UPSC Sociology Mains 2025
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📚 UPSC Sociology Year-wise Solved PYQs
Click on any year below to access the complete UPSC Sociology Mains solved previous year questions with detailed answers.
UPSC Sociology 2025 Paper 1
Section A
Question 1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each
a) What is common sense? How are common knowledge and sociology related to each other? Explain. (10 Marks)
b) What is the relationship (similarities and differences) between sociology and history in terms of their area of study and methodology? Discuss. (10 Marks)
c) What is a variable in social research? What are their different types? Elaborate. (10 Marks)
d) Can Merton’s reference group theory be relevant in understanding identity making’ in digital world? Explain. (10 Marks)
e) ls the social stratification theory gender-blind? Elucidate. (10 Marks)
Question 2.
a) What is positivism? Critically analyze the major arguments against it. (20 Marks)
b) Highlight the main features of historical materialism as propounded by Marx. How far is this theory relevant in understanding contemporary societies? Explain. (20 Marks)
c) What do you mean by reliability? Discuss the importance of reliability in social science research. (10 Marks)
Question 3.
a) Compare capability deprivation approach with that of social capital deprivation in understanding chronic poverty. (20 Marks)
b) Are pressure groups a threat to or a necessary element of democracy? Explain with suitable illustrations. (20 Marks)
c) What is hypothesis? Critically evaluate the significance of hypothesis in social research. (10 Marks)
Question 4.
a) Give an account of the recent trends of marriage in the Indian context. How are these different from traditional practices? (20 Marks)
b) What would you identify as the similarities and differences in the elite theories of Mosca, Michels and Pareto? Discuss their main/crucial issues. (20 Marks)
c) Critically analyze the sociological significance of informal sectors in the economy of developing societies. (10 Marks)
Section B
Question 5. Write short answers, with a sociological perspective, on the following questions in
about 150 words each:
a) In what way is the scope of sociology unique? Explain. (10 Marks)
b) Does the structural-functionalist perspective on social stratification promote a status quo? Give reasons for your answer. (10 Marks)
c) Do you think that the formal workspaces are free of gender bias? Argue your case. (10 Marks)
d) How does Weber’s Verstehen address the objectivity-subjectivity debate in sociology? (10 Marks)
e) To what extent can education and skill development be an agent of social change? Critically analyze. (10 Marks)
Question 6.
a) What is science? Do you think that the methods used in natural sciences can be applied to sociology? Give reasons for your answer. (20 Marks)
b) What do you understand by gender-based domestic division of labour? ls it undergoing a change in the wake of increasing participation of women in formal employment? Clarify your
answer with illustrations. (20 Marks)
c) How can you assess the significance of social movements in the digital era? Explain. (10 Marks)
Question 7.
a) What is sampling in the context of social research? Discuss different forms of sampling with their relative advantages and disadvantages. (20 Marks)
b) How do Marx, Weber and Durkheim differ in understanding religion? Explain (20 Marks)
c) What is the nature of relationship between science and religion in modern society? Analyze with suitable examples. (10 Marks)
Question 8.
a) What do you understand by sustainable development? Discuss the elements of sustainable development as proposed in the UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals Report-2015. (20
Marks)
b) How do Civil Society Organizations’ such as NGOs’ and Self-Help Groups’ contribute to grassroot level social changes? Discuss. (20 Marks)
c) In what way does queer kinship challenge the traditional kinship system? Substantiate by giving illustrations. (10 Marks)
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UPSC Sociology 2025 Paper 2
Section A
Question 1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each
a) Textual perspective is important in understanding of Indian Social System. Discuss. (10 Marks)
b) Justify that the Indian traditions are modernizing. Also discuss its contributing factors. (10 Marks)
c) According to you, which social reform movement has played the most effective role in modernizing Indian women? Explain. (10 Marks)
d) How did Colonial Policies for the tribes affect their socio-economic conditions in India? Discuss (10 Marks)
e) How would you appropriate to characterise G. S. Ghurye as a practitioner of ‘theoretical pluralism’? (10 Marks)
Question 2.
a) Do you think that in a society like India orthogenetic changes take place through differentiation? Do you observe continuities in the orthogenetic process? Elaborate your answer with suitable examples. (20 Marks)
b) Agrarian class structure has been undergoing changes due to modern forces. Critically examine (20 Marks)
c) How same sex marriages are responsible for population dynamics in India? Discuss. (10 Marks)
Question 3.
a) What do you mean by nation building? What is the role of religion in nation building? Elaborate your answer. (20 Marks)
b) Do you think that the new economic reforms of British rule have disrupted the old economic system of India? Substantiate your answer with suitable examples. (20 Marks)
c) Describe the main features of Indian new middle class. How is it different from the old middle class? (10 Marks)
Question 4.
a) Who is said to be the pioneer of village studies in India? Illustratively describe contributions of some Indian sociologists on village studies. How their approaches are different from each other? (20 Marks)
b) “Industrial class structure is a function of social structure of Indian society.” Do you agree with this statement? Analyze (20 Marks)
c) What is kinship? Briefly explain G. P. Murdock’s contribution to the study of kinship system (10 Marks)
Section B
Question 5. Write short answers, with a sociological perspective, on the following questions in about 150 words each:
a) “The transfer of land from cultivating to the non-cultivating owners is bringing about transformation in Indian society.” Justify your answer by giving suitable illustrations. (10 Marks)
b) Bring out various factors responsible for declining of village industries in India. (10 Marks)
c) Discuss the social bases of political mobilization in Independent India. Has some change occurred in these during the last 60–70 years? (10 Marks)
d) What are the major problems faced by the labour migrants while working in informal sectors of Indian States? Discuss. (10 Marks)
e) Do you think that law has been able to abolish child labour in India? Comment. (10 Marks)
Question 6.
a) In what respects have the constitutional provisions changed the socio-economic and political conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India? Critically examine. (20 Marks)
b) Discuss the trend of urbanization in India. Do you think that Industrialization is the only precondition of urbanization? Give your arguments. (20 Marks)
c) Which measures would you suggest for preventing caste conflicts in India? Justify your view. (10 Marks)
Question 7.
a) What are the Private and Public network and support systems operative in Indian society for care givers? Discuss their role and the challenges before care givers. (20 Marks)
b) “Educational development is the only Panacea for country’s all ills and evils.” Critically examine the above statement with reference to NEP-2020. (20 Marks)
c) How Dalit movements in India have facilitated their Identity formation? Analyze. (10 Marks)
Question 8.
a) Is it possible to have sustainable development in India? Cite major environmental issues and suggest a few measures to achieve the sustainability (20 Marks)
b) Do you think that forced displacement of labourers has caused their deprivation and resultant inequalities during the recent past years? Elaborate. (20 Marks)
c) What are the Indian government’s schemes launched for poverty alleviation after the United Nation’s Declaration of ‘Sustainable Development Goals – 2015’? Briefly describe (10 Marks)
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- Q. Critically analyze the sociological significance of the Informal Sector in the economy of Developing Societies. (10 Marks)
- Q. Give an account of the recent trends of marriage in the Indian context. How are these different from traditional practices? (UPSC CSE Sociology Optional | 20 Marks)
- Q. What is Hypothesis? Critically evaluate the significance of Hypothesis in Social Research. (10 Marks)
- Q. Are Pressure Groups a threat to or a necessary element of democracy? Explain with suitable illustrations. (20 Marks)