Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R): Assertion (A): The nature of Indian Political System embodies the elements of 'continuity and change'. Reason (R): The Indian Political System contains the elements of the following political system such as the modern style, the traditional style and saint style. Select the correct answer from the codes given below. Codes:
- (a)Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
- (b)Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
- (c)(A) is true but (R) is false
- (d)(A) is false but (R) is true
Correct — A, both statements are true and R correctly explains A. The 'modern, traditional and saintly' triad is the classic description of Indian political life given by the British political scientist W.H. Morris-Jones (The Government and Politics of India, 1964), who argued that Indian politics is conducted in three co-existing 'idioms' or languages: the modern (constitutional, secular, bureaucratic-parliamentary), the traditional (caste, kinship, region, religion), and the saintly (the moral, Gandhian appeal to conscience). Because the modern idiom represents change while the traditional and saintly idioms carry continuity, the simultaneous presence of all three is exactly why the system 'embodies continuity and change' — so R is the direct explanation of A, not a stray true fact.
- (b)Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A) — Wrong — R is not an unrelated fact. The blend of a modern idiom (change) with traditional and saintly idioms (continuity) is precisely what produces the 'continuity and change' of A, so R explains A.
- (c)(A) is true but (R) is false — Wrong — R is true: the modern–traditional–saintly classification of Indian political idioms is a well-established framework (Morris-Jones), not a false statement.
- (d)(A) is false but (R) is true — Wrong — A is true: Indian polity visibly combines inherited institutions and social forms (continuity) with a modern democratic-constitutional order (change).
Indian political sociology describes the country's politics as a layered system in which pre-modern social realities and a modern liberal-democratic Constitution operate together. W.H. Morris-Jones captured this with three 'idioms' of politics — modern, traditional and saintly — that are used side by side by leaders and voters. This coexistence is what scholars mean when they say the Indian political system shows both 'continuity' (older institutions, castes, moral-Gandhian appeals) and 'change' (elections, secular law, bureaucracy).
In an Assertion–Reason item you must decide not just whether both parts are true but whether the reason is the cause of the assertion. Here the three-idioms description is exactly the mechanism behind 'continuity and change', so pick the strongest option (a), not the 'both true but unrelated' trap (b).
- W.H. Morris-Jones (1964) named three idioms of Indian politics: modern, traditional and saintly
- Modern idiom = constitutional, secular, parliamentary-bureaucratic order (the 'change' element)
- Traditional idiom = caste, kinship, region and religion; saintly idiom = the Gandhian moral appeal (the 'continuity' element)
- The coexistence of these idioms is the standard explanation for 'continuity and change' in Indian polity
- Choosing (b) — treating R as a true-but-unrelated fact when it is actually the explanation of A
- Assuming 'saint style' is a typo; it is the recognised 'saintly idiom' of Morris-Jones
UPPSC/UPSC frame this as an Assertion–Reason or an attribution item ('who described Indian politics in terms of modern, traditional and saintly idioms?').
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The description of Indian politics as a blend of 'modern, traditional and saintly' idioms is associated with
- (a)W.H. Morris-Jones
- (b)Rajni Kothari
- (c)Louis Dumont
- (d)M.N. Srinivas
Answer(a) W.H. Morris-Jones — in The Government and Politics of India (1964).
- practice — not a real PYQ
In Morris-Jones' framework, which idiom of Indian politics chiefly represents the 'change' element of a modern democratic order?
- (a)The modern idiom
- (b)The traditional idiom
- (c)The saintly idiom
- (d)The feudal idiom
Answer(a) The modern idiom — constitutional, secular and parliamentary-bureaucratic politics.