In a village in Karnataka, a sociologist meets members of a caste group that has recently become wealthier through the grain trade. Over two generations the group has given up eating meat and drinking liquor, taken the names of a culturally high-placed caste, hired priests for elaborate rites, and begun to follow that caste's rules on food and marriage. Older members say they hope neighbouring villages will now treat them as a higher caste. The sociologist records the change and turns to the book to place the process in time and to weigh what its critics say.
Which of the following correctly places the process seen in the passage in relation to colonial rule?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → It existed before the coming of colonial rule to India.
Option (1) It existed before the coming of colonial rule to India. — Correct. The group in the passage takes up the names, food rules and rites of a high-placed caste to rise in status. This is sanskritisation, and it pre-dates the coming of colonial rule to India.
Option (2) It arose as a response to the changes colonialism brought about. — Incorrect. This fits the other three processes: modernisation, secularisation and westernisation. They are seen as responses of Indians to colonial changes. Sanskritisation is older than colonial rule.
Option (3) It arose from over 150 years of British rule in India. — Incorrect. The phrase 'over 150 years of British rule' comes from M.N. Srinivas's definition of westernisation. That process covers changes in technology, institutions, ideology and values under British rule, and caste imitation of this kind is far older.
Option (4) It arose with the Backward Classes Movement of the twentieth century. — Incorrect. The Backward Classes Movement worked against this trend. It stressed secular factors in caste mobility, and dominant castes no longer wished to pass for Brahmins or Kshatriyas.
NCERT (2026-27): “Cultural Change … |