Revision summary
Sanskritization seeks better rank by copying a Sanskritic model. That is traditionalizing: the ladder remains the goal. It is modernizing when new wealth, school, and votes fund the claim. Singh’s paradigm absorbs it as orthogenetic change. Dalit exit and class politics mark its limits.
Model answer
Introduction
Sanskritization is both a modernizing and a traditionalizing force. It modernises by using new wealth and politics to claim rank. It traditionalises by seeking that rank inside the old ladder, not outside caste.
Body
Traditionalizing
- A jati copies the diet, ritual, and myth of a locally higher model. The reference is Sanskritic tradition, not citizenship.
- Endogamy and hierarchy stay. Ambedkar would say this is movement within graded inequality.
- Dumont could read it as the ideology of purity still organising ambition.
Modernizing
- Srinivas tied it to land, education, and the vote. Dominant caste and new income make the claim possible.
- Yogendra Singh treats it as orthogenetic modernization of tradition.
- It can precede Westernization: oil mill and college sit with a new gotra story.
How far
- It explains much twentieth-century caste change. It does not explain Dalit conversion, reservation politics, or class that Beteille split from caste in Sripuram.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD SK[Sanskritization] --> TR[Copy higher ritual] SK --> MO[New land vote money] TR --> C[Caste continues] MO --> C
Conclusion
Sanskritization is a traditionalizing path to modern resources. It modernises caste as a competitive identity and traditionalises society by refusing exit from hierarchy.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Discuss the impact of post- 1970 feminist movement on Indian middle class.
Next question in the 2015 paper (Q6). View answer →
-
Is Sanskritization the same as Westernization?
No. Westernization copies colonial-modern styles. Sanskritization copies a sacred Indian model.
-
Does it weaken caste?
It can weaken a particular ranking. It strengthens caste as the language of mobility.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2018 · Q1(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Give a critical analysis of Andre Beteille's study of Tanjore village. -
2018 · Q7(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Has caste system hindered democracy and adult franchise in India. Discuss. -
2017 · Q1(d) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
How have the struggles against untouchability changed their forms and perspective from Gandhian to Ambedkarite positions? -
2017 · Q2(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
What are the changes in the cultural and structural aspects of the caste system since independence? -
2016 · Q2(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
How has B.R. Ambedkar identified the features of caste system ? How is it different from the mainstream treatment of caste features ? -
2016 · Q2(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 15 marks
Discuss Andre Beteille account of the relationship between caste, class and power as a change from symmetrical to asymmetrical one. -
2015 · Q1(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Louis Dumont's perspective on Indian caste system -
2015 · Q2(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Is caste system changing, weakening or disintegrating in India?
More from this paper
Q1(a) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Verrier Elwin's views on freedom for the tribals
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
Elwin defined tribal freedom as protection of land, language, and self-rule. He rejected Ghurye’s assimilation of tribe into Hindu society. Isolation was a shield, not a museum, until contact was fair. Nehruvian Panchsheel borrowed this caution. Law now tries to keep that freedom as rights inside the state.
Q1(b) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Jyotirao Phule as an agrarian radical
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
Phule linked caste domination to the robbery of the peasant. Gulamgiri and the cultivator’s whip made tillers the centre of critique. Satyashodhak schools attacked the knowledge monopoly that kept the field unfree. He is closer to anti-caste agrarian politics than to mild temple reform. Class language came later; the landlord-priest pair was already his target.
Q1(c) · UPSC Mains 2015 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Louis Dumont's perspective on Indian caste system
Caste System
Dumont treats caste as a hierarchical ideology of purity and impurity. Power and wealth are real but encompassed by ritual rank. Homo hierarchicus contrasts with Western equality as a value. Sripuram and Rampura show class and dominant caste that the ideology does not fix. The perspective is necessary for values, insufficient for land and politics.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.