CUET 2025 Sociology Question Paper with Answers & Solutions

Correct answer: C

British colonialism brought structural changes to the Indian economy, chiefly making India a dependent economy supplying raw materials to and a market for British industrialisation, while de-industrialising Indian crafts.

Correct answer: A

NCERT notes that detailed demographic data is essential for the planning and implementation of state policies, especially those for economic development and public welfare.

Correct answer: B

'Dwija' literally means 'twice-born', referring to the upper castes (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya) who undergo a second, ritual birth via the sacred-thread ceremony.

Correct answer: C

In the demographic transition model, the second (transitional) stage sees death rates fall sharply while birth rates remain high, producing rapid population growth or 'population explosion'.

Correct answer: A

Landowners evaded land-ceiling laws through 'benami' transfers, registering surplus land in the names of relatives or fictitious persons to keep it within the family.

Correct answer: D

The PNDT Act regulates prenatal diagnostic techniques and bans sex determination to prevent the misuse of technology for sex-selective abortions of female foetuses.

Correct answer: B

NCERT classifies tribes on permanent traits (region, language, physical/racial features) and acquired traits (mode of livelihood and incorporation into Hindu society). Livelihood is the acquired trait.

Correct answer: C

Under the Raiyatwari system the cultivator (raiyat) was recognised as the landholder and paid revenue/tax directly to the colonial government, without an intermediary zamindar.

Correct answer: C

A movement that seeks to fundamentally transform the existing social and political arrangement (here overthrowing landlord oppression) is a revolutionary social movement, as opposed to reformist (partial change).

Correct answer: A

Sociologist Satish Saberwal described the modern framework of change in colonial India through three aspects/vectors: modes of communication, forms of organisation, and the nature of ideas.

Correct answer: A

Liberal and Marxist critics argued Malthus was wrong to treat poverty and starvation as natural outcomes of overpopulation; they saw poverty as caused by unequal distribution/social arrangements, not population growth alone.

Correct answer: A

Panchayati Raj institutions were introduced to ensure decentralised, direct grassroots democracy by devolving power to local self-governing bodies.

Correct answer: D

Sociological demography stresses that demographic change is shaped by economic, social and cultural variables, not by biology alone; the other statements are incorrect.

Correct answer: A

Matrilocal = rule of residence (II); Patriarchal = men's authority/dominance (III); Patrilineal = rule of inheritance (IV); Nuclear = one set of parents and their children (I). This matches option A.

Correct answer: B

Capitalism's features are commodification of labour power (A), extraction of surplus value (C), and rising inequalities (D). Caste-based trading networks (B) are not a feature of capitalism. Hence (A), (C), (D).

Correct answer: B

Jan Breman coined the term 'footloose labour' for the large body of seasonal, circulating migrant workers in India who have no secure place of work.

Correct answer: B

The Nakarattars (Nattukottai Chettiars) ran a caste-based banking system, where caste and kinship ties structured banking and credit operations.

Correct answer: C

NCERT lists three features of stratification: it is a characteristic of society (not individual differences), it persists over generations, and it is supported by beliefs/ideology. Thus (C) and (D) are correct.

Correct answer: B

Privatisation = private firms in sectors reserved for govt (III); Disinvestment = govt selling its share (IV); Tertiary sector = services (I); Diversification = spreading investment to reduce risk (II). Matches option B.

Correct answer: C

The unorganised/informal sector employs the vast majority of Indian workers and is marked by a lack of proper wages, job security and regulated working conditions.

Correct answer: A

Caste is an ascribed status (A), caste groups are endogamous (B), and the caste system has segmental organisation (D). Caste is not achieved (C) nor based on individual choice (E). Hence (A), (B), (D).

Correct answer: C

Political parties are the key actors that aggregate interests, contest elections and form governments in a democratic state's governance system.

Correct answer: C

Durkheim demonstrated that suicide, though seemingly individual, is shaped by social causes such as the degree of social integration and regulation (social facts).

Correct answer: A

Reformist movements seek to change the existing system gradually within it. The Right to Information movement sought to reform governance for transparency, making it reformist; the Bolshevik and Naxalite movements are revolutionary.

Correct answer: B

Weber distinguished status groups by their styles of life (lifestyles) and social honour/prestige, separate from purely economic class position.

Correct answer: A

Under Raiyatwari, raiyat means cultivator (A), the cultivator paid the tax (B), and the colonial government dealt directly with the farmer (D). Zamindars did NOT play a dominant role (that was the zamindari system), so (C) is wrong. Hence (A), (B), (D).

Correct answer: B

Order: Bengal (indigo) Revolt 1859-60 (A), Deccan Riots 1875 (C), Champaran Satyagraha 1917 (B), Bardoli Satyagraha 1928 (D). This gives (A), (C), (B), (D) = option B.

Correct answer: A

Commoditisation (commodification) is the process whereby something previously not bought and sold becomes a commodity in the market economy.

Correct answer: D

Eenadu = Telugu newspaper (III); Zee TV = satellite channel (IV); AIR = radio channel (I); Buniyad = soap opera (II). Matches option D.

Correct answer: B

Three Sermons upon Human Nature = Bishop Joseph Butler (III); The City (likely referring to the work associated with Daya Pawar's autobiography 'Baluta'/urban context) = Daya Pawar (IV); Sultana's Dream = Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain (I); Invisible Man = Ralph Ellison (II). Matches option B.

Correct answer: C

Prejudices are pre-conceived opinions usually grounded in stereotypes - fixed, inflexible generalisations about a group, rather than evidence or logic.

Correct answer: C

The New Farmers' Movements began in Punjab and Tamil Nadu (A), had an anti-state and anti-urban ideology (C), and focused on price and related issues (D). They were explicitly non-party movements, so (B) is incorrect. Hence (A), (C), (D).

Correct answer: B

Sanskritisation = lower castes adopting upper-caste practices like dowry (II); Westernisation = adopting Western items like fork and spoons (I); Modernisation = jobs by qualification/merit only (III); Secularisation = public holidays for all religions (IV). Matches option B.

Correct answer: A

The Adi Dharma movement was a Dalit/caste-based movement asserting the identity and rights of the depressed castes against caste oppression.

Correct answer: B

Caste Disabilities Removal Act 1850 (A); First Backward Classes Commission (Kalelkar) 1953 (B); State Reorganisation Commission 1953/SR Act 1956 (D); SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 (C). Order = (A), (B), (D), (C) = option B.

Correct answer: C

'Dikus' is the term used by tribal/adivasi communities for outsiders - migrant traders, moneylenders and others seen as exploiting them.

Correct answer: A

Apartheid was the institutionalised system of racial segregation and discrimination practised in South Africa.

Correct answer: A

AITUC 1920 (B); Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha 1929 (C); All India Kisan Sabha 1936 (D); Statehood for Jharkhand 2000 (A). Order = (B), (C), (D), (A) = option A.

Correct answer: B

The scenario describes how 'flexi-time' in IT firms, presented as freedom, actually leads to an expansion of working hours and blurring of work-life boundaries by management.

Correct answer: A

Spanish Flu 1918 (B); First Population Policy in India 1952 (D); Asian Influenza 1957 (C); Hong Kong Influenza 1968 (A). Order = (B), (D), (C), (A) = option A.

Correct answer: B

The passage states the law was passed on 15 June 2005 and 'came into force on 13 October 2005'.

Correct answer: A

The Act makes a 'public authority' (a body of Government or instrumentality of State) accountable to provide information to citizens.

Correct answer: B

The passage states information disclosure was previously restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923, which the new RTI Act now overrides.

Correct answer: A

The passage's opening line says the RTI Act gives Indians access to government records, which is its core purpose. The other options contradict the passage.

Correct answer: C

The passage states the public authority is expected to reply expeditiously or within thirty days.

Correct answer: A

Patriarchy refers to the dominant role of men; the passage describes men in patriarchal societies feeling they must be strong and successful.

Correct answer: D

The passage states a gender-just society is based on two factors: educated women with multiple roles and an improved sex ratio.

Correct answer: A

The passage says men in patriarchal societies feel they must be strong and successful.

Correct answer: D

The passage describes Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana as an important effort in the actualization of a gender-just society.

Correct answer: D

In a patriarchal society women face discrimination and injustice across various spheres; the passage's call to end 'injustices of all kinds' implies women currently face such discrimination.