Which of the following statement about caste system is NOT correct?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Castes that are considered as ritually impure have high status

Option (1) Castes do not have individual existence, they can only exist in relation to a larger whole — True. On the principle of wholism, the separated castes do not have an individual existence; they exist only in relation to the totality of society made up of all castes, each with its rank in the hierarchy.

Option (2) Castes that are considered as ritually impure have high status — False. The hierarchy of castes rests on the distinction between ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’. Castes considered ritually pure have high status, while those considered less pure or impure have low status. The statement reverses this, so it is the one that is not correct.

Option (3) Caste groups are complementary and non-competing groups — True. Castes are supposed to be complementary and non-competing groups: each has its own place in the system, which no other caste can take, and the system works as a social division of labour.

Option (4) Caste groups practice endogamy — True. Endogamy is the practice of marrying within the caste. It has remained largely unaffected by modernisation; even today most marriages take place within caste boundaries.

NCERT (2025-26): “3.1 Caste and the Caste System … On the other hand, these different and separated castes do not have an individual existence – they can only exist in relation to a larger whole, the totality of society consisting of all castes. Further, this societal whole or system is a hierarchical rather than egalitarian system. Each individual caste occupies not just a distinct place, but also an ordered rank – a particular position in a ladder-like arrangement going from highest to lowest.”

“The hierarchical ordering of castes is based on the distinction between ‘purity’ and ‘pollution’. This is a division between something believed to be closer to the sacred (thus connoting ritual purity), and something believed to be distant from or opposed to the sacred, therefore considered ritually polluting. Castes that are considered ritually pure have high status, while those considered less pure or impure have low status. As in all societies, material power (i.e., economic or military power) is closely associated with social status, so that those in power tend to be of high status, and vice versa. Historians believe that those who were defeated in wars were often assigned low caste status. Finally, castes are not only unequal to each other in ritual terms, they are also supposed to be complementary and non-competing groups.…”

“…Not surprisingly, it was in the cultural and domestic spheres that caste has proved strongest. Endogamy, or the practice of marrying within the caste, remained largely unaffected by modernisation and change. Even today, most marriages take place within caste boundaries”