Read the following passage and answer questions 46 to 50: Gandhi's speech in…
2022
Read the following passage and answer questions 46 to 50:
Gandhi's speech in Banaras in February 1916 was, at one level, merely a statement of fact namely, that Indian nationalism was an elite phenomenon, a creation of lawyers and doctors and landlords. But, at another level, it was a statement of intent—the first public announcement of the returning expatriate's own desire to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people. In the last month of that year, Gandhi was presented with an opportunity to put his precepts into practice. At a meeting held in Lucknow in December 1916, he was approached by a peasant from Champaran in Bihar. The peasant told him about the harsh treatment of peasants by British Indigo planters. Gandhi was to spend most of 1917 in Champaran. He was seeking to obtain for the peasants security of tenure as well as the freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice. In 1918, Gandhi was involved in two campaigns in his home State of Gujarat. First, he intervened in a labor dispute in Ahmedabad to better the conditions of textile mill workers. Then he joined peasants in Kheda for remission of taxes on peasants following the failure of their harvest. These initiatives marked Gandhi as a nationalist with sympathy for the poor. These were local struggles. During World War I, the British had instituted press censorship and permitted detention without trial. The Rowlatt committee recommended the continuation of these tough measures. Gandhiji's call for a countrywide campaign brought life to a standstill in north and west India.
Gandhiji's speech expressed the intention of:
Answer: A. Making Indian nationalism more representative — Concept: In literal reading comprehension, identify the words that explicitly state the author's or speaker's intention. Separate that stated intention from…
- A.
Making Indian nationalism more representative
- B.
Announcing the desire of expatriates to become politically active
- C.
Criticising the activities of Indian nationalists
- D.
Launching a new nationalist movement
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept: In literal reading comprehension, identify the words that explicitly state the author's or speaker's intention. Separate that stated intention from later actions, background facts, and interpretations that the passage does not make.
Application: The passage describes the speech at two levels. It first calls Indian nationalism an elite phenomenon. It then explicitly identifies the other level as Gandhi's first public announcement of his desire to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people.
Contrast: The other readings shift attention away from the intention explicitly stated in the passage:
Political activity by expatriates: the passage refers to Gandhi as a returning expatriate, but the announced desire concerns representation of the Indian people rather than expatriates generally.
Criticism of nationalists: the elite character of nationalism is presented as a fact that frames the speech, not as the intention expressed by it.
A new nationalist movement: the later campaigns show Gandhi putting his principles into practice; they are not described as the intention announced in the Banaras speech.
Cross-check: The passage's exact phrase, 'make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people,' directly matches the idea of broadening its representation.
Result: Therefore, Gandhi's speech expressed the intention of making Indian nationalism more representative.