Daily Current Affairs Quiz: November 06, 2025

Answer: C [Irrigation played a crucial role, with tanks, wells, and canals being expanded.]
Explanation:

While agriculture remained the primary occupation, irrigation systems such as tanks, wells, and canals were crucial for increasing agricultural productivity. Land ownership was complex, including royal, private, and communal holdings.

Answer: B [Only two]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Shrenis, initially economic associations based on craft specialization, gradually evolved into jatis with hereditary membership and social ranking. This transformation contributed to the rigidification of social hierarchy based on occupation.

Statement 2 is correct: The integration of diverse tribal groups into the varna framework led to the creation of new jatis. These groups were often assigned lower positions within the caste system, contributing to its complexity.

Statement 3 is incorrect: While the concept of ritual purity and impurity existed, the rigid and pervasive form of untouchability as witnessed in later periods had not fully developed during this time.  Some occupations were considered impure, but the social exclusion associated with untouchability was not as systematic.

Statement 4 is incorrect: Though jatis were becoming increasingly hereditary and structured, they weren’t completely inflexible. Some social mobility and change in status through economic success, political power, or migration were possible, especially in the early stages of this period.

Answer: C [Religious syncretism and coexistence of multiple traditions were evident.]
Explanation:

The Post-Mauryan period was marked by religious diversity, with Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism evolving simultaneously. Syncretism (blending of traditions) was seen in art, iconography, and beliefs, along with the emergence of sectarian cults of Hindu deities.

Answer: B [1 and 2 only]
Explanation:

Statement 1 is Correct: The Post-Mauryan period saw a notable expansion of urban centers, craft specialization, and internal as well as long-distance trade, especially under Indo-Greek, Shaka, and Kushana influence.

Statement 2 is Correct: The growth of trade, including contact with the Mediterranean world, fostered the rise of merchant and financier classes (like shreshthis and setthis), leading to new social mobility and influence outside the traditional varna system.

Statement 3 is Incorrect: Archaeological evidence contradicts a uniform decline. In fact, material culture in many regions flourished, as seen in urban artifacts, coinage, pottery, and religious architecture, though the impact varied regionally.

Answer: C [Varnas were a four-fold classification, whereas there was no restriction on the number of jatis, which were used to classify new social groups.]
Explanation:

In Brahmanical theory, both varna and jati were based on birth. However, a key difference is that the number of varnas was fixed at four, while there was no restriction on the number of jatis. When Brahmanical authorities encountered new groups, such as forest-dwellers or new occupational categories like goldsmiths (suvarnakara) that did not fit into the varna system, they classified them as a jati.