Match the Author/Idea in List I with the explanations in List II:
| LIST-I (Author/Idea) | LIST-II (Explanation) | ||
| A. | Generation Gap | I. | American sociologist |
| B. | C.W. Mills | II. | Instrument of division and injustice |
| C. | Reflexivity | III. | Friction between older and younger generation |
| D. | Caste system | IV. | Look at yourself from outside |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A-III, B-I, C-IV, D-II
(A) Generation Gap — this matches (III) Friction between older and younger generation. The ‘generation gap’, the friction between older and younger generations, is a social issue, common to many societies and many time periods, not one person’s private worry.
(B) C.W. Mills — this matches (I) American sociologist. C. Wright Mills, a well-known American sociologist, wrote that sociology helps us map the links between ‘personal troubles’ and ‘social issues’.
(C) Reflexivity — this matches (IV) Look at yourself from outside. Sociology can teach you how to look at yourself ‘from the outside’; this ability to turn your gaze back on yourself, critically, is called self-reflexivity or reflexivity.
(D) Caste system — this matches (II) Instrument of division and injustice. The caste system is notorious as an instrument of division and injustice, and the state and the oppressed castes have tried to reform or even abolish it.
Note: The sentence that gives the ‘generation gap’ as an example of a social issue, in the chapter ‘Introducing Indian Society’, was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023. It has been deleted from the NCERT book (2025-26), though the chapter and its passage on C. Wright Mills’ ‘personal troubles’ and ‘social issues’ are still there.
NCERT (2025-26): “…But sociology can do more than simply help to locate you or others in this simple sense of describing the places of different social groups. As C.Wright Mills, a well-known American sociologist has written, sociology can help you to map the links and connections between ‘personal troubles’ and ‘social issues’.…” “What may be of even more interest to you is that sociology can show you what you look like to others; it can teach you how to look at yourself ‘from the outside’, so to speak. This is called ‘self-reflexivity’, or sometimes just reflexivity. This is the ability to reflect upon yourself, to turn back your gaze (which is usually…” “…Notorious as an instrument of division and injustice, the caste system has been the object of concerted attempts by the state and by the oppressed castes to reform or even abolish it.…” NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “…A social issue, on the other hand, is about large groups and not about the individuals who make them up. Thus, the ‘generation gap’ or friction between older and younger generations is a social phenomenon, common to many societies and many time periods. Unemployment or the effects of a changing occupational structure is also a societal issue, that concerns millions of different kinds of people.…” |