CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Sociology Set 1 with Solutions

Students must start practicing the questions from CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Sociology with Solutions Set 1 are designed as per the revised syllabus.

CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Sociology Set 1 with Solutions

Time Allowed : 3 Hr.
Maximum Marks : 80

General Instructions:

The question paper is divided into four sections.
There are 38 questions in all. All questions are compulsory.
Section A includes question No. 1-20. These are MCQ type questions. As per the question, there can be one answer.
Section B includes question No.21-29. These are very short answer type questions carrying 2 marks each. Answer to each question should not exceed 30 words.
Section C includes question No. 30-35. They are short answer type questions carrying 4 marks each. Answer to each question should not exceed 80 words.
Section D includes question No. 36-38. They are long answer type questions carrying 6 marks each. Answer to each question should not exceed 200 words each. Question no 38 is to be answered with the help of the passage given.

Section – A (20 Marks)

Question 1.
“Famines were also a major and recurring source of increased mortality.” Which of the following is not a cause of famines? [1]
(A) Continuing poverty and malnutrition in an agro-climatic environment.
(B) Inadequate means of transport and communication.
(C) Failure of entitlements
(D) Increasing birth rates
Answer:
(D) Increasing birth rates

Explanation: Famine is a result of shortage of food and not increase in births.

Question 2.
Assertion(A): The Population Pyramid shows a bulge in the middle age groups, due to opportunity provided by the demographic structure.
Reason(R): This is due to high birth rate in the middle age groups. [1]
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false and R is true.
Answer:
(C) A is true but R is false.

Explanation: The bulge in the middle age group indicates that majority of Indians belong to the working population providing the opportunity called demographic dividend,

The average age is also less than that of most other countries, thus the changing age structure could offer a demographic dividend for India.
Thus, the dependency ratio is low and provides the opportunity for economic growth.
This dividend arises from the fact that the current generation of working age people is relatively large and it has only a relatively small preceding generation of old people to support.
This potential can be converted into actual growth with the increased level of education and employment, (v) Thus, these benefits have to be utilised through planned development.

Question 3.
The interaction of the tribal communities with the mainstream has generally been on terms unfavourable for the tribals. Many tribal identities today are centred on ideas of _____ to the overwhelming force of the non-tribal word. [1]
(A) Resistance and cooperation
(B) Cooperation and opposition
(C) Resistance and opposition
(D) Movement and opposition
Answer:
(C) Resistance and opposition

Explanation: Many tribal identities are based on thoughts of resistance and opposition to the overpowering force of the non-tribal world because this interactional process has not favoured the tribes.

Question 4.
Assertion(A): Tribes are pristine societies uncontaminated by civilisation:
Reason(R): Tribes should really be seen as “secondary” phenomena arising out of the exploitative and colonialist contact between pre-existing states and non-state groups like the tribals. [1]
(A)Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false and R is true.
Answer:
(D) A is false and R is true.

Explanation: 1970s – All major definitions of tribes were found to be faulty.

Absorption of tribes into the Hindu Society: Sanskritisation, acculturation 1 Cultural aspect and political & exploitative aspect It has also been argued that there is no coherent basis for treating tribes as ‘pristine’.
Tribes are “secondary” phenomena arising as a result of colonialist contact between state and non-state societies.

Question 5.
Which of the following make the Dominant Castes dominant? [1]
I. small population
II. land rights
III. intermediate caste
IV. decisive role in regional politics
(A) I. and II.
(B) I. and III.
(C) II., III., IV.
(D) I. and IV.
Answer:
(C) II., III., IV.

Explanation: Dominant Castes are the upper-middle ranking castes with a large population and newly acquired land ownership rights leading to their political, economic and social dominance in a region.

Question 6.
The _____ family is often seen as symptomatic of India. [1]
(A) Nuclear
(B) Patriarchal
(C) Patrilineal
(D) Extended
Answer:
(D) Extended

Explanation: Extended Family: It consisted of more than one couple and, often, more than two generations live together. The extended family is symptomatic of India.

Question 7.
The person who is refused a job because of his/her caste may be told that he/she was less qualified than others and the selection was done purely on merit. This is an example of [1]
(A) Discrimination
(B) Social stratification
(C) Egalitarianism
(D) Stereotype
Answer:
(A) Discrimination

Explanation: Discrimination refers to the practices, behaviour or attitude towards another group or individual that disqualify members of the group or the individual from opportunities open to others.

Question 8.
Person from a well-off family can afford expensive higher education. Someone with influential relatives and friends may – through access to good advice, recommendations or information – manage to get a well-paid job. Which of the following is true in the given context? [1]
I. There are multiple forms of capital.
II. Different forms of capital cannot be converted into the other.
III. The forms of capital overlap.
(A) I- is false
(B) I. and II. are true
(C) I. and III. are true
(D) I., II. and III. are true
Answer:
(C) I. and III. are true

Explanation: These social resources can be divided into three forms of capital – economic capital in the form of material assets and income; cultural capital such as educational qualifications and status; and social capital in the form of networks of contacts and social associations (Bourdieu 1986). Often, these three forms of capital overlap and one can be converted into the other

For example, a person from a well-off family (economic capital) can afford expensive higher education, and so can acquire cultural or educational capital. Someone with influential relatives and friends (social capital) may – through access to good advice, recommendations or information manage to get a well-paid job.

Question 9.
Historically, states have tried to establish and enhance their political legitimacy through nation-building strategies. They sought to secure the loyalty and obedience of their citizens through policies of assimilation or integration. Attaining these objectives was not easy, especially in a context of cultural diversity where citizens, in addition to their identifications with their country, might also feel a strong sense of identity with their community – ethnic, religious, linguistic and so on. [1]
Two nation building strategies used were
(A) Assimilation and integration
(B) Assimilation and sanskritisation
(C) Integration and sanskritisation
(D) Westernisation and sanskritisation
Answer:
(A) Assimilation and integration

Explanation: They sought to secure the loyalty and obedience of their citizens through policies of assimilation or integration.

Question 10.
The challenge is in reinvigorating India’s commitruent to practices [1]
(A) Pluralism
(B) Institutional accommodation
(C) Conflict resolution through democratic means
(D) All of the above
Answer:
(D) All of the above

Explanation: The challenge is in reinvigorating India’s commitment to practices of pluralism, institutional accommodation and conflict resolution through democratic means. Critical for building a multicultural democracy is a recognition of the shortcomings of historical nation-building exercises and of the benefits of multiple and complementary identities.

Question 11.
While a few villages are totally absorbed in the process of expansion, only the land of many others, excluding the inhabited area, is used for urban development. [1]
The growth of _____ cities accounts for the third type of urban impact on the surrounding villages.
(A) Metropolitan
(B) Small
(C) Ghetto
(D) Heritage
Answer:
(A) Metropolitan

Explanation: The growth of metropolitan cities accounts for the third type of urban impact on the surrounding villages. While a few villages are totally absorbed in the process of expansion, only the land of many others, excluding the inhabited area, is used for urban development.

Question 12.
With the growth of movement in the 20th century, there was an attempt in several Indian languages to drop Sanskriti words and phrases. [1]
(A) Brahmanical
(B) Anti-Brahmanical
(C) Women’s
(D) Tribal
Answer:
(B) Anti-Brahmanical

Explanation: With the growth of the anti- Brahmanical movement and the development of regional self-consciousness in the twentieth century there was an attempt in several Indian languages to drop Sanskrit words and phrases.

Question 13.
Which of the following is not a result of contract farming? [1]
(A) It disengages many people from the production process.
(B) Makes their own indigenous knowledge of agriculture irrelevant.
(C) It is ecologically sustainable
(D) Caters primarily to the production of elite items
Answer:
(C) It is ecologically sustainable

Question 14.
Assertion(A): Members of low ranked caste groups had to provide labour for a fixed number of days per year to the village zamindar.
Reason(R): Lack of resources and dependence on the landed caste for economic and social support meant that many working poor were tied to landowners in hereditary labour relationships. [1]
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false and R is true.
Answer:
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Explanation: Members of low ranked caste groups had to provide labour for a fixed number of days per year to the village zamindar or landlord. Similarly, lack of resources, and dependence on the landed class for economic, social, and political support, meant that many of the working poor were tied to landowners in ‘hereditary’ labour relationships (bonded labour), such as the halpati system in Gujarat (Breman, 1974) and the jeeta system in Karnataka.

Question 15.
Women are also emerging as the main source of agricultural labour leading to labour force. [1]
(A) Feminisation of agriculture
(B) Womanisation of agriculture
(C) Reformation of agriculture
(D) Restoration of agriculture
Answer:
(A) Feminisation of agriculture

Explanation: Women are also emerging as the main source of agricultural labour, leading to the ‘feminisation of agricultural labour force.

Question 16.
‘The spate of fanners’ suicides that has been occurring in different parts of the country since 1997-98 can be linked to the ‘agrarian distress’ caused by structural changes in agriculture and changes in economic and agricultural policies.
Which of the following is not a reason for agrarian distress? [1]
(A) Changed cropping pattern
(B) Changing patterns of landholdings
(C) Heavy migration to cities
(D) Shift to cash crops
Answer:
(C) Heavy migration to cities

Explanation: The spate of farmers’ suicides that has been occurring in different parts of the country, since 1997-98 can be linked to the ‘agrarian distress’ caused by structural changes in agriculture and, changes in economic and agricultural policies. These include the changed pattern of landholdings; changing cropping patterns, especially due to shift to cash crops; liberalisation policies that have exposed Indian agriculture to the forces of globalisation.

Heavy dependence on high-cost inputs; withdrawal of the State from agricultural extension activities to be replaced by multinational seed and fertiliser companies; decline in state support for agriculture; and individualisation of agricultural operations.

Question 17.
In outsourcing, work is allocated by _____ countries to _____ countries. [1]
(A) Developed, developing
(B) Underdeveloped, developed
(C) Developing, underdeveloped
(D) Developing, developed
Answer:
(A) Developed, developing

Question 18.
Assertion(A): Earlier architects and engineers had to be skilled draughtsmen, now the computer does a lot of the work for them.
Reason(R): The use of machinery de-skills workers. [1]
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false and R is true.
Answer:
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Explanation: The famous sociologist Harry Braverman argues that the use of machinery actually de-skills workers. For example, whereas earlier architects and engineers had to be skilled draughtsmen, now the computer does a lot of the work for them.

Question 19.
‘Stand Up India Scheme’ and ’Make in India’ are programmes that will help realise the [1]
(A) Benefits of high dependency ratio
(B) Demographic dividend
(C) Benefit of high death rate
(D) Benefit of high fertility rate
Answer:
(B) Demographic dividend

Question 20.
Assertion(A): In Modern Foods, 60% of the workers were forced to retire in the first five years.
Reason(R): This was due to complacency in work. [1]
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false and R is true.
Answer:
(C) A is true but R is false.

Explanation: The government is trying to sell its share in several public sector companies, a process which is known as disinvestment. Many government: workers are scared that after disinvestment, they will lose their jobs. In Modern Foods, which was set up by the government to make healthy bread available at cheap prices, and which was the first company to be privatised, 60% of the workers were forced to retire in the first five years.

Section – B (18 Marks)

Question 21.
The growth rate of India in the decade 1911-21, exhibited a diverse pattern. State two reasons. [2]
Answer:
The reason for the diverse pattern were:

There was a negative rate of growth of – 0.03%.
the influenza epidemic during 1918-19 which killed about 12.5 million persons

Question 22.
Not all of the changes in Social Institutions brought about by the British were intended or deliberate. Give an
example to justify the statement. [2]
Answer:
All changes in social institutions brought about British were not intended or deliberate because the British Administrative officials were amateur ethnologists and they took great interest in pursuing such surveys and studies, e.g. The 1901 Census under the direction of Herbert Risley about the social hierarchy of caste had a huge impact on the social perception of caste.

Question 23.
“In both English and Indian fictional writings, we often encounter an entire group of people classified as ‘lazy’ or ‘cunning’.” What are the problems with such a classification?
OR
” In all regions of the world persons with disabilities face attitudinal barriers, including prejudice, low expectations and even fear. Negative attitudes about disability impact on all aspects of the lives of persons with disabilities, including the ability to access education, to participate in non-exploitative work, to live where and with whom one chooses, to marry and start a family, and to move about freely within the community.”
Suggest any two ways by which an attitudinal change can be brought about to remedy the conditions of people with disabilities. [2]
Answer:
These general statements are given by stereotypes that fix whole groups into single, homogenous categories: they refuse to recognise the variation across individuals and across contexts or across time, also known as prejudice.

A change can be brought in the ways listed below:
• By educating people/society about disabilities.
• By the government initiatives to socially include people with disability.

Question 24.
“Every human being needs a sense of stable identity to operate in this world. Questions like — Who am I? How am I different from others? How do others understand and comprehend me? What goals and aspirations should I have? – constantly crop up in our life right from childhood.” How are these questions answered?
OR
State is indeed a very crucial institution when it comes to the management of cultural diversity in a nation. How? [2]
Answer:
We are able to answer many of these questions because of the way in which we are socialised. It should be based on birth and ‘belonging’ rather than on some form of acquired qualifications or ‘accomplishment’. It is what we ‘are’ rather than what we have ‘become’.

A State is crucial to the management of cultural diversity in a nation. For example, India is socially and culturally one of the most diverse countries in the world.
States are also often suspicious of cultural diversity because sometimes cultural diversities are accompanied by economic and social inequalities which lead to rivalries.

Question 25.
What is the difference between assimilationist and integrationist policies? [2]
Answer:
Assimilationist policies require non-dominant or subordinated groups in society to give up their own cultural values and adopt the prescribed ones whereas Policies of integration insist that the public culture be restricted to a common national pattern, while all ‘non-national’ cultures are to be relegated to the private sphere.

Question 26.
Using the example of Kumud Pawade, show how the process of sanskritisation is gendered. [2]
Answer:
Kumud Pawde felt that the study of Sanskrit can help her break into a field that was not possible for her to enter on grounds of gender and caste. As she proceeds with her studies, she meets with varied reactions ranging from surprise to hostility, from guarded acceptance to brutal rejection.

Question 27.
What was unique about the social reform movements of the 19^thcentury? [2]
Answer:
New ideas of liberalism and freedom, new ideas of homemaking and marriage, new roles for mothers and daughters, new ideas of self-conscious pride in culture and tradition emerged. The value of education became very important. It was seen as very crucial for a nation to become modern but also retain its ancient heritage.

Question 28.
Differentiate between Zamindari system and Ryotwari system with regard to the consequence on agricultural prosperity. [2]
Answer:
In Zamindari System British controlled most of local administration through Zamindars. British imposed heavy taxes on agricultural land. As a result of oppression, peasants faced series of famine and wars. This eventually affected the population whereas in Ryotwari System British had direct control over the local farmers, in this system, the ‘actual cultivators’ (who were themselves often landlords and not cultivators) rather than the zamindars were responsible for paying the tax, as a result, these areas became relatively more productive and prosperous.

Question 29.
“In places like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram, where many IT firms or call centres are located, shops and restaurants have also changed their opening hours, and are open late.” Give reasons.
OR
The Industrial Sodety is characterised by alienation. How? [2]
Answer:
Overwork is built into the structure of out-sourced projects in the IT sector: project costs and time-lines are usually underestimated in terms of man-days, and because man-days are based on an eight-hour day, engineers have to put in extra hours and days in order to meet the deadlines.

‘Alienation’ was coined by Karl Marx; it is a concept wherein people are unable to enjoy their work as the work is often repetitive and exhaustive. People are unable to enjoy work and see it as something they have to do only in order to survive.

Section – C (24 Marks)

Question 30.
In the context of identities, why did tribal sodeties get more and more differentiated?
OR
One of the most significant yet paradoxical changes in the caste system in the contemporary period is that it has tended to become ‘invisible’ for the upper caste, urban middle and upper classes. Elaborate. [4]
Answer:
The term tribe is used for the oldest inhabitants of the sub-continent. About 85 percent of the tribal population lives in ‘middle India’, over 11 percent live in the North-Eastern states and 3 percent live in the rest of India. Tribal identities are formed by an interactional process. They are centred on ideas of resistance and opposition to the non-tribal world.

The issues related to control over vital economic resources like land and especially forests, and issues relating to matters of ethnic-cultural identity. The two can often go together, but with the differentiation of tribal society, they may also diverge. The reasons why the middle classes within tribal societies may assert their tribal identity may be different from the reasons why poor and uneducated tribals join tribal movements. As with any other community, it is the relationship between these kinds of internal dynamics and external forces that will shape the future.

Caste is a type of social stratification found in the Indian subcontinent. It is a hereditary organization of social grouping restricting occupational mobility.

Upper caste elite were able to benefit from subsidized public education, especially professional education.
Took advantage of the expansion of state sector jobs in the early decades after Independence.
This led over the rest of society (in terms of education) and ensured that they did not face any serious competition.
As their privileged status got consolidated in the second and third generations, these groups believed that caste played no role in their advancement.
For the third generations of these groups their economic and educational capital is sufficient to ensure that they will get the best in terms of life chances.

Question 31.
Why is it hard to define a nation? [4]
Answer:
Nations are found on the basis of common cultural, historical and political institutions like a shared religion, language, ethnicity, history, or regional culture. But it is hard to come up with any defining features, any characteristics that a nation must possess. There are many nations that do not share a single common language, religion, and ethnicity. There are many languages, religions, or ethnicities that are shared across nations. A state is the closest criterion that distinguishes a nation. However, this one-on-one relationship is a new development.

Question 32.
How are capitalism and colonialism linked? [4]
Answer:
An economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and organized to accumulate profits within a market system. It is dynamic and global in nature; its potential is to grow, expand, innovate and use technology and labour in a way that ensures the greatest profit. Western colonialism was inextricably connected to the growth of western capitalism.

If capitalism became the dominant economic system, the nation-states became the dominant political form. Western colonialism was inextricably connected to the growth of western capitalism. This had a lasting impact on the way capitalism developed in a colonised country like India.

Question 33.
How did the Land Ceiling Act prove to be toothless in most of the states? [4]
Answer:
The Land Ceiling Act was enacted and land-owning limit was fixed and excessive lands were seized.
(i) Land Ceiling Act was implemented to fix the upper limit for individual land-owning.
(ii) Accordingly, an individual has to give away the excess land to the government.
(iii) Concerned landowner was allowed to give a share to the son or daughter before surrendering it to the government.
(iv) The loopholes included dividing land among relatives and servants. This was called a Benami transfer. Divorcing the wife but living with her which will allow a share for unmarried women for the accumulation of land by a family.

Question 34.
“The more mechanised an industry gets, the fewer people are employed.” Explain with a suitable example.
OR
Mahatma Gandhi saw mechanisation as a danger to employment. Explain. [4]
Answer:
It is a fact that machinery creates a problem for workers. We can take the example of a cottage industry of earlier times in which a number of family members were required to make a piece of cloth. Even then it required a lot of time to make a small piece of cloth. But when machines were invented then machines started to make cloth with great speed, in less time and with less cost. In this way work of the cottage industry went over to machines of a textile mill and thousands of workers had to change their occupations.

Human labour cannot be matched with the pace at which a machine can work. Hence, machines have been constantly replacing humans. This has led to increased unemployment. The speed of human labour and mechanical technology is unmatched and hence even if humans try, they give up at some point and leave the job.

Mahatma Gandhi objected the heavy usage of machines. He was of the view that labour-oriented modern industries should be set up in India. It can also be said, Gandhiji was not against machinery but, against the craze for machinery. Machinery saves time and labour. However, it deprives people of their jobs and leads to starvation. Therefore, Gandhiji opined that machinery should save time and labour for all and accumulate wealth for all and not in the hands of a few.

He suggested the use of the spinning wheel to end exploitation and unemployment. Both Marx and Mahatma Gandhi saw mechanisation as a danger to employment.

Question 35.
Differentiate between old and new sodal movements. [4]
Answer:

OLD SOCIAL MOVEMENTS	NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Central goal: Reorganisation of power relations.	Central goal: About addressing issues on quality of life.
Functions within the frame of political parties. INC led the Indian National Movement.	It is led by civil society, political parties, NGOs, pressure groups, etc.
Class related: Peasant movements, workers movements, anti-colonial movements.	Environmental movements, women’s and tribals movements.
Major fight against economic inequality.	Fights economic, social, cultural and political inequality.

Section – D (18 Marks)

Question 36.
The contractors’ men who were travelling to Reni from Joshimath stopped the bus shortly before Reni. Skirting the village, they made for the forest. A small girl who spied the workers with their implements rushed to Gaura Devi, the head of the village Mahila Mandal (Women’s Club). Gaura Devi quickly mobilised the other housewives and went to the forest. Pleading with the labourers not to start felling operations, the women initially met with abuse and threats. When the women refused to budge, the men were eventually forced to retire.”
How are environmental movements also about economics and identity issues? Elaborate. [6]
Answer:
All of the villagers relied on the forest to get firewood, fodder and other daily necessities. This conflict placed the livelihood needs of poor villagers against the government’s desire to generate revenues from selling timber. The economy of subsistence was pitted against the economy of profit.

Along with this issue of social inequality (villagers versus a government that represented commercial, capitalist interests), the Chipko Movement also raised the issue of ecological sustainability. Cutting down natural forests was a form of environmental destruction that had resulted in devastating floods and landslides in the region. For the villagers, these ‘red’ and ‘green’ issues were interlinked.

While their survival depended on the survival of the forest, they also valued the forest for its own sake as a form of ecological wealth that benefits all. In addition, the Chipko Movement also expressed the resentment of hill villagers against a distant government headquartered in the plains that seemed indifferent and hostile to their concerns. So, concerns about economy, ecology and political representation underlay the Chipko Movement.

Question 37.
Table 3: The Declining Sex Ratio in India, 1901-2011

Year	Sex ratio (all age groups)	Variation over previous decade	Child Sex ratio (0-6 years)	Variation over previous decade
1901	972	–	–	–
1911	964	-8	–	–
1921	955	-9	–	–
1931	950	– 5	–	–
1941	945	-5	–	–
1951	946	+ 1	–	–
1961	941	-5	976	–
1971	930	-11	964	-12
1981	934	+ 4	962	-2
1991	927	-7	945	-17
2001	933	+ 6	927	-18
2011	943	+ 10	919	-8
Note: The sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males: Data on age-specific sex ratios is not available before 1961. Source: Cerasus of India 2011, Government of India.

(a) Give reasons for declining sex-ratio.
(b) In your opinion, what steps should be taken to deal with this bias against the girl-child? [6]
Answer:
(a) The reasons for the declining sex ratio are given as follows:

Maternal mortality is the main health factor that affects women differently from men as there is an increased risk of childbearing.
However, it is not the main cause of the decline in the sex ratio in India.
Child-sex ratio shows a steeper decline due to differential treatment of female babies.
Sex-specific abortion or female foeticide has increased due to misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques.
Decline in sex ratio is also due to female infanticide, a practice that is a product of cultural and religious beliefs.
Economically prosperous families wanting fewer children often prefer male children over female children.
Girl children are also severely neglected due to socio¬cultural norms that prefer sons over daughters.

(b) Several measures were taken by the government to decrease bias against girl child:

Right to Education Act, 2005
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana, 2015

Question 38.
Elaborate on state and non-state initiatives addressing caste and tribal discrimination.
OR
What are the major concerns for the Adivasis today? [6]
Answer:
The Indian state has had special programmes for the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes since even before Independence. Reservations involves the setting aside of some places or ‘seats’ for members of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in different spheres of public life. Caste Disabilities Removal Act of 1850, which disallowed the curtailment of rights of citizens due solely to change of religion or caste.

93rd Amendment is for introducing reservation for the Other Backward Classes in institutions of higher education. The Constitution abolished untouchability (Article 17) and introduced the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989. From the pre-Independence struggles and movements launched by people like Jyotiba-Phule, Iyotheedas, Periyar, Ambedkar and others to contemporary political organisations like the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh or the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti of Karnataka.

Dalit political assertion has come a long way. Dalits have also made significant contributions to literature in several Indian languages, specially Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

The Independence of India in 1947 should have made life easier for adivasis but this was not the case. Firstly, the government monopoly over forests continued. If anything, the exploitation of forests accelerated. Secondly, the policy of capital-intensive industrialisation adopted by the Indian government required mineral resources and power-generation capacities which were concentrated in Adivasi areas. Adivasi lands were rapidly acquired for new mining and dam projects.

In the process, millions of adivasis were displaced without any appropriate compensation or rehabilitation. Justified in the name of ‘national development’ and ‘economic growth’, these policies were also a form of internal colonialism, subjugating adivasis and alienating the resources upon which they depended. Projects such as the Sardar Sarovar dam on the river Narmada in western India and the Polavaram dam on the river Godavari in Andhra Pradesh displace hundreds of thousands of adivasis, driving them to greater destitution.

These processes continue to prevail and have become even more powerful since the 1990s when economic liberalisation policies were officially adopted by the Indian government. It is now easier for corporate firms to acquire large areas of land by displacing adivasis. In spite of the heavy odds against them and in the face of their marginalisation many tribal groups have been waging struggles against outsiders (called ‘dikus’) and the state.

In post-Independence India, the most significant achievements of Adivasi movements include the attainment of statehood for Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, which were originally part of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh respectively.