KSLU Solved Question Papers
Indian Society: Continuity and Change
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 2
2021 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 2 Indian Society: Continuity and Change 2021 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2021 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Mar 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 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and short note from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
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.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Explain the importance of the study of Indian society.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what the study of Indian society covers; why it is important, under clear heads (self-knowledge, diversity and unity, institutions, social change, social problems, planning and development, democracy and politics, law and justice, national integration, correcting colonial and elite views); examples; a conclusion.
What the study covers
The study of Indian society is the sociological study of the groups, institutions, values and processes that make up life in India. It covers caste and class, family, marriage and kinship, religion, village and city, tribes, the position of women, and the forces of continuity and change. Indian sociologists such as G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas, A. R. Desai and Irawati Karve built this field in the twentieth century.
Why it is important
1. Self-knowledge. Every society needs to understand itself. For a long time, knowledge about India was produced mainly by colonial officials and foreign scholars. Studying Indian society lets Indians understand their own institutions on the basis of evidence, without either glorifying or despising them.
2. Understanding diversity and unity. India has many languages, religions, castes and regional cultures. The study of Indian society explains how these groups live together, what binds them and why they sometimes clash. It turns the slogan of unity in diversity into an understood reality.
3. Understanding institutions. Caste, the joint family, arranged marriage, kinship and the village shape daily life for most Indians. A student who understands these institutions understands why people marry, work, vote and worship as they do.
4. Understanding social change. India is changing fast through education, industry, urbanisation, migration, law and technology. Concepts such as Sanskritisation, Westernisation and modernisation help describe this change and show which parts of tradition continue and which give way.
5. Solving social problems. Untouchability, dowry, child marriage, poverty, communal tension and the neglect of the aged have social roots. They cannot be removed without knowing those roots. Social reform begins with social understanding.
6. Planning and development. Development schemes succeed only when they fit the society they serve. S. C. Dube's study of community development showed that programmes imposed without regard to local structure and attitudes often failed. Good planning needs sound sociology.
7. Democracy and politics. Caste, religion and region shape voting and party politics in India. Understanding them helps citizens and leaders strengthen democracy and resist divisive politics.
8. Law and justice. Indian law is applied to real social life. Personal laws on marriage and succession, laws against untouchability and dowry, and reservation all rest on social facts. A lawyer who understands kinship, caste and custom understands the evidence and the stakes in a case better. Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, which accepts the customary rites of either party, is one example of law relying on social custom.
9. National integration. Knowledge of other communities reduces prejudice. A student who understands why a neighbour's customs differ is less likely to fear or despise them.
10. Correcting one-sided views. The study of Indian society now includes the perspectives of Dalits, tribals and women. Thinkers such as B. R. Ambedkar showed that a society looks different from the bottom than from the top. A full study brings these voices in.
The approaches that make the study useful
The study of Indian society is enriched by several perspectives, each showing a different side of the same society.
- The Indological approach of Ghurye reads the classical texts to understand the values behind institutions.
- The structural-functional approach of Srinivas and Dube studies how castes, families and villages work as systems.
- The Marxist approach of A. R. Desai and Ramkrishna Mukherjee studies class, exploitation and the state.
- The subaltern approach of Ambedkar and the Subaltern Studies historians studies society from the standpoint of the oppressed.
Studying Indian society means learning to use all of these, because no single view captures it fully.
An illustration
Suppose a government wants to reduce child marriage in a district. A purely legal approach would rely on the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and on punishment. A sociological study would ask more questions. Why do families marry daughters early: fear for their safety, the cost of dowry, the lack of schools nearby, or pressure from the caste community? Which groups practise it most? Who in the village has the authority to change opinion? With these answers, the government can combine the law with schools, scholarships, community leaders and awareness campaigns. The study of Indian society turns a law into a working policy.
Importance for the citizen
For an ordinary citizen, the study of Indian society builds understanding and tolerance. It explains why the same country contains such different ways of life, and why fairness to every group matters for the nation.
Conclusion. The study of Indian society gives Indians knowledge of themselves and explains the coexistence of diversity and unity. It makes sense of caste, family, religion and village. It explains social change, guides reform, planning and democracy, informs law and justice, and promotes national integration. For a law student in particular it is indispensable, since law is made for, and applied to, the real social life of India.
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