On what grounds can the claim be made that sanskritisation leads to adoption of upper caste rites and rituals?
A. It is inclusive of girls and women
B. Avoids bride price
C. Promotes dowry practices
D. Does not practice caste discrimination.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → B and C only
A. It is inclusive of girls and women Incorrect. Sanskritisation means adopting the rites and rituals of the upper castes, and these lead to practices of secluding girls and women. It shuts women in rather than including them.
B. Avoids bride price Correct. Groups that sanskritise give up bride-price, where the groom’s family pays the bride’s family, and adopt dowry practices instead of bride-price.
C. Promotes dowry practices Correct. This is the other side of the same change: copying the upper castes means adopting dowry practices.
D. Does not practice caste discrimination. Incorrect. Sanskritisation leads to practising caste discrimination against other groups, since it accepts the upper caste ideas of purity and pollution as superior.
NCERT (2025-26): “Sanskritisation … Fourth, since sanskritisation results in the adoption of upper caste rites and rituals it leads to practices of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry practices instead of bride-price and practising caste discrimination against other groups, etc. Fifth, the effect of such a trend is that the key characteristics of dalit culture and society are eroded. For example the very worth of labour which ‘lower castes’ do is degraded and rendered ‘shameful’.…” |