Malthus was also criticised by liberal scholars. The reason for this…

The correct answer is Option (2) → For asserting that poverty was caused by population growth

Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, Option (1) can also be considered correct, as explained below.

Option (1) For linking poverty to population growth — Can also be considered correct. Malthus’s theory does link poverty to population growth: population grows faster than food production, so people are bound to remain poor, and this link is what the critics objected to. Option (2), however, is the precise statement of the criticism: the critics rejected the claim that population growth was the cause of poverty. ‘Linking’ says only that the two were connected, so Option (2) is the most appropriate answer.

Option (2) For asserting that poverty was caused by population growth — Correct as per NTA. Malthus held that population grows faster than food production, so people are bound to remain poor. Liberal and Marxist scholars criticised him for asserting that poverty was caused by population growth. They argued that poverty and starvation were caused by the unequal distribution of economic resources, and that an unjust social system let a wealthy minority live in luxury while most people lived in poverty.

Option (3) For linking poverty to economic inequality — Incorrect. Linking poverty to the unequal distribution of economic resources was the critics’ own argument, not something Malthus said. They were criticising him for not doing this.

Option (4) For linking poverty to social inequality — Incorrect. The unjust social system that keeps the majority poor is again the critics’ explanation. Malthus blamed numbers, not the social system.