Q. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The concept of National Integration involves political, economic, social, cultural and psychological dimensions and inter-relation between them.
Reason (R) : The National Integration Council was constituted in 1961 on the principle of ‘Unity in Diversity’.
Select the correct answer from the code given below :
a) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
b) (A) is false, but (R) is true
c) (A) is true, but (R) is false
d) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Correct Answer: a) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
Question from UPPSC Prelims 2025
Explanation:
Assertion (A) is true: National integration is a multi-dimensional process encompassing political (constitutional and administrative unity), economic (equitable development), social (eradicating communal/caste/regional divides), cultural (respecting and accommodating diversity), and psychological (a sense of common nationhood) dimensions, and it requires inter-relations among these.
Reason (R) is also true: The National Integration Council (NIC) was constituted in 1961 under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to review threats to national integration—such as communalism, casteism, regionalism, and linguism—and to promote the ideal often encapsulated as ‘Unity in Diversity’.
However, (R) does not correctly explain (A). (R) states an institutional fact about the NIC’s establishment and guiding ideal; it does not explain why the concept of national integration necessarily involves multiple interrelated dimensions. Therefore, both statements are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
