Multiple choice

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows it.

It is unfortunate for the country, specially for the poor and women, that whenever any kind of disincentive, even of the mildest nature such as debarring a person with more than two children from contesting any local body election, is introduced to promote family planning, there are always some activists and organizations who unnecessarily oppose the measures without realizing that the voluntary family planning programmes are a miserable flop as clearly highlighted by the national family health surveys.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the author's contention?

  1. Percentage of rural women voluntarily seeking family planning services in government health centre facilities has drastically come down over the last decade.

  2. One child policy in China, where employees with more than one child are discriminated against, has been very effective in controlling their population.

  3. Activists and organizations which seem to advocate civil rights issues typically have their own vested interests and hidden agendas.

  4. Punitive measures are the best deterrents for refraining people from committing deeds which adversely affect the society at large.

  5. None of these

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Argument: Author supports involuntary family health programs as voluntary programs fail as cited by surveys. If option 1 is taken to be true, then it would support “voluntary” family health program, which tends to oppose author’s view. We do not know about which country the author is talking about. If something was successful in China, it does not necessarily mean it would happen in any other country. If activists have their own vested interests, their opposition is not very real but has been raked only to create a controversy. This means there is no real opposition to author’s argument. However, this in no way strengthens author’s argument. If option 4 is taken to be true, it would mean that people shall take necessary measures or precautions lest they should be penalized. The measures they taken would obviously not be voluntary but perforce. Hence, author’s argument is justified.