The June 2026 paper has 8 essay questions of 20 marks each, and our solved file answers every one of them.
Key facts: BSOC-132 Sociology of India
- Course code: BSOC-132
- Course title: Sociology of India
- Programme: Bachelor of Arts (General) BAG and Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) BAM
- Course type: Core Sociology course, Semester II on eGyanKosh
- Credits: 6 (as stated in IGNOU's BSOC-132 assignment booklet)
- Blocks and units: 5 blocks and 12 units
- Exam session: June 2026 Term-End Examination
- Maximum marks: 100 (20 per question)
- Duration: 3 hours
- Questions in the paper: 8, attempt any 5 in about 500 words each
- Printed vs attempted marks: 8 × 20 = 160 printed, 5 × 20 = 100 attempted; no sections in June 2026
- Printed word limit: about 500 words, which cannot be written by hand in the time available; about 400 words is realistic
- Assessment: term-end exam 70 per cent; three assignments 30 per cent
- Sample answers on this page: 2 (Q1 and Q4)
- Answers in the full file: All 8, including 6 not shown on this page
What the BSOC-132 Solved Question Paper June 2026 covers
BSOC-132 Solved Question Paper June 2026 is our complete answer set for the Term-End Examination IGNOU held for BSOC-132 Sociology of India in June 2026. BSOC-132 Sociology of India is a six-credit core Sociology course of IGNOU's Bachelor of Arts (General) and Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) programmes.
This paper moved through the course in block order. It opened with forms of diversity, went on to social change, tribes and forests, caste and class, then family and kinship, and closed with social movements. Unlike June 2025 and December 2025, it set no question on religion or secularism.
If you are collecting papers from several courses, keep this one next to your BAG Question Paper set, because Sociology of India repeats its themes more than most BAG courses.
8 questions × 20 marks = 160 marks printed; any 5 × 20 = 100 attempted. 180 minutes ÷ 5 = 36 minutes per answer.
BSOC-132 sample answers: diversity and caste solved in full
Questions 1 and 4 are answered in full below; the other 6 are answered only in the paid file.
We chose these two because diversity and caste are the backbone of the course and show how our answers handle concepts, names, dates and Indian examples.
Asked in all 6 earlier papers Block 1, Unit 1 20 marks
Question 1 (20 marks)
1. Describe the forms of diversity found in India with examples. 20
Introduction
India is one of the most plural societies in the world. Diversity here means real differences of race, language, religion, caste, region and culture among people who still live within one political and social order. Sociologists study these forms because they shape how Indians marry, worship, work and even vote. The main forms are described below with examples.
1. Racial diversity
Indian people carry physical traits from many old population streams. B.S. Guha classified the population into six main racial elements: the Negrito, Proto-Australoid, Mongoloid, Mediterranean, Western Brachycephals and Nordic. Herbert Risley had earlier proposed his own seven-type scheme. Mongoloid features are common in the North-East and the Himalayan belt, while Negrito traits are linked with the Onge and Jarawa of the Andaman Islands.
2. Linguistic diversity
Indian languages belong to four major families: Indo-Aryan (Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi), Dravidian (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam), Austro-Asiatic (Santhali, Mundari, Khasi) and Tibeto-Burman (Bodo, Meitei and many Naga languages). The 2011 Census recorded 19,569 raw mother tongues, grouped into 121 languages. The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists 22 languages, and many states were reorganised on linguistic lines after 1956.
3. Religious diversity
According to the 2011 Census, Hindus form 79.8 per cent of the population, Muslims 14.2 per cent, Christians 2.3 per cent, Sikhs 1.7 per cent, Buddhists 0.7 per cent and Jains 0.4 per cent. Each religion is itself varied: Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakta traditions among Hindus, Shia and Sunni among Muslims, Catholic and Protestant churches among Christians. Sacred places as different as Ajmer Sharif, the Golden Temple, Velankanni and Rameswaram draw pilgrims from all over the country.
4. Caste and tribal diversity
Hindu society is divided into thousands of jatis, and their ranking, occupations and customs differ from region to region. Scheduled Tribes form 8.6 per cent of the population as per the 2011 Census and include more than 700 notified communities such as the Gond, Bhil, Santhal and the Naga groups, each with its own dialect, customs and relationship with land and forest.
5. Regional and cultural diversity
Geography ranges from the Himalayas and the Thar desert to the Gangetic plains and long coastlines, and ways of life follow it. Rice dominates meals in the south and east, wheat in the north-west. Dress varies from the dhoti and lungi to the mekhela chador of Assam. Even marriage rules differ: Irawati Karve showed that north Indian kinship avoids marriage among close kin, while in south India cross-cousin marriage is often preferred.
6. Diversity of settlement and livelihood
Indians live in tribal hamlets, villages, small towns and metropolitan cities. Livelihoods range from shifting cultivation and pastoralism to factory work and information technology, so economic life itself is a source of variety.
Conclusion
These forms of diversity do not break Indian society apart. Shared pilgrimage routes, harvest festivals such as Pongal, Bihu, Onam and Baisakhi falling in the same season, economic interdependence and the Constitution tie the parts together. That is why sociologists describe India as unity in diversity, and why this theme appears in every BSOC-132 paper we have checked.
Hall length: this answer runs to about 520 words, matching the printed 500 but more than 36 minutes allows. To bring it to about 400, keep the introduction, forms 1 to 5 with one example each, drop form 6, and keep the conclusion.
Caste: 4 of 6 earlier papers Block 2, Unit 4 20 marks
Question 4 (20 marks)
4. Discuss the basic features of caste in India. 20
Introduction
Caste (jati) is a hereditary, endogamous group that usually carries a traditional occupation and a fixed rank in a local hierarchy. It is the most distinctive feature of Indian social structure. G.S. Ghurye, in Caste and Race in India (1932), argued that caste is too complex to fit one definition, so he described it through six basic features.
Sociologists also separate varna, the four-fold Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra scheme, from jati, the local endogamous group that actually works as the unit of caste in daily life.
1. Segmental division of society
Membership of a caste is decided by birth, not by choice or merit. Each caste is a distinct group with its own customs, and many castes have a caste panchayat that settles disputes and punishes members who break caste rules, for example through fines or outcasting.
2. Hierarchy
Castes are ranked one above the other. Brahmins are usually placed at the top and castes once treated as untouchable at the bottom, with many castes in between whose exact positions differ from region to region. M.N. Srinivas showed that a numerically and economically strong dominant caste can shape village life even when it is not ritually highest.
3. Restrictions on feeding and social intercourse
Detailed rules decide from whom a person may accept food and water. Kachcha food, cooked in water, is accepted from a narrower circle than pakka food fried in ghee. Sitting together, smoking together and touching were also regulated.
4. Civil and religious disabilities and privileges
Lower castes were denied entry into temples, use of common wells and residence in the main village, while higher castes enjoyed ritual and social privileges. Article 17 of the Constitution abolished untouchability, and the Untouchability (Offences) Act of 1955, renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976, made its practice punishable.
5. Lack of unrestricted choice of occupation
Occupations were hereditary: priest, potter, barber or washerman. William Wiser described this exchange of services and grain between patron (jajman) and service castes as the jajmani system in his 1936 study of a north Indian village. The barber, carpenter and washerman served landowning families and were paid in grain at harvest, so occupation and caste status supported each other.
6. Restrictions on marriage
Caste is endogamous: people marry within their caste or sub-caste, while gotra exogamy forbids marriage within the same clan. Some regions allowed hypergamy, where a woman marries into a higher sub-caste.
Purity and pollution
Later scholars added a principle that runs through all six features. Louis Dumont, in Homo Hierarchicus (1966), argued that the opposition between the pure and the impure is the basis of caste hierarchy.
Conclusion
Many of these features have weakened through urbanisation, education, new occupations and reservation policy, yet endogamy and caste identity remain strong, and caste has found new life in politics and caste associations. A good BSOC-132 answer should list Ghurye's features and then show how each is changing.
Hall length: this answer runs to about 530 words. To bring it to about 400, keep the introduction, Ghurye's six features in two or three lines each, Dumont in one line and the conclusion; drop the varna-jati paragraph.
Questions answered only in the full file
2. What is social change? Discuss the approaches to understand social change. 20
3. How have been the tribes in India related with the forests? Discuss. 20
5. Discuss the class formation in India. 20
6. Describe the different functions of family. 20
7. What is the significance of kinship? Discuss its changing dimensions. 20
8. What is a social movement? Discuss at least one of the tribal movements in India. 20
Six full 20-mark answers wait behind these questions, including the tribal movement and kinship answers that students find hardest to structure.
BSOC-132 Sociology of India: 5 blocks and 12 units
BSOC-132 has 5 blocks and 12 units on eGyanKosh, and every June 2026 question comes from one of them.
The block and unit titles below are from the official BSOC-132 Sociology of India course page on eGyanKosh. Blocks 2 and 3 carry the most weight in this paper: together they produced 5 of the 8 June 2026 questions.
| Block | Units | June 2026 questions |
|---|---|---|
| Block 1: India as a Plural Society | Unit 1 Unity and Diversity; Unit 2 Changing India | Q1 diversity, Q2 social change |
| Block 2: Social Structures and Practices | Unit 3 Tribe; Unit 4 Caste; Unit 5 Class | Q3 tribes and forests, Q4 caste, Q5 class formation; Q8 tribal movement also draws on Unit 3 |
| Block 3: Social Institutions and Change | Unit 6 Family, Marriage and Kinship; Unit 7 Agrarian Social Structure | Q6 family, Q7 kinship |
| Block 4: Social Identities and Change | Unit 8 Dalit Movements; Unit 9 Gender Based Movements | Q8 concept of social movement |
| Block 5: State, Society and Religion | Unit 10 Religion and Society; Unit 11 Communalism; Unit 12 Secularism | None in June 2026 |
Read the unit booklets first and use our BSOC-132 Study Material for revision notes. Block 5 was skipped in June 2026, but Units 10 to 12 were asked in all six earlier papers we checked, so do not drop them for December.
Unit 7 Agrarian Social Structure has no direct June 2026 question, yet it links to past questions on the jajmani system and on how colonial rule changed agrarian class formation.
June 2026 by block: Block 1 gave 2 questions, Block 2 gave 3, Block 3 gave 2, Block 4 gave 1, Block 5 gave 0. 2 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 0 = 8. By unit, 7 of the 12 units fed a question; Unit 6 alone gave two (Q6 family and Q7 kinship).
Any five answers could come from Blocks 2 and 3 alone (Q3, Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7), or from Blocks 1 and 2 alone (Q1 to Q5). Block 2 is in both. Blocks 4 and 5 could be skipped entirely this session.
BSOC-132 paper pattern: 8 questions, any 5, 20 marks each
The June 2026 paper set 8 questions with no sections; you answer any 5 in about 500 words each.
| Element | June 2026 | What changed across sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Questions set | 8 | 8 in every paper we checked since December 2020 |
| Questions to attempt | Any 5 | December 2020 to December 2023 papers required at least 2 from each of two sections |
| Marks per question | 20 | Unchanged; 5 x 20 = 100 |
| Word limit | About 500 words | About 400 words in December 2021, June 2025 and December 2025 |
| Time | 3 hours | Same in all sessions |
| Weight in final result | Term-end exam 70 per cent | Three assignments make up the other 30 per cent |
With 36 minutes per answer, planning matters more than length. Our IGNOU Solved Guess Paper sets follow the same 20-mark format if you want extra practice before the next term-end exam.
The printed 500 words cannot be met by hand. 5 answers × 500 words = 2,500 words; at 11 to 12 words a minute that takes about 217 minutes, against 180. To fit, you would need to write about 14 words a minute for three hours without a pause. A realistic answer is 36 minutes × 11.5 ≈ 400 words, the limit IGNOU itself printed in December 2021, June 2025 and December 2025.
Choice rule: any 5 of 8 gives 56 possible combinations. A sixth answer earns nothing and costs about 36 minutes.
Topics that keep coming back in the BSOC-132 Question Paper
Unity and diversity appeared in all 6 earlier BSOC-132 papers we checked and again in June 2026. Tribes, class and religion each appeared in 5 of the 6, and religion was the one June 2026 left out.
To see what the IGNOU BSOC-132 Question Paper repeats, we counted topics in seven official papers: December 2020, December 2021, June 2023, December 2023, June 2025, December 2025 and June 2026. The June 2024 and December 2024 files on the IGNOU site are scanned images we could not read, so they are not counted.
| Topic | Earlier sessions asked | Count (of 6) | June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unity and diversity in India | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 6 | Q1 |
| Tribes: features, change, land and forests | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2025 | 5 | Q3 |
| Class: rural, urban, colonial and post-colonial | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 5 | Q5 |
| Religion: Durkheim, Marx and Weber, Indological view | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Dec 2023, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 5 | Not asked |
| Caste: features, approaches, change, jajmani | Dec 2021, Dec 2023, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 4 | Q4 |
| Social change, industrialisation and LPG | Dec 2020, Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2025 | 4 | Q2 |
| Family, marriage and kinship | Dec 2020, Dec 2023, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 4 | Q6, Q7 |
| Dalit movements and Ambedkar | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2025 | 4 | Not asked |
| Secularism and communalism | Dec 2020, Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2023 | 4 | Not asked |
| Tribal and ethnic movements | Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Dec 2025 | 3 | Q8 |
| Women's and LGBTQ movements | Dec 2021, Jun 2023, Dec 2025 | 3 | Not asked |
You can open these papers yourself on our IGNOU Previous Year Question Paper page. The pattern is clear: one diversity question is almost certain, and caste, class and tribes together usually fill two or three slots.
Hit rate: 7 of the 11 tracked topics came back in June 2026 = 64%, all as full 20-mark questions. The four that did not come back, religion, Dalit movements, secularism and communalism, and women's and LGBTQ movements, sum to 16 earlier appearances.
The skipped topics and the empty units agree. Religion, communalism and secularism sit in Units 10 to 12, women's movements in Unit 9, and all four units gave nothing in June 2026. Unit 8 was used only for the general idea of a social movement; its Dalit movements content was not asked.
The six earlier papers hold two June and four December papers, so the window is too lopsided for a June-against-December comparison. No session pattern is claimed here.
Topics to revise first for December 2026
Block 5 is the clearest gap: it was asked in every earlier paper and gave nothing in June 2026.
- Religion and society (Unit 10): 5 of 6 earlier papers, including both 2025 papers, and in every December paper we checked. Skipped in June 2026 with its whole block.
- Dalit movements and Ambedkar (Unit 8): 4 of 6, last asked in December 2025. June 2026 used Unit 8 only for the concept of a social movement.
- Women's and LGBTQ movements (Unit 9): 3 of 6, last asked in December 2025, unit empty in June 2026.
- Secularism and communalism (Units 11 and 12): 4 of 6, but not asked since December 2023, so it ranks below religion. If Block 5 returns as one question, religion is the likelier pick.
- Agrarian social structure (Unit 7): unit empty in June 2026. Not tracked as its own row in the repeat table above, so its earlier count still needs checking.
- Unity and diversity: not a gap, but now 7 of 7. Keep it ready for every session.
How our BSOC-132 answers are written and checked
Every BSOC-132 answer is written from the IGNOU blocks and checked by Sheetal Kirola before it reaches you.
Our sociology team starts with the official June 2026 paper and the BSOC-132 self learning material. Each answer gets an introduction, numbered headings, at least two Indian examples and a short conclusion, because that is how a 20-mark IGNOU essay is marked.
Names and dates are checked against standard sources: Ghurye for caste, Karve for kinship, Census 2011 for language and religion figures. Prateek Talwar, Academic Head, leads content and Sheetal Kirola, M.Ed., reviews every answer for accuracy and structure.
Because we also read past papers, each answer in our solved file notes when the same theme was asked before, so you know which answers to learn first.
BSOC-132 solved file index: on this page or full file only
The solved file covers all 8 questions; 2 are on this page and 6 are in the full file only.
| Q | Topic | Block | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forms of diversity in India | Block 1, Unit 1 | On this page |
| 2 | Social change and its approaches | Block 1, Unit 2 | Full file only |
| 3 | Tribes and forests | Block 2, Unit 3 | Full file only |
| 4 | Basic features of caste | Block 2, Unit 4 | On this page |
| 5 | Class formation in India | Block 2, Unit 5 | Full file only |
| 6 | Functions of family | Block 3, Unit 6 | Full file only |
| 7 | Kinship and its changing dimensions | Block 3, Unit 6 | Full file only |
| 8 | Social movement and a tribal movement | Units 3 and 8 | Full file only |
Programmes that include BSOC-132 Sociology of India
BSOC-132 is studied in IGNOU's BAG and BAM programmes as a core Sociology course.
eGyanKosh lists the course under the IGNOU Bachelor of Arts (General) programme, Sociology, Semester II, and IGNOU's January 2024 assignment booklet names both BAM and BAG on its cover.
Students who chose Sociology as a discipline in either programme sit the same BSOC-132 paper, so this solved file works for both.
| Programme | Code | Where BSOC-132 sits |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Arts (General) | BAG | Sociology discipline, Semester II on eGyanKosh |
| Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) | BAM | Named with BAG on the BSOC-132 assignment booklet [VERIFY semester] |
How to get the full BSOC-132 Solved Question Paper on WhatsApp
Message WhatsApp 9899436384 to get all 8 answers of the June 2026 BSOC-132 paper.
Tell us your course code and session, BSOC 132 June 2026, and our team will confirm the file and share it on the same chat. You get the 2 answers shown here plus the 6 answers that are not on this page.
Students searching for the IGNOU BSOC-132 Solved Question Paper usually want it before an exam, so message early and leave time for revision.
BSOC-132 Sociology of India FAQs
How do I get the full BSOC-132 Solved Question Paper June 2026?
Send a message on WhatsApp 9899436384 and ask for the BSOC 132 June 2026 solved paper. The full file answers all 8 questions printed in the paper: the 2 you can read on this page plus 6 more on social change, tribes and forests, class formation, family, kinship and tribal movements. Our team confirms the format and shares the file on the same WhatsApp chat.
How many questions do I have to attempt in the BSOC-132 exam?
You attempt any 5 of the 8 questions in the June 2026 BSOC-132 paper. Each question carries 20 marks, so 5 answers make up the full 100 marks in 3 hours. The paper asked for about 500 words per answer. Older papers from December 2020 to December 2023 also had two sections, with at least two answers needed from each section.
Which BSOC-132 Sociology of India topics repeat most often?
Unity and diversity in India is the strongest repeat. It appeared in all 7 BSOC-132 papers we checked, from December 2020 to June 2026. Tribes and class each came in 6 papers, while caste, religion and social change each came in 5. Dalit movements, tribal or ethnic movements and secularism appeared in 4 papers each, so these topics deserve priority.
Is BSOC-132 a core course in the IGNOU BAG programme?
Yes. IGNOU's own assignment booklet calls BSOC-132 Sociology of India a core course of six credits. On eGyanKosh it sits under Bachelor of Arts (BAG), Sociology, Semester II, and the January 2024 assignment booklet names both BAM and BAG. Six credits means you submit three tutor marked assignments, which carry 30 per cent of the final result.
How many words should a BSOC-132 answer have?
Follow the word limit printed on your own paper. The June 2026 BSOC-132 paper asked for about 500 words per answer, while June 2025, December 2025 and December 2021 asked for about 400. Our answers are written to the June 2026 instruction, with headed points that are easy to cut down if your paper asks for a shorter answer.
Are the two BSOC-132 sample answers on this page complete?
Yes. Question 1 on the forms of diversity and Question 4 on the basic features of caste are shown in full, with the same introduction, headed points, examples and conclusion you get in the paid file. They are here so you can check the depth and language before you ask for the remaining 6 answers on WhatsApp.
Who writes and checks the BSOC-132 answers?
Our sociology subject team writes every BSOC-132 answer from the IGNOU self learning material and standard sociology texts. Prateek Talwar, Academic Head of Unnati Educations, leads content, and Sheetal Kirola reviews each answer for accuracy, names, dates and structure before the file is shared with students on WhatsApp. Any error a student reports is corrected in the next version of the file.
Will the BSOC-132 June 2026 answers help in the December 2026 exam?
They help most with revision, because BSOC-132 keeps returning to the same core themes. Diversity, caste, class, tribes and family have each come back across several sessions we checked. IGNOU never promises repeat questions, so use the file to learn how to frame 20-mark answers and pair it with your block-wise study of the course.
Who wrote and reviewed this page
This page was prepared by the Unnati Educations sociology team, which writes solved papers, guess papers and study notes for IGNOU BAG, BAM and Honours Sociology learners.
Prateek Talwar, Academic Head, led the answers and the analysis on this page: the repeat table restated over the six earlier papers, which moved religion up to 5 of 6 and showed it was skipped; the unit count showing that 7 of 12 units were used and that the empty Units 9 to 12 match the skipped topics; the finding that Blocks 2 and 3, or Blocks 1 and 2, alone gave five answers; the check that the printed 500-word limit cannot be met in 180 minutes; and the December 2026 shortlist.
Sheetal Kirola, M.Ed., reviewed the page. She checked B.S. Guha's six racial elements and Risley's earlier scheme, the 2011 Census figures for mother tongues (19,569), languages (121), religious shares and Scheduled Tribes (8.6 per cent), the 22 Eighth Schedule languages, Ghurye's six features of caste from Caste and Race in India (1932), Article 17 and the 1955 Act renamed in 1976, Wiser's 1936 jajmani study, Dumont's Homo Hierarchicus (1966), and the session lists in all 11 repeat-table rows.