For visitors unaccustomed to this system of hereditary social division

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 123, Date : 03-APR-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

For visitors unaccustomed to this system of hereditary social divisions, the complex and mostly unwritten rules governing whom a person can marry, what kind of work she can do, and even what kind of food she can eat may seem puzzling and mysterious. One reason for this confusion is that the concept of caste is actually divided into two separate but related concepts in Indian culture:  varna  and  jati .

Varna , which literally means “color,” is the most basic social division. There are four  varna : the Brahmans, the traditional priest class; the Kshatriya, the warrior class; the Vaishya, the skilled workers and merchants; and the Sudra, laborers whose role is to serve the three higher classes. Below the Sudra are a class known as the Untouchables, who technically fall outside of the  varna  system because they are supposedly “unclean” in a ritual sense. The Untouchables are the lowest class in India, but they make life possible for everyone else because they take care of the jobs that would “pollute” the higher classes, such as working with dead animals or cleaning sewage. The Indian statesman Mohandas Gandhi, in an effort to promote social equality, encouraged people to refer to Untouchables as the Harijan, which means “Children of God.”

Each  varna  is then divided into hundreds or thousands of  jati , a term that literally means “birth.” The  jati  are kinship groups with hereditary roles and professions, such as leatherworker or brickmaker. Observant Hindus have traditionally married within their  varna  and  jati.

The origins of the caste system are obscure. The prevailing theory among anthropologists is that the  Varna  system emerged shortly after the so-called Aryan Invasion of the second millennium B.C. According to this theory, a population of Indo-European invaders conquered northern India around 1500 B.C. The Indo-Europeans placed themselves in the three highest rungs of society (Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaishya), corresponding to the traditional division of Indo-European societies into priests, warriors, and commoners, while placing the conquered local populations into the worker classes of the Sudra and the Untouchables. This theory does not account for the jati system, however, which has parallels in no other Indo-European society. Most anthropologists suggest that the jati system predates the varna system, and that it might have originated in the Harappan civilization that prevailed in northern India prior to the Aryan Invasion.   1 
 B 
 1. What is the primary purpose of the passage?

A. To compare and contrast two theories on the origin of the caste system in India
B. To shed some light on an aspect of Indian society that can be confusing to outsiders
C. To highlight the social injustices still faced by the Untouchable caste in India today
D. To discredit the theory that the “Aryan Invasion” brought an end to the Harappan civilization
E. To explain to the reader the distinction between the Brahman and Kshatriya castes

2 
 D 
 2. The final paragraph plays what role in relation to the rest of the passage?

A. It offers information that raises doubts about the conclusions expressed in the previous paragraph.
B. It discusses an alternative view to points stated as facts in the second paragraph.
C. It restates the question raised in the opening paragraph, using information offered in the second and third paragraphs.
D. It offers background information for the system described in the two preceding paragraphs.
E. It summarizes points raised elsewhere in the passage.

3 
 E 
 3. What can we infer about the intentions of Mohandas Gandhi from the mention of him in the passage?

A. He wished to switch the respective socioeconomic positions of the highest and the lowest castes in Indian society.
B. He desired the reconciliation of India with Pakistan.
C. He rejected the so-called Aryan Invasion in favor of an autochthonous explanation for the roots of Indian culture.
D. He supported the cultural dominance of the Brahman “priest” caste over the Kshatriya “warrior” caste.
E. He wished to free a class of people from the stigma of an unfavorable name.

4 
 B 
 4. The relationship of  jati  to  varna  is most comparable to which of the following relationships?

A. The relationship of individual playing cards to a fifty-two-card deck
B. The relationship of a group of related species of animals to the genus to which the species belong
C. The relationship of a compact disk to the songs contained on that disk
D. The relationship of a transmission to the car in which the transmission has been installed
E. The relationship of an updated version of software to the original version of that software

5 
 A 
 5. What inference could reasonably be drawn from the second to last sentence of the passage?

A. Unlike the situation of the  jati , parallels can be found between the  varna  system and the social divisions found in other Indo-European societies.
B. The  jati  system is actually a product of the Dravidian cultures of central and southern India.
C. Although more anthropologists support the Aryan Invasion theory than support any other explanation for the origins of the caste system, a majority of anthropologists do not believe this theory.
D. The  jati  system, unlike the  varna  system, developed after the influence of IndoEuropeans in India had already been established.
E. The Sudra did not willingly accept the low-caste  jati  to which they were assigned, but these social roles were forced upon them anyway.

6 
 C 
 6. According to the passage, the caste system would affect all except which of the following scenarios in a caste-observant Indian person’s life?

A. A Brahman is having dinner with foreign visitors and is offered either a hamburger or a bowl of rice.
B. A Vaishya mother is considering which of the young women in the local town would make suitable marriage prospects for her son.
C. Two Sudra teenagers engage in a foot race, and the younger of the two wins the race.
D. A 40-year-old man from the Untouchable caste has moved from the countryside to a large city and must look for work in order to support his family.
E. The home of a Kshatriya family is located near a city sewer line, which bursts one day and floods the family’s garage.

Source:   McGraw-Hill's GMAT  
Difficulty Level:   600

jotika86 · Answer

in the last question why is option e wrong

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

6. According to the passage, the caste system would affect all except which of the following scenarios in a caste-observant Indian person’s life?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

All of the other answers involve subjects that the passage mentions as having consequences within the caste system: food, marriage, jobs, and cleaning sewage (considered polluting). There is no reason given in the passage to conclude that caste considerations would affect the scenario in C.

ANSWER: C

Hope it helps

KarishmaB · Answer

The caste system will have a role to play in (E) too because the Kshatriya family will call the untouchables to clean the garage (as per the caste system).

Nipungupta9081 · Answer

Deconstructing Para

Para 1 - Introduction about the caste system and how people might not understand.

Para 2 & 3 - Distinction and more info regarding Varna and Jati.

Para 4 - theory by anthropologists how this caste system might have come into Existence.
 
 Q1. What is the primary purpose of the passage?

Answer -  B. To shed some light on an aspect of Indian society that can be confusing to outsiders - check the deconstruction

Q2. The final paragraph plays what role in relation to the rest of the passage?
 
 Answer - D. It offers background information for the system described in the two preceding paragraphs. - Last Para graph tells about the history how these caste have originated.

Q3. What can we infer about the intentions of Mohandas Gandhi from the mention of him in the passage?

Answer - E. He wished to free a class of people from the stigma of an unfavorable name. - encouraged people to refer to Untouchables as the Harijan, which means “Children of God.”
 
 Q4. The relationship of jati to varna is most comparable to which of the following relationships?

Answer -  B. The relationship of a group of related species of animals to the genus to which the species belong. 
 
 Q5. What inference could reasonably be drawn from the second to last sentence of the passage?
 
Answer -  A. Unlike the situation of the jati, parallels can be found between the varna system and the social divisions found in other Indo-European societies. - explained in Last Para

Q6. According to the passage, the caste system would affect all except which of the following scenarios in a caste-observant Indian person’s life?
 
Answer -  C. Two Sudra teenagers engage in a foot race, and the younger of the two wins the race. - Nothing is given in the passage regarding this

RahulHGGmat · Answer

Hi  Sajjad1994

Greetings of the day.

Is there any typo in the below question:-
What inference could reasonably be drawn from the second to last sentence of the passage?

Is it second to last tine of the passage or second last line of the passage?

AnirudhaS · Answer

Sajjad1994  OE of question 4 please. 
My line of thinking is -
 Verna divided into jatis :: Deck divided into 52 playing cards

RahulHGGmat · Answer

Hi  AnirudhaS ,

My thinking process for this question was that a deck of cards can be further divided into 4 parts: Heart, Ace, Diamond, and one other (as Varnas). The single type of card can be inferred as jati and the answer option does not specify the relation of card with a specific type of card whereas B properly emphasize the:

The relationship of a group of related species of animals (jati) to the genus to which the species belongs (varna).

Hope it will bring some clarity to you.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

There is no typo, I think the question is asking for whole of the passage with only exception of the first sentence of the passage.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. The relationship of jati to varna is most comparable to which of the following relationships?

Difficulty Level:   600

Explanation

A species is a category of animal within a larger category of animals known as a genus, much as the jati is a category of caste within a larger category known as the varna. Also, the species/genus pair and the jati/varna pair both refer to divisions within related groups. The comparison is not perfect, because the jati/varna distinction is an artificially created one, while the distinction between species within a genus is a reflection of demonstrable biological differences, but the relationship provides the most accurate comparison among the answer choices.  B  is the best answer.

ANSWER: B

AnirudhaS · Answer

Thanks for your answer. 
I do not think you can assume that you know deck of cards have 4 different suits - Spades, Diamonds, Hearts & Clubs
Because if you could, then it is a perfect comparison - 
a) 4 different suits is equivalent to Vernas
b) each suit can be further divided into 13 sub-parts - Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10,....2 (equivalent to Jatis)

The reason why A is not the answer is the mere fact that the question asks is it comparable to each playing card to the whole deck. If it would have said the relationship between the suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs) and deck of cards, this would have been a better comparison.

I did not get the answer correct because I was not sure about the relationship between genus and species. The following diagram helped, it might help someone else.

For visitors unaccustomed to this system of hereditary social division

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For visitors unaccustomed to this system of hereditary social division

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