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 the age of marriage be raised to 25 years for boys and 21 for girls?

Arguments:
(i) No, it is difficult to change a social practice in Indian conditions.
(ii) Yes, by that age people develop a sense of responsibility and also complete their education.

Show Hint

Saying a change is hard to bring about is not the same as saying the change is bad. Check which argument actually speaks to whether the higher age is worth having.
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 B

Solution and Explanation

This item asks whether the legal marriage age should be pushed up to 25 for boys and 21 for girls. Judging the arguments means keeping two questions apart. Should the change be made, and can the change be made easily? Only the first one is being debated here.

  1. Argument (i), No, it is difficult to change a social practice in Indian conditions: This talks about how hard the change would be, not about whether it is worth making. If difficulty settled such questions, no social reform would ever have been attempted, yet law has ended several entrenched practices in India. The argument never explains what would be wrong with a higher marriage age, so it is weak.
  2. Argument (ii), Yes, by that age people develop a sense of responsibility and also complete their education: Both benefits are real. Marriage carries duties towards a partner, a household and children, and a more mature person handles those duties better. Completing education first protects earning power and independence, and early marriage is exactly what cuts education short. These gains follow straight from the ages proposed, so the argument is strong.

Only the second argument speaks to the merits of the proposal, so option (B) is correct.

Let us summarize:

  • Difficulty of implementation is not a reason against a proposal, so argument (i) is weak.
  • Maturity and completed education are direct benefits of a higher marriage age, so argument (ii) is strong.
  • Options (A) and (C) accept the difficulty argument, and (D) rejects a sound one.

The correct answer is Argument (ii) is strong.

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