How did intermediate castes become dominant? (A) Land reforms removed absentee landlords' rights. (B) Land rights vested in intermediate castes. (C) ? (D) They became decisive in regional politics and agriculture. Which step is (C)?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → They acquired economic power, and their large numbers gave them political power
Option (1) They acquired economic power, and their large numbers gave them political power — Correct. Once the intermediate castes got land rights, they gained considerable economic power. Their large numbers then gave them political power under universal adult franchise, which led to their decisive role in step (D).
Option (2) They adopted the ritual and domestic practices of castes of higher status — Incorrect. Adopting the practices of higher castes is sanskritisation. It is a separate route to higher status, outside the chain from land rights to power.
Option (3) They formed explicitly caste-based political parties to contest elections — Incorrect. Caste-based political parties emerged from the 1980s as a wider change in electoral politics. The chain here runs from land rights to economic and then political power.
Option (4) They gained subsidised professional education and public sector jobs — Incorrect. Subsidised professional education and public sector jobs helped the upper caste urban elite. Rural intermediate castes rose through land and numbers instead.
NCERT (2026-27): “Caste in the Present … “… However, once they got land rights, they acquired considerable economic power. Their large numbers also gave them political power in the era of electoral democracy based on universal adult franchise.” “Thus, these intermediate castes became the ‘dominant’ castes in the country side and played a decisive role in regional politics and the agrarian economy.” |