Improve your English with English quiz. English Quiz to help you improve your score for exams like Bank, SSC, Railway, UPSC, UPSSSC, CDS, UPTET, KVS, DSSSB and other Government exams.
Directions (1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them, while answering some of the questions.
The strength of Indian Democracy lies in its tradition, in the fusion of the ideas of democracy and national independence which was the characteristic of the Indian Nationalist Movement long before independence. Although the British retained supreme authority in India until 1947, the provincial elections of 1937 provided real exercise in democratic practice before national independence. During the Pacific war India was not overrun or seriously invaded by the Japanese and after the war was over, the transfer of power to a government of the Indian Congress Party was a peaceful one as far as Britain
was concerned. By 1947 ‘Indianisation’ had already gone far in the Indian Civil Service and Army, so that the new government could start with effective instruments of central control.
After independence, however, India was faced with two vast problems; the first, that of economic growth from a very low level of production and the second was that of ethnic diversity and the aspirations of sub nationalities. The Congress leadership was more aware of the former problem than of the second. As a new political elite which had rebelled not only against the British Raj but also against India’s old social order, they were conscious of the need to initiate economic development and undertake social reforms, but as nationalists who had led a struggle against the alien rule on behalf of all parts of India, they took the cohesion of the Indian nation too much for granted and underestimated the centrifugal forces of ethnic division, which were bound to be accentuated rather than diminished as the popular masses were more and more drawn into politics. The Congress party was originally opposed to the idea of recognizing any division of India on a linguistic basis and preferred to retain the old provinces of British India which often cut across linguistic boundaries. However, this was later conceded as the basis for a federal ‘Indian Union’. The rights granted to the States created new problems for the Central Government. The idea of making Hindi the national language of a united India was thwarted by the recalcitrance of the speakers of other important Indian languages and the autonomy of the States rendered central economic planning extremely difficult. Land reforms remained under the control of the States and many large-scale economic projects required a degree of cooperation between the Central Government and one or more of the States which, it was found, was impossible to achieve. Coordination of policies was difficult even when the Congress party was in power both in the State and at the Centre. When a Congress Government in Delhi was confronted with non-Congress parties in office in the States, it became much harder.
Q1. Why central economic planning was found to be difficult?
(a) Multiplicity of States and Union Territories
(b) Lack of coordination in different Government departments
(c) Autonomy given to the States in certain matters
(d) Lack of will in implementing land reforms
(e) None of the above
Q2. Which of the following problems was India faced with after Independence?
(a) Military attack from a country across the border.
(b) Lack of coordination between the Central and State Governments.
(c) Improper coordination of various Government policies
(d) Increasing the production from a very low level
(e) None of the above
Q3. Which of the following issues was not appropriately realized by the Central Government.
(a) Ethnic diversity of the people
(b)A national language for the country
(c) Implementation of the formulated policies
(d) Centre -State relations
(e) None of the above
Q4. Which, according to the passage, can be cited as an exercise in democratic practice in India before Independence?
(a) The handing over of power by the British to India
(b) The Indianisation of the Indian Civil Service
(c) A neutral role played by the Army
(d) Both (a) and (b)
(e) None of the above
Q5. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE in the context of the passage?
(a) The congress Party was originally opposed to the idea of division of States on linguistic basis.
(b) Economic development and social reforms were initiated soon after Independence.
(c) The political elite in India rebelled against the British Raj.
(d) The Congress leadership was fully aware of the problem of ethnic diversity in India at the time of Independence.
(e) By 1947, Indian Army was fairly Indianised.
Q6. Which of the following words is most similar to the word ‘accentuated’?
(a) Mask
(b) Emphasize
(c) Highlight
(d) Accent
(e) Foreground
Q7. The provincial elections of 1937 in India showed that the
(a) supremacy of British in India was likely to be short-lived.
(b) India was capable of bringing into practice the ideas of democracy.
(c) Indian Congress was the single largest party in India.
(d) British Rule was not popular in India.
(e) Indian were peace-loving people.
Q8. The new government could start with effective instrument of central power after independence because the
(a) process of Indianisation of the Indian Civil Service had already started.
(b) Indian army was organized on the pattern of British Army.
(c) people of India offered their whole-hearted support to the Government.
(d) transfer of power to the Indian Congress Partly was peaceful.
(e) None of the above
Q9. Which of following statements is TRUE in the context of the passage?
(a) After Independence, India was faced with the problem of linguistic diversity of the people.
(b) During the Pacific War, India was invaded by Japan.
(c) Congress leadership was not as much aware of the problem of ethnic diversity as much as of low production.
(d) Social reforms were neglected by the Government.
(e) Land reforms were under the control of the Central Government.
Q10. Why was India not overrun by the Japanese during the Pacific War?
(a) Japan had friendly relations with Britain.
(b) Japan was interested in India’s freedom from the British Rule.
(c) It was not an advantageous proposition for Japan from the military perspective.
(d) Japan was skeptical about its success in the war.
(e) None of the above
Solutions
Ans.1.(c)
Refer to the 14th line of the second paragraph “… the autonomy of the states extremely difficult.”
Ans.2.(d)
Refer the first sentence of the second paragraph.
Ans.3.(a)
Refer the second sentence of the second paragraph.
Ans.4.(e)
Refer the second sentence of the first paragraph.
Ans.5.(d)
Refer the second sentence of the second paragraph.
Ans.6.(a)
Accentuate means to make more noticeable or prominent hence mask is the word most opposite in meaning.
Ans.7.(b)
Refer to the 4th line of the 1st paragraph, “…real exercise in democratic practice …” (first paragraph)
Ans.8.(a)
Refer the last sentence of the first paragraph.
Ans.9.(c)
Refer the second sentence of the second paragraph.
Ans.10.(e)
The cause is not mentioned in the passage.
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