Read the following passage and answer questions 46 to 50: Gandhi's speech in…
2022
Read the following passage and answer questions 46 to 50:
Gandhi's speech in Banaras in February 1916 was, at one level, merely a statement of fact namely, that Indian nationalism was an elite phenomenon, a creation of lawyers and doctors and landlords. But, at another level, it was a statement of intent—the first public announcement of the returning expatriate's own desire to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people. In the last month of that year, Gandhi was presented with an opportunity to put his precepts into practice. At a meeting held in Lucknow in December 1916, he was approached by a peasant from Champaran in Bihar. The peasant told him about the harsh treatment of peasants by British Indigo planters. Gandhi was to spend most of 1917 in Champaran. He was seeking to obtain for the peasants security of tenure as well as the freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice. In 1918, Gandhi was involved in two campaigns in his home State of Gujarat. First, he intervened in a labor dispute in Ahmedabad to better the conditions of textile mill workers. Then he joined peasants in Kheda for remission of taxes on peasants following the failure of their harvest. These initiatives marked Gandhi as a nationalist with sympathy for the poor. These were local struggles. During World War I, the British had instituted press censorship and permitted detention without trial. The Rowlatt committee recommended the continuation of these tough measures. Gandhiji's call for a countrywide campaign brought life to a standstill in north and west India.
The main intent of the passage is to describe
Answer: D. The emergence of Gandhiji as a representative national leader — ConceptA passage’s main intent is the single organizing idea that explains why its details are included. It is broader than any one incident but specific…
- A.
The British atrocities in India
- B.
The different facets of Indian national movement
- C.
The various campaigns against the British in India
- D.
The emergence of Gandhiji as a representative national leader
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
A passage’s main intent is the single organizing idea that explains why its details are included. It is broader than any one incident but specific enough to account for the passage’s progression.
Application
The opening contrasts elite nationalism with Gandhi’s stated intention to make nationalism representative of the Indian people.
Champaran, Ahmedabad, and Kheda show that intention becoming practical work with peasants and workers.
The countrywide response to the Rowlatt measures extends the narrative from local struggles to wider national mobilization.
Contrast
“The British atrocities in India” captures only the background of planter coercion, censorship, and detention.
“The different facets of Indian national movement” is broader than the passage, which stays centered on Gandhi’s development.
“The various campaigns against the British in India” treats the events as a catalogue rather than as stages in one leadership trajectory.
Result
Therefore, the passage mainly describes the emergence of Gandhiji as a representative national leader.