UPSC Prelims 2019 · CSAT

Question 1: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “Political theorists no doubt have to take…” — Passage - 1 · as printed by UPSC

What is the main idea that we can infer from the passage ?

aUntouchability in India has not been taken seriously by political theorists.

bHistorical injustice is inevitable in any society and is always beyond repair.

cSocial discrimination and deprivation have their roots in bad economies.

dIt is difficult, if not impossible, to repair every manifestation of historical injustice.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (d).

The passage says historical injustice, untouchability being one example, runs deep, spans economic, social and recognition wrongs, and that these wrongs overlap while one of them, discrimination especially, becomes partly independent of the rest, so repair meets resistance. Its central point is therefore that repairing every strand of such injustice is hard, perhaps impossible. For main-idea questions, pick the option that captures the whole claim, not one example or an absolute word.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Untouchability is only an illustration, and the passage never says theorists have ignored it.
(b) Too absolute: the passage calls repair hard and resisted, not inevitable or always impossible.
(c) Economic structures are only one of several overlapping roots; the passage does not trace everything to bad economies.
(d) Matches the passage: wrongs are deep, overlapping and partly independent, so repairing every manifestation is hard.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2019, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.