Sociology Optional · Paper I · Fundamentals of Sociology
Stratification and Mobility Notes · PYQs · Solved Answers
Free notes, every previous year question and the solved answers for Stratification and Mobility (Paper I, Fundamentals of Sociology), arranged so you can read a topic and immediately see how UPSC has asked it. Syllabus: Equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty; theories of stratification; class, status, gender, ethnicity, race; social mobility.
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1985–2026
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Paper I · Unit 05
Stratification and Mobility notes
Topic-wise notes for this unit in syllabus order. Read a topic, then open its previous year questions below.
Free notes
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Previous year questions: Stratification and Mobility
Every question UPSC has asked from this unit, year-wise, with a link to its solved answer.
Topic-wise question list
Year-wise question papers
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UPSC Sociology Optional Question Paper 2026
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UPSC Sociology Optional Question Paper 2025
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UPSC Sociology Optional Question Paper 2024
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UPSC Sociology Optional Question Paper 2023
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2010
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2011
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2012
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2013
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2014
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2015
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2016
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2017
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2018
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Sociology Optional Question Paper 2019
Sociology PYQ Master Pack
Solved PYQ answers: Stratification and Mobility
Topic-wise model answers, newest exam year first. Members open the full answer; everyone else sees the question and can join the pack.
PYQ Solutions
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According to Weber how do class, status and power interact to produce and sustain social inequality?
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Differentiate between social hierarchy and social exclusion and substantiate your answer with reference to the caste system.
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In what ways do class and caste intersect and overlap in shaping social structure?
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Is the social stratification theory gender-blind? Elucidate.
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Does the structural-functionalist perspective on social stratification promote a status quo? Give reasons for your answer.
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Compare the capability deprivation approach with that of social capital deprivation in understanding chronic poverty.
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Discuss the dimensions of power in the construction and maintenance of social hierarchies in a society.
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Analyse the changing nature of caste as a status group.
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What is social mobility? Critically examine the classification of ‘closed’ and ‘open’ models of social stratification.
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How is poverty a form of social exclusion? Illustrate in this connection the different dimensions of poverty and social exclusion.
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Explain Max Weber’s theory of social stratification. How does Weber’s idea of class differ from that of Marx?
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Do you think that the boundary line between ethnicity and race is blurred? Justify your answer.
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How do sociologists construct gender in their analysis on social inequality?
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Social stratification is claimed to contribute to the maintenance of social order and stability in society. Critically assess.
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Discuss social mobility in open and closed system.
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Critically examine Max Weber’s theory of Social Stratification.
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Explain the growing salience of ethnicity in the contemporary world with illustrations.
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Explain the concept of social mobility. Describe with suitable illustrations how education and social mobility are related to each other.
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How are Hierarchy and Exclusion the major impediments in the transformation of societies? Discuss.
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Critically assess social mobility in closed and open systems.
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What is affirmative action? Substantiate theoretical positions on affirmative actions with examples.
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Davis and Moore made it clear that social stratification is a functional necessity and also an unconscious device. Discuss.
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Compare and contrast the contributions of Marx and Weber on social stratification in capitalist society.
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Modernisation presupposes class society; however, caste, ethnicity and race are still predominant. Explain.
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Present a sociological review on the ‘new middle class’.
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Differentiate between ‘Life-chances’ and ‘Life-style’ with suitable examples.
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Why is gender a dimension of social stratification? How does gender intersect other dimensions of inequality based on caste, class, race and ethnicity?
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What is the difference between natural and social inequality? Give examples from caste and class dimensions.
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Evaluate if social stratification is functional for society.
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Is social mobility possible in closed systems of stratification? Illustrate from research work.
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Can we equate ‘poverty’ with ‘poor living’? Elaborate your answer.
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What is Weberian critique of Marxist notion of social stratification?
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Examine gender, ethnicity and race as major dimensions of social stratification.
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“Vertical mobility brings structural change even in a closed social system.” Comment.
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Elucidate the basic premises of Davis’ structural-functional theory of social stratification. How far is it relevant in understanding contemporary Indian society?
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Discuss the relationship between poverty and social exclusion.
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“No society can either be absolutely open or absolutely closed.” Comment.
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Differentiate between Marxian and Weberian theories of Social Stratification?
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What do you understand by gender? How does it shape ‘male identity’?
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“According to Max Weber, ‘class’ and ‘status’ are two different dimensions of power.” Discuss.
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For Marx, class divisions are outcomes of ‘exploitation’. Discuss.
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Critically examine the functionalist tradition in Sociology.
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How are open and closed systems of stratification undergoing transformation in the emergence of new hierarchical social order in societies?
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Distinguish between people being socially excluded and people excluding themselves socially in societies.
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Analyse the gender bias in the present society with examples.
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Write short note on the following from a sociological perspective: Stratification of class.
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In our society Hierarchical relations are influenced by social mobility. Explain how?
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Write short note on The problem of Gender.
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What is Class? Do you think that Weber’s contributions to social stratification are different from that of Marx?
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What do you mean by social mobility? Discuss the major sources and causes of mobility?
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Write short note on Ethnicity and Development.
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What are the reasons for calling Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore’s theory of social stratification a functional theory?
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How does hierarchy get built into the systems of natural and social inequalities?
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Write short note: Role-conflict and its resolution.
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Write short note: Caste-system as a principle of social stratification.
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Write short note: Vertical social mobility.
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How is vertical and horizontal social mobility problematic in society? Suggest solutions.
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‘Socialisation and social control are complementary to each other in maintaining social order.’ – Elucidate your answer with appropriate illustrations.
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Write short note: Class within Caste and Caste within Class.
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Briefly discuss the Conflict Perspective on social stratification and examine the view that social inequality in India is the function of rigid social stratification system.
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Examine the conceptual distinction between social inequality and social stratification. How do the nature and forms of the social stratification system determine the patterns of social mobility?
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Explain Melvin Tumin’s critique related to the theory of social stratification.
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Write short note: Social Mobility and social change.
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Write short note: Inter-generational mobility.
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Write short note: Role conflict.
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Discuss the nature and characteristics of social mobility. Can the nature and the rate of social mobility be treated as an index of economic development? Comment.
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How would you distinguish between the stratified and the unstratified social positions? What explanation would you prefer for the universal existence of the social stratification in human society?
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Write short note: Role conflict as a source of deviation.
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Analyze critically the functional theory of social stratification.
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Write short note: Caste as a class.
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Write short note: Vertical and horizontal mobility.
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Write short note: Types of mobility.
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Write short note: Social class and social status.
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Write short note: Social class and vertical mobility.
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‘Social inequality is the device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are filled by the most qualified persons.’ Explain this view point and state the grounds on which it is refuted.
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Elaborate the concepts of ‘status-consistency’ and ‘status-inconsistency’. State the factors responsible for ‘status-inconsistency’ in modern societies.
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Write short note: Functional theory of stratification.
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Write short note: Status inconsistency.
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Write short note: Intergenerational mobility in a caste society.
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Write short note: Social Mobility.
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