Question

read the passage.
chittaranjan das was an indian political activist for the indian independence movement. the following is from a speech given in october 1917 about responsible government.
from public meeting—rymensingh
i draw your particular attention to the words \progressive realisation of responsible government in india, as an integral part of the british empire.\ that is the ideal which the secretary of state has sketched out. what is the indication from this? what is it that we have got to hope for from this statement? it is this: that there will be several representative institutions and that these institutions will be representative institutions and that these institutions will form the government of india, which will be an integral part of the british empire. now what does that mean? it means that there should be autonomous governments in every province and that these provincial governments are to be responsible and autonomous, that is to say, responsible not to the government of india, not to anything which it advises them, but to the people, the electors who would elect the representatives to these autonomous legislative bodies. that is the doctrine of responsible self - government as it is understood in politics and in constitutional law.
(from \public meeting—rymensingh\ by chittaranjan das)
what is the authors main claim in the passage?
○ 1 the british empire should ultimately determine what indian government looks like
○ 2 a responsible self - government is one that is local and accountable to the people
○ 3 it is important for representative institutions to stay completely separate from one another
○ 4 india should be ruled through provincial governments that answer to the government of india

Explanation:

To determine the author's main claim, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The passage emphasizes self - government for India, not British Empire determining Indian government, so this is incorrect.
• Option 2: The passage defines responsible self - government as having autonomous provincial governments that are responsible to the people (electors who elect representatives), meaning it is local and accountable to the people. This matches the content.
• Option 3: The passage says representative institutions will form the Government of India, implying they should work together, not be separate. So this is incorrect.
• Option 4: The passage states provincial governments should be responsible to the people, not to the Government of India, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

1. A responsible self - government is one that is local and accountable to the people