In Hind Swaraj, Mahatma Gandhi was critical of railways, because they are 1. carriers of plague germs 2. instruments for frequency of famines 3. responsible for creating class division in the society 4. accident-prone Select the correct answer using the code given below : Code :

In his seminal work 'Hind Swaraj' (1909), Mahatma Gandhi presented a scathing critique of modern civilization, specifically targeting the railways. He argued that railways were responsible for the spread of infectious diseases, explicitly describing them as 'carriers of plague germs' [t1][t4][t9]. Furthermore, he contended that railways were 'instruments for frequency of famines' because they facilitated the rapid export of grain from local areas to central markets or for export, leaving local populations vulnerable during shortages [t2][t7]. While Gandhi also criticized railways for enabling the 'evil-minded' to travel and for desecrating holy places, his specific arguments regarding physical and economic devastation centered on the spread of the bubonic plague and the intensification of famines. He did not primarily frame his 'Hind Swaraj' critique around modern sociological concepts like 'class division' or 'accident-prone' nature in the way modern critics might [t6][t7].

Sources

1. [1] https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/63875/1/Block-3.pdf