Indian Society
Salient Features of Indian Society
GS Paper I
Salient Features of Indian Society — Quick Revision
One-page UPSC revision of the salient features of Indian society: Census 2011 diversity data, caste and kinship, key concepts and constitutional anchors.
SyllabusGS I · Salient features of Indian society, diversity of India
A last-week sheet for the opening chapter of Indian Society. Use the tables for Prelims facts and the concept list for Mains vocabulary.
Diversity in Numbers (Census 2011)
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| Languages with 10,000+ speakers | 121 (22 scheduled, 99 non-scheduled) |
| Raw mother-tongue returns | 19,569 |
| Hindi as mother tongue (with grouped varieties) | About 43.6% |
| Hindus / Muslims / Christians | 79.8% / 14.2% / 2.3% |
| Sikhs / Buddhists / Jains | 1.7% / 0.7% / 0.4% |
| Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes | 16.6% / 8.6% |
| Rural population | 68.8% |
| Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups | 75 |
Language Families
| Family | Examples |
|---|---|
| Indo-Aryan | Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati — largest family |
| Dravidian | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam |
| Austro-Asiatic | Santali, Mundari, Ho, Khasi |
| Tibeto-Burman | Bodo, Meitei, many North-Eastern languages |
Concepts and Thinkers
| Concept | Thinker |
|---|---|
| Six features of caste (Caste and Race in India, 1932) | G.S. Ghurye |
| Sanskritisation, Westernisation, dominant caste | M.N. Srinivas |
| Little and great traditions | Robert Redfield (applied to India by McKim Marriott) |
| Universalisation and parochialisation | McKim Marriott |
| Modernisation of Indian tradition | Yogendra Singh |
| Six racial elements of India | B.S. Guha |
Constitutional Anchors
| Provision | Content |
|---|---|
| Article 29 | Conserve distinct language, script or culture |
| Article 30 | Minorities’ right to establish educational institutions |
| Article 343 | Hindi in Devanagari is the official language of the Union |
| Article 350A | Mother-tongue instruction at the primary stage |
| Article 350B | Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities |
| Article 51A(e), (f) | Promote harmony; preserve composite culture |
| Eighth Schedule | 22 languages; 92nd Amendment (2003) added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali |
High-yield facts
- 121 languages vs 22 scheduled — the most common numeric trap.
- Jains were notified as a minority in 2014, making six notified minorities.
- The Census last enumerated all castes in 1931; caste enumeration returns with the next Census (reference date 1 March 2027).
- Sixth Schedule covers tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram only.
Traps
- Caste has transformed (from ritual hierarchy to political-economic competition), not disappeared.
- Sanskritisation is imitation of higher castes; Westernisation is change from contact with the West.
- The Eighth Schedule is not the list of Union official languages.
Related Topics
- Diversity and Unity in Indian Society
- Salient Features — practice questions
- Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism
- All quick revision sheets
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