Directions: Replace the number with the word(s) that best fit(s) the meaning of the passage as a whole.
Indian institutions prefer students to be _______ (46) listeners. Our education system, barring a few exceptions, encourages a hierarchical relationship between teacher and student. The former controls knowledge and the latter is expected to submissively accept what is handed down. The argumentative Indian thrives despite the system. This may look like an / a _______ (47) because a competitive political democracy like India should have facilitated an educational system that is cool about arguments and dissent. Or, is the _______ (48) in the education system a reflection of a flaw in our democratic culture? We have regular elections and our political space teems with parties subscribing to a _______ (49) of ideologies. But is this space sufficiently democratic so that people get the leaders they deserve? A range of identities such as family, clan, caste, religion influences our choice of leaders more than their understanding of public policy. Beneath _______ (50) of democracy, the old social order, where caste was privileged over merit, has survived, though in a weaker form.
Beneath _______ (50) of democracy, the old social order, where caste was privileged over merit, has survived, though in a weaker form