A quick revision cut of Class 12 Sociology Chapter 5, Patterns of Social
Inequality and Exclusion. Every definition and every named law in the chapter,
with nothing in between. Read the full notes first; read this the
morning of the exam.
1 Where the Chapter Counts
| Board | This chapter |
|---|---|
| CBSE (2026-27 curriculum) | 10 marks (theory 80 + project 20) |
For any other board, check your board’s current syllabus and paper pattern.
2 All the Definitions
Every definition in one place
Social inequalityUnequal access that different groups have to money, property, education, health and power
Social stratificationA society-wide system ranking categories of people in a hierarchy
Ascribed statusA social position inherited from parents, not earned
EndogamyMarriage restricted to members of the same caste, blocking inter-caste blurring
PrejudiceA pre-formed opinion about a group, held before evidence
StereotypeA fixed, inflexible characterisation applied to a whole group
DiscriminationAn actual act that denies a group opportunities open to others
Social exclusionBeing systematically, not accidentally, cut off from full involvement in society
UntouchabilityExtreme caste-based exclusion, humiliation-subordination and exploitation at the bottom of the purity-pollution scale
Harijan“Children of God”; popularised by Gandhi in the 1930s
Dalit“Downtrodden”; the generally accepted term today, gained currency via caste riots in Mumbai, early 1970s
OBCConstitutional term “socially and educationally backward classes”; defined negatively (neither forward castes nor Dalits)
Adivasi“Original inhabitant”; coined in the 1930s against colonial intrusion
DikusTerm tribal groups use for outsiders
Third genderA social category of persons neither male nor female, with legal recognition in India
3 Named Facts At A Glance
| Term / event | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Bourdieu, 1986 | Three forms of capital: economic, cultural, social |
| Apartheid | South Africa; became law 1948; ANC and Nelson Mandela; government formed 1994 |
| Caste Disabilities Removal Act | 1850; disallowed cutting rights due solely to change of religion/caste; used to admit Dalits to government schools |
| The Schedules | 1935, by the British Indian government |
| Reservation (SC/ST) | Seats in State and Central legislatures, government jobs and public sector companies, and educational institutions; proportion = SC/ST share of total population; OBC proportion decided differently |
| Constitution of India | 1950; Article 17 abolished untouchability |
| SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act | 1989 |
| Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act | Law from 23 January 2006; OBC reservation in higher education |
| Dalit Panthers | Radical group, western India, early 1970s |
| Phule, Iyotheedas, Periyar, Ambedkar | Pre-Independence Dalit movement leaders |
| Bahujan Samaj Party / Dalit Sangharsh Samiti | Contemporary Dalit politics, UP / Karnataka |
| Kaka Kalelkar | First Backward Classes Commission, report 1953, sidelined |
| B.P. Mandal | Second Backward Classes Commission; report implemented 1990 |
| OBC population share | About 41% (recent surveys) |
| Sardar Sarovar Dam | River Narmada, Western India |
| Polavaram Dam | River Godavari, Andhra Pradesh |
| Jharkhand / Chhattisgarh | New states from Bihar / Madhya Pradesh, among the Adivasi movement’s most significant achievements |
| Nairs of Kerala / Khasis of Meghalaya | Matrilineal societies, the strongest argument that gender inequality is social not natural |
| Raja Rammohun Roy | Anti-sati campaign, Bengal; Brahmo Samaj, 1828 |
| M.G. Ranade | Widow remarriage movement, Bombay Presidency |
| Jyotiba Phule | Satyashodak Samaj; fought caste and gender oppression together |
| Sir Syed Ahmed Khan / Dayanand Saraswati | Muslim reform / Arya Samaj; women’s education within limits |
| Tarabai Shinde | Stree Purush Tulana, 1882 |
| Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain | Sultana’s Dream, 1905 |
| Karachi Session, INC | 1931; declaration on women’s equality and adult suffrage; women’s organisations had arisen at all-India and local levels in the early twentieth century |
| Anita Ghai | Compares disability’s invisibility to Ellison’s “Invisible Man” |
| Brisenden, 1986 | The disablement lies in the construction of society, not in the physical condition of the individual |
| Census 2011 | Attempted to record 8 types of disability, against 5 in Census 2001 |
| Sachar Committee Report | On the Muslim community; example of an emerging area of attention |
4 Three Key Principles of Stratification
What it is
- A characteristic of society, not simply of individual differences
- Ascribed position, inherited across generations
- Endogamy keeps caste lines fixed
What justifies it
- Ideology: seen as fair or inevitable
- Purity-pollution opposition for caste
- The most privileged support it most strongly; those at the bottom are most likely to challenge it
Quick Revision: read this the night before the exam
- Social inequality is about groups, not individuals, and is systematic, not accidental
- Prejudice = attitude, often grounded in stereotypes (fixed group images); discrimination = actual behaviour, hard to prove because it may not be open or explicitly stated
- Untouchability has three equal dimensions: exclusion, humiliation-subordination, exploitation
- Key laws: 1850, 1935 (Schedules), 1950 (Article 17), 1989 (Atrocities Act), 2005/2006 (93rd Amendment)
- OBC = “socially and educationally backward classes”; Kalelkar (1953) sidelined, Mandal implemented 1990
- Adivasi land loss: colonial forest policy then post-1947 industrialisation (“internal colonialism”); Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh statehood is among its most significant achievements
- Women’s movement: 19th century tradition (sati, widow remarriage) to 1970s media/development, 1980s law, 21st century sex ratio
- Disability is social too: Brisenden says people are disabled by buildings not designed to admit them; the disablement lies in the construction of society
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