Meena and her brother Arjun grew up in a Telugu-speaking family in a small town. Meena is now an architect and Arjun a doctor in a city hospital. Both still speak their mother tongue at home and join every family festival. Last year the state government announced special hostel seats for students of a group that had long faced discrimination in schooling. Several other groups in the town held protests, calling the scheme unfair to their own children.
Which of the following memberships of Meena and Arjun is NOT ascriptive in nature?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Their membership of their present professions
Option (1) Their membership of their present professions — Correct. Not ascriptive. Professions are entered by passing exams and showing competence, as doctors and architects do. Meena and Arjun earned these memberships, so they are achieved and not given by birth.
Option (2) Their membership of their parents' Telugu-speaking community — Incorrect. Ascriptive. They were born into the Telugu-speaking community and did nothing to join it. Such membership comes with birth and involves no choice.
Option (3) Their membership of the family they were born into — Incorrect. Ascriptive. No one chooses the family they are born into. Family membership is fixed at birth, so it is ascriptive.
Option (4) Their membership of the regional community of their town — Incorrect. Ascriptive. Membership of a regional community comes from where one is born. It needs no test or skill, so it is ascriptive.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.1 The Importance of Community Identity … |