Characterized by change of ideals, Sanskritization traditionally

Question

Characterized by change of ideals, Sanskritization traditionally denoted the process by which castes placed lower in the caste hierarchy sought upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the upper castes. It became an inevitable feature of those castes that experienced a vast gap between their ritual and politico-economic positions. Such castes enjoyed a high level of political and economic power. Accordingly, economic elevation was not a sought- after goal through Sanskritization. Infact, sometimes a group could start by acquiring political power, which led to economic betterment and Sanskritization.

Although there is no unanimity on whether it has been a major process of cultural change in Indian history, it has occurred almost in every part of the Indian sub-continent. However, the nature of the process is by no means uniform as the cultural norms or customs being imitated may vary from Sanskrit or Hindu traditional forms to tribal and even the Islamic patterns. Also, with the passage of time, the boundaries of the definition have blurred and today Sanskritization is no longer limited to the changes in the customs, rituals and ideology and way of life of a caste placed lower in the caste hierarchy; it has now begun to stand for cross imitation of customs and way of life among different social groups. In essence, Sanskritization is only an illustration of the operation of the ‘reference group’ process. A reference group is a group that is used as a standard to evaluate one’s rituals, attitudes, customs etc. As long as the caste has prestige in the social groups, it serves as a model. Accordingly, a ruling group or caste will also serve as a model if it commands prestige in the society.   1 
 1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. To trace the development of a process across various sects of a religion
B. To mitigate potential criticism for a process by presenting a liberal perspective on it
C. To define a process by tracing its development over time
D. To define a process of social, cultural and political change by discussing its features
E. To enlist the basic features of a process

2 
 2. Which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

A. A group that has prestige and dominance in the society but ranks lower than the highest group in the hierarchical order will quite likely not be a reference group.
B. Although upward social mobility could result out of Sanskiritization, economic elevation could not.
C. An affluent caste that enjoyed limited ritual position was extremely likely to experience Sanskritization.
D. Even though Sanskritization could involve emulation of tribal or Islamic patterns, it now normally involves adopting the ideologies of the dominant Hindu caste, which is not necessarily the highest ranking caste.
E. There is no one opinion on the ability of Sanskritization to act as a major process of social change.

3 
 3. Which of the following most aptly describes the function of the first paragraph?

A. To describe a rigid concept that has become more accepted over time
B. To introduce a process within a specific context
C. To define a process that was more politically motivated than economically
D. To introduce a phenomenon by discussing its limitations
E. To present a social scenario that accentuated hierarchical differences

4 
 4. In the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned?

A. Sanskirtization was an unavoidable feature of castes that faced a huge gap between their ritual and politico-economic positions.
B. The nature of Sanskritization is not the same everywhere.
C. Sanskritization now represents emulation of customs etc. across social groups.
D. Sanskritization has occurred in most of the Indian sub-continent.
E. A ruling group is synonymous with a reference group.

JatinBhandari1 · Accepted Answer

Hope your preparation is going well, let us try to understand the passage first by mapping it.
Topic: Sanskritization 
Mapping:-

Paragraph1: Sanskritization is the process in which lower ranked casts moved up in hierarchy by following the rituals of the upward classes. This was mainly done by casts that enjoyed important political roles and through this process achieved higher ranking in caste hierarchy and socio-economic stature.
 
Paragraph2: Definition of the term has changed over time and it no depicts the cross imitation of customs and way of living in different social groups. It has become an illustration of rituals and practices of a caste that has prestige in society. 
In the first question, the objective is to determine primary purpose which means the reason of the author to write the paragraph
Answer1: (C) Author primarily wants to showcase how Sanskritization has developed over time from a state of changing rituals of one caste to make it higher in social standing to a generalized approach of imitations of rituals and customs among different social groups.
A) is incorrect as sects and religion introduced in Paragraph 2 is to provide evidence for the fact that the definition of the term is changing and the process followed by different casts, sects, and religions differ.
B) is incorrect as the author never criticizes the process or introduces any other point of view.
D) is incorrect as features of Sanskritization are never discussed, also the process of Sanskritization isn't for a political change in casts instead of the casts those enjoy better political positions are more likely to follow this process.
E) is incorrect as features are not discussed in any of the paragraphs.
Answer2: (C) A caste enjoying higher political position is most likely to follow Sanskritization to attain better social position and stature. 
A) is incorrect as Author explicitly mentions that a caste with prestige is most likely to be a reference group.
B) is incorrect as Passage 1 indicates/hints towards social movement eventually resulting in economic elevation and it can not be said for certain that economic upward movement will not result out of Sanskritization.
D) is incorrect: Nowhere near to the main idea of the passage. The author doesn't talk about changing process as per Hindu rituals.
E) although close to correct answer isn't correct as the ability of Sanskritization is not in question or a subject of the passage. Hence out of scope. This answer requires outside knowledge. Unanimity in the passage was regarding the opinion if it has been a major process employed for social change and not its ability if it could introduce a major change.

Answer3: (B) Correct. Paragraph 1 introduces Sanskritization within the context of castes and their rituals.
A) is incorrect as Sanskritization is never described as a rigid process instead it was said to be optional and castes voluntarily followed such a process. Out of scope.
C) is incorrect. Passage didn't introduce the fact that the process was inclined more towards political conditions or economic conditions. Instead the castes those enjoyed better political-economic conditions were likely to follow the process for the betterment of their rituals and culture.
D) is incorrect. Out of scope. Limitations are not discussed.
E) is incorrect. The passage introduces the process, not a scenario that highlights the caste differences.

Answer4: (E). Correct. The ruling group can only be reference group if it enjoys higher social prestige. Hence not synonymous with a reference group.
A) Incorrect. Paragraph1 states that it was inevitable for the castes to undergo this process if there was a large gap between social and politico-economic status.
B) Incorrect. Paragraph 2 states that the nature of Sanskritization is not uniform and may differ from sects and religions. 
C) Incorrect. Paragraph 2 contains the newer definition of Sanskritization which is same as compared to the answer choice.
D) Incorrect. Paragraph 2 contains the fact that this process has occurred all over the Indian subcontinent.
Hope the explanation was helpful. Please get in touch for further help.
PythaGURUS Faculty Team

prashant6923 · Answer

Could someone give me the reason for E as answer to Q4

SonalSinha803 · Answer

E states that a ruling group is synonymous to reference group. But, is something like this mentioned in the passage. Synonymous means you can call it either way. But, it turns out to be incorrect in the context of the passage.

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Innes · Answer

Skywalker18 , could you explain the answer for question 2.

Thanks.

sananoor · Answer

Which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with? It means something explicitly isnt written, but we have to grab author idea
A. A group that has prestige and dominance in the society but ranks lower than the highest group in the hierarchical order will quite likely not be a reference group.  (last para of the passage tell us about reference group but not even a hint abut that lower in ranks but prestige cant be a reference group) 
B. Although upward social mobility could result out of Sanskiritization, economic elevation could not.  (first para says "Infact, sometimes a group could start by acquiring political power, which led to economic betterment and Sanskritization." so this option is wrong) 
C. An affluent caste that enjoyed limited ritual position was extremely likely to experience Sanskritization.  (yes! those rich enjoyed limited ritual position due to Sanskritization) 
D. Even though Sanskritization could involve emulation of tribal or Islamic patterns, it now normally involves adopting the ideologies of the dominant Hindu caste, which is not necessarily the highest ranking caste.  (Even though Sanskritization could involve emulation of tribal or Islamic patterns,---> this statement is wrong) 
E. There is no one opinion on the ability of Sanskritization to act as a major process of social change.  (ability of Sanskritization? really? the passage starts with a process, and then how overtime changes has been made to it) irrelevant

PriyankGaur · Answer

Official Explanations:

1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. To trace the development of a process across various sects of a religion
B. To mitigate potential criticism for a process by presenting a liberal perspective on it
C. To define a process by tracing its development over time
D. To define a process of social, cultural and political change by discussing its features
E. To enlist the basic features of a process

A. Incorrect: Partial Scope

One could argue that the author traces the development of Sanskritization but there is no mention of any sects of a religion.

B. Incorrect: Irrelevant

There is no hint of any potential criticism in the passage. Also, the author more or less presents facts rather than liberal opinion or perspective in it.

C. Correct

This choice is on the same lines as the one pre-thought by us in the summary and main point section. In both the paragraphs, the author defines the process of Sanskritization with respect to what was considered part of the process and what is now considered Sanskritization.

D. Incorrect: Partial Scope

The author hasn’t pitched Sanskirtization as a process of any change and certainly not political change.

E. Incorrect: Partial Scope

Yes, the author does list the basic features of the process but he/she does so for a bigger purpose. The purpose is to define Sanskritization. Hence, this choice does not capture the main idea of the passage.

2. Which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

A. A group that has prestige and dominance in the society but ranks lower than the highest group in the hierarchical order will quite likely not be a reference group.
B. Although upward social mobility could result out of Sanskiritization, economic elevation could not.
C. An affluent caste that enjoyed limited ritual position was extremely likely to experience Sanskritization.
D. Even though Sanskritization could involve emulation of tribal or Islamic patterns, it now normally involves adopting the ideologies of the dominant Hindu caste, which is not necessarily the highest ranking caste.
E. There is no one opinion on the ability of Sanskritization to act as a major process of social change.

A. Incorrect: Inconsistent

This information is inconsistent with that given towards the end of the passage. The author clearly states there that a ruling caste (not necessarily a high caste) can be a model/reference group so far as it has prestige in the society.

B. Incorrect: Inconsistent

The author states that economic elevation was not a sought after goal Sanskritization; however, this information does not imply that it could not result out of Sanskritization.

C. Correct

This information can be derived from the following extract from the passage:

It became an inevitable feature of those castes that experienced a vast gap between their ritual and politico-economic positions. Such castes enjoyed a high level of political and economic power.

The vast gap mentioned above was that between the ritual and politico-economic positions of some castes. Now since these castes enjoyed high level of economic power, it can be said that they enjoyed limited ritual position- hence the gap.

D. Incorrect: Out of Scope

There is no such comparison given in the passage.

E. Incorrect: Inconsistent

The author states that there is agreement over whether Sanskritization has been a major process of social change. There is no mention of its potential to cause social change.

3. Which of the following most aptly describes the function of the first paragraph?

A. To describe a rigid concept that has become more accepted over time
B. To introduce a process within a specific context
C. To define a process that was more politically motivated than economically
D. To introduce a phenomenon by discussing its limitations
E. To present a social scenario that accentuated hierarchical differences

A. Incorrect: Irrelevant

The author neither states nor suggests anywhere in the passage that Sanskritization was a rigid concept. Yes, its definition changed over time but it doesn’t mean that it became more accepted.

B. Correct

The choice matches our understanding of the overall contents of the first paragraph. The author concentrates on what was traditionally considered Sanskritization.

C. Incorrect: Irrelevant

There is no such comparison given in the whole passage, leave alone the first paragraph.

D. Incorrect: Partial Scope

Yes, the author introduces the phenomenon of Sanskritization but there is no mention of any limitations of this process.

E. Incorrect: Irrelevant

The author does present a social scenario but the function is not to present it but instead present it within the context of defining a process. Also, there is no mention of accentuating any kind of differences.

4. In the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned?

A. Sanskirtization was an unavoidable feature of castes that faced a huge gap between their ritual and politico-economic positions.
B. The nature of Sanskritization is not the same everywhere.
C. Sanskritization now represents emulation of customs etc. across social groups.
D. Sanskritization has occurred in most of the Indian sub-continent.
E. A ruling group is synonymous with a reference group.

A. Incorrect: Out of Scope

This information is clearly stated in the second sentence of the first paragraph.

B. Incorrect: Out of Scope

This information is explicitly stated in the second sentence of the second paragraph – ref:

However, the nature of the process is by no means uniform

C. Incorrect: Out of Scope

This information is given to us in the following section of the second paragraph:

...it has now begun to stand for cross imitation of customs

D. Incorrect: Out of Scope

This information is distinctly given to us in the first sentence of the last paragraph.

E. Correct:  Not given in the passage

The author states that a ruling group can be a reference group if it has prestige in the society. We are given no information that states or even suggests that by default, a ruling group is not a reference group.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Characterized by change of ideals, Sanskritization traditionally

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Characterized by change of ideals, Sanskritization traditionally

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