MPSC (Maharashtra Public Service Commission) Civil Services Examination CSAT 2024 Solutions
Answer the question no. 1 to 5 after reading the passage carefully.
All his life, Gandhiji kept the abolition of untouchability at the forefront of his public activities. In
1932, he founded the All India Harijan Sangh for this purpose. His campaign for the “root and branch removal of untouchability” was based on the grounds of humanism and reason.
Gandhi argued that there was no sanction for untouchability in the Hindu shastras. But, if any shastra approved of untouchability, it should be ignored for it would then be going against human dignity. Truth, he said, could not be confined within the covers of a book.
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, numerous individuals and organisations worked to
spread education among the untouchables (or depressed classes and Scheduled Castes, as they came to be called later), to open the doors of schools and temples to them, to enable them to use public wells and tanks, and to remove other social disabilities and distinctions from which they suffered.
As education and awakening spread, the lower castes themselves began to stir. They became conscious of their basic human rights and began to rise in defence of these rights. They gradually built up a powerful movement against the traditional oppression by the higher castes.
In Maharashtra, in the second half of the nineteenth century, Jyotiba Phule, born in a lower-caste family, led a lifelong movement against Brahmanical religious authority as part of his struggle against upper-caste domination. He regarded modern education as the most important weapon for the liberation of the lower castes. He was the first to open several schools for girls of the lower castes.
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who belonged to one of the Scheduled Castes, devoted his entire life to fighting against caste tyranny. He organised the All India Scheduled Castes Federation for the purpose. Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde and his colleagues founded the All India Depressed Classes Mission Society.
In Kerala, Sri Narayan Guru organised a lifelong struggle against the caste system. He coined the famous slogan: “One religion, one caste and one God for mankind.” In South India, the non-brahmins organised during the 1920s the Self-Respect Movement to fight the disabilities which Brahmins had imposed upon them.
Numerous satyagraha movements were organised all over India jointly by the upper and depressed castes against the ban on the latter’s entry into temples and other such restrictions.
1. According to the passage, who among the following tried to eradicate untouchabillty
(a) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
(b) Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve
(c) Narayan Guru
(d) Mahatma Gandhi
Answer options :
(1) Only (a), (b) and (c)
(2) Only (a), (b) and (d)
(3) Only (a), (c) and (d)
(4) All of above
Solutions: (3) Only (a), (c) and (d) is the correct Answer.
2. What would Gandhiji mean when he said that ‘Truth cannot be confined within the covers of a book’?
(1) Truth always prevails
(2) There is no truth in a book
(3) Truth can be seen only outside a book
(4) No truth is limited to the confines of a book
Solutions: (4) No truth is limited to the confines of a book
3. What according to the passage are the prerequisites of a movement against oppression by higher castes?
(a) Education
(b) Awareness of human rights
(c) Opening of temples
(d) Sanction of the Shastras
Answer Options:
(1) (a) and (b)
(2) (a), (c) and (d)
(3) (b), (c) and (d)
(4) (c) and (d)
Solutions: (1) (a) and (b)
4. Who announced ‘One religion, One caste and One God for Mankind’. in opposition to the caste system?
(1) Mahatma Gandhi
(2) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
(3) Mahatma Phule
(4) Shri Narayan Guru
Solutions: (4) Shri Narayan Guru
5. Which of the following was given the least importance by Gandhiji in his thoughts about removal of untouchability?
(1) Sanction of Shastras
(2) Human Dignity
(3) Reason
(4) Humanism
Solutions: (1) Sanction of Shastras
Read the following passage and answer the questions 6 to 10.
Innovation will play a very important role in India not only for overall growth and competitive advantage but also for the future development of India to be sustainable and inclusive. In our country, there is a lack of demand in the most important sectors such as health, education, agriculture, energy, and skills. There are many challenges in this country in terms of population as well. For example, 55 crores of the population is of the age group of less than 25 years, and it is necessary to provide opportunities to them. For that, there is a challenge of growth and development of disparity in various aspects such as class, caste, gender, region, and at the same time, there is an urgent need to bring millions of citizens trapped in extreme poverty above the poverty line.
Innovation is the answer to the pressing challenges and is at the heart of all initiatives. When the knowledge-based economy is created, the opportunity structure for the distribution of the benefits generated from it is also created through such innovation. Affordable solutions in common-sense innovative business models or processes make it easier for common citizens to access services, and more people participate in the development process by going beyond the traditional way of working.
However, our only need is to explore new paradigms of innovation with an emphasis on affordable and inclusive growth for the masses and lifting the low-income people at the bottom of the triangle out of poverty and deprivation.
The unfortunate thing is that in the past several decades, innovation and research have given priority to the demands of the developed, and more emphasis has been placed on fulfilling the wishes of the rich, and the entire system of intellectuals and capital is being used to satisfy them. India will not be able to accept this path; rather, the research in our country and innovations need to focus on the poor and the urgent needs of poor people. The traditional old consumption approach will no longer work.
Given our huge population and immensity, our innovation should use scarce resources sparingly, and our research and innovations should be affordable and environmentally sustainable. The work of India’s National Innovation Corporation reflects this philosophy. It strives to develop an image of innovation created by the people – for the people – of the people for a developed India. Only through such an inclusive approach, where people are the beneficiaries of knowledge creation, can we create images of sustainable development.
6. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) So far we have covered only to the needs of advanced nations
(b) Our current development model has degraded our environment
Answer Options:
(1) Only (a)
(2) Only (b)
(3) None
(4) Both (a) and (b)
Solutions: From the passage, it is clear that innovation and research have historically prioritized the demands of developed nations and the wealthy, making (a) correct. However, there is no direct mention in the passage that our development model has degraded the environment, making (b) incorrect.
Correct Answer: (1) Only (a)
7. Which of the following statement is incorrect?
(a) So far we have not paid enough attention to innovation
(b) Only with people’s participation can we achieve sustainable development
Answer Options:
(1) Only (a)
(2) Only (b)
(3) None
(4) Both (a) and (b)
Solutions: The passage emphasizes the importance of innovation and how it has not been sufficiently inclusive, making (a) correct. Additionally, the passage stresses people’s participation for sustainable development, making (b) correct as well.
Correct Answer: (3) None
8. Which of the following statement is correct?
(a) Without innovation, we cannot achieve development
(b) Till now India’s development was not comprehensive
Answer Options:
(1) Only (a)
(2) Only (b)
(3) None
(4) Both (a) and (b)
Solutions: The passage explicitly mentions that innovation is essential to tackle pressing challenges and achieve development, making (a) correct. It also states that India’s past approach to development has not been inclusive or comprehensive, making (b) correct.
Correct Answer: (4) Both (a) and (b)
9. Skill development program is important in India because :
(1) India is an agrarian country and there is lack of supply.
(2) Almost 50 percent of the national income is derived from the service sector.
(3) India has a very large population and most of them live below the poverty line.
(4) There is a need to create opportunities among the young population.
Solutions: The passage highlights that India has a large population under 25 years of age and stresses the importance of providing opportunities to them, making (4) the most relevant option.
Correct Answer: (4) There is a need to create opportunities among the young population.
10. Which of the following statement is correct?
(a) For holistic development we should focus on poverty and population.
(b) We should try to produce more from less.
Answer Options:
(1) Only (a)
(2) Only (b)
(3) None
(4) Both (a) and (b)
Solutions: The passage explicitly mentions the need to address poverty and population issues for development and advocates using scarce resources effectively, making both (a) and (b) correct.
Correct Answer: (4) Both (a) and (b)
Read the following passage and answer the question no. 11 to 15
Since economic production is the basic activity of a human aggregate, the mode of production (productive forces and social relations of production) plays a determining role in shaping the social structure, the psychology, and the ideology of that human aggregate.
Rural society is based predominantly on agriculture. Village agriculture is sharply distinguished from urban industry by the fact that it is based on direct extraction from nature by man.
Land is the basic means of production in the countryside. Land is a part of nature, though made arable by human labor. From land, the rural people produce, by means of technique and their labor power, such a variety of agrarian products as food, cotton, jute, tea, coffee, tobacco, and others.
Urban industry only transforms the products of agriculture into industrial products. In city factories and mills, such agricultural products as cotton, jute, and sugarcane are transformed into cotton and jute cloth and sugar, respectively.
This basic difference between agriculture and industry plays a significant role in shaping the social institutions, the psychology, and the ideology of the rural and urban populations.
Further, the level of production and the way in which the products are distributed among the different strata of a society determine the level of material prosperity of the society as a whole and of the various socio-economic groups comprising it. They also, to a very large extent, mould the institutional setup of that society as well as the cultural life of its people.
For instance, in India, the primitive nature of agriculture, the resultant low level of agricultural production, and the specific types of land relations that determine the differing shares of agricultural products among the social groups composing the rural society explain the general poverty of the rural people, their hierarchic gradation into a pyramidal system of socio-economic groups, and, further, their distinct social institutions and cultural backwardness. They also largely fix their customs, conceptions, and social mores.
11. Which of the following factor(s) is/are affected by the mode of production?
(a) Ideology
(b) Psychology
(c) Social Structure
(d) None of the above
Answer Options:
(1) (a), (b) and (c)
(2) (a) and (c)
(3) (c) and (d)
(4) Only (d)
Solutions: The passage explicitly states that the mode of production plays a determining role in shaping the social structure, the psychology, and the ideology of a human aggregate. Hence, factors (a), (b), and (c) are affected by the mode of production. Correct Answer: (1) (a), (b), and (c)
12. How does the primitive nature of agriculture in India affect rural society?
(a) It eliminates poverty.
(b) It increases agricultural production.
(c) It leads to cultural diversity.
(d) It results in a pyramidal socio-economic system.
Answer Options:
(1) (a) and (b) are true
(2) Only (c) is true
(3) Only (d) is true
(4) (a), (b), and (c) are true
Solution: The passage mentions that the primitive nature of agriculture leads to:
- Low agricultural production, not an increase (making (b) false).
- General poverty, not its elimination (making (a) false).
- A pyramidal socio-economic system, characterized by hierarchic gradation among socio-economic groups (making (d) true).
- Cultural backwardness, not diversity (making (c) false).
Correct Answer: (3) Only (d) is true
13. Considering the rural society, which of the following statement(s) is/are false?
(a) Rural society is based predominantly on agriculture.
(b) Land is the basic means of production in the countryside.
(c) Means of production in rural areas are not different from urban areas.
Answer Options:
(1) (a), (b), and (c)
(2) (a) and (b)
(3) Only (c)
(4) None of the above
Solution: From the passage:
- (a) is true as it explicitly states that rural society is based predominantly on agriculture.
- (b) is true since land is mentioned as the basic means of production in rural areas.
- (c) is false because the passage clearly differentiates rural agriculture (direct extraction from nature) from urban industry.
Correct Answer: (3) Only (c)
14. What do rural people produce by means of their labor power and technique?
(a) Industrial goods
(b) Agrarian products
(c) Metal products
Answer Options:
(1) (a) and (b)
(2) (a) and (c)
(3) (b) and (c)
(4) Only (b)
Solution:
From the passage:
Rural people produce agrarian products such as food, cotton, jute, tea, coffee, and tobacco through their labor power and technique. Industrial goods and metal products are associated with urban industry, not rural production.
Correct Answer: (4) Only (b)
15. What factor contributes to the general poverty of rural people in India?
(1) Low level of agricultural production
(2) Cultural backwardness
(3) Lack of access to healthcare
(4) Laziness
Solution:
From the passage:
The primitive nature of agriculture and the low level of agricultural production are mentioned as key factors contributing to the general poverty of rural people in India. Cultural backwardness is also highlighted as a result of the low agricultural productivity and land relations.
Correct Answer: (1) Low level of agricultural production
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