UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How conversion affects reservation

Q1. With reference to the specification of Scheduled Castes under Article 341 of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The President issues the initial notification for a State after consultation with the Governor of that State.
  2. Once the initial list is notified, the President may add a caste to it by a subsequent notification.
  3. Because the notification is made in relation to each State or Union Territory, a caste may be a Scheduled Caste in one State but not in another.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. As of 2026, under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, a person belonging to a notified caste can be deemed a member of a Scheduled Caste only if he or she professes which of the following?

  • A. Hinduism or Buddhism
  • B. Hinduism or Sikhism
  • C. Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism
  • D. Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism or Jainism

Q3. With reference to the effect of a change of religion on Scheduled Tribe status in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A member of a notified Scheduled Tribe who converts to Christianity does not lose Scheduled Tribe status merely because of the change of religion.
  2. A Scheduled Tribe claimant must continue to belong to the tribe in substance, so a conversion followed by complete abandonment of tribal customs can defeat the claim.
  3. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, like the Scheduled Castes Order, contains a paragraph excluding persons who profess a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q4. Which one of the following correctly contrasts the legal basis of Scheduled Caste status with that of Backward Class classification in India?

  • A. SC status depends on caste and religion professed; BC status depends on the community being Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist
  • B. SC status depends on caste and religion professed; BC status depends on a community's social and educational backwardness
  • C. SC status depends on religion professed alone; BC status depends on an individual's income falling below a threshold
  • D. SC status depends on caste alone, regardless of religion; BC status depends on the religion professed by the community

Q5. With reference to the identification of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) after the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The list notified by the President under Article 342A applies only for the purposes of the Central Government.
  2. States and Union Territories may prepare and maintain their own lists of SEBCs for their own purposes.
  3. Backwardness for the purposes of reservation in public employment under Article 16(4) has been judicially understood as mainly social backwardness.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A State can now include a community in its own list of socially and educationally backward classes even if that community does not appear in the Central List for that State.
  2. The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021 confined the Presidential list under Article 342A to Central Government purposes and empowered States to maintain their own lists.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q7. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The Supreme Court has held that a conversion undertaken without genuine belief, solely to secure reservation benefits, amounts to a fraud on the Constitution.
  2. Article 25 of the Constitution forbids the State from attaching any legal consequence to a person's change of religion.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q8. Consider the following assertion: 'Denying Scheduled Caste status to a Dalit who converts to Christianity does not violate the freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25.' Which of the statements given below support/supports the above assertion?

  1. Caste-based social disabilities frequently persist among Dalits even after they convert to another faith.
  2. The freedom to profess and practise a religion does not, by itself, create an entitlement to any particular statutory benefit.
  3. The religion condition determines eligibility for a reservation category and places no restraint on the person's choice of faith itself.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3