SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 16 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 19 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
Democracy is frequently extolled as the political system that best guarantees individual liberty. Enshrined in constitutional rights and protected by the rule of law, freedom of speech, association, religion, and conscience are regarded as hallmarks of democratic governance. However, what is less frequently acknowledged—but equally vital—is the reciprocal pillar of responsibility without which such freedoms can degenerate into chaos, polarization, or authoritarian backlashes. Freedom in a democracy is not absolute; it exists within a framework of mutual restraint and civic discipline. The right to express dissent, for instance, is foundational. Yet when freedom of expression is weaponized to disseminate hate speech, misinformation, or seditious propaganda, it ceases to serve the democratic cause. Responsibility thus entails a conscious engagement with the implications of one’s actions—not just their legality, but their ethical and civic consequences. The challenge lies in reconciling liberty with accountability in pluralistic societies. With diverse cultural, ideological, and economic constituencies, democracies are inherently sites of contention. In such contexts, responsibility demands more than legal compliance—it requires empathy, critical thinking, and a commitment to collective well-being. A citizen’s right to protest, for example, must be exercised with awareness of public order and respect for differing viewpoints. Similarly, the freedom to vote must be matched by an obligation to make informed choices, unswayed by populism, prejudice, or manipulation. The tension between freedom and responsibility is perhaps most visible during moments of crisis—be it a pandemic, a communal riot, or a constitutional standoff. In such times, the temptation to prioritize personal liberty at the cost of collective safety can prove fatal. Refusal to wear masks during a health emergency or the viral spread of unverified news during civil unrest exemplify how unbridled freedom can undermine democratic resilience. Moreover, democracy itself is not self-sustaining; it requires vigilant citizens who recognize that rights are not entitlements in perpetuity, but privileges preserved through active participation. When freedom is divorced from responsibility, democratic institutions become vulnerable to erosion—from within. Demagogues often rise not solely because of state failure, but due to civic apathy or irresponsible use of democratic freedoms by the populace itself. Therefore, in any functioning democracy, freedom and responsibility are not opposing forces but mutually reinforcing imperatives. The preservation of liberty necessitates a citizenry capable of ethical judgment, informed debate, and constructive dissent. In the absence of responsibility, freedom risks transforming from a catalyst of justice into a vehicle of division. Democracy survives not just through the laws it enacts, but through the civic virtues its citizens embody.

Why does the author mention protests and voting as examples?

(a)To criticize public participation
(b)To show areas where freedom and responsibility must coexist
(c)To promote legal reforms
(d)To support authoritarian models

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Each example pairs a right with a duty, joined by must.

"A citizen’s right to protest, for example, must be exercised with awareness of public order and respect for differing viewpoints."

"Similarly, the freedom to vote must be matched by an obligation to make informed choices"

The right is the freedom and the must-clause is the responsibility, so the examples show where the two must coexist → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
To criticize public participation — Criticize public participation reverses the author's view. Protest and voting stay rights, the manner is what gets qualified, and rights are "privileges preserved through active participation".
(c)
To promote legal reforms — Promote legal reforms: no reform is proposed. The sentence before the examples says responsibility "demands more than legal compliance", so the point is conduct, not new law.
(d)
To support authoritarian models — Support authoritarian models clashes with the passage, which lists "authoritarian backlashes" among the dangers of freedom without responsibility.

Concept

A why-does-the-author-mention question asks what an example is for, not what it says. Find the claim it illustrates.

Here the claim comes just before: responsibility "demands more than legal compliance—it requires empathy, critical thinking, and a commitment to collective well-being."

For example and Similarly then attach protest and voting, each pairing a freedom with a duty.

The option's word coexist is not in the passage. Its closing sentences carry the idea: freedom and responsibility are "not opposing forces but mutually reinforcing imperatives".

Key facts

Protest: the right must be exercised "with awareness of public order and respect for differing viewpoints".
Voting: the freedom must be matched by "an obligation to make informed choices, unswayed by populism, prejudice, or manipulation".
For example and Similarly mark cases that illustrate the claim before them.

Study next

Purpose-of-example questions in reading comprehensionSignal words: for example, similarly, however, therefore

Common traps

Reading the must-clauses as criticism of protest and voting — the author limits how the rights are used, not whether they exist.
Choosing legal reforms because law is mentioned nearby — that sentence says responsibility goes beyond legal compliance.

English Q.21 on this passage works from its crisis examples instead: refusal to wear masks and the viral spread of unverified news.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Reading comprehension — all 128 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
Democracy is frequently extolled as the political system that best guarantees individual liberty. Enshrined in constitutional rights and protected by the rule of law, freedom of speech, association, religion, and conscience are regarded as hallmarks of democratic governance. However, what is less frequently acknowledged—but equally vital—is the reciprocal pillar of responsibility without which such freedoms can degenerate into chaos, polarization, or authoritarian backlashes. Freedom in a democracy is not absolute; it exists within a framework of mutual restraint and civic discipline. The right to express dissent, for instance, is foundational. Yet when freedom of expression is weaponized to disseminate hate speech, misinformation, or seditious propaganda, it ceases to serve the democratic cause. Responsibility thus entails a conscious engagement with the implications of one’s actions—not just their legality, but their ethical and civic consequences. The challenge lies in reconciling liberty with accountability in pluralistic societies. With diverse cultural, ideological, and economic constituencies, democracies are inherently sites of contention. In such contexts, responsibility demands more than legal compliance—it requires empathy, critical thinking, and a commitment to collective well-being. A citizen’s right to protest, for example, must be exercised with awareness of public order and respect for differing viewpoints. Similarly, the freedom to vote must be matched by an obligation to make informed choices, unswayed by populism, prejudice, or manipulation. The tension between freedom and responsibility is perhaps most visible during moments of crisis—be it a pandemic, a communal riot, or a constitutional standoff. In such times, the temptation to prioritize personal liberty at the cost of collective safety can prove fatal. Refusal to wear masks during a health emergency or the viral spread of unverified news during civil unrest exemplify how unbridled freedom can undermine democratic resilience. Moreover, democracy itself is not self-sustaining; it requires vigilant citizens who recognize that rights are not entitlements in perpetuity, but privileges preserved through active participation. When freedom is divorced from responsibility, democratic institutions become vulnerable to erosion—from within. Demagogues often rise not solely because of state failure, but due to civic apathy or irresponsible use of democratic freedoms by the populace itself. Therefore, in any functioning democracy, freedom and responsibility are not opposing forces but mutually reinforcing imperatives. The preservation of liberty necessitates a citizenry capable of ethical judgment, informed debate, and constructive dissent. In the absence of responsibility, freedom risks transforming from a catalyst of justice into a vehicle of division. Democracy survives not just through the laws it enacts, but through the civic virtues its citizens embody.