Mahatma Gandhi said that some of his deepest convictions were reflected in a book titled, “Unto this Last" and the book transformed his life. What was the message from the book that transformed Mahatma Gandhi?

The book is John Ruskin's Unto This Last, which Gandhi translated into Gujarati as Sarvodaya. In his autobiography he summarised three lessons he drew from it: the good of the individual lies in the good of all; the work of a lawyer and a barber has equal value in earning a living; and a life of manual labour is worth living. The first is the message this question wants, and it became the root of his idea of Sarvodaya.

Why B is correct: it is the exact summary Gandhi gave, and it captures the book's core claim that individual and economic welfare must be judged by collective welfare.

• A is close in spirit, since Ruskin attacks inequality, but the book's message is about the dignity of labour and collective welfare, not a moral duty imposed on the educated.
• C is wrong. Ruskin does not advocate celibacy or spiritual retreat. Brahmacharya was a separate strand in Gandhi's later life, not a message of this book.
• D fails because A and C are not the book's message.

Mains angle: this links to Gandhi's economic thought, Sarvodaya and the GS-IV debate on whether markets serve the welfare of all.

Trap: choosing A because it sounds like Gandhi's social commitment. The question asks for the book's specific message, which is the welfare of all.