“Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, caste system cannot be eradicated in India.” Comment.
Approach · directive: “comment”
What it asks · Assess whether the survival of caste in new forms, such as associations and political identities, means it cannot be eradicated, weighing signs of change against persistence.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Comment on the premise: how caste is taking new identities and associational forms, and why it persists
- Comment on the inference: whether these new forms mean caste cannot be eradicated, weighing signs of change, and give a verdict
Open with · Caste has moved from a ritual hierarchy of birth towards associations, vote blocs and interest groups, which is a change of form rather than an end.
Cover
- New forms: caste associations and sabhas lobbying for jobs and quotas, caste-based political mobilisation (the politicisation of caste described by Rajni Kothari), and identity claims on social media and matrimonial platforms.
- Why it persists: endogamy, jati networks in jobs and credit, unequal access to land and education, and electoral competition that rewards caste arithmetic.
- Signs of erosion: urbanisation, education, shared public spaces and occupational mobility weaken ritual barriers; Dalit entrepreneurship and political assertion challenge old hierarchies.
- Legal and reform push: Articles 15 and 17, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 target discrimination, yet atrocities and stigma continue.
- Mixed evidence: inter-caste marriages remain a small share, and manual scavenging (banned by the 2013 Act) and discrimination show that hierarchy has not disappeared even as its forms change.
- Reservation debate: quotas widen access to education and office but also harden caste categories, so more groups seek recognition and identity politics deepens.
- Judgement: 'cannot be eradicated' is too fatalistic; caste weakens when class mobility, education, inter-dining and inter-marriage grow and the State prevents discrimination.
Close with · Caste is adapting rather than vanishing; eradication depends on sustained economic mobility, social reform and enforcement, not on the passage of time alone.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 217 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Caste has moved from a ritual hierarchy of birth towards associations, vote blocs and interest groups; the statement reads this change of form as proof of permanence.
New forms and why caste persists
- Caste associations and sabhas lobby for jobs and quotas; parties mobilise caste blocs, the politicisation of caste that Rajni Kothari described; identity is reasserted on social media and matrimonial platforms.
- Endogamy, jati networks in jobs and credit, unequal access to land and education, and electoral arithmetic all reward caste solidarity.
- Reservation widens access but also hardens categories, so more groups seek recognition and identity politics deepens.
Why 'cannot be eradicated' overstates the case
- Urbanisation, education, shared public spaces and occupational mobility weaken ritual barriers; Dalit entrepreneurship and political assertion challenge the old hierarchy.
- The law targets discrimination: Articles 15 and 17, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
- Yet inter-caste marriages remain few and manual scavenging persists despite the 2013 ban, so hierarchy has changed shape rather than disappeared.
Verdict
- New associational forms show adaptation, not immortality; caste weakens where class mobility, inter-dining and inter-marriage grow and the State enforces equality.
Caste is adapting rather than vanishing; its eradication depends on sustained economic mobility, social reform and firm enforcement, not on the passage of time alone.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.