Farhan, a software engineer from a minority community, moves to a large city for a new job with a high salary. He visits several flats in a middle class colony. Each time, after hearing his name, the house owners say the flat is no longer available, yet later rent it to tenants who earn less than he does. At his office, his colleague Ramesh tells everyone, without ever having worked with them, that people of his own caste make the best managers and are naturally more capable than people of other castes.
Ramesh's view about the people of his own caste is best described as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A positive prejudice
Option (1) A positive prejudice — Correct. Ramesh believes people of his own caste are better than others without any evidence, since he has never worked with the people he judges. A prejudice is an opinion formed before any evidence, and when it favours one's own group it is a positive prejudice.
Option (2) Discrimination — Incorrect. Discrimination is actual behaviour that keeps a group out of opportunities open to others. Ramesh only states an opinion and does nothing against anyone, so his view is an attitude and not an act.
Option (3) Social exclusion — Incorrect. Social exclusion is the way individuals or groups are cut off from full involvement in wider society through its structural features. Ramesh's remark is a personal opinion and shuts no one out of services or opportunities.
Option (4) Social capital — Incorrect. Social capital is the network of contacts and group ties that a person can use to gain benefits. Ramesh's belief is a judgement about the worth of a caste and involves no use of such ties.
NCERT (2026-27): “Social Inequality … |