Common features of the caste-system include (A) Equalities within the…

Common features of the caste-system include

(A) Equalities within the same caste members
(B) Social mobility
(C) Occupational link
(D) Sub-divisions
(E) Hierarchical arrangement

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

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

(A) Equalities within the same caste members Correct. Every caste has a specified place in the hierarchy of all castes, so all the members of one caste share that one rank and status in relation to other castes. In this sense they stand as equals within their caste.

(B) Social mobility Incorrect. Caste is determined by birth: a child is born into the caste of its parents, and one can never change one’s caste, leave it or choose not to join it. Occupations, too, were hereditary. A system so fixed by birth allows no movement up or down, so social mobility is not a feature of caste.

(C) Occupational link Correct. Castes were traditionally linked to occupations: a person born into a caste could practise only the occupation tied to it, and that occupation was closed to members of other castes.

(D) Sub-divisions Correct. Castes almost always have sub-castes, and sub-castes may have sub-sub-castes. This is called a segmental organisation.

(E) Hierarchical arrangement Correct. Caste is a system of many castes arranged in a hierarchy of rank and status. The position of a caste may vary from region to region, but there is always a hierarchy.

Note: NCERT lists birth, rules of marriage, rules of food and food-sharing, hierarchy, sub-divisions and occupation as the defining features of caste; statement (A), ‘equalities within the same caste members’, is not among them. The answer is as per the NTA answer key.

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.…”