Question

Assertion P: Dalit narratives tend to be read single-dimensionally as evoking the reader’s pity at the protagonist’s caste humiliation, or as telling the story of heroic protest against discrimination, or as a description of the protagonist’s rise from misery to triumph.
Assertion Q: There is a tendency to keep the Other in the space of difference, as perpetually exotic.
In the context of the assertions above, which one of the following statements is true?

• A. P and Q are contradictory assertions.
• B. P and Q are compatible assertions.
• C. P and Q cannot be read in relation to each other.
• D. Q is the only explanation for P.

Hint:

Critical reading requires attention to how interpretive frameworks can limit or shape the understanding of marginalized voices.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding Assertion P.
Assertion P points to a reductive reading practice where Dalit narratives are interpreted in limited ways, such as eliciting pity, highlighting heroic resistance, or presenting a linear movement from suffering to success. This suggests a lack of engagement with the full complexity of such narratives.
Step 2: Understanding Assertion Q.
Assertion Q describes a broader cultural tendency to position the Other as permanently different or exotic, thereby fixing marginalized identities within rigid interpretive frames.
Step 3: Examining the relationship between P and Q.
The single-dimensional reading described in Assertion P aligns with the tendency mentioned in Assertion Q, as both involve reducing complex identities to simplified categories shaped by dominant perspectives.
Step 4: Evaluating the options.
P and Q do not contradict each other, nor are they unrelated. While Q helps explain P, it is not the only possible explanation. Hence, they are best understood as compatible assertions.
Final Answer: (B) P and Q are compatible assertions.