Read the passage and answer the questions:
“The real minorities are the masses of this country”
Sir, there is a lot of talk about minorities. Who are the real minorities? Not the Hindus in the so-called Pakistan provinces, not the Sikhs, not even the Muslims. No, the real minorities are the masses of this country. These people are so depressed and oppressed and suppressed till now that they are not able to take advantage of ordinary civil rights. What is the position? You go to the tribal areas. According to law, their own traditional law, their tribal law, their lands cannot be alienated. Yet our merchants go there, and in the so-called free market they are able to snatch their lands. Thus, even though the law goes against this snatching away of their lands, the merchants are still able to turn the tribal people into veritable slaves by various kinds of bonds, and make them hereditary bond-slaves. Let us go to the ordinary villagers. There goes the moneylender with his money, and he is able to get the villagers in his pocket. There is the landlord himself, the zamindar, and the malguzar, and there are various other people who are able to exploit these poor villagers. There is no elementary education even among these people. These are the real minorities that need protection and assurances of protection. In order to give them the necessary protection, we will need much more than this Resolution.
How were the tribal people and villagers exploited? Identify the correct statements:
A. The merchants used various kinds of bonds.
B. The moneylender uses his money to get the villagers in his pocket.
C. The zamindar and the malguzar are able to exploit poor villagers.
D. Tribal laws protect their lands which cannot be alienated.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A, B and C only
A. The merchants used various kinds of bonds. Correct. In the tribal areas the merchants snatched the tribal people’s lands and turned them into veritable slaves by various kinds of bonds, even into hereditary bond-slaves.
B. The moneylender uses his money to get the villagers in his pocket. Correct. In the villages, the moneylender came with his money and got the villagers in his pocket.
C. The zamindar and the malguzar are able to exploit poor villagers. Correct. Ranga names the landlord, the zamindar and the malguzar, and various other people, as those who exploit the poor villagers.
D. Tribal laws protect their lands which cannot be alienated. Incorrect. This is true as a statement of the law: by their own tribal law their lands cannot be alienated. But it is not a way in which they were exploited; Ranga mentions it only to show that the merchants took their lands in spite of the law.
NCERT: Themes in Indian History Part III — Chapter 12: Framing the Constitution (2025-26)
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