The points of criticism of sanskritisation are:
A. It operated differently in different parts of the country
B. It rests on inequality and exclusion
C. It accepts the ways of 'upper caste' as superior
D. It leads to confusing girls and women
E. It encouraged local caste hierarchy
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → B, C, E only
A. It operated differently in different parts of the country Incorrect. This is a finding about how sanskritisation worked, not a criticism of the concept. Studies of different areas show that where a highly Sanskritised caste was dominant the culture of the whole region was Sanskritised, while where non-Sanskritic castes were dominant their influence was stronger.
B. It rests on inequality and exclusion Correct. The third criticism is that sanskritisation seems to justify a model that rests on inequality and exclusion; it appears to suggest that believing in the pollution and purity of groups of people is all right.
C. It accepts the ways of 'upper caste' as superior Correct. The second criticism is that the ideology of sanskritisation accepts the ways of the ‘upper caste’ as superior and those of the ‘lower caste’ as inferior, so the desire to imitate the ‘upper caste’ is seen as natural and desirable.
D. It leads to confusing girls and women Incorrect. The fourth criticism concerns girls and women, but what it says is that sanskritisation leads to practices of secluding girls and women, with dowry in place of bride-price. Nothing in it is about confusing them, so the statement as printed does not state a criticism of the concept.
E. It encouraged local caste hierarchy Correct. Sanskritisation improves a group’s position in the local caste hierarchy, but the hierarchy itself stays. That is the first criticism: it leads to no structural change but only positional change of some individuals, so inequality continues within the unequal structure.
Note: Statement E is not one of the book’s criticisms in so many words; it follows from them. Srinivas held that sanskritisation usually improves a group’s position in the local caste hierarchy, and the book’s first and third criticisms are that this brings only positional, not structural, change and justifies a model resting on inequality. A process that lets groups climb only within the hierarchy, while accepting its rules, keeps that hierarchy going.
NCERT (2025-26): “Sanskritisation … Studies of different areas, however, show that it operated differently in different parts of the country. In those areas where a highly Sanskritised caste was dominant, the culture of the entire region underwent a certain amount of Sanskritisation. In regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were dominant, it was their influence that was stronger. This can be termed the process of ‘de-Sanskritisation’.…” “Sanskritisation … Srinivas argued that, ‘the Sanskritisation of a group has usually the effect of improving its position in the local caste hierarchy. It normally presupposes either an improvement in the economic or political position of the group concerned or a higher group self-consciousness resulting from its contact with a source of the ‘Great Tradition’ of Hinduism such as a pilgrim centre or a monastery or a proselytising sect.’…” “Sanskritisation … Sanskritisation as a concept has been criticised at different levels. One, it has been criticised 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. In other words inequality continues to persist though some individuals may be able to improve their positions within the unequal structure. Two, it has been pointed out that the ideology of sanskritisation accepts the ways of the ‘upper caste’ as superior and that of the ‘lower caste’ as inferior. Therefore, the desire to imitate the ‘upper caste’ is seen as natural and desirable. Third, ‘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.” “Sanskritisation … Fourth, 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, etc.…” |