M.N. Srinivas termed the major landowning castes of a region dominant castes. In official classification, most marginal farmers and landless labourers in such regions belong to which groups?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes
Option (1) Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Economically Weaker Sections — Incorrect. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes fit, but Economically Weaker Sections is an income-based category. The third official group for these lower caste farmers and labourers is the Other Backward Classes.
Option (2) Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes or Minority Communities — Incorrect. Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes fit, but Minority Communities is a grouping by religion. The missing official group for the landless poor is the Scheduled Tribes.
Option (3) Other Backward Classes, Economically Weaker Sections or Minority Communities — Incorrect. Only Other Backward Classes fits here. Economically Weaker Sections is an income category and Minority Communities a religious one; the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are left out.
Option (4) Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes — Correct. Dominant castes are the one or two numerically strong landowning castes of a region. Most marginal farmers and landless workers come from lower caste groups, which official classification places among the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes.
NCERT (2026-27): “4.1 Agrarian Structure: Caste and Class in Rural India … “While dominant landowning groups are usually middle or high ranked castes, most of the marginal farmers and landless belong to lower caste groups. In official classification they belong to the Scheduled Castes or Tribes (SC/STs) or Other Backward Classes (OBCs). …” |