Passage

There has been a significant trend worldwide towards regionalism in government, resulting in a widespread transfer of powers downwards towards regions and communities since the 1990s. This process, which involves the creation of new political entities and bodies at a sub-national level and an increase in their content and powers, is known as devolution. Devolution has been characterized as being made up of three factors—political legitimacy, decentralization of authority, and decentralization of resources. Political legitimacy here means a mass demand from below for the decentralization process, which is able to create a political force for it to take place. In many cases, decentralization is initiated by the upper tier of government without sufficient political mobilization for it at the grassroots level, and in such cases, the decentralization process often does not fulfill its objectives.

Question

CSATEasyPrelims 2017Comprehension

Which among the following is the most logical, rational, and critical inference that can be made from the above passage?

Explanation

Option A is incorrect. The passage does not mention the role of "powerful mass leaders. It emphasizes grassroots mobilization, not individual leaders.

Option B is incorrect. The passage notes that decentralization initiated from above, without grassroots mobilization, often fails to meet its objectives.

Option C is correct. This aligns with the idea of "political legitimacy" (mass demand) and the importance of grassroots mobilization.

Option D is incorrect. The passage highlights political legitimacy and grassroots mobilization but does not specifically require "regionalism."