Case studies and analyses demonstrate that enduring democracies can be established in polities that are multicultural. … India's constitution incorporates this notion. … Recent communal violence raises serious concerns for the prospects for social harmony and threatens to undermine the country's earlier achievements. And these achievements have been considerable. Historically, India's constitutional design recognised and responded to distinct group claims and enabled the polity to hold together despite enormous regional, linguistic and cultural diversity.
According to the lines left out of the passage, what do the threats described there do?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → They weaken the sense of inclusion and violate the rights of minorities
Option (1) They weaken the sense of inclusion and violate the rights of minorities — Correct. The threats come from groups that seek to impose a singular Hindu identity on India. The left-out lines say these threats undermine the sense of inclusion and violate the rights of minorities in India today.
Option (2) They weaken the federal structure and the autonomy of the States — Incorrect. The federal structure and the autonomy of States are not what these threats are said to harm. In the chapter, Indian federalism is a means of accommodating regional sentiments, a separate topic.
Option (3) They deepen regional deprivation and revive demands for new States — Incorrect. Regional deprivation fuels regionalism and demands for new States, which the chapter discusses under regionalism. The threats in these lines come from a push for one religious identity and hurt inclusion and minority rights.
Option (4) They block the cultural recognition of tribal and linguistic groups — Incorrect. Cultural recognition is what successful state-nations offer through responsive policies. The threats in these lines are said to harm the sense of inclusion and the rights of minorities.
NCERT (2026-27): “Cultural Diversity and India as a Nation-state … |