Question 12.

Once we match this new meaning of the home/world dichotomy with the identification of social roles by gender, we get the ideological framework within which nationalism answered the women’s question. It would be a grave error to see in this, as liberals are apt to in their despair at the many marks of social conservatism in nationalist practice, a total rejection of the West. Quite the contrary: the nationalist paradigm in fact supplied an ideological principle of selection.

From the above excerpt, we can see that the liberals were concerned over the social conservatism that nationalist practice promoted as an ideological principal of selection, where social roles would be selected according to the gender of the person. Hence, Option B is the answer, as it comes the closest in capturing the liberal perception of the same.

The material/spiritual dichotomy has not been discussed in terms of liberal perspective, hence, Option A is out of the score here.

Option C is incorrect. Indian nationalism did not accept the changes brought about the colonialism, rather, promoted the segregation of gender roles according to their spiritual ideology of home/ world dichotomy.

Option D is contrary to what is mentioned in the passage. The author says that the 'ideological principle of selection' was the actual truth, and the liberal perspective was just contrary to what was actually happening.