Official Answer Key & Detailed Solution
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Correct Answer: Option (B) — 1 and 2 only
Concept & Option Breakdown
Standard Reference Verified- Statement 1 is correct: The Brahmo Samaj, founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828, strictly opposed image/idol worship and preached monotheism.
- Statement 2 is correct: It believed that human reason and conscience are supreme, rejecting the intermediary role of a priestly class for reading and interpreting scriptures.
- Statement 3 is incorrect: Brahmo Samaj rejected the doctrine of scriptural infallibility (the infallibility of the Vedas was famously preached by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and the Arya Samaj, not Brahmo Samaj; in fact, under Debendranath Tagore and Akshoy Kumar Dutt, Brahmo Samaj explicitly acknowledged that the Vedas were not infallible).
Identify ideological consistency: Brahmo Samaj is rationalist and reformist (Statements 1 and 2). In contrast, 'infallibility of the Vedas' represents scriptural orthodoxy (associated with Arya Samaj). This directly eliminates Statement 3, leaving only (b).
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