Which reason has affected the caste segregated patterns of social interaction to survive?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Urbanisation
Option (1) Endogamy — Incorrect. Caste groups are ‘endogamous’: marriage is restricted to members of the group. Endogamy is one of the rules that keep castes apart, so it helps segregation survive rather than weakening it.
Option (2) Hierarchy — Incorrect. Hierarchy means that castes are ranked from highest to lowest. This ranking is the basis of caste separation; it does not break it down.
Option (3) Notion of purity and pollution — Incorrect. The ritual scale of purity and pollution decides who may touch, eat with or come near whom. It is the very idea behind keeping castes segregated.
Option (4) Urbanisation — Correct. Urbanisation is the growth of towns and cities. Modern industry created new jobs for which there were no caste rules, and urbanisation and the conditions of collective living in the cities made it difficult for the caste-segregated patterns of social interaction to survive: in crowded cities, people of different castes share streets, transport and workplaces.
NCERT (2025-26): “The development activity of the state and the growth of private industry also affected caste indirectly through the speeding up and intensification of economic change. Modern industry created all kinds of new jobs for which there were no caste rules. Urbanisation and the conditions of collective living in the cities made it difficult for the caste-segregated Sri Narayana Guru, born in Kerala, patterns of social interaction to survive.…” |