In the following item, a short passage about Mahatma Gandhi's early studies is jumbled. The passage has six sentences. S1 and S6 are fixed. The middle four sentences labelled P, Q, R and S are given in a mixed order. Read the sentences about Gandhi's college life and his decision to go to England and choose the option that gives the correct sequence of P, Q, R and S between S1 and S6. S1: At the age of eighteen Gandhi went to college, but remained for only part of the year. S6: This was against his religion, and most of his relatives were against his going. P: Soon after this, he was advised to go to England to study to be a lawyer. Q: Studies did not interest him and he did not do well. R: It was difficult for him to leave India and go to a foreign land where he would have to eat and drink with foreigners. S: This would not be easy. The proper sequence should be

Introduction / Context:
This question presents a jumbled passage about Mahatma Gandhi's early college days and his decision to go to England to study law. The first and last sentences are fixed, while the middle four must be rearranged. You need to follow the logical and chronological order of Gandhi's experience: his poor performance in college, the advice to go to England, and his emotional and religious difficulties about leaving India.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• S1: Gandhi went to college at eighteen but stayed only for part of the year.
• S6: Going to England was against his religion and opposed by most of his relatives.
• Q: Studies did not interest him and he did not do well.
• P: Soon after this, he was advised to go to England to study law.
• S: This would not be easy.
• R: It was difficult for him to leave India and go to a foreign land where he would have to eat and drink with foreigners.
• We assume “this” in S refers to the plan of going to England which is first introduced in P.

Concept / Approach:
To order these sentences correctly:

• First explain why his stay at college was short by linking S1 with Q.
• Then introduce the suggestion that he go to England in P.
• Next, follow up with S and R, which describe the emotional and practical difficulty of leaving India.
• Finally, let S6 summarise the religious and social opposition to his decision.

Pronoun references and logical cause and effect help decide the correct order.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: After S1 mentions that Gandhi went to college but stayed only part of the year, we need a reason for his lack of success. Q states that studies did not interest him and he did not do well, which clearly explains why his stay was short, so Q should follow S1. Step 2: Once his lack of interest and poor performance are established, P logically follows: “Soon after this, he was advised to go to England to study to be a lawyer.” The phrase “after this” refers to his unsatisfactory college performance described in Q. Step 3: When the idea of going to England is introduced in P, the sentence S naturally follows: “This would not be easy.” The pronoun “This” refers to the difficult decision to go to England. Step 4: Sentence R then elaborates on the difficulty mentioned in S: “It was difficult for him to leave India and go to a foreign land where he would have to eat and drink with foreigners.” This explains why going to England would not be easy. Step 5: Finally, S6 states that the journey was against his religion and opposed by relatives, which neatly sums up the pressures and obstacles surrounding the decision mentioned in P, S and R.

Verification / Alternative check:
With the sequence Q P S R, the story flows smoothly: Gandhi performs poorly in college, is advised to go to England, realises that this will be difficult, and faces emotional, cultural and religious barriers. S6 then emphasises that his religion and relatives were against the plan. No pronoun is left without a clear reference and the cause and effect pattern is consistent.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
P S R Q: This order introduces the advice to go to England before explaining why his stay at college was short. Q then appears too late, breaking the logical timeline.
S Q P R: Starting with S and “This would not be easy” is confusing because the reader does not yet know what “This” refers to. The explanation comes only later.
P R Q S: Here R follows P without the transitional S, and Q appears after all the discussion of going to England, disrupting the causal link between poor studies and the advice to travel.
Only Q P S R correctly develops the narrative from academic failure to the difficult decision to go abroad.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students ignore words like “Soon after this” and pronouns such as “This” or “It”. These small words carry crucial information about sequence and reference. Another common error is to treat each sentence in isolation instead of seeing how one naturally leads to another. When you read carefully and pay attention to these linking words, you can reconstruct the author's intended order much more accurately.

Final Answer:
The correct order of the jumbled sentences is Q P S R, so the correct option is “Q P S R”.