Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → People born on 29 February - statistical but not sociological minority

Option (1) Extremely wealthy people - minority in the sociological sense — Incorrect. Extremely wealthy people are a privileged minority. Such groups are not usually called minorities, and if they are, the term is qualified, as in 'privileged minority'.

Option (2) Minority in the sociological sense - a merely numerical distinction — Incorrect. The pair is reversed. A minority in the sociological sense is more than a merely numerical distinction; it usually involves some sense of relative disadvantage.

Option (3) Prejudice and discrimination - weaken feelings of intra-group loyalty — Incorrect. The effect is reversed. Being subjected to prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty and interests. So disadvantage and group solidarity go together.

Option (4) People born on 29 February - statistical but not sociological minority — Correct. People born on 29 February are a minority only by count. They do not form a collectivity with group solidarity, so they are not a minority in the sociological sense.

NCERT (2026-27): “Minority Rights and Nation Building …
The notion of minority groups is widely used in sociology and is more than a merely numerical distinction – it usually involves some sense of relative disadvantage. Thus, privileged minorities such as extremely wealthy people are not usually referred to as minorities; if they are, the term is qualified in some way, as in the phrase ‘privileged minority’. When minority is used without qualification, it generally implies a relatively small but also disadvantaged group. The sociological sense of minority also implies that the members of the minority form a collectivity – that is, they have a strong sense of group solidarity, a feeling of togetherness and belonging. This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty and interests (Giddens 2001:248). Thus, groups that may be minorities in a statistical sense, such as people who are lefthanded or people born on 29 February, are not minorities in the sociological sense because they do not form a collectivity. …”