Understanding Society MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Understanding Society - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is - Mukherjee

Key Points

• D.P. Mukherjee (1979) critiqued the colonial impact on Indian society and economy.
• He observed that British colonial policies led to:
  • The rise of zamindars who were not productive landowners but merely parasitic rent-collectors.
  • The emergence of a new class of English-educated Indians who were disconnected from Indian cultural traditions and became “job-hunter graduates”.
• These outcomes were seen as unintended consequences of colonialism that failed to foster a genuine, self-sustaining middle class in India.

Additional Information

• Colonial education system
  • The British introduced English-medium education primarily to produce clerks and administrators for the colonial bureaucracy.
  • This education was often detached from indigenous knowledge systems and had limited employment potential, leading to unemployment or underemployment.
• Land revenue policies
  • Colonial policies such as the Permanent Settlement created a class of absentee landlords (zamindars) who extracted rent without investing in agricultural productivity.
  • This contributed to rural poverty and stagnation, especially in Bengal and northern India.
• Middle class formation
  • Unlike in the West, colonial India’s new social groups lacked economic autonomy and were dependent on colonial structures.
  • Thus, the formation of a stable, self-reliant middle class was obstructed under colonial rule.

The correct answer is - Rudolph and Rudolph 

Key Points

• Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph
  • They co-authored the 1967 book "The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India".
  • Their work argues that tradition can serve modern purposes in Indian political and social life.
  • They challenged the linear dichotomy between tradition and modernity by showing how traditional institutions adapt within modern contexts.
  • Their study was influential in the field of political sociology and Indian modernization theory.

Additional Information

• Core Concepts from the Book
  • Modernity is characterized by:
    • Universal commitments over local ties
    • Rationality, science, and utility over sacred and emotional reasoning
    • Individual choice and achievement over ascribed identity
  • The book critiques the assumption that modernization requires a complete rejection of traditional forms.
• Impact on Indian Sociology
  • The work was foundational in discussions of political development in postcolonial India.
  • It introduced the idea that tradition can be reinterpreted to function within democratic and bureaucratic institutions.

The correct answer is - Urban sociology in India lacked scientific rigor

Key Points

• Urban sociology in India lacked scientific rigor
  • V.S. D’Souza critically evaluated Indian urban sociology and highlighted its lack of scientific rigor.
  • He pointed out that methodological weaknesses were prevalent in the studies conducted in this field.
  • D’Souza emphasized the need for systematic and empirical research to understand urban phenomena accurately.

Additional Information

• Historical context of Indian urban sociology
  • Indian urban sociology emerged as a distinct field post-independence, reflecting the rapid urbanization and its challenges.
  • Early studies were often descriptive rather than analytical, lacking a robust theoretical framework.
• Role of caste in urban settings
  • Contrary to some beliefs, caste continues to play a significant role in urban India, influencing social interactions and economic opportunities.
  • Studies have shown that urbanization does not completely dissolve traditional social structures like caste.
• Comparison between Indian and Western urbanization
  • While there are similarities, Indian urbanization has unique aspects due to its historical, cultural, and socio-economic contexts.
  • Issues like informal settlements and migration patterns are particularly significant in the Indian context.

The correct answer is - Colonial port cities

Key Points

• Colonial port cities
  • Meera Kosambi's research primarily focused on the urbanization and societal changes in colonial port cities of India.
  • These cities, such as Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkata (Calcutta), played a significant role in the economic and cultural transformation during the colonial period.
  • Her work examined how these cities evolved under British rule, affecting the social fabric, economy, and urban planning.

Additional Information

• Urbanization in Colonial India
  • During British rule, several cities in India were developed as major port cities to facilitate trade.
  • The development of these cities included infrastructure like railways, ports, and telecommunication systems, which were crucial for the British colonial economy.
• Impact on Society
  • The colonial port cities became melting pots of different cultures and communities, leading to significant social changes.
  • There was a rise in new social classes, such as the urban middle class, who played a key role in the Indian independence movement.
• Economic Transformation
  • The port cities were the focal points for economic activities, including trade, industry, and services, leading to economic growth.
  • This economic transformation was accompanied by challenges such as urban poverty, overcrowding, and inadequate infrastructure.

The correct answer is - India's low level of urbanization

Key Points

• India's low level of urbanization
  • According to M.S.A. Rao, one of the key reasons for the neglect of urban sociology in India was the country's low level of urbanization.
  • During the mid-20th century, India was predominantly rural, with a significant portion of the population living in villages and small towns.
  • This demographic reality led to a focus on rural sociology rather than urban sociology among researchers and policymakers.

Additional Information

• Urbanization Trends in India
  • India's urbanization has been gradual compared to other countries, with significant urban growth occurring in the latter half of the 20th century and the early 21st century.
  • According to the 2011 Census, India's urban population constituted about 31.16% of the total population, indicating a gradual shift towards urban living.
• Impact on Social Sciences
  • The focus on rural issues historically meant that academic and research funding was more likely to be directed towards rural studies and related areas.
  • Only in recent decades has there been a growing interest in urban sociology as urbanization rates have increased and urban issues have become more prominent.
• Contributions of M.S.A. Rao
  • M.S.A. Rao was a pioneering sociologist in India who emphasized the need to study urbanization and its effects on Indian society.
  • His work highlighted the importance of urban sociology in understanding the complexities of urban life and the transformation from rural to urban societies.

The correct answer is Organic Solidarity.

Key Points

• Durkheim believed that society exerted a powerful force on individuals.
  • David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. 
• People’s norms, beliefs, and values make up a collective consciousness, or a shared way of understanding and behaving in the world.
• The collective consciousness is formed through social interactions.
• Durkheim described the evolution of society from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity.
• In organic solidarity, the individual is considered vitally important, even sacred.
• In organic solidarity, the individual, rather than the collective, becomes the focus of rights and responsibilities, the center of public and private rituals holding the society together.

Additional Information

• Organic solidarity
  • ​It is social cohesion based upon the dependence individuals have on each other in more advanced societies.
• Mechanical solidarity
  • ​ It normally operates in “traditional” and small-scale societies.
  • In simpler societies (e.g., tribal), solidarity is usually based on kinship ties of familial networks.

Option 2: A - II, B - I, C - IV, D - III is the correct answer.Important Points

• Auguste Comte is associated with the level of intellectual development.
• Emile Durkheim studied size and density.
• Karl Marx studied economic influence.
• Herbert Spencer is associated with the study of evolution and complexity.

Additional Information

• Comte's level of intellectual development is a three-stage theory of social evolution where societies move from a theological stage to a metaphysical stage and finally a positivistic stage.
• Durkheim's size and density is of the idea that the size and density of a society can affect its social structure, solidarity, and collective conscience.
• Marx's economic influence is of the belief that economic relationships and class struggles are the primary driving forces in social development and change.
• Spencer's evolution is a social evolutionary theory that applied Darwin's theory of natural selection to human societies, suggesting that they evolve and progress towards increasing complexity and efficiency.

The correct answer is Virtues are acquired by practice.
Key Points

Aristotle claimed virtues are not innate.

• To be virtuous one needs to govern non rational part of life, which means to develop virtues.
• To Aristotle, virtue is an activity, not a state,  which needs to earn by practice and just actions.
• One needs to acquire virtuous state by following golden mean.

Thus, the correct answer is Virtues are acquired by practice.

The correct answer is Personality.Key Points

• Deviant behavior is defined as actions that violate social norms, which may include both informal social rules or more formal societal expectations and laws.
• There are likely many factors that play a role in deviant behavior. These include genetics, personality, upbringing, environment, and societal influences.
• It is also important to note that what is considered deviant can vary from one culture to the next.
• Other factors—including sex and socioeconomic status—also influence the informal and unwritten social rules and expectations that people are expected to conform to.

Additional Information

• Status is our relative social position within a group, while a role is a part our society expects us to play in a given status. For example, a man may have the status of father in his family.
• There are three types of a person's social status: Master, Achieved, and Ascribed.
• Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of society, as well as be codified into rules and laws.
• Hierarchy refers to the ranking of members in social groups based on the power, influence, or dominance they exhibit, whereby some members are superior or subordinate to others

Thus, Personality influences deviance.

Max Weber coined the concept, "social relationship" to describe patterned human interaction which is intentional, meaningful and symbolic. 

Important Points

• Max Weber was a German sociologist associated with the study of social action. 
• His ideas profoundly influence social theory and research.
• Weber was a key proponent of methodological anti-positivism, arguing for the study of social action through interpretive rather than purely empiricist methods, based on a subjective understanding of the meanings that individuals attach to their own actions.

Additional Information

• C.H. Cooley was an influential sociologist who was one of the founding members of the American Sociological Association.
• V. Pareto was an Italian sociologist who wrote the renowned book 'The Mind and the Society.'
• Erving Goffman is best-known contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction. 

The correct answer is S.V. Ketkar."Key Points

• The Book "History of Caste in India" is authored by Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar, provides a descriptive account of the History of Caste in India with the evidence of the laws of manu on the social conditions in India during the third century A.D. interpreted and examined.
• This book was first published in 1909.

Additional Information

• N.K. Dutta studied occupational hierarchy due to prevalent caste system.
• Majumdar and Madan wrote An introduction to Anthropology.
• Herbert Risley gave racial theory of cate system.

The correct answer is Rural India in Transition.Key Points

• Govind Sadashiv Ghurye was a pioneering Indian academic who was a professor of sociology. In 1924, he became the second person to head the Department of Sociology at the University of Bombay. And, is widely regarded as the founder of Indian Sociology & Sociology in India.
• Books by Ghurye are: 
  • ​Caste and Race in India
  • Caste and Class in India
  • Cities and Civilization
• Rural India in Transition authored by A. R. Desai.

Additional Information

• Caste and Race in India: Over The Years This Book Has Remained A Basic Work For Students Of India Sociology And Anthropology And Has Been Acknowledged As A Bona-Fide Classic.
• Caste and Class in India - Govind Sadashiv Ghurye. This work of G S Ghurye is a presentation of his views on the history and the origin of the caste.
• Cities and Civilization: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
• Akshay Ramanlal Desai was an Indian sociologist, Marxist, and social activist. He was a Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Bombay in 1967.
• According to Desai, India's nationalism is the result of the material conditions created by British colonialism. The Britishers developed new economic relations by introducing industrialization and modernization.

Thus, A book not authored by G.S. Ghurye is Rural India in Transition.

The correct answer is Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.Key Points

• Sociology and social anthropology developed in India in the colonial interests and intellectual curiosity of the western scholars on the one hand, and the reactions of the Indian scholars on the other.
• British administrators had to acquire the knowledge of customs, manners, and institutions of their subjects.
• The roots of sociology and social anthropology go back to the period when British officials realized that a knowledge of Indian culture and social life was indispensable for them in their administration work.

Additional Information

• Social Anthropology is the comparative study of the ways in which people live in different social and cultural settings across the globe. Societies vary enormously in how they organize themselves, the cultural practices in which they engage, as well as their religious, political, and economic arrangements.
• Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life.
• Anthropology is the study of the origin and development of human societies and cultures. Culture is the learned behavior of people, including their languages, belief systems, social structures, institutions, and material goods.

Thus, Sociology and Social Anthropology in India developed colonial interests because the British realized the need to understand the native society and its culture in the interest of smooth administration.

Movement from one stratum to another up or down by one of the possible stratification hierarchies is called Vertical Mobility.Important Points Vertical Mobility is a change in social status. A change in the following factors influence social status has the potential to lead to vertical mobility.

• Income
• Career or occupation
• Education level
• Marital status
• Health status

Additional Information

• Horizontal Mobility, which is a type of social mobility, refers to the change of physical space or profession without changes in the economic situation, prestige, and lifestyle of the individual, or the forward or backward movement from one similar group or status to another.
• Upward Mobility refers to an increase or upward shift when they move from a lower to a higher socio economical class.
• Download Mobility takes place when a person moves from a higher position in society to a lower one. It can occur when someone is caught performing a wrongful act that can result in the loss of the position they currently hold.

The correct answer is Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct.Key Points

• Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it.
•  Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, and Julia Kristeva are prominent poststructuralist thinkers.
• Foucault's work inspired sociologists in subfields including the sociology of knowledge; gender, sexuality, and queer theory; critical theory; deviance and crime; and the sociology of education. His most well-known works include Discipline and Punish, The History of Sexuality, and The Archaeology of Knowledge.
• Hence, Michel Foucault has had an immense influence on social sciences.

Additional Information

• The historical, economic, and political analyses of Marx and Weber are largely structuralist.
• That is, they attempted to understand the large structures and institutions that affect the lives of people, and how these changed over time and space
• Marxism is a structural theory, as people's actions are shaped by society and in particular the economic system.
• It is a conflicting view of society. Marxists argue that the upper-class control all of society including law and order. They, therefore, have control over judges, police, and the government

 Thus, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Michel Foucault are the most influential figures in an intellectual movement known as post-structuralism are incorrect but Michel Foucault has had an immense influence on social sciences is correct.