Which one of the following statements best reflects the critical message conveyed by the author of the passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) In a democracy, the opposition is indispensable for the balance of political power and good governance.
The author argues that a wise leader learns more from opponents than from supporters, who can push him to disaster, and that the unity of free people rests on an even balance of political power. The message is that opposition is indispensable for that balance and for good governance.
- ✗ (a) This reverses the passage: the author says a statesman should pray 'never to be left without opponents'.
- ✗ (b) The passage wants a balance that makes it impracticable for the opposition 'to be revolutionary and irreconcilable' — the opposite of (b).
- ✗ (c) Opponents keep a ruler 'on the path of reason and good sense' by showing him the dangers; the passage does not say he needs their support to survive.
- ✓ (d) Opponents show where the dangers are, and national unity depends on a balance of power that stops the administration being arbitrary. Opposition is thus indispensable for balance and good governance.
Remember · Check the author's stance word by word; options that reverse it ('without opposition') or exaggerate it ('revolutionaries') are traps.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·