CAT 2018 Slot 1 VARC Question & Solution

Reading ComprehensionMedium

Passage

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

The Indian government has announced an international competition to design a National War Memorial in New Delhi, to honour all of the Indian soldiers who served in the various wars and counterinsurgency campaigns from 1947 onwards. The terms of the competition also specified that the new structure would be built adjacent to the India Gate - a memorial to the Indian soldiers who died in the First World War. Between the old imperialist memorial and the proposed nationalist one, India’s contribution to the Second World War is airbrushed out of existence.

The Indian government’s conception of the war memorial was not merely absent-minded. Rather, it accurately reflected the fact that both academic history and popular memory have yet to come to terms with India’s Second World War, which continues to be seen as little more than mood music in the drama of India’s advance towards independence and partition in 1947. Further, the political trajectory of the postwar subcontinent has militated against popular remembrance of the war. With partition and the onset of the India-Pakistan rivalry, both of the new nations needed fresh stories for self-legitimisation rather than focusing on shared wartime experiences.

The Indian army recruited, trained and deployed some 2.5 million men, almost 90,000 of which were killed and many more injured. Even at the time, it was recognised as the largest volunteer force in the war. . . . India’s material and financial contribution to the war was equally significant. India emerged as a major military-industrial and logistical base for Allied operations in south-east Asia and the Middle East. This led the United States to take considerable interest in the country’s future and ensured that this was no longer the preserve of the British government.

However, the Second World War played a crucial role in both the independence and partition of India and wartime developments pointed in the direction of India’s independence. In a stunning reversal of its long-standing financial relationship with Britain, India finished the war as one of the largest creditors to the imperial power. Such extraordinary mobilisation for war was achieved at a great human cost, with the Bengal famine the most extreme manifestation of widespread wartime deprivation. The costs on India’s home front must be counted in millions of lives. Indians signed up to serve on the war and home fronts for a variety of reasons. Many were convinced that their contribution would open the doors to India’s freedom. The political and social churn triggered by the war was evident in the massive waves of popular protest and unrest that washed over rural and urban India in the aftermath of the conflict. This turmoil was crucial in persuading the Attlee government to rid itself of the incubus of ruling India.

Seventy years on, it is time that India engaged with the complex legacies of the Second World War. Bringing the war into the ambit of the new national memorial would be a fitting - if not overdue - recognition that this was India’s War.

Question 1

The author suggests that a major reason why India has not so far acknowledged its role in the Second World War is that it:

wants to forget the human and financial toll of the War on the country.

has been focused on building an independent, non-colonial political identity.

views the War as a predominantly Allied effort, with India playing only a supporting role.

blames the War for leading to the momentous partition of the country.

Solution:

By the term "mood music", the author intends to convey that the war set the stage for the Independence and partition of the country. He does not mean that the war was an allied effort and India's contribution to the war was merely supportive.

The author mentions that the political trajectory in both the countries has been against the popular remembrance of war. He states that the countries were focused on building a non-colonial identity and the war narrative did not fit in well in the picture.

Question 2

The phrase “mood music” is used in the second paragraph to indicate that the Second World War is viewed as:

setting the stage for the emergence of the India-Pakistan rivalry in the subcontinent.

a part of the narrative on the ill-effects of colonial rule on India.

a tragic period in terms of loss of lives and national wealth.

a backdrop to the subsequent independence and partition of the region.

Solution:

The author uses the phrase "mood music" to indicate that (the contribution of Indians to) the Second World War is not given the importance it deserves. The author does not state that the war led to the rivalry. Though he mentions the ill-effects of the war on India, he does not refer to them when he uses the term "mood music". He feels that the war is largely seen as a warmer to the Independence and partition of the country. Therefore, option D is the right answer.

Question 3

The author lists all of the following as outcomes of the Second World War EXCEPT:

US recognition of India’s strategic location and role in the War.

the large financial debt India owed to Britain after the War.

large-scale deaths in Bengal as a result of deprivation and famine.

independence of the subcontinent and its partition into two countries.

Solution:

In the fourth paragraph, the author states "This led the United States to take considerable interest in the country’s future". We can infer that India's strategic location led to US's interests towards India and hence, we can eliminate option A.

In the first line of the second paragraph, the author mentions that the Second World War played a crucial role in the independence of India.

In the sixth paragraph, the author mentions that the war was achieved at great human cost. He states that the Bengal famine was the most extreme manifestation of the human costs of the war.

In the fifth paragraph, the author states "In a stunning reversal of its long-standing financial relationship with Britain, India finished the war as one of the largest creditors to the imperial power". From this line, we can infer that India lent its resources to Britain, not the other way around. Therefore, option B is an incorrect interpretation of the given sentence and hence, option B is the right answer.

Question 4

The author claims that omitting mention of Indians who served in the Second World War from the new National War Memorial is:

is something which can be rectified in future by constructing a separate memorial.

a reflection of misplaced priorities of the post-independence Indian governments.

appropriate as their names can always be included in the India Gate memorial.

a reflection of the academic and popular view of India’s role in the War.

Solution:

In the second paragraph, the author mentions "Rather, it accurately reflected the fact that both academic history and popular memory have yet to come to terms with India’s Second World War". The author states that the act was not merely absent-minded. Therefore, the author considers the omission to be reflective of India's academic and popular views and hence, option D is the right answer.

Question 5

In the first paragraph, the author laments the fact that:

the new war memorial will be built right next to India Gate.

there is no recognition of the Indian soldiers who served in the Second World War.

India lost thousands of human lives during the Second World War.

funds will be wasted on another war memorial when we already have the India Gate memorial.

Solution:

The author states that the new war memorial to commemorate various soldiers who lost their lives since independence will be built near India gate, a World War I memorial. The author regrets the fact that the contribution of Indian soldiers to World War II is being air brushed out of existence. The author laments the fact that the nation fails to recognize the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers who served in the World War II and hence, option B is the right answer.