Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15: While the…
2009
Read the following passage and answer the questions 11 to 15:
While the British rule in India was detrimental to the economic development of the country, it did help in starting of the process of modernizing Indian society and formed several progressive institutions during that process. One of the most beneficial institutions, which were initiated by the British, was democracy. Nobody can dispute that despite its many shortcomings, democracy was and is far better alternative to the arbitrary rule of the rajas and nawabs, which prevailed in India in the pre-British days. However, one of the harmful traditions of British democracy inherited by India was that of conflict instead of cooperation between elected members. This was its essential feature. The party, which got the support of the majority of elected members, formed the Government while the others constituted a standing opposition. The existence of the opposition to those in power was and is regarded as a hallmark of democracy. In principle, democracy consists of rule by the people; but where direct rule is not possible, it’s rule by persons elected by the people. It is natural that there would be some differences of opinion among the elected members as in the rest of the society. Normally, members of any organizations have differences of opinion between themselves on different issues but they manage to work on the basis of a consensus and they do not normally form a division between some who are in majority and are placed in power, while treating the others as in opposition. The members of an organization usually work on consensus. Consensus simply means that after an adequate discussion, members agree that the majority opinion may prevail for the time being. Thus persons who form a majority on one issue and whose opinion is allowed to prevail may not be on the same side if there is a difference on some other issue. It was largely by accident that instead of this normal procedure, a two party system came to prevail in Britain and that is now being generally taken as the best method of democratic rule. Many democratically inclined persons in India regret that such a two party system was not brought about in the country. It appears that to have two parties in India –
of more or less equal strength – is a virtual impossibility. Those who regret the absence of a two-party system should take the reasons into consideration. When the two party system got established in Britain, there were two groups among the rulers (consisting of a limited electorate) who had the same economic interests among themselves and who therefore formed two groups within the selected members of Parliament. There were members of the British aristocracy (with landed interests and consisting of lords, barons etc.) and members of the new commercial class consisting of merchants and artisans. These groups were more or less of equal strength and they were able to establish their separate rule at different times.
Which of the following is true about the British rule in India ?
Answer: A. It was behind the modernization of the Indian society. — Concept — In a "which of the following is true" comprehension item, a statement is accepted only when the passage itself asserts it. Such a statement fails in…
- A.
It was behind the modernization of the Indian society.
- B.
India gained economically during that period.
- C.
Various establishments were formed for the purpose of progress.
- D.
None of these.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept — In a "which of the following is true" comprehension item, a statement is accepted only when the passage itself asserts it. Such a statement fails in one of two ways: it reverses a claim the text makes, or it adds a claim the text never makes — most often an intention, a purpose, or a cause. General plausibility and outside knowledge carry no weight; only the wording on the page decides.
Application — Every statement offered here is decided by one sentence, the passage's opening sentence, which makes three separate claims:
British rule was detrimental to the economic development of the country.
British rule "did help in starting of the process of modernizing Indian society".
Several progressive institutions were formed during that process.
Reading each statement against those three claims:
"It was behind the modernization of the Indian society" restates the second claim almost word for word — the passage credits British rule with starting the modernizing process. This is the statement the passage asserts, so it is the accepted answer.
"India gained economically during that period" reverses the first claim, which calls British rule detrimental to the country's economic development.
"Various establishments were formed for the purpose of progress" goes past the third claim in two ways. First, the passage records that progressive institutions were formed during the modernizing process; it nowhere states that progress was the purpose for which they were founded, and it treats the British political inheritance as unplanned, saying that the two-party system in Britain came about "largely by accident". Second, the stem asks what is true about British rule, and this statement makes no claim about British rule at all — it does not even attribute the founding of those establishments to the British.
"None of these" cannot stand once one of the statements is directly supported by the text.
Cross-check — The rest of the passage supports the modernization reading and nothing else. Democracy is named as "one of the most beneficial institutions, which were initiated by the British" and is called a far better alternative to the arbitrary rule of the rajas and nawabs. No sentence anywhere in the passage claims a material gain for India's economy under that rule.
So the statement that is true about British rule, in the passage's own terms, is that it was behind the modernization of Indian society.