Sociology Optional · Paper I · Fundamentals of Sociology
Systems of Kinship Notes · PYQs · Solved Answers
Free notes, every previous year question and the solved answers for Systems of Kinship (Paper I, Fundamentals of Sociology), arranged so you can read a topic and immediately see how UPSC has asked it. Syllabus: Family, household, marriage; types and forms of family; lineage and descent; patriarchy and sexual division of labour; contemporary trends.
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1984–2026
Years covered
68
Questions listed
4
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Paper I · Unit 09
Systems of Kinship notes
Topic-wise notes for this unit in syllabus order. Read a topic, then open its previous year questions below.
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Previous year questions: Systems of Kinship
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: Systems of Kinship
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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In what way can the concept of ‘patriarchal bargain’ be applied to the institution of marriage? Comment.
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Give an account of the recent trends of marriage in the Indian context. How are these different from traditional practices?
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In what way does queer kinship challenge the traditional kinship system? Substantiate by giving illustrations.
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Modern families have not just become nuclear and neo-local, but also filiocentric. How do you explain this trend?
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What are the ‘basic and irreducible’ functions of the family as proposed by Talcott Parsons? Explain.
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Marriage as an institution has undergone a radical transformation from ‘ritual’ to ‘commercial’ in its outlook. Explain the factors behind this change.
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Analyze critically David Morgan’s views on family practices.
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How do you assess the changing patterns in kinship relations in societies today?
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Does women’s education help to eradicate patriarchal discriminations? Reflect with illustrations.
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Discuss various theoretical perspectives on the family.
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How do you understand the relationship between patriarchy and social development?
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Discuss the consequences of Across Region marriage on kinship system in modern Indian society.
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What is the impact of gender division of labour on the development of society?
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Does the institution of marriage continue to be sacred in Indian society? Comment.
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In the light of judicial intervention on ‘Live-in relationships’, discuss the future of marriage and family in India.
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What, according to Irawati Karve, are the major differences between North Indian and South Indian Kinship systems?
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What are the new forms of family in developed societies? Discuss.
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Distinguish between family and household with reference to the concept of development of the household.
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Define patriarchy. How does patriarchy manifest in interpersonal relations?
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Examine ‘patriarchal bargain’ as gendered division of work in contemporary India.
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Examine the relationship between the contemporary trends in marriage and changing forms of family.
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Discuss the regional variations of kinship system in Indian society.
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To what extent is patriarchy a cause for the problems of women? Discuss.
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Discuss the contemporary trends in family as a response to social change in modern society.
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Distinguish between family and household as sociological concepts.
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Is male authority absent in matrilineal society? Discuss.
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How do the rules of descent and alliance in kinship differ from each other? Illustrate.
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Critically examine the functionalist views on the institution of family. How do those help us in understanding family in the present times?
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What do you understand by institutionalization of ‘live-in relationship’?
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Analyse the contemporary trends in family with examples.
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Is patriarchy a universal phenomenon? Critically examine how does patriarchy affect sexual division of labour in societies.
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Examine the emerging trends in marriage and family as a response to the changes in economic and social order.
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Describe the importance of lineage and descent in kinship and family.
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Write short note on Lineage and Descent from a sociological perspective (in about 150 words).
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What do you mean by marriage and family? Discuss the structural and functional changes in family in modern society.
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Write short note on Kinship and Social Capital.
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Discuss the emerging forms of marriage and family with examples from the West and the East. Can there be family without marriage? Examine.
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Write short note on Industrialization and changes in the family’s functions.
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Write short note: New trends in the types and forms of family in contemporary India.
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Write short note: Changing structure of family.
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Write short note: Nuclear family and industrial society.
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Elucidate changing structure of family and marriage in modern society.
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Write short note: Role of Family in Social Control.
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Write short note: Gender Roles in Changing Structure of Family.
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Discuss the meanings and significance of culture in Human Society. Critically bring out the role of Culture in the Development of personality.
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Elaborate on the concepts of Family and Lineage. Discuss the relationship between Rules of descent and inheritance of property.
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Distinguish between Sex and Gender issues with suitable examples.
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In what way is the process of socialization helpful in the development of personality? Explain with suitable examples.
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Write short note: Incest taboo.
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Discuss the factors responsible for the changing structure of family in modern societies.
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Social control is more a matter of conviction than that of coercion. Comment. Discuss the role of ideology in social control.
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‘Socialization is a process by which all of us acquire the culture that we transmit to the next generation’. Elaborate the statement and discuss its various stages.
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Compare the role of custom as an agency of social control in primitive and modern industrial societies.
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Write short note: Impact of changes in sex roles on family.
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What has been the impact of industrialisation on family and kinship organisation? Illustrate the significance of kinship organisation in the industrial societies.
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Write short note: Primary group.
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Write short note: Role of culture.
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Explain the view that the nuclear family “fits” the needs of industrial society. Is it that the structure of nuclear family is the same in all industrial societies?
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Give a brief account of the trends in sociological analysis of change in traditional family and kinship systems in the face of industrialisation.
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Bring out the relationship between culture and personality. Discuss with examples the differences in personalities in the same culture.
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Short note: Social consequences of increase in the rate of divorce.
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Write short note: Social control.
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Write short note: Socialization and personality.
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How do changes in the age and sex roles in the family affect the social structure itself?
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Write short note: Structural principles of kinship.
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How does culture influence personality? Can personality influence culture? How?
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What are the agencies of social control? Which is the most effective one in a democratic society?
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Analyze scientific theory of culture. Will the crisis in culture in the contemporary society facilitate the emergence of new man?
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Discuss family as a basic and fundamental social institution. Do you think changing sex roles necessitate the replacement of family by another institution?
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Write short note: Change in sex roles and the socialisation of children.
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