Read the passage and answer the questions:
Charkha
What I object to, is the craze for machinery as such. The craze is for what they call labour-saving machinery. Men go on “saving labour”, till thousands are without work and thrown on the open streets to die of starvation. I want to save time and labour, not for a fraction of mankind, but for all; I want the concentration of wealth, not in the hands of few, but in the hands of all.
YOUNG INDIA, 13 NOVEMBER 1924
Khaddar does not seek to destroy all machinery but it does regulate its use and check its weedy growth. It uses machinery for the service of the poorest in their own cottages. The wheel is itself an exquisite piece of machinery.
YOUNG INDIA, 17 MARCH 1927
What fear is expressed in this paragraph?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Machines will replace human labor and thousands will go unemployed
The fear in the passage is that ‘saving labour’ with machines goes on till thousands are without work and thrown on the open streets to die of starvation.
Option (1) Men will start loving machinery — Incorrect. The writer does speak of a craze for machinery, but his fear is what that craze does to workers, unemployment and starvation.
Option (2) Machines will replace human labor and thousands will go unemployed — Correct. This is the very result the passage describes.
Option (3) Machines will rule the world — Incorrect. The passage does not speak of machines ruling anyone; its concern is people losing their work.
Option (4) Machine labour will get respect — Incorrect. Respect for machine labour is not raised at all; the passage is about the loss of human work.
NCERT: Themes in Indian History Part III — Chapter 11: Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement (2026-27)
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