Which of the following is a reason for cultural diversity presenting tough challenges?
(A) Cultural identities arouse intense passion.
(B) Cultural differences are accompanied by economic and social inequalities.
(C) Resources that have to be shared are available in abundance.
(D) Addressing inequalities of one community provides opposition from other communities.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (B) and (D) only
(A) Cultural identities arouse intense passion. Correct. Cultural identities are very powerful: they can arouse intense passions and are often able to mobilise large numbers of people, so a clash between communities is hard to contain.
(B) Cultural differences are accompanied by economic and social inequalities. Correct. When a cultural difference also goes with economic and social inequality, the conflict is no longer only about culture, and this further complicates things.
(C) Resources that have to be shared are available in abundance. Incorrect. The difficulty arises when scarce resources — river waters, jobs or government funds — have to be shared. Plenty of resources would ease competition between communities, not make diversity a challenge.
(D) Addressing inequalities of one community provides opposition from other communities. Correct. Measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community can provoke opposition from other communities, which see the measures as a loss to themselves.
NCERT (2025-26): “…When we say that India is a nation of great cultural diversity, we mean that there are many different types of social groups and communities living here. These are communities defined by cultural markers such as language, religion, sect, race or caste. When these diverse communities are also part of a larger entity like a nation, then difficulties may be created by competition or conflict between them. This is why cultural diversity can present tough challenges. The difficulties arise from the fact that cultural identities are very powerful – they can arouse intense passions and are often able to moblise large numbers of people. Sometimes cultural differences are accompanied by economic and social inequalities, and this further complicates things. Measures to address the inequalities or injustices suffered by one community can provoke opposition from other communities. The situation is made worse when scarce resources – like river waters, jobs or government funds – have to be shared.” |