Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 5 – The Argumentative Indian Important Question Answers from Kaleidoscope Book
Class 12 English (Elective) The Argumentative Indian Question Answers – Looking for questions and answers for CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 5 – The Argumentative Indian? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 12 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Non Fiction Chapter 5 – The Argumentative Indian now. The questions listed below are based on the latest CBSE exam pattern, wherein we have given NCERT solutions to the chapter’s extract-based questions, multiple choice questions and Extra Question Answers
Also, practising with different kinds of questions can help students learn new ways to solve problems that they may not have seen before. This can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter and better performance on exams.
- The Argumentative Indian NCERT Solutions
- The Argumentative Indian Grammar Exercise
- The Argumentative Indian Extra Question Answers
- The Argumentative Indian Multiple Choice Questions
- The Argumentative Indian Extract Based Questions
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The Argumentative Indian Textbook Questions (NCERT Solutions)
Stop and Think
1. Sen quotes Eliot’s lines: ‘Not fare well/But fare forward voyagers’. Distinguish between ‘faring forward’ (Krishna’s position in the Gita) and ‘faring well’ (the position that Sen advocates).
Ans. Krishna said that people should focus on doing their duty without worrying about the outcomes, as long as the cause is right. This view is different from what Sen believes. Sen emphasizes the importance of considering the results of our actions and questions the idea of ignoring consequences when we think we are doing our duty. He argues that in today’s world of terrorism, wars, and violence, we should also take Arjuna’s questions into account alongside Krishna’s teachings.
2. Sen draws a parallel between the moral dilemma in the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue and J. R. Oppenheimer’s response to the nuclear explosion in 1945. What is the basis for this?
Ans. J.R. Oppenheimer was the physicist who led the American team that created the nuclear weapon. He quoted the words of Krishna and later thought about his own actions. Oppenheimer felt justified in his work because he believed he was helping a just cause. However, the consequences of his actions cannot be overlooked. Arjuna’s concerns apply to Oppenheimer’s situation. This is the connection that Sen makes between the moral dilemmas faced in both situations. Sen emphasises that in today’s world of terrorism, wars, and violence, we should also take Arjuna’s questions into account alongside Krishna’s teachings.
Stop and Think
1. Maitreyi’s remark—‘what should I do with that by which I do not become immortal’—is a rhetorical question cited to illustrate both the nature of the human predicament and the limitations of the material world. What is the connection that Sen draws between this and his concept of economic development?
Ans. Sen uses a comment made by Maitreyi to highlight a key point in his view of economic development. He compares the limitations of the material world with wealth and our quality of life. Sen argues that real development cannot be measured only by the growth of GDP and GNP. While wealth may help us reach certain values, the connection is not always strong. Maitreyi’s concerns have both spiritual and practical significance. If we care about living well and for a long time, we should focus on life and death, not just wealth and luxuries.
2. It is important to see that the Indian argumentative tradition has frequently crossed the barriers of gender, caste, class and community. List the examples cited by Sen to highlight this.
Ans. Sen highlights that women have held important roles in Indian politics, such as Sarojini Naidu and Nellie Sengupta. He also notes that women raised key questions even in ancient times, as early as the Upanishads around the 8th century BCE. Figures like the scholar Gargi and Yajnavalkya’s wife, Maitreyi, are examples of this. Throughout history, women and others have challenged caste and religious barriers. Other castes, too, have questioned Brahmin dominance, and movements like Buddhism and Jainism arose as forms of rebellion. Moreover, during the medieval period, poets from both Hindu and Muslim backgrounds, too, rejected social barriers.
Understanding the Text
1. What is Sen’s interpretation of the positions taken by Krishna and Arjuna in the debate between them?
[Note Sen’s comment: ‘Arjuna’s contrary arguments are not really vanquished… There remains a powerful case for ‘faring well’ and not just ‘faring forward’.]
Ans. Sen argues that Arjuna’s opposing views are not completely defeated. There is still a strong case for “faring well” rather than just “faring forward.” Sen believes we should not dismiss Arjuna’s idea of faring well, despite the message of the Bhagavad Gita. He thinks Krishna’s idea of moving forward without considering the consequences is not suitable in today’s world, which often faces wars and violence. To support his view, Sen references J.R. Oppenheimer, the physicist who helped create the atomic bomb.
2. What are the three major issues Sen discusses here in relation to India’s dialogic tradition?
Ans. Sen discusses the problems of gender, caste, and voice in India. He focuses on breaking these barriers and highlights how they have been challenged many times, even as far back as the 8th century BCE.
3. Sen has sought here to dispel some misconceptions about democracy in India. What are these misconceptions?
Ans. There are two common misconceptions about democracy in India that Amartya Sen aims to clear up. First, some people think that India received democracy as a gift from the Western world and simply adopted it after gaining independence. Second, there is a belief that India’s history makes it especially suited for democracy.
4. How, according to Sen, has the tradition of public discussion and interactive reasoning helped the success of democracy in India?
Ans. Sen believed that public discussion and reasoning play a key role in shaping society and culture in India. He argued that the tradition of debate strongly influences Indian politics and makes different opinions a natural part of life in India. He also pointed out that ongoing arguments are an important aspect of public life in India.
Talking about the Text
1. Does Amartya Sen see argumentation as a positive or a negative value?
Ans. Sen views argumentation as a valuable practice. He believes that the tradition of argument greatly influences our society and culture. According to Sen, it plays a key role in public life and has strongly shaped Indian politics. He even claims that argumentation significantly contributed to the development of democracy in India.
2. How is the message of the Gita generally understood and portrayed? What change in interpretation does Sen suggest?
Ans. The Gita is often seen as wisdom given solely by Krishna. However, Sen believes we should also look at Arjuna’s reasoning in today’s context. He suggests that we need to consider the broader arguments found in the Mahabharata when interpreting the Gita. Sen emphasises that in today’s world of terrorism, wars, and violence, we should also take Arjuna’s questions into account alongside Krishna’s teachings.
Appreciation
This essay is an example of argumentative writing. Supporting statements with evidence is a feature of this kind of writing. For each of the statements given below state the supportive evidence provided in the essay
(i) Prolixity is not alien to India.
(ii) The arguments are also, often enough, substantive.
(iii) This admiration for the Gita, and Krishna’s arguments in particular, has been a lasting phenomenon in parts of European culture.
(iv) There remains a powerful case for ‘faring well’, and not just ‘forward’.
Ans. (i) Krishna Menon’s record of the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations (nine hours non-stop), established half a century ago (when Menon was leading the Indian delegation), has not been equalled by anyone from anywhere.
(ii) the famous Bhagavad Gita, which is one small section of the Mahabharata, presents & tussle between two contrary moral positions—Krishna’s emphasis on doing one’s duty, on one side, and Arjuna’s focus on avoiding bad consequences (and generating good ones), on the other.
(iii) Krishna’s emphasis on doing one’s duty, on one side, and Arijuna’s focus on avoiding bad consequences on the other.
(iv) Krishna’s moral position has also been eloquently endorsed by many philosophical and literary commentators across the world such as Christopher lsherwood and T. S. Eliot, Isherwood, in fact, translated the Bhagavad Gita into English.
The Argumentative Indian: Grammar Exercises
Language Work
I. (a) The opening two paragraphs have many words related to the basic idea of using words (particularly in speech) like ‘prolixity’. List them. You may look for more such words in the rest of the essay.
(b) Most of the statements Sen makes are tempered with due qualification, e.g., ‘The arguments are also, often enough, quite substantive’. Pick out other instances of qualification from the text.
II. A noun can be the subject or object of a sentence. Notice this sentence
Democracy is a Western idea.
In this sentence democracy and idea are nouns. (they are abstract nouns)
A noun is the simplest form of a noun phrase. A noun can be preceded by
(i) an article or demonstrative: an idea, the idea, this idea; and/or
(ii) an adjective: a Western idea
[There can be more than one adjective, or an adverb and an adjective]: a quintessentially Western idea.
(iii) and/or numerals and quantifying phrases: three very influential Western ideas; such a tradition. (quantifying phrases such as a few/some/one of the many)
A noun can be followed by prepositional phrases and relative or complement clauses. There will be nouns and noun phrases within the prepositional phrase as in ‘traditions of public discussion’.
III. Noun phrases can also have phrases in apposition following the main noun.
Notice the following sentence
The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are colossally longer than the works that the modest Homer could manage.
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata add to the meaning of the main noun (epics)and are placed next to it. They are separated from the main sentence by commas. Notice the expansion here:
The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which are frequently compared with the Iliad and the Odyssey, are colossally longer than the works that the modest Homer could manage.
The relative clause—which are frequently compared with the Iliad and the Odyssey— that follows, adds more information to the epics.
IV. Parenthetical phrases or clauses may also follow the noun phrase.
(i) This can be traced back even to the Upanisads—the dialectical treatises that were composed from about the eighth century BCE and which are often taken to be foundations of Hindu philosophy.
The clause italicised here gives additional information about the noun ‘Upanisads’.
TASK
Examine the noun phrases in these sentences from the text
- The second woman head of the Indian National Congress, Nellie Sengupta, was elected in 1933.
- This concerns the relation—and the distance—between income and achievement.
- This may be particularly significant in understanding the class basis of the rapid spread of Buddhism, in particular, in India.
Ans. (i) the Indian National Congress, Nellie Sengupta, was elected in 1933.
(ii) This concerns the relation—and the distance
(iii) This may be particularly significant in understanding the class basis of the rapid spread
CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 5- The Argumentative Indian Matters Extra Question and Answers
Answer the following questions.
Q1. The debate occurs on the eve of the great war that is a central event in the Mahabharata. Explain the debate that occurred before the war?
Ans. The Bhagavad Gita, a key section of the Mahabharata, shows a struggle between two different moral views. On one side, Krishna emphasizes the importance of doing one’s duty. On the other side, Arjuna wants to avoid bad outcomes and create good ones. This debate takes place just before a major war in the Mahabharata. Arjuna, a brave warrior fighting for the just Pandavas against the unjust Kauravas, has doubts about going to war. He questions whether it is right to focus only on duty to a just cause while ignoring the suffering and death, even of family members, that the war will cause. Krishna, who is both a divine being and Arjuna’s charioteer, disagrees with Arjuna. Krishna explains that Arjuna must prioritize his duty to fight, regardless of the consequences. He insists that because the cause is just and Arjuna is an important warrior, he cannot hesitate or waver from his responsibilities, no matter what happens.
Q2. How were Krishna and Arjuna arguments perceived by the other thinkers and writers?
Ans. His talks with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita have become important in Hindu philosophy, as they focus on clearing Arjuna’s doubts. Many thinkers and writers, like Christopher Isherwood and T. S. Eliot has supported Krishna’s moral stance. Isherwood translated the Bhagavad Gita into English. The respect for the Gita and Krishna’s points has been a significant part of some European cultures. Wilhelm von Humboldt praised it in the early nineteenth century as the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue. In his poem Four Quartets, Eliot captures Krishna’s message when he says to not think of the fruit of action! Fare forward. Eliot added that it is not important to fare well but fare forward, voyagers.
Q3. Which epic’s point of view does Amartya Sen support?
Ans. Amartya Sen supports Mahabharata over Bhagavad Gita. According to him, The Mahabharata presents two reasonable sides to the debate. It carefully shows both arguments with empathy. The sadness felt after the battle, especially in the Indo-Gangetic plain, supports Arjuna’s deep doubts. Arjuna’s arguments are not completely defeated, despite the Bhagavad Gita’s intended message. There is still a strong case for “faring well”, not just “forward”.
Q4. How did the medieval poets promote equality?
Ans. The medieval mystical poets emerged around the fifteenth century. They were influenced by the Hindu Bhakti movement and Muslim Sufis, both of which promoted equality and questioned social barriers. Many poets came from humble backgrounds and challenged class and religious divisions. Notable figures like Kabir, a weaver; Dadu, a cotton carder; Ravi-das, a shoemaker; and Sena, a barber, all spoke against social restrictions. Many key figures in these movements were women, including the famous Mira Bai, whose songs remain popular, as well as Andal, Daya-bai, Sahajo-bai, and Ksema.
Q5. How do the ancient texts question the caste barriers prevalent in society?
Ans. In the Mahabharata, Bhrigu tells Bharadvaja that caste divisions come from differences in physical traits, such as skin colour. Bharadvaja counters by pointing out that there are many skin colour variations within each caste. He asks whether the different colours mean different castes, then aren’t all castes mixed. He also raises a deeper question that all people feel desire, anger, fear, sorrow, worry, hunger, and labour, so what is the use of having caste differences. Another ancient text, the Bhavisya Purana, shows scepticism about caste too. It says that since all castes are children of God, they all belong to the same caste. All human beings have the same father, and children of the same father cannot have different castes. These doubts didn’t turn out to be victorious, even if they did not change the main beliefs of the time, their expressions aren’t wiped out from the classical account of debates.
Class 12 The Argumentative Indian Multiple Choice Questions
Q1. According to Sen, What is the long tradition of India?
A. Silent contemplation
B. Questioning ideas through discussion and dialogue
C. Following tradition without questioning
D. Promoting only one school of thought
Ans. B. Questioning ideas through discussion and dialogue
Q2. How Sen described Prolixity in India?
A. Common
B. Alien
C. Discouraged
D. A new phenomenon
Ans. A. Common
Q3. How long did Krishna Menon’s longest speech at the UN last ?
A. 6 hours
B. 12 hours
C. 9 hours
D. 24 hours
Ans. C. 9 hours
Q4. How many times is the length of the Mahabharata to the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey put together?
A. Two
B. Five
C. Ten
D. Seven
Ans. D. Seven
Q5. What are the ancient Sanskrit epics all about?
A. Only stories
B. Dialogues, dilemmas, and alternative perspectives
C. Only arguments
D. Only descriptions of nature
Ans. B. Dialogues, dilemmas, and alternative perspectives
Q6. Which epic is the Bhagavad Gita a part of?
A. The Ramayana
B. The Vedas
C. The Mahabharata
D. The Upanishads
Ans. C. The Mahabharata
Q7. The Bhagavad Gita presents a ‘tussle’. What is the tussle about?
A. Two warring kingdoms
B. Two contrary moral positions
C. Two different gods
D. Two forms of yoga
Ans. B. Two contrary moral positions
Q8. What did Krishna emphasize about in the Bhagavad Gita?
A. Avoiding war
B. Doing one’s duty
C. Seeking personal salvation
D. Renouncing the world
Ans. B. Doing one’s duty
Q9. What does Arjuna focus on in the Bhagavad Gita?
A. The consequences of action
B. The importance of rituals
C. The path of knowledge
D. The power of devotion
Ans. A. The consequences of action
Q10. According to Krishna, what was Arjuna’s duty as a warrior?
A. Meditate
B. Renounce fighting
C. Fight for a just cause
D. Seek peace at all costs
Ans. C. Fight for a just cause
Q11. In which philosophy Krishna’s arguments in the Bhagavad Gita are considered to be of great importance?
A. Buddhist philosophy
B. Hindu philosophy
C. Jain philosophy
D. Sikh philosophy
Ans. B. Hindu philosophy
Q12. Who is the European admirer of the Bhagavad Gita mentioned in ‘The Argumentative Indian’?
A. Aristotle
B. Voltaire
C. Wilhelm von Humboldt
D. Immanuel Kant
Ans. C. Wilhelm von Humboldt
Q13. What is the name of T.S. Eliot’s poem that summarizes Krishna’s view?
A. The Waste Land
B. Four Quartets
C. The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock
D. The Hollow Men
Ans. B. Four Quartets
Q14. According to Eliot, what Krishna advice is about?
A. To think of the rewards of action
B. To ‘fare well’
C. To ‘fare forward’
D. To avoid action
Ans. C. To ‘fare forward’
Q15. What does the tragic desolation at the end of the Mahabharata is seen by the author as a vindication of?
A. Krishna’s arguments
B. Arjuna’s doubts
C. The power of fate
D. The futility of war
Ans. B. Arjuna’s doubts
Q16. What did J. Robert Oppenheimer witness when he quoted the Bhagavad Gita?
A. The end of World War II
B. The first nuclear explosion
C. A great natural disaster
D. A religious ceremony
Ans. A. The end of World War II
Q17. What did Oppenheimer, the leader of the American team, develop?
A. Atomic theory
B. First airplane
C. Polio vaccine
D. ‘Weapon of mass destruction’
Ans. D. ‘Weapon of mass destruction’
Q18. What does Oppenheimer find alluring reflecting upon his actions?
A. Morally uplifting
B. Technically sweet
C. Politically expedient
D. Socially responsible
Ans. B. Technically sweet
Q19. What needs to be considered according to Amartya Sen in addition to Krishna’s arguments?
A. The wisdom of the Vedas
B. Arjuna’s consequential analysis
C. The teachings of Buddha
D. The principles of Jainism
Ans. B. Arjuna’s consequential analysis
Q20. What Amartya Sen argues about the argumentative tradition in India may have been limited to?
A. All segments of the population
B. The male elite
C. Rural communities
D. Lower castes
Ans. B. The male elite
CBSE Class 12 English (Elective) Non Fiction Chapter 5- The Argumentative Indian Extract-Based Questions
Answer the following extract-based questions.
A.
Prolixity is not alien to us in India. We are able to talk at some length. Krishna Menon’s* record of the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations (nine hours non-stop), established half a century ago (when Menon was leading the Indian delegation), has not been equalled by anyone from anywhere. Other peaks of loquaciousness have been scaled by other Indians. We do like to speak.
This is not a new habit. The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which are frequently compared with the Iliad and the Odyssey, are colossally longer than the works that the modest Homer could manage. Indeed, the Mahabharata alone is about seven times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey put together. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are certainly great epics: I recall with much joy how my own life was vastly enriched when I encountered them first as a restless youngster looking for intellectual stimulation as well as sheer entertainment. But they proceed from stories to stories woven around their principal tales, and are engagingly full of dialogues, dilemmas and alternative perspectives. And we encounter masses of arguments and counterarguments spread over incessant debates and disputations.
Q1. What is India known for according to the given context?
Ans. Talking at length is common in India. Indians are known for their ability to speak extensively.
Q2. Who set the record of longest speech at the UN?
Ans. Krishna Menon set a record for the longest speech at the United Nations, lasting nine hours without a break. This record, established over fifty years ago when Menon led the Indian delegation, still stands unmatched.
Q3. How Amartya Sen compared Indian’s tendency to express themselves through epics?
Ans. Indians enjoy expressing ourselves. This tendency to speak a lot is not new. The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are much longer than Homer’s works, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Mahabharata alone is about seven times longer than both of Homer’s epics combined. Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are significant stories.
Q4. How does the narrator feel after reading these epics?
Ans. The narrator remembers how his life was greatly enriched when he first read them as a curious young person seeking knowledge and entertainment. These epics tell many stories and include engaging dialogues, dilemmas, and different viewpoints. They are filled with arguments and counterarguments, leading to ongoing debates and discussions.
Q5. Who is Krishna Menon?
Ans. Krishna Menon was India’s Defence Minister from 1957 to 1962. He led the Indian delegation to the United Nations, and on 23 January 1957 delivered an unprecedented 9-hour speech defending India’s stand on Kashmir.
B.
Krishna’s hallowing of the demands of duty wins the argument, at least as seen in the religious perspective. Indeed, Krishna’s conversations with Arjuna, the Bhagavad Gita, became a treatise of great theological importance in Hindu philosophy, focusing particularly on the ‘removal’ of Arjuna’s doubts. Krishna’s moral position has also been eloquently endorsed by many philosophical and literary commentators across the world, such as Christopher Isherwood and T. S. Eliot. Isherwood in fact translated the Bhagavad Gita into English. This admiration for the Gita, and for Krishna’s arguments in particular, has been a lasting phenomenon in parts of European culture. It was spectacularly praised in the early nineteenth century by Wilhelm von Humboldt as ‘the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue’. In a poem in Four Quartets, Eliot summarises Krishna’s view in the form of an admonishment: ‘And do not think of the fruit of action! Fare forward’. Eliot explains: ‘Not fare well/But fare forward, voyagers’. And yet, as a debate in which there are two reasonable sides, the epic Mahabharata itself presents, sequentially, each of the two contrary arguments with much care and sympathy. Indeed, the tragic desolation that the postcombat and post-carnage land—largely the Indo-Gangetic plain—seems to face towards the end of the Mahabharata can even be seen as something of a vindication of Arjuna’s profound doubts. Arjuna’s contrary arguments are not really vanquished, no matter what the ‘message’ of the Bhagavad Gita is meant to be. There remains a powerful case for ‘faring well’, and not just ‘forward’.
Q1. According to the given context, what is the Bhagavad Gita primarily focused on?
Ans: Krishna’s conversations with Arjuna, the Bhagavad Gita, became a treatise of great theological importance in Hindu philosophy, focusing particularly on the ‘removal’ of Arjuna’s doubts.
Q2. Which European figures are mentioned as having endorsed Krishna’s moral position in the Bhagavad Gita?
Ans. Christopher Isherwood and T. S. Eliot are the European writers who have endorsed Krishna’s moral position in the Bhagavad Gita.
Q3. What did Wilhelm von Humboldt say about the Bhagavad Gita?
Ans. Wilhelm von Humboldt praised it as the most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing in any known tongue.
Q4. How does T. S. Eliot summarize Krishna’s view in his poem Four Quartets?
Ans. T. S. Eliot has summarized Krishna’s view in the lines from his poem Four Quartets, ‘And do not think of the fruit of action! Fare forward’.
Q5. According to the extract, what does the tragic outcome of the Mahabharata suggest about Arjuna’s doubts?
Ans. It suggests that the tragic desolation after the battle can be seen as a justification of Arjuna’s profound doubts, and that Arjuna’s arguments were not completely defeated.
C.
Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the American team that developed the ultimate ‘weapon of mass destruction’ during the Second World War, was moved to quote Krishna’s words (‘I am become death, the destroyer of worlds’) as he watched, on 16 July 1945, the awesome force of the first nuclear explosion devised by man. Like the advice that Arjuna had received about his duty as a warrior fighting for a just cause, Oppenheimer, the physicist, could well find justification in his technical commitment to develop a bomb for what was clearly the right side. Scrutinizing—indeed criticising—his own actions, Oppenheimer said later on: ‘When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success.’ Despite that compulsion to ‘fare forward’, there was reason also for reflecting on Arjuna’s concerns: How can good come from killing so many people? And why should I seek victory, kingdom or happiness for my own side?These arguments remain thoroughly relevant in the contemporary world. The case for doing what one sees as one’s duty must be strong, but how can we be indifferent to the consequences that may follow from our doing what we take to be our just duty? As we reflect on the manifest problems of our global world (from terrorism, wars and violence to epidemics, insecurity and gruelling poverty), or on India’s special concerns (such as economic development, nuclear confrontation or regional peace), it is important to take on board Arjuna’s consequential analysis, in addition to considering Krishna’s arguments for doing one’s duty. The univocal ‘message of the Gita’ requires supplementation by the broader argumentative wisdom of the Mahabharata, of which the Gita is only one small part.
Q1. What words from the Bhagavad Gita did J. Robert Oppenheimer quote upon witnessing the first nuclear explosion?
Ans. J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted, ‘I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.’
Q2. According to the extract, what justification could Oppenheimer have found for his work on the atomic bomb?
Ans. He found justification in his technical commitment to develop a bomb for what was seen as the “right side” in the war, similar to Arjuna’s duty as a warrior fighting for a just cause.
Q3. What did Oppenheimer say about the compulsion to pursue technically impressive projects?
Ans. He said, ‘When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success.’
Q4. What questions from Arjuna are presented as still relevant in the contemporary world?
Ans. ‘How can good come from killing so many people? And why should I seek victory, kingdom or happiness for my own side?’
Q5. What does the context suggest is needed in addition to the ‘message of the Gita’ when considering contemporary problems?
Ans. The broader argumentative wisdom of the Mahabharata, which includes Arjuna’s consequential analysis, is needed to supplement the ‘univocal message of the Gita’.
D.
There is, however, a serious question to be asked as to whether the tradition of arguments and disputations has been confined to an exclusive part of the Indian population—perhaps just to the members of the male elite. It would, of course, be hard to expect that argumentational participation would be uniformly distributed over all segments of the population, but India has had deep inequalities along the lines of gender, class, caste and community (on which more presently). The social relevance of the argumentative tradition would be severely limited if disadvantaged sections were effectively barred from participation. The story here is, however, much more complex than a simple generalisation can capture.I begin with gender. There can be little doubt that men have tended, by and large, to rule the roost in argumentative moves in India. But despite that, the participation of women in both political leadership and intellectual pursuits has not been at all negligible. This is obvious enough today, particularly in politics. Indeed, many of the dominant political parties in India—national as well as regional—are currently led by women and have been so led in the past. But even in the national movement for Indian independence, led by the Congress Party, there were many more women in positions of importance than in the Russian and Chinese revolutionary movements put together. It is also perhaps worth noting that Sarojini Naidu, the first woman President of the Indian National Congress, was elected in 1925, fifty years earlier than the election of the first woman leader of a major British political party (Margaret Thatcher in 1975).* The second woman head of the Indian National Congress, Nellie Sengupta, was elected in 1933.
Q1. What “serious question” is raised at the beginning of the extract?
Ans. Whether the tradition of arguments and disputations in India has been limited to an exclusive part of the population, specifically the male elite.
Q2. What kinds of inequalities are mentioned as being prevalent in India?
Ans. Inequalities along the lines of gender, class, caste, and community.
Q3. According to the context, how has the participation of women in Indian political leadership been?
Ans. The participation of women in Indian political leadership has not been negligible, and many dominant political parties in India, both national and regional, are or have been led by women.
Q4. How does the context compare the involvement of women in the Indian independence movement to other revolutionary movements?
Ans. The context states that there were many more women in positions of importance in the Indian national movement led by the Congress Party than in the Russian and Chinese revolutionary movements combined.
Q5. When was Sarojini Naidu elected as the first woman President of the Indian National Congress, and how does this compare to a similar event in British politics?
Ans. Sarojini Naidu was elected in 1925, fifty years earlier than the election of the first woman leader of a major British political party (Margaret Thatcher in 1975). It shows that women in India were engaged in politics earlier than the British women.