1 Marks Questions | 2 Marks Questions | 4 Marks Questions | 6 Marks Questions
1 Mark Questions
Question 1 : Name the leaders of the freedom movement of India who was popularly known as Frontier Gandhi.
Answer : Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan.
Question 2 : Name the leader who played a historic role in negotiating with the rulers of princely states to join the Indian Union.
Answer : Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Question 3 : Mention the main recommendation of the State Reorganization Commission of 1953.
Answer : The basis of report of the States Reorganization Commission was that the boundaries of the states should reflect boundaries of different languages.
Question 4 : What is the “Two Nation Theory” advanced by Muslim League?
Answer : According to the “Two-Nation Theory”, India consisted of not one but two ‘people’, Hindus and Muslims. That is why it demanded Pakistan, a separate country for the Muslims.
Question 5 : Which four princely states of India initially resisted to join the Indian Union?
Answer : Princely states of Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Manipur initially resisted to join the Indian Union.
Question 6 : What was the huge obstacle in nation building at the time of India’s independence?
Answer : The huge obstacle in nation building at the time of India’s independence was to shape a nation that was united, yet accommodative of the diversity in our society.
Question 7 : Why were the states reorganised on linguistic basis in India in 1956?
Answer : The states were reorganised in linguistic basis under the pressure of people and leaders and also it helped to preserve the diverse culture of India.
Question 8 : Which two princely states refused to join either Pakistan or India at the time of Independence?
Answer : Hyderabad, Junagadh and Kashmir refused to join either Pakistan or India at the time of Independence.
Question 9 : What do you understand by ‘instrument of accession’?
Answer : The ‘Instrument of accession’ was a legal document created in 1947. It was executed by Government of India in princely states which was signed by most of the rulers.
Question 10 : When and by whom was the ‘tryst with destiny’ speech delivered?
Answer : ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech was delivered by Jawahar Lal Nehru at midnight on 14th-15th August, 1947.
Question 11 : Which theory was behind the partition of India in 1947?
Answer : The two-nation theory of Muslim League was behind the partition of Indian in 1947.
Question 12 : How many princely states were in India at the time of its independence?
Answer : At the time of independence there were 565 princely states in India.
Question 13 : Where was the ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech delivered by Pt.Nehru?
Answer : Pt. Nehru delivered ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech from Red Fort, Delhi on 15th August, 1947.
Question 14 : Give the name of two provinces which were also divided during the partition of India?
Answer : The two provinces which were divided during the partition of India were Punjab and Bengal.
Question 15 : Why did the leaders of the National Movement cherish the ideal of the secular nation? Give any one reason.
Answer : The leaders of the National Movement cherished the ideal of the secular nation because they knew that India i.e. Bharat is a land of many religions and faiths. So, in order to survive as a unified country India had to follow secular ideals.
2 Mark Questions
Question 1 : Analyse the two political developments of 1940s that led to the decision for the creation of Pakistan.
Answer : During 1940s in India, there were many political developments which led to the decision for the creation of Pakistan.
Two prominent among them were:
(i) The political competition between the Congress and the Muslim League was taking place. The Congress wanted to make a nation that reflect democratic government, whereas the Muslim League propounded Two-Nation Theory to gain power and status for minority community in politics.
(ii) The British were also playing their role of ‘divide and rule policy’ and accepted the Two-Nation Theory for partition of India.
Thus, in 1947 the two-nation i.e. India and Pakistan came into existence.
Question 2 : While the rest of the country was reorganized on linguistic lines in 1950s, why had Punjab to wait till 1966?
Answer : Except Punjab rest of the country was reorganized on linguistic lines in 1950s. Punjab had to wait till 1966 due to following reasons:
(i) In Punjab, there were two linguistic groups, Hindi-speaking and Punjabi-speaking.
(ii) The Punjabi-speaking people demanded a separate state.
Finally in 1966 Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were separated from Punjab.
Question 3 : Identify any two consequences of the partition of India in 1947.
Answer : Two consequences of the partition of India in 1947 are following:
(i) There were killings and atrocities on both sides of the border.
(ii) Political division of the country led to the administrative failure.
Question 4 : What is meant by ‘Two Nation Theory’?
Answer : The ‘Two Nation Theory’ means the cultural, political, religious, economic and social dissimilarities between the two major communities living in India; Hindu and Muslims.
This theory have rise to the demand of two separate countries/nations one for Muslims (Pakistan) and one for Hindus (India).
Question 5 : Name the original states from which the following states were carved out.
(i) Meghalaya
(ii) Gujarat
Answer : Meghalaya was carved out from Assam in 1972. Gujarat was carved out from Bombay state in 1960.
Question 6 : What two challenges were faced by India at the time of her independence?
Answer : The two challenges faced by India just after her independence were:
(i) Challenge to shape a nation which is accommodative of the diversity in our society.
(ii) Challenge to establish democracy.
(iii) Challenge to ensure development and well-being of the entire society.
Question 7 : What was meant by princely states? How many princely states were there in India at the time of independence?
Answer : During colonial period there were several large and small states ruled by princes were called Princely States.
There were 565 princely states at the time of independence.
Question 8 : Explain the role played by Sardar Patel in the unification of princely states in India.
Answer : Sardar Patel played following roles in the unification of princely states in India
(i) He procured letter of accession from the princely states through diplomacy and negotiation.
(ii) He used force and persuasion with the states of Hyderabad, Junagadh, Manipur ad Kashmir for their merger.
4 Mark Questions
Question 1 : What does the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 mean?
Answer : After partition Hari Singh, the Hindu ruler of Kashmir signed an ‘Instrument of Accession’ with the Government of India. Sheikh Abdullah who was against joining Pakistan, became the Prime Minister and Indian Government agreed to maintain the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir was given a special status in Article 370 of Indian Constitution.
Jammu and Kashmir is included in the first schedule as one of the states after signing the instrument of Accession. Article 370 says that except defence, foreign affairs, communication and ancillary matters, the Indian Parliament needs the permission of State Government’s for applying all other laws.
Article 370 granted special autonomous status to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Thus, the state has separate set of law, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property and Fundamental Rights.
Question 2 : How did the state of Hyderabad became a part of the Indian Union after partition?
Answer : Hyderabad, the largest of the princely states covered almost 1/3rd part of South India. Nizam signed Standstill Agreement with the Government of India and state emerged as an independent state after India’s independence. Many movements took place in Hyderabad; State specially in Telangana region where many peasant were victimized and oppressed by Nizam.
Nizam sent his para-military force, Razakars. Razakars murdered, raped and looted particularly the non-Muslims. Therefore, Central Government ordered the army to tackle the situation on 13th September, 1948, Indian army marched in Hyderabad and on the 17th September, 1948 Hyderabad surrendered. This way Hyderabad became a part of the Indian Union after partition.
Question 3 : What was the approach of the Government of India towards the princely states immediately after the partition of Indian in 1947?
Answer : At the time of India’s independence, there were 565 princely states. Immediately after partition communal violence was at its culmination. In this environment, the government’s approach towards princely states was guided by following three considerations :
(i) Firstly, the people of most of the princely states clearly wanted to become part of the Indian union.
(ii) Secondly, the government was prepared to be flexible in giving autonomy to some regions. The idea was to accommodate plurality and adopt a flexible approach in dealing with the demands of the regions.
(iii) Thirdly, in the backdrop of partition which brought into focus the contest over demarcation of territory, the integration and consolation of the territorial boundaries of the nation and assumed supreme importance.
Question 4 : Describe the outcomes of States Reorganisation Commission appointed in 1953.
Answer : The States Reorganization Act was passed in 1956. This led to the creation of 14 states and 6 Union Territories. Earlier there were demands of separate states on the list basis of linguistic line, but leaders did not support this.
Thereafter a lot of movements occurred and provinces suffered from it therefore under popular pressure, finally decision was taken in favour of linguistic states. It was hoped that if we accept the demand of linguistic claims then the separatism division would be reduced. Thus, these division reflected the true democracy.
Question 5 : Describe briefly any four problems faced in the process of partition of India.
Answer : The major problems faced by India at the time of partition were as follows:
(i) The country faced communal riots in almost every parts of India.
(ii) Problem of integration of the territories which were divided on the basis of language, religion and culture.
(ii) Problem of well being of the entire society particularly the minorities and other weaker sections.
(iv) Challenge to shape a nation which just got the independence.
(v) Challenge to establish democracy and make a constitution for all.
Question 6 : Describe how the princely states of Manipur and Junagadh acceded to India.
Answer : Accession of Manipur : After the independence in 1947, Maharaja of Manipur, Bodhachandra Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession with Indian Union on the assurance that the internal autonomy of Manipur would be maintained. Under the pressure of people of Manipur, Maharaja held the election in June, 1948 and state became a constitutional monarchy.
Thus, Manipur was the first state to hold an election on the basis of adult franchise. The legislators on the regional parties of Manipur did not want to merge with India but state Congress wanted to.
Government of India pressurized the Manipur Maharaja and succeeded to do so. Maharaja accepted the agreement and singed it without consulting the Legislative Assembly. This led to lot of anger and resentment in Manipur, the repercussions of which are still being felt.
Accession of Junagadh : In case of Junagadh, the Nawab of Junagadh wanted to merge with Pakistan or wanted to remain independent. The people of Junagadh wanted to merge with Indian Union. This lead to several events and also a plebiscite which resulted in the integration of Junagadh into India.
The successful negotiations brought many states to sign Instrument of Accession which means that states wanted to accept the sovereignty of India.
6 Mark Questions
Question 1 : Analyse any six consequences of the partition of India in 1947.
Answer : Muslim League advanced ‘Two-Nation Theory’ which advocated India consisted of not one but two ‘people’, Hindus and Muslims. That is why Muslim League demanded Pakistan, a separate country for the Muslims. The two main causes of partition in 1947 were as follows:
(i) Political competition between the Congress and the Muslim League.
(ii) The role of Britishers in dividing the Hindus and Muslims by their policy of ‘divide and rule’.
The consequences of partition of India in 1947 are as follows:
(i) Division of provinces according to majority : The implementation of partition was very difficult because there was no single belt of Muslim majority in British India. The concentration of Muslims were in Punjab which was in the West and Bengal which was in East. The problems lied in these areas as concentration of non-Muslims were more. Therefore, it was decided that these two provinces would be bifurcated according to the majority at the district or even lower level.
(ii) Exploitation of minorities : Further there were problems with the minorities on both side of the borders, they were easily targeted and there was no option except to leave their own land and homes and go across the border.
This transfer is said to be most abrupt, largest and unplanned transfer known in the human history. There were killings and atrocities on both sides of border in the name of religion. The minorities on both sides fled from their homes and often secured temporary shelter in refugee camps. Even they were not safe in refugee camps so, they travelled to the other side by all means; railways, roads, and by foot.
(iii) Exploitation of women : During this journey, women were often attacked and killed. Women were abducted and raped and also forcefully converted to other religion. Therefore, family members killed their girls and women.
80 lakh people migrated across the new border and between 5 to 10 lakh people were killed during partition. Thus, partition of India established the deep trauma within minds of the citizens.
(iv) Problem with refugee : Those who did manage to cross the border found that they had no home. For lakhs of these ‘refugees’ the country’s freedom meant life in ‘refugee camps’, for months and sometime for years.
(v) Administrative failure : There were competing political interests behind communal conflicts. The Muslim league was formed to protect the interests of the Muslims in colonial India. It was in the forefront of the demand for a separate Muslim nation. Similarly there were organisations, which were trying to organise the Hindus in order to turn India into a Hindu nation. This situation led to administrative failure in the country.
(vi) Distribution of financial assets : The financial assets and things like tablets, chairs, typewriters, paper-clips, books and also musical instruments of the police band were divided. The employees of the government and the railways were also ‘divided’. It was a violent separation of communities who had hitherto lived together as neighbours.
Question 2 : “The accumulation of regional demands and the formation of linguistic states were also seen as more democratic.” Justify the statement with any three suitable arguments.
Answer : This statement can be justified by following three arguments:
(i) Regional aspirations are very much a part of democratic politics. Expression of regional issues is not an aberration or an abnormal phenomenon. A large and diverse democracy like India must deal with regional aspirations on a regular basis.
(ii) The best way to respond to regional aspiration is through democratic negotiations rather than through suppression.
(iii) Regional imbalance in economic development contributes to the feeling of regional discrimination. Regional imbalance is a fact of India’s development experience.
Question 3 : What was the States Reorganisation Commission? What were its important recommendations? Explain the process and basis of the Reorganisation of States of Indian Union.
Answer : State Reorganization Commission : The formation of Andhra Pradesh spurred the struggle for making of other states on linguistic basis in other parts of the country. These struggle forced the Central Government into appointing a States Reorganisation Commission in 1953 to look into.
Recommendation of State Reorganisation Commission were:
(i) To look into the question of redrawing of the boundaries of states.
(ii) This commission in its report accepted that the boundaries of the state should reflect the boundaries of different languages. On the basis of its report the States Reorganization Act was passed in 1956.
Process and the basis of Reorganisation of States of Indian Union
After partition the challenge was to draw the internal boundaries of the Indian states. The boundaries had to be drawn in a way so that the linguistic and cultural plurality of the country could be reflected without affecting the unity of the nation. Indian National Congress and many leaders recognised the linguistic principle as reorganisation of new states’ boundaries.
But our leaders further felt that craving out states on the basis of language might lead to disruption and disintegration and would draw attention away from other social and economic challenges that the country faced.
Thus, protests began in the Telugu speaking areas of the old Madras province. The Vishalandhra Movement (the movement for a separate Andhra) demanded that the Telugu speaking areas should be separated from the Madras province and be made into a separate Andhra Province.
The movement gathered momentum. Potti Sriramulu, a Congress leader and a Veteran Gandian, went on an indefinite fast that led to this death after 56 days. This caused great unrest and resulted in violent outbursts in Andhra region. Finally, the Prime Minister announced the formation of a separate Andhra State in December 1952.
New States formed after 1956 were:
(i) This commission led to the creation of 14 states and six union territories. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand , Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are the new states formed after 1956.
(ii) Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand from Bihar all of these created in 2000.
(iii) In 2014, another state is created after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, namely Telangana. As a result Gujarat was formed out by Bombay. Haryana was from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh was formed out from Punjab. Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh were created from Assam.
Question 4 : Explain any three challenges faced by India at the time of its independence.
Answer : The major challenges faced by India at the time of its independence are as follows:
(i) To shape a United Nation : Immediately after independence, there was a challenge to make Indian a united nation. There were diversities of cultures, languages, religions etc increased the the questions on India’s future.
(ii) To establish democracy : However, India is seventh largest country in the world and has different values, cultures norms etc. According to the Constitution, India has adopted the democratic government on the basis of adult franchisee. The challenge was how to maintain democracy.
(iii) To ensure the development and well-being : The constitution laid down in Fundamental Rights that all citizens are equal and all of them are free to practise their own religion. In DPSP laid down welfare state. Although the Preamble of the Constitution laid down that the Principles of Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity were adopted to develop the society. However, the challenges were how to overcome the poverty and how to develop economy of India though the people’s participation.
(iv) Integration of princely states : After the independence, there were 565 Princely States. The independence Act, 1947 says that British India divided into two nations India and Pakistan. And Princely States may be merged with both the countries or stayed independent. The British left India with multiple problems. This was certain and very challenged raised in front of India.
Question 5 : What were the major challenges of building democracy in India?
Answer : There were three major challenges of building democracy in India. These were as follows:
(i) Communalism : Indian polity is secular in nature, but communalism is thriving in the country and now it constitutes a serious problem of Indian states. India respects all religions and the major religious communities are Hindu, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Anglo-Indians. The Muslims constitute the largest minority community. The Hindus constitute more than 80 per cent of population of the country. Most of Hindu leaders believed that India does not have diverse communities.
(ii) Caste : This is the biggest threat to India as political parties candidates are of the same caste as that of the majority voters, who favour him on caste basis although politics has moved towards casteism. It has brought a balance in the caste equation, because not only the advanced castes but other castes also are eligible for participation in a representative democracy. The association of politics with caste has led democracy to a greater rationality vis-a-vis the caste system. The political parties while selecting the candidates, see whether selecting the candidates, see whether the candidate will be able to get the support of voters of his caste or not.
(iii) Multi-party system : After independence, many regional parties have formed, whether on religious basis or caste basis or any other basis. These multi-party system further lead to coalition government this is also a big threat to Indian democracy.
Question 6 : Discuss the problem related to Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
Answer : The Congress party has evolved its politics on Kashmir on the basis of major global and domestic developments.
Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru repeated his commitment to find the will of the people of Kashmir in the Constituent Assembly of India. The problems of Kashmir between India and Pakistan are:
(i) Accession to India : Indi was satisfied that the most important political leader and party of Kashmir that accepted accession to India. The leader like Sheikh Abdullah of National Conference represented the democratic will of the people of Kashmir and they were unambiguously acceded to India. The Congress party also assured internal autonomy to the people of Jammu and Kashmir through the Constitution of India.
(ii) Article 370 and political consensus : The Article 370 of Constitution can be altered in favour of the centre. Many other parties have supported this article, but Bharatiya Jan Sangh (now BJP) rejected every premise and every policy of the Congress and wanted to omit Article 370. Two extremely polarised positions on Kashmir are represented by Congress and the BJP and it is impossible to evolve any minimal national consensus on Kashmir in India.
(iii) Emergence of terrorism : Further the emergence of terrorism in the valley has accentuated polaristion among political parties in India because Pakistan is directly involved in terrorist activities.
(iv) Inter-regional dispute : Another dimension that Kashmir vallye, Jammu and Ladakh have involved is, inter-regional disputes and competition. Ladakh’s political parties say that Kashmir discriminated them. But after the entry of centre all the movements were discontinued. If Jammu and Kashmir valley are separated from each other, then another two-nation theory could be faced by Indian Union.
That’s why the political parties have to maintain legitimacy and democracy with all.
Question 7 : What were the main consideration for bringing princely states with Indian Union? Who played the historic role in this task?
Answer : The British paramountcy was over on the princely states after independence and these states may go with India or Pakistan or stay independent. There were 565 princely states.
Problem started because of the following reasons:
(i) The decision was totally upto the ruler not on the people this was a serious problem and big threat on the existence of united India.
(ii) After independence ruler of Travancore declared himself independent after a few days Hyderabad made same declaration.
(iii) Nawab of Bhopa was averse to join Constituent Assembly. This kind of differences might further divide India into small states or countries.
Government Approaches : Government took forward step and negotiated with the Princely State ruler and saw that the people of these states wanted to become a part of the Indian Union. Then government adopted flexible diplomacy and gave autonomy to some states. India held plebiscite and acceded the Princely States into Indian Union and operations which government operationalised accessed the Princely States. e.g., in Junagadh Government held plebiscite, operation Vijay in Goa and operation Polo in Hyderabad. Therefore, after all these efforts integrated Princely states.
Sardar Patel who was the Deputy Prime Minster and Home Minister that time, played an important role in negotiating with Princely States rulers and brought them into the Indian Union.