Passage Based Questions: The Challenges of Cultural Diversity | Sociology Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Passage  - 1

Passage:
“The Indian nation-state is socially and culturally one of the most diverse countries of the world. It has a population of about 1.21 billion people, according to Census of India 2011, currently the second largest – and soon to become the largest national population in the world. These billion-plus people speak about 1,632 different languages and dialects. As many as twenty-two of these languages have been officially recognised and placed under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, thus guaranteeing their legal status. In terms of religion, about 80% of the population are Hindus, who in turn are regionally specific, plural in beliefs and practices, and divided by castes and languages. About 14.2% of the population are Muslims, which makes India the world’s second-largest Muslim country after Indonesia and Pakistan. The other major religious communities are Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.7%), Buddhists (0.7%) and Jains (0.4%). Because of India’s huge population, these small percentages can also add up to large absolute numbers.”

Q1: What is meant by the term 'Diversity'?
Ans: Diversity refers to the presence within the larger national, regional, or other context of many different kinds of cultural communities such as those defined by language, religion, region, ethnicity, and so on.

Q2: Define the term 'Minority.'
Ans: Minority groups are groups of people in a minority in a given society, who because of their distinct physical and cultural characteristics, find themselves in situations of inequality within the society.

Q3: How does regional diversity help in preserving ancient culture?
Ans: It is correct that regional diversity helps preserve ancient culture. If the culture of the entire country became uniform, the significance of different cultures would diminish. Various regions have unique lifestyles, attire, and dietary habits, which indicate a person’s origin. Thus, culture remains preserved through regional diversity.

Passage  - 2

II. Read the following text and answer the questions based on it:

Passage:
“Regionalism in India is rooted in India’s diversity of languages, cultures, tribes, and religions. It is also encouraged by the geographical concentration of these identity markers in particular regions, and fuelled by a sense of regional deprivation. Indian federalism has been a means of accommodating these regional sentiments (Bhattacharyya 2005). After Independence, initially, the Indian state continued with the British-Indian arrangement dividing India into large provinces, also called ‘presidencies’. (Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta were the three major presidencies; incidentally, all three cities after which the presidencies were named have changed their names recently). These were large multi-ethnic and multilingual provincial states constituting the major political-administrative units of a semi-federal state called the union of India.”

Q1: What does regionalism mean in the context of India?
Ans: Regionalism refers to the preference given to one's own region while neglecting others in decision-making processes, availing benefits, and utilizing natural and economic resources. Encouraging one’s region while considering people from other regions as outsiders is also a form of regionalism. For instance, migrants from one state are often differentiated from those of other states.

Q2: What measures can be taken to eliminate regionalism?
Ans: Regionalism can be eliminated through several measures such as enacting appropriate laws, improving transport and communication systems, promoting tourism, fostering a common national language, and implementing programs that promote national unity.

Q3: In what way does regionalism hinder national unity?
Ans: Regionalism prioritizes one’s region over others, treating other regions as foreign. This leads to discrimination against people from different regions, diminishing feelings of equality and fraternity, and generating a sense of regional superiority, which poses a significant obstacle to national unity.

Q4: What are the negative consequences of religious diversity?
Ans:
(i) Religious fundamentalism
(ii) Conversion from one religion to another
(iii) Conflicts between different religious communities.

Passage  - 3

III. Read the following text and answer the questions based on it:

Passage:
“You may have noticed that much of this chapter has been concerned with the state. The state is indeed a very crucial institution when it comes to the management of cultural diversity in a nation. Although it claims to represent the nation, the state can also become somewhat independent of the nation and its people. To the extent that the state structure – the legislature, bureaucracy, judiciary, armed forces, police, and other arms of the state – becomes insulated from the people, it also has the potential of turning authoritarian. An authoritarian state is the opposite of a democratic state. It is a state in which the people have no voice and those in power are not accountable to anyone. Authoritarian states often limit or abolish civil liberties like freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of political activity, right to protection from wrongful use of authority, right to the due processes of the law, and so on. Apart from authoritarianism, there is also the possibility that state institutions become unable or unwilling to respond to the needs of the people because of corruption, inefficiency, or lack of resources. In short, there are many reasons why a state may not be all that it should be. Non-state actors and institutions become important in this context, for they can keep a watch on the state, protest against its injustices or supplement its efforts.”

Q1: Why is it challenging to define a nation?
Ans:
(i) A nation is a unique type of community that is easy to describe but difficult to define. We can describe many nations based on shared cultural, historical institutions like religion, language, ethnicity, history, or regional culture.
(ii) However, it is challenging to identify any defining features for a nation because there are exceptions and counterexamples for every possible criterion. For example, there are nations that do not share a common language, religion, ethnicity, and so on.

Q2: Why are states typically wary of cultural diversity?
Ans: States generally view cultural diversity with suspicion because they fear that recognizing diverse cultural identities, such as those based on language, ethnicity, or religion, might lead to social fragmentation and hinder the formation of a harmonious society.

Q3: Who constitutes a civil society?
Ans: Civil society refers to the sphere of society that exists beyond the family but is not part of the state or the market.