Question:easy

Given below is a statement followed by two arguments. Read carefully and decide which of the arguments strongly support the statement.

Statement: Should a strong institution of ombudsman be created in India?

Arguments:
(i) Yes, this will bring transparency and accountability in the administration.
(ii) No, this will develop lack of initiative and flexibility in the administration.

Show Hint

Recall what an ombudsman is actually meant to do, then check which argument states that very purpose and which one relies on a guess about how officials will react.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Argument (i) is strong.
  • Argument (ii) is strong.
  • Both (i) and (ii) are strong.
  • Neither (i) nor (ii) is strong.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

The proposal is to create a strong ombudsman in India, the kind of watchdog office the Lokpal and Lokayukta laws describe. Its job is to receive complaints against public servants and investigate misuse of office. An argument is strong when it flows from that job description and points to an effect that would really follow. Let us weigh both arguments.

  1. Argument (i), Yes, this will bring transparency and accountability in the administration: An independent body with power to investigate makes officials answerable for what they decide and why. Records get maintained, reasons get written down, and arbitrary action carries a cost. Transparency and accountability are precisely what such an office is built to deliver, so this argument sits at the heart of the proposal and is strong.
  2. Argument (ii), No, this will develop lack of initiative and flexibility in the administration: For this to work you must assume that honest officers will stop taking decisions just because a complaints body exists. An ombudsman targets corruption and maladministration, not genuine judgment calls made in good faith. The worry is speculative and rests on assumptions the argument never establishes, so it is weak.

Since only the first argument holds, option (A) is the answer.

Let us summarize:

  • The ombudsman exists to check maladministration, so an argument built on transparency and accountability goes to the core of the proposal.
  • The fear of lost initiative needs an unproven assumption that scrutiny paralyses honest officers.
  • Options (B) and (C) wrongly treat the speculative argument as strong, and (D) wrongly discards a directly relevant one.

The correct choice is therefore Argument (i) is strong.

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