SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 17 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 18 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 :
India’s legacy of healing practices—embodied in disciplines such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani—presents a complex synthesis of philosophy, biology, and metaphysics. Far from being static relics of the past, these systems have exhibited an evolving dynamism, continuously negotiating their space within both indigenous frameworks and global health discourses. At the heart of this healing ethos lies the idea that the human body is not an isolated physiological entity but a site of interconnected energies and rhythms. Yoga, as codified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is not merely a physical regimen but a holistic path aimed at harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit. In the modern era, however, it has undergone commodification, particularly in the West, where its philosophical moorings are often diluted into mere physical exercise or stress-reduction techniques. This recontextualization, while facilitating global popularity, raises questions about cultural appropriation and epistemic erosion. Traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda view disease as an imbalance in the tridosha—vata, pitta, and kapha—principles that regulate bodily function. These systems emphasize prakriti (constitution), ahara (diet), and dinacharya (daily routine) as central to preventive healthcare. Unlike allopathy’s symptom-targeting approach, traditional Indian medicine is premised on restoring equilibrium in the body’s internal ecology. This integrative vision aligns with contemporary calls for personalized and preventive medicine, though methodological differences continue to stoke skepticism in the biomedical community. State patronage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) underlines a renewed institutional interest in traditional systems. However, critics caution against uncritical endorsement, citing the lack of standardized clinical trials, variability in diagnostic models, and challenges in evidence-based validation. Furthermore, pharmaceutical commercialization of Ayurvedic formulations often sidelines traditional knowledge holders, reducing centuries-old practices to marketable commodities. The interface between Yoga and traditional medicine with modern healthcare is therefore both promising and fraught. While integrative models are being explored—especially in palliative care, mental health, and chronic disease management—they require epistemic humility and regulatory rigor. The danger lies in either romanticizing these systems as panaceas or discarding them as pre-scientific relics. Ultimately, the relevance of Yoga and traditional medicine in contemporary India will depend on the country’s ability to safeguard their philosophical depth while subjecting them to transparent, rigorous scrutiny. Neither dogmatic revivalism nor dismissive scientism will suffice. What is needed is a dialogical framework where tradition and modernity co-evolve—not in opposition, but in mutual enrichment.

What is a potential danger of state patronage of AYUSH systems, as per the passage?

(a)High cost of medicine
(b)Increased rural unemployment
(c)Marginalization of traditional knowledge holders
(d)Overdependence on foreign investment

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The danger is named in the sentences that follow the passage's mention of state patronage.

The passage says pharmaceutical commercialization "often sidelines traditional knowledge holders, reducing centuries-old practices to marketable commodities."

To sideline people is to push them to the edge, which is what marginalization means → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
High cost of medicine — Cost is never mentioned. The passage's concerns are clinical trials, diagnostic models, validation, and practices reduced to "marketable commodities", which is about commodification, not prices.
(b)
Increased rural unemployment — The passage says nothing about jobs or rural India. This option adds an economic effect the text never states.
(d)
Overdependence on foreign investment — Foreign investment is never mentioned. The passage turns to the West only to say Yoga's philosophy is diluted into exercise there, which is not about money.

Concept

A "potential danger" question asks for the passage's warning, restated in the option's own words.

After "State patronage of AYUSH", critics cite "the lack of standardized clinical trials, variability in diagnostic models, and challenges in evidence-based validation".

The next sentence adds that commercialization sidelines traditional knowledge holders. The option swaps "sidelines" for its synonym, marginalization.

Read closely, the passage pins the sidelining on pharmaceutical commercialization, added with "Furthermore" to the critics' case against "uncritical endorsement" of AYUSH.

The question files it under state patronage. Of the four options, (c) is still the one danger the passage actually names.

Key facts

The passage expands AYUSH as Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy.
Critics in the passage cite three problems: the lack of standardized clinical trials, variability in diagnostic models, and challenges in evidence-based validation.
The passage says pharmaceutical commercialization "often sidelines traditional knowledge holders".

Study next

Synonym matching between passage and option: sidelines → marginalizationTelling a detail the passage states from one an option only impliesTransition words in comprehension: However, Furthermore, therefore

Common traps

Choosing (a) because "commercialization" suggests money: the passage talks of "marketable commodities", never of prices.
Scanning the passage for the word "marginalization": it is not there, and the match is its synonym "sidelines".

The same passage also sets 17 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.16, on Yoga's global adoption, and Q.17, on the Ayurvedic approach to disease. Both, like this one, reward matching a passage phrase to its paraphrase.

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 :
India’s legacy of healing practices—embodied in disciplines such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani—presents a complex synthesis of philosophy, biology, and metaphysics. Far from being static relics of the past, these systems have exhibited an evolving dynamism, continuously negotiating their space within both indigenous frameworks and global health discourses. At the heart of this healing ethos lies the idea that the human body is not an isolated physiological entity but a site of interconnected energies and rhythms. Yoga, as codified in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is not merely a physical regimen but a holistic path aimed at harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit. In the modern era, however, it has undergone commodification, particularly in the West, where its philosophical moorings are often diluted into mere physical exercise or stress-reduction techniques. This recontextualization, while facilitating global popularity, raises questions about cultural appropriation and epistemic erosion. Traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda view disease as an imbalance in the tridosha—vata, pitta, and kapha—principles that regulate bodily function. These systems emphasize prakriti (constitution), ahara (diet), and dinacharya (daily routine) as central to preventive healthcare. Unlike allopathy’s symptom-targeting approach, traditional Indian medicine is premised on restoring equilibrium in the body’s internal ecology. This integrative vision aligns with contemporary calls for personalized and preventive medicine, though methodological differences continue to stoke skepticism in the biomedical community. State patronage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) underlines a renewed institutional interest in traditional systems. However, critics caution against uncritical endorsement, citing the lack of standardized clinical trials, variability in diagnostic models, and challenges in evidence-based validation. Furthermore, pharmaceutical commercialization of Ayurvedic formulations often sidelines traditional knowledge holders, reducing centuries-old practices to marketable commodities. The interface between Yoga and traditional medicine with modern healthcare is therefore both promising and fraught. While integrative models are being explored—especially in palliative care, mental health, and chronic disease management—they require epistemic humility and regulatory rigor. The danger lies in either romanticizing these systems as panaceas or discarding them as pre-scientific relics. Ultimately, the relevance of Yoga and traditional medicine in contemporary India will depend on the country’s ability to safeguard their philosophical depth while subjecting them to transparent, rigorous scrutiny. Neither dogmatic revivalism nor dismissive scientism will suffice. What is needed is a dialogical framework where tradition and modernity co-evolve—not in opposition, but in mutual enrichment.