There is no necessary relationship between any specific form of community and the modern form of the state. … But because community identities can act as the basis for nation-formation, already existing states see all forms of community identity as dangerous rivals. … However, suppressing cultural diversity can be very costly in terms of the alienation of the minority or subordinated communities whose culture is treated as 'non-national'. … So encouraging, or at least allowing, cultural diversity is good policy from both the practical and the principled point of view.
According to the lines left out of the passage, what effect can the very act of suppressing community identities provoke?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The intensifying of community identity
Option (1) The gradual assimilation of minority cultures — Incorrect. Assimilation means persuading, encouraging or forcing all citizens to adopt one uniform set of cultural values, usually those of the dominant group. It is what suppression aims at, and the left-out line warns that the result can be the reverse.
Option (2) The weakening of community identity over time — Incorrect. A weaker community identity is what the state hopes to get by suppressing diversity. The left-out line warns that suppression can provoke the opposite effect.
Option (3) The intensifying of community identity — Correct. The very act of suppression can provoke the opposite effect of intensifying community identity. A community that feels attacked tends to cling more firmly to its language, religion or culture.
Option (4) The relegation of minority cultures to the private sphere — Incorrect. Relegating non-national cultures to the private sphere is the method of integrationist policies. It is a policy a state chooses to follow, and the left-out line is about the effect that suppression provokes.
NCERT (2026-27): “Communities, Nations and Nation-States … |