KSLU Solved Question Papers
Indian Society: Continuity and Change
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 2
2015 Dec (70 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 2 Indian Society: Continuity and Change 2015 Dec (70 marks) Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.
Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2015 Dec (70 marks) examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2015 Dec (70 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Dec (70 marks) examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2½ hours · Total marks 70 · 12 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Examine the different aspects of cultural diversity in India.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what culture and cultural diversity mean; the aspects of cultural diversity, each with an example (religion, language, caste and community, food, dress, festivals and calendars, marriage and kinship, personal law, arts and architecture, regional ways of life); diversity within each group; how the State recognises cultural diversity; its value and its problems; a conclusion.
Meaning
Culture is the whole way of life of a people: its beliefs, values, language, customs, food, dress, arts and institutions. It is learned and handed down across generations. Cultural diversity means the presence of many such ways of life within one society. The munotes Sociology book treats culture as the widest axis of Indian pluralism, because it includes language, region and ethnicity within it. India's cultural diversity is visible in almost every part of daily life.
Aspects of cultural diversity
1. Religion. In 2011, Hindus were a little under 80 per cent of the population and Muslims a little over 14 per cent. Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and followers of tribal faiths made up most of the rest. Each religion brings its own beliefs, places of worship, festivals and rules of daily life.
2. Language. The 2011 Census recorded 121 languages spoken by at least ten thousand people each, and the Eighth Schedule lists 22. Languages carry their own literatures, proverbs and styles of humour, so language is a major marker of cultural identity.
3. Caste and community. Thousands of jatis, each with its own customs, food rules and marriage circle, divide Indian society. Tribal communities add further variety, each with its own dialect, dress and rituals.
4. Food. Rice dominates the diet in the wet south and east, and wheat in the drier north-west. Millets such as ragi and jowar are staples in much of the Deccan. Some communities are strictly vegetarian, while others value fish or meat. Food rules also mark caste and religious boundaries.
5. Dress. The sari is worn in many styles across regions, and the salwar-kameez is common in the north. Men wear the dhoti, lungi, kurta or Western clothes depending on region and occasion. Tribal communities have their own distinctive dress and ornaments.
6. Festivals and calendars. Diwali, Eid, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Onam, Pongal, Bihu and Ugadi are celebrated in different regions and communities. Different communities follow solar, lunar or lunisolar calendars, so even the New Year falls on different days.
7. Marriage and kinship. Northern communities forbid cousin marriage and seek brides from distant villages. Many southern communities prefer marriage between cross-cousins. Some communities are matrilineal, such as the Khasi of Meghalaya and, historically, the Nairs of Kerala.
8. Personal law. Family matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance are governed by different laws for Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Parsis. A secular alternative exists in the Special Marriage Act 1954. The book calls this legal pluralism.
9. Arts and architecture. Classical music has two great traditions, Hindustani in the north and Carnatic in the south. Dance forms include Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Odissi and Manipuri, alongside countless folk forms such as Karnataka's Yakshagana. Temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras show many architectural styles.
10. Regional ways of life. Coastal, hill, desert, forest and plains communities live differently, shaped by their environment and history. Even within one State such as Karnataka, the coast, the Malnad and the northern plains differ in food, dialect, house style and festivals.
Diversity within each group
Diversity runs inside each group too. There is no single Hindu practice across the country, and Muslims in Kerala, Bengal, Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh differ in language, food and custom. Caste, region and sect divide every community. Cultural diversity in India is therefore layered, not a simple set of separate blocks.
How the State recognises cultural diversity
- Article 29(1) protects the right of any section of citizens to conserve its distinct language, script or culture.
- Article 30 gives religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and run their own educational institutions.
- Linguistic States and the Eighth Schedule recognise regional languages.
- The Fifth and Sixth Schedules protect the customs and land of tribal areas.
- Separate personal laws respect community traditions in family matters.
Value and problems
Cultural diversity enriches Indian life through its music, food, literature and festivals, and it teaches tolerance through daily contact. Shared shrines and festivals show a composite culture in which communities borrow from one another. Yet diversity can also become a source of conflict when identities are politicised, as in communal, caste or regional disputes. The task is to keep diversity a source of richness rather than division.
Conclusion. India's cultural diversity covers religion, language, caste and community, food, dress, and festivals and calendars. It also covers marriage and kinship, personal law, the arts and regional ways of life. It runs within groups as well as between them. The Constitution recognises it through Articles 29 and 30, linguistic States, the Fifth and Sixth Schedules and separate personal laws. Managed with respect, this diversity is one of India's greatest strengths.
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