Meera, a college student, visits her grandparents in a remote village in Odisha. Her grandfather tells her that, by family memory, their ancestors once lived in a distant region and moved to this village many generations ago. Back in college, her classmate Rohan argues in a debate that India's contact with the wider world began only after the economic reforms of the 1990s and the arrival of mobile phones and the internet.
Which conclusion from the book best answers Rohan's argument?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Global interactions or even a global outlook are not novel developments unique to the modern period.
Option (1) India's links with the world began when indentured labourers were taken in ships to distant lands. — Incorrect. Indentured labourers were taken away in ships during colonial rule. That came much later, since India had links with the world even two thousand years ago through the Silk route.
Option (2) Global interactions or even a global outlook are not novel developments unique to the modern period. — Correct. India was not isolated even two thousand years ago: the Silk route linked it to China, Persia, Egypt and Rome, and traders, conquerors and migrants came here. So global interactions and a global outlook are not new to the modern period, which answers Rohan's claim that contact began only in the 1990s.
Option (3) Global interactions in India began with colonialism and the global spread of modern capitalism. — Incorrect. Colonialism and modern capitalism gave global links a new scale, but they did not start them. Contacts through the Silk route and through traders and migrants are far older.
Option (4) India's global outlook began with the nationalist movement, which backed liberation struggles abroad. — Incorrect. The nationalist movement shaped independent India's global outlook through support for liberation struggles abroad. India's contact with the world is far older and goes back two thousand years, to the Silk route.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Early Years “Global interactions or even a global outlook are thus not novel developments unique to the modern period or unique to modern India.” |