Class 12 - Political Science - Chapter 1: CHALLENGES OF NATION BUILDING - Questions & Answers - Part 2 #eduvictors #class12PoliticalScience

CHALLENGES OF NATION BUILDING (Q & A) - Part 2

POLITICS IN INDIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Class 12  - Political Science - Chapter 1: CHALLENGES OF NATION BUILDING - Questions & Answers - Part 2

Q1: What does "tryst with destiny" mean?

Answer:  Tryst with destiny means to make a deal secretly with your destiny. The speech "Tryst with Destiny" was given by Jawaharlal Nehru on the eve of India's independence. Nehru's speech was a call to action for all Indians to unite and work together to achieve this dream. He reminded them of the sacrifices that had been made by previous generations in the struggle for freedom, and he urged them to continue fighting for a better future for their country.

The speech also emphasized the importance of peace and tolerance in building a united and prosperous India. Nehru warned against the dangers of communalism and narrow-mindedness, and he called for all Indians to work together for the common good.

Q2: List any two aims of independent India.

Answer: Two aims of independent India: 

i. Run a democratic government

ii. Government to be run for the good of all particularly poor and socially disadvantaged groups.

Q3: What were the three challenges of Independent India?

Answer: 

I. To shape a nation: united and accommodative of the diversity in society

II. To establish democracy: the constitution granted fundamental rights, representative democracy.

III. To ensure development: welfare for the socially disadvantaged groups.

Q4: Did all Muslim-majority areas want to be in Pakistan? 

Answer: Not all Muslim-majority areas wanted to be in Pakistan. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan also known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’ was the undisputed leader of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Despite his opposition, NWFP was merged with Pakistan.

Q5: What were the consequences of partition?

Answer: The consequences of the partition were:

i. The year 1947 was the year of one of the largest, most abrupt, unplanned and tragic transfers of population in human history.

ii. Minorities on both sides of the border left their home and secured temporary shelter in ‘refugee camps’.

iii. Women were often abducted, raped, attacked and killed. They were forcefully converted to other religions.

iv. Political and administrative machinery failed on both sides.

v. There was a huge loss of lives and property. Communal violence was at its culmination.

Q6: Post partition, what was the approach of the Interim government towards integration of Indian states.

Answer: The then interim government took firm steps against the possible division of India into small principalities of different sizes. The government’s approach was guided by three considerations :

a) The people of most of the princely states clearly wanted to become part of the Indian Union. 

b) The government was prepared to be flexible in giving autonomy to some regions. 

c) Consolidation of the territorial boundaries of the nation had assumed supreme importance. The choice was given to the states to join either India/ Pakistan/ remain independent.

Q7: What was the Instrument of Accession? Did all Indian states follow this instrument?

Answer: The Instrument of Accession was a legal document that allowed the rulers of the princely states in India to accede to either India or Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947. The Instrument of Accession gave the ruler of a princely state the option to join either dominion on three subjects: defence, external affairs, and communications. The ruler could also choose to join other subjects, but this was not mandatory.

The rulers of most of the states signed a document called the ‘Instrument of Accession’ but the accession of the Junagarh, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Manipur proved more difficult than the rest.

After initial resistance, in September 1948, Hyderabad was merged with Indian Union, by a military operation.

The Government of India succeeded in pressuring the Maharaja of Manipur into signing a Merger Agreement in September 1949. The government did so without consulting the popularly elected Legislative Assembly of Manipur.

The Instrument of Accession was eventually superseded by the Constitution of India, which came into force on January 26, 1950. However, the Instrument of Accession remains an important historical document that shaped the creation of modern India.

Q8: Post-independence, how did the reorganisation of states take place?

Answer: 

i. During the national movement Indian National Congress recognised the demand for state reorganisation on a linguistic basis.

ii. After Independence, this idea was postponed because the memory of partition was still fresh, and the fate of the Princely states had not been decided.

iii. After a long movement, in December 1952 Andhra Pradesh was created on a linguistic basis.

iv. The creation of this state gave impetus to reorganise states on a linguistic basis. As a result, the Government of India appointed the States Reorganisation Commission in 1953.

v. Based on its report the States Reorganisation Act was passed in 1956. This led to the creation of 14 States and 6 Union Territories.

Q9: Briefly describe the following:

a) Two-Nation Theory

b) British Indian Provinces

c) Princely States

d) Razakars

e) Nizam

f) State Reorganization Commission

Answer:

a) Two Nation Theory: It was propounded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah to create a separate state for Muslims.

b) British Indian Provinces: The Indian provinces which were directly under the British government before independence.

c) Princely States: States ruled by Princes who enjoyed some form of control over their states' internal affairs under British supremacy.

d) Razakars: A para-military force of Nizam was sent to respond to people’s movement which had no bounds.

e) Nizam: The Ruler of Hyderabad was titled Nizam who was the world’s richest person.

f) State Reorganization Commission: It was appointed in 1953 to look into the matter to redraw the boundaries of states.

See Also:

The End of Bipolarity - Part 1 - Important Keywords
Pol Science Term 1 - MCQs
Chapter: The End of Bipolarity (Q & A) - Part 2
Chapter 1: Building A Nation (Very Short Answer Based Question)

Oswaal CBSE Chapterwise Solved Papers 2023-2014 Political Science Class 12th (For 2024 Board Exams)