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GATE 2026 XH2 (English) – Question 59

Critical Theories and Intellectual Traditions · Theoretical Paradigms: Structuralism, Marxism, feminism, existentialism, poststructuralism, modernism, postmodernism, new historicism, postcolonialism, posthumanism · 2 marks · Multiple select

“Colonialism imposed its control of the social production of wealth through military conquest and subsequent political dictatorship. But its most important area of domination was the mental universe of the colonised, the control, through culture, of how people perceived themselves and their relationship to the world.”

Which of the following options is/are implied by the excerpt?

  1. Colonialism had military, political, and cultural dimensions.
  2. In addition to controlling wealth and resources, colonialism also sought to control the mental realm of the colonised.
  3. Colonialism ends with the overthrow of military conquest.
  4. Social production of wealth shapes the colonised people’s perception of themselves.

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (A) Colonialism had military, political, and cultural dimensions.; (B) In addition to controlling wealth and resources, colonialism also sought to control the mental realm of the colonised.

Explanation

The excerpt (from Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Decolonising the Mind) names military conquest, political dictatorship and cultural control, and says the mental universe of the colonised was the most important area of domination. That supports A and B. It does not say colonialism ends with military defeat, and it ties perception to culture rather than to the production of wealth.