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(a) Discuss the relationship between religion and science in modern society. Do they necessarily remain in conflict? (b) Is 'interpretativism' more effective than 'positivism' in analysing social reality? Discuss. (c) How does Emile Durkheim conceptualize religion as a 'social fact'? Explain.

(a) Discuss the intellectual origins of sociology and the historical antecedents of its evolution as a distinct field of study. (b) Critically analyse the mode of production debate from different perspectives. (c) How does the rise of new 'cults' and 'sects' influence intercaste relations?

(a) What is sampling in the context of social research? Discuss different forms of sampling with their relative advantages and disadvantages. (b) How do theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim differ in understanding religion? Explain. (c) What is the nature of relationship between science and religion in modern society? Analyze with suitable examples.

(a) Underline the role of social media in contemporary social movements and describe its challenges. (b) How does a multicultural society accommodate diversities of all kinds — ethnic, linguistic and religious? Discuss its major challenges. (c) Discuss the concept of animism and differentiate it from naturism.

(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 is Taylorism? Analyze its merits and demerits. (b) What are new religious movements? Elaborate emphasizing their forms and orientations. (c) Examine the role of science and technology in addressing age-old taboos and superstitions.

(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) In the context of globalisation, has the scope of sociology been changing in India? Comment. (b) Discuss the importance and sources of hypothesis in social research. (c) What are the problems in observing social facts in Durkheim's views? (d) State the reasons for the various religious beliefs and practices in pre-modern societies. (e) Does the institution of marriage continue to be sacred in Indian society? Comment.

(a) Discuss the importance of interpretative understanding of social phenomena and explain its limitations. (b) Are all world religions patriarchal? Substantiate your answer with examples. (c) What, according to Merton, is the difference between 'unanticipated consequences' and 'latent functions'? Give examples to elaborate.

(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) "The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relationship between the two in a society." — C.W. Mills. Explain. (b) What are sects? Discuss their role in multi-religious societies with empirical examples. (c) In what way did Durkheim perceive religion as functional to society?

(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) 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.

(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) Critically examine the relevance of Durkheim's views on religion in contemporary society. (b) Discuss various theoretical perspectives on the family. (c) Explain the implications of feminization of work in the developing societies. (d) Write a note on global trends of secularization. (e) Trace the trajectory of development perspectives on social change.

(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) 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) 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) 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.