Question

excerpt from \by any other name\
by santha rama rau

this excerpt from santha rama rau’s memoir gifts of
passage takes place in the late 1920s. india was a colony
of the british empire from the 1700s to 1947, when it
attained independence. during the period of colonial rule,
the british set up schools in india based on the british
curriculum with lessons taught in english. many indians
objected to the total replacement of their traditional
curricula.

1
at the anglo - indian day school in zorinabad to
which my sister and i were sent when she was
eight and i was five and a half, they changed our
names. on the first day of school, a hot, windless
morning of a north indian september, we stood in
the headmistress’s study and she said, “now
you’re the new girls. what are your names?”

2
my sister answered for us. “i am premila, and
she”—nodding in my direction—“is santha.”

3
the headmistress had been in india, i
suppose, fifteen years or so, but she still smiled
her helpless inability to cope with indian
names.... “oh, my dears, those are much too
hard for me. suppose we give you pretty english

2
what does santha realize is happening to her at school?

a. she is being separated from her sister.

b. she is not receiving a quality education.

c. she is not prepared to learn in english.

d. she is being denied her culture.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the context. The passage is about British colonial rule in India, where the British set up schools with their curriculum and changed Indian students' names. Santha's experience at the Anglo - Indian school involves name - changing (a part of cultural suppression). Option A: The text focuses on cultural aspects, not just sister separation. Option B: The passage doesn't discuss the quality of education. Option C: The issue isn't about being unprepared in English, but about cultural denial. Option D: Changing names (part of their culture) and imposing British curriculum shows her culture is being denied.

Answer:

D. She is being denied her culture.