The intermediate castes became the dominant caste in the countryside as a result of :
(A) Land reforms that took away rights from absent landlords
(B) By acquiring considerable economic power
(C) By the process of desanskritisation
(D) By growing political power due to their large numbers.
(E) By marrying its higher castes
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B), (D) only
(A) Land reforms that took away rights from absent landlords Correct. The partial land reforms after Independence took away rights from the upper castes who were ‘absentee landlords’, claiming rent but playing no part in farming. These rights came to be vested in the intermediate castes who managed agriculture.
(B) By acquiring considerable economic power Correct. Once they got land rights, the intermediate castes acquired considerable economic power.
(C) By the process of desanskritisation Incorrect. De-Sanskritisation is the process seen in regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were dominant and their influence on the region’s culture was stronger. It describes cultural influence, not the way the intermediate castes gained land and power.
(D) By growing political power due to their large numbers. Correct. Their large numbers also gave them political power in the era of electoral democracy based on universal adult franchise.
(E) By marrying its higher castes Incorrect. Castes are endogamous: marriage is restricted to members of the same caste. The intermediate castes rose through land, money and votes, not through marriage.
NCERT (2025-26): “…The land reforms took away rights from the erstwhile claimants, the upper castes who were ‘absentee landlords’ in the sense that they played no part in the agricultural economy other than claiming their rent. They frequently did not live in the village either, but were based in towns and cities. These land rights now came to be vested in the next layer of claimants, those who were involved in the management of agriculture but were not themselves the cultivators. These intermediate castes in turn depended on the labour of the lower castes including specially the ‘untouchable’ castes for tilling and tending the land. However, once they got land rights, they acquired considerable economic power. Their large numbers also gave them political power in the era of electoral democracy based on universal adult franchise. Thus, these intermediate castes became the ‘dominant’ castes in the country side and played a decisive role in regional politics and the agrarian economy.…” “…In regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were dominant, it was their influence that was stronger. This can be termed the process of ‘de-Sanskritisation’.…” |