In the given question, a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer.
Assertion: In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, despite the abundance of cultivable land, certain caste groups were assigned menial tasks.
Reason: They were constrained by their position in the caste hierarchy, much like the Dalits of modern India.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option 1 - Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.
Assertion: In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, despite the abundance of cultivable land, certain caste groups were assigned menial tasks.
Reason: They were constrained by their position in the caste hierarchy, much like the Dalits of modern India.
Despite the abundance of cultivable land, certain caste groups were assigned menial tasks and thus relegated to poverty. Though there was no census at that time, the little data that we have suggest that such groups comprised a large section of the village population, had the least resources and were constrained by their position in the caste hierarchy, much like the Dalits of modern India.