Read the Passage and answer the questions:
Gandhiji on the Indian Elite
When his turn came to speak, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor. The opening of the BHU, he said, was "certainly a most gorgeous show". But he worried about the contrast between the "richly bedecked noblemen" present and "millions of the poor" Indians who were absent. Gandhiji told the privileged invitees that "there is no salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India". "There can be no spirit of self-government about us," he went on, "if we take away or allow others to take away from the peasants almost the whole of the results of their labour. Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it." The opening of the BHU was an occasion for celebration, marking as it did the opening of a nationalist university, sustained by Indian money and Indian initiative. But rather than adopt a tone of self-congratulation, Gandhiji chose instead to remind those present of the peasants and workers who constituted a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience. Gandhiji's speech at 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.
According to Gandhiji, which section of society was absent?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The peasants and the workers
Gandhiji reminded those present of the peasants and workers who constituted a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience — the “millions of the poor” Indians who were absent.
Option (1) The industrialists — Incorrect. Gandhiji’s contrast was between the rich invitees and the labouring poor; he did not speak of industrialists as the missing group.
Option (2) The Nawabs and the Rajas — Incorrect. The princes and the “richly bedecked noblemen” were present; they were the ones Gandhiji spoke to.
Option (3) The peasants and the workers — Correct. They were the majority of Indians, yet unrepresented in the audience.
Option (4) Servants of the East India Company — Incorrect. Gandhiji’s contrast was between rich and poor Indians; the Company’s servants were no part of the audience he was speaking about.
NCERT (2026-27): “1. A Leader Announces Himself … When his turn came to speak, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor. The opening of the BHU, he said, was ‘certainly a most gorgeous show’. But he worried about the contrast between the ‘richly bedecked noblemen’ present and ‘millions of the poor’ Indians who were absent. Gandhiji told the privileged invitees that ‘there is no salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India’. ‘There can be no spirit of self-government about us,’ he went on, ‘if we take away or allow others to take away from the peasants almost the whole of the results of their labour. Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it.’ The opening of the BHU was an occasion for celebration, marking as it did the opening of a nationalist university, sustained by Indian money and Indian initiative. But rather than adopt a tone of self-congratulation, Gandhiji chose instead to remind those present of the peasants and workers who constituted a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience.…” |