In regions where non-Sanskritic caste are dominant and their influence is stronger, the process is termed as ______.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → De-Sanskritisation
Option (1) Sanskritisation — Incorrect. Sanskritisation is the process by which a ‘low’ caste, tribe or other group takes over the customs, ritual and style of life of a high, in particular a ‘twice-born’, caste. Where a highly Sanskritised caste was dominant, the whole region did become somewhat Sanskritised. The question describes the opposite case, where the non-Sanskritic castes were dominant.
Option (2) De-Brahminisation — Incorrect. ‘De-’ means undoing, so the name suggests turning away from Brahmin customs. It is not the name of the process the question describes, which is measured against Sanskritic culture as a whole, not against the Brahmins alone.
Option (3) Brahminisation — Incorrect. Brahminisation means taking up the customs of the Brahmins, a movement towards high-caste ways. The question describes a region where the influence ran the other way, from the non-Sanskritic castes.
Option (4) De-Sanskritisation — Correct. Sanskritisation worked differently in different regions. In regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were dominant, it was their influence that was stronger, and this is termed the process of ‘de-Sanskritisation’.
Note: The terms in Option (2) and Option (3), ‘De-Brahminisation’ and ‘Brahminisation’, are not in NCERT (2025-26); they have been explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.3 Different Kinds of Social Change … It is primarily a process that takes place within the Hindu space though Srinivas argued that it was visible even in sects and religious groups outside Hinduism. Studies of different areas, however, show that it operated differently in different parts of the country. In those areas where a highly Sanskritised caste was dominant, the culture of the entire region underwent a certain amount of Sanskritisation. 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’. There were other regional variations too.…” |