Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by choosing the correct/most appropriate options:

The end of British rule on 15 August 1947 marked country-wide celebrations. But the darkness of unprecedented and horrifying communal violence was not lost. The newspapers brought out special supplements and congratulated readers on the new dawn after a long, long night. Prestigious Gujarati monthlies published from Ahmedabad, Kumar and Sanskruti did celebrate freedom in their August issues. But their tone was nuanced.

Kumar, a reputed Gujarati monthly, chose an illustration of the National Flag with a boy scout, on the cover of the August 1947 issue. The style of salutation and uniform (knee-long shorts, cap), originally representing Sewa Dal of Congress, became synonymous with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the later decades. Known for covering wide-ranging topics on literature, arts, culture, science, etc, and not indulging in current affairs, Kumar, “a monthly for the citizens of tomorrow”, published a map of Independent India with the title ‘Independent yet incomplete India’. The accompanying write-up explained the problem by cited the formation of Pakistan and the areas controlled by several princely states, even if they were merged with the Indian Union. Some of the princely states still had their ‘sovereign’ rule over the population as they were yet to take the decision. They made the Independence incomplete according to the monthly.

The legendary editor of Kumar, Bachubhai Rawat, was known for grooming poets and writers. In the reputed poetry section of the August 1947 issue, there were poems by Sundaram, Rajendra Shah, and Balmukund Dave—all of them rose to become prominent poets of Gujarat with Shah getting the Jnanpith Award in 2001. While the poetry of Sundaram and Shah was celebratory, Dave’s was titled A Cloudy Dawn. In the first stanza, he narrated the sacrifices made for the cause of Independence and asked in the same breath, ‘Why the dawn is cloudy and foggy?’ He imagined people waking up and feeling underwhelmed as the light was hazy. In the last stanza, Dave portrayed Gandhi’s imagery beautifully: “Graceful yet tragic and weak eyes looking through the sky. He was the one who had digested the poison of darkness and yet stood there at the front of the masses, completely detached, an unperturbed ascetic, like Lord Shiva. It was his guidance that prompted the people to shed despair and look for a better future.

In a small, unsigned piece in Kumar titled ‘As the independence has arrived’, the readers were cautioned that the real task had just begun. The country was in a somewhat similar situation to that of Russia in 1918 after the revolution. ‘We need thousands of qualified persons to run our home with long borders…If we will not make our shoulders strong enough to carry the burden of independence, it will crush us’. It was easy sometimes to sacrifice in the heat of zealousness but to offer sacrifice through silent resolve was difficult. And it was the latter that would be needed. Kumar also started a series of articles on the martyrs of freedom from the August 1947 issue. The September 1947 issue carried the photo of the national symbol of the four lions of Sarnath. The issue carried a two-page article titled ‘The freedom is ignited in the country but not in our hearts’. It reminded a few bitter facts and stated that we must refrain _____ unnecessary self-praise. The piece also narrated the unruly behaviour of the celebrations of 15 August at some places.