Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
The discourse on gender roles in modern India occupies a complex intersection between inherited patriarchal structures and evolving socio-political consciousness. While constitutional provisions guarantee equality and the policy framework has increasingly incorporated gender-sensitive measures, deep-seated cultural scripts continue to govern the lived experiences of both women and men across diverse social strata. Contrary to the homogenizing narrative of progress, gender dynamics in India remain highly uneven. Urban centers may exhibit surface-level liberalization in female workforce participation and social autonomy, but these indicators often camouflage the persistent undercurrents of gendered expectations. Women, even when educated and employed, are frequently subjected to the “double burden”—juggling professional obligations with entrenched domestic responsibilities. The idea of the "ideal Indian woman" remains tethered to notions of chastity, compliance, and familial prioritization, subtly reinforced through popular media, matrimonial conventions, and institutional biases. In rural and semi-urban contexts, the scenario becomes even more layered. While grassroots movements and self-help groups have undoubtedly empowered many women economically and politically, the transformation in gender attitudes is far from uniform. Customary practices such as dowry, son-preference, and moral policing continue to restrict female agency. The intersection of gender with caste, class, and religion further complicates this matrix, rendering some women doubly or triply marginalized. For instance, a Dalit woman in a patriarchal village setup not only grapples with gendered subjugation but also caste discrimination and socio-economic precarity. Meanwhile, discussions around masculinity in India have remained relatively under-theorized. The cultural construct of the Indian male continues to valorize dominance, emotional stoicism, and economic provisioning. These norms are not only restrictive for women but also profoundly limiting for men, who face stigmatization when deviating from prescribed masculine roles. The lack of space for emotional vulnerability or non-conformist identity expression among men reveals that patriarchal systems, while privileging one gender, dehumanize both. Education, digital media, and feminist activism have undoubtedly created ruptures in traditional gender narratives. However, the backlash against progressive gender norms—evident in increasing online misogyny, moral vigilantism, and politicization of women’s autonomy—signals that change is not linear. Legislation alone cannot undo centuries of cultural indoctrination; transformation demands a deeper, intergenerational shift in values. To genuinely transcend regressive gender binaries, India must invest not just in policies but in pedagogies—ones that dismantle gender essentialism from early childhood, promote inclusive masculinities, and validate diverse gender expressions. Without such a fundamental reimagining, the rhetoric of equality will continue to outpace reality, and gender roles will remain ensnared in a paradox of progress and persistence.
What does the author suggest about masculinity in Indian society?
- (a)It imposes restrictive roles on men as well
- (b)It is more progressive than femininity
- (c)It promotes emotional well-being
- (d)Masculinity is biologically fixed
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The passage says it outright. The norms of Indian masculinity 'are not only restrictive for women but also profoundly limiting for men, who face stigmatization when deviating from prescribed masculine roles.'
The next sentence draws the conclusion: patriarchal systems, 'while privileging one gender, dehumanize both.' Restrictive for men as well → option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)It is more progressive than femininity — The passage never ranks masculinity as more progressive than femininity. It describes a construct that valorizes 'dominance, emotional stoicism, and economic provisioning' — something to reform, not a model.
- (c)It promotes emotional well-being — The reverse of the text. Emotional stoicism is one of the traits the construct valorizes, and the passage points to 'the lack of space for emotional vulnerability' among men.
- (d)Masculinity is biologically fixed — The passage calls masculinity a cultural construct and asks for pedagogies that 'promote inclusive masculinities' — a view of it as learned and changeable, not biologically fixed.
Concept
An inference question ('What does the author suggest…') is still answered from the text. Find the sentences on the named topic — here the stretch that opens 'Meanwhile, discussions around masculinity' — and test each option against them.
The keyed option restates 'profoundly limiting for men'. The wrong options either reverse the passage or add a claim it never makes.
The option's as well mirrors the passage's 'not only … but also': the author's point is that men are harmed too, not instead of women.
Key facts
- In the passage, 'the cultural construct of the Indian male' valorizes dominance, emotional stoicism and economic provisioning.
- It calls these norms 'profoundly limiting for men', who face stigmatization when they deviate from prescribed masculine roles.
- Its conclusion: patriarchal systems, 'while privileging one gender, dehumanize both'.
- Stoicism means enduring pain or hardship without showing one's feelings.
Study next
Common traps
- Reading the passage as only about women and ruling out any option about men — the masculinity sentences say the norms limit men too.
- Picking 'It promotes emotional well-being' because 'emotional' appears near 'masculinity' — the passage mentions emotion only to say men lack room for it.
The same passage carries English Q.16 on the 'double burden' and Q.17 on the contradiction in urban gender progress, with Q.19 on rural women and Q.20 on the author's remedy.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.