Question

Match statements (P), (Q), (R), (S) to names (1), (2), (3), (4):
(P) “Today, Indians no longer idealise hierarchy. What they … idealise is equality.”
(Q) “[We] do not argue that non-dalit feminists can ‘speak as’ or ‘for the’ dalit women but they can ‘reinvent themselves as dalit feminists’.”
(R) “[From] the point of view of people at the lowest end of the scale, caste has functioned (and continues to function) as a very effective system of economic exploitation.”
(S) “The pure hierarchy that Louis Dumont wrote so compellingly about a few decades ago … now stands bereft of empirical support from practically every quarter of Hindu India.”
(1) Dipankar Gupta
(2) Sharmila Rege
(3) André Béteille
(4) Joan P. Mencher

• A. (P)-(3), (Q)-(2), (R)-(4), (S)-(1)
• B. (P)-(4), (Q)-(2), (R)-(3), (S)-(1)
• C. (P)-(3), (Q)-(1), (R)-(4), (S)-(2)
• D. (P)-(4), (Q)-(1), (R)-(2), (S)-(3)

Hint:

In sociological matching questions, focus on identifying distinctive themes and arguments closely associated with each thinker rather than memorising quotations.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Statement (P).
The idea that Indians no longer idealise hierarchy but instead idealise equality is strongly associated with André Béteille, who critically examined changing values in Indian society and questioned the continuing dominance of hierarchical models. Hence, (P) matches with (3).
Step 2: Statement (Q).
This statement directly reflects the work of Sharmila Rege, a prominent scholar of Dalit feminism. She argued that non-Dalit feminists cannot speak for Dalit women but must transform themselves through engagement with Dalit feminist perspectives. Thus, (Q) matches with (2).
Step 3: Statement (R).
The analysis of caste as a system of economic exploitation from the perspective of those at the bottom of the hierarchy is a key argument made by Joan P. Mencher. Therefore, (R) corresponds to (4).
Step 4: Statement (S).
The critique of Louis Dumont’s theory of pure hierarchy and the claim that it lacks empirical support in contemporary India is associated with Dipankar Gupta, who emphasised social mobility and the weakening of rigid hierarchies. Hence, (S) matches with (1).
Step 5: Final matching.
Combining all correct pairings, we get: \[ (P)-(3),\ (Q)-(2),\ (R)-(4),\ (S)-(1). \]