In a newly built car factory, a worker from a Dalit family finds that some co-workers still refuse to share meals with him. Which idea does this situation show?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Persistence of older discrimination in new workplaces
Option (1) Persistence of older discrimination in new workplaces — Correct. The worker has a modern factory job, yet caste prejudice follows him there. This shows that older forms of discrimination can persist even in new factory or workplace settings.
Option (2) Alienation of the worker from his work — Incorrect. Marx used alienation for workers who do not enjoy their work and do it only to survive. Here the trouble comes from co-workers who shut him out because of caste, and his feelings about the work play no part.
Option (3) Overlap of social and income inequality — Incorrect. Social and income inequality overlap when the same group is on top by caste and by earnings, as with upper caste men in well-paid professions. The case gives no detail about pay or income.
Option (4) Loss of face-to-face relationships at work — Incorrect. Thinkers linked industry with the loss of the face-to-face ties of rural work, replaced by anonymous professional relationships. Refusing to share meals is an old caste practice carried into the factory, so it shows discrimination continuing.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.1 Images of Industrial Society … “On the other hand, older forms of discrimination may persist even in new factory or workplace settings.” “And even as social inequalities are reducing, economic or income inequality is growing in the world. Often social inequality and income inequality overlap, for example, in the domination of upper caste men in well-paying professions like medicine, law or journalism. Women often get paid less than men for similar work.” |