SOCIAL SCIENCE (213) - Oct' 2014 | NIOS SECONDARY Solved Papers

3. The most important of them were the Treaty of Versailles signed with Germany, the Treaty of St. Germain with Austria and the Treaty of Serves with Turkey.

11. Explain the circumstances that encouraged the Europeans to spread imperialism in Africa. 4

Ans.:- Imperialism in Africa Do you know that once upon a time Africa was known as the Dark Continent? Very little information was available about this continent. The missionaries and the explorers were the first to venture into the interiors. There they discovered an immense treasure of ivory, gold, diamond, timber and people who could be made slaves. Africa also had weak political systems, a backward economy and society as well as weak armies. A competition started amongst the European nations to gain power and prestige as well as raw materials and markets for their manufactured goods. The Europeans on the other hand had technologically advanced weapons which helped in their conquests. Till 1875, European possessions in Africa were limited to some forts and trading posts along the coast and a few small colonies. But between 1880 and 1910, the whole of Africa was divided up amongst the Europeans. All important decisions related to Africa and its people were taken on the conference tables of London, Paris, Lisbon and other European capitals for the next 50 years!

 

12. Explain any four main provisions of the Permanent Settlement introduced in 1793.                4

Ans.:- Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal and Bihar in 1793. The following are the four main provisions of the Permanent Settlement are:-

1.  It made the landlord or zamindar deposit a fixed amount of money in the state treasury. In return they were recognised as hereditary owners of land. This made the zamindar the owner of the land. 2. The amount of revenue to be paid to the Company was fixed for a period of time which made the British financially secured. Now they knew in advance as to how much revenue was coming in form the State.

3. The zamindar also knew how much revenue was to be paid. So to get surplus revenue for themselves they asked the peasants to increase production.

4.  If the zamindar failed to pay the fixed revenue on time his land was sold off to another zamindar.

 

13. ‘Pandita Ramabai was a renowned social reformer who fought for the rights of women and spoke against the practice of child marriage’. Support the statement with any four facts.   4

Ans.:- Pandita Ramabai, a renowned social reformer, fought for the rights of women and spoke against the practice of child marriage.

1.  She promoted girls education and started the Arya Mahila Samaj in1881, in Pune, to improve the condition of women, especially child widows.

2.  In 1889, she established the Mukti Mission, in Pune, a refuge for young widows who had been deserted and abused by their families.

3.  She also started Sharda Sadan which provided housing, education, vocational training and medical services to widows, orphans and the visually challenged.

4.She also wrote many books showing the hard life of women, including child brides and child widows. The Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission is still active today.

 

14. What is meant by a Wetland? Explain any three characteristics of Wetlands.              4

Ans.:- Wetlands: A wetland is an area of land where soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water.

The following are the characteristics of Wetlands

1. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, and brackish.

2. Most importantly wetlands also serve as natural wastewater purification systems.

3. Wetlands are considered as biologically the most diverse of all ecosystems.

Plant life found in wetlands includes mangrove, water lilies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, black spruce, cypress, gum, and many others.

 

15. Explain any four major challenges faced by Indian agriculture.           4

Ans.:- Major challenges faced by Indian agriculture are

a) Stagnation in Production of Major Crops:- Production of some of the major staple food crops like rice and wheat has been stagnating for quite some time. This is a situation which is worrying our agricultural scientists, planners and policy makers. If this trend continues, there would be a huge gap between the demand of ever growing population and the production.

b) High cost of Farm Inputs:- Over the years rates of farm inputs have increased manifold. Farm inputs include fertilizer, insecticide, pesticides, HYV seeds, farm labour cost etc. such an increase puts low and medium land holding farmers at a disadvantage.

c) Soil Exhaustion:- On one hand green revolution has played a positive role in reducing hunger from India. On the other hand, It has also led to negative consequences. One of which is Soil exhaustion. Soil exhaustion means loss of nutrients in the Soil from farming the same crop over and over again.

d) Depletion of Fresh Ground Water:- The second major negative consequence of green revolution is depletion of fresh ground water. We would remember that areas where green revolution was successful, it was due to the use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation. Most of the irrigation in dry areas of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh was carried out by excessive use of ground water.

 

16. Describe any four advantages of waterways as a means of transportation.   4

Ans.:- Four advantages of waterways as a means of transportation are

1. It is the cheapest means as compared to other means of transport because it involves no expenditure on construction other than maintenance.

2.  It is very useful for transporting heavy and bulky goods. A ship can carry lakhs of tonnes of goods at a time.

3.  It is a better mode of transportation for petroleum and its products as it involves cross-continental transfers. India lacks in petroleum deposit and most of it is imported from Middle East countries.

4.  It is fuel efficient and environment friendly means of transportation.

 

17. How do industrialization and urbanisation influence the density and distribution of population in India? Explain with examples.           4

Ans.:- The density and distribution of population depend on the socioeconomic conditions of the area such as

 Industrialization and Urbanization: As you always find, large number of people reside in the area having industries. They also prefer to live in the urban areas, towns and cities. The areas which are rich in mineral resources also attract large population. The mining areas in Jharkhand are very densely populated. This is so because these areas support several economic activities and offer lots of employment opportunities. Moreover, the education and health facilities are better in these areas. We are aware that all large cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and many more have high density of population.

 

18. Explain any four principles related to the Gandhian thought.              4

Ans.:- Four principles related to the Gandhian thought are

1. The state shall promote the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the society and in particular the interests of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

2. The state shall take steps to organize the village panchayats. These panchayats should be given such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self government.

3. The state shall make efforts to prevent the consumption of alcoholic drinks and other harmful drugs.

4. The state shall try to promote cottage industries in rural areas

 

19. In which four ways does a District Magistrate perform his/her multi-faced role?       4

Ans.:- The District Magistrate, has been assigned various important powers and functions to perform on behalf of the state government. The main functions of District Magistrate are as follows:

1. maintaining law and order and ensuring peace in the district,

2. implementing varios policies and programmes of the state government and the Central government

3. acting as the main link between state government and district level institutions and offices

4. co-ordinating the activities of different departments such as education, health, welfare, land management, police, jail and culture.

 

20. Describe the financial and the discretionary powers of the Governor.            2+2=4

Ans.:- Financial Powers:- We must have read in the newspapers that every year the budget is presented by the government in the Legislature for tits approval. In fact, the budget i.e.,‘ Annual Financial Statement’ of the State is prepared and presented by the State Finance Minister before the STATE Legislature, on behalf of the Governor. Moreover, no money bill can be introduced in the State Legislature without the recommendations of the Governor. He/she also has control over the State Contingency Fund.

Discretionary Powers:-  The Governor acts on the advice of the State Council of Ministers. This means that in reality, the Governor has no powers. But according to the Constitution, under special circumstances, he/she may act without the advice OF THE Council of Ministers. Such powers, which are exercised by the Governor on his own, are called discretionary powers.

 

21. Explain the contribution of multi-party system towards strengthening of democracy in India.4

Ans.:- The multi-party system has several parties competing in the elections and more than two parties have a chance to get a majority. These parties can win either on their own or by making alliances, The multi-party system has strengthened democracy in India by:

a) There are numerous parties in India apart from major ones like Congress and BJP. This has enabled representation of many groups as well as regions as some parties are stronger in one area than others.

b) Division of votes has caused numerous parties to come together and form alliance or fronts to win elections like the United Progressive Alliance or Left Front.

 

22. Assess the role of public opinion in a democratic setup like India.    4

Ans.:- The following roles of public opinion are especially important:

1. An alert and free public opinion is a check on absolute power;

2. it ensures a system in which no organ of the government overrules  others;

3. it promotes a process to be responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people;

4. it influences government in making laws in the interest of the people;

5. it strengthens democratic values and norms; and

6. it protects rights, freedoms and liberty: ‘eternal vigilance’ is rightly called the price of liberty, i.e. every citizen needs to be vigilant in order to protect  democratic values.

 

23. Examine any four conditions essential for smooth running of democracy.    4

Ans.:- Four conditions essential for smooth running of democracy are:

(i) It is essential that for a system to be democratic, we must adopt a Constitution and laws that vest supreme power in the people.

(ii) The human rights and fundamental rights, such as equality, liberty of thought and expression, belief, movement, communication and association must be protected by the Constitution.

(iii) A democratic system has to ensure that the social development is in tune with democratic values and norms reflecting equality of social status and opportunities for development, social security and social welfare.

(iv) Citizens must avail opportunities of universal and compulsory education.

 

24. Describe the political causes of the uprising of 1857.               5

Ans.:-Political causes of the uprising of 1857: The nature of colonial expansion through annexation became a major source of discontent among the Indian rulers. British wanted to acquire land and collect as much wealth for England as they could. Their policy of annexation called Doctrine of Lapse and Subsidiary Alliance led to a number of independent kingdoms being annexed to the British Empire. These were states that were enjoying British protection but their rulers had died without leaving a natural heir to the throne. As a result their adopted sons could now no longer legally inherit the property or receive the pension which was granted to them by the British. In this way Lord Dalhousie annexed the Maratha States of Satara, Nagpur , Jhansi and several other minor kingdoms. On the death of Baji Rao II, the pension granted to him was abolished and the claim of his adopted son, Nana Saheb, to receive this pension was denied to him. This interference by the East India Company was disliked by many Indian rulers. Before the policy of Doctrine of Lapse, the Indian ruler had a right to adopt an heir to his throne even if he was childless, but now they had to take prior consent from the British.

25. What was the Non-Cooperation Movement? Explain the programme laid down by Mahatma Gandhi that promoted this movement.               2+3=5

Ans.:- Gandhiji wanted non violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws.  The government paid no heed to it. Gandhiji, therefore, started his non-cooperation movement in August 1920, in which he appealed to the people not to cooperate with the British government.

For this Gandhi laid down an elaborate programme-

(1) Surrender of titles and honorary offices as well as resignation from nominated seats in local bodies;

 (2) refusal to attend official and non-official functions;

(3) gradual withdrawal of children from officially controlled schools and colleges;

(4) gradual boycott of British courts by lawyers and litigants;

 

26. Describe any five functions of the Prime Minister of India.  5

Ans.:- The Prime Minister is the most important and powerful functionary of the Union Government.

(i)      The Prime Minister being the head of the Council of Ministers, selects the Ministers to be sworn in by the President. The Ministers in fact are chosen by the Prime Minister and remain Ministers as long as they enjoy the confidence of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister distributes portfolios among Ministers.

(ii)    The Prime Minister presides over the meetings of the Cabinet and conducts its proceedings. As head of the Cabinet, he/she largely influences the decisions of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister co-ordinates the working of various ministers. The President resolves disagreement if any amongst different Ministers. Prime Minister  is the link between the president and Minister.

(iii)   The Prime Minister is the “principal spokesman” and defender of the policies of the Government in the Parliament. When any Minister is unable to defend his/her actions properly, the Prime Minster comes to the help of that Minister both inside and outside the Parliament.

(iv)  The Prime Minister has a special status both in the Government and in the Parliament. This makes him/her the most powerful functionary. His/her position and powers depend upon his/her personality. A person of the stature of Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi, is always more effective than a person who lacks vision or depends on support from outside.

 

27. How does the Constitution of India lay a great emphasis on national integration? Explain with examples.   5

Ans.:- On the eve of independence, India was divided into two sets of territories- the first was the territory known as the British India, on which the British rulers had direct control, and second being 562 independent Princely States, having indirect control of the British government. When independence was declared, Princely States were given the option to join either of the two nations, India or Pakistan. A few Princely States joined Pakistan, but the rest merged with India. however, there were exceptions like Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, and Junagadh, who wished to remain independent. There were problems with States of Manipur and Tripura also.

In the above stated background, the Constitution of India lays great emphasis on national integration. Its Preamble includes unity and integrity o the nation as a major objective.