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

India celebrated its 75th Independence day in 2022 with great fanfare, flag flying, feasts, and festivals at home and abroad. It is indeed a great moment to review and to reflect on the occasion and also guide the nation going forward to meet the aspirations of all the people of India. India has accomplished a great deal in the last 75 years. However, a great deal still needs to be performed to deliver the essence of Independence on equality, equity, freedom, inclusion, and creating opportunities for most people at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

The Prime Minister in his celebrated speech from Red Fort outlined five pledges to focus on: Making India a developed nation by 2047; removing all traces of colonization; taking pride in our roots and heritage; unity and integrity, and a sense of duty among citizens. These great pledges need much more clarity and a broader national conversation to socialize and institutionalize for implementation.

Unfortunately, in the present toxic and tense environment, with its polarised politics, top-down governance, command and controlled organizations, lack of open and honest conversation, a managed and manipulated media, high on Hindutva, a marginalization of Muslims and minorities, a renaming of cities, a rewriting of history and a lot more, it is difficult to implement the Prime Minister’s pledges. In addition, when the global trend is to predominantly value power and profit, it is hard to get a leader’s attention to real issues related to people and the planet. Today, what is good for the planet and the people are not on the agenda of global leaders. So, what are the kind of pledges we need to help achieve the Prime Minister’s agenda in this environment?