Module: General Practice
Q46: Consider the following statements regarding the narrative's commentary on the "Irony of Independence":
1. Written decades after Indian Independence, the story joyously suggests that political freedom successfully eradicated all forms of psychological and economic colonization.
2. Shamnath's extreme sycophancy toward his American boss demonstrates that global economic imperialism simply replaced formal British colonial rule.
3. The mother remains trapped in a continuous state of servitude, transitioning from the patriarchal oppression of her youth to the modernized, urban oppression of her own son.
Which of the statements given above is/are INCORRECT?
2. Shamnath's extreme sycophancy toward his American boss demonstrates that global economic imperialism simply replaced formal British colonial rule.
3. The mother remains trapped in a continuous state of servitude, transitioning from the patriarchal oppression of her youth to the modernized, urban oppression of her own son.
Which of the statements given above is/are INCORRECT?
✅ Correct Answer: A
Statement 1 is the only incorrect statement.
This question tests the macro-historical critique of the text.
Structurally, Bhisham Sahni does not present a joyous vision of independence.
Instead, he critiques the hollow nature of this freedom (making Statement 1 false). While the British left, the structural inequality remained; the new Indian elite (Shamnath) simply bowed down to new Western corporate masters (the American Boss), proving that economic colonialism had seamlessly replaced political colonialism (Statement 2). Contextually, the most tragic irony is reserved for the mother.
Independence brought her no freedom; she merely traded the traditional subjugation of the village for the cold, calculated subjugation of her Westernized son's apartment (Statement 3). The causal link is that true decolonization never occurred in Shamnath's mind, leading him to perpetuate systems of oppression against his own family.
This question tests the macro-historical critique of the text.
Structurally, Bhisham Sahni does not present a joyous vision of independence.
Instead, he critiques the hollow nature of this freedom (making Statement 1 false). While the British left, the structural inequality remained; the new Indian elite (Shamnath) simply bowed down to new Western corporate masters (the American Boss), proving that economic colonialism had seamlessly replaced political colonialism (Statement 2). Contextually, the most tragic irony is reserved for the mother.
Independence brought her no freedom; she merely traded the traditional subjugation of the village for the cold, calculated subjugation of her Westernized son's apartment (Statement 3). The causal link is that true decolonization never occurred in Shamnath's mind, leading him to perpetuate systems of oppression against his own family.