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  What are overlapping and cross-cutting social differences? Or Explain the cross-cutting differences with suitable examples.       

Answer:

                  Social divisions of one kind or the other exist in most parts of the world. A social difference means the difference in a group of people due to their race, religion, language or culture. It becomes a social division when some social differences are joined by another set of social differences, e.g., the difference in the Blacks and the Whites in America is due to their different race which is a social difference. It becomes a social division when, say, the income factor is also added in that. The Blacks tend to be poor and homeless while the Whites tend to be rich and educated. This creates a divide in the people, making them feel that they belong to different communities. In our country Dalits tend to be poor and landless.                 They often face discrimination and injustice, Situations of this kind produce social division. Cross-cutting differences happen when one type of social difference is weakened by another set of social differences. Then, it becomes difficult to group people into a single category because they are going to have different opinions and views on different matters. On some matters there might be agreement on a particular issue, but there might be disagreement on another issue.