Social Stratification

चरण 1: स्तरीकरण की धारणा।
सामाजिक स्तरीकरण समाज में दर्जाबंदी/परतों (layers) की व्यवस्था है—जहाँ संसाधन, प्रतिष्ठा और शक्ति का असमान वितरण होता है। आधुनिक समाजों में यह प्रायः वर्ग/आय पर टिका होता है, पर भारत के परंपरागत संदर्भ में इसका मुख्य आधार ''जाति'' रही है।
चरण 2: क्यों ''जाति'' आधार है?
जाति जन्म-आधारित समूह है, जिसमें व्यवसाय, विवाह, भोजन-संपर्क, पवित्रता-अपवित्रता जैसे नियम तय करते हैं कि कौन-सा समूह ऊपर/नीचे माना जाएगा। राजनीतिक प्रतिनिधित्व, सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठा और संसाधनों की पहुँच पर इसका दीर्घकालिक प्रभाव रहा है, इसलिए पारंपरिक भारतीय समाज में स्तरीकरण का मूल आधार जाति ही माना जाता है।
चरण 3: अन्य विकल्प क्यों नहीं।
धन-संपत्ति आज प्रभावशाली अवश्य हैं, पर ऐतिहासिक दृष्टि से प्राथमिक आधार जाति रहा; परिवार और धर्म महत्त्वपूर्ण संस्थाएँ हैं, पर स्तरीकरण की बुनियादी इकाई के रूप में वे जाति जितने निर्णायक नहीं। अतः सही उत्तर (2) जाति।

आधार:
जाति—धार्मिक/परंपरागत वैधता; वर्ग—बाज़ार/उत्पादन संबंध।
गतिशीलता:
जाति में वंश/पेशा विरासत; वर्ग में शिक्षा/रोज़गार से ऊपर-नीचे जाना संभव।
नियमन:
जाति भोजन/विवाह/स्पर्श नियम तय करती; वर्ग आवास, शिक्षा, राजनीति/खपत को आकार देता।
अंतरक्रिया:
भारतीय समाज में दोनों ओवरलैप; आर्थिक उन्नति के बावजूद जाति-कलंक रह सकता है—नीतियाँ द्विस्तरीय होनी चाहिए।

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question requires knowledge of the demographic distribution of religious minority groups in India. The most reliable source for this information is the Census of India.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
According to the 2011 Census of India, the population percentages of the minority groups listed are as follows:
- Muslims: 14.2%
- Christians: 2.3%
- Buddhists: 0.7%
- Jains: 0.4%
Comparing these figures, the Jain community constitutes the smallest percentage of the population among the given options.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Based on the 2011 Census data, Jains are the smallest minority group among the choices provided.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Sociology distinguishes between two types of social status:
- Ascribed Status: A social position that is assigned to a person at birth or involuntarily later in life (e.g., race, sex, caste). It is not earned or chosen.
- Achieved Status: A social position that a person acquires through their own efforts, skills, knowledge, and choices (e.g., a profession, being a parent).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's analyze the options:
(A) Professor: This is a profession achieved through years of education and expertise.
(B) Collector: This is a high-ranking administrative position achieved by passing competitive exams and through career progression.
(C) Bank officer: This is a job achieved through education and a selection process.
(D) Brahmin: This is a caste status. In the traditional Indian social system, one is born into a caste. It is not earned or achieved; it is an ascribed status.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Brahmin is an ascribed status determined by birth, unlike the other options which are achieved statuses based on personal effort.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the primary justification for providing reservations (affirmative action) to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in India.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The policy of reservation for Scheduled Castes is rooted in the historical context of the Indian caste system.
- The core reason is to provide social justice and remedy the centuries of discrimination, oppression, and exclusion faced by communities who were considered "untouchable". This status of "untouchability" is a direct consequence of their low ritual position in the caste hierarchy.
- While this discrimination led to extreme poverty (A) and economic deprivation (B), these are consequences of the primary social problem. The reservation policy aims to correct the root cause, which is the social backwardness and stigma attached to their ritual status.
- Population (C) is a factor used to determine the \textit{quantum} or percentage of reservation, not the \textit{reason} for providing it.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The fundamental reason for providing reservation to Scheduled Castes is to compensate for the historical injustice and social disabilities arising from their low ritual position and the practice of untouchability.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Sociology differentiates social status into two types:
- Ascribed Status: A social position assigned at birth or involuntarily assumed later in life (e.g., sex, race, caste).
- Achieved Status: A social position acquired through personal effort, skill, and choice (e.g., a profession).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- (A) Girl and (D) Boy are statuses based on sex, which is ascribed at birth.
- (C) Brahmin is a caste status, which is also ascribed at birth in the traditional Indian system.
- (B) Doctor is a professional status that is achieved through extensive education, training, and qualification. It is not something one is born into.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Doctor is an example of an achieved status.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the fundamental criterion that determines a person's class position according to Karl Marx's theory.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
For Karl Marx, class is defined purely in economic terms. A person's class membership is determined by their relationship to the means of production. This relationship is the core of what Marx called the relations of production (or 'productivity relations').
- In a capitalist society, there are two main classes:
1. The Bourgeoisie: Those who own the means of production (factories, land, capital).
2. The Proletariat: Those who do not own the means of production and must sell their labor power to survive.
- Power (A) and Prestige (B) are part of Max Weber's multidimensional view of stratification, not Marx's.
- 'Mode of productivity' (C) or Mode of Production is a broader term that includes both the forces of production (technology) and the relations of production. The specific factor that determines class membership within that mode is the 'relations' part.
Step 3: Final Answer:
According to Karl Marx, class membership depends upon one's position in the relations of production (productivity relations).

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
- Social Differentiation: The process of distinguishing people into different groups or roles without necessarily ranking them. It is a horizontal division.
- Social Stratification: The hierarchical or vertical ranking of social groups, involving inequality in power, prestige, and wealth.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
- (A) Class and (B) Caste are classic examples of social stratification, as they involve a clear hierarchy of social groups.
- (C) Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women. This is a system of stratification (patriarchy) where one gender has historically held more power than the other.
- (D) Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define males and females. In its purely biological sense, it is a form of differentiation—simply categorizing people based on physical attributes without an inherent social ranking. The social ranking is applied through the process of gendering.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Sex represents a biological differentiation, whereas class, caste, and gender are systems of social stratification.