Which of the following sociologically describes the notion of "minority"?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Relatively small disadvantaged group with a heightened sense of solidarity.
Option (1) Numerically small group of wealthy businessmen with a heightened sense of solidarity. — Incorrect. A minority usually involves some sense of relative disadvantage. Privileged groups such as extremely wealthy people are not usually called minorities; if they are, the term is qualified, as in ‘privileged minority’.
Option (2) All those who are denied universal adult suffrage. — Incorrect. Being denied the vote is a matter of political rights. A minority is a small, disadvantaged collectivity bound by group feeling, whatever its voting rights.
Option (3) Aggressive unification of numerically smaller groups into bigger groups. — Incorrect. A minority is a group of people, not a process of merging groups. Forcing smaller groups into a bigger one is closer to assimilation, which minorities usually resist.
Option (4) Relatively small disadvantaged group with a heightened sense of solidarity. — Correct. In its sociological sense a minority is a relatively small but also disadvantaged group whose members form a collectivity with a strong sense of group solidarity. Prejudice and discrimination heighten their loyalty to the group, which is why left-handed people, a mere statistical minority, are not a minority in this sense.
NCERT (2025-26): “6.3 Religion-related Issues and Identities … 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).…” |