39th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 1994

Social Stratification

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

In which phase, the concept of untouchability was put clearly?

Solution & Analysis

Answer: D

Concept Untouchability was not a feature of early Vedic society but emerged as an extreme extension of ritual purity and social stratification.

Explanation While the four-fold Varna system appears in the late Rig Veda, the category of 'Untouchables' (Antyajas/Chandalas) is codified clearly only in the Dharmashastra texts (post 600 BCE).

Logical Breakup

Logic 1: The Rigvedic phase (A) had a fluid social structure based on occupation.

Logic 2: The Dharmashastra phase (D) rigidified laws regarding pollution and contact, formally segregating certain groups outside the Varna fold.

Active Recall

Question

Who were the Chandalas mentioned in early texts?

Answer

They were groups tasked with handling corpses and cleaning, placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy and treated as untouchable.

Core Insight

The emergence of untouchability marks a transition from a functional division of labor to a rigid, hereditary system of social exclusion.

In which phase, the concept of untouchability was put clearly?

Solution & Analysis

Active Recall

Core Insight

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