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The symbol of India in Indian passports and Indian currency notes has been a lion and a spoked-wheel or chakra, both from the Ashoka pillar. Now the government has (76) ______ the lotus on the passport, as part of security measures, we are told, (77)_______ replaced by other national symbols in subsequent months. But many see this as a political move, yet another path of saffronisation, as the lotus is the political symbol of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party which values the Hindutva ideology-based “Hindu Rashtra” over the more secular “Idea of India". This draws our attention to symbols, and how politicians have reduced it to signs.
A sign has a (78). . meaning. A symbol has multiple meanings, shifting with context. For example, the red colour is a “stop" sign in traffic, but a "fertility" symbol in Hinduism, and in China, while being (79)________of the “devil", "scarlet women" or “Santa Claus" in Christianity. Was the lion and the chakra chosen as a sign of India, or symbol? Does it have a specific meaning or a contextual one? One is constantly reminded it is not just any lion, or any chakra, it is that of Ashoka, which connects it with the first (80)________ empire of India, the Mauryan, and to a king who found peace in Buddhism after years of violence. Did Ashoka see his symbols the same way as Indians did during the freedom struggle?
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Direction (76-80): In the following passage some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each blank.The symbol of India in Indian passports and Indian currency notes has been a lion and a spoked-wheel or chakra, both from the Ashoka pillar. Now the government has (76) ______ the lotus on the passport, as part of security measures, we are told, (77)_______ replaced by other national symbols in subsequent months. But many see this as a political move, yet another path of saffronisation, as the lotus is the political symbol of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party which values the Hindutva ideology-based “Hindu Rashtra” over the more secular “Idea of India". This draws our attention to symbols, and how politicians have reduced it to signs.
A sign has a (78). . meaning. A symbol has multiple meanings, shifting with context. For example, the red colour is a “stop" sign in traffic, but a "fertility" symbol in Hinduism, and in China, while being (79)________of the “devil", "scarlet women" or “Santa Claus" in Christianity. Was the lion and the chakra chosen as a sign of India, or symbol? Does it have a specific meaning or a contextual one? One is constantly reminded it is not just any lion, or any chakra, it is that of Ashoka, which connects it with the first (80)________ empire of India, the Mauryan, and to a king who found peace in Buddhism after years of violence. Did Ashoka see his symbols the same way as Indians did during the freedom struggle?
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