Civil Services Examination · Question 23

Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer should be based solely on the passage. Passage: In our country, handlooms are equated with a culture that ensures a continuity of tradition. This idea has become part of the public policy-framing and provides a legitimate basis for the State to support the sector. But the notion of tradition as a single, linear entity is being strongly contested today. The narratives dominant in defining culture/tradition in a particular way are seen to have emerged as the identities and histories of large sections. The discounted and, at times, forcibly stifled identities are fighting for their rightful place in history. Against this backdrop, when we promote handloom as a traditional industry, it is not surprising that large sections of our population choose to ignore it. Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational message conveyed by the author of the passage?

1. AWe need to free the handloom industry from the limited narrative linked to preserving cultural heritage.
2. BContinued State support to the handloom industry ensures the preservation of some of our glorious art forms and old traditions.
3. CHousehold units of the handloom sector should be modernized and made an economically viable organized industry.
4. DHandloom products need to be converted to machine-made designer products so as to make them more popular.