Question:
The best word to describe the Indian middle class based on the passage is:
The best word to describe the Indian middle class based on the passage is:
Show Hint
Look for words in the options that the author uses frequently or emphasizes as a "characteristic feature" of the subject.
Updated On: Mar 27, 2026
- Unified
- Paradoxical
- Homogeneous
- Ambitious
- Corrupt
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Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Analyse options.
- The passage begins by stating the class "defies categorization under a single term which would imply homogeneity". - It then emphasizes "two paradoxical features" that define their conduct uniformly.
Step 2: Conclusion.
"Paradoxical" is the most accurate descriptor because it captures the central theme of the text. Final Answer: (b) Paradoxical.
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For generations, companies have been selling fair skin to young Indian women, promising better marriage and employment prospects. However, over the last few years, men have became a favoured target audience. This followed the realisation that the Indian alpha male, denied a choice in malespecific grooming products, had been using women's fairness creams all along. Until the mid-2000s, deodorants and shaving creams were the only grooming products advertised for men. But India's largest consumer goods companies sensed an opportunity, and launched a slew of fairness products for male consumers. In India, as in other parts of the world, light skin is the culturally accepted and endorsed form of beauty, and children absorb this message at a young age. According to a 2015 research report by Nielsen, urban Indian men believe that fair skin can improve professional prospects. The cultural pressure to look fair, argues Kiran Khalap, branding expert and founder at communications consultancy Chlorophyll, is something inherent in our society, not manufactured by companies. "And it is certainly not restricted to India: China and Japan have had skin-whitening products for centuries, well before they met Western 'white' people," he said. However, there is a growing awareness among consumers that companies are exploiting their insecurities, and critics have taken some of the biggest fairness brands, and the celebrities who endorse them, to task for their casual discrimination. Earlier this month, Bollywood actor Abhay Deol took to Facebook to trounce his fellow actors who earn millions from endorsing fairness creams. This comes a few years after actress Nandita Das launched the "Dark is Beautiful" campaign to encourage Indians to embrace a wider definition of beauty. These efforts are slowly making a difference, increasing awareness and encouraging consumers to take pride in their natural skin tones. That means Indian companies will eventually have to change their approach. "My sense is that brands will wake up to the new reality, and you will see propositions reworked around clearer skin (and) glow, rather than pure fairness," Leo Burnett's Sinha said. Rajesh Krishnamurthy, business head for the consumer product division at The Himalaya Drug Company, believes that over time the men's grooming category will evolve to include a wider range of products, including those for normal skin, just like in the women's skin care category. "Companies are increasingly realising that you cannot continue to bullshit consumers anymore; these are educated young men who will question what you sell to them," said Shantanu Deshpande, co-founder and CEO of the male-grooming startup Bombay Shaving Company.- MAH MBA CET - 2025
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Whenever someone fell ill or needed something badly, Tuan was there to help that person. If someone died in the village, Tuan assisted the family members of the deceased person in whichever way he could. If anyone fell ill at night, Tuan was right beside the village doctor to help him prepare the medicines and tend to the sick. There seemed to be none who hated this man. He appeared to be loved by one and all. But there was one person who hated Tuan with all his heart. He was Juan, a neighbour of Tuan, who lived in the land next to him. A lazy person by nature, Juan hardly put in as much effort to cultivate his land as Tuan did to produce crops in his own. So, when the harvest season arrived every year, Juan found that he had very few crops to sell. Tuan, on the other hand, earned a handsome profit through the selling of his produces. One year, Juan could no longer contain his jealousy. Just days before Tuan was to reap his harvest, Juan set fire to his crops at night. Tuan was asleep at this time, and it was only the alertness of one of his other neighbors that saved much of his crops from being perished in the deadly flames of the fire that Juan had lighted. When the flames were doused, Tuan saw which direction the fire had started from. Juan's animosity towards him was unknown to Tuan. But he let the matters rest and decided to take action only if he saw Juan repeating his dastardly act once again. That year, Tuan managed to sell the rest of his crops at a good price, but he could not make much profit for a good part of his produces had been burnt. He had a heavy heart, but he did not like to tell anyone about it. Only days later, Tuan was awakened by the sound of lamentations. He went out to find a crowd beside Juan's hut. He rushed to find that Juan's son had fallen ill. He found that the village doctor was unable to provide a cure to his illness. Tuan knew what he had to do. He untied his own horse and rode it. Then he rushed to the town that was ten miles away and fetched a more experienced doctor who lived there. This doctor was able to guess the disease correctly and provided an exact cure for it. Within hours, the boy was found to sleep soundly and Tuan went with the doctor to take him back to the town. A day later, Juan went to Tuan's hut and began to weep bitterly. He confessed to his sins but was surprised when Tuan told him that he knew about it all. "You knew that I had set fire to your crops? And still you fetched the doctor for my son?" asked the astonished Juan. Tuan nodded and said, "I did what I knew was right. Could I do wrong just because you had done so?" Juan stood up and embraced Tuan. Both men were in tears and so were the others who stood by them. From that day, Juan changed himself. Within a year, he could produce much crops in his land through his hard work. When the others asked him how he had changed so much, he only replied, "It was the goodness and love of Tuan that transformed me."- MAH MBA CET - 2025
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Once upon a time, there lived a farmer who had a little land. His name was Tuan, and he was a very kind and good-natured person. He lived in a hut on his land with his wife and children and earned by selling whatever crops he could produce on his small land. Tuan loved to help others.
Whenever someone fell ill or needed something badly, Tuan was there to help that person. If someone died in the village, Tuan assisted the family members of the deceased person in whichever way he could. If anyone fell ill at night, Tuan was right beside the village doctor to help him prepare the medicines and tend to the sick. There seemed to be none who hated this man. He appeared to be loved by one and all. But there was one person who hated Tuan with all his heart. He was Juan, a neighbour of Tuan, who lived in the land next to him. A lazy person by nature, Juan hardly put in as much effort to cultivate his land as Tuan did to produce crops in his own. So, when the harvest season arrived every year, Juan found that he had very few crops to sell. Tuan, on the other hand, earned a handsome profit through the selling of his produces. One year, Juan could no longer contain his jealousy. Just days before Tuan was to reap his harvest, Juan set fire to his crops at night. Tuan was asleep at this time, and it was only the alertness of one of his other neighbors that saved much of his crops from being perished in the deadly flames of the fire that Juan had lighted. When the flames were doused, Tuan saw which direction the fire had started from. Juan's animosity towards him was unknown to Tuan. But he let the matters rest and decided to take action only if he saw Juan repeating his dastardly act once again. That year, Tuan managed to sell the rest of his crops at a good price, but he could not make much profit for a good part of his produces had been burnt. He had a heavy heart, but he did not like to tell anyone about it. Only days later, Tuan was awakened by the sound of lamentations. He went out to find a crowd beside Juan's hut. He rushed to find that Juan's son had fallen ill. He found that the village doctor was unable to provide a cure to his illness. Tuan knew what he had to do. He untied his own horse and rode it. Then he rushed to the town that was ten miles away and fetched a more experienced doctor who lived there. This doctor was able to guess the disease correctly and provided an exact cure for it. Within hours, the boy was found to sleep soundly and Tuan went with the doctor to take him back to the town. A day later, Juan went to Tuan's hut and began to weep bitterly. He confessed to his sins but was surprised when Tuan told him that he knew about it all. "You knew that I had set fire to your crops? And still you fetched the doctor for my son?" asked the astonished Juan. Tuan nodded and said, "I did what I knew was right. Could I do wrong just because you had done so?" Juan stood up and embraced Tuan. Both men were in tears and so were the others who stood by them. From that day, Juan changed himself. Within a year, he could produce much crops in his land through his hard work. When the others asked him how he had changed so much, he only replied, "It was the goodness and love of Tuan that transformed me."- MAH MBA CET - 2025
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