The most commonly cited features of caste are: A. Caste groups are ex…

The most commonly cited features of caste are:

A. Caste groups are exogamous
B. Caste is determined by birth
C. Caste was traditionally linked to financial status
D. Caste is arranged in the hierarchy of rank and status
E. Caste involves rules of food and food-sharing

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → B, D, E only

A. Caste groups are exogamous Incorrect. Caste groups are ‘endogamous’: marriage is restricted to members of the group. Exogamy, marrying outside the group, is the opposite rule.

B. Caste is determined by birth Correct. A child is ‘born into’ the caste of its parents. Caste is never a matter of choice: one can never change one’s caste, leave it or choose not to join it.

C. Caste was traditionally linked to financial status Incorrect. Castes were traditionally linked to occupations: a person born into a caste could only practise the occupation associated with that caste. The traditional link was to the work one did, not to how much money one had.

D. Caste is arranged in the hierarchy of rank and status Correct. Caste involves a system of many castes arranged in a hierarchy of rank and status; the place of a caste may vary from region to region, but there is always a hierarchy.

E. Caste involves rules of food and food-sharing Correct. Caste membership involves rules about food and food-sharing: what food may or may not be eaten, and with whom one may share food.

Note: The term in statement A, ‘exogamous’ (exogamy), is not in NCERT (2025-26); explained here for the benefit of the students.

NCERT (2025-26): “3.1 Caste and the Caste System … The most commonly cited defining features of caste are the following:

1. Caste is determined by birth – a child is ‘born into’ the caste of its parents. Caste is never a matter of choice. One can never change one’s caste, leave it, or choose not to join it, although there are instances where a person may be expelled from their caste.…
2. Membership in a caste involves strict rules about marriage. Caste groups are ‘endogamous’, i.e. marriage is restricted to members of the group.
3. Caste membership also involves rules about food and food-sharing. What kinds of food may or may not be eaten is prescribed and who one may share food with is also specified.
4. Caste involves a system consisting of many castes arranged in a hierarchy of rank and status. In theory, every person has a caste, and every caste has a specified place in the hierarchy of all castes. While the hierarchical position of many castes, particularly in the middle ranks, may vary from region to region, there is always a hierarchy.
5. Castes also involve sub-divisions within themselves, i.e., castes almost always have sub-castes and sometimes sub-castes may also have sub-castes. This is referred to as a segmental organisation.
6. Castes were traditionally linked to occupations. A person born into a caste could only practice the occupation associated with that caste, so that occupations were hereditary, i.e. passed on from generation to generation.”