Which of the following most precisely captures the author’s primary argument regarding the idea of India as the “Golden Sparrow”?

. A = historically true, but too linear. The passage is not merely saying “wealth attracted invaders.” B = the spine. The metaphor itself contains the diagnosis: rich but vulnerable. Cultural brilliance outruns political consolidation. C = an important sub-argument, but only one side of the paradox. D = temporally narrow and causally reductive. The passage is fundamentally about the mismatch between civilizational richness and strategic unity.

The comparison of India to “a grand library without a permanent lock on the door” primarily serves to:

. A = partial but shallow. The metaphor is not celebrating learning alone. B = attractive, but the tone is diagnostic, not cosmopolitan. C = exact structural function. A library symbolizes knowledge and wealth, but the missing lock symbolizes strategic fragility. D = over-generalized and unsupported. The metaphor is not ornamental—it compresses the entire thesis into one image.

According to the passage, India’s historical continuity derived primarily from:

. A = directly contradicted. The passage stresses the absence of durable unity. B = the key distinction. India survived not because empires endured, but because civilisation diffused itself into local structures—villages, rituals, traditions. C = partly true but economically framed, whereas the passage emphasizes cultural persistence. D = misleading. Political institutions are portrayed as fragile, not adaptive. This question filters whether the reader can separate civilisational survival from state continuity.

The author’s concluding discussion of modern India implies that:

. A = incorrect because the passage frames digital fragmentation as an echo, not a novelty. B = explicitly undermined by the passage’s central logic: wealth ≠ power. C = the final warning. The author extends the historical pattern into the present—brilliance without cohesion produces vulnerability. D = opposite of the passage’s intention. The entire conclusion depends on historical continuity. The passage ends not in nostalgia, but in strategic caution.

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The Golden Sparrow: A Diagnostic of Indian History

The Golden Sparrow: A Diagnostic of Indian History

Explore why India was called the Golden Sparrow and how wealth, culture and political fragmentation shaped Indian history for centuries.

The first Europeans who arrived on Indian shores did not describe India as a nation. They described it as a sensation. The air smelled of cardamom and sandalwood. Markets overflowed with silk, indigo, pepper and gold. Temples carried enough wealth to finance kingdoms. To traders from Lisbon or Venice, India seemed less like geography and more like a treasure chest left unlocked by history. This was the land they called the “Golden Sparrow” because riches appeared to perch everywhere. Yet…

RC Questions

Each essay includes four exam-level RC questions for CAT, GMAT, GRE, XAT and IPMAT.

Which of the following most precisely captures the author’s primary argument regarding the idea of India as the “Golden Sparrow”?
A = historically true, but too linear. The passage is not merely saying “wealth attracted invaders.” B = the spine. The metaphor itself contains the diagnosis: rich but vulnerable. Cultural brilliance outruns political consolidation. C = an important sub-argument, but only one side of the paradox. D = temporally narrow and causally reductive. The passage is fundamentally about the mismatch between civilizational richness and strategic unity.
The comparison of India to “a grand library without a permanent lock on the door” primarily serves to:
A = partial but shallow. The metaphor is not celebrating learning alone. B = attractive, but the tone is diagnostic, not cosmopolitan. C = exact structural function. A library symbolizes knowledge and wealth, but the missing lock symbolizes strategic fragility. D = over-generalized and unsupported. The metaphor is not ornamental—it compresses the entire thesis into one image.
According to the passage, India’s historical continuity derived primarily from:
A = directly contradicted. The passage stresses the absence of durable unity. B = the key distinction. India survived not because empires endured, but because civilisation diffused itself into local structures—villages, rituals, traditions. C = partly true but economically framed, whereas the passage emphasizes cultural persistence. D = misleading. Political institutions are portrayed as fragile, not adaptive. This question filters whether the reader can separate civilisational survival from state continuity.
The author’s concluding discussion of modern India implies that:
A = incorrect because the passage frames digital fragmentation as an echo, not a novelty. B = explicitly undermined by the passage’s central logic: wealth ≠ power. C = the final warning. The author extends the historical pattern into the present—brilliance without cohesion produces vulnerability. D = opposite of the passage’s intention. The entire conclusion depends on historical continuity. The passage ends not in nostalgia, but in strategic caution.

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The Golden Sparrow: A Diagnostic of Indian History