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Ans 1: The diversity in India is unique. Being a large country with large population. India presents
endless varieties of physical features and cultural patterns. It is the land of many languages it is only in
India people professes all the major religions of the world. In short, India is the epitome of the world.
The vast population is composed of people having diverse creeds, customs and colours. Some of the
important forms of diversity in India are discussed below:

1. Diversity of Physical Features:

The unique feature about India is the extreme largest mountains covered with snow throughout the
year. The Himalayas or the adobe of snow is the source of the mighty rivers like Indus. Ganga and
Yamuna. These perennial rivers irrigate extensive areas in the North to sustain the huge population of
the country. At the same time Northern India contains and zones and the desert of Rajasthan where
nothing grows accept a few shrubs.

2. Racial Diversity:

A race is a group of people with a set of distinctive physical features such set skin, colour, type of nose,
form of hair etc. A.W. Green says, A race is a large biological human grouping with a number of
distinctive, inherited characteristics which vary within a certain range.

The Indian sub-continent received a large number of migratory races mostly from the Western and the
Eastern directions. Majority of the people of India are descendants of immigrants from across the
Himalayas. Their dispersal into sub-continent has resulted in the consequent regional concentration of a
variety of ethnic elements. India is an ethnological museum Dr B.S Guha identifies the population of
India into six main ethnic groups, namely (1) the Negrito (2) the Proto-Australoids, (3) the Mongoloids
(4) the Mediterranean or Dravidian (5) the Western Brachycephals and (6) the Nordic.

3. Linguistic Diversity:

The 8h Schedule of the Constitution of India recognizes 22 languages. These are (1) Assamese, (2)
Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmir. (7) Konkani. (8) Malayalam. (9) Manipuri, (10)
Marathi, (11) Nepali. (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit. (15) Tamil, (16) Telugu, (17) Urdu, and (18)
Sindhi, (19) Santhali, (20) Boro, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.

4. Religious Diversity:

India is not religiously a homogeneous State even through nearly 80 per cent of the population profess
Hinduism. India is a land of multiple religions. We find here followers of various faiths, particularly of
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism Zoroastrianism. We know it that Hinduism is
the dominant religion of India. According to the census of 2001 it is professed by 80.05 per cent of the
total population.

Next comes Islam which is practiced by 13.04 per cent. This is followed by Christianity having a followers
of 2 03 per cent, Sikhism reported by 1.9 per cent, Buddhism by 0.8 per cent and Jainism by 0.4 per cent.
The religions with lesser following are Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Bahaism.

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5. Caste Diversity:

India is a country of castes. Caste or Jati refers to a hereditary, endogamous status group practicing a
specific traditional occupation. It is surprising to know that there are more than 3,000 Jatis in India.

In addition to the above described major forms of diversity, we have diversity of many other sorts like
settlement pattern tribal, rural, urban; marriage and kinship pattern along religious and regional lines
and so on.

Ans 2: In the social sciences, social structure is the patterned social arrangements in society that are
both emergent from and determinant of the actions of the individuals. On the macro scale, social
structure is the system of socioeconomic stratification (e.g., the class structure), social institutions, or,
other patterned relations between large social groups. On the meso scale, it is the structure of social
network ties between individuals or organizations. On the micro scale, it can be the way norms shape
the behavior of individuals within the social system.

Social norms influence social structure through relations between the majority and the minority.
Because those who align with the majority are considered normal while those who align with the
minority are considered abnormal, majority-minority relations create a hierarchical stratification within
social structures that favors the majority in all aspects of society.

Social structure is the framework of society that sets limits and establishes standards for our
behaviour. It is, thus, defined simply as any recurring pattern of social behaviour. A social
structure includes or is made-up of elements of society, such as institutions, statuses, roles,
groups and social classes. Sociologists study social structure by examining the elements or parts
that comprise it.

The study of social structure with the principal form of social organization, that is, types of
groups, associations and institutions and the complex of these which constitutes societies.
Ginsberg

The term social structure applies to the particular arrangement of inter-related institutions,
agencies and social patterns as well as the statuses and roles, which each person assumes in the
group.

As now we have discussed about the concept of social structure, let us now proceed with the
rural social structure of Indian villages that is unique and maintains a separate culture of their
own, away from urban societies. Though the influence of urban areas is felt on rural areas, there
are some specific aspects, which occupy a significant place in the rural society.

Some of them are caste, kinship, family, marriage, religion, economy and polity. Found in urban
societies as well, these institutions are very rigid in their functioning in the rural society. For
instance, the institution of family found in urban India is completely different from rural. The
family in the village community has a greater importance.

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If a member of a family defaults in paying his loan installments in a cooperative bank, it brings
great defamation to the whole family. It is very difficult for an individual to isolate himself from
the family. The existence of individualism is marginal in the village. It is this perspective, which
differentiates village institutions from urban institutions.

The rural social structure includes all these aspects in social, economic and political institutions.
Thus, a rural community is a separate entity on its own. A correct idea about the rural social
structure comes with an understanding of the characteristics of rural community.

SECTION II

Ans 5: Local Governance in India has been formalized under the Panchayati Raj System since 1992. The
Panchayati Raj system is a three-tier system with elected bodies at the village, taluk and district levels.
The modern system is based in part on traditional panchayat governance, in part on the vision of
Mahatma Gandhi and in part by the work of various committees to harmonize the highly centralized
Indian governmental administration with a degree of local autonomy. The result was intended to create
greater participation in local government by people and more effective implementation of rural
development programs. Although, as of 2015, implementation in all of India is not complete the
intention is for there to be a gram panchayat for each village or group of villages, a tehsil level council,
and a zilla panchayat at the district level.

India has a chequered history of panchayati raj starting from the self-sufficient and self-governing village
communities that endured the rise and fall of empires in the past, to the current highly structured
system.

Local government is government at the village and district level. Local governments got a fillip after the
73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts. Later in 1992, the 73rd and 74th constitutional
amendments were passed by the Parliament.

The 73rd Amendment is about Rural Local Governments (which are also known as Panchayati Raj
Institutions or PRIs) and

The 74th Amendment made the provisions relating to Urban Local Governments (Nagarpalikas).

The 73rd and 74th amendments have created uniformity in the structures of Panchayati Raj and
Nagarpalika institutions across the country. The 73rd and 74th Amendments came into force in 1993.

Rural Local Governments (or Panchayat Raj Institutions)

Zilla Panchayat

Mandal Or Taluka Panchayats

Gram Panchayats

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Ans 6: The rural areas of the country are confronted with three specific problems. The first is the result
of large-scale land acquisition which has affected the social and economic lives of rural people. The
second problem is the outcome of the massive urbanization drive which has created social, economic
and environmental imbalances in the rural areas. It poses a major threat to the very existence of the
villagers of India who are generally unable to take advantage of the incentives provided by the
government in lieu of acquisition of their lands due to lack of skill and experience. The third problem is
migration of rural people from rural areas to metropolitan cities in search of employment. As a result,
massive pressure is exerted by migration not only on the land, but also on civic amenities created for the
inhabitants of the metropolitan cities. There has been considerable increase in non-conforming land
uses in both urban and rural villages adjacent to metropolitan cities, making them worse than slums.
Some recommendations are as such the fact that schemes like the National Capital Region of Delhi
should be planned and implemented, there should be an increase in financial outlays for rural
development, a move to encourage appropriate technologies in rural areas, and wastelands should be
utilized for residential purposes.

Ans 10: The term Scheduled Tribes first appeared in the Constitution of India. Article 366 (25) defined
scheduled tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal
communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this
constitution".

Points to be observed

(a) General

Where a person claims to belong to a Scheduled Tribe by birth it should be verified: -

(i) That the person and his parents actually belong to the community claimed;

(ii) That the community is included in the Presidential Order specifying the Scheduled Tribes in
relation to the concerned State.

(iii) That the person belongs to that State and to the area within that State in respect of which the
community has been scheduled.

(iv) He may profess any religion.

(v) That he should be permanent resident on the date of notification of the Presidential Order applicable
in his case.

(vi) person who is temporarily away from his permanent place of adobe at the time of the
notification of the Presidential order applicable in his case, say for example to earn a living or seek
education, etc can also be regarded as a scheduled tribe, if his tribe has been specified in that order in
relation to his state/ union territory. But he cannot be treated as such in relation to the place of his
temporary residence notwithstanding the fact that the name of his tribe has been scheduled in respect
of that are areain any Presidential Order.

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Ans 7: Regionalism is the extreme loyalty and love shown to a particular region. It expresses
itself in such a distorted notions like development of ones own region even at the cost of
interests of other regions and people, and unwillingness to allow people from other regions to
work and settle in region.

Regionalism describes situations in which different groups with distinctive identities coexist
within the same state boundaries, often concentrated within a particular region and sharing
strong feelings of collective identity.

Regionalism stands for the love of a particular region or an area in preference to the nation or
any other region. It often involves ethnic groups whose aims may include independence from a
national state and the development of their own political power.

Regionalism militates against nationalism and impedes the process national integration. This
may be characterized by the commonness of cultural, linguistic or historical and social
background.

Regionalism is a country wide phenomenon and it took the form of well-conceived and well
organized agitations and campaigns. Regionalism has been the most potent force in
Indian politics since Indias independence. It has remained the basis of regional political parties.
It is a significant type of sub-territorial loyalty.

In the post-independence period, it has often been conflicting as well as collaborating force,
largely depending on the manner of accommodation. Regionalism in India is deeply rooted in its
manifold diversity of languages, cultures, tribes, religions, communities, etc. It originates from
the feeling of regional concentration, which is often fuelled by a sense of regional deprivation.

SECTION III

Ans 13: Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social
group, rejecting others on such a basis as being unsuitable for marriage or for other close
personal relationships.

Endogamy is common in many cultures and ethnic groups. Several ethnic religious groups are
traditionally more endogamous, although sometimes with the added dimension of requiring
marital religious conversion. This permits an exogamous marriage, as the convert, by accepting
the partner's religion, becomes accepted within the endogamous rules. Certain groups, such as
Orthodox Jews adhering to endogamy in Judaism, have practised endogamy as an inherent part
of their religious beliefs and traditions.

Ans 16: A caste may be said to be dominant when it preponderates numerically over other
castes and when it also wields preponderant economic and political power. A large and

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powerful caste group can be more easily dominant if its position in the local caste hierarchy is
not too low. M.N. Srinivas

Concept of dominant caste in various studies of anthropological research lies on the political
power which traditionally called as juridical power in village community and at times yields
religious and quasi-divine power and the power to employ physical force.

A caste to be dominant, it should own a sizable amount of the arable land locally available, have
strength of numbers and occupy a high place in the local hierarchy. When a caste has all the
attributes of dominance, it may be said to enjoy a decisive dominance.

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