COMPREHENSION TEST
390. What happened to the plane after the passengers were 393. ........ has been a major boost for female literacy in
taken off? India today.
(1) It was given a fitness certificate. (1) The global movement to gain equal status for wom-
(2) It was grounded. en
(3) It was discarded. (2) The modern governmental system
(4) It was inspected and allowed to fly. (3) Increase in the number of broad-minded men
PASSAGE - III (4) Increase in the number of women in prominent
Women’s education in India is one of the foremost con- positions
cerns of the Government of India as well as of the society 394. Progress and improvement in education for women
at large. It is due to the fact that at the present time, the has enabled them to
educated women play a very significant role in overall de- (1) overthrow male hegemony.
velopment and progress of the country. Women hold a prom-
(2) bag coveted positions for themselves.
inent position in the Indian society and all over the world.
(3) create an impact on all aspects of life.
However, since the prehistoric times women were denied
opportunities and had to suffer for the hegemonic mascu- (4) All of the above.
line ideology. This unjustifiable and unwarrantable oppres- 395. Find the option opposite in meaning to unjustifiable.
sion had resulted into a movement that fought to achieve (1) compulsory (2) progressive
the equal status of-women all over the world. Women’s ed- (3) reasonable (4) methodical
ucation in India is the consequence of such progress and Directions (396-405) : You have two passages with 5
this led to the tremendous improvement of women’s condi- questions in each passage. Read the passages carefully and
tion throughout the world. Nevertheless eradication of fe- choose the best answer to each question out of the four
male illiteracy is considered as a major concern today. alternatives.
In the present era, the Indian society has established a (SSC Graduate Level Tier-I
number of institutions for the educational development of Exam. 21.04.2013, Ist Sitting)
women and girls. These educational institutions aim for im- PASSAGE-I
mense help and are concerned with the development of The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform
women. In the modern society, women in India have come a movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
long way. Indian women are at par with men in all kinds of in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period
tasks like reaching the moon, conquering Mount Everest, of British rule. The Bengal renaissance can be said to have
and participating in all fields. Ail this is possible just be- started with Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1775-1833) and ended
cause of education and the profound impact it has had on with Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), although there have
women. been many stalwarts thereafter embodying particular aspects
of the unique intellectual and creative output. Nineteenth
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS century Bengal was a unique blend of religious and social
prominent : important/well-known reformers, scholars, literary giants, journalists, patriotic
ideology : a set of ideas/beliefs orators and scientists, all merging to form the image of a
oppression : being treated in a cruel/unfair way renaissance, and marked the transition from the ‘medieval’
to the ‘modern’.
eradication : destroyed completely.
During this period, Bengal witnessed an intellectual
profound : very great ; felt/experienced very strongly. awakening that is in some way similar to the European
impact : the powerful effect Renaissance during the 16th century, although Europeans
hegemonic : control by one country, organization, etc. of that age were not confronted with the challenge and
over other countries, etc. within a partic- influence of alien colonialism. This movement questioned
ular group. existing orthodoxies, particularly with respect to women,
unjustifiable : impossible to excuse marriage, the dowry system, the caste system and religion.
unwarantable or accept because there is no good rea- One of the earliest social movements that emerged during
son for it. : this time was the Young Bengal movement, that espoused
rationalism and atheism as the common denominators of
391. Education for women is necessary civil conduct among upper caste educated Hindus.
(1) to enable more women to conquer Mt. Everest. The parallel socio- religious movement, the Brahmo
(2) to usher in a modem and progressive society. Samaj, developed during this time period and counted many
(3) to protest against masculine supremacy. of the leaders of the Bengal Renaissance among its followers.
(4) to establish more educational institutions.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
392. In present times, education for women is not at par
stalwarts : loyal spporters who do a lot of work for an
with that of their male counterparts because
organization, officially a political party.
(1) Indian women did not join the worldwide move-
embodying : expressing or representing an idea or a
ment to gain equal status for themselves.
quality.
(2) female illiteracy is a major social problem.
confronted : faced with
(3) Indian women are traditionally more preoccupied
alien : different from usual.
with their household duties.
espoused : gave your support to a belief, policy, etc.
(4) ours is a male dominated society,
SEE–944