Here, the word 'antagonistic' is closest in meaning to
GATE Chemistry - 2017,
Answer: D
The word 'antagonistic' is closest in meaning to hostile.
The author speaks of the subcontinent being cleaved 'into two mutually antagonistic parts', meaning two parts opposed to and unfriendly toward each other. 'Antagonistic' describes active opposition or enmity, which is what 'hostile' means.
'Impartial' is the opposite kind of word: the passage itself uses it for a neutral, unbiased record. 'Argumentative' describes someone inclined to quarrel in words, a narrower and milder idea than the enmity between two countries. 'Separated' repeats the idea of 'cleaving' in the same phrase rather than the quality of 'antagonistic'.
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