CBSE Previous Year Question Papers Class 12 Political Science 2019 Outside Delhi
Time allowed : 3 hours
Maximum marks : 100
- All questions are compulsory. This questions paper has 27 questions in all. There are five sections in this question paper.
- Section A contains Questions number 1-5 of 1 mark each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 20 words each.
- Section B contains Questions number 6-10 of 2 marks each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 40 words each.
- Section C contains Questions number 11-16 of 4 marks each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 100 words each.
- Section D contains Questions number 17-21 of 5 marks each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 150 words each.
- In Section D Question number 21 is a map-based question. Write its answer in your answer-book.
- Section E contains Question number 22-27 of 6 marks each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 150 words each.
CBSE Previous Year Question Papers Class 12 Political Science 2019 Outside Delhi Set – I
Section – A
Explain the term ‘Hegemony’. 
Explain the main objective of the ‘Marshall Plan’.
The term ‘hegemony’ stands for an international system which is politically, economically or culturally dominated by a sole super power or hyper-power. The collapse of the Soviet Union left the world with only one single power, the United States of America.
Truman felt that communism did well when people were poor and suffering. It could best be resisted by providing economic aid to build up prosperity. In 1947, Marshall, the US secretary of state, put forward a plan to give billions of dollars of aid to European countries, post World War-II, so that they could recover from the shattering effects of war. Its main aim was also to assist these countries in the rebuilding of infrastructure.
Which one of the following statement is ‘not correct’ about the ‘Non-aligned Movement’ ? 
(i) It suggested to the newly independent countreis ways to stay out of the alliances.
(ii) India’s policy of non-alignment was neither negative nor passive.
(iii) The non-aligned posture of India served its interests.
(iv) India was praised for singing the treaty of friendship with USSR to strengthen NAM.
(iv) India was praised for signing the treaty of friendship with USSR to strengthen NAM.
Name any one international organisation that campaigns for the protection of human rights. 
Highlight any one security challenge faced by the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa.
Amnesty International is an international organisation that campaigns for the protection of human rights.
External wars with neighbours and internal civil wars posed a serious security challenge to newly independent countries of Asia and Africa.
Evaluate the role played by Sardar Patel towards the integration of the Princely States with India. 
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a historic role in negotiating with the rulers of the princely states firmly but diplomatically and brought most of them into the Indian Union. He addressed the concerns of the princely states and assured them that they would retain their property and states and would be allowed to run and manage public offices. Through his constant efforts, he succeeded in integrating about 562 princely states after independence. This got him the title of ‘Iron Man’.
Explain the concept of “Non-Party Move¬ments”. 
Non-party movements are movements started by voluntary organisations or a group of people who lose their faith in the existing democratic institutions and electoral politics or do not get the support of political parties.
Section – B
Mention one characteristic each of the ideologies of the USSR and the USA. [1 x 2 = 2]
Mention any two reforms of the global trading system proposed by UNCTAD.
USA represented the capitalist ideology and USSR represented the socialist ideology.
Two reforms of the global trading system of UNCTAD in 1972 :
- To give the LDCs control over their natural resources exploited by the developed western countries.
- To obtain access to western markets so that the LDCs could sell their products and therefore, make trade more beneficial for the poorer countries.
What would have happened to the world politics if India had not propagated the policy of non-alignment? 
Why did India refuse to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 ?
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of countries which decided not to join any major power bloc during the cold war. India and NAM played an important role in securing international peace and security in the world. It prevented USA and USSR from dominating over the newly independent countries and allowed the newly independent countries to remain secure and economically sound without taking favours from any bloc.
Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s Prime Minsiter, always believed in modern science and technology. A part of such progress was a nuclear programme started by Homi J. Bhabha. India wanted to generate atomic energy for peaceful purposes. The NPT treaty bans nuclear states from encouraging or giving material to non-nuclear states to acquire nuclear weapons. India did not sign this treaty as it regarded this treaty to be discriminatory.
“Anti-arrack movement is also considered as a women’s movement”. Support the statement with two arguments. [1 × 2 = 2]
The anti-arrack movement is considered as a women’s movement because :
- It was related to domestic violence, dowry, sexual abuse at work and public places and provided a platform to tackle these issues.
- It helped to increase awareness about womens’ issues and led to demand for equal representation to women in politics and granted 33% reservation to women.
Highlight any two reasons that you think are responsible for the split in the Congress Party in 1969. 
Highlight any two lessons learnt by the people of India from the Emergency imposed in 1975.
- Nomination of N. Sanjeev Reddy a official candidate for the post of President of India in 1969, which was against the wishes of Indira Gandhi, increased the already existing gap between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate.
- Revolutionary steps taken by Indira Gandhi were not welcomed by the old Congress leaders.
- Indira Gandhi supported V. V. Giri as an independent candidate for the post of President of India, while the Syndicate wanted N. Sanjeev Reddy to be the President. This along with the defeat of N. Sanjeev Reddy led to the split of the Congress Party circumstances that led to the mid-term election in 1980.
Two lessons learnt from emergency of 1975 are :
(i) It brought out the weakness and strength of India’s democracy. Though India ceased to be a democracy during emergency, the normal democratic functioning resumed very soon. Thus, even though . because of the emergency, the normal functioning of democracy might have ceased, still the easy and quick re-inforcement proved that no emergency could kill the democratic spirit of India.
(ii) It made everyone aware of the importance of civil liberties. Courts also played an active role in restoring and protecting civil liberties of people. Many, civil liberties organisations came up after the emergency.
Match the facts given in Column ‘A’ with those in Column ‘B’ in a meaningful manner. [1/2 x 4 = 2]
|Column ‘A’||Column ‘B’|
|(i) Chipko Movement|
(ii) Dalit Panthers
(iii) Anti-Arrack Movement
(iv) Movement of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
|(i) Right to Information|
(ii) Andhra Pradesh
(iii) Fight against discrimination on the basis of caste
(iv) Right of Local Communities on natural resources
|Column ‘A’||Column ‘B’|
|(i) Chipko Movement||(iv) Right of Local Communities on natural resources.|
|(ii) Dalit Panthers.||(iii) Fight against discrimination on the basis of caste.|
|(iii) Anti-Arrack Movement.||(ii) Andhra Pradesh|
|(iv) Movement of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan||(i) Right to Information|
Section – C
Explain any four strengths of the European Union that make it an influential regional organisation. 
Explain the circumstances responsible for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.
The European Union has gradually evolved from an economic unison into a political and military unison. The EU laid foundation and put in consistent efforts for cooperation on Justice and domestic affairs, evolution of a common foreign and defence policy and establishment of a single currency. EU has a considerable political, military, economic and diplomatic influence. Its currency ‘Euro’ can pose a serious threat to the hegemony of US Dollar. EU’s share of world trade is three times bigger than that of the USA and gives it an opportunity to be more assertive in its trade disputes with China and the USA.
The economic power of EU also gives it power to influence the biggest economic organisations of the world like the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU plays an influential role in diplomacy and negotiations except the military force. Its combined armed forces are almost the second largest in the world. It also holds a very important position in UN Security Council thus giving it a lot of hold on various sectors including peace keeping, defence and security.
The East wing of Bengal had joined Pakistan as East Pakistan during partition. Between the two parts of Pakistan was about 1200 miles of Indian territory. After Partition, Pakistan’s bureau-military government did not pay much attention to East Pakistan. However, the immediate source of conflict was denial of office of Premier to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman of East Bengal whose party had won 160 out of 300 seats in the 1970 elections. The new President of Pakistan, Yahya Khan denied rights to East Bengal. Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was put behind bars.
Indian troops were charged of fighting on behalf of Mukti Bahani. India made consistent efforts to persuade Pakistan to stop harassing people in East Bengal. US threatened military action but the Indo-Soviet treaty refrained any attack. The Pakistan troops surrendered on 16 December 1971 and agreed to cease-fire. East Pakistan thus became independent in 1972 and was renamed Bangladesh.
Assess the role of the United Nations as the most important international organisation. 
UN is an important international organisation because it deals with war and peace and encourages countries to maintain peaceful and friendly relations with each other. Countries all over the world have conflicts and differences with each other. But UN insists that this does not mean that they should resort to war to deal with their antagonisms. They should instead opt for peaceful methods of conflict resolution. Infact, most of the international disputes should be settled through negotiations and international organisations. The UN also helps to facilitate proper health facilities, sanitation, potable water and healthy food, to eradicate disease and also cooperates in vaccinating populations. Global environmental issues are deliberated and provides solutions are provided and major powers cooperate to mitigate the effect of climatic or security related issues. The UN thus helps to foster idea on such issues mutually.
Explain any four environmental concerns that have become issues of Global Politics. [1 x 4 = 4]
Environment concern in global politics is a> serious issue and is based on the following facts :
- Cultiviable area throughout the world is decreasing and a substantial part of existing agricultural land is losing fertility.
- Fisheries have been overharvested and grasslands have been affected adversely by overgrazing.
- Water bodies are suffering depletion due to pollution, leading to reduction of foodgrain’s production.
- A rapid decline in the total amount of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere or ozone layer endangers our ecosystems and human health.
Describe any four features of the ideology of “Swatantra Party” founded in 1959. 
Describe the changes that took place in the ideology of the Communist Party of India from 1920 to the first general elections in India in 1952.
The Swatantra party was established to fight the licence permit Raj of the Congress party and since its inception, attracted the support of a good number of the people. After its establishment, the leaders of the party decided to work out details of its ideology, program and organisation. The Swatrantra party stood for liberal democratic ideology and it denounced populism of the Congress party.
Individual Freedom: The party emphasized its opposition to the concept of socialism, in particular, the kind of socialism practised in India. It supported unrestricted individual freedom, in which the state encouraged and assisted individuals in all 21 fields without seeking to replace them. The party believed that the key to prosperity was through increased production and any measure that restricted it was anti-social.
Industry and Trade: As the Swatantra party opposed the Congress economic policy and planning, it laid stress on decentralized distribution of industry r throughout the country side. It was not opposed to urbanization and heavy industry, but nevertheless, it accorded equal importance to small scale industries in the rural India.
Property: The party, in its ideology stressed the importance of property based on the principle of maximum freedom and minimum interference, and f the Gandhian concept of trusteeship, it stood for the fundamental right to property as envisaged in ‘ the constitution.
Education: The party believed in the synthesis of ancient and modern education, introducing the spiritual element in education to provide adequate background of human values. In fact, the party felt that the educational activities of the government, ( direct or indirect, be such to emphasize the moral
obligations of those who possess wealth, to hold in ‘ trust for the society 34 and a doctrine of life based ‘ on those moral obligations.
In the early 1920s, communist groups emerged in different parts of India taking inspiration from the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and advocating socialism as the solution to problems affecting the country. From 1935, the Communists worked mainly from within the fold of the Indian National Congress. A parting of ways took place in December 1941, when the Communists decided to support the British in their war against Nazi Germany. Independence raised , different voices in the party. Soon after independence, the party thought that the trasfer of power in 1947 was not true independence and encouraged violent ‘ uprisings in Telangana.
The communists failed to generate popular support for their position and were crushed by the armed forces. This forced them to rethink their position. In 1951, the Communist Party abandoned the path of violent revolution and decided to participate in the approaching general elections. In the first general election, CPI won 16 seats and emerged as the largest opposition party. The party’s support was more concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Kerala.
Analyse the circumstances that you think were responsible for the declaration of Emergency in 1975. 
Since 1967, significant changes took place in Indian politics. Indira Gandhi emerged as a towering leader with a charismatic personality. Party competition during this period became bitter and polarised. This period even saw tensions between executive and judicial wings of the government.
Supreme Court found many initiations of government as an infringement of the constitution. The Congress called the stand of court, an opposition to principles of democracy and parliamentary democracy. The opposition parties felt that the politics had been personalised and government machinery was being used to implement Indira Gandhi’s personal authority. There were other such activities and revolts against the government that were taking place during the period which included students, peasants, labour organisations, employees, unions and opposition parties. Indira Gandhi was found guilty by the Allahabad High Court on several accounts and was charged for malpractice during the previous campaigns during her Lok Sabha seat election. Even within the parliament ,the government was undergoing much criticism from the opposition parties. The government led by Indira Gandhi claimed that the recent war between India and Pakistan along with the Oil crisis in 1973 has drastically affected the economy of the country that has resulted into price rise of consumer goods.
Unemployment and increasing labouring population generated fume and outrage all over the nation. The government claimed that the regular strikes and protests by the citizens had paralyzed the government and its economy and there was anomaly on streets as well as political opposition prevailing in many parts of the country. In 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed national emergency on the ground of maintaining national integrity.
Describe the role of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, in formulating and implementing the foriegn policy in India. [1 × 4 = 4]
Describe any four factors that influenced the foreign policy of India after independence.
The principles of Nehru that guided the external affairs of India are :
- India was to adopt a free and independent foreign policy as an autononous nation and not merely as a satellite of another nation.
- Nehru favoured to keep away from bloc politics and any alliances. He regarded cold war to be deadlier than poverty. He advocated the policy of NAM.
- Nehru declared peace and freedom to be vital premises of India’s national interest.
- Nehru supported the United Nations in its objective to stand for the independence of all colonial and dependent people and their full right to self-determination.
The four factors that determine India’s foreign policy are :
(i) Historical Background: Since ancient times, India has been believing in the ideal of brotherhood of man in its national life. On account of such historical inheritance, India’s foreign policy consists in resolving international issues, peacefully opposing imperialism or neo-colonialism or racial discrimination and in attaching more importance to the policy of disarmament.
(ii) Geographical Setting: In South and South-east Asia, the geographical setting has k strategic importance. On account of its geographical proximity, India is determined to keep the Indian ocean an area of peace and not of belligerence.
(iii) Political Ideals and Values: India’s political ideals of world peace and disarmament and values like peace, ahimsa, truth, etc., have urged her to develop amicable relationship with other countries and to follow the foreign policy of non-alignment.
(iv) Leadership: Keeping all the factors as given above into account, political leadership plays a crucial role in advancing the national interests. Jawaharlal Nehru propounded the new policy of non-alignment.
Constitutional commitment to maintain and promote international peace, India’s support to the initiatives of the UN also influenced India’s foreign policy.
Section – D
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions :
The old system of social welfare was systematically destroyed. The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of the people into poverty. The middle classes were pushed to the periphery of society ……… Besides,
privatization led to more disparities.
(i) What is meant by government subsidy ?
(ii) How did the withdrawal of government subsidy lead the people into poverty ?
(iii) Do you support or oppose the policy of privatisation ? Support your answer any two suitable arguments. [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions :
The non-aligned countries were more than merely mediators during the Cold War. The challenge for most of the non-aligned countries—a majority of them were categorised as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)—was to be more developed economically and to lift their people out of poverty. Economic development was also vital for the independence of the new countries. Without sustained development, a country could not be truly free.
(i) Name any two founder countries of Non- Aligned Movement (NAM) during the Cold War period.
(ii) Suggest any two methods to lift the people of the Least Developed Countries out of poverty.
(iii) Explain the concept of ‘sustained development’.
(i) A subsidy or a government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector generally with an aim of promoting economic and social policy.
(ii) Withdrawal of subsidy or government incentive pushed people towards poverty since they no longer received the financial aid or support they needed to maintain and earn their livelihood.
(iii) Privatisation as a policy led to a lot of disparities. States were divided into rich and poor regions, the economic gap between the classes widened, there was greater economic inequality among people. Thus, the policy did nothing but increased problems and economic gap between classes.
(i) Egypt and India were the two founder nations of Non-Alignment Policy.
(ii) The two methods to lift people of LDCs out of poverty are :
- To give the LDCs whole control over their natural resources.
- By obtaining the access to Western markets so that the LDCs could sell their products and therefore, make trade more beneficial for the poorer countries.
(iii) Sustained development is also known as sustainable development. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of needs goes beyond simple material needs and includes values, relationships, freedom to think, act and participate, all amounting to sustainable living, morally and spiritually.
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions :
Most of the time, when we read and hear about security we are talking about traditional, national security conceptions of security related to dangers from military threats. The source of this type of danger to security is another country which, by threatening military action endangers the core values of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
(i) What is meant by a national security?
(ii) Explain the traditional notion of security.
(iii) Suggest any two methods to respond to the threat of war from another country.
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions: One of India’s major concerns has been the composition of the Security Council, which has remained largely static while the UN General Assembly membership was expanded considerably. India considers that this has harmed the representative character of the Security Council. It also argues that an expanded Council, with more representation, will enjoy greater support in the world community.
(i) Why has the composition of the Security Council been said to have remained ‘static’?
(ii) How has the static composition of the Security Council harmed its representative character?
(iii) Explain India’s view about the role of
the developing countries in the Security Council. [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
(i) National security refers to policy enacted by governments to ensure the survival and safety of the nation-state, including but not limited to the exercise of diplomatic, economic and military power in both peace and war.
(ii) Traditional security concerns itself with internal security. In traditional security, there is recognition that cooperation in limiting violence is possible. These limits relate both to the ends and the means of war.
(iii) In responding to the threat of war, a government has three basic choices: to surrender; to prevent the other side from attacking by promising to raise the costs of war to an unacceptable level; and to defend itself when the war actually breaks out so as to deny the attacking country its objectives and to turn back or defeat the attacking forces altogether.
(i) Ever since the composition of Security council has been decided, its permanent member only constitutes of five most powerful nations of the world, which contribute greatly to the world in peace and security missions, while its non permanent members keep changing. This is why, it is called static.
(ii) The composition of Security Council, which has remained largely static is considered as a harm to the representative character of the Security Council. It does not represent other continents properly as it argues the fact that an expanded council, with more representation, will enjoy greater support in the world community.
(iii) The membership of UN Security Council was expanded from 11 to 15 in 1965 and there was no change in number of members after that. The overwhelming fact is that the majority of UN General assembly members are developed countries, due to which, India argues, that developing countries should also have a role in shaping the decisions in the Security Council, which affect them.
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions :
Thus began an era of multi-party system …. Our Parliament always had representatives from several political parties. But after 1989, no single party secured a clear majority of seats in Lok Sabha till 2014. This development initiated an era of coalition governments at the Centre.
(i) Which political party won a clear majority in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 ?
(ii) In your opinion, what are the two main problems of coalition governments ?
(iii) Analyse any two merits of the multi-party system in India. [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
(ii) They form weak governments, because often there is less understanding between the partners. These governments bring unpopular represen-tatives to power which might have not been in power otherwise.
(iii) It provides a number of alternatives for people to choose their representatives from. Equal and better representation is’ facilitated to people in various regions and belonging to different communities.
Study the cartoon given below carefully and answer the following questions :
(i) Write the full name of the organisation represented by the tiger in this cartoon.
(ii) Explain the dilemma of Sri Lankan leadership in trying to resolve this ethnic conflict.
(iii) How did this ethnic problem affect the economic growth of Sri Lanka ? [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
(i) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
(ii) The Sinhala nationalists thought that Sri Lanka should not give ‘concessions’ to the Tamils because Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhala people only. The neglect of Tamil concerns led to militant Tamil nationalism. From 1983 onwards, tfie militant organisation, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been fighting an armed struggle with the army of Sri Lanka and demanding ‘Tamil Eelam’ or a separate country for the Tamils of Sri Lanka. Thus this ethnic conflict continues to plague Sri lanka.
(iii) In spite of the conflict, Sri Lanka has registered considerable economic growth and recorded high levels of human development. Sri Lanka was one of the first developing countries to successfully control the rate of growth of population, the first country in the region to liberalise the economy, and it has had the highest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) for many years right through the civil war.
In the given political outline map of India, five states have been shown as (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E). Identify them on the basis of the information given below and write their correct names in your answer-book with the respective serial number of the information used and the concerned alphabet as per the following format :
|Sr. no. of the Information used||Concerned Alphabet||Name of the State|
(i) The State that resisted its merger with the Union of India.
(ii) The State which was carved out of Assam in 1972.
(iii) The State where the Communist Party of India formed its Government in 1957.
(iv) The State formed in 1966.
(v) The State related to Dairy Cooperative Movement under the name ‘Amul’. [1 x 5 = 5]
|Sr. no. of the Information used||Concerned Alphabet||Name of the State|
Describe any four consequences of Shock Therapy. [4 + 2 = 6]
Describe any two features of India’s policy of non-alignment. How did this policy help India to serve its own interests?
The shock therapy administered in the 1990s did not lead the people into the promised Utopia of mass consumption. It brought ruin to the economies and disaster upon the people of the entire region. In Russia, the large state-controlled industrial complex almost collapsed, as about 90 percent of its industries were put up for sale to private individuals and companies.
The restructuring was carried out through market forces and not by government-directed industrial policies, it led to the virtual disappearance of entire industries. This was called ‘the largest garage sale in history’, as valuable industries were undervalued and sold at throwaway prices. Though all citizens were given vouchers to participate in the sales, most citizens sold their vouchers in the black market because they needed the money.
The value of the ruble, the Russian currency, declined dramatically. The rate of inflation was so high that people lost all their savings. The collective farm system disintegrated leaving people without food security, and Russia started to import food. The real GDP of Russia in 1999 was below what it was in 1989.
The old trading structure broke down with no alternative in its place. The old system of social welfare was systematically destroyed. The withdrawal of government subsidies pushed large sections of the people into poverty. The middle classes were pushed to the periphery of society, and the academic and intellectual manpower disintegrated or migrated.
India’s policy was neither negative nor passive. As Nehru reminded the world, non-alignment was not a policy of ‘fleeing away’. On the contrary, India was in favour of actively intervening in world affairs to soften Cold War rivalries.
The five principles which NAM is based upon are :
- Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
- Mutual non-aggression.
- Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs.
- Equality and mutual benefit.
- Peaceful co-existence.
A non-aligned posture also served India’s interests directly, in at least two ways :
- First, non-alignment allowed India to take international decisions and stances that served its interests rather than the interests of the superpowers and their allies.
- Second, India was often able to balance one superpower against the other. If India felt ignored or unduly pressurized by one superpower, it could tilt towards the other. Neither alliance system could take India for granted or bully it.
Explain any four features of the U.S. hegemony as hard power. 
Explain the process of establishing democracy ‘ in Nepal.
Hegemony is an international system to dominate world by only one superpower. United states have the hard power, hegemony through its military capability.
- Today, U.S. has military capabilities that can reach any point on the planet accurately and in real time.
- U.S. spends more on its military capabilities than the other 12 powers combined. Furthermore, a large chunk of the Pentagon’s budget goes into military research’and development, in other words, technology.
- Thus, the military dominance of the US is not just based on higher military spending but on a qualitative gap, a technological chasm that no power can, at present, conceivably span.
- The U.S. invasion of Iraq shows that the American capacity to conquer is formidable. Similarly, the U.S. capabilities to deter and to punish is self-evident. More than 40 countries joined in the US led “coalition of the willing” after the UN refused to give its mandate to the invasion. Thus, no country can deny the U.S. superiority in the world politics.
Nepal while moving from a monarchy to a democratic government faced many challenges. These challenges were mainly the result of the triangular conflict between the monarchist forces, the democrats and the Maoists. Throughout this period, political parties and the common people of Nepal wanted a more open and responsive system of government.
In 1990, the king accepted the demand for a new democratic constitution in the wake of a strong pro-democracy movement. However, democratic governments had a short and troubled career. During the nineties, the Maoists of Nepal were successful in spreading their influence in many parts of Nepal. They believed in armed insurrection against the monarch and the ruling elite. This led to a violent conflict between the Maoist guerrillas and the armed forces of the king known as the triangular conflict. In 2002, the king abolished the parliament and dismissed the government, thus ending even the limited democracy that existed in Nepal. In 2006, there were massive, country wide, prodemocracy protests, led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), the Maoists and social activists. Due to which the king was forced to restore the House of Representatives that had been dissolved in April 2002.
Analyse the concept of ‘Common but differentiated responsibilities’ of States towards the protection of environment. [2 × 3 = 6]
Assess the political, economic and cultural effects of globalisation on India.
Common but differentiated responsibilities of states towards the protection of environment are:
(i) The developing countries felt that much of the ecological degradation in the world is the product of industrial development undertaken by the developed countries. If they have caused more degradation, they must also take more responsibility for undoing the damage now.
(ii) Moreover developing countries are in process of industrialisation and they must not be subjected to the same restrictions. They must be taken in account in the development application and interpretation of rules of international environmental law. This argument was accepted in the Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit in 1992 and is called ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’.
(iii) The 1992 United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) also provides that the parties should act to protect the climate system “on the basis of equality and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities”.
(iv) The KYOTO Protocol is an international agreement setting targets for industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
Political Efffect of Globalisation on India are :
(i) One of the major impacts of political globalisation is that it reduces the importance of nation-states. Many states have organized themselves into trade blocs. Emergence of supranational institutions such as the European Union, the WTO, the G-8, and the International Criminal Court etc. replaced or extended the national functions to facilitate international agreement.
(ii) Another major impact of globalization is the increased influence of Non-Government Organizations in public policy like humanitarian aid, developmental efforts etc. Many organizations have come forward with the mission of uplifting the remotest parts of India where there is massive funding of millions of dollars.
(iii) The rise of global civil society is one of the major contributions of globalisation. Multivariate groups make up civil society which often protests against capitalism.
Economic consequences of globalisation are as follows :
- Globalisation usually involves greater economic flows among the different countries. Some of these are voluntary and some are forced by the international institutes.
- This has helped in attracting more Foreign Investment to India.
- GDP, growth rate of the country has increased due to globalisation.
Cultural consequences of globalisation :
- It leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation. Imposition of values and beliefs of western culture has resulted in loss of individualty and uniqueness of Indian culture.
- Western culture affects the rest of the world. The popularity of a burger or blue jeans in India has a lot to do with the powerful influence of the American way of life. Westernization has thus made India compromise with its traditional culture.
Describe any three features of the Congress Party that kept it as a social and ideological coalition during the freedom struggle. [2 × 3 = 6]
Describe any two positive and two negative consequences of the Green Revolution. [1 1/2 × 4 = 6]
The Congress Party evolved from its origins in 1885 as a pressure group for the newly educated, professional and commercial classes to a mass movement in the twentieth century. This laid the’ basis for its eventual transformation into a mass political party and its subsequent domination of the political system. Thus the Congress began as a party dominated by the English speaking, upper caste, upper middle-class and urban elite. But with every Civil Disobedience Movement it launched, its social base widened. Peasants and industrialists, urban dwellers and villagers, workers and owners, middle, lower and upper classes and castes, all found space in the Congress. Gradually, its leadership also expanded beyond the upper caste and upper class professionals to agriculture based leaders with a rural orientation.
By the- time of Independence, the Congress was transformed into a rainbow-like social coalition broadly representing India’s diversity in terms of classes and castes, religions and languages and various interests. In this sense the Congress was an ideological coalition as well. It accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre. The Congress was a ‘platform’ for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in the national movement.
In 1960’s, India was facing a food crisis due to many reasons. India was dependent on U.S.A for food and U.S.A. was putting many limitations on Indian’s policies. Indian Government decided to make India self-sufficient in food. Hence the government adopted a new strategy for agricultural practices that were gradually replaced by modern technology. Use of high-yielding variety seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation are simply called Green Revolution (or) modern agricultural technology. As a result of Green revolution areas under improved seeds has gone up from about 15 million hectares during 1970-71 to nearly 75 million hectares in 1995-96.
The new varieties were of a! short-term duration and consequently, instead of growing one crop, two crops and sometimes even three crops were grown. The major benefits of the Green Revolution were experienced mainly in northern and north-western India. Unprecedented enthusiasm has prevailed among farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Western U.P. For new wheat variety seeds, a situation developed in which the demand for seeds by farmers exceeded the supply.
Positive consequences of the Green Revolution are :
- The major achievement of the Green Revolution was that it boosted the production of major cereals viz. wheat and rice.
- As a result of the Green Revolution, the crop pattern in India has undergone significant changes.
Two negative consequences of Green Revolution are :
- Green Revolution has led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of top 10 percent of the rural population.
- Green Revolution had widened the gap between poor and small farmers and rich landlords. Regional imbalance also came into forefront.
Analyse any four factors that led the Congress Party to a spectacular win in 1971 elections. [1 1/2 × 4 = 6]
Analyse the justification given by the Government of India for declaring National Emergency on the night of 25th June, 1975. How far do you agree with this justification. [4 + 2 = 6]
The new Congress had something that its big opponents lacked—it had an issue, an agenda and a positive slogan. The Grand Alliance did not have a coherent political programme. Indira Gandhi said that the opposition alliance had only one common programme : Indira Hatao (Remove Indira).
In contrast to this, she put forward a positive programme captured in the famous slogan : Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty). She focused on the growth of the public sector, imposition of ceiling on rural land holdings and urban property, removal of disparities in income and opportunity, and abolition of princely privileges.
Through garibi hatao, Indira Gandhi tried to generate a support base among the disadvantaged, especially among the landless labourers—Dalits and Adivasis, minorities, women and the unemployed youth.
The slogan of garibi hatao and the programmes that followed it were part of Indira Gandhi’s political strategy of building an independent nationwide political support base.
Emergency is one of the most controverisal episodes in Indian politics. One reason is that there are differing view points about the need to declare emergency. Another reason is that using the powers given by the Constitution, the government practically suspended the democratic functioning.
The Constitution simply mentioned ‘internal disturbances’ as the reason for declaring Emeregency. Before 1975, emergency was never proclaimed on this ground. The government argued that in a democracy, the opposition parties must allow the elected ruling party to govern according to its policies. It felt that frequent recourse to agitations, protests and collective actions were no good for democracy. Supporters of Indira Gandhi also held that in a democracy, one cannot continuously have extra- parliamentarypolitics targeting the government. This leads to instability and distracts the administration from its routine task of ensuring development. All energies are diverted to maintenanace of law and order.
Indira Gandhi wrote in a letter to the Shah Commission that subversive forces were trying to obstruct the progressive programmes of the government and were attempting to dislodge her from power through extra-constitutional means. Some other parties, like the CPI that continued to back the Congress during the Emergency, also believed that there was an international conspiracy against the unity of India. It believed that in such circumstances some restrictions on agitations were justified.
On the other hand, the critics of the Emergency argued that ever since the freedom movement, Indian politics had a history of popular struggles. JP and many other opposition leaders felt that in a democracy, people had the right to publicly protest against the government. The Bihar and Gujarat agitations were mostly peaceful and non-violent. Those who were arrested were never tried for any anti-national activity. No cases were registered against most of the detainees. The Home Ministry, which is entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the internal situation of the country, also did not express any concern about the law and order situation in the country. There was no need to suspend democratic functioning and use draconian measures like the Emergency for that. The threat was not to the unity and integrity of the country but to the ruling party and to the Prime Minister herself. It was, thus, inferred that Indira Gandhi misused a constitutional provision meant for saving the country to save her personal power.
Suggest any three methods of .agitation, to highlight your problems and demands, which do not disturb the routine life of the people. [2 × 3 = 6]
Suggest any three methods to accommodate the regional aspirations and maintain national integration.
Protests are all about expressing one’s dissent. It comes under freedom of expression but one thing must be remembered while exercising this right is that it should not offend anyone and should fall within the law of the land. The ways of protesting depends upon to what one wants to protest. It can be a Dress code or blocking the roads or say demonstrating via making dummies. All it needs is to reach to the concerned people and create a mass opinion. Following are the three ways :
(i) Public Speeches: One can easily influence people using strong words and expressions without affecting the everyday routine of people. Words have the power of motivating and de motivating people easily. They can change the course of any movement without requiring much effort.
(ii) Signed public declaration: A sworn declaration (also called a sworn statement or a statement under penalty of perjury) is a document that recites facts pertinent to a legal proceeding. It is very similar to an affidavit, but unlike an affidavit, it is not witnessed and sealed by an official such as a notary public. Instead, the person making the declaration signs a separate endorsement paragraph at the end of the document, stating that the declaration is made under penalty of perjury. It is a very powerful method of protest.
(iii) The peaceful demonstration, candle marches and boycott of substances: During the transition between the wet to dry season of 1930 Mahatma (Mohandas) Gandhi led a peaceful protest against Britain’s imposed law dictating no Indian could collect or sell salt in the country. Followed by dozens, Gandhi walked over 240 miles leading protesters to the Arabian Sea to pick up a small handful of salt out of the muddy waters of the sea. Seventeen years later, after this peaceful yet defiant act, India gained independence from Britain.
The best way to respond to regional aspirations is through democratic negotiations rather than through suppression. Militancy had erupted in Punjab; problems were persisting in the north-east; students in Assam were agitating; while Kashmir valley was on the boil. Instead of treating these as simple law and order problems, the Government of India reached negotiated settlement with regional movements. This produced a reconciliation which reduced the tensions existing in many regions. Political settlement could resolve the issue of separatism if handled with care. It is not sufficient to have a formal democratic structure. Besides that, groups and parties from the region need to be given share in power at the State level. The regions must have a share in deciding the destiny of the nation. If regions are not given a share in the national level decision making, the feeling of injustice and alienation can spread.
Regional imlabalance in economic development contributes to the feeling of regional discrimination. Regional imbalance is a fact of India’s development experience. Naturally, the backward states or backward regions in some states feel that their backwardness should be addressed on priority basis and that the policies of the Indian government have caused this imbalance. If some states remain poor and others develop rapidly, it leads to regional imbalances and inter-regional migrations.
CBSE Previous Year Question Papers Class 12 Political Science 2019 Outside Delhi Set – II
Note: Except for the following questions, all the remaining questions have been asked in previous set.
“The process of nation-building did not come to an end with the partition of India and integration of Princely States.” Give any one example to support the statement. 
The process of nation-builcting did not come to an end with the partition. The new challenge that arose was of drawing the internal boundaries which would adequately reflect the linguistic and cultural plurality of the country without affecting the unity of the nation.
How did the activities of Dalit Panthers influence the Dalit writers ? Give any one example. ’ 
Through the activities of Dalit Panthers, the dalit writers were facilitated with a platform to use their creativity to encourage protest activity. They protested against the brutalities of the caste system through their autobiographies and other literary works which were published during that period. Their works portrayed their life experiences, the difficulties they had to face all their lives because of their caste and the unjust treatment meted out to them. This sent shock waves in the Marathi literary world.
Mention any two points of agreement between the member states of NATO. [1 × 2 = 2]
When and where was the Eastern Alliance created ? What was its principal function.
Two points of agreement between the member states of NATO were :
- All the states agreed to settle any international disputes in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.
- They agreed that an attack on any one of the members will be considered an attack on all of them. Hence, they shall face it together.
The Eastern Alliance, also known as the Warsaw pact was created in 1955, led by the Soviet Union and its principal function was to counter NATO’s forces in Europe.
Give any two arguments against the demand to stop construction of dams. [1 x 2 = 2]
- The demand to stop construction of dams was clearly criticized for it obstructed the process of development. Dams help to facilitate clean water for drinking, irrigation and other purposes. They also help to generate electricity and catalyse agricultural production.
- Dams help in effective flood and drought control. They hold impound floodwaters and then either release them under control to the river below or divert the water for other uses.
Assess the role of the World Bank in helping the developing countries. 
The World Bank was created in 1944. Its activities focus on helping the developing countries. Human development (in sectors of education, health), agricultural and rural development (irrigation, rural services), environmental protection (pollution reduction, establishing and enforcing regulations), infrastructure (roads, urban regeneration and electricity) and governance (anti-corruption, development of legal institutions) are few ways in which it provides assistance to these countries. It provides loans and grants to the member-countries. In this way, it exercises enormous influence on the economic policies of developing countries.
What is meant by ‘the protection of global commons’ ? Explain with the help of examples. 
‘Commons’ are those resources which are not owned by anyone but rather shared by a community. In simpler words, areas or regions of the world which are located outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one state, and therefore require common governance by the international community are known as res communis humanitatis or Global Commons. Major problem underlying all ecological issues relates to the difficulty of achieving consensus on common environmental issues on the basis of vague scientific evidence and time frames.
For e.g., the discovery of the ozone hole over the Antarctic in the mid-1980s revealed the opportunity as well as dangers inherent in tackling global environmental problems, hence Antarctic treaty was signed in 1959 for the same. Montreal protocal, Rio Earth summit were other such agreements.
Analyse any four issues that led to conflict between the judiciary and the government before the declaration of Emergency in 1975. [1 × 4 = 4]
The government was at loggerheads with the judiciary. A number of issues led to conflict between them, these reasons are :
There was a conflict in between the two organs regarding the supremacy of Fundamental Rights. The judiciary raised the question whether the Parliament could abridge and violate Fundamental Rights in any situation. The ruling was against the Parliament, this heightened the tension between the two. Secondly, the Parliament was also prevented from curtailing the Right to Property by making an amendment. The Court said that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution in a manner-that the rights are curtailed.
The Parliament amended the Constitution saying that it can abridge Fundamental Rights for giving effect to Directive Principles. But the Supreme Court rejected this provision also. This led tp a crisis as far as the relations between the government and the judiciary were concerned. Immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision in 1973 in the Keshavananda Bharati case, a vacancy arose for the post of the Chief Justice of India. It had been a practice to appoint the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice. But in 1973, the government set aside the seniority of three judges and appointed Justice A. N. Ray as the Chief Justice of India. The appointment became politically controversial because all the three judges who were superseded had given rulings against the stand of the government.
Thus, constitutional interpretations and political ideologies were getting mixed up rapidly.
Describe any four consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. [1 1/2 × 4 = 6]
Describe India’s response to the ongoing Cold War as one of the leaders of Non-aligned Movement. 
The disintegration of the second world of the Soviet Union and the socialist systems in Eastern Europe had unfathomable consequences for world politics. These consequences are :
(i) Disintegration of the Soviet Union meant the end of Cold War confrontations. The ideological controversy over whether the socialist system would drub the capitalist system was not an implication any more. The engagement of army and arms race finally ended.
(ii) The US became the sole superpower. Backed by the power and prestige of the US, the capitalist economy was the dominant economic system now. Organizations like World Bank and IMF became powerful advisors to all these countries since they gave them loans for their transition to capitalism.
(iii) Disintegration of the Soviet Union led to the foundation for the emergence of many new countries. All these countries had their own independent aspirations and choices. Some of them, especially the Baltic and east European states, wanted to join the European Union and become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
(iv) Disintegration of the Soviet Union ended the bipolar system and laid the foundation of unipolar system.
(v) Privatization of state assets and corporate ownership patterns were to be immediately brought in. Collective farms were to be replaced by private farming arid capitalism.
(vi) Disintegration of the Soviet Union resulted a breakup of the existing trade alliances among the countries of the Soviet bloc. Each state from this bloc was now linked directly to the West and not to each other in the region. These states were thus to be gradually absorbed into the Western economic system. (Any four)
As one of the founder father nations of NAM, India’s response to the ongoing cold war was two-fold. At one level, it took particular care in staying away from any of the two power blocs of the world that were hegemonising countries to follow their economic ideology. At another level, it raised its voice against the newly democratised decolonised countries falling prey to the alliances of the power blocs. India urged the newly independent countries to maintain their democratic stance and take aids but not to tie up with any bloc or superpower.
India alongside other’member nations of NAM played an active role in mediating between the two rival alliances in the cause of peace and stability. India tried to reduce the differences between the alliances and thereby prevent differences from escalating into a full-scale war. Nehru reposed great faith in ‘a genuine commonwealth of free and cooperating nations’ that would play a positive role in softening, if not ending, the Cold War.
Describe any six factors which were responsible for the dominance of the Congress Party in India during the first two decades after independence. 
Describe any two land reforms introduced in free India which were fairly successful. Also mention the other two land reforms which were much less successful and rarely implemented.
The results of the first general electron did ” not surprise anybody as congress party dominated the general election.
- The results were completely in the favour of congress because it had inherited the legacy of the national movement.
- It was the only party to have an all-India out-reach, with branches and impact spreading to the smallest towns.
- The party was led by the most popular and charismatic leader of the time—Jawahar LalNehru. He was the most reliable and popular face in Indian politics and was confident of receiving majority of votes. He led the congress campaign and toured throughout the country.
- His charisma influenced the citizens of the country greatly. It was believed that he would lead India to a politically stronger and integrated nation.
- Absence of a stronger alternative to the candidature of Congress Party also benefitted the latter. None of the opposition parties could fetch even 10% of the votes secured by Congress in all the three elections individually.
- The extent of the victory of the Congress Party was also artificially boosted by the electoral system adopted by the country. The party won 3 out of every 4 votes but could not secure even half the number of total votes.
In the agrarian sector, the period witnessed a serious attempt at land reforms. The most significant and successful of these was the abolition of the colonial system of zamindari. This act not only released land from the clutches of a class that had little interest in agriculture, but also reduced the capacity of the landlords small pieces of land together in one place. Other two components of land reforms were much less successful.
Though the laws were made to put an upper limit or ‘ceiling’ to how much agricultural land one person could own, people with excess land still managed to evade the law. Similarly, the tenants who worked on someone else’s land were given greater legal security against eviction, but this provision was rarely implemented.
CBSE Previous Year Question Papers Class 12 Political Science 2019 Outside Delhi Set – III
Note: Except for the following questions, all the remaining questions have been asked in previous sets.
Evaluate the impact of the formation of Andhra Pradesh on linguistic lines on the other States of India. 
In the face of prolonged agitation, Andhra Pradesh became the first linguistic state of India. Consequently, there were similar demands for creation of other states on linguistic basis from other parts of the country. On December 22,1953Jawahar Lai Nehru appointed a special commission under Fazl Ali to consider these new demands. As per the observations of the report, the country was divided into 14 states and 6 union territories under the States Reorganisation Act that was passed in November 1956.
Highlight the factor which compelled the various fish workers’ organisations at the local level to come together on a national level platform. 
When the government policies of economic liberation opened up India’s waters to large commercial vessels including multi-national fishing companies the local fishworkers and their livelihood was threatened. They then came together on a national level platform in the form of an organisation called ‘National Fishworkers Forum’ to raise their voice against the same. Coming of policies of economic liberalisation . compelled them to come together on a national level programme.
What did the Soviet Union do to ensure that half of Europe remained within its sphere of influence. [1 + 1 = 2]
Mention one characteristic each of the ideologies of the USSR and the USA.
In the eastern half of Europe, the Russian Red Army liberated them and set up communist dominated power. They set up secret police and arrested their opponents. Non-communists were beaten, murdered, executed and terrified out of power.
Characteristics of the ideology followed by the two super powers are :
- USSR: The eastern alliance, headed by the Soviet Union, was committed to the ideology of socialism and communism.
- USA: The western alliance, headed by the US, represented the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism.
Equal representation to women has been granted in local level institutions in India but not in state and national legislatures. In your opinion, what is the main reason behind this failure ? 
Women have not been granted equal representation in state and national legislatures. Reasons for women’s under representation in Indian state and national legislatures.
Reasons for women’s under representation in Indian state and national legislatures from socio- historic reasons, lack of political will and the inherent masculinity of popular politics to institutional hurdles like family, marriage and the current socio-economic and political policies. ‘
Analyse the four major global changes that have taken place after the Cold War leading to the necessity of reforms to make the U.N. work better. 
(i) Limited Test Ban Treaty: Banned nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water signed by the US, UK and USSR in Moscow on 5 August, 1963 came into force on 10 October, 1963.
(ii) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: It allows only nuclear weapon states to have nuclear weapons and stops others from acquiring them. A nuclear weapon state is one which had manufactured and exploded nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January, 1967. So, there are five nuclear weapon states : US, USSR, Britain, France and China.
(iii) Strategic Arms Limitations Talks I and II (Salt I and II): The first round began in November 1969. The Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev and the US President Kichard Nixon signed the following in Moscow on 26 May 1972: (a) Anti Ballistic Missile System Treaty, (b) Interim Agreement on limitation of strategic offensive arms. It came into force on 3 October, 1972. The second round started in Novemeber 1972. The US President Jimmy Carter and the Soviet leader Brezhnev signed Treaty on limiting strategic offensive arms in Vienna on 18 June, 1979.
(iv) Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I and II (Start I and II): Treaty I signed by the USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev and the US president George Bush (Senior) on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 31, July 1991. Treaty II was signed for same purpose in Moscow on 3 January, 1993 between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the US President George Bush (Senior).
Apart from these, the emergence of US, formation of new independent countries of USSR are also major changes which have taken place after the Cold War.
With the help of any four examples, explain India’s stand on environmental issues. 
India’s stand on environmental issues is clear through the following points :
(i) India signed and ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in Aguust 2002.
(ii) Following the principal of common but differentiated responsibilities, India is of the view that the major responsibility of curbing emission rests with’ the developed countries, which have Accumulated emissions over a long period of time. India pointed out that per capita emission rates of developing countries are a tiny fraction of those by developed countries.
(iii) India has initiated different programs and policies such as National Auto-Fuel Policy, the Energy Conservation Act 2001 and Electricity Act 2003 in order to participate in global efforts to protect the environment.
(iv) In October 2016, India ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, where India plans to reduce its carbon emission intensity by making a significant shift to energy production from renewable sources.
Recent trends in importing natural gas and encouraging adoption of clean coal technologies show that India has been making efforts incessantly.
Assess the role of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan in Indian politics. 
Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan played an important role in the Indian politics :
(i) By the time, the Bihar movement had been initiated by students, JP had given up active politics and was involved in social work. He was invited by students to protest against the rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption. He wanted the movement to remain non-violent.
(ii) Jayaprakash wanted to spread the Bihar movement to other parts of the country too. He demanded the dismissal of the congress government in Bihar. Alongside the agitation led by him, the employees of railways gave call for a nationwide strike, which would paralyze the country.
(iii) The movement started to influence national politics too. Non-Congress opposition parties like Jana Sangha, Congress (O), Bhartiya Lok Dal, socialist parties and other supported him after he led one of the largest political rallies to the parliament,
(iv) Satyagraha was organised by Jayaprakash Narayan for Indira Gandhi’s resignation, he appealed to people not to obey illegal and immoral orders through a massive demonstration in June, 1975. Such efforts changed the political mood of the country against Congress.
Describe any four factors that necessitated reforms in most of the institutions of the Soviet Union. [1 1/2 × 4 = 6]
What is meant by Cold War? Whefn did it start? Describe briefly the formation of Western and the Eastern alliances and its consequences. [2 + 1 + 3 = 6]
(i) Bureaucratic system had become, authoritarian making life difficult for citizens.
(ii) Right control over on institutional by Communist Party was an accountable to the people.
(iii) Russians dominated everything and people from other regions felt neglected.
(iv) Soviet Union left behind the yest in the Technology.
(v) Wages continued to grow but the productivity’ and Technology fell considerably.
Cold war was a state of conflict between two super powers namely USA and USSR without directly engaging in violent warfare, but primarily through economic and political policies creating buffer states to further the propoganda. The Cold War was not simply a matter of power rivalries, of military alliances, and of the balance of power. These were accompained by a real ideological conflict as well. It started after the end of the Second World War from 1945.
In 1949, the prospect of further communist expansion’prompted the United States and other Western nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) while the Soviet Union and its affiliated communist nations in Eastern Europe founded a rival alliance, the Warsaw Pact in 1955. Since both these alliances were militial in nature, grievance was that if any one counter attacked, it may lead to a war.
Describe the emergence of opposition parties and the role played by them during the first phase of democratic politics in free India. [3 + 3 = 6]
Describe any three featurers of the Second Five Year Plan. Also mention the problems faced during its implementation. 
Ever since India sought its Independence, various parties other than Congress have risen with opposing ideologies and different Modus operandis. Some of these vibrant and diverse opposition parties had come into being even before the first general election of 1952. While, some of these parties played a crucial role in the politics of the country in the 60s-70s. The roots of almost all the non-Congress parties of today can be traced back to one or the other opposition parties of the 1950s. All these opposition parties succeeded in gaining only a token of representation in the Lok Sabha and State assemblies during this period. Yet their presence played a crucial role in maintaining the democratic character of the system.
The major role of opposition parties is as follows :
- These parties offered a sustained and disciplined criticism of the policies and practices of the Congress party. This kept the ruling party under check.
- These parties also groomed the leaders who were to play a crucial role in the shaping of our country in near future.
- By keeping democratic political alternatives alive, these parties prevented the resentment against the government from turning the citizens, anti-democratic. This helped the healthy party competition grow more intense.
Three features of the Second Five Year Plan :
- Second Five Year Plan emphasised on heavy industrialisation in pla,ce of agriculture even in the remotest parts of rural India.
- Second Five Year Plan wanted to bring about quick structural transformation in all possible directions in place of slow and steady growth preached by the First Five Year Plan.
- The Second Plan also reflected a ‘socialist pattern of society’ as its goal. The government imposed substantial tarrifs on imports in order to protect domestic industries. This decision helped both the private and public sector grow.
Problems faced during the implementation of the Second Year Plan :
(i) As India was technologically backward, it had to spend on foreign exchange to-buy technology from the global market.
(ii) As industrial sector attracted more investment and attention, the possibility of food shortage started looming. The Indian planners found it difficult to maintain a balance between both the sectors.
(iii) Unlike the First, the Second Plan was characterized by a persistent rise in prices. Over the Five Years period, the rise in the general index of wholesale prices was about 30%, food articles as a group went up by 27%; industrial raw-materials by 45% and manufacture by over 25%.
This substantial price rise had its repercussions on the cost of living as well as the country’s exports. The common man found his rupee losing a quarter of its value while the country’s export promotion drive suffered a serious setback. All cost estimates were upset and the plan progress was adversely affected.