The term requiring the individual to marry outside of his/her group.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Exogamy
Option (1) Exogamy — Correct. Exogamy is the rule that a person must marry outside his or her own group. It is the opposite of endogamy, which keeps marriage inside the group.
Option (2) Endogamy — Incorrect. Endogamy is the opposite rule: marriage restricted to members of one’s own group. Caste groups are ‘endogamous’, since caste membership involves strict rules about marriage.
Option (3) Monogamy — Incorrect. Monogamy is marriage to only one spouse at a time. It is about the number of spouses, not about the group from which one marries.
Option (4) Polygamy — Incorrect. Polygamy is marriage to more than one spouse at the same time; Muslim social reformers debated its meaning, and a resolution against the evils of polygamy was proposed at the All India Muslim Ladies Conference. It too concerns the number of spouses.
Note: The concepts in Option (1), ‘Exogamy’, and Option (3), ‘Monogamy’, are not in NCERT (2025-26); explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “3.1 Caste and the Caste System … The most commonly cited defining features of caste are the following:
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