Question

Read the passage carefully and answer the question.
“There is … a subtler domination exercised in the sphere of ideas by one culture on another, a domination all the more serious in the consequence, because it is not ordinarily felt… Slavery begins when one ceases to feel the evil and it deepens when the evil is accepted as a good. Cultural subjection is ordinarily of an unconscious character and it implies slavery from the very start. When I speak of cultural subjection, I do not mean the assimilation of an alien culture. That assimilation need not be an evil; it may be positively necessary for healthy progress and in any case it does not mean a lapse of freedom. There is cultural subjection only when one's traditional cast of ideas and sentiments is superseded without comparison or competition by a new cast representing an alien culture which possesses one like a ghost.”
(K.C. Bhattacharyya, Swaraj in Ideas, p.13)
In the light of the passage above, cultural subjection amounts to

• A. an uncritical assimilation of foreign culture.
• B. an inability to accurately distinguish the good from the evil.
• C. an uncritical discarding of one’s tradition.
• D. a complete rejection of foreign ideas.

Hint:

Bhattacharyya’s idea of cultural freedom lies in critical comparison, not blind acceptance or total rejection of alien cultures.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A, B, C

Step 1: Identify the core idea of cultural subjection.
The passage defines cultural subjection as an unconscious domination where a society accepts alien ideas without reflection, comparison, or critical engagement. This results in a loss of intellectual freedom.
Step 2: Examine option (A).
Bhattacharyya explicitly distinguishes healthy assimilation from cultural subjection. Cultural subjection occurs when assimilation is uncritical. Hence, option (A) correctly captures this idea.
Step 3: Examine option (B).
The passage states that slavery begins when one ceases to feel the evil and accepts it as good. This clearly implies an inability to distinguish between good and evil, validating option (B).
Step 4: Examine option (C).
Cultural subjection involves one’s traditional ideas being superseded without comparison or competition. This reflects an uncritical abandonment of one’s own tradition, making option (C) correct.
Step 5: Eliminate option (D).
The author does not advocate a rejection of foreign ideas; rather, he allows for critical and conscious assimilation. Therefore, option (D) is incorrect.
Step 6: Conclusion.
Cultural subjection, as described in the passage, amounts to uncritical assimilation, moral confusion, and unreflective abandonment of tradition.