Which of the following can be understood as “acquired” trait for a person belonging to the Gond tribe?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The person decides to adopt the “purity and pollution” principle of caste to maintain their identity.
Option (1) The person decides to assert his tribal identity. — Incorrect. Tribal identity is what the person is born into. Asserting it keeps an inherited identity; nothing new is taken on, so it is not an acquired trait.
Option (2) The person decides to stay in his/her place of origin. — Incorrect. Tribes are first classified by permanent traits: region, language, physical characteristics and habitat. Staying in the place of origin keeps the region, a permanent trait.
Option (3) The person decides to adopt the “purity and pollution” principle of caste to maintain their identity. — Correct. Acquired traits are those a tribe takes on: its mode of livelihood and the extent of its incorporation into Hindu society. Taking up a principle of the caste system is a step of such incorporation.
Option (4) The person decides to continue to use his/her own language. — Incorrect. Language is a permanent trait of a tribe; continuing to use it changes nothing.
NCERT (2025-26): “Classifications of Tribal Societies … In terms of positive characteristics, tribes have been classified according to their ‘permanent’ and ‘acquired’ traits. Permanent traits include region, language, physical characteristics and ecological habitat.… Acquired Traits Classifications based on acquired traits use two main criteria – mode of livelihood, and extent of incorporation into Hindu society – or a combination of the two. On the basis of livelihood, tribes can be categorised into fishermen, food gatherers and hunters, shifting cultivators, peasants and plantation and industrial workers. However, the dominant classification both in academic sociology as well as in politics and public affairs is the degree of assimilation into Hindu society. Assimilation can be seen either from the point of view of the tribes, or (as has been most often the case) from the point of view of the dominant Hindu mainstream. From the tribes’ point of view, apart from the extent of assimilation, attitude towards Hindu society is also a major criterion, with differentiation between tribes that are positively inclined towards Hinduism and those who resist or oppose it.…” |