With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
- 1.Equality is a prerequisite for people to participate in the multiple transactions of society from a position of confidence.
- 2.Occurrence of inequality is detrimental to the survival of democracy.
- 3.Equal standing of all citizens is an idea that cannot actually be realised even in a democracy.
- 4.Right to equality should be incorporated into our values and day-to-day political vocabulary.
Which of the above assumptions are valid?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1 and 4 only
The author treats the equal standing of citizens as a basic norm and a default principle, and notes that respecting persons simply as human beings is now commonsense morality. This rests on equality mattering for people to take part in society with confidence (1) and belonging in our everyday values (4); claims about democracy's survival or equality being unattainable go beyond or against the text.
- ✓ 1. Equal standing and respect for persons 'because persons are human beings', whatever their caste, gender or class, is what lets people deal with society without being lowered — the premise behind calling equality a default principle.
- ✗ 2. Inequality 'violates a basic democratic norm'; the passage does not say it threatens the survival of democracy — that escalates the claim.
- ✗ 3. This contradicts the passage, which says equal respect is 'by now part of commonsense morality'.
- ✓ 4. Since equal respect is a moral default and part of commonsense morality, the author assumes equality belongs in our values and everyday political language.
Remember · 'Violates a norm' is not 'threatens survival' — reject assumptions that escalate the passage's claim.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·