Question

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
The development of nationalism in the third world countries, as is well known, followed a very different trajectory from that in the advanced capitalist countries. In the latter it was a part of the process of the emergence of the bourgeois order in opposition to feudalism, while in the former it was a part of the anti-colonial struggle. The impact of colonialism, though it differed across countries, had on the whole been in the direction of transcending localism and unifying supra-local economic structures through the introduction of market relations. The struggle against colonialism, consequently, took the form of a national struggle in each instance in which people belonging to different tribes or linguistic communities participated.
The colonial power in each instance attempted to break this emerging national unity by splitting people. The modus operandi of this splitting was not just through political manipulation as happened in instances in Angola, South Africa and many other countries; an important part of this modus operandi was through nurturing the historiography that justified the absence of any overarching national consciousness. The national struggle, the national movement were given a tribal or religious character, and were portrayed as being no more than the movement of the dominant tribe or the dominant religious group for the achievement of narrow sectional ends. But the coming into being of a national consciousness at a supra-tribal, supra-local and supra-religious level sought deliberately to subvert this very consciousness by using the same forces which it had objectively undermined.
\hrule How did the colonial power react to topple the anti-colonial structure?

• A. By splitting people on the basis of their financial positions
• B. By using tempting economic strategies
• C. By creating linguistic, tribal and religious divides
• D. By instigating tribal against anti-communal force

Hint:

In comprehension questions, look for the sentence that directly answers the question. Here, the key clue is: *"The colonial power ... attempted to break this emerging national unity by splitting people ... giving the movement a tribal or religious character."* This directly points to option (C).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks how the colonial rulers attempted to weaken or destroy the growing anti-colonial national unity. We must identify the method mentioned in the passage.
Detailed Explanation:
The passage clearly states that people from different tribes and linguistic communities participated in the anti-colonial struggle, creating an emerging national consciousness. The colonial powers feared this unity. To weaken it, they tried to divide people.
The passage specifically mentions:
- Splitting people through political manipulation.
- Giving the national movement a tribal or religious character.
- Encouraging ideas that denied the existence of a broader national consciousness.
This means the colonial strategy was to create divisions among people based on tribe, language, and religion so that they would not unite against colonial rule.
Now evaluate the options:
- (A) Financial positions -- not mentioned.
- (B) Tempting economic strategies -- not mentioned.
- (C) Linguistic, tribal and religious divides -- directly supported by the passage.
- (D) Instigating tribal against anti-communal force -- not the exact idea expressed.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The colonial power reacted by creating linguistic, tribal and religious divides to break the emerging national unity. Hence, the correct answer is (C).