Q20 of 29 Page 1

Study the cartoon given below and answer the following questions:


a. Identify any four national leaders from the above cartoon and mention the serial number of each.


b. Which was the most controversial issue of the period related to leader number (2) as Prime Minister of India?


c. What was the position of the party led by leader number (1) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1989?


a.(i) Rajiv Gandhi


(ii) V P Singh


(iii) L K Advani


(iv) Devi Lal


(v) Jyoti Basu


b. The most controversial issue during V P Singh’s tenure as the Prime minister was the implementation of the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. The Commission extended the purview of reservation and that the jobs in central government should be reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It recommended reservation of 27 % of seats in educational institutions and government jobs for the OBCs. This led to huge anti-Mandal protests throughout the country.


c. The position of the party was very pathetic during the Lok Sabha elections of 1989. The Congress was defeated in the elections held in 1989. It could win only 197 seats in this election. Though Congress was the largest party in the Lok Sabha, it did not have a clear majority to form the government. Thus, it decided to form the opposition. With this, the Congress lost its upper hand in the political setting of the country.


More from this chapter

All 29 →
18

Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:

At the most simple level, globalisation results in an erosion of state capacity, that is, the ability of government to do what they do. All over the world, the old ‘welfare state’ is now giving way to a more minimalist state that performs certain core functions such as the maintenance of law and order and the security of its citizens. However, it withdraws from many of its earlier welfare functions directed at economic and social well-being. In place of the welfare state, it is the market that becomes the prime determinant of economic and social priorities.


a. What does the words ‘erosion of state capacity' imply? Explain with the help of an example.


b. Why is the concept of welfare state giving way to a minimalistic state?


c. How has the market become the prime determinant of social priorities?

 19

Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:

When India conducted its first nuclear test, it was termed as a peaceful explosion. India argued that it was committed to the policy of using nuclear power only for peaceful purposes. The period when the nuclear test was conducted was a difficult period in domestic politics. Following the Arab-Israel War of 1973, the entire world was affected by the Oil Shock due to the massive hike in the oil prices by the Arab nations. It led to economic turmoil in India resulting in high inflation.


a. When did India conduct its first nuclear test and why?


b. Why was the period, when the nuclear tests were conducted in India, considered to be a difficult period in domestic politics?


c. Which international event of the 1970s was responsible for high inflation in India?

 20

Note: The following questions are for visually impaired candidates only in lieu of question 20.
(i) Which party has won the maximum number of seats in Lok Sabha elections of 1984 and under whose leadership?


(ii) What was the most controversial decision taken by the National Front government in 1990?


(iii) Which Prime Minister started the New Economic Reforms and what was its outcome?

 21

In the given political outline map of South Asia, five countries have been marked as A, B, C, D and E. Identify them on the basis of information given below and write their correct names in the answer book along with the respective serial numbers of information used and concerned alphabet.


a. An important country, but is not considered to be a part of South Asia.


b. The country has a successful democratic system.


c. This country has both civilian and military rulers.


d. This country has a constitutional monarchy.


e. An island nation which was a sultanate till 1968.