Political theorists no doubt have to take history of injustice, for example, untouchability, seriously. The concept of historical injustice takes note of a variety of historical wrongs that continue into the present in some form or the other and tend to resist repair. Two reasons might account for resistance to repair. One, not only are the roots of injustice buried deep in history, injustice itself constitutes economic structures of exploitation, ideologies of discrimination and modes of representation. Two, the category of historical injustice generally extends across a number of wrongs such as economic deprivation, social discrimination and lack of recognition. This category is complex, not only because of the overlap between a number of wrongs, but because one or the other wrong, generally discrimination, tends to acquire partial autonomy from others. This is borne out by the history of repair in India.
Question: What is the main idea that we can infer from the passage?
Untouchability in India has not been taken seriously by political theorists.
Historical injustice is inevitable in any society and is always beyond repair.
Social discrimination and deprivation have their roots in bad economies.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to repair every manifestation of historical injustice.
The correct option is: It is difficult, if not impossible, to repair every manifestation of historical injustice.
Step-by-Step Explanation:
1. Understanding the definition of historical injustice: The passage states that historical injustice consists of wrongs that "continue into the present in some form or the other and tend to resist repair." This establishes from the beginning that repairing historical injustice is a challenging task.
2. Analyzing the reasons for resistance to repair: The author provides two main reasons why these wrongs resist repair:
- First, the roots of injustice are deeply buried, and injustice itself forms the basis of economic exploitation, discrimination, and representation.
- Second, historical injustice is not a single issue; it spans across multiple overlapping wrongs, such as economic deprivation, social discrimination, and lack of recognition.
3. Analyzing the complexity: The passage further explains that this category is complex because these wrongs overlap, and certain forms (like discrimination) can acquire partial autonomy, making it harder to address them systematically. This is supported by the "history of repair in India."
4. Drawing the inference: Since historical injustices are deeply rooted, cover multiple overlapping areas (economic, social, and recognition-based), and resist repair to the point that some elements become autonomous, we can logically infer that repairing every single manifestation of such injustice is extremely difficult, if not entirely impossible.
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