26 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markOn what basis does the idea of equality claim that all human beings deserve equal worth?
(A) Their citizenship(B) Their common humanity(C) Their property(D) Their education - 1 markWhat was the famous slogan of the 18th-century French Revolution?
(A) Bread, cloth and shelter(B) Liberty, Equality and Fraternity(C) Self-rule is our birthright(D) Long live the revolution - 1 markAccording to the book, why are facts and figures about inequality given in this chapter?
(A) So that they can be memorised for the exam(B) Only to help us appreciate the nature of inequality; they need not be memorised(C) To prove that inequality is natural(D) To compare India with other countries in sport - 1 markAccording to the chapter, what does treating people with equal respect mean?
(A) Equality only in legal rights(B) Only economic equality(C) Always treating everyone in exactly the same way(D) It does not have to mean treating everyone identically - 1 markAccording to Equality of Opportunity, what actually matters in a society?
(A) Everyone having the same occupation(B) Everyone’s income being exactly equal(C) Everyone having the same social status(D) Equal access to basic goods like education, health care and safe housing - 1 markWhat point does the chapter use the example of Stephen Hawking to make?
(A) To show that some “natural” limitations can be changed by technology(B) To explain political equality(C) To explain economic inequality(D) To explain patriarchy - 1 markIn democratic societies, what does political equality mainly consist of?
(A) Giving everyone the same occupation(B) Making everyone’s property equal(C) Paying everyone the same wage(D) Granting equal citizenship to all members - 1 markWhat does the table on caste-community inequalities in higher education in urban India suggest?
(A) That every community has about the same number of graduates(B) That the large differences are unlikely to be chance and point to the working of the caste system and other factors(C) That higher education is unrelated to caste or community(D) That rural India has more graduates than urban India - 1 markWhy does the chapter say entrenched inequality is dangerous?
(A) It affects imports and exports(B) It raises inflation(C) It can split society into classes and lead to resentment and violence(D) It increases population growth - 1 markWhat do feminists mean by “gender”?
(A) Legal rights alone(B) The inborn biological difference between men and women(C) The social role assigned to men and women by society(D) Economic role alone - 1 markWhat do liberals treat as the fairest way of distributing resources and rewards?
(A) A reservation policy(B) Government control(C) Family inheritance(D) The principle of competition - 1 markBesides the five inequalities, which two additional revolutions did Lohia add to make up his “Sapta Kranti”?
(A) Revolutions for education and health care(B) Revolutions for civil liberties and non-violence(C) Revolutions for religion and language(D) Revolutions for employment and housing - 1 markOn what grounds does the Indian Constitution prohibit discrimination?
(A) Caste alone(B) Economic status alone(C) Religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth(D) Language alone
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): Building special ramps for disabled people in public buildings is an example of differential treatment that promotes equality.
Reason (R): Ramps completely prevent disabled people from entering public buildings.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, R is false(D) A is false, R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): The line between natural and social inequality is not always perfectly clear.
Reason (R): Social inequalities that have persisted a long time start to look natural.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, R is false(D) A is false, R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): Critics of affirmative action call it “reverse discrimination”.
Reason (R): They believe that reservation arbitrarily denies other sections their right to equal treatment.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, R is false(D) A is false, R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch the following:
1. Feminism 2. Marxism 3. Liberalism 4. Socialism
(i) Competition is the fairest device (ii) Patriarchy causes inequality (iii) Sapta Kranti (iv) Private ownership is the root of inequality
(A) 1-ii, 2-iv, 3-i, 4-iii(B) 1-iii, 2-i, 3-ii, 4-iv(C) 1-i, 2-ii, 3-iii, 4-iv(D) 1-iv, 2-iii, 3-i, 4-ii
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: Equality of opportunity means everyone’s success must be equal.
Statement II: Equality of opportunity means everyone should have equal access to basic facilities.
(A) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(B) Both statements are false(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Both statements are true - 1 markStatement I: Liberals believe political, social and economic inequality should each be tackled separately, on their own concrete terms.
Statement II: For liberals the problem is not inequality itself but inequality that is unjust and deeply entrenched.
(A) Statement I is false, Statement II is true(B) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(C) Both statements are false(D) Both statements are true - 1 markStatement I: According to feminism, sex (biological difference) and gender (social role) are the same thing.
Statement II: According to feminism, patriarchy is a biological, unchangeable system that cannot be altered.
(A) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(B) Both statements are true(C) Both statements are false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Arrange in the Correct Order
Arrange in the Correct Order
- 1 markArrange the following in correct chronological order:
1. The French Revolution’s slogan “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”
2. Anti-colonial liberation struggles in Asia and Africa
3. Marx argues that private ownership of key economic resources is the root of entrenched inequality
(A) 1, 2, 3(B) 3, 1, 2(C) 2, 3, 1(D) 1, 3, 2
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markPatriarchy is a social, economic and cultural system that gives _______ greater importance and power than women.
(A) men(B) the market(C) the state(D) religion
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of the following is NOT one of the four ideologies discussed in the chapter?
(A) Feminism(B) Colonialism(C) Liberalism(D) Marxism
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Today equality is a widely accepted ideal, embodied in the constitutions and laws of many countries. Yet it is inequality, not equality, that is most visible around us in society. In our own country we can see luxury housing next to slums, schools with world-class facilities and air-conditioned classrooms next to schools that lack even drinking water or toilets, and food being wasted alongside starvation.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what can we see next to luxury housing in our own country?
(A) Only offices(B) Only hospitals(C) Slums(D) Only schools
Passage
Patriarchy refers to a social, economic and cultural system in which men are given greater importance and power than women. Patriarchy rests on the belief that men and women are different by nature, and that this difference justifies their unequal position in society. Feminists question this view and insist on distinguishing between biological difference (sex) and social role (gender).
- 1 markAccording to the passage, which two things do feminists insist on distinguishing between?
(A) Religion and politics(B) Biological difference (sex) and social role (gender)(C) Urban and rural life(D) Education and employment
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) The fact sheet shows that the first world industrial countries, with a small share of the world’s population, own most of its industry and consume most of its energy.
(ii) The fact sheet shows that the poorest 40% of the world’s population receive a larger share of global income than the richest 10%.
(A) Only (i) is true(B) Both are true(C) Only (ii) is true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) According to the chapter, all human beings deserve equal worth and respect because of their common humanity.
- (B) French revolutionaries raised the slogan “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” against the landed feudal aristocracy and the monarchy.
- (B) The book says the facts and figures are only for you to appreciate the nature of inequality, and that they need not be memorised.
- (D) The chapter makes clear that treating people with equal respect does not have to mean treating them identically.
- (D) According to the chapter, what matters is that everyone has equal access to basic goods like education, health care and safe housing, not equal outcomes.
- (A) The Stephen Hawking example shows that technological progress can change limitations once assumed to be fixed and “natural”, so denying disabled people help on that ground would be unjust.
- (D) In democratic societies political equality generally consists of granting equal citizenship to all members, including the right to vote and other basic rights.
- (B) The book asks whether such large differences in graduates between castes and communities could have happened by chance, or whether they point to the working of the caste system and other factors. The figures themselves need not be memorised.
- (C) Inequality entrenched across generations splits society permanently into rich and poor classes, which can build up resentment and even violence.
- (C) Gender is the role assigned by society, a social construction, while sex is the inborn biological difference.
- (D) Liberals treat competition as the fairest and most efficient way of distributing resources and rewards.
- (B) Lohia added a revolution for civil liberties and a revolution for non-violence/satyagraha to his list of five inequalities, giving a total of seven (sapta) revolutions.
- (C) The Indian Constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
Assertion-Reason
- (C) A is true, building ramps is differential treatment that promotes equality. R is false, ramps do not prevent disabled people from entering a building, they enable it.
- (A) A is true, the chapter says this line is often blurred and unclear. R is true and correctly explains it, because social inequalities that have persisted a long time start to look natural, which is exactly why the line blurs.
- (A) A is true, critics do call affirmative action reverse discrimination. R is true and correctly explains it, since this is exactly the argument that it denies other sections equal treatment.
Match the Following
- (A) Feminism: patriarchy (ii); Marxism: private ownership (iv); Liberalism: competition (i); Socialism: Sapta Kranti (iii).
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Statement I is false, equality of opportunity does not mean equal outcomes. Statement II is true, this is exactly the chapter’s central claim.
- (D) Statement I is true, liberals do not treat these inequalities as necessarily linked and stress tackling each separately. Statement II is also true, this is the core liberal position.
- (C) Statement I is false, feminism draws a clear distinction between the two. Statement II is also false, feminism treats patriarchy as a system created by society, which can be changed, not a biological, unchangeable one.
Arrange in the Correct Order
- (D) First the French Revolution (eighteenth century, 1); then Marx, a nineteenth-century thinker (3); then the anti-colonial liberation struggles of the twentieth century in Asia and Africa (2).
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) By definition, patriarchy is a system that gives men greater importance and power than women.
Odd One Out
- (B) The chapter discusses four ideologies, feminism, Marxism, liberalism and socialism; colonialism is a historical system, not an ideology discussed here.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) According to the passage, we see slums next to luxury housing, and schools without drinking water next to air-conditioned schools.
- (B) According to the passage, feminists insist on distinguishing between biological difference (sex) and the role assigned by society (gender).
True / False
- (A) Statement (i) is true: the fact sheet shows the first world industrial countries owning most of the world’s industry and consuming most of its energy. Statement (ii) is false: the poorest 40% get a tiny share of global income, far less than the richest 10%.
More for this chapter