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.
Overlapping Differences:
(i) Under this, one social difference overlaps with another.
(ii) Under this, people start feeling that they belong to different communities.
(iii) Overlapping social differences create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions.
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 :
(i) Under this, a social difference cross cuts another difference.
(ii) Under this, the group can share a common interest on one issue but are likely to be on different sides on different issues.
(iii) These are easier to accommodate.
For example, people in the Netherlands are predominantly Christian, but divided between Catholics and Protestants. Here class and religion cross-cut each other. Catholics and Protestants are about equally likely to be poor or rich and they do not have conflict between them.