Which of the following statements are correct?
(A) Castes at the bottom of the hierarchy that suffered severe discrimination were included among the Scheduled Castes.
(B) The Government of India Act of 1935 gave legal recognition to lists of castes marked out for special treatment.
(C) The downtrodden castes were then referred to as the backward classes.
(D) The term Scheduled Castes came from lists or schedules marked out for special treatment.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and D only
(A) Castes at the bottom of the hierarchy that suffered severe discrimination were included among the Scheduled Castes. — Correct. Castes at the bottom of the hierarchy that faced severe discrimination, including all the so-called untouchable castes, were placed among the Scheduled Castes.
(B) The Government of India Act of 1935 gave legal recognition to lists of castes marked out for special treatment. — Correct. The 1935 Act gave legal recognition to lists or schedules of castes and tribes that the state marked out for special treatment.
(C) The downtrodden castes were then referred to as the backward classes. — Incorrect. At that time the downtrodden castes were called the depressed classes. Backward classes is a different category.
(D) The term Scheduled Castes came from lists or schedules marked out for special treatment. — Correct. The terms Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes came from these legal schedules of groups marked out for special treatment by the state.
NCERT (2026-27): “Colonialism and Caste … |