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Caste and Tribe: Concept, Characteristics & Changing Perspectives — 50 MCQs with Answers

Subject: Sociology • Format: Short note + 50 multiple choice questions (with answers) • Ideal for Class/College revision, competitive exam practice, and quick quizzes.

Short Note — Caste and Tribe (Forward-thinking summary)

Concept: caste and tribe are two distinct forms of social organization. Caste, mainly associated with South Asia (especially India), is a hierarchical, endogamous social system based on hereditary occupation, ritual status and notions of purity-pollution. Tribe refers to smaller, kin-based communities often organized around clan ties, shared territory, and customary law; tribes are usually non-hierarchical or differently stratified compared to caste systems.

Characteristics: Caste features heredity, endogamy, occupational specialization, hierarchical ranking, and religious sanctions. Tribe features kinship-based solidarity, territoriality, shifting leadership, collective ownership/use of resources, and distinctive cultural practices.

Changing Perspectives: Globalization, state policies, urbanization, education, and political mobilization have transformed both caste and tribal identities. Caste boundaries are becoming fluid in urban markets and education; however, caste also reinvents itself politically. Tribes are experiencing assimilation, assertion of indigenous rights, and cultural revival simultaneously. A forward-thinking view emphasizes rights-based uplift, intersectional analysis (class × caste × gender), and empowering marginalized communities while preserving cultural autonomy.

50 MCQs — Caste and Tribe (Answers included)

1. 1. The primary characteristic of caste is:
   1. Political sovereignty
   2. Heredity and endogamy
   3. Nomadism
   4. Equal status for all
   Answer

   Correct: B — Heredity and endogamy.

2. 2. Tribe is best described as:
   1. A hierarchical occupational order
   2. A kin-based community with shared territory
   3. A modern industrial group
   4. A purely religious sect
   Answer

   Correct: B — A kin-based community with shared territory.

3. 3. Which feature is NOT generally associated with caste?
   1. Endogamy
   2. Occupation ascribed by birth
   3. Flexible mobility between castes
   4. Ritual ranking
   Answer

   Correct: C — Flexible mobility between castes.

4. 4. Which sociologist wrote about the 'Jajmani' system as linked to caste?
   1. Max Weber
   2. M. N. Srinivas
   3. G. S. Ghurye
   4. Louis Dumont
   Answer

   Correct: B — M. N. Srinivas.

5. 5. Which concept emphasizes hierarchy and purity in caste analysis?
   1. Structural functionalism
   2. Purity–pollution ideology
   3. Political economy
   4. Rational choice
   Answer

   Correct: B — Purity–pollution ideology.

6. 6. Which is a common trait of tribal societies?
   1. Rigid occupational rules
   2. Kinship and clan ties
   3. Urbanized neighborhoods
   4. Formal caste councils
   Answer

   Correct: B — Kinship and clan ties.

7. 7. The anthropological approach that studies tribe as an integrated whole is called:
   1. Diffusionism
   2. Cultural ecology
   3. Structural-functionalism
   4. Sociobiology
   Answer

   Correct: C — Structural-functionalism.

8. 8. 'Sanskritization' (a process of social change) was coined by:
   1. G. S. Ghurye
   2. M. N. Srinivas
   3. Robert Redfield
   4. Emile Durkheim
   Answer

   Correct: B — M. N. Srinivas.

9. 9. Which is TRUE about tribe-state relations in modern times?
   1. Tribes always remain isolated
   2. State policies sometimes integrate or marginalize tribes
   3. Tribes always hold political power in national governments
   4. Tribes are never affected by globalization
   Answer

   Correct: B — State policies sometimes integrate or marginalize tribes.

10. 10. The anthropologist who emphasized 'the Caste System as a Whole' was:
    1. Louis Dumont
    2. Max Weber
    3. A. R. Radcliffe-Brown
    4. Clifford Geertz
    Answer

    Correct: A — Louis Dumont.

11. 11. Which of the following helps reduce caste rigidity?
    1. Occupational specialization by birth
    2. Urbanization and education
    3. Strict endogamy
    4. Untouchability practices
    Answer

    Correct: B — Urbanization and education.

12. 12. Tribal societies often practice:
    1. Individual private land ownership in cities
    2. Collective use of natural resources
    3. Rigid occupational castes
    4. Urban market economies
    Answer

    Correct: B — Collective use of natural resources.

13. 13. Which is NOT a typical feature of tribe?
    1. Clan exogamy
    2. Occupational heredity like caste
    3. Oral traditions
    4. Customary law
    Answer

    Correct: B — Occupational heredity like caste.

14. 14. 'Demand for reservation' as political strategy is linked primarily to:
    1. Only tribal identity
    2. Caste and tribe both (affirmative action for disadvantaged groups)
    3. Global trade policy
    4. Urban sanitation
    Answer

    Correct: B — Caste and tribe both.

15. 15. Which is an effect of industrialization on caste and tribe?
    1. Strengthening of hereditary occupations
    2. Breaking down of some traditional barriers
    3. Complete disappearance of caste identities
    4. No change at all
    Answer

    Correct: B — Breaking down of some traditional barriers.

16. 16. Which of these is an ascribed status?
    1. Class achieved through education
    2. Caste at birth
    3. Occupation chosen voluntarily in modern city
    4. Political appointment
    Answer

    Correct: B — Caste at birth.

17. 17. The practice of 'untouchability' primarily relates to:
    1. Tribe vs. tribe relations
    2. Inter-caste social exclusion
    3. Gender segregation in tribes
    4. Urban planning
    Answer

    Correct: B — Inter-caste social exclusion.

18. 18. Which term refers to tribal groups recognized by the Indian Constitution as needing special protection?
    1. Scheduled Castes
    2. Scheduled Tribes
    3. Other Backward Classes
    4. Forward Classes
    Answer

    Correct: B — Scheduled Tribes.

19. 19. Which institution helps reproduce caste norms traditionally?
    1. Modern universities
    2. Endogamous marriage practices
    3. Open labor markets
    4. Mass media
    Answer

    Correct: B — Endogamous marriage practices.

20. 20. A trend in tribal change is:
    1. Complete cultural isolation forever
    2. Assimilation, ethnic assertion and rights movements
    3. Decline in all forms of political activity
    4. Return to hunter-gatherer economy only
    Answer

    Correct: B — Assimilation, ethnic assertion and rights movements.

21. 21. Which of the following is an analytical contrast between caste and class?
    1. Caste is achieved, class is ascribed
    2. Caste is ascribed, class is achieved
    3. Both are always identical
    4. Class is only religious
    Answer

    Correct: B — Caste is ascribed, class is achieved.

22. 22. Which policy instrument aims at tribal development in many countries?
    1. Affirmative action and targeted welfare schemes
    2. Imposing caste rules
    3. Ban on education
    4. Forced urbanization without consent
    Answer

    Correct: A — Affirmative action and targeted welfare schemes.

23. 23. Which of these scholars emphasized the idea of caste as a 'religious' hierarchy?
    1. Louis Dumont
    2. Karl Marx
    3. Max Weber
    4. Bronislaw Malinowski
    Answer

    Correct: A — Louis Dumont.

24. 24. Which is an example of tribe's adaptive strategy?
    1. Market-based specialization only
    2. Shifting cultivation, pastoralism or mixed subsistence
    3. Rigid caste occupations
    4. Endogamous urban clans
    Answer

    Correct: B — Shifting cultivation, pastoralism or mixed subsistence.

25. 25. Which term describes social mobility within caste?
    1. Vertical mobility
    2. Clan exogamy
    3. Caste rigidity
    4. Occupational divorce
    Answer

    Correct: A — Vertical mobility (though limited historically).

26. 26. Which is a feature of tribal political organisation traditionally?
    1. Centralized bureaucratic state
    2. Lineage/clan leaders and councils
    3. Feudal landlordism
    4. Modern party politics only
    Answer

    Correct: B — Lineage/clan leaders and councils.

27. 27. The process through which lower castes adopt upper caste practices is called:
    1. Urbanization
    2. Sanskritization
    3. Modernization
    4. Westernization
    Answer

    Correct: B — Sanskritization.

28. 28. Which is true about tribe and language?
    1. Tribes always use the national language only
    2. Many tribes have distinct native languages or dialects
    3. Tribes never change their language
    4. Language is unimportant for tribal identity
    Answer

    Correct: B — Many tribes have distinct native languages or dialects.

29. 29. Which constitutional provision in India recognises caste-based disadvantage formally? (Short answer)
    1. Reservation for Scheduled Castes
    2. Legalizing untouchability
    3. Prohibiting affirmative action
    4. None of the above
    Answer

    Correct: A — Reservation for Scheduled Castes.

30. 30. Which is a modern instrument of tribe empowerment?
    1. Exclusion from schools
    2. Legal recognition of land and forest rights
    3. Banning cultural expression
    4. Forcing assimilation only
    Answer

    Correct: B — Legal recognition of land and forest rights.

31. 31. Which school links caste with occupational specialization and social stability?
    1. Marxist critique
    2. Functionalist perspective
    3. Postmodernism
    4. Feminist theory
    Answer

    Correct: B — Functionalist perspective.

32. 32. 'Tribalization' of caste means:
    1. Caste adopting tribal features
    2. Tribes turning into urban elites
    3. Complete disappearance of caste
    4. None of the above
    Answer

    Correct: A — Caste adopting tribal features (rare usage; term context-specific).

33. 33. Which of the following weakens tribal social structure?
    1. Respect for customary law
    2. Displacement and resource loss
    3. Community solidarity
    4. Intergenerational oral transmission
    Answer

    Correct: B — Displacement and resource loss.

34. 34. Which is an example of caste-based occupational group?
    1. Nomadic tribe that herds animals
    2. Traditional potters, barbers, priests in caste system
    3. Modern corporate IT teams
    4. All citizens in a nation
    Answer

    Correct: B — Traditional potters, barbers, priests in caste system.

35. 35. Which instrument may protect tribal culture while enabling development?
    1. Top-down relocation without consent
    2. Participatory development and cultural safeguards
    3. Forcing only market norms
    4. Removing all education
    Answer

    Correct: B — Participatory development and cultural safeguards.

36. 36. Which is a modern outcome of caste politics?
    1. No political mobilisation based on caste
    2. Electoral mobilisation and identity politics
    3. Complete elimination of caste distinctions
    4. Universal class consciousness only
    Answer

    Correct: B — Electoral mobilisation and identity politics.

37. 37. Cultural revival among tribes often includes:
    1. Rediscovery and promotion of native language
    2. Abandoning tradition completely
    3. Only adopting urban culture
    4. All of the above
    Answer

    Correct: A — Rediscovery and promotion of native language.

38. 38. Which concept relates caste to status and power in modern sociology?
    1. Weber's view of social stratification
    2. Durkheim's mechanical solidarity only
    3. Malinowski's functionalism
    4. None of these
    Answer

    Correct: A — Weber's view of social stratification.

39. 39. An effect of positive discrimination (reservations) is:
    1. Only social tension
    2. Greater educational and political representation for disadvantaged groups
    3. Complete end to poverty overnight
    4. None of the above
    Answer

    Correct: B — Greater educational and political representation for disadvantaged groups.

40. 40. The study that compares caste and class systems is called:
    1. Comparative stratification analysis
    2. Medical anthropology
    3. Urban planning
    4. Microeconomics
    Answer

    Correct: A — Comparative stratification analysis.

41. 41. Which approach studies how economic changes affect caste and tribal life?
    1. Political economy perspective
    2. Purely linguistic analysis
    3. Only genealogical study
    4. Astronomy
    Answer

    Correct: A — Political economy perspective.

42. 42. Which is an example of tribal self-governance institution?
    1. Gram sabha or tribal councils under customary law
    2. National monetary policy
    3. Central bureaucracy
    4. Urban municipal corporation only
    Answer

    Correct: A — Gram sabha or tribal councils under customary law.

43. 43. Which factor accelerates caste decline in certain contexts?
    1. Strict enforcement of hereditary occupation
    2. Inter-caste economic cooperation and mixed workplaces
    3. Ritual purity rules only
    4. Denial of education
    Answer

    Correct: B — Inter-caste economic cooperation and mixed workplaces.

44. 44. Which is the best policy for protecting tribal rights?
    1. Top-down development without consultation
    2. Free, prior and informed consent for projects affecting tribes
    3. Forced cultural assimilation
    4. None of the above
    Answer

    Correct: B — Free, prior and informed consent for projects affecting tribes.

45. 45. Which process involves lower castes seeking upward ritual status?
    1. Modernization
    2. Sanskritization
    3. Westernization
    4. Globalization only
    Answer

    Correct: B — Sanskritization.

46. 46. In tribal studies, 'acculturation' means:
    1. Complete rejection of all outside influence
    2. Cultural change due to prolonged contact with other societies
    3. Only language loss
    4. Geological change
    Answer

    Correct: B — Cultural change due to prolonged contact with other societies.

47. 47. Which is often a challenge for both caste and tribal groups today?
    1. Access to quality education and healthcare
    2. Excessive representation in elite jobs only
    3. Complete isolation from markets
    4. None—there are no challenges
    Answer

    Correct: A — Access to quality education and healthcare.

48. 48. Which phrase best captures a modern policy aim for disadvantaged castes and tribes?
    1. Preserve exclusion
    2. Inclusive development and social justice
    3. Erase identity completely
    4. Strengthen hereditary occupation
    Answer

    Correct: B — Inclusive development and social justice.

49. 49. Which body/document provides legal protection against caste-based discrimination in India?
    1. Indian Constitution (Articles & laws banning untouchability)
    2. Only customary norms
    3. Local neighbourhood rules only
    4. None at all
    Answer

    Correct: A — Indian Constitution (Articles & laws banning untouchability).

50. 50. The forward-thinking approach to caste & tribe studies emphasizes:
    1. Only preserving traditions without rights
    2. Intersectional rights-based policy, cultural respect, and economic inclusion
    3. Forcing complete homogenization
    4. Eliminating education
    Answer

    Correct: B — Intersectional rights-based policy, cultural respect, and economic inclusion.

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