Paper: IAS Mains Previous Year Paper Sociology (1975)

Sociology:

1. Can sociology be value free? Support your answer win-suitable illustrations.

2 Critically examine the interrelationship between interrelationship between and society and explain how the growth of population is a limiting factor on the production process in society.

3. Discuss the importance of culture in the basic personality structure of an individual.

4. Explain the concept of reference group. How far is it useful in explaining social mobility in Indian society?

5. To what extent do you agree with the view that the joint family is persisting in India? Illustrate your answer from recent studies.

6. Compare and contrast the economic institutions of the simpler societies with those of complex societies.

7. Critically examine the view that caste is being replaced by class in contemporary Indian society.

8. Critically evaluate the concept of modernization. To what extent is modernization synonymous with westernization?

9. Discuss the Marxian theory of social change and examine its relevance to developing societies.

10. What is "urbanization"? Briefly describe the main trends of urbanization in India from 1901 to the present.

11. Write short notes on any three of the following:
(i) Ecology and society
(ii) Social sanctions
(iii) Elites and social stratification
(iv) Totem and taboo
(v) Slum clearance.

Advanced:

1. "Sociologists are still in the process of gathering facts at random and developing competing theories of society". Critically comment in the light of the recent developments in sociology.

2. Compare and contrast the views of Karl Marx and Max Weber on the origin and development of capitalism and explain their significance in understanding the developmental, processes in the third world.

3. Discuss the relationship between social structure and social function and examine the limitations of the structural-functional approach in the study of developing societies.

4. Explain the changing basis of social stratification in India. How far will it minimize social inequality in India

5. Examine the importance of the comparative method in sociological research.

6. What do you understand by social evolution? Describe the theory of multi-linear evolution.

7. Discuss the factors responsible for the sustenance of caste in Indian society. What measures do you suggest for eliminating its influence?

8. Describe Weber's ideal type of bureaucracy. Comments with suitable examples from India, on the dysfunctions of bureaucracy.

9. Do you agree with the view that Panchayati Raj has only helped fractional politics in Indian villages? Substantiate your answer with suitable examples.

10. Explain the factors responsible for agrarian unrest in India. What remedies do you suggest to overcome this problem?

11. Write short notes on any three of the following:
(i) Status and role.
(ii) Questionnaire and interview schedule,
(iii) National integration and communal tensions.
(iv) Industrialization and urbanization.
(v) Student unrest and job-oriented education.