Minimalist IAS
CSAT 2016 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2016 · Question 6 · Reading comprehension

Which one of the following is the crux of this passage?

Passage—2

In general, religious traditions stress our duty to god, or to some universal ethical principle. Our duties to one another derive from these. The religious concept of rights is primarily derived from our relationship to this divinity or principle and the implication it has on our other relationships. This correspondence between rights and duties is critical to any further understanding of justice. But, for justice to be practiced; virtue, rights and duties cannot remain formal abstractions. They must be grounded in a community (common unity) bound together by a sense of common union (communion). Even as a personal virtue, this solidarity is essential to the practice and understanding of justice.

CSAT 2016 · Q6

Reading comprehension Medium

Which one of the following is the crux of this passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) Balance between rights and duties is crucial to the delivery of justice in a society

The passage moves from religious duties and rights to its main point: the correspondence between rights and duties is critical to understanding justice, and justice must be practised in a community. So the crux is that balancing rights and duties is central to justice in a society.

  • ✗ (a) A supporting detail from the opening lines, not the point the passage builds to.
  • ✗ (b) The passage never calls the relationship to the divine a 'great virtue'.
  • ✓ (c) 'This correspondence between rights and duties is critical to any further understanding of justice', and justice must be grounded in a community.
  • ✗ (d) Another opening detail; the passage uses it only to reach the rights–duties link and justice.

Remember · The crux is the point the details lead to; an option that restates one early sentence is usually a supporting detail.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

More on Reading comprehension

All Reading comprehension questions →