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Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Write short note: Racial Theories of origin of caste.

  • UPSC 2005
  • Caste System

Racial theories explain caste as the residue of an encounter between physically distinct peoples — Indo-Aryan immigrants and indigenous groups — frozen into hereditary ranks by rules against intermarriage. They dominated colonial scholarship, shaped the census, and have since been dismantled from two directions, one sociological and one genetic.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of Sociology Optional PYQ Solutions.

What the full answer covers

  • Risley and the anthropometric version
  • The rival theories of the same period
  • Ghurye's qualified position and Ambedkar's demolition
  • The genetic verdict
  • Conclusion

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