Project Forge"Here, throughout the early 1820s, Stuart continued to fight his losing battle to allow his sepoys to wear their caste-marks and their own choice of facial hair on parade, being again reprimanded by the commander-in-chief. His retort that 'A stronger instance than this of European prejudice with relation to this country has never come under my observations' had no effect on his superiors."
According to this paragraph, which of the statements below is most accurate?
- AStuart's commander-in-chief was moved by this demonstration of his prejudice.
- BThe Europeans were accommodating of the sepoys' desire to wear their caste-marks.
- Stuart's 'losing battle' refers to his inability to succeed in enabling sepoys to wear caste-marks.
- DThe commander-in-chief was exempt from the European prejudice that dictated how the sepoys were to dress.
Explanation
The passage describes Stuart repeatedly fighting to let his sepoys wear caste-marks, being reprimanded again, and his retort 'had no effect on his superiors' — i.e. he kept failing to change the policy. That's exactly what 'losing battle' describes: his inability to succeed in getting sepoys permission to wear caste-marks. The other options directly contradict the passage (the commander-in-chief reprimanded him rather than being moved, and Europeans/superiors were NOT accommodating).
Source: GATE ME 2017 Session 1 (ME-1) (2017)
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