Revision summary
Ethnocentrism ranks other groups as lesser humans. Majoritarian, regional and caste forms all generate conflict in India. Material competition and political organisation give it force. Not every identity claim is ethnocentric; some are anti-exclusion. Equal citizenship is the institutional reply.
Model answer
Introduction
Ethnocentrism is the habit of treating one’s own cultural we as the measure of the human. Rising ethnocentrism in India feeds conflict because it turns neighbours into lesser types. The statement is largely right, with the caveat that inequality and rumours organise the fire, not pride alone.
Body
Why the statement holds
- Religious majoritarianism treats one civilisation as the nation, which Ghurye’s Hindu whole can license and which minorities experience as threat, as Sachar-type lag already showed in a colder form.
- Regional sons-of-the-soil claims, from language riots to attacks on migrants, make ethnocentrism a labour-market weapon.
- Caste honour is ethnocentrism of the jati: intermarriage and dining still produce atrocity, Ambedkar’s graded inequality in motion.
- Social media amplifies in-groups and humiliation videos, speeding polarisation.
Appropriate reasons, not slogans
- Economic competition in informal cities and campuses gives ethnocentric talk a material hook.
- Political entrepreneurs convert identity politics from dignity (Dalit assertion) into domination when the we is defined by excluding a they.
- Beteille’s disharmonic order: the Constitution’s civic we competes with ethnic wes; conflict is that competition turning violent.
- Yogendra Singh warned that tradition can be recast; ethnocentric recasting is one modernization of tradition.
Limits of the statement
- Not all identity is ethnocentrism. Adivasi land defence or Pasmanda claims can be anti-exclusion, not supremacy.
- Class unrest, as in farmer blockades, is not well explained as ethnicity even when a dominant caste leads.
- The state can reduce conflict by equal law; it can also stoke ethnocentrism.
Assessment
- Rising ethnocentrism is a real driver of communal, regional, and caste conflict.
- It works through organisations, media, and honour, not through a mysterious cultural essence.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD ETH[Ethnocentrism our culture as measure] --> REL[Communal polarisation] ETH --> REG[Sons of the soil] ETH --> CASTE[Jati honour atrocity] MAT[Jobs rumour politics] --> ETH
Conclusion
- The statement is sound: ethnocentrism is rising as a political style and it leads to conflict. The reasons are majoritarian nationhood, regional closure, caste honour, and mediated rumour, all riding on unequal livelihoods. Civic equality remains the counter-ethic.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Is social democracy a precondition for political democracy ? Comment
Next question in the 2021 paper (Q7). View answer →
-
Is patriotism ethnocentrism?
Civic patriotism need not rank cultures. Ethnic nationalism does.
-
Does diversity cause conflict?
Diversity is old in India. Conflict rises when one we claims the state as property.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2021 · Q1(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
What does Dr. B. R. Ambedkar mean by the concept of "Annihilation of caste" ? -
2021 · Q1(d) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Critically examine briefly the phrase "Little 'Republics" as used to denote India's villages -
2021 · Q2(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Is Indian society moving from "Hierarchy" towards "differentiation" ? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples -
2021 · Q3(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Discuss in detail the major contribution of Prof. Yogendra Singh in theorizing India's modernization -
2021 · Q6(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Underline the socio-cultural factors) responsible for India's skewed sex-ratio -
2021 · Q8(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Discuss the role of social media in communal polarisation. Suggest ways to combat it -
2020 · Q1(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Elaborate A. R. Desai's perspective to the study of Indian society. -
2020 · Q1(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
How do you justify Dumont's deliberate stress on ideology that produce intellectualized account of Indian society?
More from this paper
Q1(a) · UPSC Mains 2021 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Caste system studies in India have been dominated by the "book-view" initially, How did the entry of "field-view" bring about a balance in the study of Indian caste system? Discuss
Rural and Agrarian Social Structure
Book-view caste is textual hierarchy and purity ideology. Field-view caste is observed dominant caste, interaction, and split of class and power. Srinivas, Marriott, and Beteille corrected Indology without erasing texts. Balance means values plus village practice. Singh’s modernizing tradition needs both sources.
Q1(b) · UPSC Mains 2021 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
What does Dr. B. R. Ambedkar mean by the concept of "Annihilation of caste" ?
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
Ambedkar’s annihilation is destruction of birth-based graded inequality. Temple and dining reform are not enough if scripture still ranks people. Intermarriage, equal law, education and power are the means. Sanskritization is mobility inside caste, not annihilation. Village harmony without equality is not his goal.
Q1(c) · UPSC Mains 2021 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Discuss different forms of kinship system in India
Caste System
Karve divided Indian kinship into regional zones, not one national family type. North India leans patrilineal, patrilocal and village-exogamous. South India more often permits close-kin and cross-cousin marriage. Matriliny exists in pockets and is not a footnote. Kinship carries caste endogamy and gender control.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.