KSLU Solved Question Papers
Indian Society: Continuity and Change
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 2
2019 Dec (100 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 2 Indian Society: Continuity and Change 2019 Dec (100 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.
Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.
munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.
The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.
The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2019 Dec (100 marks) examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2019 Dec (100 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2019 Dec (100 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 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 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.
Q1Explain the historical features of Indian Society.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why history is needed to understand Indian society; the main periods, each with its social legacy (Harappan cities, the early and later Vedic ages, the age of the Mahajanapadas with Buddhism and Jainism, the Mauryan and Gupta periods, the south Indian kingdoms, the medieval period, colonial rule, reform and the national movement, the republic); the historical features that result (antiquity and continuity, layering, plurality, hierarchy, synthesis, regionalism within unity, colonial imprint, democratic transformation); a table; a conclusion.
Why history matters
Indian society cannot be understood from the present alone. Caste, the joint family, personal laws, the village and the many religions all carry the marks of a long past. D. P. Mukerji insisted that sociology and history must never be separated. G. S. Ghurye, in the same spirit, traced caste and kinship through the texts of every age. The historical features of Indian society are the lasting results of that past.
How we know this history
Sociologists rely on several kinds of historical evidence. Archaeology reveals cities and settlements. Religious and legal texts state the ideals of their authors. Inscriptions record grants, assemblies and marriages. Accounts by foreign visitors, from the Greek writer Megasthenes to Chinese pilgrims, describe what they saw. G. S. Ghurye used all of these to trace caste through the ages. He warned that the texts describe the four varnas more than the actual jatis.
1. The Harappan civilisation
Over four thousand years ago, cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in the north-west had planned streets, brick houses, granaries and covered drains. Their people traded widely and used a script that has not yet been read. The civilisation shows that urban life and organised trade have very old roots in the subcontinent.
2. The early Vedic age
The Rigveda describes a society of pastoral and farming tribes. G. S. Ghurye noted that it speaks mostly of three broad classes: priests, warrior-chiefs and the common people. The fourfold scheme, he added, appears only in a late hymn. Tribal assemblies played a part in public life. Many historians hold that the divisions of this age were looser than in later times.
3. The later Vedic age
As settled agriculture spread east along the Ganga, kingdoms grew and the varnas became more fixed. Ritual became elaborate, and the Brahmins gained authority as its experts. The Upanishads, composed in this period, developed ideas of karma, rebirth and liberation that became central to Indian thought.
4. The age of the Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism
From about the sixth century BCE, large states and towns arose in north India. Trade and new wealth unsettled old hierarchies. The Buddha and Mahavira rejected Brahmin claims of superiority by birth, taught non-violence and admitted people of all classes to their orders. Their movements left a lasting tradition of protest against inequality.
5. The Mauryan and Gupta periods
The Mauryan empire united most of the subcontinent. The Arthashastra, attributed to Kautilya, describes a detailed system of administration. Ashoka's edicts preached tolerance, respect for elders and kindness to all living beings. Under the Guptas, Sanskrit literature flourished, and the law books gained authority. Merchant and craft guilds organised economic life. Caste rules became more detailed, and new castes multiplied.
6. The south Indian kingdoms
The early Tamil poems describe the social life of the far south. Later kingdoms, such as those of the Cholas, built great temples and supported village assemblies, whose working is recorded in inscriptions. The Vijayanagara empire, with its capital at Hampi in Karnataka, protected trade and temple culture. The temple became a centre of economic, artistic and social life.
7. The medieval period
The Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal empire brought Islam, Persian culture and new forms of administration. Sufi saints and Bhakti poets such as Basava, Kabir and Nanak preached devotion over ritual and birth. Sikhism emerged. Shared music, architecture, language and shrines produced a composite culture, while conversion carried caste-like divisions into Muslim society.
8. Colonial rule
After the battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company gradually took control. After the revolt of 1857, India came under the British Crown. Railways, the telegraph, English education, universities, a uniform criminal law and the census followed. Colonial rule drained wealth, damaged crafts and recorded people by caste and religion, which hardened group identities. It also produced a new educated middle class.
9. Reform and the national movement
Reformers attacked sati, child marriage, the ban on widow remarriage and caste. The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 and under Gandhi became a mass movement. Phule, Periyar and Ambedkar led movements of the lower castes. Independence came in 1947, together with the violence of Partition.
10. The republic
The Constitution of 1950 created a secular, democratic republic. Adult franchise, fundamental rights, the abolition of untouchability and reservation began to reshape caste, family and village. Planned development, land reform and later economic liberalisation transformed economic life.
Women through history
The position of women changed across these periods. Many historians hold that women had more freedom in the early Vedic age than in later times. The law books of later centuries restricted women, favouring early marriage and barring widow remarriage in the higher castes. Women saints of the Bhakti movement, such as Akka Mahadevi in Karnataka and Mirabai in Rajasthan, challenged these limits through devotion. Colonial-era reform laws and, finally, the Constitution's promise of equality began to reverse the restrictions.
The village and the land through history
For most of history, most Indians lived in villages. Castes in the village were bound together by exchanges of services and grain. Under colonial rule, new land revenue systems, such as zamindari and ryotwari settlements, made land a saleable property and strengthened some landholders. After Independence, land reform tried to transfer land to tillers, with uneven results.
A Karnataka illustration
The history of Karnataka shows these layers. Ashoka's edicts have been found in the state, and Buddhist and Jain monuments stand at many sites. The Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebidu reflect the temple culture of the medieval south. Basava's movement in the twelfth century challenged caste. Vijayanagara ruled from Hampi, and the Adil Shahi kings built the Gol Gumbaz at Vijayapura. Mysore came under British influence, and Bengaluru grew into a modern city. Each age left a mark that is still visible in society.
Historical features of Indian society
- Antiquity and continuity. Many customs claim ancient roots, which gives tradition great authority, though institutions have changed over time.
- Layering. Each age added new peoples, beliefs and institutions without wiping out the old, so Indian society has many layers.
- Religious plurality. Religions born in India and religions that came from outside live side by side.
- Hierarchy. Caste took shape slowly over many centuries and became the main form of inequality.
- Synthesis. Indian culture has repeatedly absorbed outside influences and blended them with its own traditions.
- Regional identity within unity. Empires united large areas, while regional kingdoms nurtured regional languages and arts.
- The colonial imprint. Law, administration, education and the census still bear the mark of British rule.
- Democratic transformation. Since 1950, democracy and law have challenged inherited inequalities.
Continuity and change
History in India has rarely meant a clean break. New rulers kept old village institutions, new religions absorbed local customs, and modern law sits beside inherited custom. This is why Indian society shows continuity and change together.
Periods at a glance
| Period | Lasting legacy |
|---|---|
| Harappan | Ancient urban life and trade |
| Vedic | Varna ideas, ritual, Upanishadic philosophy |
| Buddhism and Jainism | Ahimsa, protest against birth-based rank |
| Mauryan and Gupta | Imperial administration, law books, guilds |
| South Indian kingdoms | Temple culture, village assemblies |
| Medieval | Islam, Bhakti and Sufi synthesis |
| Colonial | Railways, courts, English education, census |
| National movement | Shared national identity |
| Republic | Democracy, rights, social reform by law |
Conclusion. Indian society is the product of thousands of years of history. That history runs from the Harappan cities and the Vedic age through the empires and the southern kingdoms. It continues through the medieval synthesis and colonial rule to the national movement and the republic. This history explains its antiquity, its many layers, its religious plurality, its caste hierarchy, its capacity for synthesis and its present democratic transformation.
The rest of the answers
The first answer is free. The rest come with the KSLU B.A. LL.B. Semester 2 solved papers.
You have read the question paper and its first answer in full. Buy the solved papers once and you can read every answer of every solved paper in this semester.
Solved papers: ₹499 Already bought it? Sign in
The question paper itself stays free.
Found an error in this volume? Report it and we will check it against the paper.