Read the following passage and answer the questions (41-45):

”The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind”

It is no use saying that we ask for separate electorates, because it is good for us. We have heard it long enough. We have heard it for years, and as a result of this agitation we are now a separate nation ... Can you show me one free country where there are separate electorates? If so, I shall be prepared to accept it. But in this unfortunate country if this separate electorate is going to be persisted in, even after the division of the country, woe betide the country; it is not worth living in. Therefore, I say, it is not for my good alone, it is for your own good that I say it, forget the past. One day, we may be united ... The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind. We do not want to perpetuate that mischief. (Hear, hear). When the British introduced this element they had not expected that they will have to go so soon. They wanted it for their easy administration. That is all right. But they have left the legacy behind. Are we to get out of it or not?

What is opposed by the speaker in the above passage?

The correct option is The demand for separate electorate.

Step-by-Step Explanation:
To identify what the speaker is opposing, we can analyze the key statements made in the passage:
1. Direct Criticism: The speaker starts by questioning the rationale behind separate electorates, stating: "It is no use saying that we ask for separate electorates, because it is good for us."
2. Lack of Global Precedent: The speaker challenges the audience to find any free democratic nation that practices this system: "Can you show me one free country where there are separate electorates? If so, I shall be prepared to accept it."
3. Warning of Negative Consequences: The speaker warns that continuing separate electorates after the partition of the country will lead to ruin: "But in this unfortunate country if this separate electorate is going to be persisted in, even after the division of the country, woe betide the country; it is not worth living in."
4. Characterization as "Mischief": The speaker attributes the introduction of separate electorates to the British colonial rulers who used it for easy administration, referring to it as a harmful legacy: "The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind. We do not want to perpetuate that mischief."

Through these arguments, the speaker explicitly opposes the continuation and demand for separate electorates, urging the country to abandon this legacy for the common good and future unity.