Social Institutions: Continuity and Change — Sociology STD 12 Humanities — Question
CBSE BoardEnglish MediumSTD 12 HumanitiesSociologySocial Institutions: Continuity and Change4 Marks
Question
In what sense has caste become relatively 'invisible' for the urban uppercastes?
✓
Answer
In the contemporary period, caste has tended to become 'invisible' for the upper caste, urban middle and upper classes.
For these groups, who have benefited the most from the developmental policies of the post-colonial era, caste has appeared to decline in significance precisely because it has done its job so well.
Their caste status had been crucial in ensuring that these groups had the necessary economic and educational resources to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by rapid development.
In particular, the upper caste elite were able to benefit from subsidised public education, specially professional education in science, technology, medicine and management.
They were also able to take advantage of the expansion of state sector jobs in the early decades after independence. In this initial period, their lead over the rest of society (in terms of education) ensured that they did not face any serious competition.
As their privileged status got consolidated in the second and third generations, these groups began to believe that their advancement had little to do with caste. Certainly for the third generations from these groups their economic and educational capital alone is quite sufficient to ensure that they will continue to get the best in terms of life chances.
However, a further complication is introduced by the fact that this is a differentiated group. Although the privileged as a group are overwhelmingly upper caste, not all upper caste people are privileged, some being poor.
Need a full question paper?
Generate a complete, print-ready paper with questions like this in minutes — across 16+ boards, with answer keys.