Read the passage and answer the following question.
Regionalism in India is rooted in India's diversity of languages, cultures, tribes and religions. It is also encouraged by the geographical concentration of these identity workers in particular regions and fuelled by a sense of regional deprivation. Indian federalism has been a means of accommodating these regional sentiments.
After independence, initially the Indian state continued with the British-Indian arrangement, dividing India into large provinces, also called 'presidencies'. These were large multi-ethnic and multilingual provincial states constituting the major political-administrative units of a semi-federal state called the Union of India. Language coupled with regional and tribal identity - and not religion - has therefore provided the most powerful instrument for the formation of ethno-national identity in India.
Which of the following cultural markers is not responsible for regionalism in India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Caste
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, the question can have more than one correct answer, i.e. both Option (2) and Option (3), as explained below.
Option (1) Tribe — Responsible (Incorrect). Regionalism is rooted in India’s diversity of languages, cultures, tribes and religions. Tribal identity, together with language and region, has been a strong base of regional and ethno-national feeling.
Option (2) Caste — Not responsible (Correct as per NTA). The passage names four markers behind regionalism: languages, cultures, tribes and religions. Caste is not one of them. Castes are spread across every region of the country, so caste does not mark out one region from another the way a language or a tribal identity does.
Option (3) Religion — Not responsible (Can also be considered correct). The passage’s last sentence says that language coupled with regional and tribal identity, ‘and not religion’, has provided the most powerful instrument for the formation of ethno-national identity in India. Read by this sentence, religion is ruled out as the marker behind regional identity, although the first sentence lists religions among the roots of regionalism.
Option (4) Language — Responsible (Incorrect). Language is the strongest of these markers: language coupled with regional and tribal identity has provided the most powerful instrument for the formation of ethno-national identity in India.
Tip for students: When two options seem to fit a ‘not’ question, prefer the one the passage never mentions at all. Caste does not appear anywhere in the passage, while religion is at least named among the roots of regionalism.
NCERT (2025-26): “6.2 Regionalism in the Indian Context … Regionalism in India is rooted in India’s diversity of languages, cultures, tribes, and religions. It is also encouraged by the geographical concentration of these identity markers in particular regions, and fuelled by a sense of regional deprivation. Indian federalism has been a means of accommodating these regional sentiments (Bhattacharyya 2005). After Independence, initially the Indian state continued with the British-Indian arrangement dividing India into large provinces, also called ‘presidencies’. (Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta were the three major presidencies; incidentally, all three cities after which the presidencies were named have changed their names recently). These were large multi-ethnic and multilingual provincial states constituting the major political-administrative units of a semi-federal state called the Union of India.…” “…Language coupled with regional and tribal identity – and not religion – has therefore provided the most powerful instrument for the formation of ethno-national identity in India.…” |