NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Political Science Chapter 1 Challenges of Nation Building

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Class 12th Political Science NCERT Solutions Part B Politics in India Since Independence

Q1. Which among the following statements about the partition is incorrect?

(a) Partition of India was the outcome of the two-nation theory.
(b) Punjab and Bengal were the two provinces divided on the basis of religion.
(c) East Pakistan and West Pakistan were not contiguous.
(d) The scheme of partition included a plan for transfer of population across the border.

Answer:- (d) The scheme of partition included a plan for transfer of population across the border.

Q2. Match the principles with instances:

(a) Mapping of boundaries on religious ground
(b) Mapping of boundaries on grounds of different languages
(c) Demarcating boundaries within a country by geographical zones
(d) Demarcating boundaries within a country on administrative and political grounds
(i) Pakistan and Bangladesh
(ii) India and Pakistan
(iii) Jharkhand and chattisgarh
(iv) Himachal pradesh and Uttarakhand

Answer:-
(a)—–> (ii)
(b)—–> (iv)
(c)—–> (i)
(d)—–> (iii)

Q3. Take a current political map of India (showing outlines of states) and mark the location of the following Princely States.

(a) Junagadh (b) Manipur
(c) Mysore (d) Gwalior

Answer:- Following places are mentioned in this map

Q4. Here are two opinions –

Bismay: “The merger with the Indian State was an extension of democracy to the people of the Princely States.”
Inderpreet: “I am not so sure, there was force being used. Democracy comes by creating consensus.”
What is your own opinion in the light of accession of Princely States and the responses of the people in these parts?

Answer:- The Princely States were merged with the Indian union because the autonomy of princely states in Indian territory could have led to disintegration of India and it would have given rise to regional dividing aspirations. If the Princely States were not merged the idea of Unity, democracy and the motive of independence altogether, would have vanished. The people of the Princely States sometimes felt that their wishes were not expressed in the nation building process as the rulers of the Princely States were not willing to give the democratic rights to the people.

Q5. Read the following very different statements made in August 1947 –
“Today you have worn on your heads a crown of thorns. The seat of
power is a nasty thing. You have to remain ever wakeful on that seat….
you have to be more humble and forbearing…now there will be no end
to your being tested.” — M.K GANDHI
“…India will awake to a life of freedom….we step out from the old to the
new…we end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself
again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of
opportunity…” — JAWAHARLAL NEHRU
Spell out the agenda of nation building that flows from these two
statements. Which one appeals more to you and why?

Answer:- Both the statements spell about the idea of freedom and independence that India was
longing for.
The first statement reflects a sense of rejoice with a warning of being tested at each and every
step. Whereas, the second statement reflects the idea of freedom, achievement and
opportunities.
The second seems to be more appealing as it reflects the sense of freedom and celebrations for
achievement and seems to be way more positive. This statement motivates the countrymen to
utilise the opportunity for the betterment in their lives.

Q6. What are the reasons being used by Nehru for keeping India secular? Do you think these reasons were only ethical and sentimental? Or were there some prudential reasons as well?

Answer:- Nehru’s idea of secularism for India was a long term decision rather than an instinct decision based on communal differences in nation. India was a nation with different ethnic and religious background that is why Nehru decided India’s future as a secular nation. Muslim league was formed to protect the interests of muslims in colonial India. It demanded separate Muslim nation. Similarly, there were organizations, which were trying to organize the Hindus in order to turn India into a Hindu nation.
These reasons are not only ethical and sentimental but were logical, prudential and valid for the newly independent India because secularism would lead to unity in the nation, which India was longing for. Nehru and several other leaders believed that India must treat people of all religions equally and that India should not be a country that gave superior status to people of one faith and inferior to others. All citizens should be equal irrespective of their religious beliefs.
Therefore, the ideal of secular nation was adopted.

Q7. Bring out two major differences between the challenges of nation building for eastern and western regions of the country at the time of Independence.

Answer:- The major differences between eastern (Bengal) and Western (Punjab) regions is that these regions were the muslim majority provinces to be joined. Hence, it was decided that Pakistan will comprise two territories that were West and East Pakistan. Now we saw there was a problem of minorities on both sides of the border. Lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs in areas of Pakistan and Muslims on the Indian side of Punjab and Bengal found themselves trapped with no option except to leave their homes. The huge migration from these two regions led to huge destruction in the livelihood of people. There were huge massacre, murder and rape on both the sides which were the results of communal conflicts between Hindus and Muslims.
In the eastern region like Manipur there were shared differences over the question of merger of Manipur with India. Congress wanted the merger, other political parties were opposed to this. The government of India succeeded in pressurizing the maharaja to sign a Merger Agreement in September 1949 without consulting the popularly elected legislative assembly of Manipur. This caused a lot of anger and opposition in Manipur and dissatisfaction among the members of the newly elected Legislative assembly

Q8. What was the task of the States Reorganisation Commission? What was its most salient recommendation?

Answer:- The task of the States Reorganisation Commission was to look up into the matter of redrawing the boundaries of the States.
The most salient recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission was to draw the boundaries of the states on the basis of linguistic grounds and that the boundaries of the states should represent the boundaries of different languages.

Q9. It is said that the nation is to a large extent an “imagined community” held together by common beliefs, history, political aspirations and imaginations. Identify the features that make India a nation.

Answer:- India proved herself through all stages of three challenges at the time of nation building like:

India is a secular country where people speak different languages and follow different cultures and religions to be recognised as a nation of unity in diversity with common faith and beliefs.
Political aspiration ensures demo¬cratic setup based on parliamentary form of government creating political competition in a democratic framework.
India’s imaginations established a welfare state on the principle of equality and special protection to socially disadvantaged groups and religions as well as cultural communities.

Q10. Read the following passage and answer the questions below :

‘In the history of nation-building only the Soviet experiment bears comparison with the Indian. There too, a sense of Unity had to be forged between many dieverse ethnic groups, religious, linguistic communities and social classes. The scale geographic as well as demographic was comparably massive. The raw material, the state had to work with was equally unpropitious, a people divided by faith and driven by debt and disease. ‘ Ramchandra
Guha.
(a) List the communalities that the author mentions between India and Soviet Union and give one example for each of these from India.
(b) The author does not talk about dissimilarities between the two experiments. Can you mention two dissimilarities ?
(c) In restrospect which of these two experiments worked better and why ?

Answer:- (a) Commonalities between India and Soviet Union:
(i) Both the nations shaped the nation on linguistic basis.
(ii) To promote welfare motives, the economic and technological developments took place in India also.
(iii) States were divided on the grounds of geographical boundary and strength of populations also in both the nations.

(b) Dissimilarities:
(i) Soviet Union was divided into 15 independent republics/countries to be disintegrated.
(ii) India maintained its unity and integrity even among diversified nature of states and peoples without any more division.

(c) The Indian experiment worked better to promote linguistic and cultural plurality without affecting unity and integrity of the nation though India adopted some diplomatic measures to make country united.

Extra Questions of Class 12 Political Science Chapter 1 Challenges of Nation Building

Q1. Which two languages were spoken in Bombay state before it was divided in 1960?

Answer: Gujarati and Marathi

Q2. Name any four princely states that resisted their merger with the Indian Union?

Answer: Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Manipur.

Q3. How many princely states consisted at the time of independence of India?

Answer: 565 princely states.

Q4. What was meant by princely states?

Answer:- Princely states were ruled by princes who employed some form of control over their internal affairs under the supremacy of the British.

Q5. What was the basis of the report of States Reorganisation Commission?

Answer:- States Reorganisation Commission Report was based on the distribution of boundaries of states on language basis to reflect linguistic aspects.

Q6. Why were the states reorganised on linguistic basis in India in 1956?

Answer:- States were reorganised on linguistic basis in India in 1956 to maintain unity and integrity of the nation to avoid violence and conflicts among the people.

Q7. Define Globalisation.

Answer:- Globalisation refers to integration of an economy with the other country based on interdependence.

Q8. What is WSF?

Answer:- WSF is the World Social Forum, a global platform to bring together a wide coalition of human rights activists, environmentalists and women activists.

Q9. Why were the states reorganised on linguistic basis in India in 1956?

Answer:- States were reorganised on linguistic basis in India in 1956 to maintain unity and integrity of the nation to avoid violence and conflicts among the people.

Q10. Whose speech was known as ‘tryst with destiny’?

Answer:- ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech was delivered by the first Prime Minister of independent India Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru while addressing special session of constituent Assembly as the midnight of 14-15 August 1947.

Q11. Name the movement which demanded the separate province for Andhra region.

Answer:- The Vishalandhra movement demanded that Telugu speaking areas should be separated from Madras Province of which they were a part and be made into a separate Andhra Province.

Q12. Why did Amritsar and Kolkata become communal zones?

Answer:- Amritsar and Kolkata became communal zones because Muslims did not wish to move into area of Hindus and Sikhs majority and on the other hand Hindus and Sikhs also wanted to stay away from the areas of Muslim predominance.

Q13. Explain the role of the state Reorganization commission.

Answer:- After Independence, states were reorganized on a linguistic basis. On the basis of reports of the States Reorganisation Commission, the States Reorganisation Act was passed in 1956 which led to the creation of 14 States and six Union Territories.

Q14. Assess the commonly agreed upon two goals visualized by the Indians during the national movement which have been fulfilled after independence.

Answer:- There will be a democratic government in the country.
The government will be run for the good of all.

Q15. “The partition of India appeared so Prove everyone in worst fears”. How far do you agree with this statement?

Answer:- The partition of India proved wrong bad for everyone because for most of them it paved the way for sorrow and problems. The partition initiated riots, loots, and killings. On both sides of the borders, there were continuous tensions with threats to lives and money materialistic things.

Q16. Explain the circumstances that led to the accession of Hyderabad to India.

Answer:- Hyderabad was the largest princely state and it was surrounded by Indian territory. Its ruler was Muslim but the majority of the population was Hindu. Its ruler carried the title ‘Nizam’ and he was one of the world’s richest men. Nizam wanted an independent status for Hyderabad. Hyderabad had a substantial fighting force and the Nizam also expected British help through Pakistan.

But India was also determined to see its accession. Negotiations were started but Hyderabad held out against accession. The peasantry in the Telangana region, in particular, was the victim of Nizam’s oppressive rule and rose against him. Ultimately on the grounds of atrocities against Hyderabadi Hindus, the imprisonment of more than ten thousand Congressmen in the state, and the destructive activities of the fanatical Razarbars, the Govt, of India was forced to move in a ‘Police action’. After a few days of intermittent fighting, the Nizam surrendered. This led to Hyderabad’s accession to India. The popular ministry was established in Hyderabad after the first General election in 1952.

Q17. How did the reorganisation of states take place in India after its independence? Explain.

Answer:-

In the initial years it was felt that linguistic states may foster seperatism and create pressures on newly founded nation, but India considered democracy and federalism by making a favour to linguistic states only.
State Reorganisation Commission was appointed in 1953 central Government to rearrange the boundaries of states.
Its main recommendations were to organise states on language basis as well as the boundaries of states could reflect the linguistic aspects also.
The State Reorganisation Act was passed in 1956 which created 14 states and 6 union territories.
Linguistic states enhanced demo¬cratic practices.
Linguistic states reduced separatist attitude by accepting the regional and linguistic claims of all regions.