Read the passage given below and answer the questions / complete the…
2016
Read the passage given below and answer the questions / complete the statements with the help of the options that follow:
In the twenty-three years since Aurangzeb had marched north to seize the throne, the area of the Deccan had been dominated by a small Maratha chieftain, Shivaji, whose guerilla tactics were to prove fatal to the Moghuls and who thereby became a very special hero to Hindus in the political climate of the early twentieth century. With the independence movement under way to eject the British and to restore India to the Indians after nine centuries of domination by rulers whose roots were outside the subcontinent, there was a magnetic appeal about a Hindu who, from comparatively humble beginnings, had risen to shake the very foundations of the Moghul Empire. In the words of Sir Jadunath Sarkar, the leading Hindu biographer of Aurangzeb, writing in about 1915, Shivaji 'proved by his example that the Hindu race can build a nation, found a State, defeat enemies; they can conduct their own defence; they can protect and promote literature and art, commerce and industry; they can maintain navies and ocean-trading fleets of their own, and conduct naval battles on equal terms with foreigners. He taught the modern Hindus to rise to the full stature of their growth. So, when viewed with hindsight through twentieth-century glasses, Aurangzeb on one side and Shivaji on the other come to be seen as key figures in the development of India. What Shivaji began, Gandhiji could complete the addition of ji is in both cases a mark of respect, and Indians today speak in conversation of Gandhiji rather than Gandhi and what Aurangzeb stood for --would lead to the establishment of the separate state of Pakistan.
Q. According to Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Shivaji
- A.
put Bijapur on the road to prosperity.
- B.
proved that Indians were capable of managing all of their affairs.
- C.
stressed the need for national unity.
- D.
was determined to free India from the yoke of the Moghul empire.
Attempted by 142 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Answer: Shivaji proved that Indians were capable of managing all of their affairs.
Explanation and textual evidence:
The biographer states that Shivaji "proved by his example that the Hindu race can build a nation, found a State, defeat enemies."
He adds that Hindus can "conduct their own defence; they can protect and promote literature and art, commerce and industry; they can maintain navies and ocean-trading fleets of their own, and conduct naval battles on equal terms with foreigners."
These listed abilities show that Shivaji demonstrated the competence of Indians to manage political, military, economic and cultural affairs, which directly supports the answer that he proved Indians were capable of managing all of their affairs.
Why the other choices are not supported:
Improving Bijapur’s prosperity is not mentioned in the passage.
Stressing the need for national unity is different from demonstrating the capability to found and run a state; the passage emphasizes the latter.
Although Shivaji opposed the Moghuls, the passage does not explicitly claim his principal aim was to free India from the Moghul yoke; the focus is on his example of indigenous statecraft and competence.