Class 12 Sociology Chapter 4 The Challenges of Unity in Diversity

Class 12 Sociology Chapter 4 The Challenges of Unity in Diversity The answer to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse throughout different chapters SCERT Class 12 Sociology Chapter 4 The Challenges of Unity in Diversity and select needs one.

Class 12 Sociology Chapter 4 The Challenges of Unity in Diversity

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Also, you can read the SCERT book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per SCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines. These solutions are part of SCERT All Subject Solutions. Here we have given Assam Board/NCERT Class 12 Sociology Chapter 4 The Challenges of Unity in Diversity Solutions for All Subject, You can practice these here…

The Challenges of Unity in Diversity

Chapter: 4

SOCIOLOGY

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE  QUESTIONS

Q.1. Which major religions exist in India? 

Ans: Hindus, Islam, Buddha, Christan, Jainism etc. 

Q.2. What do you mean by unity in diversity? 

Ans: The meaning of unity in diversity is that all the people live with each other with peach and harmony even if they have many differences among them. Like many religious cultures, race etc.exist in our country but they live with each other. This unity in diversity cannot be seen anywhere which can be seen only in India. 

Q.3. How does regionalism become an obstacle in the way of national unity? 

Ans: Regionalism puts an extra emphasis on a particular regional identity, which can create obstacles in the way of national unity. 

Q.4. What do you mean by communalism? 

Ans: Communalism is nothing but ideology which tries to encourage religious ideas of one religion among the people and which are totally against the ideas of other religious groups. 

Q.5. Why did constitution makers want to make India a secular state? 

Ans: They were aware of the religious diversities of the country and wanted to see that every religion should get equal respect from the state. They believed that a strong nation could be built only when all sections of people had the freedom to practice their religion. 

Q.6. What is meant by casteism? 

Ans: When politicians try to take advantage of caste consciousness for the electoral gains then this process is known as casteism. Leaders of particular castes always try to cross caste related consciousness so that people could give them their votes. This is Casteism. 

Q.7. Write two effects of casteism on our society. 

Ans: The two effects of casteism on our society are:-

(1) As a result of casteism Indian society stratified on the basis of religious purity and pollution. 

(2) Evils like untouchability arose as a result of casteism. 

Q.8. What is meant by ascriptive identity? 

Ans: Ascriptive identities are determined by the accidents of birth and don’t involve any choice on the part of the individuals concerned. Actually, no one has any choice about which family or community or country they are born into. Ascriptive identities are very hard to shake off even if someone chooses to disown them, others may continue to identify by those very markers of belonging. 

Q.9. What is a Nation? 

Ans: Simply, a nation is short of a large community. It is a community of communities. A nation is a community that believes itself to be a community on the basis of several shared characteristics like common language, geographical  location, history, religion, race, ethnicity etc. However, nations may exist without one or more of such characteristics. 

Q.10. What is the privileged minority? 

Ans: In sociology the nation of minorities involves some sort of relative disadvantages. But some people of minority communities have never faced disadvantages and are extremely privileged. To mean these people the phrase ‘privileged minority’ is used. 

Q.11. What is the sociological meaning of minority? 

Ans: The concept of minority usually involves some sense of relative disadvantage. Minority generally implies a relatively small but  also disadvantaged group. In sociological sense that members of the minority form a collectivity – that is they have a strong sense of group solidarity, a feeling of togetherness and belonging which is also linked to disadvantage. In democratic politics, it is always possible to convert a numerical majority into political power through election. This means that religious or cultural minorities are politically vulnerable. So, to safeguard their distinctive identity they need protection from the state. 

Q.12. How can the caste system be removed from society? 

Ans: To remove the evils of the caste system from our society we need strong legislation. Moreover, education can do a lot in eliminating caste system from our society. 

Q.13. Mention two factors that encourage regionalism? 

Ans: The two factors that encourage regionalism are :-

(1) Diversity on the basis of language, culture, tribal identity, ethnicity etc. encourage regionalism. 

(2) Regional imbalances in the sphere of economy and growth, sentiment of regional deprivation etc. are some other courses of regionalism. 

Q.14. What do you understand by cultural diversity? 

Ans: Cultural diversity means presence of many different kinds of cultural communities defined by language, religion, region, ethnicity and so on within a particular large national or regional context. 

Q.15. What kind of factors is community identity based on? 

Ans: Community identity is based on birth and ‘belonging ‘ community identity is determined by accidents of birth and doesn’t involve any choice on the part of the individuals concerned. Community ties like family, kinship, caste, ethnicity, language etc.gives a sense of identity to the people. This sense of identity is known as community identity. 

Q.16. Which religion was adopted by Ambedkar and why? 

Ans: Ambedkar adopted Buddhism. To fight against untouchability and to show secular attitude the changed his religion. 

Q.17. Give some names of minority groups of India? 

Ans: Christian, Muslim, Buddhist etc. 

Q.18. What is meant by the Ashrama system? 

Ans: Ashrama system is the traditional Hindu system of education, which is closely linked with the caste system. 

Q.19. In which year the act RTI was passed and came into force. 

Ans: RTI Act. (Right to Information Act) was passed on June 15 in the year – 2005 and came into force on October 13,2005.

Q.20. The term “diversity ” emphasises differences rather than inequalities. (true/false)

Ans: True. 

Short type question and answer

Q.1. What are the evil consequences of religious diversity? 

Ans: As a result of huge religious diversity, as it exists in India, communalism or communal identity may grow up. The state has to make various provisions to satisfy diverse religions groups. The state has to move carefully in each and every sphere, so that religious sentiments of each and every group are respected. Moreover, there is always the possibility of growing up the feelings of suspicion and intolerance among various religious groups, which may create tension in society. 

Q.2. Write something about geographical diversity in India. 

Ans: India is a land of full geographical diversity. On one side of the country, it is surrounded by the great Himalayas and the other maintains, while the other side of the country is surrounded by oceans. Central India is a place of river valley while the entire north-east of the country is hilly areas. While Rajasthan is known for big deserts, Kashmir valley is known for cold and snow-falls. Thus, India is a land of face geographical diversity. 

Q.3. Idea of communalism is a very dangerous comment. 

Ans: Communalism refers to aggressive chauvinism based on religion identity. Communalism is a political ideology that believes that religion supersedes all other aspects of persons or groups identity which is usually accompanied by an aggressive and hostile attitude towards person or groups of other religions identities. 

Hence, it is very dangerous as it may destroy the peace, security and order in a society. The feeling of intolerance which  is associated with communalism, can create tension in a society which is full of diversity. 

Q.4. Explain how ‘India is a secular state? 

Ans: In the western sense, secularism means separation of church and state. Secularism in the west was related to the arrival of modernity and the rise of science and rationality in place of religious beliefs. 

The Indian meaning of secularism includes the western sense along with some other meanings. In India secularism primarily means that the Indian states shows equal respect for all religions, rather than merely separating states from religion. Here the secular Indian state declares public holidays to mark the festivals of all religions. 

In India secularism is also seen as opposition to communalism. In this sense secularism is opposite of religious chauvinism though it need not imply hostility to religion as such. 

The Indian constitution declares India as a secular state in its preamble. The constitution provided fundamental rights to all its citizens irrespective of all artificial differences like religion, caste etc. Thus, India is a secular state. 

Q.5. How does caste play an important role in politics? 

Ans: Caste continues to be a major determinant of political life in India. It has been a determinant of political participation, voting behaviours and almost all other aspects of Indian politics. Caste determines the nature, organisation and working of political parties and interest groups etc. Caste voting, caste based candidatures, caste based riots, caste conflict and the issue of reservation versus non-reservation are all factors of Indian politics. 

Q.6. What is meant by regionalism in Indian context? 

Ans: In positive sense regionalism means the love for one’s area of living. It is something natural. However, in India it’s negative sense is prevailing which means love for one’s own region over and above the country as a whole. In India regionalism implies that religion and  parochial demands are made on the political system, which are opposed to the country as a whole. Now regionalism poses a big strain upon nationalism and nation as a whole. It has been a big hindrance in the process of national integration and nation-building. It continues to plague Indian political system in several forms like demands for secession, demands for separate statehood, inter state disputes, militant regionalism etc. 

Q.7. What type of diversities can be seen in different parts of India? 

Ans: Caste continues to be a major determinant of political life in India. It has been a determinant of political participation, voting behaviour and almost all other aspects of Indian politics. Caste voting, caste based candidature, caste based riots, caste conflict and the issue of reservation versus non-reservation are all factors of Indian politics. 

But not only in geography, in every spheres of life India is full of diversity. So, on within a particular large national or regional context. 

India is considered to be a very diverse country as there are many different types of social groups and communities living here. 

In terms of religion also, we see diversity. Almost 80% of the population are Hindus, 13% are Muslims, 2.5% are Christian ,1.9% are Sikhs, while 0.8% are Buddhist and 0.4% are jains. So far as language is concerned mainly 22 languages are spoken in India. Thus, India is a country which is full of diversity. 

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