2019 ShankarIAS Sociology Optional Test Series (Upscpdf - Com) PDF

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SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL TEST SERIES – BATCH 1 for Mains 2019 – Thursdays

Test Discussion PAPER I PAPER II
Date Test Time
No Time Units Detailed Portions Units Detailed Portions
# 13.06.19 # 2 to 8 pm Revision Class 1 : Orientation and Old Question Discussion for Portions of Test 1,2,3
Sociology - The Discipline

Sociology as Science
1 20.06.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 1,2,3 Nil
Research Methods &
Analysis
A (i), A (ii), Perspectives on the Study of

B(i) , B(iii) Indian Society
Impact of Colonial rule on
2 27.06.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm Nil Indian Society
Rural and Agrarian Social
structure
Tribal Communities in India
Rural and Agrarian Social

Transformation in India
C(ii), C (iii),
3 04.07.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 6 Work and Economic life Industrialisation and
C(vi)
Urbanisation in India
Population Dynamics
# 11.07.19 # 2 to 8 pm Revision Class 2 : Orientation and Old Question Discussion for Portions of Test 4,5,6
4 18.07.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 4 Sociological Thinkers Nil
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Caste System
5 25.07.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 5 Social Stratification B (ii), B(iv)
Social Classes in India
Politics and Society in India

Politics and Society || C (iv), C (v), Social Movements in Modern
6 01.08.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 7, 8
Religion and Society B(vi) India
Religion and Society In India
Revision Class 3 : Orientation and Old Question Discussion for Portions of Test 7 and
# 16.08.19 Friday 2 to 8 pm
Spill Over Portions
Systems of Kinship B (v), Systems of Kinship in India

C(i), C(vii) Visions of Social Change in
7 22.08.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 9,10 Social Change in Modern India
Society Challenges of Social
Transformation
8 9 am to 12 Full Test on Paper I

29.08.19 12:30 to 2 pm Nil
noon
9 05.09.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm Nil Full Test on Paper II
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10&11 10.09.19 #
time
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Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key
SOCIOLOGY TEST 1 - 2019

KEY
Q.1 Write short notes on the following: (Each note should not exceed 150
words) (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) What are the criteria used for evaluating the soundness of a qualitative
research? (10 Marks)
Soundness of qualitative method
• Validity
• Reliability
• Credibility
• Transferability
• Dependability
• Confirmability
(b) Many claim that Sociology is nothing but the application of common
sense. Do you agree? (10 Marks)
Sociology - application of common sense
• Not an application of common sense
• [BROWN]sociological thinking is different from common sense ; it
encourages thoughts and ideas that are levels higher than individuals’
personal experiences.
• [BAUMAN&MAY]both dependent on each other
• [NAGEL]sociological science can’t be levelled with common sense.
• Sociology ,views and analyse the social world from an objective stand point;
• Common sense - individual’s subjective experiences and therefore common
sense can’t be considered as science .
(c) What are the limitations of surveys that use standardized questions?
(10 Marks)
Limitations of survey method
• Interpretivism
➢ Lacks empathy
➢ No in depth analysis
• Validity
➢ Imposition problem – researcher chooses the questions and deciding
what is important than the respondent
1
• Practicality
➢ Low response rate e.g. due to illiteracy, paucity of time or high
response rate at times
• Ethics
➢ Too cold for sensitive topics
➢ Reflects ideology of researcher
• Limited access to the population concerned
• Lack of time to carry out the survey
• Heterogeneity of population not addressed
• Passive and not one to one interaction
• Sampling bias/ coder bias/ analysis bias
(d) Provide a note on the history of Indian Sociology. (10 Marks)

History of Indian sociology
• Started with British civil servants to understand Indian customs
• Studies of Ghurye, M N Srinivas etc
Social Anthropology
➢ Classical functionalism
➢ Structural functionalism -village studies of M N Srinivas
Marxist school
➢ A R Desai
➢ Feminist school
➢ Sub altern
➢ Yogendra Singh
• Shift in approach from functional to conflict viewpoint. E.g. Comparative
studies of social structure across space and time.
• Emergence of sociologists of medicine, law.
• Studying various processes . E.g. concern for equality and distributive
justice, process of education to act as an agent of social change.
(e) Examine the relationship between Sociology and Economics.

(10 Marks)
Relationship between sociology and economics
• Earlier sociology beneficiary of economics
• Later symbiotic relationship e.g. behavioural economics
• Not a dialectical relationship at anytime
2
• [MARX] Forces and relations of production. Eg HDI measurement

• [DURKHEIM] Division of labour
• [WEBER] Link between religion and capitalism
Q.2 (a) There is a constant feedback loop between sociological research and
human behavior; one informs the other. All research involving humans
can pose ethical dilemmas. Illustrate with suitable examples.
(20 Marks)
Sociological research and human behaviour
• Symbolic interactionism
• Phenomenology
• Interpretative sociology
Ethical dilemmas
• Problem in observation
• Problem in experimentation
• Problem in testing
• Problem in quantification
(b) Examine the relevance of Marxist school of thought in contemporary

times. (20 Marks)
Relevance of Marxism
• Marxist school
➢ Human psyche
➢ Dialectically opposite to functionalism
Relevant
• Class based global society e.g. N-N vs S-S
• Capitalism e.g. transnational corporations – Monsanto
• Bank bail outs – still economic power dominates
• Ideological control e.g. new colonialism
• Alienation of work and land e.g. automation, software
• Economic crises in capitalist system e.g. in 2008 global crises, less global
economic growth in last 5 years, brexit
• Demographic transition theory – population changes as per economic
development of nation e.g. India is in 3 rd stage at present
• As political parties ideology
Partially relevant
• Change of people’s voting behaviour e.g. from entire state to single
constituency of azhapuzha in Kerala elections
• Rise of capitalism in communist China
• Religion also acts as superstructure e.g. Protestant ethics
3
(c) Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative methods of data

collection. (10 Marks)
Qualitative and quantitative methods differences
• Qualitative
➢ Captures subjectivity
➢ Non – positivistic research
➢ No definite conclusion
➢ Consumes more time
➢ Hypothesis during or after research
• Quantitative
➢ Objective in nature
➢ Positivistic research
➢ Definite conclusion
➢ Consumes less timing
➢ Hypothesis created first and research is done
Q.3 (a) Analyse how Sociology as a discipline was born out of the attempt to
understand the transformations that seemed to threaten the stability
of society. (20 Marks)
Sociology as a discipline evolved as a result of
• Commercial revolution
• Scientific revolution and the renaissance period
• French revolution
• Intellectual revolution
➢ People’s ideas - rationality
• Industrial revolution
➢ Institutions- religion, family , marriage , kinship
➢ Migration
➢ Primitive to modern stratification
➢ Mill girls – feminisation of labour
➢ Change in education pattern
(b) Differentiate between macro and micro sociological perspectives and

explain in detail using any one research methodology for each
perspective. (20 Marks)
Macro Sociology
• Analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level
of social structure
• Methods– e.g. functionalist theory of Talcott Parsons
4
Micro sociology
• Focuses on the individual social agency
• Methods – e.g. symbolic interactionism of G H Mead
Differences in perspectives
• In techniques of data collection
• School of thought
• Research methods
(c) What is a hypothesis? Develop and evaluate a hypothesis on corruption

present in Indian society. (10 Marks)
Hypothesis
• Definition of [HENRY KIRLENGER]
• Types of hypothesis
E.g. Poverty breeds corruption – poverty , corruption are dependent
variables
words) (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Clarify on the standard sequential steps followed in the Sociological
research process. (10 Marks)
Steps in sociological research process
• Literature study
• Identification of study area
• Data collection
• Hypothesis Source Channel
• Experimentation
https://t.me/UPSC_MainsTe
• Data analysis
sts
• Report
• Publish
(b) What is Ethnography? How can Ethnography be put to utility in

sociological research? (10 Marks)
Ethnography in sociology
• [MALINOWSKI’s] definition
Utility in research
• Social planning
• Settlement patterns
• To analyse xenophobia
• Culture of a particular group of people e.g. assimilation
• For formal and informal interviews
• Participant observation
• Collecting texts and images
(c) How is sociology a general science of society and specialised

discipline”? (10 Marks)
Sociology as a general science of society
• Scope of subject
➢ Synthetic school of thought (inclusive) – by Comte , Max Weber
E.g.
• Social action – Max Weber
• Interactions – Gillin and Gillin
• Social relationships- A W Green
• Social groups – M Johnson
• Social institutions- Durkheim
• Human relationships – George simmel
• Systematic study of human society – Macionis
Sociology as a specialised discipline
➢ Formalistic school of thought (exclusive)– by George Simmel,
Ferdinand Tonnies
(d) What is value free sociology? (10 Marks)

Value free sociology
• [WEBER] moving out of positivism towards subjectivity
• Once a concept is generated objectivity is possible
• To fulfil the basic value of scientific enquiry
• [ALVIN GOULDNER] enhances the autonomy of sociology
• [COMTE] sociology to pursue its own theoretical implications
• Contributes to the intellectual growth
• Free from local or native culture
E.g. Rain dance of hopi Americans, Durkheim’s study of suicide
6
(e) When asked to compare Sociology and Psychology, G.H. Mead made an
analogy about studying the trees or the forest to compare sociology and
individual human behavior. What do you think? (10 Marks)
G H Mead’s trees vs forests concept - Study of psychology vs sociology

• Psychology
➢ Focuses on the individual to understand human behaviour, social
and emotional reactions.
E.g. symbolic interactionism, phenomenology.
➢ Study of suicide by Atkinson, Durkheim
➢ Helps in identity formation
• Sociology
➢ Deals with the collective or society through specific associations
like family, race or religion.
E.g. functionalism, conflict theory.
➢ Village studies by M N Srinivas
Q.5 (a) What is sampling? Distinguish between random and non random
sampling techniques. (20 Marks)
Sampling
• Quantitative method
• Types
Differences
• Kinds of sample
• Size of sample
• Frequency of sampling
• Probability of sampling
(b) What are the salient features of positivism? How was positivism
critiqued? (20 Marks)
Salient features of positivism
• Believes in unity of method
• Celebrates objectivity and value neutrality
• Gives universal character to the discipline
• A formal and organized body of language
7
• Strives for abstraction and generalisation

• Used for social engineering
Critiques
• Not applicable in the domain of human society
• Undermines creativity’s & agency of social actors
• Ethical neutrality separates it from moral issues
• Post modernists – it loses its cognitive power and legitimacy
(c) Provide a note on Phenomenology. (10 Marks)

Phenomenology
• Social phenomenon interpreted with meanings
• Gives multiple reasons
• Uses ethno methodology to study
• Alfred Schtuz, Peter Berger, Harold Garfinkel opinions

@UPSC_MainsTests
1. A) Soundness of qualitative method
• Validity
• Reliability
• Credibility
• Transferability
• Dependability
• Confirmability
B) Sociology - application of common sense

• Not an application of common sense
• [BROWN ]sociological thinking is different from common sense ; it encourages

thoughts and ideas that are levels higher than individuals’ personal experiences.
• [BAUMAN&MAY]both dependent on each other
• [NAGEL ]sociological science can’t be levelled with common sense.
• Sociology ,views and analyse the social world from an objective stand point;
• common sense - individual’s subjective experiences and therefore common sense

can’t be considered as science .
C) Limitations of survey method

• Interpretivism
➢ Lacks empathy
➢ No in depth analysis
• Validity
➢ Imposition problem – researcher chooses the questions and deciding what is
important than the respondent
• Practicality
➢ Low response rate e.g. due to illiteracy, paucity of time or high response rate at
times
• Ethics
➢ Too cold for sensitive topics
➢ Reflects ideology of researcher
• Limited access to the population concerned
• Lack of time to carry out the survey
• Heterogeneity of population not addressed
• Passive and not one to one interaction
• Sampling bias/ coder bias/ analysis bias
D) History of Indian sociology

• Started with British civil servants to understand Indian customs
• Studies of Ghurye, M N Srinivas etc
Social Anthropology
➢ Classical functionalism
➢ Structural functionalism -village studies of M N Srinivas
Marxist school
➢ A R Desai
➢ Feminist school
➢ Sub altern
➢ Yogendra Singh
• Shift in approach from functional to conflict viewpoint. E.g. Comparative studies of

social structure across space and time .
• Emergence of sociologists of medicine, law .
• Studying various processes . E.g. concern for equality and distributive justice,
process of education to act as an agent of social change .
E) Relationship between sociology and economics

• Earlier sociology beneficiary of economics
• Later symbiotic relationship e.g. behavioural economics
• Not a dialectical relationship at anytime
• [MARX] Forces and relations of production
Eg HDI measurement
• [DURKHEIM] Division of labour
• [WEBER] Link between religion and capitalism
2. A) Sociologicalresearch and human behaviour

• Symbolic interactionism
• Phenomenology
• Interpretative sociology
Ethical dilemmas
• Problem in observation
• Problem in experimentation
• Problem in testing
• Problem in quantification
B) Relevance of Marxism
• Marxist school
➢ Human psyche
➢ Dialectically opposite to functionalism
Relevant
• Class based global society e.g. N-N vs S-S
• Capitalism e.g. transnational corporations – Monsanto
• Bank bail outs – still economic power dominates
• Ideological control e.g. new colonialism
• Alienation of work and land e.g. automation , software
• Economic crises in capitalist system e.g. in 2008 global crises, less global economic
growth in last 5 years , brexit
• Demographic transition theory – population changes as per economic development
of nation e.g. India is in 3 rd stage at present
• As political parties ideology
Partially relevant
• Change of people’s voting behaviour e.g. from entire state to single constituency of
azhapuzha in Kerala elections
• Rise of capitalism in communist China
• Religion also acts as superstructure e.g. Protestant ethics
C) Qualitative and quantitative methods differences

• Qualitative
➢ Captures subjectivity
➢ Non – positivistic research
➢ No definite conclusion
➢ Consumes more time Source Channel
➢ Hypothesis during or after research
• Quantitative sts
➢ Objective in nature
➢ Positivistic research
➢ Definite conclusion
➢ Consumes less timing
➢ Hypothesis created first and research is done
3. A) Sociology as a discipline evolved as a result of

• Commercial revolution
• Scientific revolution and the renaissance period
• French revolution
• Intellectual revolution
➢ People’s ideas - rationality
• Industrial revolution
➢ Institutions- religion, family , marriage , kinship
➢ Migration
➢ Primitive to modern stratification
➢ Mill girls – feminisation of labour
➢ Change in education pattern
B) Macro Sociology
• Analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale , at the level of social
structure
• Methods – e.g. functionalist theory of Talcott Parsons
Micro sociology
• Focuses on the individual social agency
• Methods – e.g. symbolic interactionism of G H Mead
Differences in perspectives
• In techniques of data collection
• School of thought
• Research methods
C) Hypothesis
• Definition of [HENRY KIRLENGER]
• Types of hypothesis
E.g. Poverty breeds corruption – poverty , corruption are dependent variables
4. A) Steps in sociological research process

• Literature study
• Identification of study area
• Data collection
• Hypothesis
• Experimentation
• Data analysis
• Report
• Publish
B) Ethnography in sociology
• [MALINOWSKI’s] definition
Utility in research
• Social planning
• Settlement patterns
• To analyse xenophobia
• Culture of a particular group of people e.g. assimilation
• For formal and informal interviews
• Participant observation
• Collecting texts and images
C) Sociology as a general science of society

➢ Synthetic school of thought (inclusive) – by Comte , Max Weber
E.g.
• Social action – Max Weber
• Interactions – Gillin and Gillin
• Social relationships- A W Green
• Social groups – M Johnson
• Social institutions- Durkheim
• Human relationships – George simmel
• Systematic study of human society – Macionis
Sociology as a specialised discipline

➢ Formalistic school of thought (exclusive)– by George Simmel , Ferdinand
Tonnies
D) Value free sociology

• [WEBER] moving out of positivism towards subjectivity
• Once a concept is generated objectivity is possible
• To fulfil the basic value of scientific enquiry
• [ALVIN GOULDNER] enhances the autonomy of sociology
• [COMTE] sociology to pursue its own theoretical implications
• Contributes to the intellectual growth
• Free from local or native culture
E.g. Rain dance ofhopi Americans , Durkheim’s study of suicide
E) G H Mead’s trees vs forests concept - Study of psychology vs sociology

• Psychology
➢ Focuses on the individual to understand human behaviour, social and
emotional reactions.
E.g. symbolic interactionism, phenomenology.
➢ Study of suicide by Atkinson , Durkheim
➢ Helps in identity formation
• Sociology
➢ Deals with the collective or society through specific associations like family ,
race or religion.
E.g. functionalism, conflict theory.
➢ Village studies by M N Srinivas
5. A) Sampling
• Quantitative method
• Types
Differences
• Kinds of sample
• Size of sample
• Frequency of sampling
• Probability of sampling
B) Salient features of positivism

• Believes in unity of method
• Celebrates objectivity and value neutrality
• Gives universal character to the discipline
• A formal and organized body of language
• Strives for abstraction and generalisation
• Used for social engineering
Critiques
• Not applicable in the domain of human society
• Undermines creativity’s &agency of social actors
• Ethical neutrality separates it from moral issues
• Post modernists – it loses its cognitive power and legitimacy
C) Phenomenology
• Social phenomenon interpreted with meanings
• Gives multiple reasons
• Uses ethno methodology to study
• Alfred Schtuz, Peter Berger , Harold Garfinkel opinions

@UPSC_MainsTests
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SOCIOLOGY KEY – 4 (Batch 1)
Q.1 Write short notes on the following: (Each note should not exceed 150 words)
(10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Do you agree to the view that religion is a social fact? (10 Marks)
RELIGION AS A SOCIAL FACT:
• [DURKHEIM] – Religion- body of beliefs
Characteristics of Social Fact
• External
• Coercive
• Enduring
• Distinct
✓ Yes, its a social fact,
• External: Continues to exist, irrespective of any individuals predisposition to

it Eg: Theist vs atheist
• Coercive: Invariably one has to follow its prescriptions and proscriptions

Eg: Marriage rituals
• Enduring: In vogue since 1000’s of years
• Distinct: Manifested in various ways.

Eg: In family; Religious institutions etc.
(b) How will you describe ‘employee alienation’ in services sector as a

phenomenon? (10 Marks)
“Employee Alienation” In Services Sector
It’s a phenomenon because, apart from one’s own perspective, external
influences also shape one’s evolving behaviors & Opinions;
Alienation occurs through
• Employees Perspective: Prostitution of personality in customer care services,
since one works to overcome working poverty condition
• Employer’s Perspective: In banking sector, one feels alienated due to
working overtime from the demand of the employer to work beyond office
hours.
• Environment perspective: In hospitality sector, females feel alienated due to
disgusting environment like cleaning the hotel rooms at times for unknown
persons.
1
• Economic Perspective: Capitalism makes one to feel alienated in IT industry,

where the employee doesn’t have any face-to-face relations with the owner and
works as someone in the ocean of workers.
(c) Examine how and why the study of social order and stability has been an
integral part of sociology. (10 Marks)
• To study of order of society
- Social order and stability
- through functional school
- Conflict school
• Origin- to understand the nature of sociology
- Like French, American, Industrial Revolutions
- to understand those nature
(d) Elaborate on the use of comparative method in sociology with suitable

illustrations. (10 Marks)
Comparative method:
Definition:
Use of comparisons across different societies or of groups within one or more
societies & comparisons at the same or different points of time.
Aim:
Involves a comparative examination of different but similar situations, trying to
identify crucial features leading to different outcomes.
• Comparative vs. Experimentation
• Moral problems aren’t as acute as in experimentation, since the researcher isn’t
intervening directly in shaping the social world
• Initially used by positivists, later followed by non-positivists too.
• It allows sociologist to study large – scale social change over long periods of time.
Illustrations:
• [MARX] – compared a wide variety of societies in order to develop his theory of
social change and to support his claim that societies passed through different
stages.
• [DURKHEIM] – In his study of Division of labours and the change from
mechanical to organic solidarity;
Study of suicide – involves the comparison of different societies, different
groups within society & different time periods.
• [WEBER]- In the protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism, systematically
compared early capitalist countries in western Europe & North America with
2
countries such as China & India to show a correlation between early

capitalism & Calvinism.
(e) Comment on the sources of legitimacy of authority in societies.

(10 Marks)
Sources of legitimacy of authority
• Traditional - from culture
• Legal rational – from laws
• Charismatic – from individual person
Comment – there is a transition now
• mix of traditional and legal i.e constitutional monarchy Eg. UK
• new sources – bureaucracy from meritocracy.
Q.2 (a) Critically examine the statement “What can we oppose to this
machinery in order to keep a portion of mankind free from this
parcelling-out of the soul, from this supreme mastery of the
bureaucratic way of life?” (20 Marks)
Bureaucracy
Criticism
• [William Crozer] – incompetent and inefficient
• Growth of personality cult
• [Robinson] – bureaucratic rules are consciously broken
• Ideal type – mental construct – there can be differences in reality.
• Concentration of power at bureaucrats can make them elites and lead to Ivory
tower approach.
• Less scope for adaptation, creativity so as to change with the changing times.
• Its too formal, where emotional aspects aren’t recognized.
Functional aspect
• Meritocracy – so less scope for manipulative recruitment.
• Stability of tenure – can do welfare for the people in long term
• Fixed salary – motivation to do services with dedication.
Changing nature
• Bureaucrats are seen as demi – gods status in states like Madhya Pradesh
where they have emotional attachment with people.
• Technology have removed the coercive nature of bureaucrats felt by taxpayers
like tax terrorism through e-filing of tax
• Young officers are more proactive and dedicated towards the people than old
times – easily approachable.
(b) Provide an elaborate note on the classification of suicides with contemporary

examples (15 Marks)
Altruistic: Excess integration, Eg: Immolation for the sake of party leaders,
samurai’s of japan, farmers suicide for larger societal cause.
Egoistic: Insufficient integration, Eg: Highly individualistic due to liberal life:
addiction to social networking and internet usage.
Fatalistic: Excess regulation, Eg: Army jawans, students due to rigorous coaching
for higher studies.
Anomic: Insufficient regulation, Eg: Blue whale game suicides; change of social
control from joint rural based families to nuclear urban based families.
Apart From Durkheiminian Types
• Physician – assisted suicide – Euthanasia
• Indirect – i.e. premature death due to self – injurious behaviour Eg: Smoking
• Submissive – [Taylor] says, a person thinks one self of no value to live more
for varied reasons,
• Thanatation – is repeated suicide attempts – learning that they are capable of
facing death;
• Sacrifice – Committing suicide, when one thinks others have made her/his life
unbearable and blame others so as to feel them guilty for sacrificing/his life.
• Appeal suicide – trying to persuade others to change their behaviour, so as to
show how desperate they are.
(c) Differentiate between the opinions of Hegel and Marx on ‘consciousness’ (15
Marks)
Hegel
• Consciousness means what determines a person
• Philosophy about mind only
• Gave primacy to ideas
• Considered dialectics to be important
Marx
• Consciousness means awareness of a person’s economic status within an
economic order
• Meant beyond mind to materialism and ensured class conflict associated with
it in economics, polity.
• Gave primacy to matter
4
• Also gave importance to dialectics

• Further applied his consciousness to dalit, nation, tribal, religious – i.e.
extension of it;
Conclusion
• Hegel integral part of Freud’s concept of mind
• Marx included Hegelian theory including mind as well as matter.
Q.3 (a) Differentiate between Marxian and Weberian analysis of religion (20
Marks)
Religion – [Durkheim) body of beliefs
Marx
• Opium of masses
• Correlated between religion and other social institution like economy
• Religion needed to overcome the alienation temporarily created by capitalism
• Results in rise of sects and cults
• Unlike Weber, didn’t do any analysis on religions
• As per him, it’s not religion but economy is the agent of social change.
Weber
• Rise in capitalism was due to people following a particular religion
• Religion helps in embourgeoisement of class position
• Did analysis of various world religions
• Considered religion as harbinger of social change. Religions – Eg. Calvinism
Conclusion: Religion serves the purposes of both Marx and Weberian principles
(b) How can you use the concept of ‘social class’ to understand deviance in
contemporary societies (15 Marks)
Class – linked with status, power/party [WEBER]
Social classes and deviance
• Middle class – Double income no kids families
• Political class – M.K Gandhi
• Religious class – Vivekananda
• Women – Taking to army than earlier times
• Lower class – Multiple jobs as cook, maid, owns flower petty shop at different
times in a day.
• Upper class – Warren Buffet ; Mackenzie Bezos – alimony for people’s welfare
(c) Substantiate on the view ‘The Self is a Historical Product of Dialectical

Attunement’ (15 Marks)
Self – Dialectical attunement Source Channel
• Self
- conflict with mind sts
dialectical attunement
- conflict with society
Product of history – from birth till death
Mind Society
• childhood – to steal/ lie • Parents would scold
• Adolescent - to bunk class • Studious students would

tease
• Adulthood – to choose • Medicine for society
between professions –
commerce for my sake
• Old aged - to live in rural / • Shift to urban to satisfy
home town- emotional children and grand children
attachment needs
words) (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Provide a note on ideal type. What do you think is the ideal type of
family? (10 Marks)
Ideal type [WEBER]
Characteristics
• Not an average type
• Not a hypothesis
Ideal type of a family
• Agent of primary socialisation
• Informal control
• Collective Decision making ie biarchal – no single point of authority
• Accommodative of differences through love, negotiations
• Store house of mutual – trust, respect etc,
6
• Functional aspects like

- care during ill – health
- moral support during crisis
- Structural factors like nuclear / extended family
(b) Elucidate on the functional imperatives for social systems (10 Marks)
Functional Imperatives for Social Systems:
[PARSONS] – Society as a system.
• AGIL – 4 basic functional prerequisites;
• Seen as problems that society must solve if it’s to survive.
• Solutions to AGIL – must be institutionalised if society is to continue in
existence
1. Adaptation:
• Relationship between the system and its environment
• Social systems must have some degree of control over their environment
Eg: Economy is the institution which provides basic physical needs like minimum
food, shelter etc, [Capitalist or socialist]
2. Goal attainment:
• Need for all societies to set goals towards which social activity is directed
• Priorities between goals institutionalised in the form of political systems
Eg: laws passed by government – Paris Agreement on climate change
3. Integration:
• Adjustment of conflict through coordination and mutual adjustment
• Legal norms, reduce the potential for conflict
• Judiciary prevents disintegration of social system
Eg: Motor vehicles Amendment Bill.
4. Pattern maintenance:
• Maintenance of the basic pattern of values, institutionalized in the society
through family, educational system, religion.
Eg: PARSONS believe values are rooted in religion -Islam & west Asian nations
(c) Write a short note on reference group behaviour (10 Marks)

7
Reference group Behaviour

[MERTON]- reference group is the one which a person aims to become its members
due to its exemplary qualities according to that person.
Types – According to functions
- positive – aspire to become its member. Eg. UNSC membership of India.
- Negative – aspire not to become its member Eg ISIS
Types – According to membership
- membership group – being a member already, wants to go higher in that
group
- Non-membership group – not a part of it and wants to become its member
Determinants
- Duration of interaction with that group
- rewards which that group offers
- degree of openness/closedness Eg. Religious deprivation of one making to
become a member of sect/cult.;
(d) Comment on Durkheimian division of labour theory (10 Marks)

Durkheim’s Division of labour
- Division of Labour refers to specialization of skills so as to achieve efficiency
in services or goods manufactured in a society.
Determinants
• Density
- material
- moral – collective conscience
• Volume – size of the population
• these determinants weren’t agreed by MARX
Typology
• DoL as a social fact
• Normal:
➢ primitive
➢ modern
• Pathological
➢ forced
➢ anomic
(e) Examine the basic premises of symbolic interactionism (10 Marks)

Symbolic Interactionism:
Definition:
Interactionists see human behaviour as largely governed by the internal process by
which people interpret the world around them and give meaning to their own lives.
• Falls under interpretive sociology
• [BLUMER] – developed the implications of these views for socio methodology.
Basic Premises:
• Subjectivity of actor is given due importance
• Inter-personal relations is considered
• Common meanings become symbols
• In turn gives common meaning to a society
• Non-verbal communication is gestures are considered here.
Examine Part:
• Interaction restricted to micro-level
• Analysis at micro level with respect to symbols is difficult in a heterogeneous
society where variations would occur, which could result in conflict.
Eg: Symbols meaning vary across world.
Q.5 (a) While economic changes might prove to be an initial stimulus, Parsons
believed that in the long run cultural changes determine the broadest pattern
of change. Elaborate. (20 Marks)
PARSONS
• Society changes in long run with respect to changes in cultural values
Eg. change from pattern A to pattern B variables - particularistic to
universalism.
• He preferred changes in values over economic system
• Counters Marx who said economy will bring changes
• Parsons says economy may give only initial push but do not bring long
run changes like values.
• Eg. Green Revolution (Economic push) didn’t improve sex – ratio, rather
declined (no positive changes in society).
• But enlightenment revolution brought changes in values, which led to
industrial revolution (changes in economy).
• Value changes in Protestant ethics Religion – led to economic changes of

capitalism
(b) What are functions? Provide a functional analysis on capitalism. (15

Marks)
[MERTON] -function is an objective, observable, consequence, and not a subjective
disposition
• Typology
➢ Manifest
➢ Latent
Analysis
Functional
(i) Economic growth
(ii) Efficiency
(iii) Competition – chances for low price
(iv) Open to more choices of products and services
Dysfunctional
(i) Profit seeking
(ii) Exploitative
(iii) Crony capitalism
(iv) Increasing inequality
(v) Environmental degradation (Marxists)
Non functional
- Communism
- Socialism
(c) Use Social action theory to account for development of modern societies.
(15 Marks)
[WEBER]- social action theory
• Typology
• Rational Actions
➢ Zweck – goal oriented actions
➢ Wert – value oriented actions
• Irrational actions
➢ Traditional – as a ritual action
10
➢ Affective- emotional action

Development of modern societies
- Shift from irrational to rational
- shift from affective to affective – neutral
- Value oriented actions Eg. in governance
- Goal oriented actions Eg. youth towards nation building.

@UPSC_MainsTests
11
(10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Agrarian Class structure in post independent India. (10)
• [DANIEL THORNER] – classification on the basis of types of income

➢ Rent
➢ Own cultivation
➢ Wages
• Changes with respect to pre and post independent India
• Changes with respect to pre and post green revolution
➢ Lots of heterogeneity in farming class
➢ Aspects of land ownership, farmers , landless labourers
➢ Rise of dominant caste
➢ Marxian perspective of changing modes of production and market
forces
Conclusion – present scenario of farmer movements and its cause of
indebtedness, farm loan waivers and its impact .
(b) Features of the caste system.(10)

• [YOGENDRA SINGH] – caste is associated with the cultural system on the basis
of purity and pollution notions
• Features by [G S GHURYE ]
➢ Hierarchy
✓ rigid
✓ Earlier inherited from father – now from mother too in case of exogamy
➢ Endogamy
✓ Marriage within social group
✓ Changes due to industrialisation in urban educated families accepting
inter caste marriages
➢ Common culture
✓ Rituals still continue in religious functions, weddings
✓ Changes in the form of dressing, accent of language
➢ Occupation
✓ Division of labour from a scripture to achievement based
✓ But still manual scavenging and associated stigma continues
➢ Purity and pollution
1
✓ sight, commensality pollution has narrowed down but still touch continues
➢ social control
✓ Informal Khap panchayats giving way to formal court system
c) Social mobility in open and closed systems. (10)

On the basis of achievement(skills) based criteria, the avenues available to move
up/ down the stratification system is known as social mobility .
• Degree of mobility decides the openness or closeness of a system
• Rigid closed system
➢ Race
➢ Gender
• Open system
➢ Status based on education , entry into bureaucracy
Eg:-
✓ inter generational mobility
✓ Intra generational mobility
✓ Vertical mobility
✓ Horizontal mobility
✓ Pseudo mobility
➢ Natural vs social inequalities
➢ More the natural inequality, more closed the system is. eg gender
➢ More the social inequality , relatively less closed the system is. eg status
• [ROBIN FOX] – no society is absolutely closed or open
(d) Types of equality. (10)
• [SAUNDER’s] Model
➢ Outcome – equality in the output
Eg aspirational districts programme
➢ Opportunity -equality in the input
Eg positive discrimination and equity by government
➢ Formal / legal equality
Eg section 377 of Indian law
• Measuring equality is subjective based on the socio economic factors eg Gini
coefficient
(e) Continuous hierarchies and discrete castes in India. (10)

2
• Sub caste within caste

➢ Varna—>caste —> sub caste
• Heterogeneity within a varna group
➢ Basis for sub categorisation of reservation eg EWS
• Hierarchy exists within the group
• Though such inequality within caste is removed in future , some other form of
stratification would replace it
Q.2 Clarify on the view “Social Stratification is functional and
inevitable”. How was this view countered? (20)
(a) Functional perspective
• [PARSONS]- functional importance through
➢ Shared values
➢ Integrate the group
• [DAVIS&MOORE] –social stratification is needed for society
➢ For role allocation
✓ Filling of all roles
✓ Filled by abled people
➢ For performance
✓ Training is essential
✓ Roles to be performed consciously
• Countered by
➢ Marxist
➢ [TUMIN] – counters Davis & Moore theory
✓ How to measure talent ?
✓ Many roles left unfulfilled
✓ Rewards shouldn’t be there for lifetime
✓ Functional importance depends on context and not always same
(b) Critically examine Andre Beteille’s analysis of caste system. Contrast his
theory with that of Ghurye’s. (20)
Andre Beteille’s analysis
➢ Correlated caste with other types of stratification like class and power – says
caste is dynamic
➢ This analysis gave a new perspective that empirical reality of caste is different
from its cultural ideal type
➢ Didn’t emphasise much on purity and pollution
➢ Seconded by [M N SRINIVAS] in his dominant caste theory from village studies
➢ Criticism – but this seems to be an over generalisation from his single village
study of sripuram of thanjavur district .
• Ghurye’s analysis
➢ Didn’t correlate caste with any other stratification
➢ Considered caste to be static
• Contemporary relevance
➢ Beteille’s analysis of class power axis is seen from the rise of pressure
groups in politics and its rise to power
• Common perspectives- both didn’t have the thought of caste being eroded away
in future
(c) Explain the main sources of capital in societies.(10)

Sources of capital in societies
• [PIERE BOURDIEU’s ] types

➢ Economic capital
✓ Material goods eg machines, land
➢ Social capital
✓ Inter personal relations eg fb followers
➢ Cultural capital
✓ Embodied –disposition of the mind and body
✓ Objectified – in the form of cultural goods like pictures , books etc
✓ Institutionalised – in the case of educational qualifications
• Symbolic capital
➢ Based on one’s status eg brand consciousness
Q.3 (a) Gender is a socially constructed stratification system, embedded at

the individual, interactional and institutional dimensions of the society.
Comment. (20)
Gender
• It’s a social inequality

• Individual level – women, men, transgender want to overcome their hurdles and
predisposition
• Interactional level –at work places eg glass ceiling prevalence in public places,
public transportation
• Institutional level – marriage eg patriarchy; family eg Marxist conflict
perspective
(b) Reinventions of untouchability, an antiquated model of cruelty

exemplified by centuries of decadent slavery in the name of caste is now
slowly emerging from within this society. Comment. (20)
Reinventions of untouchability
• Slavery – on the basis of race

➢ Physically strong vs mentally weak
• Untouchability- on the basis of caste
➢ Irrational social action [ WEBER]
• Reinventing itself
➢ From earlier caste to different forms now
✓ Gender eg menstruation , Hijra
✓ Religion eg purity and pollution
• Different types of untouchability [S C DUBE]
➢ Discrimination
➢ Exploitation
➢ Subjugation
➢ Exclusion
• Conclusion –Dr B R Ambedkar’s ideology ; Constitutional provisions ; Thorat
committee report
(c) Describe how status is used as a system of stratification.(10)

Status as a system of stratification
• Primitive society –tribes eg North American tribes and skull garland

[GERARD LENSKI]
• Ancient society – number of slaves
• Medieval society – based on land ownership
• Industrial society – ownership of modes of production
• Present society –based on achievement or rewards
✓ Eg bureaucracy,
✓ LGBT status
✓ Nationality – supra vs sub citizens
(10 x 5 = 50 )
(a) Social Isolation and social exclusion. (10)
• Social isolation
➢ Associated with voluntariness
5
➢ Due to personality trait

➢ Either due to too much of integration or no integration at all with society
➢ Intellectual isolation
➢ Total institutions eg prisoners , mental asylum etc
➢ Ghettos –feel themselves secured there
• Social exclusion
➢ Structural factors in society make an individual or group to be
isolated
➢ It’s imposed and not voluntary act
➢ Caste eg lower caste at village outskirts
➢ Age eg public transportation
➢ Poverty
➢ Regional eg tundra
➢ Urbanisation and slums Source Channel
➢ Transgender eg education , housing
➢ Refugees eg climate, genocide
• Conclusion – aim for inclusive society
sts
(b) Industrial class structure in India
• Historical analysis
➢ First phase – 1900s – swadeshi
✓ Fluidic ie capitalists vs homogenous class of workers
➢ Second phase – workers differentiation
✓ Family wage workers
✓ Non family wage workers
✓ Contract workers
✓ Construction workers
➢ Third phase – on the basis of skills
✓ High skilled part time CEOs
✓ Share holders of companies
✓ Working and sleeping partners
• Contemporary changes
➢ Meaning of industry itself changing from location specific to footloose
➢ Variations in class structure – rise of middle classes in large
Conclusion – rise of trade unions , mobilisations etc
(c) Features of change in stratification system
• From status conventional society to economic class society

• Features of status conventional society
• [PAKULSKY&WATERS]
➢ Culturalism – follows the society’s mandate
➢ Fragmentation – one group alone moves away from norm
➢ Autonomisation –individuals own actions deviating from family ,
society eg atheists
➢ Resignification –new things becoming important in society due to
enlightenment etc
• Features of economic class society
➢ Towards achievement oriented from ascriptive based
➢ Policies bringing changes eg lower caste being middle class
➢ On the basis of caste – changes in traditional occupations
➢ On the basis of gender – breaking of glass ceiling by women into jobs
mandated only for men eg women space scientists , female army
soldiers etc
(d) Middle classes
• Defined on the basis of tax slab

• Indian census -growth of its size
✓ 1991-1% of population
✓ 2011- 3% of population
• Emerged – due to industrial , IT revolutions
• Middle class structure [WEBER]
✓ The propertied upper class
✓ The property less white-collar workers
✓ The petty bourgeoisie
✓ The manual working class
• Importance –forms an important part of politics, social engineering
• Rural vs urban middle class
✓ Rural middle class size increases due to government’s welfare
programmes
• Contributions
➢ New social class movements
Eg price rise movements etc
(e) Racism in India
• Racism defined as ethno centric behaviour / attitude

• Manifestation
➢ Regional xenophobia eg against north east people
➢ Based on skin tones eg darker/ paler/fairer ones and proliferation of

fairness cream companies
➢ Marriage market eg dowry system and physical beauty of bride
• Changes in the behaviour from earlier caste based to present regional
immigration based
• Conclusion –India – signatory to international convention on elimination of
all forms of racial discrimination ;
➢ Hidden apartheid –correlation between race and caste
Q.5 (a) Distinguish between Marxian and Weberian theories of social

stratification. (20)
• Marxian theory
➢ Unidimensional – economic determinism
➢ Traces the origin through historical materialism
➢ No definite definition of class
➢ Classes of only 2 types
✓ Bourgeoisie
✓ Proletarians
➢ Negation of middle class – pauperisation of all into proletariats
• Weberian theory
➢ Multi dimensional (causal pluralist ) – class, caste and party
➢ Types of middle classes – futuristic in thinking
✓ The propertied upper class
✓ The property less white-collar workers
✓ The petty bourgeoisie
✓ The manual working class
➢ Classification used in HDI calculation due to multi dimensionality
➢ Restricts class consciousness only to industrial society
➢ Gives a proper definition to class – group sharing similar market situation
(b) “The variation in the concept of poverty reveals its dimensionality. However,
when closely examined, these dimensions are seen to be conceptually
interrelated and complementary rather than substitutable.” Elaborate. (20)
Variations in poverty
• Poverty and deprivation

➢ Multi dimensional – one leads to other
Eg class- caste – political nexus
• Stratification and poverty
➢ Gender
8
➢ Class
➢ Race
➢ Caste
• Region and poverty
➢ Rural urban differentiation
• Development and dependency
Eg upper vs lower income countries
• Resource and poverty
Eg gulf nations vs Africa vs US
(c) Elucidate on Dumont‘s conceptualization of ‘purity and pollution’ and

its contemporary relevance. (10)
Dumont‘S concept
• One dimensional aspect based on caste only

➢ Decides degree of purity and pollution
➢ As well decides the social distance
➢ Irrespective of economic mobility of a person, it persists as a stratification
• Contemporary relevance
➢ Mostly exists only in marriage market eg shame killings
➢ Reduction in interpersonal relations , occupations etc
➢ Pollution exists even outside caste system
➢ For some people pollution means only environmental pollution

@UPSC_MainsTests
Q.1) Write short notes on the following: (Each note should not exceed 150
words) (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) What are new religious movements? (10)

New religious movements
• Rise of sects and cults
• New in terms of
➢ Ideology Eg: yoga
➢ Leadership Eg: Patanjali
➢ Mobilisation of people Eg: social media
➢ Organisation Eg: decentralised through meetings
(b) Illustrate with suitable examples on the various political

ideologies which have influenced the regimes of the world.(10)
Ideologies
• Democracy Eg: UK
• Anarchy Eg: Venezuela
• Absolutism Eg: Former Libya
• Communism Eg: Cuba
• Fascism Eg: North Korea
• Nihilism Eg: former Russia
(c) Examine how pressure groups are characteristics of modern pluralistic

democracies. (10)
Democracy and pressure groups
• Rise of pressure groups in pluralist democracy due to

➢ Heterogenous society
➢ Multi party system
➢ Government not satisfying the aspiration of all people
➢ Vacuum between people and government needs to get filled
➢ Scope for check and balance mechanism
➢ Vote fragmentation in elections – no single representation
• To fill all the above gaps pressure groups step in as

➢ Institutional Eg: trade unions
➢ Associational Eg: iPac for election analysis
➢ Non associational Eg: Ramakrishna math
➢ Anomic Eg: naxalism
Conclusion – pluralistic democracy gives space for manifestations of various views
1
(d) Who are the neo elites and how have they assumed leadership in India?
(10)
Neo elites
• On the basis of new achievement based norms like education , skills , celebrities
, media persons
➢ Women – due to PRI, echo feminist movement
➢ SC/ST – through reserved constituency
➢ Competitive exams – bureaucracy
➢ Charismatic leadership
• Earlier elites – on the basis of caste , politics
(e) Elaborate on how identity politics influences Indian political

structure. (10)
Emergence of identity politics
• Caste identity
• Religious
• Linguistic
• Regional
• Culture of poverty Eg: slum , refugees
• Ethnicity Eg: tribes
• Gender
• Influences on
➢ Ideologies of political parties

➢ In electoral manifestos
➢ Vote mobilisation
➢ Leading to vote fragmentation
➢ Social re-engineering
➢ Positioning of states’ in coalition government
Q.2) (a) What have been the functions of democracy in India? Has
democracy been successful in eliminating some of the traditional
social evils? (20)
Functional analysis of democracy
• Established liberty, equality , fraternity
• Representative of people
• Separation of powers
• Helps in eradicating traditional evils
• Ensures equality through removal of caste based inequality like untouchability
• Caste and social exclusion in politics – addressed through reservation in
elections
2
➢ But in 2019 LS elections – only 1 % seats given to SC/ST categories
• Ensures gender equality -PRI for women

➢ But still sarpanch pathi exists
➢ Rigid patriarchy has been addressed but still dowry like evils continue
• Liberty has been provided

➢ But still people lacks functional literacy to think on those lines
Conclusion – democracy has achieved a lot but still a long way to go .
(b) Clarify on how Panchayati raj institutions are simultaneously a

remarkable success and a staggering failure. (20)
PRI success and failure
• Success
➢ Decentralisation of power
➢ Women empowerment
➢ Local issues getting addressed
➢ Initiator , implementer of schemes like MGNREGA
• Failure
➢ Social audit but not widely prevalent
➢ Funds staggered at state level itself
➢ Contemplation to scrap PRI ministry due to above dysfunctions
➢ Regional variations in effective functioning
Eg Tamil Nadu performs well unlike Jammu Kashmir
➢ Effective functioning of khap panchayats over PRIs
Conclusion – it’s a mixed bag and should improve on its functional aspects for better
grass root governance
(c) Is religion is the opiate of the masses? (10)

Religion opium of masses
• [MARX]-it’s a opium as temporary relief from alienation created by capitalism

• No, it’s not a opium
➢ Rising number of atheists
➢ Increasing questions on customary religious practices
➢ Changing nature of capitalism – so alienation is out of voluntariness
• Yes , it’s a opium

➢ Rise of cults and sects
➢ Science and technology go together Eg: prayers before space launch
➢ Majority of population in world , still theists
Q.3) (a) Elaborate on how revivals in religious identity worldwide have had varied
and dramatic effects on domestic, regional, and international politics. (20)
Revivalism in the context of Globalization

• Domesctic
➢ Buddhist revivalism – circuits and tourism
➢ Cultural changes – emergence of new pressure groups
➢ New form of electoral fundings Eg: green peace funding for revivalism
➢ Haj, Amarnath claims for increase in number of passes , due to revivalism in
Pakistan
• Regional
➢ Revivalism and identity issues Eg: Sri Lankan blast
➢ Trade ties with similar religious nations Eg: India -ASEAN based on Buddhism
• International
➢ Arab spring , Iran revolution
• Revivalism in cyberspace – no boundary at all
(b) Examine the statement ‘A lot has changed from the Hegelian notion of
civil society today.’ Present your stance on the same with suitable
justifications and illustrations. (20)
Hegelian notion of civil society
• [HEGEL] – family vs state

➢ Contemporary changes – family replaced by NGOs, pressure groups
• Changes at present
➢ Ideology
➢ Funding
➢ Organisation
➢ Mobilisation
Conclusion – but the need for civil society to fill the gap between state and people
hasn’t changed even now
(c) Describe the ideology behind the formation of political parties in India.
(10)
Ideology of political parties
• [MAURICE DUVERGAR]
➢ Political ideology Eg: Marxism
➢ Product of revolutions Eg: AAP
➢ Revitalisation of culture Eg: Shiromani Akali dal
4
➢ Schism within political party

➢ Affiliation with a charismatic leader Eg: TDP
• Apart from above, others include

➢ Religion Eg: Indian union Muslim league of Kerala;
➢ Classes like farmers Eg: Patalli makkal Katchi
SECTION B
Q.4) Write short notes on the following: (Each note should not exceed 150
words) (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Provide a note on animism and monism. (10)
Religious practices
• Animism and monism – primary religion
• Animism – [TYLOR]
➢ Magic and religion – one and same in tribal societies
➢ Questions on dreams , death and life
➢ Believes in soul and worship it
• Critics
➢ [ANDREW LAING] – extending dreams to god’s – only TYLOR’s imagination
rather what tribes actually thought
➢ [SWANTON]- TYLOR’s arguments are unprovable; only inferences from his
tribal research
• Monism – non duality
• Types
➢ Material – belief in physical things
➢ Idealistic – belief in abstract things
➢ Neutral – alternates between material and idealistic with time
➢ Advaita
➢ Qualified monism
Conclusion: both still followed and subsumed under bigger religions like Hinduism
etc
(b) Change in the voting behavior in India. (10)

Changes in voting behaviour
• Criteria
➢ % in polling
➢ Rural vs urban
➢ Women turnouts
5
Source Channel
➢ First time voters
➢ Commodification of votes https://t.me/UPSC_MainsTests
➢ Charismatic leadership and change
➢ Social policy issues like reservation in education, jobs
➢ Communal forces like lynching etc
➢ Role of ECI,government – institutional mechanism to improve it
➢ Exit polls
➢ Funding changes
➢ Technology
➢ Ideologies
➢ Exposure , socialisation
➢ Peer groups
➢ Boss politics
➢ Ballots —>EVM—>ballots
➢ Posters , banners , pamphlets
(c) How has secularization impacted social interactions? (10)

• Secularisation- hold of religion reduces in society
➢ tolerance and secularism are promoted
➢ Changes in political representation
Eg casteisation comes down
➢ Influence on women – religious dogmas come down – change in patriarchy

➢ Would bring changes in religious taboos , pollution
➢ Change of behaviour during crisis like floods eg accommodating all religious
people in churches
➢ Changes in ghettos and settlement patterns
• Dysfunctions
➢ Solidarity [DURKHEIM] gets affected
➢ Social fabric gets questioned
(d) Examine the impact of technology on the spirit of nationalism.(10)

• Emboldening the spirit
➢ Dual citizenship
• Deteriorating the spirit

➢ Single citizenship
• Evolution
➢ Social media and cultural nationalism during crisis eg jallikattu protest
➢ Netizens – not sticking to a particular nation
➢ Citizenship status to robots eg Sophia and Saudi
➢ Technology, arms and wars – for the sake of nationalism ready to take up war
➢ Outer space exploration – global spirit by many countries
Conflict between nationalism and patriotism
(e) Compare and contrast uni-party system with bi-party system. (10)
• Comparison
➢ Both provide stable government
✓ Uni party – no opposition at all
✓ Bi party – strong opposition
• Contrast
➢ Uni party
✓ Freedom of people’s choices curtailed
✓ Fast decision making
✓ People may excluded from decision making
✓ Probability for power getting centralised
➢ Bi party
✓ Strong government and opposition
✓ People’s views will be considered
✓ Enough checks and balances
✓ Creates ground for coalition government
Q.5) (a) Highlight the prerequisites of a social movement and analyse

how different it is from a revolution by giving suitable
illustrations. (20)
Prerequisites
➢ As per [GAIL OMVEDT]
• Initiation stage
• Crystallisation stage
• Maturity stage
• End stage
➢ Difference between social movement and revolution – drastic changes within

a small window of time
➢ Eg for various movements –[ M S A RAO]
✓ Women
✓ Peasant and farmer
✓ Backward class
✓ Identity
✓ Environmental
(b) “Multi-party system in India is dead. Long live multi-party system!”.

Comment. (20)
• PARETO’s lion and fox theory – led to elites formation – ie multi party ended into
two parties
• Presence of many parties ; but conflict only between two parties
• Practically leads to coalition government- as a result of vote fragmentation
• Why multi party system?
✓ Inclusion of varied interests
✓ Accountability towards people
7
✓ Coalition party – every party is getting represented
(c) Enumerate the factors responsible for the rising demand for separate
states.(10)
Reasons for separate states
• [GUHA ] model
➢ Cultural factors like language eg Andhra
➢ Geography, religious deprivation etc eg Himachal, Punjab
➢ Ethnicity eg north east union territories claiming statehood
➢ Under development eg Telangana
Q.6) (a) Are science and religion a dichotomy? Substantiate your view on the
same. (20)
• Evolutionary perspective
➢ [COMTE] – religion will get replaced by science
• Functional perspective
➢ [DURKHEIM] – science will become a new religion
• Contemporary scenario
➢ Complementary eg magic complements technology
➢ Science as a new religion – provable like science
(b) Critically analyse how farmer movements in India have transcended class
and regional identities. (20)
Historical analysis
Pre independence
• mostly poor peasants
• No all India – localised movements
• No mobilisation of farmers
Post green revolution
• Emergence of farmers as class
• Conflict within farmers ; between poor and rich
Contemporary movements
• Rich and poor farmers vs non farmers
Eg chalo Delhi movement- transcended regional identities; mobilisation crossed
class and regional differences
Analysis
• Exclusion led to identity crisis as being farmer itself
• Eg reservation movements of jats
• Not transcended the age – majoritorily old farmers and not youngsters
(c) Does citizenship ensure political participation? Are there any factors
preventing the political participation of people in India? (10)
Citizenship and political participation
• No sense of belongingness Eg: low turnout percentage

• Citizenship alone can’t ensure – its one of the factors
• Factors preventing participation
✓ Money power Eg: contesting elections , voting etc
✓ Representation Eg: glass ceiling
✓ Criminal background
✓ Region
✓ Class
✓ Caste
✓ Gender
✓ Geographical distance Eg: absence of postal voting for NRIs

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10
SECTION A
(10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Human history provides the base for study of social life. How? (10)
• Evolution in terms of Marxian analysis
• In terms of weberian analysis
• In terms of civilizations and power eg tribal war etc
• Religion as a basis to study social life
Eg complexity of religion, labour at present
➢ Evolution of culture
➢ Social change concept by Comte and Morgan
➢ Evolution of Indian social life from writings of Romila Thapar etc
(b) How did the advance of capitalism revolutionize the structure and
function of family as an institution? (10)
• Ethos of capitalism like individual centricism, profit proliferation and its
impact on family
• Advance of capitalism from one country to other eg industrial revolution
from England to other countries
• Hence structure of European families has shifted to oriental nations as well
• Structural changes eg neo local residences , concept of nuclearisation of
families, migration
• Changing functions of family –child bearing, child care, marriage and family
as an institution itself have got affected
• Individual glorification
• Marxian concept of family as an exploitative institution and alienating like
capitalism
1
(c) Provide a critique to the use of non-positivist methodologies in

sociological research. (10)
• Problems in the methods of
➢ Observation like value neutrality
➢ Ethno methodology eg interpreter bias
➢ Generalisations
➢ Phenomenology
➢ Ecological validity – issues in field experiments
➢ Definitive conclusion based on qualitative features
• Advantages
➢ Course correction is possible eg change of hypothesis
(d) Clarify on the dimensions of poverty and social exclusion.(10)

• Poverty and exclusion – reciprocal in nature
• Stratification and poverty correlation
• Dimensions
➢ Class
➢ Caste
➢ Gender eg universal
➢ Ethnicity
➢ Opportunities and rewards
➢ Access to governance, infrastructure
➢ Region eg African nations
➢ Religion eg muslims in London
➢ Conclusion – if poverty is addressed social exclusion is addressed and
vice versa
(e) Identify and elaborate on a suitable research technique to identify

educational attainment of the society. (10)
• Case 1 – smaller community like tribal society eg observation
• Case 2 – larger society like nation
• Educational attainment – easily measured through quantitative method
Eg census in india , ASER report
➢ Stakeholders – people, schools , colleges

➢ Only measures literacy level but not the functional literacy
Q.2 (a) How does Marx discuss the structure of society in relation to its major
classes, and the struggle between them as the engine of change in this
structure? Elaborate on the practical relevance of this theory. (20)
• Class- people having same relations with factors of production

• Historical materialism across different societies – dialectical aspect
• 0Two classes →class conflict → revolution → classless society →
communist society
• Engine of change – class consciousness and revolution
• Class consciousness from within society ie orthogenetic factor
• Practical relevance
➢ Marxian theory – ideal in nature
➢ Class struggle occurs frequently but revolutionary form occur in
very few instances only
Eg tribal, women , dalit consciousness etc
(b) Identify the similarities and differences between Durkheimian and

Weberian theory of religion. (20)
• Similarities
➢ Causative agent for change
✓ Durkheim –instrumental in creating collective conscience
✓ Weber –essential for the spirit of capitalism
➢ Religion an integral part of social life eg primitive or modern society
• Differences
➢ Durkheim
✓ arm chair approach – about Arunta tribes of Australia
✓ to be a social fact and does functional analysis on religion ie is in
between both positivist and functionalist in his analysis of religion
✓ premise – ancient society and built upon for modern society
✓ religion – sacred and profane

✓ doesn’t correlate religion with economics
✓ talks about solidarity but not religion as an agent of social change
• Weber
✓ inspiration from his own life and things happening around
Europe
✓ uses causal plural approach
✓ comparative analysis of various religions and concludes about
protestant ethics
✓ religion- ideal type – values and infrastructure
✓ correlated religion with economics
✓ an agent of social change
• relevance- more of durkheiminian approach because religion plays a role of

solidarity whereas Weber’s spirit of capitalism couldn’t be found in
primordial societies which is divided on the basis of caste, ethnicity etc
(c) What are pattern variables? How can pattern variables be used to study
family systems? (10)
• PARSONS – definition
➢ dichotomy of choices; indicators for transition of a society from
traditional to modern
• still largely particularistic like thinking about what they need for their
children rather than universalistic way for larger society
• moved from diffusion to specificity – roles are more or less defined
➢ Mechanization – still diffusion prevails like no specific roles for women,
men , children in household chores
• Ascription – very important role because scope for achievement is still based
on ascription only
Q.3 (a) Describe the impact of Industrial Revolution in understanding the

emergence of sociology. (20)
• IR- agent of social change

• Created functional impacts in
➢ Factories and work life
➢ Status of women
➢ Environment
➢ Families
➢ Urbanization
➢ Migration
➢ Capitalism and materialism
➢ Rise of new institutions – banks
➢ Scope for territorial expansion and trade
• Created dysfunctional impacts
➢ Alienation
➢ Identity crisis
➢ Class proliferation
• To comprehensively study all those changes –sociology emerged [COMTE]
(b) What is social action? How is behaviour different from action? In what way
is there difference in perspective between Weber and Parsons theory on
social action? (20)
• Social action- [WEBER]
➢ oriented towards other individuals in the society
➢ only to humans as a social animal
➢ not instinctive but rationalized
• Behavior
➢ Personal and not intended to convey any meaning
➢ common to all
➢ instinctive
• Common differences
➢ Meanings they convey
➢ Norms related
• Some behaviors can be classified as actions but not all actions can be
classified as behavior
• Weber and Parsons theory on social action
➢ Parsons added values and motives to Weber’s social action
➢ Parsons finally institutionalized social actions into social systems –
through his voluntaristic theory of social action by adding norms,
constraints etc
(c) Differentiate between gemeinschaft and gesellschaft. (10)

• By [FERDINAND TONNIES]
• Compare with Durkheim’s simple and complex societies
• Gemeinschaft
➢ Little tradition concept
➢ Particularistic aspect
➢ Its about community (minor one )- sense of affinity
• Gesellschaft
➢ Great tradition concept
➢ Universalistic aspect
➢ Its about society(major one)- less sense of affinity
Q.4 (a) Suggest suitable research techniques for macro sociological

and micro sociological analysis. (20)
• Macro sociological analysis

➢ Functionalism
➢ Marxism
• Micro sociological analysis
➢ Village studies
➢ Phenomenology
• Explanation with quantitative and qualitative methods
(b) The Durkheimian theory of Division of labour provides a model for

contemporary societies too. Elucidate. (20)
• Law- correlative to material, moral density and volume of population
• Concept of collective conscience
• Segmental and complex division of labour
• Pathological, anomic, forced division of labour
• Contemporary society
➢ Complex division of labour
➢ All types of division of labour – eg bonded, child labour etc
(c) How does personality formation get altered among refugee children?
(10)
• Different stages Source Channel
➢ Preparatory https://t.me/UPSC_MainsTe
➢ Play sts
➢ Game
• For refugee infant, all the three stages wouldn’t be proper due to different
ambience
• For refugee children , play and game stages would be affected
• Transition from I to ME isn’t complete
• Primary socialization – generalized others keep changing because of
impermanency there
➢ Creates sort of identity crisis in them
➢ Also they are more accommodative because of their generalized others
keep changing
Eg learns new cultures easily and fast
SECTION B
(10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Describe some of the cultural practices which impacted the Amazon forest
fires. (10)
• Revering forest changed to deforestation- desacrilisation
• Cultural practice of export orientation – deforestation

• Personal choices and individual choices eg beef eating practices
• Civilisational conflict in the patterns of choices of government and changes
in values
• Changes in the political leadership of inclination over development than
environmental protection
(b) Distinguish between work organization in feudal and slave societies. (10)
• Feudal society
➢ Informal in nature
➢ Patrimonial
➢ Paid in cash
➢ Less authority of worker
➢ Comparatively more freedom to worker
➢ Work- some elements of modernization eg settlements pattern in
agriculture
➢ Gives importance to land acquisitions
➢ Nature of work - land related eg agriculture
➢ Comparatively complex division of labour
➢ Based on 3 estate system
➢ Segmental in nature
➢ Work done by everyone even by clergy , commoners
➢ Due to mobility , there is degree of some scope for freedom
• Slave society
➢ Informal in nature
➢ Patrimonial
➢ Paid in cash
➢ Less authority of worker
➢ Exploitative in nature
➢ Work primarily primitive in nature
➢ No importance to land acquisitions
➢ Simple division of labour
➢ Only slaves work – masters own them
8
➢ Work close to total institutions
(c) Protest is the first step in the direction of revolution. Comment. (10)
• Majoritorily protest is the first step- bottom up approach
➢ Vocalization of frustration → agitation →organisation→ movement→
revolution
• Few cases revolution is the first step- top down approach
Eg green , internet revolutions
• Few other cases protest followed by revolutions
Eg French revolution started with protest
(d) How is lineage different in tribal and non-tribal societies of India?(10)

• Tribal societies
➢ Unilineal models
➢ Customary laws
Eg patrilineal naga ; matrilineal kasi
• Non tribal societies

➢ Bilineal models
➢ Codified laws
Eg differences among various religious groups
• When tribes move to non tribal areas , change their practices of the latter
• Influence of technology etc leads to concept of lineage itself changing among
tribal groups of india
(e) Discuss Pareto’s views on power. (10)

• Circulation of elites
• Concept of lions and foxes
Eg 2 party system
Multi party system in india but only 2 parties circulate
Q.6 (a) Critically examine the changes in the ideas of citizenship in

present times, with a special mention to India. (20)
• Evolution
➢ Exclusionary in nature eg Aristotle – women
➢ Differential – particular city dwellers
➢ Preferential
➢ Ascribed
➢ Achievement orientation eg naturalization way
➢ Dual citizenship
➢ Enlightened eg conscious about the duties also
➢ Globalised citizens
➢ Netizens
• Indian aspect
➢ Citizenship amendment bill
➢ NRC
➢ Kashmir aspects
(b) “Fissioning of family, changes in marriage are to be understood as

processes of social change.” Comment. (20)
• Fissioning of family
➢ debatable rather its evolutionary in nature
➢ fissioning views of marxist scholars – [EDMUND LEECH]
• Changes in marriage
(c) Increasing use of technology has impacted work organisation in post-

industrial societies. Discuss. (10)
• automation and changes
• work profiles change eg part time, work from home, consultancy etc
• occupational diversification
• employer – employee and employee- employee relations change eg use of
messenger ; more of formal
• impact on worker mobilisation
• sense of anonymity
10
• use of AI eg robots
• increased feminisation of labour
Q.7 (a) Critically analyze how Development and dependency are two
sides of the same coin with suitable illustrations. (20)
• Wallerstein , Bran theories

• various aspects of development eg national development and dependency
➢ developed nation
➢ developing
➢ last developed
• India’s invite to G7 aspect
(b) Discuss how globalization has impacted the labour markets and labour
relations. (20)
• markets
➢ have become bigger and universal
➢ reciprocity between core and periphery; no change in their relations
➢ high populated TFR countries act as sources of labour to other nations
etc African nations ; facilitation of migration
➢ new avenues to sell products across nations
• relations
➢ organizations to regulate laws like ILO
➢ limits to working, labor commitment models – change from factories act
➢ labor awareness eg replication of other nations model – india following
japans’ model of protest
(c) Provide a note on the evolutionary theory of social change. (10)

• Stage by stage evolution
• Comte model of religion —> meta physical —> science
• Spencer’s model – simple, compound, doubly compound and trebly

compound
11
• Parsons theory of social change based on evolutionary universals
Q.8 (a) Modernity has accelerated the rise of consumerism, individualism and
questioned religion and provided for pluralist societies driven by
distinctive religions. Comment. (20)
• rise of sects and cults – ensuing consumerism

• Personality cult – individualism
• Plural society – multi religion
• New religious movements
• Consumerism further accelerated eg t shirts , pants etc
(b) Discuss the types and dynamics of social movements.(20)

• Dynamism through creation of Social movements
• Types – millenarian , environmental , religious , backward class movements
(c) Law can moot social change, however in reality it can destroy social order.
Comment. (10)
• Law mooting change
➢ Law and Religion
➢ Law and Morality
➢ Law and safety eg passenger cars
➢ Law on emission control , plastic ban
➢ Law and social institutions like marriage , family etc

@UPSC_MainsTests
12
(BATCH 1) - SOCIOLOGY Pap II
TEST 9 - KEY
SECTION A
words) (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Write a critique of the Marxist perspective used by A.R.Desai in the
understanding of Indian society.10
• Discuss about reductionist method of Marxism
• A R Desai’s understanding of Indian society
➢ Nationalism
➢ Peasant struggle
• critique
➢ Nehru’s views about background of nationalism not
economics as determined by Desai
➢ Peasant struggles were localized based on local economic
issues against british
➢ Even tribal, caste identity were reasons apart from
economics for movement
➢ State is not exploitative as he inferred and its welfarist in
its approach like rural programmes
(b) Discuss the impact of religious movements in colonial India.10

• Impacts
➢ Diluting patriarchy and women empowerment
➢ Questioned on caste
➢ Revivalism
➢ Rise of nationalism leading to freedom
➢ Cultural, political changes eg partition of India
➢ Educational empowerment eg schools, colleges opened
➢ Social mobilization eg Ganapati festivals
➢ Paved way for rise of middle class intelligentsia
• Dimensions
➢ Manifest
➢ Latent
1

TEST 9 - KEY
(c) What is land centricity? How is land ownership determined in India? 10

• Land centricity
➢ Indian culture and society revolved around land
ownership
Eg since mahajanapada period (king)
➢ British period – about agricultural land (rural person)
➢ Present time – non –agricultural land too with rise of
urbanization (urban person)
• Ownership
➢ Either ascriptive or achievement based
➢ Presumptive in nature
✓ record of rights
Eg agriculture
✓ land deeds
✓ property tax receipts
✓ survey documents
➢ india shifting to land titling now
Eg rajasthan, Karnataka
(d) Describes the issues faced by the tribes of Kashmir. 10
• each tribes are nomadic due to geographical Himalayan nature

• pastoral economy
• not stable economy- prone to different health issues
• problem in allocating land to them because of nomadic nature
• violence against these tribal women eg rapes , molestation
• tribal conflicts eg dongras
• political representation is very less
(e) Differentiate between agrarian class structure mobilization of pre and

post independent India.10
• pre independence
Class Structure
➢ less class differentiation eg 3 fold
2

TEST 9 - KEY
➢ Kathleen Gough model

➢ Farmer not much of capitalist in nature
• Mobilisation
➢ Mostly localized
➢ Horizontal mobilization
➢ Kisan sabhas supported
➢ Economics as the reason
➢ Indifference of government
• post independence
Agrarian Structure
➢ more class differentiation eg 5 fold
➢ Daniel Thorner model
➢ Farmer has become more of capitalist
• Mobilisation
➢ Wide spread
➢ Both horizontal and vertical mobilization
Eg non farmers supporting farmers
➢ Political support
➢ Economic, governmental issues apart agricultural lands diverted for
non agricultural uses
Q 2. (a) Compare and contrast the functional and indological perspectives to

the study of Indian society. 20
• Comparison and Contrast
➢ Functional
✓ Field view eg participation and unstructured interviews
✓ Structural and political systems as well villages
✓ Universal in explanation eg world systems
✓ Both changes and continuity of caste system
✓ MN Srinivas compared caste with class, politics in dominant caste
study
✓ Perspective emerged after indology
✓ M N Srinivas coorg studies talks about how villagers interact with
urban

TEST 9 - KEY
✓ Holistic understanding of Indian society and not about any one

particular section
✓ Talks about social change eg caste and sanskiritisation ;
westernization ; S C Dube –inclusion of caste into the muslims of
Lucknow
➢ Indological
✓ Book view eg Scriptural texts
✓ Restricted to structural aspects especially caste and religion
✓ Parochial in explanation eg about Indian villages mostly
✓ Only about static nature of caste system
✓ Ghurye compared caste with race
✓ Initial school for developing perspectives
✓ Tribal studies of kolis of Maharashtra – museumized
✓ Speaks of majoritarian view Eg Ghurye speaks more of
brahmanical mouth
✓ Talks more of static nature and less about social change
(b) Critically examine the Gandhian idea of village India. 20

• Gave ideal type of Indian village
• Believed in indian villages self sufficiency
• Critic – self sufficiency isn’t possible
➢ Elaborate on changing idea of india village – to refute his views
➢ Untouchability should be absent as per Gandhi- but its present
➢ All should have work in the village – but lot of rural unemployment today
Eg MGNREGA
➢ No body should be illiterate in the village – but illiteracy exists in the
village
➢ Hand made rice, oil pressed instead of using machines- but everything
mechanized now
➢ Vegetables – each house should produce; but not such in all villages
➢ Every house should have proper ventilation- not so in all villages now
➢ Gram swaraj is an ideal type through democratic decentralization
➢ Mobilization should happen from peoples side rather than from State Eg
social audit in MGNREGA

TEST 9 - KEY
(c) How does caste consciousness have a bearing on tribes in India? 10

• Tribe caste continuum eg central Indian tribes – highly conscious
• Caste like endogamy enters tribes from their clan endogamy
• Resulted in tribal elitism eg education , political leadership
• Leading to tribal assertion
• Sanskiritisation takes place
Q 3. (a) Caste can be an “identity giving” as well as an “identity eroding”

factor in social dynamics. Elaborate.20
• Identity giving
➢ Rise of castes post green revolution
➢ Identity through political rise
➢ For social interactions like marriages , rituals
➢ In education, employment, reserved constituencies in politics
• Identity eroding
➢ Castlessness as single community like general, obc, SC etc
➢ Caste can erode an another identity like gender, region, education etc
➢ In work space –urban areas
➢ Erode women’s identity through reservation in village panchayats
(b) Elucidate on how land reforms are an unfinished agenda. 20

• Agricultural lands as the basis
• 2011 census –more than 50% are landless labourers
• Regional variations in reforms eg Bengal vs Gujarat
• Land holding by women is very less
• Caste dimension in landlessness
• Procedural issues like computerization of land records
(c) Do you conform to the view that the terms of sexual normality and
modernity are constantly being re-scripted according to the ideals of
the Western hegemony in India? 10
• Sexual normality
➢ In marriage institution man is expected to marry woman ie
heterosexuality

TEST 9 - KEY
• Sexual modernity
➢ Changed these to homosexuality
➢ Recognition of transgenders
Q 4. (a) What factors are responsible for the instability of the Indian family?
Will the family survive the present crisis in modern society? 20
• Joint family still dominant – discuss on it
• Factors – instability
➢ Population policy
➢ Urbanization
➢ Industrialization
➢ Individualization
➢ Westernization
➢ Changes in religious ethos
➢ Educational attainment
➢ Economic interdependence to economic independence
➢ Arrival of institutions to do the functions of family
• Stand – either survive or undergoing changes
(b) How is cultural nostalgia as dangerous as cultural amnesia in the

context of religious groups of India?20
• Cultural nostalgia
➢ On the lines of revivalism
➢ Fundamentalism
• Cultural amnesia
➢ Forgetting the past and getting westernized fully
➢ Can lead to reforms or new things like emergence of sects and cults
➢ Atheism
➢ Secularization
(c) How has the National Food Security Act impacted households of India?
10
• Impacts
➢ Made the food availability – out of poverty
➢ Still to target nutritional security
➢ Rural vs urban households

TEST 9 - KEY
➢ Joint vs nuclear households

➢ Targeting through food coupons, cash transfers etc
➢ Regional variations
SECTION B
Q 5. Write short answers with a sociological perspective on the following, in
about 150 words each: (10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Social media is a new bulwark of democracy in India. Substantiate. 10
• Helped government to reach out large number of people and people’s access
to government
• Achieving equality
• Expression in local languages
• Mobilisation and spirit of fraternity
• Madurai corporations sending news to citizens regarding garbage collection
• Penetrated to parts even where newspapers aren’t present
• Other side- spread of
➢ Fake news
➢ Mob lynching
(b) How did automobile industry evolve in India? 10

• Initial phase -capital from british
• Japanisation phase eg maruti Suzuki
➢ Shifted more to 2 wheelers
• Globalization – assembling unit to export automobiles
• Present phase – hybrid electric due to global warming , automation cars
➢ Gearless cars for old aged people
• Brand consciousness from ambassador to benz as status symbol
➢ Indian company shining abroad – landrover in UK
➢ Nowadays , manufacturing sector is accompanied by services like car
refurbishing etc

TEST 9 - KEY
(c) Give an account of the problems related to the “EWS”.10

• Identification of beneficiaries
• Transience on year on year basis
• Correlated with general category now is contradictory with creamy layer of
OBC vis a vis social backwardness
• Heterogenous- all religious groups ; varied professional categories
• EWS aren’t always agricultural workers –but it’s a criteria in identification
• Opportunity for poor in general to come up
• Across States reservation policies are different – not uniformly of 50%
• In future, competitive backwardness index is needed for comprehensive
reservations
• Changes only intra generational mobility rather inter generational mobility
(d) Enumerate the problems of migrant labourers and suggest suitable

remedies for the same.10
• Problems
➢ Domestic
✓ Infrastructure- housing, accomodation
✓ Access to government
✓ Social status
✓ Sustainability in terms of jobs
✓ Children’s education
✓ Poverty
✓ Regionalism – evicted easily
✓ Slum and deprivation
✓ Migrant women and violence Source Channel
• Solutions
➢ All india register creation
sts
➢ Improving educational , skill attainment
➢ Population policy silent on migration – policy clarity
(e) Provide a note on Verma committee report on sexual assault on women.

10
• Recommendations
➢ Sexual harassment at workplace Act enacted
➢ From physical abuse to emotional abuse
8

TEST 9 - KEY
➢ A guiding force for sexual harassment issues codification

➢ Due status for working women with respect to india’s poor women
labour force participation
➢ Voice against rigid patriarchy
➢ Women abuses
✓ Rural women – not vocal and accepted patriarchy
✓ Patriarchal bargaining issues
✓ Urban women – cases get registered and justice sought
✓ Manifestation of #MeToo movement- overcoming the stigma of
sexual assault
Q 6. (a) Indian politics has been shaped by competing communities and the
ascendancy “acquired” by certain communities over the other.
Comment. 20
• Linguistic communities
• Religious
• Rural
• Caste
• Regions
• All above communities implications in politics and their ideologies based on
all those
• Dominant caste – class, educationally forward and thus became politically
forward
• Act as pressure groups later by supporting farmers , student communities
etc
(b) How does ethnicity impact regionalism in India? 20

• Supra state regionalism
➢ Perspective of dravida – more than one state integrated – race
➢ Kartarpur corridor – Punjab in india and Punjab in Pakistan joined
together- religion
• Sub state regionalism
➢ Chattisgarh , bodoland issues – tribal identity
• Sub nationalism
➢ Nagaland

TEST 9 - KEY
• Impacts
➢ Separate State and nationhood- decentralization
➢ Issues of development
➢ Inclusion
(c) What are the entitlements to the old aged in India? 10

• Entitlements
➢ Status
➢ Food security
➢ Property
➢ Health care
➢ Emotional support – empty nest syndrome
➢ Income security
• State – when they aren’t fulfilled it enters via
➢ Old age Maintenance Act
➢ Pension scheme
➢ Geriatric care
➢ Subsidized tickets – railways
➢ Insurance age extension by private
➢ Income tax cap is different
➢ Quality medicines – jan aushadi
Q 7. (a) How is India’s demographic structure changing? Examine the impact

of the same on social advancement and development of India. 20
• Dimensions
➢ Birth – TFR variations , poor child sex ratio ,
➢ Death – infant, maternal deaths
➢ Migration – heterogeneity due to social mobility and changes socio
cultural dimensions
• Impact
➢ Dividend tap it positively else becomes disaster eg on the lines of
china as human capital
➢ Marriage squeeze for men due to poor sex ratio – can change
endogamy to exogamy
➢ Inclusive development for old age
10

TEST 9 - KEY
➢ Fertility – rural vs urban ; large population in urban due to migration

✓ Makes necessity of creating smart villages wherein fertility is
high
➢ Few women- increased violence on them , feminisation of
labour
➢ Noth vs south india divide – population density, TFR
rates variations
• Development
➢ Target state wise variations
(b) “The relationship between globalisation and democracy is dialectical and

does not conform to ideological caricatures.” Examine the statement.20
• Dialectical
➢ Existence of constitutional monarchy, dictatorship amidst
globalization
➢ SDGs – no similarity across the world
➢ Party system – more of entry of protectionism
➢ Citizenship – global due to globalization eg dual
• Not always dialectical
➢ Democratic countries globally work together
➢ Developed countries set common agenda like climate change
➢ Threat to democracy in one country- other country comes in to rescue
it
Eg Myanmar , afghan issues
• Not always caricature- many a times correlation exists
(c) Write a note on women and Temple entry movements. 10
• Allowed to enter but can’t become priest since historically till now
• Entering related to menstrual pollution even now
• Entering as karyakartas – possible in current generation
• Allowed only men , women entry – judicial intervention – changing its
aspects eg sabarimala
11

TEST 9 - KEY
• Women entering as dancers , devadasis - changing due to education ,

Constitutional support as karyakartas now
• Anti caste movement evolved into women empowerment movement –
expression of equality
• Shani signapur case – completely organized by women ; in case of
sabarimala- all sections and even virtual mobilisation happened
• Acts as an inspiration for other religious groups
Q 8. (a) Analyse a number of issues that exist within the higher education
sector in India, with a special focus on the role of private players.20
• Role of private players
➢ Discuss from draft national education policy as well previous test key
(b) Rapid urbanization and sustainable development do not go together.

Discuss with suitable illustrations and argument. 20
• Land squeeze
➢ more of vertical rise buildings- affect land structure
➢ poverty get proliferated – buying land vs buying space in flats
➢ environmental constraints
• Resource crunch
➢ Water scarcity – widening of rich poor divide
➢ Air pollution – commodification of oxygen
• Greater population density
➢ Widespread threat to communicable diseases
➢ Sexually transmitted diseases
• Urban areas – become very vulnerable
• Bring in migrants – slum – deprivation
• Solutions to restore sustainability
➢ Green buildings
➢ Vertical gardening
➢ Floor space index
➢ Through alterations and planning – rurbanisation , rural development
12

TEST 9 - KEY
(c) Write a note on resistance movements in India.10

• Organised and mass based
• Reactionary in nature
• Change oriented
• Violent or non violent
• Illustrations
➢ Tata singur
➢ Jaitapur
➢ Vedanta
➢ Kudankulam
➢ Bodi

@UPSC_MainsTests
13
(BATCH 1)- SOCIOLOGY PAPER I
TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
SECTION A
(10 x 5 = 50)
(a) Explain how modernity has impacted the emergence of sociology as a
distinct discipline. (10)
• Factors leading to modernity
➢ Intellectual
✓ Greek philosophers – Plato
✓ Renaissance – changes in religion
✓ Enlightenment- Rousseau - > general will of people
➢ World revolutions
✓ French -oppressive social conditions like 3 estate system
✓ American – Tocqueville- ideals of democracy
✓ Industrial – alienation ,migration etc
➢ Pro modernists vs anti modernists
✓ Pro modernists – Comte , Weber
✓ Anti modernists –Marx , Nietzsche
➢ Conclusion – subjects like history etc weren’t studying all those
changes holistically ; were subjective specific . To study
comprehensively , subject called sociology emerged
(b) Examine interpretative perspective as critique of positivism. (10)
• Interpretative method
➢ Weber’s verstehen model helps to study sociology from multiple
meanings unlike natural science
• Phenomenology
➢ Alfred Schutz – not possible to study society without subjectivity
unlike science
1

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
➢ Habermas – science starts and ends with presumptions – if used

like that , sociology would lose its exclusivity
➢ Horkheimer – sociological issues like kinship relations , etc can’t be
quantified through scientific methods
➢ Hopper & althuser –positivism is an ideology of dominant class to
further their ideas
➢ Positivism can arrest the truth
• Ethno methodology
➢ Social actors give different meanings to different social situations
which can’t be studies through positivism
(c) Illustrate with examples the significance of common sense in

sociological research. (10)
• John Locke – common sense and social science are mutually inclusive
as it helps in making sociology a non positivist subject
• Herbert Marcuse –common sense helps to create multiple dimensions
and thought process in sociology
• Peter Berger – common sense helps to understand the reflexes of man
• Durkheim’s common sense of religion integrates society helped in
creating his theory on religion
• Common sense creates a platform for developing hypothesis for
research eg in India mostly marriages happen within castes –
endogamy
• Marx analysed class consciousness would lead to revolutions from his
common sensical knowledge
• Criticism- but common sense isn’t always reliable ; subject to multiple
interpretations

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
(d) Critically analyse Mertons' conception of ‘Anomie’. (10)
• Reasons for anomie

➢ Merton – inherent in the social structure based on goals and
norms to achieve it
➢ Durkheim –polynormatism or normlessness
➢ Marx – modes of production in capitalistic society
• Consequences
➢ Merton - Causes deviant behaviour
➢ Durkheim- didn’t talk about consequence
➢ Marx – makes people to move temporarily towards religion
• Impact
➢ Merton – permanent feature
➢ Durkheim- temporary one
➢ Marx – temporary one
(e) Can hierarchy lead to social exclusion? Elaborate your answer. (10)
• Elaborate on the lines of
➢ Gender
➢ Caste
➢ Language
➢ Religion
Q.2 (a) Discuss the changing equations of discipline of sociology with

philosophy and political science. (20)
➢ Durkheim had studied not only the impact of religion on society

but also its origin , which is basically the domain of philosophy
➢ Bottomore – from social philosophy involving morals only
sociologist can better understand the societal issues like happiness
etc
• Sociology and political science

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
➢ Political science by which the State helps to uproot the social evils
like poverty , dowry etc
➢ State enact laws on the basis of social customs, traditions ,
morality of the society eg prevention of sexual harassment at
workplace act
(b) Identify the factors hindering objectivity in sociological research and

examine the need for an unbiased sociological research and the ways
to achieve it. (20)
• Factors hindering objectivity
➢ Topic for research
Eg caste and race in India by G S Ghurye
➢ Researcher bias
✓ Through the methodology used for research
Eg Oscar Lewis -Marxist school considered jajmani to be
exploitative
Wiser –functionalist school thought it to be essential for
division of labour
➢ Training of the researcher
➢ Duration for which the research is conducted
➢ Environmental constraints
Eg Andre beteille’s study on Tanjore village
• Ways to achieve unbiased research
➢ Through interpretative research methods
✓ Verstehen – Weber
✓ Phenomenology- Alfred schutz
✓ Interactionism – Mead
✓ Ethno methodology

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
(c) How can one resolve the issue of reliability and validity in the context
of sociological research on status groups? (10)
• Eg caste system based jajmani

➢ Marxist views as exploitative – Oscar Lewis
➢ Functionalist views as functional – Wiser
• Ways to resolve it
➢ Reliability
✓ Parallel forms of using varied qualitative methods
simultaneously
✓ Inter rater – through different researchers on same topic
➢ Validity
✓ By constructing a hypothesis
✓ Test – retest model – doing the reaserch at different points
of time.
Eg Andre beteille’s sripuram study – highly reliable
Q.3 (a) Discuss distinct sociological method adopted by Weber in his

study of ‘Protestant Ethics’. (20)
• Weber used ideal type model to study it as historical particular

• Features of ideal type
• Calvinism which has the features of
✓ Material asceticism
✓ Pre destination
✓ Calling notion
✓ Self discipline
(b) Analyse Marxian conception of ‘Division of Labour’ as against that of

Durkheim’s. (20)

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
• Marxian notion
➢ Methodology- conflict model
➢ Causes – enforced upon workers by capitalists
➢ Consequence- dehumanisation of work force
➢ Solutions –through revolution
• Durkheimian notion
➢ Methodology- functional model
➢ Causes – cooperation in complex societies for resource
utilisation
➢ Consequence- helps individuals coexist and cooperate
➢ Solutions – by making workers conscious of their work
(c) How do the interpretive sociologists criticise Durkheimian theory of

suicide?(10)
• By interpretative sociologists as follows

➢ J D Douglas – criticised the use of official statistics , questioning
its validity
➢ Jean beachler – as per Durkheim, suicidal factors aren’t always
external ; even personal factors cause suicide
➢ Maxwell Atkinson – quantitative data ends up producing facts
on suicide rather than analysing the social reality of suicide
Q.4 (a) Critically examine Parsonian notion of social systems and pattern
variables.(20)
• Structural functionalist
• Analysed societies are stable and functioning as per the AGIL systems
• Pattern variables
➢ Particularism vs universalism
➢ Affective vs affective neutrality
6

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
➢ Ascriptive vs achievement
➢ Diffusion vs specificity
➢ Collective vs self orientation
(b) Examine gender, ethnicity and race as major dimensions of

social stratification. (20)
• Gender
➢ Workspace – Martin & Roberts –20-22% wage difference exists
between men and women
➢ Private space – Diana leanov – family exploits women in the
form of domestic violence etc
• Race
➢ Dubois –treatment given to the subjugated races continues to be
pathetic
• Ethnicity
Source Channel
➢ Secluded in the form of ghettos
• Caste sts
➢ Purity and pollution in occupation eg seclusion of manual
scavengers
• Bureaucracy
➢ Rigid hierarchy leads to centralisation
(c) Elaborate the main tenets of functionalism in sociology. (10)

• Collective conscience and value consensus
• Functional alternatives
• Social order
• Functionalism and education
• Functionalism and family
• Functionalism and crime and deviance

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
• Functionalism and religion

SECTION B
Q.5 Write short notes on the following: (Each note should not exceed 150 words
10 x 5 = 50
(a) What do you understand by ‘contractualisation of work force’? Is
informal the new formal? (10)
• Those who aren’t hired directly but through a contractor for limited
tenure
• Causes
➢ Labour market rigidity – to reduce bargaining powers of
unionised workers
➢ Not seem to have an adverse effect on form productivity
➢ Strict rule on firing workers
➢ Universalisation of minimum wages for contract workers
aggravate the problem – creates more informal jobs ; increase
regional disparities
• Informal the new formal ?
➢ 2000- 15% to 2015 – 27% - ASI report
➢ More such labourers are in automobile sector
➢ Because if they are made permanent , their productivity gets
decreased
➢ Don’t cooperate in modernisation of technology etc
➢ Becomes very difficult to manage them due to unionisation
• Consequences
➢ Doubts in the sustainability of employment growth
➢ Deterioration in the standards of jobs created
(b) Discuss the changing interface between the notion of nation and state.
(10)
8

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
• Weber – nation – state distinction

➢ Nation – cultural concept
➢ State – political concept
• Changing notion
➢ Gellner cites as follows
✓ One nation – one state eg Israel
✓ Multiple nations – one state eg USA
✓ Multiple nations – multiple states eg India
(c) Give an assessment of the influence of gender on religious
practices.(10)
• Gender influence
➢ Mostly male becomes the priest in Hindus , bishops in Christianity ,
maulvi in Islam in the public space
➢ Rituals like fasting within private space by women mostly eg
karvaChauth festival
➢ Unlike Hinduism, ear piercing ceremony is mostly for girls only in
Christianity and Islam
➢ Puberty festival is celebrated only for girls and nor for boys
➢ No such differences for transgender communities
(d) Examine the relationship between lineage and descent. (10)
• Descent – tracing one’s ancestor through

➢ Lineage – known ancestors and
✓ No concept of god
✓ For passing on property purpose
➢ Clan – unknown ancestors
✓ Have own gods
✓ For marriage purpose
• Types of lineage
➢ Patrilineal

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
➢ Matrilineal
➢ Ambilineal
➢ Bilineal
(e) Can ‘yellow vests’ movement be considered as contemporary French

Revolution? Clarify your stand on the same.(10)
• Either yes or no stand

• If yes, both have same objectives as against oppressive taxation
system
➢ Demanded constitutional change and indirect democracy
• If no, FR was violent whereas yellow vest is relatively peaceful
➢ Demanded establishment of citizen centric referendum ie direct
democracy
Q.6 (a) Trace the changes in how power is organized in capitalist societies over
the years. (20)
• Elaborate on the power theories of Marx , Weber , Parsons

• Changes over years with respect to
➢ Party system
➢ Authority
➢ Bureaucracy
➢ Power elites
➢ MNCs
➢ Neo elites
(b) Examine any two sociological theories of religion in detail. (20)
• Evolutionary theories eg animism

• Transactional theory eg Bainbridge and Stark – transaction with gods for
their wishes to be fulfilled
(c) Examine the role of civil society with a special reference to India.(10)
10

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
• Mediation
• Participation
• Awareness generation
• Creates political diversity
• Lobbying government about particular issue like CSE NGO’s study on water
pollution
• Influence government’s policy issues
Q.7 (a) Is sexual division of labour an effective way of dividing work in a

society? (20)
• Under patriarchy division of labour mainly goes to men

• Formal economic models of labor specialisation propose that women
have an intrinsic comparative advantage over men in production and
care of children
• Leads to differentiation in the economic and household tasks
• Murdock –women unlikely to engage in activities that offered profound
incompatibilities with simultaneous child care etc since hunting
societies period
• Actions of agency models depart from this ascriptive perspective based
on divisions to look into differences saying individuals are free to
make choices in different forms of labour
• Consequences are individuals do better by choosing different labour
strategies
(b) Discuss the variations in kinship terminologies and system with

suitable illustrations. (20)
• Terminology
➢ Consanguineal kinship
➢ Affinal
11

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
• Kinship and its degree

➢ Primary
✓ Based on direct relations eg relation between parents and children
➢ Secondary
✓ Relations which come through primary kinship eg relation between
grandparents and grandchildren
➢ Tertiary
✓ Secondary kinship of primary kin eg wife of brother in law
• Kinship systems
➢ Classificatory
✓ Lineal , collateral , affinal – all relations are referred by same term of
designation
Eg followed by American Indian , Eskimo etc
➢ Descriptive
✓ Have separate terms for collateral , affinal relations
Eg followed by Semitic , Uralian people
(c) Problematise the concept of religiosity in the present context. (10)
• Two stands – either problematise or don’t

• If problematise , views are
✓ Religiosity and prejudice against minorities
✓ Fundamentalism
✓ Revivalism
✓ As per world values survey , the increasing religiosity in India leads
to poverty rather than prosperity
• If not problematise,
✓ Should be controlled through reasonable restrictions by State
12

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
✓ Positive correlation of religiosity and health in countries like

South Africa , Georgia etc
Q.8 (a) Examine the influence of globalization on development and

dependency.(20)
• Wallerstein’s world systems theory of

➢ Core
➢ Semi periphery and
➢ Periphery
• Influence of globalisation
➢ Due to improved communication, periphery provides raw
materials to core
➢ In turn periphery relies on core’S expensive products
➢ Same relations with semi periphery too
➢ Capitalism favours core and discourages the growth of semi
periphery and periphery
(b) Analyse the role of citizenship as a framework for social change. (20)
• The social changes brought are

➢ Independent living
➢ Rights
➢ Dignity
➢ Inclusion
(c) Elaborate on various types of religious practices prevalent in Indian

society. (10)
• Monism eg Advaitha Vedanta

• Animism eg bhils of MP
• Sects eg Jainism - digambara and shwetambra
13

TEST 8 - MOCK TEST
• Cults eg Saibaba

@UPSC_MainsTests
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2019 ShankarIAS Sociology Optional Test Series (Upscpdf - Com) PDF

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SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL TEST SERIES – BATCH 1 for Mains 2019 – Thursdays

Sociology - The Discipline

A (i), A (ii), Perspectives on the Study of

Rural and Agrarian Social

4 18.07.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm 4 Sociological Thinkers Nil

Politics and Society in India

Systems of Kinship B (v), Systems of Kinship in India

8 9 am to 12 Full Test on Paper I

9 05.09.19 2 to 5 pm 5:30 to 8 pm Nil Full Test on Paper II

UPSC Mock Test Paper I @ 9 am Mock Test Paper II @ 2 pm

Rs.5,000/- New Students & Outsiders

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SOCIOLOGY TEST 1 - 2019

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

(d) Provide a note on the history of Indian Sociology. (10 Marks)

(e) Examine the relationship between Sociology and Economics.

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

• [MARX] Forces and relations of production. Eg HDI measurement

(b) Examine the relevance of Marxist school of thought in contemporary

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

(c) Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative methods of data

(b) Differentiate between macro and micro sociological perspectives and

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

(c) What is a hypothesis? Develop and evaluate a hypothesis on corruption

(b) What is Ethnography? How can Ethnography be put to utility in

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

(c) How is sociology a general science of society and specialised

(d) What is value free sociology? (10 Marks)

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

G H Mead’s trees vs forests concept - Study of psychology vs sociology

Socio – TS–2019-T1- Key

• Strives for abstraction and generalisation

(c) Provide a note on Phenomenology. (10 Marks)

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B) Sociology - application of common sense

• [BROWN ]sociological thinking is different from common sense ; it encourages

• [BAUMAN&MAY]both dependent on each other

• [NAGEL ]sociological science can’t be levelled with common sense.

• common sense - individual’s subjective experiences and therefore common sense

C) Limitations of survey method

D) History of Indian sociology

• Shift in approach from functional to conflict viewpoint. E.g. Comparative studies of

E) Relationship between sociology and economics

2. A) Sociologicalresearch and human behaviour

C) Qualitative and quantitative methods differences

3. A) Sociology as a discipline evolved as a result of

4. A) Steps in sociological research process

C) Sociology as a general science of society

Sociology as a specialised discipline

D) Value free sociology

E.g. Rain dance ofhopi Americans , Durkheim’s study of suicide

E) G H Mead’s trees vs forests concept - Study of psychology vs sociology

B) Salient features of positivism

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✓ Yes, its a social fact,

• External: Continues to exist, irrespective of any individuals predisposition to

• Coercive: Invariably one has to follow its prescriptions and proscriptions

• Enduring: In vogue since 1000’s of years

• Distinct: Manifested in various ways.