Which one of the following is NOT an element of rural community ?

The correct answer is B) Cultural diversity. A rural community is marked by cultural homogeneity, not diversity. Its members share language, customs, festivals, and kinship ties, which is why the village feels like one unit.

The elements of a rural community, as taught in sociology, are:

• A) We-feeling: a sense of belonging and shared identity. This is an element, and it is strong in villages because face-to-face contact is frequent.
• C) Territory: a defined locality where people live together. This is a basic element of any community, rural or urban.
• D) Self-sufficiency: the traditional village met most of its needs locally through agriculture, crafts, and the jajmani system. Markets have weakened this, but it remains a defining trait in the textbook framework.

Cultural diversity, by contrast, is a feature of cosmopolitan, urban settings where people from different regions and backgrounds mix. This ties to Redfield's folk-urban continuum, which is useful for Mains answers on rural-urban migration and changing village life.

Trap: aspirants sometimes reject self-sufficiency as outdated and pick it as the answer. Remember that the question asks what is not an element, and self-sufficiency is still a standard element, even if weakened today.