This is island is a colony, however, it is --------- and receives no orders from the mother country. Find out the missing word from the following:

The answer is C) Autonomous. The sentence says the island is a colony, yet it takes no orders from the mother country. The missing word must mean self-governing or independent in decision-making, and autonomous fits exactly.

Why the others fail:

• Disinterested means impartial or unbiased, not independent. A colony can be disinterested and still be ruled from London.
• Methodical means orderly and systematic. It describes a person's working style and has nothing to do with political control.
• Heretical means departing from accepted doctrine, usually religious. It has no bearing on governance.

Core concept: the difference between a colony under direct control and a self-governing dominion. The Statute of Westminster, 1931, recognised legislative autonomy for dominions such as Canada and Australia, and this question tests vocabulary around that idea. For Mains, the same theme links to debates on federal autonomy and decentralisation.

Trap: students pick Disinterested because it sounds like a sophisticated word about independence. Check the dictionary meaning before choosing a word on sound alone.