Sheetal’s family decided that they should take the help of professional marriage bureaus and websites to find a groom for a fee. This will also allow them a wider choice and reach out to NRIs too. Such cultural changes is an outcome of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Commodification
Option (1) Commodification — Correct. Commodification means that things which were not part of market exchange become things bought and sold. Marriages were traditionally arranged by families; now professional marriage bureaus and websites help find brides and grooms for a fee. Sheetal’s family paying a bureau to find a groom is this change.
Option (2) Westernisation — Incorrect. Westernisation means the changes in Indian society and culture brought by British rule, in technology, institutions, ideology and values. The case is not about copying western ways but about paying a market service.
Option (3) Liberalisation — Incorrect. Liberalisation is a government policy of removing controls on the economy. A family hiring a marriage bureau is a change in social life, not a state policy.
Option (4) Sanskritisation — Incorrect. Sanskritisation is a lower caste taking over the customs and rituals of a higher caste. Using a paid bureau has nothing to do with copying a higher caste.
NCERT (2025-26): “Commoditisation and Consumption … In contemporary India, we can observe that things or processes that earlier were not part of market exchange become commodified. For example, traditionally, marriages were arranged by families, but now there are professional marriage bureaus and websites that help people to find brides and grooms for a fee.…” |