Chapter 2 ERA OF ONE PARTY DOMINANCE

1. What was the main challenge of building democracy?
Ans. Since the national unity was the first priority and that democracy will introduce differences and conflicts. Therefore many countries that gained freedom from colonialism experienced non-democratic rule.
2. When was the Constitution of India adopted and came into effect?
Ans. The Constitution was adopted on 26 th November 1949 and it came into effect on 26th January 1950.
3. When was the election commission of India set up and who was the first election Commissioner of India?
Ans. It was set up in 1950 and Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India.
4. When were the first general elections held in India?
Ans. It was held from October 1951 to February 1952.
5. The first general elections were expected to be held in 1950. But it was delayed,  why?
Ans. It was delayed due to the big size of India, delimitation of constituencies, preparation of electoral rolls, to devise a special method of voting and only fifteen percent of the eligible voters were literate. All these led to delay. The election commission trained over three lakh officers and polling staff to conduct elections.
6. Why was the first general election considered unusual?
Ans. Big size of the country and voters.The population of India was illiterate and poor.. Till then democracy existed only in rich countries of Europe.
7.What was the mehod of voting in the first general election of India? How the method charged later?
Ans. Each voter was given a blank ballot paper which they had to drop into the box of the candidates they wanted to vote for. About twenty lakh steel boxes were used for this purpose. After the first two elections this method was changed. Now the ballot paper carried the names and symbols of all candidates and the voter was required to put a  stamp on the name of the candidate they wanted to vote for. This method worked nearly for forty years.Towards the end of 1990s the election commission started using EVM.By 2004 entire country had shifted to EVM.
8. What was the Congress attitude after losing the assembly elections in Kerala in 1957?
Ans. On losing power in the state the Congress party began "liberation struggle"  against the elected government. The communist party of India had come to power.In 1959 the Congress government at the centre dismissed the government and imposed state emergency in Kerala under Article 356 of the Indian constitution. This proved controversial.
9.In how many elections did the Congress dominate?
Ans.. In the first three general elections  ie. 1952,1957 & 1962.
10.Name some countries having one party system?
Ans..Cuba, China Mexico and Syria.

Chapter 1 Challenges of Nation Building.

1. Name the two goals which our leaders had agreed upon after independence of India.
Ans.  A) that our country shall be run through democratic government.
         B) that the government will be run for the good of all particularly for the poor and the socially disadvantaged groups.
2. What was the circumstance in which India attained independence?
Ans. Freedom came with the partition of the country,
3. What were the three challenges before the newly independent India.
Ans. A) to shape a nation that was united to accommodate the diversity of our society.
         B) to establish democracy.
         C) to ensure well being and development of the entire society.
4. The partition was a outcome of which theory?
Ans. It was the outcome of  two - nation theory.
5. What is two -nation theory?
Ans. The two - nation theory was advanced by the Muslim League. It said India consisted of not one but two people. Hindus and Muslims. That is why it demanded Pakistan.
6. What do you mean by the principle of religious majorities?
Ans. It means that areas where the Muslims were in majority would make up the territory of Pakistan and the rest would remain with India.
7. The east and west Pakistan were separated by which territory?
Ans.  They were separated by a vast Indian territory.
8. Who was the leader of NWFP ( North West Frontier Province)?
Ans.  Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, also known as the Frontier Gandhi.
9.  What was the stand taken by Frontier Gandhi towards the two - nation theory?
Ans. He staunchly opposed the two - nation theory. His voice was ignored and the NWFP   was made  to merge with Pakistan.
10. At the time of partition, some cities became divided into communal zones.Name them.
Ans. Lahore, Amritsar and Kolkata.
11. What was the percentage of Muslim population in India in 1951?
Ans. It was 12 %.
12. What is a princely state?
Ans. During British period several small and large states were ruled by princes.
13. How many princely states existed at the time of independence?
Ans.  565.
14. What do you mean by  the integration of princely states?
Ans. It means merging all the princely states with the Indian Union after independence.
15. Name those states whose merger  merge with the Indian Union was not easy.
Ans. They are Travancore, Manipur, Hyderabad, Junagarh and Kashmir.
16.Who played a historic role in negotiating with the rulers of princely states?
Ans. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
17. Who was Deputy prime minister and Home Minister during the period immediately following independence.
Ans. Sardar Patel
18.What is Instrument of Accession.?
Ans. Its a document signed by the princely states agreeing to be a part of Union of India.
18.Who was the ruler of Hyderabad?
And. Nizam.
19.Who were  Razakars?
Ans. They were para - military force of Nizam of Hyderabad.
20. Which was the first state in independent India to hold election based on universal adult franchise?
Ans. Manipur in June 1948.
21. When and why  was States Reorganisation Commission set up?
Ans. It was set up 1953 to look into the question of redrawing of the boundaries of states.
22. What was the main recommendation of State Reorganisation Commission?
Ans. It recommended that the states in India to be formed on linguistic basis.
23. When was the States Reorganisation Act passed?
Ans. In 1956.Thus 14 states and 6 Union territories were created.
24. Which was the first state created on linguistic basis?
Ans. Andhra Pradesh in 1956.
25. What was Vishalandhra movement?
Ans. Its a movement for separate Andhra. It demanded that the Telugu speaking areas should be separated from Madras province.
26. When was Maharashtra and Gujarat created?
Ans. The Bombay state consisted of Gujarati and Marathi speaking people.. Thus the state of  Maharashtra and Gujarat were created in 1960.
27. When and why  was Punjab created?
Ans. To separate punjabi speaking area from hindi speaking area. Thus Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were separated from Punjab in 1966.
28. Name the states created in the year 1972.
Ans. In 1972 Meghalaya was carved out of Assam. The states of Manipur and Tripura were also created in this year.
29. When did Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland become a state.?
Ans. Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram came into being in 1987. Nagaland became a state in 1963.
30. Name the states created in 2000.
Ans. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal.

Chapter 9 Globalisation

1.What does the term Globalisation mean?
Ans. It is integration of economy of a country with the econoies of other countries of the world. Globalisation as a concept fundamentally deals with flows.These are flow of ideas,capital, commodity and people.
2. What is the crucial element in Globalisation?
Ans.  The crucial element is ' worldwide interconnectedness '.
3. Is Globalisation purely an economic concept?
Ans. It is not an economic concept. It is a multi -dimensional concept. It has political, cultural and economic manifestations.
4. Does Globalisation impact the whole world in a same manner?
Ans. No.The impact of Globalisation is vastly uneven. It affects some societies more than others and some parts of some societies more than others.
5. What are the  factors contributed to  Globalisation?
Ans. Globalisation is not caused by any single factor. But technology remains a critical factor. But other factors are historical factors, role of international organizations like IMF and WTO.
6.What is the major advantage of Globalisation?
Ans. It generates greater economic growth, greater trade among countries and increased independence and integration between people around the world.
7.What are different manifestations of Globalisation?
Ans.Political, economic and Cultural manifestations.