Which among the following statements are correct about threats to the…

Which among the following statements are correct about threats to the very existence of the referent?

A. Maldives feels threatened by global warming because of rising sea levels.

B. In Southern Africa, HIV-AIDS poses a threat.

C. Uganda faces threat from frequent tsunamis.

D. In Rwanda the Tutsi tribe faced existential threat as they were killed by rival Hutu tribe.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → A, B and D only

A. Maldives feels threatened by global warming because of rising sea levels. Correct. A big part of its territory may be submerged.

B. In Southern Africa, HIV-AIDS poses a threat. Correct. One in six adults there has the disease.

C. Uganda faces threat from frequent tsunamis. Incorrect. A threat to the very existence of the referent must be a real and serious one, like the rising sea level for the Maldives, HIV-AIDS in Southern Africa or the killing of the Tutsis in Rwanda; frequent tsunamis are no threat to Uganda.

D. In Rwanda the Tutsi tribe faced existential threat as they were killed by rival Hutu tribe. Correct. In 1994 nearly five lakh Tutsis were killed in a matter of weeks.

Note: Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa; it has no sea coast for a tsunami to strike.

NCERT (2025-26): “New Sources of Threats … To qualify as a security problem, therefore, an issue must share a minimum common criterion, say, of threatening the very existence of the referent (a state or group of people) though the precise nature of this threat may be different. For example, the Maldives may feel threatened by global warming because a big part of its territory may be submerged with the rising sea level, whereas for countries in Southern Africa, HIV-AIDS poses a serious threat as one in six adults has the disease (one in three for Botswana, the worst case). In 1994, the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda faced a threat to its existence as nearly five lakh of its people were killed by the rival Hutu tribe in a matter of weeks. This shows that non-traditional conceptions of security, like traditional conceptions of security, vary according to local contexts.”