The Indian government [has] announced an international competition to design a National War Memorial in New Delhi, to honour all of the Indian soldiers who served in the various wars and counter-insurgency campaigns from 1947 onwards. The terms of the competition also specified that the new structure would be built adjacent to the India Gate – a memorial to the Indian soldiers who died in the First World War. Between the old imperialist memorial and the proposed nationalist one, India’s contribution to the Second World War is airbrushed out of existence.
The Indian government’s conception of the war memorial was not merely absent-minded. Rather, it accurately reflected the fact that both academic history and popular memory have yet to come to terms with India’s Second World War, which continues to be seen as little more than mood music in the drama of India’s advance towards independence and partition in 1947. Further, the political trajectory of the postwar subcontinent has militated against popular remembrance of the war. With partition and the onset of the India-Pakistan rivalry, both of the new nations needed fresh stories for self-legitimisation rather than focusing on shared wartime experiences.
However, the Second World War played a crucial role in both the independence and partition of India. . . . The Indian army recruited, trained and deployed some 2.5 million men, almost 90,000 of which were killed and many more injured. Even at the time, it was recognised as the largest volunteer force in the war. . . .
India’s material and financial contribution to the war was equally significant. India emerged as a major military-industrial and logistical base for Allied operations in south-east Asia and the Middle East. This led the United States to take considerable interest in the country’s future, and ensured that this was no longer the preserve of the British government.
Other wartime developments pointed in the direction of India’s independence. In a stunning reversal of its long-standing financial relationship with Britain, India finished the war as one of the largest creditors to the imperial power.
Such extraordinary mobilization for war was achieved at great human cost, with the Bengal famine the most extreme manifestation of widespread wartime deprivation. The costs on India’s home front must be counted in millions of lives.
Indians signed up to serve on the war and home fronts for a variety of reasons. . . . [M]any were convinced that their contribution would open the doors to India’s freedom. . . . The political and social churn triggered by the war was evident in the massive waves of popular protest and unrest that washed over rural and urban India in the aftermath of the conflict. This turmoil was crucial in persuading the Attlee government to rid itself of the incubus of ruling India. . . .
Seventy years on, it is time that India engaged with the complex legacies of the Second World War. Bringing the war into the ambit of the new national memorial would be a fitting – if not overdue – recognition that this was India’s War.
The phrase “mood music” is used in the second paragraph to indicate that the Second World War is viewed as:
- setting the stage for the emergence of the India–Pakistan rivalry in the subcontinent.
- a tragic period in terms of loss of lives and national wealth.
- a backdrop to the subsequent independence and partition of the region.
- a part of the narrative on the ill-effects of colonial rule on India.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The term "mood music" in the passage refers to the Second World War being used as a narrative background rather than a focal point in the history of India's independence and partition. The comprehension passage describes how India's significant contributions and experiences during the Second World War have been overshadowed by its journey to independence and partition in 1947. Here are the logical steps leading to this interpretation:
- The passage indicates that the Indian government has not fully acknowledged India's role in the Second World War by excluding it from the new war memorial's scope. This omission conveys that the war is seen as a secondary element compared to the independence and partition.
- The statement "continues to be seen as little more than mood music in the drama of India’s advance towards independence and partition" directly highlights that the war is perceived as a backdrop to the later events.
- The passage explains the crucial role of the war in leading to independence, noting India's large military and financial commitments. Despite these efforts, the narrative focuses more on the political changes post-war, aligning with the conclusion that the war is viewed as background in historical storytelling.
- The comprehension also discusses the shared wartime experiences being overshadowed by new national narratives post-partition, further supporting the idea that the war serves as a narrative backdrop rather than a focal historical memory.
Thus, the correct answer is that the Second World War is viewed as "a backdrop to the subsequent independence and partition of the region."
The author lists all of the following as outcomes of the Second World War EXCEPT:
- independence of the subcontinent and its partition into two countries.
- US recognition of India’s strategic location and role in the War.
large-scale deaths in Bengal as a result of deprivation and famine.
- the large financial debt India owed to Britain after the War.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Analysis of Options:
- Independence of the subcontinent and its partition into two countries:The passage discusses how the Second World War played a crucial role in India’s independence and partition, making this outcome consistent with the passage.
- US recognition of India’s strategic location and role in the War:The text mentions that India’s contribution led the US to take considerable interest, aligning this option with the passage’s narrative.
- Large-scale deaths in Bengal as a result of deprivation and famine:The Bengal famine is highlighted as a wartime deprivation resulting in millions of deaths, thus it is an acknowledged outcome in the passage.
- The large financial debt India owed to Britain after the War:Contrary to this statement, the passage states that India ended the war as a significant creditor to Britain, not in debt.
The author claims that omitting mention of Indians who served in the Second World War from the new National War Memorial is:
- a reflection of the academic and popular view of India’s role in the War.
- appropriate as their names can always be included in the India Gate memorial.
- a reflection of misplaced priorities of the post-independence Indian governments.
- is something which can be rectified in future by constructing a separate memorial.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The question addresses the omission of Indians who served in the Second World War from the new National War Memorial. To determine the author's claim, we should analyze the comprehension provided.
The passage explains:
- The new National War Memorial honors Indian soldiers from 1947 onwards, excluding those from the Second World War.
- This exclusion is intentional and reflective of both academic history and popular memory, which have not fully acknowledged India’s role in the Second World War.
- The omission aligns with the narrative that India's contributions to the war are overshadowed by the focus on independence and partition.
- Despite the significant contributions of India during the war, these efforts have not been substantially recognized in the national discourse.
Given this context, the answer can be derived by evaluating the options:
- Option A: a reflection of the academic and popular view of India’s role in the War.
- Option B: appropriate as their names can always be included in the India Gate memorial.
- Option C: a reflection of misplaced priorities of the post-independence Indian governments.
- Option D: is something which can be rectified in future by constructing a separate memorial.
Option A accurately captures the author's perspective that the omission reflects the prevailing view of India’s role in WWII in both academic and popular spheres. The other options do not align with this interpretation as directly.
The author suggests that a major reason why India has not so far acknowledged its role in the Second World War is that it:
- blames the War for leading to the momentous partition of the country.
- wants to forget the human and financial toll of the War on the country.
- has been focused on building an independent, non-colonial political identity.
- views the War as a predominantly Allied effort, with India playing only a supporting role.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The question asks why India has not acknowledged its role in the Second World War. To answer this, we must understand the context provided:
The passage discusses India's lack of commemoration for its participation in the Second World War, indicating that this is not due to oversight but reflects a broader sentiment. The government focuses on memorials post-independence, suggesting a deliberate move to emphasize a national narrative after 1947.
Key points from the passage include:
- The war's impact on India, including large military involvement and significant material and financial contributions.
- The lack of memory associated with the war is linked to the need for post-independence self-legitimization rather than shared wartime experiences with Pakistan.
- The war influenced India's independence and subsequent partition, but this relationship has not been central to India's national narrative.
- Extraordinary mobilization and the subsequent political unrest were pivotal in the decision for India’s independence, rather than the war itself.
Analyzing these points, the most fitting option is: India has been focused on building an independent, non-colonial political identity. This is because the emphasis is on establishing a post-colonial narrative, marginalizing wartime contributions as part of colonial history.
The correct answer is that India has been focused on building an independent, non-colonial political identity.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are letters ‘e’ taken from four popular logos, arranged in a sequence. Which of the options is the correct sequence?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are four options, each showing consecutive frames representing the movement of a pendulum of an old-style wall clock for an animation movie. Which is the correct option?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Acrucial moderating factor in how people experience comparisons is self-esteem. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to interpret upward comparison as informative rather than threatening. They are more resilient in the face of others’ success and more likely to believe they can reach their own goals. In contrast, people with low self-esteem are more prone to interpret comparison as judgment, reinforcing negative self-views and triggering feelings of inadequacy.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing loop. People with high self-esteem are less vulnerable to upward comparison, which intensifies those doubts. Those with a secure sense of self are more likely to use comparison as a learning tool. The same external stimulus—a colleague’s achievements, a friend’s popularity—can have radically different effects depending on internal stability.
Self-esteem also influences how people choose their comparison targets. Research has found that individuals often engage in “selective comparison,” seeking out those who confirm their existing beliefs about themselves. This can become a subtle form of self-sabotage. Someone who feels unworthy may subconsciously seek out targets that reinforce that sense, perpetuating a narrative of inferiority. One of the most promising antidotes to social comparison is temporal comparison—evaluating oneself not against others, but against one’s own past. This method has been shown to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially when individuals can see concrete progress. Temporal comparison activates the same reward circuits as social comparison but avoids the threat systems associated with social ranking. It also reinforces agency: individuals focus on what they can control and improve rather than what others control. In therapeutic and coaching settings, temporal comparison is used to help clients build self-efficacy and track growth over time.
Moreover, people who focus on self-improvement rather than social dominance are less likely to fall into cycles of envy or self-pity. They can still use others as inspiration, but they do so without attaching their self-worth to the outcome. This is not to say they never compare—but that they focus on learning, rather than judgment. The most skilful approach to comparison may lie in eliminating it, but in reframing it as feedback. When we interpret comparison as information rather than a verdict, we can ask, “What can I learn from this?” This shift turns comparison into a growth tool. Teachers mentor their students, not as rivals. Psychologists emphasize that the key variable here is mindset.
A fixed mindset sees comparison as a threat. If someone else is better, it means we are worse. A growth mindset sees comparison as a map. If someone else has reached a certain level, it means the path exists. This reframing is not just a cognitive trick. It changes the emotional tone of comparison, making it more likely to inspire than to wound. Reframing also requires emotional regulation—the ability to notice an initial pang of envy or shame without reacting impulsively. With practice, individuals can learn to pause, reflect, and reinterpret their emotional responses. Over time, this builds resilience and self-trust, allowing comparison to become a learning tool rather than a cage.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
When people who are talking don’t share the same culture, knowledge, values, and assumptions, mutual understanding can be especially difficult. Such understanding is possible through the negotiation of meaning. To negotiate meaning with someone, you have to become aware of and respect both the differences in your backgrounds and when these differences are important. You need enough diversity of cultural and personal experience to be aware that divergent world views exist and what they might be like. You also need the flexibility in world view, and a generous tolerance for mistakes, as well as a talent for finding the right metaphor to communicate the relevant parts of unshared experiences or to highlight the shared experiences while demphasizing the others. Metaphorical imagination is a crucial skill in creating rapport and in communicating the nature of unshared experience. This skill consists, in large measure, of the ability to bend your world view and adjust the way you categorize your experiences. Problems of mutual understanding are not exotic; they arise in all extended conversations where understanding is important.
When it really counts, meaning is almost never communicated according to the CONDUIT metaphor, that is, where one person transmits a fixed, clear proposition to another by means of expressions in a common language, where both parties have all the relevant common knowledge, assumptions, values, etc. When the chips are down, meaning is negotiated: you slowly figure out what you have in common, what it is safe to talk about, how you can communicate unshared experience or create a shared vision. With enough flexibility in bending your world view and with luck and charity, you may achieve some mutual understanding.
Communication theories based on the CONDUIT metaphor turn from the pathetic to the evil when they are applied indiscriminately on a large scale, say, in government surveillance or computerized files. There, what is most crucial for real understanding is almost never included, and it is assumed that the words in the file have meaning in themselves—disembodied, objective, understandable meaning. When a society lives by the CONDUITmetaphor on a large scale, misunderstanding, persecution, and much worse are the likely products.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Later, I realized that reviewing the history of nuclear physics served another purpose as well: It gave the lie to the naive belief that the physicists could have come together when nuclear fission was discovered (in Nazi Germany!) and agreed to keep the discovery a secret, thereby sparing humanity such a burden. No. Given the development of nuclear physics up to 1938, development that physicists throughout the world pursued in all innocence of any intention of finding the engine of a new weapon of mass destruction—only one of them, the remarkable Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, took that possibility seriously—the discovery of nuclear fission was inevitable. To stop it, you would have had to stop physics. If German scientists hadn’t made the discovery when they did, French, American, Russian, Italian, or Danish scientists would have done so, almost certainly within days or weeks. They were all working at the same cutting edge, trying to understand the strange results of a simple experiment bombarding uranium with neutrons. Here was no Faustian bargain, as movie directors and other naifs still find it intellectually challenging to imagine. Here was no evil machinery that the noble scientists might hide from the problems and the generals. To the contrary, there was a high insight into how the world works, an energetic reaction, older than the earth, that science had finally devised the instruments and arrangements to coart forth. “Make it seem inevitable,” Louis Pasteur used to advise his students when they prepared to write up their discoveries. But it was. To wish that it might have been ignored or suppressed is barbarous. “Knowledge,” Niels Bohr once noted, “is itself the basis for civilization.” You cannot have the one without the other; the one depends upon the other. Nor can you have only benevolent knowledge; the scientific method doesn’t filter for benevolence. Knowledge has consequences, not always intended, not always comfortable, but always welcome. The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth. “It is a profound and necessary truth,” Robert Oppenheimer would say, “that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.”
...Bohr proposed once that the goal of science is not universal truth. Rather, he argued, the modest but relentless goal of science is “the gradual removal of prejudices.” The discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has gradually removed the prejudice that the earth is the center of the universe. The discovery of microbes is gradually removing the prejudice that disease is a punishment from God. The discovery of evolution is gradually removing the prejudice that Homo sapiens is a separate and special creation.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in CAT exam
- The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
In the dynamic realm of creativity, artists often find themselves at the crossroads between drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and inadvertently crossing into the territory of cultural appropriation. Inspiration is the lifeblood of creativity, driving artists to create works that resonate across borders. In a globalized era of the modern world, artists draw from a vast array of cultural influences. When approached respectfully, inspiration becomes a bridge, fostering understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity. However, the line between inspiration and cultural appropriation can be thin and easily blurred.
Cultural appropriation occurs when elements from a particular culture are borrowed without proper understanding, respect, or acknowledgment. This leads to the commodification of sacred symbols, the reinforcement of stereotypes, and the erasure of the cultural context from which these elements originated. It is essential to recognize that the impact of cultural appropriation extends beyond the realm of artistic expression, influencing societal perceptions and perpetuating power imbalances.- CAT - 2025
- Para Summary
- The number of distinct integers $n$ for which $\log_{\left(\frac14\right)}(n^2 - 7n + 11)>0$ is:
- CAT - 2025
- Linear Inequalities
- In the set of consecutive odd numbers $\{1, 3, 5, \ldots, 57\}$, there is a number $k$ such that the sum of all the elements less than $k$ is equal to the sum of all the elements greater than $k$. Then, $k$ equals?
- CAT - 2025
- Number Systems
- The number of distinct pairs of integers $(x, y)$ satisfying the inequalities $x>y \ge 3$ and $x + y<14$ is:
- CAT - 2025
- Number Systems
For any natural number $k$, let $a_k = 3^k$. The smallest natural number $m$ for which \[ (a_1)^1 \times (a_2)^2 \times \dots \times (a_{20})^{20} \;<\; a_{21} \times a_{22} \times \dots \times a_{20+m} \] is:
- CAT - 2025
- Linear Inequalities