With reference to the book “Desher Katha” written by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar during the freedom struggle, consider the following statements : 1. It warned against the Colonial State’s hypnotic conquest of the mind. 2. It inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs. 3. The use of ‘desh’ by Deuskar was in the specific context of the region of Bengal. Which of the statements given above are correct ?
- (a) 1 and 2 only ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Why the answer is (a)
• 'Desher Katha' (1904) by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar, a Maharashtrian settled in Bengal, exposed the colonial drain of wealth and warned that the colonial State conquered not just territory but the Indian mind (statement 1).
• It sold thousands of copies, was banned in 1910, and inspired Swadeshi-era street plays, jatras and folk songs (statement 2).
• Statement 3 is wrong: Deuskar used 'desh' to mean the whole of India, not merely Bengal — a deliberately national framing.
• Hence 1 and 2 only, option (a).
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- Statement 3 is wrong: 'desh' meant India, not Bengal.
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- Statement 3 is wrong; statement 2 is correct.
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
- Statement 3 is wrong.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, held on 4 October 2020. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.