With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: I. In a democracy, a strong opposition is required only if the Head of Government is indifferent. II. The more aggressive the opposition, the better is the governance in a democracy. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

CSAT 2025 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2025 · Question 54 · Reading comprehension

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—2

“A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters will push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will ruin him. But, though it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be left without opponents; for they keep him on the path of reason and good sense. The national unity of free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary and for opposition to be revolutionary and irreconcilable.”

CSAT 2025 · Q54

Reading comprehension Easy

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

I.In a democracy, a strong opposition is required only if the Head of Government is indifferent.
II.The more aggressive the opposition, the better is the governance in a democracy.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Neither I nor II

The passage values opposition at all times and wants a balance that keeps it from becoming revolutionary. Statement I adds a condition the author never sets, and II praises the aggression the author warns against.

✗ I The author says a statesman should pray 'never to be left without opponents' — opposition is always needed, not 'only if' the Head of Government is indifferent.
✗ II The passage wants an even balance so that the opposition is not 'revolutionary and irreconcilable'; it does not say a more aggressive opposition means better governance.

Remember · 'Only if' and 'the more …, the better' are red flags; check whether the author sets any such condition or scale.

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). ·

With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:

Passage—2

CSAT 2025 · Q54

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