Revision summary
Caste now lives in associations, parties, certificates, and diaspora marriage, not only in village occupation. Mandal-era politics and reservation lists give caste a modern public face. New forms show adaptation, not that caste is immortal. Law against untouchability and social mixing have already reduced some hierarchy. The fair comment is to fight disability and atrocity while identities slowly thin.
Model answer
Flow diagram
flowchart TD C[Caste] --> V[Village endogamy] C --> A[Sabhas parties certificates] A --> N[New identity] L[Article 17 education mixing] --> E[Hierarchy can shrink] N --> Q[Not the same as eternal system]
Conclusion
- Keep law against atrocity and discrimination, widen education and mixed housing, and do not treat a vote bank as destiny.
- Distinguish caste as a surviving identity from caste as an unchangeable system; the first can shrink while the second is already cracked.
Caste has taken new associational and political forms, so it has not vanished. That is not proof that it cannot be eroded; law, mixing, and equality still work against hierarchy even when surnames remain.
Quick related
Students also ask
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'Despite implementation of various programmes for eradication of poverty by the government in India, poverty is still existing'. Explain by giving reasons.
Next question in the 2018 paper (Q9). View answer →
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Has urbanisation ended caste?
It has loosened occupation and some daily rules. Marriage, politics, and atrocity show that caste still operates in new clothes.
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Does reservation keep caste alive?
It records a category to repair historic exclusion. It does not by itself create the village hierarchy; ending reservation without equality would not erase caste.
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