'Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan' is a national campaign to

International Labour Organization's Conventions 138 and 182 are related to

The Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal to have the untouchable people as its target audience was published by

Examine the main provisions of the National Child Policy and throw light on the status of its implementation.

(a) Suppose you are an officer in-charge of implementing a social service scheme to provide support to old and destitute women. An old and illiterate woman comes to you to avail the benefits of the scheme. However, she has no documents to show that she fulfils the eligibility criteria. But after meeting her and listening to her you feel that she certainly needs support. Your enquiries also show that she is really destitute and living in a pitiable condition. You are in a dilemma as to what to do. Putting her under the scheme without necessary documents would clearly be violation of rules. But denying her the support would be cruel and inhuman. Can you think of a rational way to resolve this dilemma? (b) Give your reasons for it.

What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence, addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)?

The women's questions arose in modern India as a part of the 19th century social reform movement. What were the major issues and debates concerning women in that period?

Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India.

Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India. Comment.

Women's movement in India has not addressed the issues of women of lower social strata. Substantiate your view.

Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation. Argue by giving suitable illustrations.

Multiplicity of various commissions for the vulnerable sections of the society leads to problems of overlapping jurisdiction and duplication of functions. Is it better to merge all commissions into an umbrella Human Rights Commission? Argue your case.

What are the continued challenges for women in India against time and space?

An apparel manufacturing company having large number of women employees was losing sales due to various factors. The company hired a reputed marketing executive, who increased the volume of sales within a short span of time. However, some unconfirmed reports came up regarding his indulgence in sexual harassment at the work place. After sometime, a woman employee lodged a formal complaint to the management against the marketing executive about sexually harassing her. Faced with the company's indifference in not taking cognizance of her grievance, she lodged an FIR with the Police. Realizing the sensitivity and gravity of the situation, the company called the woman employee to negotiate. In that she was offered a hefty sum of money to withdraw the complaint and the FIR and also give in writing that the marketing executive is not involved in the case. Identify the ethical issues involved in this case. What options are available to the woman employee?

Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian Society? Elaborate your answer with illustrations.

(a) What are the main factors responsible for gender inequality in India? Discuss the contribution of Savitribai Phule in this regard. (b) The current internet expansion has instilled a different set of cultural values which are often in conflict with traditional values. Discuss.

"Though women in post-Independent India have excelled in various fields, the social attitude towards women and feminist movement has been patriarchal." Apart from women education and women empowerment schemes, what interventions can help change this milieu?

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 remains only a legal document without intense sensitisation of government functionaries and citizens regarding disability. Comment.

Explain why suicide among young women is increasing in Indian society.

Why is caste identity in India both fluid and static?

Distinguish between 'care economy' and 'monetized economy'. How can care economy be brought into monetized economy through women empowerment?

(a) What should be Sneha's course of action? (b) How would she justify what she chooses to do? (c) In this case, how is medical ethics compromised with vested personal interest?

Intercaste marriages between castes which have socio-economic parity have increased, to some extent, but this is less true of interreligious marriages. Discuss.

Critically analyse the proposition that there is a high correlation between India's cultural diversities and socio-economic marginalities.

Mahatma Jotirao Phule's writings and efforts of social reforms touched issues of almost all subaltern classes. Discuss.

Women's social capital complements in advancing empowerment and gender equity. Explain.

(a) It is said that for an ethical work culture, there must be code of ethics in place in every organisation. To ensure value-based and compliance-based work culture, what suitable measures would you adopt in your work place? (b) India is an emerging economic power of the world as it has recently secured the status of fourth largest economy of the world as per IMF projection. However, it has been observed that in some sectors, allocated funds remain either under-utilised or misutilised. What specific measures would you recommend for ensuring accountability in this regard to stop leakages and gaining the status of third largest economy of the world in near future?

(a) What are the options available with Rajesh in the above situation? (b) What are the ethical issues involved in this case? (c) Which would be the most appropriate option for Rajesh and why?

(a) What is your reaction to the above situation and how do you restore the proper functioning of MGNREGA Program in this regard? (b) What actions would you initiate to solve the various issues listed above? (c) How would you deal with the above situation?

(a) What are the options available with Ashok to cope with the situation? (b) What are the ethical and legal dilemmas being faced by Ashok? (c) Which of the options, do you think would be more appropriate for Ashok to adopt and why? (d) In the present situation, what are the extra precautionary measures to be taken by the Border Guarding Police in dealing with soldiers in uniform?

Unity in diversity remains the defining feature of Indian society despite the challenges from communalism and regionalism. Comment.

How do you understand disability? Substantiate the need for inclusive policy framework in India in this regard.

Is caste disappearing in urban India? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Right to privacy relating to self-identity is very dear to every human being and well protected under Article 21 of the Constitution. In this context, examine the effect of the amendment in 2026, to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

(a) On the request of his Personal Assistant (PA), the District Magistrate (DM) stops the transfer of a schoolteacher who takes private tuition for his daughter diagnosed with learning disability. In this context, discuss the aspects of empathy versus compliance with rules. (b) Some moral philosophers argue that spending some of your resources—without significantly affecting your financial stability—to help other people who badly suffer is our moral duty and not merely a matter of charity. Justify this claim by explaining the distinction between duty and charity.

Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare (B) Digital economy : A leveller or a source of economic inequality

Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands - two equally harmful disciplines.

Truth knows no color.

(a) Describe the nature of social organization of work in industrial society. (b) Discuss the importance of 'power elite' in democracy. (c) Is religion playing an important role in increasing fundamentalism? Give reasons for your answer. (d) To what extent is patriarchy a cause for the problems of women? Discuss. (e) Social conflict is both a cause and a consequence of social change. Explain.

(a) Salient features of A.R. Desai's Marxist Sociology (b) Significance of Village Studies in Indian Sociology (c) 'Isolationism' as a dominant feature of colonial tribal policy (d) Anti-Brahmanical movements during the colonial period (e) Patriarchy as a form of dominance

(a) How has B.R. Ambedkar identified the features of caste system? How is it different from the mainstream treatment of caste features? (b) Discuss Andre Beteille's account of the relationship between caste, class and power as a change from symmetrical to asymmetrical one. (c) Analyse the major components of Land Reform Acts. Show their effectiveness in curbing rural inequality.

(a) Bring out the significance of the difference between family and household. (b) Elucidate the concepts of 'majoritarianism' and 'minoritarianism' in accentuating communal tensions in India. (c) Comment on the increasing significance of caste in politics.

(a) How is the tribal question related with the issues of integration and autonomy in modern India? (b) Comment on the factors behind the changing status of women in urban India. (c) What accounts for the growth and consolidation of the middle classes in modern India?

(a) Privatization of education and increasing inequalities (b) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for rural development (c) Different forms of Dalit assertion (d) Empowerment through 'Right to Education' (e) Differential sex-ratio and its implications

(a) Write a note on the uneven impact of 'Green Revolution' on rural society. (b) Discuss the emerging forms of 'inequalities' and 'acute poverty' as major challenges of social transformation in India. (c) Discuss the various forms of environmental movements waged in India.

(a) Write a critique of the structural and functional perspective used by M.N. Srinivas in the understanding of Indian society. (b) Which is more significant, the principle of 'hierarchy' or the principle of 'difference', in intercaste relations in the present day? (c) What are the distinct features of Islam as practised in India, and how have they changed over time? (d) How have the struggles against untouchability changed their forms and perspectives from Gandhian to Ambedkarite positions? (e) Write a short note on 'changing means of production and increased rural poverty.'

(a) The main objectives of socio-religious movements during the colonial rule in India were reforming and synthesizing Hinduism. Write on any two such important movements. (b) Discuss Yogendra Singh's thesis on Modernisation of Indian Tradition, and evaluate its applicability in the present day context. (c) What are the changes in the cultural and structural aspects of the caste system since independence?

(a) Explain the concepts of 'dominant caste' and 'vote bank', giving examples from specific regions. (b) What is the nature of religious change among tribal communities? Illustrate with two examples from colonial and post independence times. (c) Compare the pressing problems of a dalit poor family living in an urban slum with a similar type of family living in a rural setting.

(a) What are the reasons for the escalation of violence against women in the public domain? (b) Write a note on Education and Equality in India. (c) Give an account of the problems relating to the "creamy layer". (d) Do you agree that the issue of child labour raises questions about and beyond the informal sector? Give reasons. (e) What are the emerging concerns on women's reproductive health?

(a) Discuss some of the striking issues of development induced imbalances that need urgent attention. (b) Examine the impact of heritage tourism on urban socio-spatial patterns in India. (c) What are the causes and solutions for the low female sex-ratio in the DEMARU States of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Gujarat?

(a) Despite gains from the women's movement and state policy of women empowerment, gender equality is far from achieved. Identify two major challenges that prevent this goal from being reached. (b) To what extent does nation building depend on strengthening of pluralities in Indian society? (c) Explain the issues relating to ethnicity and sub-ethnicity.

(a) What is Cultural Revivalism? Give some examples from performing arts, language dissemination and arts and crafts in recent times. (b) What, according to you, are the two fundamental axes of social discrimination in Indian society? Are they changing? (c) Why have we started using another category of tribes called the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)? Why are they so called?

(a) The focal point of Sociology rests on interaction. How do you distinguish it from common sense? (b) Distinguish between fact and value in Weber's Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism. (c) Do you think 'I' and 'Me' are central terms in Mead's work? (d) What is the difference between natural and social inequality? Give examples from caste and class dimensions. (e) What are the new forms of family in developed societies? Discuss.

(a) Is non-positivistic methodology scientific? Illustrate. (b) Explain Durkheim's basic arguments on suicide. Can you analyse high suicide rates of contemporary Indian society with Durkheim's theory? (c) Evaluate if social stratification is functional for society.

(a) Does collapse of functionalism and bankruptcy of Marxism coincide with the rupture of modernity? Discuss. (b) Define patriarchy. How does patriarchy manifest in interpersonal relations? (c) What is the difference between anomie in Merton and Durkheim? Explain.

(a) According to Marx, how are human beings alienated from their human potential and what does he suggest to change this? (b) Schooling does not ensure upward mobility of all members of the society. Discuss with reference to class societies. (c) Discuss the challenges thrown by religious revivalism to a secular nation-state.

(a) Is the theory of cultural lag valid in present times? Discuss. (b) Are social movements primordial in means and progressive in agenda? Explain. (c) Does scientific method make Sociology a science? Illustrate your answer with Durkheim's method. (d) Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative techniques of data collection with suitable examples from Indian society. (e) Is social mobility possible in closed systems of stratification? Illustrate from research work.

(a) Write a note on G. S. Ghurye's Indological perspective of understanding Indian society. (b) Give a critical analysis of Andre Beteille's study of Tanjore village. (c) Media is the fourth pillar of democracy. Discuss. (d) Write a note on the changing roles of middle-class women in India. (e) Discuss the growth of religious sects in India.

(a) What do you understand by discrete castes and muddled hierarchies? Substantiate your answer with suitable illustrations. (b) Discuss development-induced displacement in the context of tribal uprising in India. Substantiate your answer with any one detailed illustration from India. (c) Illustrate the importance of 'Kanyadan' and 'Kulabadhu' in changing institutions of marriage and family.

(a) How has the New Economic Policy (1991) affected the lifestyle and life-chances of new middle class in India? (b) Write a critical narrative on the concerns of religious minorities in India. (c) Discuss the issues relating to the entitlement of transgender in Indian society.

(a) Has caste system hindered democracy and adult franchise in India? Discuss. (b) Elaborate various forms of Dalit assertions in contemporary India. What are its implications on the Indian political system? (c) With increase in education and economic development is Indian society becoming more secular?

(a) What are the issues relating to male migration and its impact on birthrate? Does it necessarily result in skewed sex ratio? (b) Western patriarchy which surrenders feminine principles is the new development project in India. Do you agree with this view? Why? (c) Assess the impact of ban on 'Triple Talak' on marriage and divorce among the Muslim community in India.

(a) Why is gender a dimension of social stratification? How does gender intersect other dimensions of inequality based on caste, class, race and ethnicity? (b) What are the theoretical models of societal power? Which one of them is most applicable in advanced industrial societies? (c) What is affirmative action? Substantiate theoretical positions on affirmative actions with examples.

(a) Critically examine Dube's contributions to the study of Indian villages. (b) What is caste politics? Substantiate your answer with examples of how identities are defined by caste dynamics. (c) Do you think that the Indian saints have brought about social reform and awareness in Indian society? Explain.

(a) Define patriarchy. Does it have bearings on women's entitlement in Indian family system? Explain. (b) How do you understand the 'minority' question? Examine the violence and discrimination against the religious minorities in India. (c) What do you understand by LGBTQ? Comment on the issues concerning their marriage rights.

(a) Why has 'active aging' become a glocal goal? Do you agree that the role of elderly care-giving is disproportionately gendered in developing countries? Why? (b) What is POSH Act? "Identification of tormentor by women at workplace does not come easily even today." Examine the statement with substantive examples from India. (c) What is 'social security? Examine recent security measures adopted by the Government in India.

(a) Elaborate A. R. Desai's perspective to the study of Indian society. (b) Banning practice of 'Sati' is attributed to annihilation of a major social evil in colonial India. Comment. (c) How do you justify Dumont's deliberate stress on ideology that produced intellectualized account of Indian society? (d) Explain the definitional problems concerning the tribal communities in India. (e) Secularism was an outcome of 20th century humanistic radicalism. Comment on this statement.

(a) Indian caste system is unique and has been unhealthy for the growth of sociology of India. How far do you agree with this view? (b) Discuss Whitehead's contention that caste has potential to displace class and colonial contradiction. (c) Indian rural society is a faction-ridden society. Discuss.

(a) Examine the colonial policy of segregation of tribes under the Government of India Act, 1935. (b) Discuss the dynamics of 'migrant workers' in India in the context of Corona pandemic. (c) How does Andre Beteille justify 'middle class in India'?

(a) Discuss the conceptual issues about lineage and descent in India. Give suitable illustrations. (b) Analyze household dimensions of family in India. (c) Write a note on 'cultural pluralism' in multi-religious society like India.

(a) Colonial administrators helped to construct the very traditionalism which marked the Indian society as 'backward'. Comment critically. (b) What were the salient features of the India's Population Policy (2000)? How far its goals have been achieved? (c) Point out the main causes of 'child labour' in India. How far the State policies have succeeded in its elimination?

(a) What are the reactions of R.K. Merton to the functionalism of social anthropologists? Bring out the limitations of latent functions. (b) How are Hierarchy and Exclusion the major impediments in the transformation of societies? Discuss. (c) Explain democracy as an order of society. What are the factors preventing people's participation in politics?

(a) Capitalism has brought increasing informalisation of work in society. Substantiate your answer. (b) Critically analyse Durkheim's views on elementary forms of religious life and role of religion. Also discuss the consequences of religious revivalism in contemporary society. (c) Discuss the consequences of Across Region marriage on kinship system in modern Indian society.

(a) Explain the concept of social mobility. Describe with suitable illustrations how education and social mobility are related to each other. (b) How has the idea of 'Work From Home' forced us to redefine the formal and informal organisation of work? (c) With suitable examples, explain how conformity and deviance coexist in a society as propounded by R.K. Merton.

(a) Explain the emerging challenges in establishing gender equality in the informal sector. (b) Critically examine the relevance of Vilfredo Pareto's theory of Circulation of Elites in the present scenario. (c) Critically compare the views of E.B. Tylor and Max Muller on Religion. (d) What is cult? Explain the growth of cults in the contemporary world. (e) Do you think Talcott Parsons gave an adequate theory of social change? Justify your answer.

(a) Elucidate the main problems and challenges faced by the migrant labourers in the recent 'Lockdown period'. (b) Explain how political parties and pressure groups are dialectically related to each other in terms of achieving their goals. (c) Give your comments on the growth of religious revivalism in the present day context.

(a) Explain how the pattern of patriarchy is being altered in a family and at the workplace in the present context. (b) Critically examine the contribution of dependency theories in understanding the present global scenario. (c) Explain the growing salience of ethnicity in the contemporary world with illustrations.

(a) Discuss the changing nature of kinship relations in the contemporary world. (b) Describe the role of Science and Technology in enabling us to face the challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. (c) Highlight the roles and functions of civil society in a democratic system.

(a) 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. (b) What does Dr. B. R. Ambedkar mean by the concept of "Annihilation of caste"? (c) Discuss different forms of kinship system in India. (d) Critically examine briefly the phrase "Little Republics" as used to denote India's villages. (e) Caste-like formations are present in Non-Hindu religious communities as well. Discuss with examples.

(a) What is identity politics? Discuss the main trends in Dalit movements in India. (b) Is Indian society moving from "Hierarchy" towards "differentiation"? Illustrate your answer with suitable examples. (c) Discuss the salient features of 'new middle class' in India.

(a) What are the sociological reasons and implication of "reverse migration" during the recent pandemic in India? (b) Discuss the main features of the debate between G. S. Ghurye and V. Elwin on tribal development. (c) What are the various forms of untouchability in India? Critically examine.

(a) Analyze the idea of developmental planning in India. (b) Comment on the role of co-operatives in rural development. (c) Urban slums are sites of social exclusion - explain. (d) Does regionalism essentially lead to decentralization of power? Substantiate your answer with relevant examples. (e) Discuss the role of technology in agrarian change in India.

(a) Explain the sociological significance of the New Education Policy and its thrust on vocationalization and skill development. (b) Is 'ageing' an emerging issue in Indian society? Discuss the major problems of the old age people in India. (c) Underline the socio-cultural factors responsible for India's skewed sex-ratio.

(a) Discuss the role of social media in communal polarisation. Suggest ways to combat it. (b) Urban settlements in India tend to replicate its rural caste-kinship imprints. Discuss the main reasons. (c) Does "economic empowerment" automatically bring about "substantive empowerment" for women? Briefly describe the main issues in women empowerment in India.

(a) Delimit the scope of Sociology in relation to other social sciences. (b) How does a researcher achieve objectivity in interpretative research? (c) The difference between information and data in social science is subtle. Comment. (d) Durkheim argued that society is more than the sum of individual acts. Discuss. (e) How do sociologists construct gender in their analysis on social inequality?

(a) What aspects of 'Enlightenment' do you think paved way for the emergence of sociology? Elaborate. (b) Explain the different types of non-probability sampling techniques. Bring out the conditions of their usage with appropriate examples. (c) Discuss social mobility in open and closed system.

(a) What characterizes degradation of work in capitalist society according to Marx? (b) Social stratification is claimed to contribute to the maintenance of social order and stability in society. Critically assess. (c) What is reliability? Explain the different tests available to social science researcher to establish reliability.

(a) According to Mead the idea of self develops when the individual becomes self-conscious. Explain. (b) Analyse the nature of transition from ideology to identity politics in India. (c) How do little tradition and great tradition coexist in contemporary Indian society?

(a) Critically analyse Parsons views on society as a social system. (b) Discuss how 'environmentalism' can be explained with new social movements approach. (c) Illustrate with examples the role of pressure groups in the formulation of social policies.

(a) Sociologists argue for democratization of science and technology for inclusive development. Comment. (b) Are traditional social institutions getting weakened as agents of social change in the contemporary society? Substantiate. (c) How do you understand the relationship between patriarchy and social development?

(a) Elaborate on M.N. Srinivas's structural-functionalist approach to the study of Indian society. (b) Do you agree that the agrarian class structure in India is changing? Justify your answer with illustrations. (c) Elucidate the challenges of integration for tribal communities in India. (d) In the context of the changing Indian society, how do you view Andre Beteille's conceptions of harmonic and disharmonic social structures? (e) Explain Leela Dube's concept of "Seed and Earth".

(a) Critically examine G.S. Ghurye's Indological approach to the understanding of Indian society. (b) Elaborate on the changing nature of caste system with suitable illustrations. (c) Discuss the problems of religious minorities in India and suggest measures to solve them.

(a) Critically examine Yogendra Singh's thesis on 'Modernisation of Indian Tradition'. (b) Discuss the material basis of patriarchy as an ideological system. (c) Explain different forms of untouchability in India.

(a) Discuss law as an important instrument for women's empowerment. (b) Examine different understandings of secularisation in India. (c) How do you view the growth of informal sector in India? (d) Discuss the role of pressure groups in strengthening democracy. (e) What role do co-operatives play in poverty alleviation in rural India?

(a) Examine whether rural bondage still continues to be a social reality. Give your argument. (b) Define ethnicity. Discuss the factors responsible for the growth of ethnic movements in India. (c) Discuss the changing nature of structure of political elites.

(a) "Instead of promoting equality in society, the present system of education itself has contributed to increased socio-economic disparities." Comment. (b) Discuss recent trends in the structure of migration. (c) Discuss different forms of deprivation associated with slums.

(a) Do you think that common sense is the starting point of social research? What are its advantages and limitations? Explain. (b) How is poverty a form of social exclusion? Illustrate in this connection the different dimensions of poverty and social exclusion. (c) Highlight the differences and similarities between totemism and animism.

(a) Highlight the significant features of A.R. Desai's 'Dialectical Perspective' to study Indian Society. (b) The decade of 1950s was the golden period of village studies in Indian Sociology. Explain the statement. (c) Analyse the differences between the attributional and interactional approach in studying the caste system. (d) Are Tradition and Modernity antithetical to each other? Comment. (e) Discuss the main features of Land Reforms in post-independence India.

(a) Contextualize Louis Dumont's concept of 'binary opposition' with reference to caste system in India. (b) Define the concepts of 'Descent' and 'Alliance'. Differentiate between North Indian and South Indian Kinship systems with examples. (c) Critically examine the concept of Sanskritization with suitable illustrations.

(a) Analyse the perspectives of Isolation, Assimilation and Integration in understanding the trajectories of Indian Tribal Development. (b) Explain the implications and the impact of globalization in situating the changing agrarian class structure in India. (c) Critique the victory narratives of Green Revolution in the context of Indian society.

(a) Citing some case studies, expand the concept of 'Development-induced Displacement'. (b) Examine the concept of 'Cultural Pluralism' in the context of India's Unity in Diversity. (c) Highlight the salient features of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. (d) Analyse the sociological interconnections between Social Media and Mass Mobilization in India. (e) Discuss the nature of regional variations in sex ratio in India, stating reasons thereof.

(a) How do you account for the increasing significance of religion in public and personal spheres in the context of secularization thesis in India? Explain. (b) In the face of rising global climatic concerns, how do you contextualize the relevance of Chipko Movement and its Gandhian tone? Answer analytically. (c) What actionable measures would you suggest to curb the recurrent child labour menace in India?

(a) Do you think that the decades of Dalit political mobilizations and movements have helped in strengthening India's democracy? Substantiate your arguments with facts. (b) What is 'reverse migration'? Discuss its features, causes and consequences in India. (c) Discuss the phenomenon of rural-urban continuum with suitable examples.

(a) Explain the thematic linkages between 'Patriarchy' and 'Honour killing' in India, citing some recent cases. (b) Discuss the challenges faced by the cooperative movements in India. Suggest measures to strengthen the movement at the grass-roots level. (c) What is 'Ageing'? Discuss the major problems of aged people in India.

(a) Do modernization and secularization necessarily go together? Give your views. (b) How do you understand the phenomena of the mushrooming of sects and cults in contemporary society? Discuss the factors responsible for the trend. (c) Discuss the dimensions of power in the construction and maintenance of social hierarchies in a society.

(a) What, according to you, are the factors responsible for the continuance of caste system in India? Explain. (b) Discuss the changes taking place in the industrial class structure in India. (c) Is patriarchy a key to understanding different forms of inequalities in Indian society? Elaborate. (d) Do you think that family bondings are being affected by the changing kinship patterns in India? Comment. (e) Despite the efforts of the government, bonded labour still continues in India. Discuss.

(a) Differentiate between 'Western' and 'Indological' perspectives on the study of Indian society. Bring out the major aspects of G. S. Ghurye's contribution to 'Indological' approach. (b) What are the definitional problems involved in identifying tribes in India? Discuss the main obstacles to tribal development in India. (c) What, according to Andre Beteille, are the bases of agrarian class structure in India? Analyse.

(a) How do religious communities contribute to the cultural diversity of India? (b) What do you understand by decentralisation of power? What is its role in strengthening the roots of democracy in India? Elaborate. (c) What are the different forms of untouchability still practised in India? Discuss with suitable illustrations.

(a) Examine with suitable examples the recent trends in the growth of urban settlements in India. (b) Is there a connection between labour migration and informal sector? Justify your answer with reference to Indian context. (c) Are slums the manifestations of industrialisation and urbanisation in India? Explain. (d) Discuss the changing nature of political elites in India. (e) What is your assessment about the recent farmers' movement in India? Elaborate.

(a) Discuss the major challenges related to women's reproductive health in India. What measures would you suggest to overcome these challenges? (b) What is sustainable development? How can sustainability be achieved in India where livelihood needs conflict with environmental protection? (c) Critically examine the relevance of development planning in India.

(a) Analyse the trilogy between environmental movement, development and tribal identity. (b) To what extent have the legal provisions been effective in curbing violence against women in India? Give your argument. (c) Trace the social and historical origins of Dalit movements in modern India.

(a) What is science? Do you think that the methods used in natural sciences can be applied to sociology? Give reasons for your answer. (b) What do you understand by gender-based domestic division of labour? Is it undergoing a change in the wake of increasing participation of women in formal employment? Clarify your answer with illustrations. (c) How can you assess the significance of social movements in the digital era? Explain.

(a) What do you understand by sustainable development? Discuss the elements of sustainable development as proposed in the UNDP's Sustainable Development Goals Report-2015. (b) How do 'Civil Society Organizations' such as 'NGOs' and 'Self-Help Groups' contribute to grassroot level social changes? Discuss. (c) In what way does queer kinship challenge the traditional kinship system? Substantiate by giving illustrations.

(a) Do you think that in a society like India orthogenetic changes take place through differentiation? Do you observe continuities in the orthogenetic process? Elaborate your answer with suitable examples. (b) Agrarian class structure has been undergoing changes due to modern forces. Critically examine. (c) How same sex marriages are responsible for population dynamics in India? Discuss.

(a) The transfer of land from cultivating to the non-cultivating owners is bringing about transformation in Indian society. Justify your answer by giving suitable illustrations. (b) Bring out various factors responsible for declining of village Industries in India. (c) Discuss the social bases of political mobilization in Independent India. Has some change occurred in these during the last 60-70 years? (d) What are the major problems faced by the labour migrants while working in informal sectors of Indian States? Discuss. (e) Do you think that law has been able to abolish child labour in India? Comment.

(a) In what respects have the constitutional provisions changed the socio-economic and political conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India? Critically examine. (b) Discuss the trend of urbanization in India. Do you think that Industrialization is the only precondition of urbanization? Give you arguments. (c) Which measures would you suggest for preventing caste conflicts in India? Justify your argument.

(a) In what ways do class and caste intersect and overlap in shaping social structure? (b) Critically examine the position of women in the informal economy. (c) Discuss the role of geographical factors in social change and development. (d) Although sociology, as a subject of study, overarches all disciplines in social sciences yet it maintains its distinctiveness. Comment. (e) Explain in brief the relationship between social movement, collective action and revolution in bringing about social and political changes.

(a) Describe the impact of capitalist mode of production on society. (b) Differentiate between social hierarchy and social exclusion and substantiate your answer with reference to the caste system. (c) 'Data without theory is blind and theory without data is empty.' Comment.

(a) In what respect is M. N. Srinivas' study of Indian village society based on structural and functional perspective? Analyse. (b) According to you, which social reform had long-lasting impact on a specific section of society? Support your answer with suitable example. (c) In the context of women's movements and laws do you think that matriarchy is the need of the hour? Discuss in detail. (d) Discuss the debates on the concepts 'duty' and 'worship' while understanding religion in India. (e) How does the concept 'secular' go beyond any religion in plural society like India? Analyse.

(a) Examine the challenges of applying micro-level village studies to macro-level village structure of Indian society. (b) Explain the emergence of middle class in agrarian society in India. What have been the socio-structural implications of the emergence of this middle class? (c) When land reform was a paradigm shift, then what type of land reforms would you recommend to make India a more equitable society?

(a) How does the Constitution of India promote education? Do you think that education can be a major instrument of social change? Clarify. (b) Draw the current population pyramid of India. What policy measures would you recommend for population dynamics to achieve sustainability? (c) Compare G. S. Ghurye's and A. R. Desai's approaches used in understanding Indian society.

(a) Discuss the challenges faced by the aged people in receiving 'elder care'. (b) Examine the transiting social movements from physical movements to virtual movements in 21st century India. (c) Clarify how the family planning programmes have taken a political 'U'-turn in present India. (d) How do Louis Dumont and Andre Beteille differ in their approaches in understanding caste system in India? Explain. (e) Bring out the debates of 'insiders' and 'outsiders' approaches in understanding Indian society.

(a) Differentiate between protests and movements. Discuss some of those movements which changed the fabric of Indian agrarian society during the colonial period. (b) Synchronise the developmental programmes and social change in India, and describe them through visible and lived experiences. (c) Why was the category of 'criminal tribe' created by law during the colonial period in India? Discuss its implications.

(a) Urbanisation in Independent India has been characterized by over-urbanization and rural push. Explain with demographic and sociological dimensions. (b) Give a sociological explanation of violence against women in India. What suggestions would you give to mitigate these violences? (c) Examine the process of formalisation of informal sector to safeguard the interests of marginalised sections of the society.

(a) Discuss distinct sociological method adopted by Emile Durkheim in his study of 'suicide'. (b) Analyse Marxian conception of historical materialism as a critique of Hegelian dialectics. (c) Examine epistemological foundations of qualitative methods of social research.

(a) What is Weberian critique of Marxist notion of social stratification ? (b) Examine gender, ethnicity and race as major dimensions of social stratification. (c) How can one resolve the issue of reliability and validity in the context of sociological research on inequality ?

(a) What do you understand by 'informalisation of labour' ? Write your answer with special reference to India. (b) Discuss the changing interface between state and civil society in post-independent India. (c) Give an assessment of Durkheimian notion of 'sacred' and 'profane' in sociology of religion. (d) Examine 'patriarchal bargain' as gendered division of work in contemporary India. (e) Assess the role of mass media as an agent of social change.

(a) Trace the changing nature of organisation of work in capitalist society over the years. (b) What is new in 'new social movements' ? Elaborate your answer with special reference to India. (c) Examine the dynamics of pressure groups in multi-party political system.

(a) Examine the relationship between the contemporary trends in marriage and changing forms of family. (b) Discuss the regional variations of kinship system in Indian society. (c) Problematise the concept of secularism in the present context.

Set against a rural backdrop, 'Stench of kerosene' is the story of a couple, Guleri and Manak, who have been happily married for several years but do not have a child. Manak's mother is desperate to have a grandchild to carry on the family name. Hence, she gets Manak remarried in Guleri's absence. Manak, who acts as a reluctant but passive spectator, is meanwhile, informed by a friend that Guleri, on hearing about her husband's second marriage, poured kerosene on her clothes and set fire to them. Manak is heartbroken and begins to live as if he were a dead man. When his second wife delivers a son, Manak stares at the child for a long time and blurts out, "Take him away! He stinks of kerosene." This is a sensitive issue-based story which tries to sensitise the readers about