Important Questions

(A)

1. Explain some economic effects of the Non-Cooperation Movement.

The economic effects of the non-cooperation movement were very significant asmentioned below:

i. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picked and foreign clothes were burnt in huge bonfires.

ii. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922 and its value dropped from Rs.102 crores to Rs.57 crores.

iii. In many areas, merchants and traders abstained from trading in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.

iv. As the boycott movement spread, people used only Indian clothes and began to discard foreign clothes.

v. As a result, the production of Indian textiles and handlooms went up.

2. Analyse the role of merchants and the industrialists in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The following points analyse the role of merchants and the industrialists in the Civil Disobedience Movement:

i. During the First World War, Indian merchants and industrialists made huge profits and emerged as a powerful section. They opposed colonial policies that restricted business activities because they wanted to expand their business.

ii. They wanted protection against imports of foreign goods and a rupee sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports.

iii. The industrialists criticised colonial control over the Indian economy and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement at its first stage.

iv. They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.

v. Most industrialists thought ‘Swaraj’ as a time when colonial restriction did not exist in the business world, as a result, trade and business would flourish without constraints.

(B)

1. How did the First World War transform the US economy to make it an international

creditor from an international debtor?

22. The First World War transform the US economy to make it an international creditor from an international debtor because:

i. The First World War was the first industrial war.

ii. Britain borrowed large sums of money from US banks as well as from companies to pay off loans.

iii. US though a party to war was physically unaffected. It witnessed an industrial boom and an increase in agricultural production.

iv. The US was in a position to lend to European countries to recover from the shock of war. As a result, the US emerged as an international creditor from a debtor.

v. By the end of the war, the US and its citizens owned more overseas assets than foreign governments and citizens owned in the US.

2. Mention any four difficulties of the local government in India

 Four difficulties of the local government in India are:

i. Most states have not transferred significant powers to the local governments.

ii. There is a shortage of resources.

iii. Elections are not held regularly.

iv. The Gram Sabha are not held regularly.

(3)

Q 1. Which political solutions were adopted by Dalits leaders to the problems of their community?

Ans  a. Many Dalits leaders were keen on different political solutions to the problems of the community.

b. They began organizing themselves and demanding reserved seats in electoral institutions.

c. They also asked for separate electorate that would choose Dalits members for legislative councils.

d. They believed, Political empowerment would resolve the problems of their social disabilities.

e. Dr B R Ambedkar organized the Dalits and formed a Depressed classes Association in 1930s.

f. These voluntary organizations also receive financial support from the government for creating awareness among people.

2. Describe the impact of Rinderpest on people’s livelihoods and local economy in Africa in the 1890s

Ans. Rinderpest was a fast-spreading disease of cattle.

i. Rinderpest arrived in Africa in the late 1880s. It was carried by infected cattle

imported from British Asia to feed the Italian soldiers invading Eritrea in East Africa.

ii. Entering Africa in the east, rinderpest moved west ‘like a forest fire’, reaching Africa’s Atlantic coast in 1892. It reached the Cape (Africa’s southernmost tip) five years later. Along the way, rinderpest killed 90 percent of the cattle.

iii. The loss of cattle destroyed African livelihoods. Planters, mine owners and colonial governments now successfully monopolised that scarce cattle resources remained, to strengthen their power and to force Africans into the labour market.

iv. Control over the scarce resource of cattle enabled European colonisers to conquer and subdue Africa.

  

(4)

1. How did food habits travel from one place to another in the process of cultural exchange?

In the process of long-distance cultural exchanges, food habits are often taken up by others.

ii. Many of the common foods such as potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes etc. were not known to the ancestors until about five centuries ago. These foods were only introduced in Europe and Asia after Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the vast continent that would later become known as the Americas

iii. The noodles and pasta, which are supposed to be of Italian origin, were originally brought by the Arabs to Sicily.

2. Describe any three non-conventional sources of energy.

 Non-conventional sources of energy are:

i. Solar Energy: India is a tropical country. It has enormous possibilities for trapping solar energy. Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into electricity. Solar energy is becoming popular in rural and remote areas.

ii. Wind Energy: India now ranks as a 'wind super-power' in the world. The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagercoil to Madurai. Nagercoil and Jaisalmer are well-known for the effective use of wind energy in the country.

iii. Biogas: Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas. Biogas plants using cattle dung are known as 'Gobar Gas Plants' in rural India.

Q.3 How would you classify the types of coal on the basis of geological ages?

Classification of coals on the basis of geological ages are:

i. Gondwana Coalfields: The Gondwana coalfields are 250 million years of age. The major resources of Gondwana coal which are metallurgical coal are located in Damodar valley (West-Bengal-Jharkhand). Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro and important coalfields. The Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys also contain coal deposits.

ii. Tertiary Coalfields: The Tertiary coalfields are only 55 million years old. Tertiary coals occur in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

  

(5)

Q.1. Which states of India have the maximum extent of cotton textile growth? Give four reasons for its concentration in this state

Ans.  Cotton textile industry mainly flourished in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Reasons for the concentration of cotton textile industry in these states are:

a. Availability of Raw Materials: There is enough production of cotton due to suitable soil type and other climatic conditions, cotton is grown in a vast area in these states.

b. Transport: These states are well connected to the rest of the country by rail and road. Also, they have many large ports from where it is easy to export the finished product.

c. Market: They also have good transport facilities that enable their reach to the national and international markets.

d. Labour: Although they have a locally available cheap labour force, they are supported by migrant labours from the Northern states.

e. Moist Climate: For cotton cultivation, moist climate is a must. These states have favourable climate

Q.2. What is manufacturing sector? Describe four types of manufacturing sector on the basis of ownershiptic conditions.

Ans .  Manufacturing Sector: Manufacturing means the production of goods in large quantities after processing from raw materials to more valuable products. For example, paper is manufactured from wood and sugar from sugarcane.

On the basis of ownership there are four types of manufacturing :

i. Public sector owned by Govt, agencies. For example SAIL, BHEL etc.

ii. Private sector owned by individuals or a group of individuals. For example TISCO, Dabur Industries, etc.

iii. Joint sector jointly owned by individuals and the state. For example Oil India Ltd, etc.

iv. Cooperative sector is owned and operated by the producers or suppliers of raw materials, workers or both. For example Mother Dairy, Anand etc.

(6)

Q.1. Which states of India have the maximum extent of cotton textile growth? Give four reasons for its concentration in this state

Q.2. Describe the impact of Rinderpest on people’s livelihoods and local economy in Africa in the 1890s

Q.3 How would you classify the types of coal on the basis of geological ages?

Q.4. What is manufacturing sector? Describe four types of manufacturing sector on the basis of ownership conditions.

Q.5. Describe any three non-conventional sources of energy.

(7)

Q.1. Which states of India have the maximum extent of cotton textile growth? Give four reasons for its concentration in this state

Q.2. Describe the impact of Rinderpest on people’s livelihoods and local economy in Africa in the 1890s

Q.3 How would you classify the types of coal on the basis of geological ages?

Q.4. What is manufacturing sector? Describe four types of manufacturing sector on the basis of ownership conditions.

Q.5. Describe any three non-conventional sources of energy.

(8)

Question 1.What is a political party? What are the components of a political party?( 5 marks)

Answer.  Political Party: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. Always political parties take some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good. There are different views on what is good for the society and people. Every political party wants to persuade people why their policies are better than other parties and try to win the support of people.

Three Components of a Political Party:

i.                     The Leaders Every political party has some prominent leaders who formulate policies and programmes of the party and choose candidates for contesting elections.

ii.                   The Active Members They are involved in different committees of the party and participate directly in their activity.

iii.                 The Followers They believe in the party’s ideology and support the party by casting their votes in favour of the party at the time of election.

(9)

Question. Distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary activities with examples.

Answers.

Primary activities	Secondary activities	Tertiary activities
It is known as agriculture and allied services sector	It is known as manufacturing sector.	It is known as service sector.
This sector produce goods and services by exploiting natural resources	This sector transforms one good into another by creating more utility from it.	This sector provides useful services to primary and secondary sectors for these functioning of their working.
This sector is unorganized and use traditional techniques	It is an organised sector and uses better techniques.	It is an organised sector and uses better techniques
Activities related to agriculture, forestry  fishing, mining and animal  husbandry are included in this sector	It includes manufacturing units, small scale units, large firms, big corporates and multinational corporations	Services related to Banking, transportation, communication, teaching nursing, etc. are tertiary activities

                                                  

.

(10)

Question 1 . Highlight three major distinctions between the federations of 'coming together' type and 'holding together' type.

Answer. The exact balance of power between the central and state governments varies from federation to federation. This balance depends mainly on the historical context on which the federation was formed. There are two kinds of routes through which federations are formed. They are holding together federation and coming together federation.

Holding Together Federation:

i. Large country decides to divide its power between states and the centre.

ii. Central government tends to be more powerful.

iii. Federating units have unequal power.

Coming Together Federation:

i. Independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit.

ii. All the states have equal power and are strong.

iii. By pooling sovereignty and retaining identity, they increase their security.

Question.2. Describe any five constitutional provisions that make India a secular state

Answer. Secularism means no special status is given to any religion. It is just not an ideology of some parties or persons.

i. There is no official religion for the Indian State.

ii. Unlike the status of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, that of Islam in Pakistan and Christianity in England, our Constitution does not give special status to any religion.

iii. The Constitution provides to all individuals and communities freedom to proffer’s practice and propagate any religion, or not to follow any.

iv. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion.

v. The Constitution allows the State to intervene in the matters of religion in order to ensure equality within religious communities.

Question.3. How are Multinational Corporations (MNCs) controlling and spreading their

productions across the world? Explain.

Answer. MNC is an enterprise operating in several countries but managed from one (home)

country. There are a variety of ways in which the MNCs are spreading their production across the globe which are as under:

i. MNCs set up production jointly with the local companies of that area. This benefits the local companies as the MNC may bring with it better technology and provide money for investment.

ii. They set-up units where there is skilled and unskilled labour available at low cost.

iii. Large MNCs in developed countries place orders for productions with small producers.

iv. They have tremendous power to determine price, quality delivery and labour conditions for distant producers.

v. Sometimes, MNCs order the product from local producers. When the product like garments is supplied to the MNC, they sell it under their own brand name.

(11)

1. Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties. Analyse the statement.

Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties because:

i. Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning.

ii. There are few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top at a party. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their family members.

iii. In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family.

iv. This practice is unfair to other members of that party and is also bad for democracy.

v. This is also bad for democracy since people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power. This tendency is present in some measure all over the world, including in some of the older demoscracies.

2. Who are the people that work in an unorganised sector?

i. In the rural areas, the unorganised sector mostly comprises of the landless agricultural labourers, small and marginal farmers, sharecroppers and artisans (such as weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters and goldsmiths).

ii. The majority of workers from scheduled castes, tribes and backward communities find themselves in the unorganised sector.

3.Mention three points of difference between formal sector and informal sector loans.

Formal sector loans:

i. Formal sector loans are such loans which are taken either from the banks or the

co-operatives.

ii. It is under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India.

iii. In case of formal sector, the rate of interest is reasonable.

Informal sector loans:

i. Informal sector loans are those which are taken from moneylenders, traders,

employers, relatives and friends.

ii. There is no supervision of any institution.

iii. Very high rates of interest are charged in case of Informal sector.

(12)

Question1. Explain any five proper farming techniques which can be used for soil conservation.

i. Strip Cropping: To counter the effect of wind the practice of strip cropping is

followed to stop wind erosion. Large fields are divided in strips. Grass in strips is

left to grow between the crops.

ii. Contour Ploughing: Ploughing along the contour lines does not let water run down

the slopes. This technique involved ploughing along contours, so that the furrows

follow lines linking points of the same height. Such furrows halt the downward

flow of water and reduce erosion.

iii. Terrace Farming: Since ancient times farmers have built terraces or steps up a

hillside creating several levels of farms. Hill slopes are cut into a number of

terraces having horizontal top and steep slopes on the back and front.

iv. Crop Rotation: If the same crop is sown in the same field year after year, this

consumes particular nutrients from the soil, thus making it infertile. Crop rotation

can check the type of erosion.

v. Shelter Belts: Planting trees to create shelter also works in a similar way. Rows of

such trees are called shelter belts. These shelter belts have contributed

significantly to the stabilization of sand dunes and in establishing the desert in

western India.

Question 2.How is money used as a medium of exchange? Explain with examples.

Money acts as a medium of exchange in the following ways:

i. Unlike barter system, it eliminates the need for double coincidence of wants. For

example, if a person needs wheat in exchange for tea, then he/she must search for

a person who is ready to trade wheat for tea. Money made the need for such

searches redundant.

ii. Money is used as a medium of exchange because it's the intermediary in the

exchange process. Anything in the market can be bought and sold with it.

iii. Money acts as a medium of deferred payment.

iv. Money has a store value

(13)

Question 1. What was the objective of Simon Commission? Why was it opposed in India?

Sir John Simon was the head of a Statutory Commission set up by the Britain government . Simon Commission was to look into the functioning of the

constitutional system in India and suggest changes.

It was opposed because of the following reasons:

a. The Commission did not have any Indian as its members.

b. All its members were the British.

2. Explain the differences between horizontal power sharing and vertical power

sharing.

Horizontal Division of Power Sharing
A. Horizontal Division of power, in which power is shared among different organs of the government like legislature, Executive and Judiciary.
B. Different organs of the government exercise power.
C. It specifies the concept of check and balance.

Vertical Division of Power Sharing

A. In vertical division of Power Sharing power is shared among the different levels

of the government like Union Government,

state government and Lower levels.

B. Different levels of the government

exercise the power of the government.

C. No specification of the system of checks

and balance.

Question 3. Explain the reasons for the lack of internal democracy in the political parties of India.

A. There is lack of internal democracy within political parties. Parties do not keep

membership registers and do not hold organizational meetings.

B. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what

happens inside the party.

C. They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the

decisions.

D. As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of

the party.

(14)

Question.1. Describe the importance of political parties in a Democratic Government.

Importance of Political Parties:

Modern democracies cannot exist without political parties. Political parties perform

various functions. Every candidate in the elections will be independent so no one will

be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes. The

government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever uncertain. Elected

representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the

locality. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of

representative democracies.

Question 2. The old notions of caste hierarchy are breaking down in India”-Support the answer statement with suitable examples.

A. As per the old caste hierarchy Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras formed

the ladder from top to bottom. Various socio-economic and political changes have

almost broken down this hierarchy.

B. The main occupations of the Brahmins were to perform various religious rites.

Now, one can see Brahmins in various other occupations. They are running shops

and hotels.

C. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas are also working in many fields.

D. Shudras, who were once untouchables, are now politicians, Doctors, professors

and they now hold various respectable posts in government and private sectors.

E. Urbanization and Education have brought a change in the mindset of modern

youths from all castes and they are living and working together.