s present and has nothing to bear with the future. These are determined by the accidents of birth and do not involve any choice on . the part of the individual concerned.

Answer: India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. India is a secular state with no state religion. Hindus constitute an overwhelming majority in India; they number about 828 millions and account for 80.5% of the total population according to the 2001 Census. The Hindu population is four times larger than the combined population of all other minority religions, and about six times larger than the largest minority group, the Muslims.

The Muslims are numbered 138 million and were 13.4% of the population in 2001. Christians constitute around 2.3% of the population (24 million) and are scattered all over. The Sikhs constitute 1.9% of the population (19 million). There are also several other small religious groups—Buddhists (8 million, 0.8%), Jains (4 million, 0.4%) and ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ (under 7 million, 0.7%). Religious diversity and religious tolerance are both established in the country by law and custom. The constitution of India has declared the right to freedom of religion as a fundamental right.

Q.9. In response to the harsh working conditions workers have expressed anger through trails unions. Differentiate between strike and lockout in the light of the above statement.

Answer: Strike is a weapon in the armoury of the working class to fight collectively and to create pressure on the employer. It is used by the labour class to safeguard their interests, both economic and cultural.

Lockout is an Act by the employer by which his industrial establishment is temporarily closed to suppress the demands of his employees and make them resume duties at terms and conditions dictated by him.

Q.10. ‘Adivasi experiences of marginalization and their sense of injustice were mobilized to create shared Jharkandi identity.’ Mention the issues against which leaders of Jharkhand agitated.

Answer: The issues against which the leaders of Jharkhand agitated were :

Acquisition of land for large irrigation projects and firing ranges.
Survey and settlement operations, which were held up, camps closed down etc.
Collection of loans, rent, dues which were resisted.
Nationalisation of forest produce which they boycotted.

Q.11. What ideas of society did the Dharma Sabha project ?

Q.11. Modernisation and Secularisation are part of a set of modern ideas. How are the two processes linked ?

Answer: Dharma Sabha was formed in 1829 in Calcutta by Raja Radhakant Deb. The organisation was established mainly to counter the ongoing social reform movements led by protagonists such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Henry Derozio. They petitioned against british rule which banned the practice of sati in the country, the focus of this new association was to repel the law which was seen as an intrusion by the British into the religious affairs of the indigenous people by some sections of the Hindu-community. They considered these steps by British government radical and against their traditions and rituals.

Answer: If we look into the process of modernisation and secularisation together, undoubtedly they are closely linked as both are part of a set of modern ideas. Modernisation refers in social sciences to the process of evolution from the traditional to modern society. Two processes modernisation and secularisation are linked to each other, they are both part of a set of modern ideas. Modernisation referred to improvement in technology and production processes. Secularization means wider acceptance of all religions. It has been an assumption of all theorists of modernisation that modern societies have become increasingly secular.

Modernization has been proportionally linked to secularization. Secularisation marks a process in which especially in industrialized societies, the religious beliefs, practices and institutions have lost their former social importance, the traditional beliefs are subjected to rational questioning, the monopoly of religious symbols is broken with the pluralization of the life spheres and people have established more control on their environment with the rise of individualism and modernisation.

Q.12. Give two examples of caste based movements.

Answer: One example of Caste based movement was the Dalit movement. This was a struggle for recognition as fellow human beings. It was a struggle for self-confidence and a space for self-determination. It was a struggle for abolishment of stigmatization, that untouchability implied. Adi Dharma Movement in Punjab, the Mahar Movement in Maharashtra, the socio-political mobilisation among the Jatavas of Agra and the Anti Brahmin Movement in south India are some examples.

Q.13. How do people find jobs in an industrial society ?

Answer: Formerly people used to search for jobs through newspapers, magazines, ads, or through word of mouth.

Now a days, there are websites and HR recruitments applications where major companies search for employees.

There are employment exchange programs and seminars, where one can register and find jobs as per his qualifications.

Q.14. How did industrialization take place in colonial India ?

Q.14. The impact of English language has been many sided and paradoxical in India. Give reasons.

Answer: Deindustrialisation is the process of social and economic change caused due to the reduction in industrial capacity to industrialisation.

Just as manufacturing boomed in Britain, traditional exports of cotton and silk manufacturers from India declined in the face of Manchester competition. Small scale manufacturers and native industries were all closed because of competition from the west. Many village artisans abandoned their hereditary craft and moved to agriculture.

Answer: Impact of English language on Indian society are :

It has been a major contributor in the growth of nationalism since it gave a common base for lingually diverse people to communicate.

Its knowledge has given Indians an edge over others in the job market in the era of globalisation.

However, sometimes it is linked to social prestige and status which makes its impact derogatory because people who know the language are preferred upon people who don’t. It leads to prejudices and partiality. English continues to be a mark of privilege, not knowing English creates a problem for people in search of jobs.

Q.15. The Family Planning Programme suffered a setback during the years of national emergency. Justify the statement.

Answer: Reasons for the setback of the Family Planning Programme during emergency are as follows :

Introduction of a coercive programme of mass sterilisation.

A vast number of mostly poor and powerless people were forcibly sterilised. Sterilisation refers to medical procedures like vasectomy for men and tubectomy for women which prevent conception and childbirth.

There was massive pressure on lower level government officials to bring people for sterilisation to the family planning camps, which were organised specially for this purpose.

However, there was widespread popular opposition to the programme. Ultimately, this programme was abandoned by the new government elected after the emergency.

Q.16. Explain commodification as feature of capitalism.

Q.16. According to Alfred Gell the market has significance beyond its economic function. Explain.

Answer:Commodification as feature of capitalism described as :

Commodification occurs when things not traded in the market became commodities.
According to Marx and other critics of capitalism, the process of commodification has negative social effects.
But in modern society, almost everyone accepts the idea that a person’s labour can be bought or that other services or skills can be provided in exchange for money.
Under commodification, labour or skills become things that can be bought and sold.

Answer: Market refers to a place where things are bought and sold, markets can also be considered a physical place for the gathering of buyers and sellers.

We are used to thinking of the market as an economic institution but sociologists view markets as social institutions that are constructed in culturally specific ways and are socially embedded e.g., weekly tribal haat and traditional business community. Alfred Gells says that the “Dhorai market (adivasi village market in Bastar) has significance beyond its economic function. Its layout symbolizes the hierarchical inter-group social relations. Thus, it is a representative of a social order of the society there it fulfils a lot of social functions, not just economic ones.

Different social groups are located according to their position in the caste and social hierarchy as well as in the market system. The quality of social relations are expressed in the kinds of goods that are bought and sold, and the way in which transactions are carried out.

Q.17. Caste is a discriminatory system. Elaborate.

Q.17. Explain the key principles that help explain social stratification.

Answer: Caste is a discriminatory system and this can be observed through the following factors :

Exclusion : The untouchables and reserved caste people go through the worst type of exclusion. In the past, they were not given opportunities like others and were excluded from the smallest things. Even though the system of untouchability has been abolished now, the differences of caste continues to plague our society.

Exploitation : People of downtrodden classes and castes are given very low salaries and low grade jobs in certain parts of the country. They were given jobs which no one wanted to do and were not paid.

Humiliation: Earlier, they were not allowed to wear bright coloured clothes and could not use the same roads, which Brahmins used, and had to walk with their heads bowed down. This has taken a different form now for certain parts of the country.

Answer: Key principles of social stratification :

Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences.
Social stratification remains over generations. A person’s social position is ascribed. It means children assume the social position of their parents. The ascribed part of social inequality is reinforced by the practice of endogamy.
Social stratification is supported by the patterns of belief, or ideology in this sense, no system of social stratification is likely to remain over generations unless it is generally understood as being either fair or necessary.

Q.18. Competing interests do not always reflect clear class divide. Explain with suitable examples.

Answer: Competing interests do not always reflect a clear class divide. The multi-religious and multicultural composition of the population with distinct streams of tribal culture is one aspect of the plurality. Many divides classify the Indian people. The impact that culture, religion, and caste have on the urban-rural divide, rich-poor divide and the literate-illiterate divide is varied. However, there are some basic objectives laid down in the constitution and which are generally agreed in the Indian political world as being obviously just. These would be the empowerment of the poor and marginalised, poverty alleviation, ending of caste and positive steps to treat all groups equally.

For example, the issue of the closure of factories because they emit toxic waste and affect the health of those around this is a matter of life which the constitution protects. Closure of the factory will render people jobless. This does not however reflect class divide.

Q.19. Which cities were developed by the British in India and why ?

Answer: The coastal cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai played a pivotal role in the economic system. These colonial cities were the prime link between the economic centre or core in Britain and periphery or margins in colonised India.

From these coastal cities, primary commodities could be easily exported and manufactured goods could be cheaply imported.

That is why these cities were well developed by British. The communication transportation and other facilities were built, new buildings for branch offices constructed, coastlines created and a lot of other facilities were made available as well.

Q.20. ‘Process of Sanskritisation encourages inequality and discrimination.’ Explain.

Answer: Sanskritization is a process by which some members of a low caste or tribe try to imitate/follow, customs, ritual beliefs, ideology and lifestyle of a caste.

Process of sanskritisation encourages inequalities and discrimination.

It has been criticized for exaggerating social mobility or the scope of lower castes to move up the social ladder for it leads to no structural change but only positional change of some individuals. Inequality continues to persist though some individuals may be able to improve their position within the unequal structure.

1. The ideology of sanskritisation accepts the ways of the upper caste as superior and that of the lower caste as inferior. Thus, the desire to imitate the upper caste is seen as natural and desirable.

2. Sanskritisation seems to justify a model that rests on inequality and exclusion. It appears to suggest that to believe in pollution and purity of groups’ of people is justifiable or all right. Therefore, to be able to look down on some groups of people just as the upper caste looked down on the lower castes, is a mark of privilege. It shows how such discriminatory ideas become a way of life. Instead of aspiring for an equal society, the exclusion and discrimination seek to give their own meaning to their excluded status. This gives rise to an undemocratic society.

3. Since sanskritisation results in the adoption of upper caste rites and rituals, it leads to practices of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry practices instead of bride-price and practising caste- discrimination against other groups.

4. The effect of such a culture is that it erodes characteristics of dalit culture and society. For example, the very worth of labour for which lower castes are degraded and rendered shameful. Identities based on the basis of work, crafts, artisanal ability are regarded useless.

Q.21. Is it easy to describe a State but hard to define ? Why ?

Q.21. The Indian people had a brief experience of authoritarian rule during emergency.’ Justify.

Answer: A nation is a peculiar sort of community that is easy to describe but hard to define. We can describe many specific nations found on the basis of common cultural, historical and political institutions like a shared religion, language, ethnicity, history of regional culture.

But it is hard to come up with any defining features, any characteristics that a nation must possess. For every possible criterion there are exceptions. There are many nations that do not share a single common language, religion, ethnicity and so on. On the other hand, there are many languages, religions or ethnicities. All these diversities and varieties render the sociologists incapable of defining a state.

Answer: The Indian people had a brief experience of authoritarian rule during the “Emergency” because:

Parliament was suspended, along with most of the rights given to the citizens by the constitution were revoked.
New laws were made directly by the government. Civil liberties were revoked.
Large number of politically active people were arrested and jailed without trial.
Censorship was imposed on the media and government officials could be dismissed without normal procedures. There was arbitrariness of laws and nothing was being followed according to set rules and regulations.

Q.22. ‘The pattern of farmer’s suicides points to the significant crisis that the rural areas are experiencing.’ What do you understand by ‘matrix event’ and how are they responsible for farmer’s suicides ?

Q.22. Migration and lack of job security create poor working and living conditions for migrant labour. Explain with reference to the circulation of labour in India.

Answer: Matrix Events : A range of factors that coalesce or combine or come together to form an event are called matrix events e.g., farmers distress/ suicide.

Sociologists have tried to analyze this event of suicides by looking at the structural and social changes that have been taking place in society, such suicides have become matrix events.

Farmers in our country for centuries have periodically faced lots of distress due to crop failures, drought and debt. They have been facing terrible conditions which encourages them to take negative steps. Some of the reasons why suicides are becoming a regular phenomenon are because the farmers are :

Unable to bear the burden of debt.
They can not fulfill their social obligations due to loss in crops.
Costs of agricultural equipment, costs of chemicals and seeds for cultivation and farming are already high and increasing every day. This creates difficulties for the farmers to survive.
Hiring labour and breeding animals is getting costlier too.
Lack of adequate support or market price also contributes.

Answer: Concept of circulation of labour :

Commercialisation of agriculture has been responsible for the growth of migrant agricultural labour. Seasonal demand for these labourers increased in Green Revolution regions like Punjab.
Labourers migrate also due to increasing inequalities in rural areas. Men migrate out periodically in search of work and better wages, while women and children are often left behind in their villages.
Migrant workers come mainly from drought prone and less productive regions and they go to work for part of the year on farms in the Punjab and Haryana or on brick kilns in U.P. or construction sites in cities such as New Delhi or Bangalore.
These migrant workers have been termed “footloose labour” by Jan Breman. However, these landless workers do not have many rights and are also denied minimum wages.
The large scale circulation of labour has had several significant effects on rural society in both the receiving and supplying regions.
Women are also emerging as the main source of agricultural labour, leading to the Termination of agricultural labour form. The work insecurity for women workers is greater because they earn lower wages than men for similar work.

Q.23. The Khasi matriliny generates intense role conflict for men. Elaborate.

Q.23. What are some of the rules that caste system imposes ?

Answer:

Khasi materiliny generates intense role conflict for men. They are torn between responsibilities to their natal house on one hand and to their wife and children on the other.
There is an inherent disagreement in matrilineal systems. On the one hand, the line of descent and inheritance, where woman inherits property from her mother and passes it on to her daughter. The other structure of authority and control is where a man control his sister’s property and passes on control to his sister’s son. The farmer, which links the mother to the daughter, comes in conflict with the latter, which links the mother’s brother to sister’s son.
The tension generated by such role conflict affects Khasi women more intensely. A woman can never be fully assured that her husband does not find his sister’s house a more pleasant place than her own.
Thus, men are the power holders in Khasi society, the only difference is that a man’s relatives on his mother’s side matter more than his relatives on his father’s side.

Answer: Rules imposed by the caste system :

Caste is determined by birth hence, nobody is allowed to change his caste, leave it or choose not to join it. An individual found violating caste rules shall be punished by social exclusion.
One cannot solemnise his marriage with a person not a member of his own group. Endogamy is recognised under caste system.
Person of a particular caste should strictly follow all the rules of food and food sharing as practiced in his caste.
A person born into a caste can only practice the occupation associated with that caste.
Shudras and untouchables shall serve the upper castes i.e., Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya popularly called Dvija. They cannot share food with upper caste individuals.

Q.24. The effects of globalisation are far reaching. It affects us all but affects us differently. Explain.

Q.24. Explain the economic policy of liberalisation.

Answer: Globalisation : It refers to the growing interdependence between different people, regions and countries in the world.

The effect of globalisation is far reaching. It affects us all but affects us differently. While for some it may mean new opportunities, for others it means the loss of livelihood.

For example, Women silk spinners and twisters of Bihar lost their jobs once the Chinese and Korean silk yarn entered the market.

Similar displacements have come with the entry of large fishing vessels into Indian waters. These vessels take away the fish that used to be earlier collected by Indian fishing vessels. The livelihood of women fish sorters, dryers, vendors and net makers thereby gets affected.

In Gujarat, women gum collectors who were picking from the Julifera, lost their employment due to the import of cheaper gum from Sudan.

In almost all cities of India, the rag pickers lost part of their employment due to import of waste paper from developed countries. Some might be benefited with globalisation while others are made to face losses.

Answer: The economic policy of Liberalisation :

The state after independence put in place a large number of laws that ensured that the Indian market and Indian indigenous, businesses were protected from competition of the wider world.
Liberalisation of the economy meant the steady removal of the rules that regulated Indian trade and finance regulations.
Since 1991, the Indian economy witnessed a series of reforms in all major sectors of the economy, agriculture, industry, trade, foreign, investment and technology, public sector, financial institutions etc. As greater integration into the global market would be beneficial to Indian economy.
The process of liberalisation also involved taking loans from International and Monetary Fund (IMF).

Q.25. Read the given passage and answer the following questions:

The India Languages Newspaper Revolution

The most significant happening in the last few decades has been the India language newspaper revolution. The beginnings of this growth predated liberalisation.

The top two dailies in India rare Danik Jagaran and Danik Bhaskar with a readership of 21 million and 17 million, respective. The fastest growing dailies are the Assamese dailies in urban areas (51.8 percent increase) and the Bengali dailies in rural areas (129 per cent).

The ‘Eenadu’ story also exemplifies the success of the Indian language press. Ramoji Rao the founder of ‘Eenadu’ has successfully organised a chit-fund, before launching the paper in 1974. By associating with appropriate causes in the rural areas like the Anti-arrack movement in the mid-1980s, the Telugu newspaper was able to reach into the countryside.

This prompted it to launch ‘district dailies’ in 1989.

There were tabloid inserts of sensational features carrying news from particulars districts as well as classified advertisements from villages and small towns of the same. By 1998 ‘Eenadu’ was being published from ten towns in Andhra Pradesh and its circulation accounted for 70 per cent of the audited Telugu daily circulation:

(a) What are the different forms of Print media ?

(b) What reasons can be attributed to the emerging growth of Indian ?

Answer: (a) Different forms of a print media are :