SOCIOLOGY (331) - Oct' 2015 | NIOS SENIOR SECONDARY Solved Papers

SOCIOLOGY (Oct’ 2015)
(331)
NIOS SENIOR SECONDARY Solved Papers
Time: 3 Hours
Maximum Marks: 100

1.       What are the problems faced by child labourers?    4

Ans.:- The child labour has to face a number of health problems because they have to render labour  in unhygienic condition. They are found to be suffering from asthma, T.B., respiratory track infection, burning, arthritis, eye disease, ear disease, skin disease silicosis, neroloical problems and sexual diseases. They have also to face the situation of accident and death. The child labour is abused physically by the owners, contractors and agents. They do not resist because they are afraid to lose employment. Frequent sexual abuses make them abnormal. Child labourers are profitable for the masters because they work peacefully and for more hours per day. Child labourers are paid low wages. They are not paid as per Child Labour Act.

 

2.       Analyze Max Weber’s views on social stratification.              4

Ans.:- After Marx, Max Weber made an important contribution to the ideas on stratification. While Marx thinks that the principal form of stratification is class, Weber believes that besides class, there are two other forms, namely status and power.

Like Marx, Weber also sees class in economic terms. But he moves ahead of Marx because he says that classes develop in market economies. Thus, class is a characteristic of capitalist societies because these societies have marked economies. In capitalism, family is not the unit of production. The market takes over the processes of production and distribution of produce. People depend upon the market for virtually all types of goods and services.

 

3.       Highlight the differences between Varna and Jati.  4

Ans.:- Varna Vyavastha is the textual model or book view of Indian social system, i.e. it is found today only in texts. Whereas, Jati is the contextual view or field view of Indian social system, i.e. we find Jatis in reality today and not Varnas. There are only four Varnas whereas, there are about 4000 Jatis. In each region about 200 Jatis are found. The Varna had a pan-Indic hierarchy, i.e. Brahmins are on the top, Kshtriyas are the second position, Vaishyas are at the third position and Shudras are found in the bottom of the hierarchy. This hierarchy was uniform throughout India but in Jati a uniform hierarchy throught India is not found.

 

4.       How is communalism a threat to national integration?         4

Ans.:- In our country the feeling of oneness between Hindus and Muslims have been challenged on many occasions. Although there have been minor communal riots in Bihar, U.P. and other States, but the most cruel scenes of riots had appeared in 1947 and 1992 which had touched almost entire length and breadth of our nation. In communal riots, the people forget that they are Indians. They forget that the people whom they are going to kill are also Indians. They are not influenced by national identity. Religious fundamentalists and fanatics guide them. Some political and religious leaders add fuel to communalism to promote vested interests. Thus communalism is a challenge to national intergration.

 

5.       Highlight the evil effects of drug addiction.                6

Ans.:- Drug addiction is harmful in many ways. It makes a person mentally weak. It also leads to premature death. It is responsible for personality family and social disorganisation. It also creates problems related to administration. There has also been a close relation between drug addiction and crime. Drug addicted people commit crimes like suicide, quarrel, sex crime and murder etc.

Drug addiction is prevalent in rural as well as in urban areas. In rural areas, a number of youth are addicted to tobacco, Ganja, Bhang, cigarettes and toddy etc. In urban areas, youth are addicted to charas, opium, Heroine, morphemes, Hasish, Smax, Mandrax and L.S.D. besides cigarettes, tobacco, Ganja and Bhang. Rural people do not know about modern drugs. But gradually the addiction of modern drug is spreading in rural areas too.

The youth of our country start taking drug for fashion, in bad company, to remove despair and to feel pleasure. They also start drug addiction to face poverty and unemployment. They are also attracted towards drug addiction to see modern drug addiction in T.V. and cinema.

 

6.       Describe the different form of Muslim marriage.                     6

Ans.:- There are four forms of Muslim marriage:-

(a)    Nikah or ‘Sahi Nikah’:- The marriage which conforms to the rules of marriage as laid down in the Koran- the holy book of Muslims, is termed as regular marriage or Nikah or Sahi Nikah.

(b)   Fasid:- The marriage which fails to conform to a few conditions initially is called ‘irregular marriage’ or Fasid. The irregularity can later be removed and it can be converted into Sahi Nikah.

(c)    Muta:- Muslims also have a system of temporary marriage and it is called Muta. This type of marriage contract is valid for a fixed period of time and after the expiry of this period, marital relation is automatically dissolved. However, the children born out of this temporary union are given a share in the father’s property.

(d)   Batil:- Batil is that form of mating which cannot be regularised because it violates certain basis principles of Muslim marriage.

  

7.       Analyse the changes in rural society after independence in India.   6

Ans.:- After independence, the community development programme was started in 1952. It meant an all round development of village communities. The involvement and participation of community was the main aim. Later on in 1959 Panchayati Raj (Local Self Govt.) was stated. Both the programmes are running successfully even today. However, Integrated Rural Development Programme has replaced the Community Development Programme in 1979.

The rural and urban societies have a continuous interaction among them. The villager visits the urban areas and comes into contact with the urban people. Some urban culture enters into the villages. Gradually some sense of heterogeneity becomes imminent in the rural areas by urban influence. It is said that Indian cities have retained some of the rural characteristics. Primary food and raw material are supplied by the villages to the towns, hence both have relationship of an inter-dependence. Thus it is termed as rural urban continuum (continuous interaction).

 

8.       Explain the role of cultural factors in bringing about social change. 6

Ans.:- B                y cultural factors we refer mainly to ideas, knowledge, values, beliefs, inventions and exchange. Culture provides the base for inventions and discoveries.

Sociologists have considered the role of cultural factors in bringing about social change. On the one hand, they consider the inter-relationship between religions and social structure as one aspect of culture, on the other hand, they analyse the moral code of various religions and their impact on the character of its economic system.

Social change occurs through cultural contact between different societies. Diffusion is an important mechanism of social change. One society adopts the cultural traits of another through prolonged contact as in travel, trade and commerce as also through sudden events like war where new and hitherto secret technologies reveal themselves.

Cultural mores as well as new technology are borrowed and adopted when societies find that they fill a vacuum or answer a felt need. Borrowing of cultural traits from an advanced society is commonly seen in developing countries and societies as they try to become modern.

Diffusion also takes place through mass media as it transmits and diffuses information to a large number of people. It has accelerated the process of change by spreading the elements of individual cultures to people far away and thus resulted in a form of cultural modernisation.

 

9.       Explain the importance of norms in our society.       6

Ans.:- Importance of norms in our society:- Norms govern the behaviour of individuals and help in interaction that takes place between them. They add some amount of regularity and inevitability to our behaviour. They act as guides to our behaviour. They help to mend our ways and regulate our daily life. No individual can ignore social norms without incurring the disapproval of others. Norms are an indispensable part of our life. In our daily life, we do a lot of work and interact with a number of people. Without the norms, the individual would be faced with the burden of taking decisions at every moment. The following example reveals how norms can ease our daily work. For example: a college going student gets up early in the morning, brushes his teeth and takes bath, eats breakfast, wears dress, rides the vehicle to the college, meets other friends, attends lectures, goes to library, plays or chats with friends and returns home in the evening, and so on. The students do not find it difficult or problematic to do all these activities. The reason behind this is that each of these activities is governed by norms.

SECTON-B

OPTION-I

(STATUS OF WOMEN)

 

10.   Name the two great epics.  1

Ans.:- Two great epics are Ramayana and Mahabharata.

 

11.   What is gender discrimination?        2

Ans.:- Why should a girl be kept away from school and forced to work at home, while her brothers attend schools regularly? Why should only a girl child do all the housework and her brothers be spared from this burden? It is this differential treatment of males and females in our society, which is called gender discrimination.

 

12.   Mention any two laws for protection of rights of women.   2

Ans.:- The laws implemented for protecting the rights of women are:-

1.       The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

2.       Special Marriage Act, 1954

 

13.   Why should women be empowered?            4

Ans.:- Women constitute nearly half of India’s population. So, unless an environment is created in which women are able to enjoy all their rights and live without fears or restrictions, India cannot progress. When women are empowered, an emancipated and enlightened (liberal/open-minded) society is created. Even today a large number of women are forced to confine (limit/narrow) their lives within the four walls of their homes. Though there are no legal hurdles to their emancipation, social and cultural restrictions have prevented them from using opportunities for their development. 

 

14.   Highlight the role of reformers in uplifting the status of women.    6

Ans.:- The social reform movement, which started in West Bengal, spread to other parts of India too. Jyoti Ba Phule the great reformer form Maharashtra dedicated his life for the cause of women. He started a school for girls in 1848 and in 1852 established the first school for Dalit girls. He also supported widow marriage and started a home for protecting the children of widows. Women’s education got a fillip (boost) in Maharashtra from Maharshi Karve who was a pioneer in establishing educational institutions for girls and women. This period saw immense humanitarian activity by many Indians in different parts of the country.

The British period saw the rise of social reform movements which took up the issue of gender inequality, primarily by passing laws that removed barriers to women’s emancipation. Though wide spread changes did not take place, the stage was definitely set for launching a struggle for creation of a gender just society (a society in, which laws give equal treatment to men and women. In cases relating to women courts must give judgments in such a way that the interests of women are protected). Independence brought new hopes and led to the creation of departments and launching of schemes, meant exclusively for improvement in the status of women.

 

OPTION-II

(CULTURE)

 

25. What is the meaning of term Veda?                1

Ans.:- The Aryans civilization and its social thoughts from the sacred books called the Vedas.

 

26. Differentiate between material and non-material culture.  2

Ans.:- The material part includes everything that is made, fashioned or transformed by human beings in society i.e. it is tangible, like ploughs, sickles, digging sticks. It includes food, dress, ornaments, houses and automobiles, etc.

Non-material culture includes symbols, ideas that shape the lives of human beings in relation to one another. The most important of these are attitudes, beliefs, values and norms.

 

27. What is cultural relativism? 2

Ans.:- Cultural relativism is an ethical position in which all cultures are taken as equal, each being a separate unit within its own integrity.

 

28. Highlight the role of the Mughals in patronizing art and literature.  4

Ans.:- During the Mughals, fine art fose to a standard of considerable excellence. Being lovers of fine art, the mughal kings patronised new styles and techniques where one can notice a happy mingling of Persian and Indian elements. This synthesis has left a deep impression on painting, architecture, embroidery, jewellery and metal work of the age. Painting made remarkable progress during the time of Akbar. His personal interest in painting, generous aesthetic temperament, sympathetic attitude towards foreign artists, his religious tolerance and active association with Hindus are noticeable in the paintings of his times. The best work of painting were undertaken when Akbar was staying at his hew capital Fatepu Sikri.

 

29. Explain the impact of television.       6

Ans.:- The influence of television in learning mechanism is considered to be very significant in an urban society, where a substantial portion of the population are compelled to communicate in a language other than their own. A visual medium like television is considered to be a more useful means of learning and communicating cultural ideas than the spoken or a written word. However, the impact of television may not always be positive.

Positive Aspect:-

1.       Television programmes are most informative and educative if we watch programmes like UGC programmes, quiz programmes and also group discussions. Thus, we can say that it is a medium for acquiring information, knowledge and understanding.

2.       Television is the source of entertainment to people of all categories. It provides company for the lonely, aged, and housewives. It gives topics for conversation to members of the family staying at home.

Negative Aspect:-

1.       There are few areas where the influence of television is not positive. It is found that the naked exposures to sensuality, the criminal items and unfair bossism by anti-social elements of society exercise the most adverse impact on children in particular and the youths in general. Many of the scenes and themes shown on TV in films, serials, advertisements, interviews etc.

2.       The sheer amount of time spent in watching TV by the children is often too large. Thus they have negative impact in terms of their studies, socialization and participation in other entertainment activities.

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