Class 12 Sociology: CBSE Marking Scheme (2025-26) | CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Humanities - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

 Page 1


SOCIOLOGY (039) 
Marking Scheme  
Class XII- 2025-26 
Sr 
No 
SECTION-A 
Marks 
1.  
a)  A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. 
1 
2.  c)  A is true but R is false 1 
3.  d)  I. and IV. 
 
1 
4.  b) It keeps costs low for the company 1 
5.  a) Varna is a regional classification. 1 
6.  b) it allowed India to escape the identity-based conflicts and civil wars seen in 
other parts of the world. 
1 
7.  d) measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community 
can provoke opposition from other communities.  
 
1 
8.  d) this field would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say 
about women and the Dalits.   
1 
9.  c)  despite legislations, new forms of discrimination and social exclusion emerge 
and a constant a social campaign to bring awareness is required. 
 
1 
10.  b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A. 1 
11.  d) Social movements were seen as forces that led to disorder which was an 
important subject matter for Sociology. 
 
1 
12.  
c) The Bolshevik Revolution is a redemptive social movement 
1 
13.  c) OBCs are confined to Hinduism only. 
 
1 
14.  c) II., I., III., IV. 
 
1 
15.  a) Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. 
 
1 
16.  c)  A is true but R is false. 1 
 
SECTION-B 
 
17.  ? As per Malthusian theory, population grows in geometric progression whereas 
agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression. 
? According to him, humanity has only a limited ability to voluntarily reduce the 
growth of its population. 
2 
 
18.  ? Yes.  
? In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all deviations from the ‘perfect 
body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion. 
? The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma (actions) 
from which there can be no reprieve. The dominant cultural construction in 
India therefore looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the 
individual. 
2 
 
Page 2


SOCIOLOGY (039) 
Marking Scheme  
Class XII- 2025-26 
Sr 
No 
SECTION-A 
Marks 
1.  
a)  A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. 
1 
2.  c)  A is true but R is false 1 
3.  d)  I. and IV. 
 
1 
4.  b) It keeps costs low for the company 1 
5.  a) Varna is a regional classification. 1 
6.  b) it allowed India to escape the identity-based conflicts and civil wars seen in 
other parts of the world. 
1 
7.  d) measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community 
can provoke opposition from other communities.  
 
1 
8.  d) this field would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say 
about women and the Dalits.   
1 
9.  c)  despite legislations, new forms of discrimination and social exclusion emerge 
and a constant a social campaign to bring awareness is required. 
 
1 
10.  b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A. 1 
11.  d) Social movements were seen as forces that led to disorder which was an 
important subject matter for Sociology. 
 
1 
12.  
c) The Bolshevik Revolution is a redemptive social movement 
1 
13.  c) OBCs are confined to Hinduism only. 
 
1 
14.  c) II., I., III., IV. 
 
1 
15.  a) Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. 
 
1 
16.  c)  A is true but R is false. 1 
 
SECTION-B 
 
17.  ? As per Malthusian theory, population grows in geometric progression whereas 
agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression. 
? According to him, humanity has only a limited ability to voluntarily reduce the 
growth of its population. 
2 
 
18.  ? Yes.  
? In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all deviations from the ‘perfect 
body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion. 
? The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma (actions) 
from which there can be no reprieve. The dominant cultural construction in 
India therefore looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the 
individual. 
2 
 
OR 
? No. 
? Stree Purush Tulana 
? Sultana’s Dream 
19.  Yes. 
? Many people living in rural areas are employed in, or have livelihoods based 
on rural nonfarm activities.  
? For instance, there are rural residents employed in government services such 
as the Postal and Education Departments, factory workers, or in the army, 
who earn their living through non-agricultural activities. 
2 
 
20.  ? Successful strategies to build “state-nations” can and do accommodate 
diversity constructively by crafting responsive policies of cultural recognition.  
? They are effective solutions for ensuring the longer term objectives of political 
stability and social harmony. 
2 
 
21.  ? No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it 
is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable.  
? The caste system, for example, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity 
and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits 
as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.  
2 
 
22.  ? The sociological sense of minority also implies that the members of the 
minority form a group – that is, they have a strong sense of group solidarity, 
a feeling of togetherness and belonging.  
? This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to 
prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty 
and interests. 
OR 
? In Indian nationalism, the dominant trend was marked by an inclusive and 
democratic vision.  
? Inclusive because it recognised diversity and plurality. Democratic because it 
sought to do away with discrimination and exclusion and bring forth a just and 
equitable society. 
2 
 
23.  ? People often face discrimination and exclusion because of their gender, 
religion, ethnicity, language, caste and disability.  
? For example-women from a privileged background may face sexual 
harassment in public places. A middle-class professional from a minority 
religious or ethnic group may find it difficult to get accommodation in a middle-
class colony even in a metropolitan city. (Any two examples.) 
? People often harbour prejudices about other social groups. 
2 
 
24.  ? Workers get exhausted earlier than otherwise. 
? Workers will take voluntary retirement. 
? Increased productivity, efficiency and profit. 
2 
 
25.  ? For instance, what was a ‘mutiny’ or ‘rebellion’ for British colonial rulers in 
1857 was ‘the first war of Independence’ for Indian nationalists.  
? A mutiny is an act of defiance against supposedly legitimate authority, i.e., the 
British rule. A struggle for independence is a challenge to the very legitimacy 
of British rule. This shows how people attach different meanings to social 
movements. 
2 
 
 SECTION-C  
26.  Receiving region- 
? Conflict with native workers. 
? Low employment for native workers. 
4 
 
Page 3


SOCIOLOGY (039) 
Marking Scheme  
Class XII- 2025-26 
Sr 
No 
SECTION-A 
Marks 
1.  
a)  A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. 
1 
2.  c)  A is true but R is false 1 
3.  d)  I. and IV. 
 
1 
4.  b) It keeps costs low for the company 1 
5.  a) Varna is a regional classification. 1 
6.  b) it allowed India to escape the identity-based conflicts and civil wars seen in 
other parts of the world. 
1 
7.  d) measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community 
can provoke opposition from other communities.  
 
1 
8.  d) this field would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say 
about women and the Dalits.   
1 
9.  c)  despite legislations, new forms of discrimination and social exclusion emerge 
and a constant a social campaign to bring awareness is required. 
 
1 
10.  b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A. 1 
11.  d) Social movements were seen as forces that led to disorder which was an 
important subject matter for Sociology. 
 
1 
12.  
c) The Bolshevik Revolution is a redemptive social movement 
1 
13.  c) OBCs are confined to Hinduism only. 
 
1 
14.  c) II., I., III., IV. 
 
1 
15.  a) Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. 
 
1 
16.  c)  A is true but R is false. 1 
 
SECTION-B 
 
17.  ? As per Malthusian theory, population grows in geometric progression whereas 
agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression. 
? According to him, humanity has only a limited ability to voluntarily reduce the 
growth of its population. 
2 
 
18.  ? Yes.  
? In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all deviations from the ‘perfect 
body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion. 
? The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma (actions) 
from which there can be no reprieve. The dominant cultural construction in 
India therefore looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the 
individual. 
2 
 
OR 
? No. 
? Stree Purush Tulana 
? Sultana’s Dream 
19.  Yes. 
? Many people living in rural areas are employed in, or have livelihoods based 
on rural nonfarm activities.  
? For instance, there are rural residents employed in government services such 
as the Postal and Education Departments, factory workers, or in the army, 
who earn their living through non-agricultural activities. 
2 
 
20.  ? Successful strategies to build “state-nations” can and do accommodate 
diversity constructively by crafting responsive policies of cultural recognition.  
? They are effective solutions for ensuring the longer term objectives of political 
stability and social harmony. 
2 
 
21.  ? No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it 
is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable.  
? The caste system, for example, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity 
and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits 
as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.  
2 
 
22.  ? The sociological sense of minority also implies that the members of the 
minority form a group – that is, they have a strong sense of group solidarity, 
a feeling of togetherness and belonging.  
? This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to 
prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty 
and interests. 
OR 
? In Indian nationalism, the dominant trend was marked by an inclusive and 
democratic vision.  
? Inclusive because it recognised diversity and plurality. Democratic because it 
sought to do away with discrimination and exclusion and bring forth a just and 
equitable society. 
2 
 
23.  ? People often face discrimination and exclusion because of their gender, 
religion, ethnicity, language, caste and disability.  
? For example-women from a privileged background may face sexual 
harassment in public places. A middle-class professional from a minority 
religious or ethnic group may find it difficult to get accommodation in a middle-
class colony even in a metropolitan city. (Any two examples.) 
? People often harbour prejudices about other social groups. 
2 
 
24.  ? Workers get exhausted earlier than otherwise. 
? Workers will take voluntary retirement. 
? Increased productivity, efficiency and profit. 
2 
 
25.  ? For instance, what was a ‘mutiny’ or ‘rebellion’ for British colonial rulers in 
1857 was ‘the first war of Independence’ for Indian nationalists.  
? A mutiny is an act of defiance against supposedly legitimate authority, i.e., the 
British rule. A struggle for independence is a challenge to the very legitimacy 
of British rule. This shows how people attach different meanings to social 
movements. 
2 
 
 SECTION-C  
26.  Receiving region- 
? Conflict with native workers. 
? Low employment for native workers. 
4 
 
Supplying region- 
? Feminisation of workforce. 
? Greater insecurity for women workers. 
27.  ? Efforts to organise the “depressed classes” and particularly the untouchable 
castes predated the nationalist movement, having begun in the second half 
of the nineteenth century. This was an initiative taken from both ends of the 
caste spectrum – by upper caste progressive reformers as well as by 
members of the lower castes. 
? The dominant view in the nationalist movement was to treat caste as a social 
evil and as a colonial ploy to divide Indians. But the nationalist leaders were 
able to simultaneously work for the upliftment of the lower castes, advocate 
the abolition of untouchability and other caste restrictions, and, at the same 
time, reassure the landowning upper castes that their interests, too, would be 
looked after. The post-Independence Indian state inherited and reflected 
these contradictions. On the one hand, the state was committed to the 
abolition of caste and explicitly wrote this into the Constitution. On the other 
hand, the state was both unable and unwilling to push through radical reforms 
which would have undermined the economic basis for caste inequality. At yet 
another level, the state assumed that if it operated in a caste-blind manner, 
this would automatically lead to the undermining of caste-based privileges 
and the eventual abolition of the institution.  
4 
 
28.  ? Civil society is the name given to the broad arena which lies beyond the 
private domain of the family, but outside the domain of both state and market.  
? Civil society is the non-state and non-market part of the public domain in 
which individuals get together voluntarily to create institutions and 
organisations. It is the sphere of active citizenship where individuals take up 
social issues, try to influence the state or make demands on it, pursue their 
collective interests or seek support for a variety of causes. 
? Today the activities of civil society organisations have an even wider range, 
including advocacy and lobbying activity with national and international 
agencies as well as active participation in various movements.  
? The issues taken up are diverse, ranging from tribal struggles for land rights, 
devolution in urban governance, campaigns against rape and violence 
against women, rehabilitation of those displaced by dams and other 
developmental projects, and so on. 
4 
 
29.  ? No.  There were different kinds of westernisation. 
? One kind refers to the emergence of a westernised sub-cultural pattern 
through a minority section of Indians who first came in contact with Western 
culture. This included the sub culture of Indian intellectuals who not only 
adopted many cognitive patterns, or ways of thinking, and styles of life, but 
supported its expansion. 
? Apart from this there has been also the general spread of Western cultural 
traits, such as the use of new technology, dress, food, and changes in the 
habits and styles of people in general.  
? Across the country a very wide section of middle-class homes has a television 
set, a fridge, some kind of sofa set, a dining table and chair in the living room. 
4 
 
30.  ? One way in which rural social structure was altered by agricultural 
development since the 1960s was through the enrichment of the medium and 
large farmers who adopted the new technologies.  
? In several agriculturally rich regions, well-to-do farmers belonging to the 
dominant castes began to invest their profits from agriculture in other types of 
business ventures.  
4 
 
Page 4


SOCIOLOGY (039) 
Marking Scheme  
Class XII- 2025-26 
Sr 
No 
SECTION-A 
Marks 
1.  
a)  A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. 
1 
2.  c)  A is true but R is false 1 
3.  d)  I. and IV. 
 
1 
4.  b) It keeps costs low for the company 1 
5.  a) Varna is a regional classification. 1 
6.  b) it allowed India to escape the identity-based conflicts and civil wars seen in 
other parts of the world. 
1 
7.  d) measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community 
can provoke opposition from other communities.  
 
1 
8.  d) this field would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say 
about women and the Dalits.   
1 
9.  c)  despite legislations, new forms of discrimination and social exclusion emerge 
and a constant a social campaign to bring awareness is required. 
 
1 
10.  b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A. 1 
11.  d) Social movements were seen as forces that led to disorder which was an 
important subject matter for Sociology. 
 
1 
12.  
c) The Bolshevik Revolution is a redemptive social movement 
1 
13.  c) OBCs are confined to Hinduism only. 
 
1 
14.  c) II., I., III., IV. 
 
1 
15.  a) Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. 
 
1 
16.  c)  A is true but R is false. 1 
 
SECTION-B 
 
17.  ? As per Malthusian theory, population grows in geometric progression whereas 
agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression. 
? According to him, humanity has only a limited ability to voluntarily reduce the 
growth of its population. 
2 
 
18.  ? Yes.  
? In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all deviations from the ‘perfect 
body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion. 
? The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma (actions) 
from which there can be no reprieve. The dominant cultural construction in 
India therefore looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the 
individual. 
2 
 
OR 
? No. 
? Stree Purush Tulana 
? Sultana’s Dream 
19.  Yes. 
? Many people living in rural areas are employed in, or have livelihoods based 
on rural nonfarm activities.  
? For instance, there are rural residents employed in government services such 
as the Postal and Education Departments, factory workers, or in the army, 
who earn their living through non-agricultural activities. 
2 
 
20.  ? Successful strategies to build “state-nations” can and do accommodate 
diversity constructively by crafting responsive policies of cultural recognition.  
? They are effective solutions for ensuring the longer term objectives of political 
stability and social harmony. 
2 
 
21.  ? No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it 
is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable.  
? The caste system, for example, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity 
and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits 
as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.  
2 
 
22.  ? The sociological sense of minority also implies that the members of the 
minority form a group – that is, they have a strong sense of group solidarity, 
a feeling of togetherness and belonging.  
? This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to 
prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty 
and interests. 
OR 
? In Indian nationalism, the dominant trend was marked by an inclusive and 
democratic vision.  
? Inclusive because it recognised diversity and plurality. Democratic because it 
sought to do away with discrimination and exclusion and bring forth a just and 
equitable society. 
2 
 
23.  ? People often face discrimination and exclusion because of their gender, 
religion, ethnicity, language, caste and disability.  
? For example-women from a privileged background may face sexual 
harassment in public places. A middle-class professional from a minority 
religious or ethnic group may find it difficult to get accommodation in a middle-
class colony even in a metropolitan city. (Any two examples.) 
? People often harbour prejudices about other social groups. 
2 
 
24.  ? Workers get exhausted earlier than otherwise. 
? Workers will take voluntary retirement. 
? Increased productivity, efficiency and profit. 
2 
 
25.  ? For instance, what was a ‘mutiny’ or ‘rebellion’ for British colonial rulers in 
1857 was ‘the first war of Independence’ for Indian nationalists.  
? A mutiny is an act of defiance against supposedly legitimate authority, i.e., the 
British rule. A struggle for independence is a challenge to the very legitimacy 
of British rule. This shows how people attach different meanings to social 
movements. 
2 
 
 SECTION-C  
26.  Receiving region- 
? Conflict with native workers. 
? Low employment for native workers. 
4 
 
Supplying region- 
? Feminisation of workforce. 
? Greater insecurity for women workers. 
27.  ? Efforts to organise the “depressed classes” and particularly the untouchable 
castes predated the nationalist movement, having begun in the second half 
of the nineteenth century. This was an initiative taken from both ends of the 
caste spectrum – by upper caste progressive reformers as well as by 
members of the lower castes. 
? The dominant view in the nationalist movement was to treat caste as a social 
evil and as a colonial ploy to divide Indians. But the nationalist leaders were 
able to simultaneously work for the upliftment of the lower castes, advocate 
the abolition of untouchability and other caste restrictions, and, at the same 
time, reassure the landowning upper castes that their interests, too, would be 
looked after. The post-Independence Indian state inherited and reflected 
these contradictions. On the one hand, the state was committed to the 
abolition of caste and explicitly wrote this into the Constitution. On the other 
hand, the state was both unable and unwilling to push through radical reforms 
which would have undermined the economic basis for caste inequality. At yet 
another level, the state assumed that if it operated in a caste-blind manner, 
this would automatically lead to the undermining of caste-based privileges 
and the eventual abolition of the institution.  
4 
 
28.  ? Civil society is the name given to the broad arena which lies beyond the 
private domain of the family, but outside the domain of both state and market.  
? Civil society is the non-state and non-market part of the public domain in 
which individuals get together voluntarily to create institutions and 
organisations. It is the sphere of active citizenship where individuals take up 
social issues, try to influence the state or make demands on it, pursue their 
collective interests or seek support for a variety of causes. 
? Today the activities of civil society organisations have an even wider range, 
including advocacy and lobbying activity with national and international 
agencies as well as active participation in various movements.  
? The issues taken up are diverse, ranging from tribal struggles for land rights, 
devolution in urban governance, campaigns against rape and violence 
against women, rehabilitation of those displaced by dams and other 
developmental projects, and so on. 
4 
 
29.  ? No.  There were different kinds of westernisation. 
? One kind refers to the emergence of a westernised sub-cultural pattern 
through a minority section of Indians who first came in contact with Western 
culture. This included the sub culture of Indian intellectuals who not only 
adopted many cognitive patterns, or ways of thinking, and styles of life, but 
supported its expansion. 
? Apart from this there has been also the general spread of Western cultural 
traits, such as the use of new technology, dress, food, and changes in the 
habits and styles of people in general.  
? Across the country a very wide section of middle-class homes has a television 
set, a fridge, some kind of sofa set, a dining table and chair in the living room. 
4 
 
30.  ? One way in which rural social structure was altered by agricultural 
development since the 1960s was through the enrichment of the medium and 
large farmers who adopted the new technologies.  
? In several agriculturally rich regions, well-to-do farmers belonging to the 
dominant castes began to invest their profits from agriculture in other types of 
business ventures.  
4 
 
? This process of diversification gave rise to new entrepreneurial groups that 
moved out of rural areas and into the growing towns of these developing 
regions, giving rise to new regional elites that became economically as well 
as politically dominant.  
? The spread of higher education, especially private professional colleges, in 
rural and semi-urban areas, allowed the new rural elites to educate their 
children – many of whom then joined professional or white-collar occupations 
or started businesses, feeding into the expansion of the urban middle classes. 
31.  ? Deindustrialisation 
? Decline in indigenous urban centres 
? When British took over Indian states, towns like Thanjavur, Dhaka and 
Murshidabad lost their courts. 
? Deindustrialisation led to more people in India going back to agriculture. 
OR 
? Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are 
privately owned and organised to accumulate profits within a market system.  
? Capitalism in the west emerged out of a complex process of European 
exploration of the rest of the world, its plunder of wealth and resources, an 
unprecedented growth of science and technology, its harnessing to industries 
and agriculture.  
? What marked capitalism from the very beginning was its dynamism, its 
potential to grow, expand, innovate, use technology and labour in a way best 
assured to ensure greatest profit.  
? What marked it too was its global nature.  
 
4 
 
32.  ? For these groups, who have benefited the most from the developmental 
policies of the post-colonial era, caste has appeared to decline in significance 
precisely because it has done its job so well.  
? Their caste status had been crucial in ensuring that these groups had the 
necessary economic and educational resources to take full advantage of the 
opportunities offered by rapid development.  
? In particular, the upper caste elite were able to benefit from subsidised public 
education, especially professional education in science, technology, medicine 
and management. At the same time, they were also able to take advantage 
of the expansion of public sector jobs in the early decades after 
independence.  
? In this initial period, their lead over the rest of society (in terms of education) 
ensured that they did not face any serious competition. As their privileged 
status got consolidated in the second and third generations, these groups 
began to believe that their advancement had little to do with caste.  
? Certainly for the third generations from these groups their economic and 
educational capital alone is quite sufficient to ensure that they will continue to 
get the best in terms of life chances. For this group, it now seems that caste 
plays no part in their public lives, being limited to the personal sphere of 
religious practice or marriage and kinship.  
 
4 
 
 SECTION-D  
33. a
) 
? functioning of family as a social institution will get impaired. 
? Continuity of society will get affected. 
? Increased overall pressure on one gender 
6 
 
Page 5


SOCIOLOGY (039) 
Marking Scheme  
Class XII- 2025-26 
Sr 
No 
SECTION-A 
Marks 
1.  
a)  A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. 
1 
2.  c)  A is true but R is false 1 
3.  d)  I. and IV. 
 
1 
4.  b) It keeps costs low for the company 1 
5.  a) Varna is a regional classification. 1 
6.  b) it allowed India to escape the identity-based conflicts and civil wars seen in 
other parts of the world. 
1 
7.  d) measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community 
can provoke opposition from other communities.  
 
1 
8.  d) this field would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say 
about women and the Dalits.   
1 
9.  c)  despite legislations, new forms of discrimination and social exclusion emerge 
and a constant a social campaign to bring awareness is required. 
 
1 
10.  b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A. 1 
11.  d) Social movements were seen as forces that led to disorder which was an 
important subject matter for Sociology. 
 
1 
12.  
c) The Bolshevik Revolution is a redemptive social movement 
1 
13.  c) OBCs are confined to Hinduism only. 
 
1 
14.  c) II., I., III., IV. 
 
1 
15.  a) Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. 
 
1 
16.  c)  A is true but R is false. 1 
 
SECTION-B 
 
17.  ? As per Malthusian theory, population grows in geometric progression whereas 
agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression. 
? According to him, humanity has only a limited ability to voluntarily reduce the 
growth of its population. 
2 
 
18.  ? Yes.  
? In a culture that looks up to bodily ‘perfection’, all deviations from the ‘perfect 
body’ signify abnormality, defect and distortion. 
? The common perception views disability as retribution for past karma (actions) 
from which there can be no reprieve. The dominant cultural construction in 
India therefore looks at disability as essentially a characteristic of the 
individual. 
2 
 
OR 
? No. 
? Stree Purush Tulana 
? Sultana’s Dream 
19.  Yes. 
? Many people living in rural areas are employed in, or have livelihoods based 
on rural nonfarm activities.  
? For instance, there are rural residents employed in government services such 
as the Postal and Education Departments, factory workers, or in the army, 
who earn their living through non-agricultural activities. 
2 
 
20.  ? Successful strategies to build “state-nations” can and do accommodate 
diversity constructively by crafting responsive policies of cultural recognition.  
? They are effective solutions for ensuring the longer term objectives of political 
stability and social harmony. 
2 
 
21.  ? No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it 
is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable.  
? The caste system, for example, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity 
and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits 
as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation.  
2 
 
22.  ? The sociological sense of minority also implies that the members of the 
minority form a group – that is, they have a strong sense of group solidarity, 
a feeling of togetherness and belonging.  
? This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to 
prejudice and discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty 
and interests. 
OR 
? In Indian nationalism, the dominant trend was marked by an inclusive and 
democratic vision.  
? Inclusive because it recognised diversity and plurality. Democratic because it 
sought to do away with discrimination and exclusion and bring forth a just and 
equitable society. 
2 
 
23.  ? People often face discrimination and exclusion because of their gender, 
religion, ethnicity, language, caste and disability.  
? For example-women from a privileged background may face sexual 
harassment in public places. A middle-class professional from a minority 
religious or ethnic group may find it difficult to get accommodation in a middle-
class colony even in a metropolitan city. (Any two examples.) 
? People often harbour prejudices about other social groups. 
2 
 
24.  ? Workers get exhausted earlier than otherwise. 
? Workers will take voluntary retirement. 
? Increased productivity, efficiency and profit. 
2 
 
25.  ? For instance, what was a ‘mutiny’ or ‘rebellion’ for British colonial rulers in 
1857 was ‘the first war of Independence’ for Indian nationalists.  
? A mutiny is an act of defiance against supposedly legitimate authority, i.e., the 
British rule. A struggle for independence is a challenge to the very legitimacy 
of British rule. This shows how people attach different meanings to social 
movements. 
2 
 
 SECTION-C  
26.  Receiving region- 
? Conflict with native workers. 
? Low employment for native workers. 
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Supplying region- 
? Feminisation of workforce. 
? Greater insecurity for women workers. 
27.  ? Efforts to organise the “depressed classes” and particularly the untouchable 
castes predated the nationalist movement, having begun in the second half 
of the nineteenth century. This was an initiative taken from both ends of the 
caste spectrum – by upper caste progressive reformers as well as by 
members of the lower castes. 
? The dominant view in the nationalist movement was to treat caste as a social 
evil and as a colonial ploy to divide Indians. But the nationalist leaders were 
able to simultaneously work for the upliftment of the lower castes, advocate 
the abolition of untouchability and other caste restrictions, and, at the same 
time, reassure the landowning upper castes that their interests, too, would be 
looked after. The post-Independence Indian state inherited and reflected 
these contradictions. On the one hand, the state was committed to the 
abolition of caste and explicitly wrote this into the Constitution. On the other 
hand, the state was both unable and unwilling to push through radical reforms 
which would have undermined the economic basis for caste inequality. At yet 
another level, the state assumed that if it operated in a caste-blind manner, 
this would automatically lead to the undermining of caste-based privileges 
and the eventual abolition of the institution.  
4 
 
28.  ? Civil society is the name given to the broad arena which lies beyond the 
private domain of the family, but outside the domain of both state and market.  
? Civil society is the non-state and non-market part of the public domain in 
which individuals get together voluntarily to create institutions and 
organisations. It is the sphere of active citizenship where individuals take up 
social issues, try to influence the state or make demands on it, pursue their 
collective interests or seek support for a variety of causes. 
? Today the activities of civil society organisations have an even wider range, 
including advocacy and lobbying activity with national and international 
agencies as well as active participation in various movements.  
? The issues taken up are diverse, ranging from tribal struggles for land rights, 
devolution in urban governance, campaigns against rape and violence 
against women, rehabilitation of those displaced by dams and other 
developmental projects, and so on. 
4 
 
29.  ? No.  There were different kinds of westernisation. 
? One kind refers to the emergence of a westernised sub-cultural pattern 
through a minority section of Indians who first came in contact with Western 
culture. This included the sub culture of Indian intellectuals who not only 
adopted many cognitive patterns, or ways of thinking, and styles of life, but 
supported its expansion. 
? Apart from this there has been also the general spread of Western cultural 
traits, such as the use of new technology, dress, food, and changes in the 
habits and styles of people in general.  
? Across the country a very wide section of middle-class homes has a television 
set, a fridge, some kind of sofa set, a dining table and chair in the living room. 
4 
 
30.  ? One way in which rural social structure was altered by agricultural 
development since the 1960s was through the enrichment of the medium and 
large farmers who adopted the new technologies.  
? In several agriculturally rich regions, well-to-do farmers belonging to the 
dominant castes began to invest their profits from agriculture in other types of 
business ventures.  
4 
 
? This process of diversification gave rise to new entrepreneurial groups that 
moved out of rural areas and into the growing towns of these developing 
regions, giving rise to new regional elites that became economically as well 
as politically dominant.  
? The spread of higher education, especially private professional colleges, in 
rural and semi-urban areas, allowed the new rural elites to educate their 
children – many of whom then joined professional or white-collar occupations 
or started businesses, feeding into the expansion of the urban middle classes. 
31.  ? Deindustrialisation 
? Decline in indigenous urban centres 
? When British took over Indian states, towns like Thanjavur, Dhaka and 
Murshidabad lost their courts. 
? Deindustrialisation led to more people in India going back to agriculture. 
OR 
? Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are 
privately owned and organised to accumulate profits within a market system.  
? Capitalism in the west emerged out of a complex process of European 
exploration of the rest of the world, its plunder of wealth and resources, an 
unprecedented growth of science and technology, its harnessing to industries 
and agriculture.  
? What marked capitalism from the very beginning was its dynamism, its 
potential to grow, expand, innovate, use technology and labour in a way best 
assured to ensure greatest profit.  
? What marked it too was its global nature.  
 
4 
 
32.  ? For these groups, who have benefited the most from the developmental 
policies of the post-colonial era, caste has appeared to decline in significance 
precisely because it has done its job so well.  
? Their caste status had been crucial in ensuring that these groups had the 
necessary economic and educational resources to take full advantage of the 
opportunities offered by rapid development.  
? In particular, the upper caste elite were able to benefit from subsidised public 
education, especially professional education in science, technology, medicine 
and management. At the same time, they were also able to take advantage 
of the expansion of public sector jobs in the early decades after 
independence.  
? In this initial period, their lead over the rest of society (in terms of education) 
ensured that they did not face any serious competition. As their privileged 
status got consolidated in the second and third generations, these groups 
began to believe that their advancement had little to do with caste.  
? Certainly for the third generations from these groups their economic and 
educational capital alone is quite sufficient to ensure that they will continue to 
get the best in terms of life chances. For this group, it now seems that caste 
plays no part in their public lives, being limited to the personal sphere of 
religious practice or marriage and kinship.  
 
4 
 
 SECTION-D  
33. a
) 
? functioning of family as a social institution will get impaired. 
? Continuity of society will get affected. 
? Increased overall pressure on one gender 
6 
 
 
 
 
 
? Rise of crimes 
 
b
) 
? Preference for male child. 
? Socio-cultural reasons such as dowry. 
? Neglect of the girl babies. 
 
2 
 (Q 33. FOR CANDIDATES WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT)  
a
) 
? functioning of family as a social institution will get impaired. 
? Continuity of society will get affected. 
? Increased overall pressure on one gender 
? Rise of crimes 
 
4 
b
) 
? Preference for male child. 
? Socio-cultural reasons such as dowry. 
? Neglect of the girl babies. 
 
2 
34
. 
? Private companies, especially foreign firms, are encouraged to invest in 
sectors earlier reserved for the government, including telecom, civil aviation, 
power, etc.  
? Licenses are no longer required to open industries. 
? Foreign products are now easily available in Indian shops. 
? Many Indian companies— small and large, have been bought over by 
multinationals. 
? Government is following the policy of disinvestment and outsourcing. 
? Reduction in number of permanent employees. 
? Expansion of unorganised sector. 
6 
35.  ? Sustained collective action over time. 
? Directed against the state. 
? Takes the form of demanding changes on a public issue. 
? Collective action marked by some degree of organisation. 
? Leadership and structure required. 
? Shared objective and ideologies. 
    6