20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in the common exam-style shapes. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWhich three sociologists does the chapter link to industrialisation’s urbanisation and the loss of face-to-face relationships?
(A) Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer and Max Weber(B) Max Weber, Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton(C) Karl Marx, Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim(D) Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim - 1 markWhat does Marx call the situation in which people do not enjoy their work and see it only as something they must do to survive?
(A) Deskilling(B) Disinvestment(C) Alienation(D) Sanskritisation - 1 markAccording to Clark Kerr’s convergence thesis in Activity 5.1, a 21st-century industrialised India shares more features with which countries than with 19th-century India?
(A) China or the United States(B) Only the United Kingdom(C) Only Japan(D) Pakistan and Bangladesh - 1 markWhat share of India’s workforce was in the primary sector (agriculture and mining) in 2018-19, according to the chapter?
(A) About 25%(B) About 43%(C) About 32%(D) About 90% - 1 markWhat share of all work in India, across agriculture, industry and services, does the chapter say is in the unorganised or informal sector?
(A) Under 50%(B) About 70%(C) Exactly 24%(D) Over 90% - 1 markSince which decade has the Indian government followed a policy of liberalisation, according to the chapter?
(A) 1960s(B) 1980s(C) 1990s(D) 2000s - 1 markWhat was Coca-Cola’s advertising budget alone, compared with Parle’s annual turnover of ₹250 crore?
(A) ₹100 crore(B) ₹250 crore(C) ₹1,000 crore(D) ₹400 crore - 1 markIn the Kanpur textile mills, what were the jobbers who got workers their jobs called?
(A) Sardars(B) Mistris(C) Munshis(D) Ustads - 1 markAt Maruti Udyog Ltd, how many cars roll off the assembly line every minute, according to the chapter?
(A) Two(B) One(C) Four(D) Ten - 1 markRoughly how many workers does coal mining alone employ in India, per the chapter?
(A) 55,000(B) 5.5 lakh(C) 55 lakh(D) 5.5 crore
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): Alienation means workers do not enjoy their work and see it only as necessary for survival.
Reason (R): This is because machinery has completely eliminated the need for human labour in all industries.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The organised sector employs the majority of India’s workforce.
Reason (R): Over 90% of India’s work is in the unorganised or informal sector.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The Mines Act, 1952 has now been included in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Condition Code, 2020.
Reason (R): Coal mines alone employ 5.5 lakh workers in India.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not correctly explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I (Person) with List II (Idea or fact associated with them in the chapter).
List I: (i) Clark Kerr (ii) Harry Braverman (iii) Carol Upadhya (iv) Dr Datta Samant
List II: (1) Deskilling thesis (2) ‘Time Slavery’ in the IT sector, 2005 (3) Convergence thesis (4) Led the 1982 Bombay Textile Strike
(A) i-3, ii-2, iii-1, iv-4(B) i-1, ii-3, iii-2, iv-4(C) i-3, ii-1, iii-2, iv-4(D) i-4, ii-1, iii-2, iv-3
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: Industrialisation has reduced all forms of social inequality in India.
Statement II: Older forms of discrimination can persist even inside new factories and workplaces.
(A) Both statements are true(B) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(C) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(D) Both statements are false
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange these stages of the bidi industry’s supply chain in the order the chapter describes them.
1. Contractor supplies tobacco and leaves to home-based workers
2. Villagers pluck tendu leaves and sell them to the forest department or a private contractor
3. The manufacturer roasts the bidis and adds a brand label
4. Government auctions the leaves to bidi factory owners
(A) 2-4-1-3(B) 1-2-4-3(C) 2-1-4-3(D) 4-2-1-3
6 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these cities are named in the chapter as places where shop and restaurant hours changed because of IT firms and call centres. Which one is the odd one out?
(A) Bengaluru(B) Hyderabad(C) Mumbai(D) Gurugram
7 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Ramcharan, a weaver who had worked in the Kanpur cotton mills since the 1940s, said: “You need energy. The eyes move, the neck, the legs and the hands, each part moves. Weaving is done under a continuous gaze – one cannot go anywhere, the focus must be on the machine. When four machines run all four must move together, they must not stop.” (Joshi, 2003)
- 1 markBased on Ramcharan’s own account, why can a weaver “not go anywhere” while working the loom?
(A) Because focus must stay continuously on the machine(B) Because the mill gates are locked during shifts(C) Because of the mistri’s constant surveillance(D) Because of a government safety regulation - 1 markAccording to Ramcharan’s account, what must happen when four machines are running together?
(A) Each machine can be stopped independently as needed(B) Workers rotate between the four machines every hour(C) All four must move together and must not stop(D) Only two of the four operate at any one time
8 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider these statements.
(i) The chapter states over 90% of India’s work is unorganised or informal.
(ii) The chapter states two-thirds of Indians with secure jobs work in the private sector.
(A) Only (ii) is true(B) Only (i) is true(C) Both are true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (D) The book names Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim as the thinkers who associated urbanisation and the loss of face-to-face relationships with industry.
- (C) The book uses Marx’s own term, alienation, for exactly this situation.
- (A) Kerr’s convergence thesis, as given in the book, says an industrialised 21st-century India shares more with 21st-century China or the United States than with 19th-century India.
- (B) The book states that nearly 43% of workers were employed in the primary sector (agriculture and mining) in 2018-19.
- (D) The book states plainly that over 90% of all work in India is in the unorganised or informal sector.
- (C) The book states plainly that the government has followed a policy of liberalisation since the 1990s.
- (D) The book states Coca-Cola’s advertising budget alone was ₹400 crore against Parle’s turnover of ₹250 crore.
- (B) The book says that in the past many workers got their jobs through contractors or jobbers, and that in the Kanpur textile mills these jobbers were known as mistris.
- (A) The book states that two cars roll off the assembly line every minute at Maruti Udyog Ltd.
- (B) The book states that coal mines alone employ 5.5 lakh workers.
Assertion-Reason
- (C) A is exactly the book’s definition of alienation, so it is true. R is false: the book only says survival depends on whether technology leaves room for human labour, not that machinery has eliminated the need for it in all industries.
- (D) A is false: the organised sector employs a small minority, not the majority. R is true and is exactly why A is false.
- (B) Both A and R are true facts from the chapter, but the size of the coal workforce does not explain why the Mines Act was folded into the 2020 Code, so R does not correctly explain A.
Match the Following
- (C) Clark Kerr = convergence thesis (3); Harry Braverman = deskilling thesis (1); Carol Upadhya = Time Slavery box, 2005 (2); Dr Datta Samant = led the 1982 strike (4).
Statement-Based Questions
- (C) Statement I is too absolute and false: the book says industrialisation reduces SOME inequalities, not all. Statement II is exactly what the book says about persisting discrimination.
Chronological Ordering
- (A) The chapter’s own order is: villagers sell tendu leaves (2), government auctions leaves to factory owners (4), contractor supplies home workers (1), manufacturer roasts and brands the bidis (3): 2-4-1-3.
Odd One Out
- (C) The book names Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram in this specific context of changed shop hours; Mumbai is not one of the three cities named there.
Passage-Based Questions
- (A) Ramcharan’s quote says weaving is done under a continuous gaze, and the focus must be on the machine, which is why he cannot go anywhere.
- (C) The quote states plainly that when four machines run, all four must move together and must not stop.
True / False
- (B) (i) is true, matching the book’s own figure. (ii) is false: the book says two-thirds of those with secure jobs work for the GOVERNMENT, not the private sector.
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