Assertion: In the traditional caste system, a person born into a caste was expected to practise the occupation traditionally associated with that caste.

Reason: A particular occupation could only be pursued by the caste associated with it –members of other castes could not enter the occupation.

Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A

The correct answer is Option 2: Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A

Assertion:A person born into a caste could only practice the occupation associated with that caste. Correct. In the traditional caste system, occupations were closely linked with caste membership. Each caste had a customary occupation, and occupational mobility was, in principle, restricted.

Reason:A particular occupation could only be pursued by the caste associated with it – members of other castes could not enter the occupation. Correct. The traditional caste system assigned specific occupations to particular castes and did not permit members of other castes to take up those occupations. This restriction on occupational mobility was a defining feature of the caste system as a social division of labour.

Does the Reason explains the Assertion? The Reason does not correctly explain the Assertion because it simply expresses the same occupational restriction from the perspective of the occupation rather than the individual. It does not explain why individuals were confined to their caste occupations; instead, it restates the same principle in different words. Therefore, although both statements are true, the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.

NCERT: Castes were traditionally linked to occupations. A person born into a caste could only practice the occupation associated with that caste, so that occupations were hereditary, i.e. passed on from generation to generation. On the other hand, a particular occupation could only be pursued by the caste associated with it –members of other castes could not enter the occupation.