A qualified Muslim doctor is repeatedly denied a rented flat in a middle-class locality despite having strong credentials. Which sociological idea does this situation illustrate?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Social exclusion
Option (1) Social mobility — Incorrect. Social mobility is the movement of a person or group up or down the social ladder. The doctor has already moved up through education; the case is about being kept out, not about moving up or down.
Option (2) Social exclusion — Correct. Social exclusion refers to ways in which individuals are cut off from full involvement in the wider society, and kept from opportunities open to most people, such as housing. It is not accidental but systematic: it comes from the way society is organised and from prejudice against a group. The doctor has every qualification, yet is repeatedly refused a rented flat because of his community.
Option (3) Social inequality — Incorrect. Social inequality means that some people have a greater share of valued resources (money, property, education, power) than others. The doctor is not short of resources; he is denied access in spite of them, which is exclusion.
Option (4) Secularisation — Incorrect. Secularisation is the decline in the influence of religion on public life. Refusing a flat because of religion shows the opposite, prejudice based on religion.
NCERT (2025-26): “Social Exclusion Social exclusion refers to ways in which individuals may become cut off from full involvement in the wider society. It focuses attention on a broad range of factors that prevent individuals or groups from having opportunities open to the majority of the population. In order to live a full and active life, individuals must not only be able to feed, clothe and house themselves, but should also have access to essential goods and services such as education, health, transportation, insurance, social security, banking and even access to the police or judiciary.…” |