Kerala Plus Two Political Science Board Model Paper 2021 with Answers

Teachers recommend solving Kerala Syllabus Plus Two Political Science Previous Year Question Papers and Answers Pdf Board Model Paper 2021 to improve time management during exams.

Kerala Plus Two Political Science Board Model Paper 2021 with Answers.

Answer the following questions from 1 to 45 upto a maximum score of 80. Questions 1 to 14. answer for 22 scores.

Question 1.
Who was the first Election Commissioner of India?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) T.N. Seshan
c) G.V. Mavalankar
d) SukumarSen
Answer:
d) SukumarSen

Question 2.
What was the major slogan raised by the opposition parties during 1977 Lok Sabha election?
a) Save Democracy
b) Garibi Hatao
c) Jai Jawan Jai Kissan
d) Non-Congressism
Answer:
d) Non-Congressism

Question 3.
Which of the following popular movement used hug¬ging trees as a method of Agitation? (1)
a) Narmada BachaoAndolan
b) Chipko Movement
c) Bharatiya Kissan Union
d) Dalit Panthers
Answer:
b) Chipko Movement

Question 4.
Medha Patkar is associated with ____ popular movement.
a) Anti-Arrack Movement
b) National Fish Workers Forum
c) Narmada BachaoAndolan
d) Chengara land Struggle
Answer:
c) Narmada BachaoAndolan

Question 5.
Who among the following was a leader of Mizo-Na- tional Front?
a) Angami Zapu Phizo
b) Lai Denga
c) Rajiv Gandhi
d) Kazi Lhendup Dorji
Answer:
b) Lai Denga

Question 6.
Expand the following:
AASU
Answer:
All Assam Students Union

Question 7.
Which country adopted an “Open Door Policy”? (1)
a) European Union
b) China
c) America
d) Japan
Answer:
b) China

Question 8.
First Earth Summit was held at (1)
a) Rio-de-Janeiro
b) London
c) Paris
d) New York
Answer:
a) Rio-de-Janeiro

Question 9.
Answer the following questions:
a) Write the name of paramilitary force of Hyderabad Nizam.
b) Who is known as Frontier Gandhi? (2)
Answer:
A. Razakar
B. GhanAbdul Gafarkhan

Question 10.
What are the models of development before India at the time of independence?
Answer:
Capitalist Model and Socialist Model

Question 11.
Write the name of any four SAARC member countries. (2)
Answer:
India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan

Question 12.
Some of the popular movements in India are given below. Pick out the suitable places from the bracket and match them correctly. (2)
a) Bharatiya Kissan Union
b) Chipko Movement
Answer:
A. Bharatiya Kisan Union – Meerut
B. Chipko Movement – Utharkhan

Question 13.
Name the leader who signed the Punjab Accord?(2)
a) Rajiv Gandhi and Laldanga
b) Angami Zapu Phizo and Kazl Lhendup Dorji
c) Indira Gandhi and Bhindranwala
d) Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal
Answer:
D. Rajiv Gandhi and harchand Sing h Longowal

Question 14.
Match the following :

A	B
Russia	Transition Model
Shock Therapy	Successor of USSR
Mikhail Gorbachev	Currency of USSR
Ruble	Perestroika

Answer:

A	B
Russia	Successor of USSR
Shock Therapy	Transition Model
Mikhail Gorbachev	Perestroika
Ruble	Currency of USSR

Questions from 15 to 24 carries 3 scores each. (10 × 3 = 30)

Question 15.
Explain “Two Nation Theory”. Who put forward this theory?
Answer:
The division of India was carried out on the basis of the Two-Nation Theory put forward by the Muslim
League. According to that theory, in India there were two nations – the Hindus and Muslims. Therefore, the League demanded a separate state, Pakistan for Muslims.

Question 16.
First three General Elections marked the features of Congrass dominance. What are the factors that con-tributed to the dominance of Congress Party?
Answer:

1. Congress had led Independence struggle, that legacy helped them in the dominance of congress in the general elections.
2. Congress was the only party which had strong organisational structure and network all over India.
3. Charismatic Leadership of Nehru and others.

Question 17.
Write down three major objectives of Jawaharlal Nehru’s foreign policy.
Answer:

1. Protect territorial integrity and sovereignty of the coun try.
2. Promote rapid economic development.
3. Opposition to imperialism, colonialism and racism.

Question 18.
India is against nuclear proliferation, but India did not sign NPT and CTBT. Give reasons.
Answer:
India is against of atomic weapons for war like purposes. India stood for complete diarmament within the framework of United Nations. At the same time, refuses to sign NPT, and CTBT because it is discriminatory. India was against the stand of nuclear powers to accumilate nuclear weapons in their workshops and deny the same right to underdeveloped or third world countries.

Question 19.
Discuss the two major reasons which lead to the split of Congress Party in 1969.
Answer:

1. In 1969 there arose a difference between Indira Gandhi and the syndicate.
2. When Dr. Zakir Hussain died, the Presidential post was vacant. The Syndicate nominated Sanjiva Reddy to the post. But Indira Gandhi proposed V.V.Giri as the President. The failure of the official candidate of the congress caused the formal division of Congress.
3. In 1969, the Congress led by the Syndicate was known as Congress (O) and the group was led by Indira Gandhi was called Congress (R).

Question 20.
Explain the reasons for the failure of Janata Govern-ment
Answer:
Janata party was the product of the National Emergency. As a coalition of different political parties, it had not a common vision and a goal. It proved to be a failure to making basic changes in the country. The completion and conflicts among leaders was yet another failure of the party

Question 21.
Write a short note 6n “Chipko Movement”.
Answer:
Chipko movement was started in 1923 in two or three villagers of Uttarkhand. The forest department prevented the villagers from using the forest but gave permission to a sports company to cut down such trees for commercial purposes. This provoked the villagers, when the workers came to cut the trees, the villagers stood near the trees embracing thetn. This protest spread to many parts of Uttarkhand. As a result of this movement, government issued an order prohibiting the cutting down of trees in that region. Along with women and children, Sundar Lai Bahuguna, and Chandiprasad Bhatt were its leaders.

Question 22.
Kashmir issue is not just a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has also internal and external di-mensions. – Discuss.
Answer:
The politics of Jammu and Kashmir always remained controversial and conflict ridden both for external and internal reasons. Externally, Pakistan has always claimed that Kashmir valley should be part of Pakistan. Internally, there is a dispute about the status of Kashmir within the Indian union. Recently Central Government withdrawned the special provision of Kashmir under Article 370, and divided Kashmir into two union territories.

Question 23.
Write a short note on “Cubian Missile Crisis”.
Answer:
Cuba was a small country, situated very close to United States of America. A big power like America, could not easily tolerate a neighbouring country becoming a close ally of communist Russia. As Cuba got financial and military support from Russia, it became a strong country, although it was small in size. In 1962, the Russian leader Khrushchev wanted to deploy missiles and other armaments in Cuba. America sent its warships towards Cuba. This incident was known as Cuban Missile Crisis’.

Question 24.
Point out the consequences of shock therapy.
Answer:

1. Many big industries under government control were collapsed.
2. The Russian currency, Rouble was devalued.
3. GDP was diminished.
4. Because of inflation people lost the value of their savings.
5. Social welfare schemes were abandoned.
6. As subsidies were withdrawn, many people experienced poverty.

Questions from 25 to 33 carry 4 scores each. (9 × 4 = 36)

Question 25.
Explain the challenge of establishing democracy in independent in India.
Answer:
Establishing Democratic system was one of the major challenge in independent I ndia. Free and fair elections were the methods to establish democratic system. The first election was called the greatest
gamble in history by foreign media. A British member of the civil service was said that the future generations would condemn this democratic process as a foolish enterprise. But India succeeded in conducting a free and fair election and we are successful in our democratic experiment.

Question 26.
Briefly explain the nuclear policy of India.
Answer:

1. India’s nuclear programme was initiated under the guidance of Homi J Bhabha.
2. India conducted nuclear explotions in 1974 and 1988.
3. But India is against testing of atomic weapons for war like purposes. India stands for complete disarmament within the framework of UN.
4. India refuses to sign NPT, CTBT, because it is discriminatory.
5. India stood for no first use of nuclear energy.
6. India stands for non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament.

Question 27.
Find out the major consequences of the National emergency of 1975.
Answer:
a) Protest and agitations of government employees were banned.
b) Media was strictly controlled. The media could publish only things the government approved. Many journalists were under preventive detention.
c) Fundamental Rights of the citizens were suspended. Even the courts could not enforce Article 32.
d) Many of the opposition leaders were arrested and kept in jail. The provision of preventive detention was widely used.

Question 28.
“Anti-Arrack movement is not only a movement for banning liquor but also a movement for women empowerment.” Discuss.
Answer:
In 1990’s the women in Nellur district of Andra Pradesh started an agitation against the alcoholism of that region. The habit of drinking arrack created a lot of social-economic issues. The women in Nellur forced a wine shop to close down. The news spread like wild fire into more than 5000 villages. They held meetings and passed resolutions and sent them to the authorities. The protest in Nellur spread to the rest of the state and it would become a success.

Question 29.
What are the main provisions of Punjab Accord and how far the agreement succeeded in solving Punjab crisis?
Answer:
After the 1984, general election, Rajiv Gandhi became the PM. He started talks with the Akali Dal leaders. In 1985, he signed an accord with the Akali leader Harchand Singh Longowal. This is known as Punjab Accord or the Rajiv-Gandhi Longowal Accord. This helped to bring about normalcy in Punjab. The conditions of the Accord are:

1. Handover Chandigarh to Punjab.
2. Appoint a new commission to solve the border disputes between Punjab and Haryana.
3. Establish a Tribunal to share the waters of Ravi, Beas with Haryana, and Rajastan.
4. Compensation will be given to damages related with operation Blue star. Even with all these, normalcy did not return immediately. He took nearly 10 years for things to become normal.

Question 30.
List out the features of Shock Therapy.
Answer:
The failure of Sovet Union made many of its constituent countries abandon communism and follow capitalist ways. Russia, the Satellite countries of Soviety Union from Eastern Europe were attracted towards organisations, in the World Bank and IMF.

1. The main purpose of Shok Terapy was to make communist countries to follow capitalist model.
2. Private capital would be promoted. ..
3. Cooperative farming will give way to private farming.
4. Foreign investment, open market system were promoted.
5. All economic regulations were excluded.

Results

1. Many big industries under government control collapsed.
2. Russian currency Rouble was devalued.
3. Because of inflation people lost the value of their savings.
4. Famines, poverty and unemployment was prevalent.
5. The social welfare schemes were abandoned.
6. As subsidies were withdrawn, many people experienced poverty.

Question 31.
What is the conceptual difference between traditional and non-traditional security?
Answer:
Security implies freedom from threats. There were two aspects of security. They are traditional security and non-traditional security. In the traditional conception of security, the greatest danger to a country is from military threats. There are two traditional notions of security. They are internal and external.

Non-traditional notions of security go beyond military threats to include a wide range of threats and dangers affecting the conditions of human existence. Non- traditional views of security have been called ‘human security’ or ‘global security’. Human security implies the security of human beings than countries and global security implies the security of world.

Question 32.
List out different programmes adopted by India for environmental protection.
Answer:

1. For the protection of environment India has taken the following steps.
2. According to the auto fuel policy of India, only purified fuel is used for vehicles.
3. The Energy Act passed in 2001, aims at the appropriate use of energy.
4. The 2003 Electricity Act requires the use of renewable energy sources.
5. In 2011-12 the Bio-diesel Mission started production of biodiesel.
6. ecently schemes have been worked out for the import of natural gas. It has been decided to use the latest technology for purifying coal. Thus India is doing a lot for environmental protection.

Question 33.
What are the political consequences of globalisation?
Answer:
Politically speaking, the authority of the government gets weaker. It will have to reduce its welfare schemes, instead of promoting it. With the coming of MNC’s it becomes difficult for the governments to take independent decisions.

According to the advocates of globalisation, no political power of the government is lost. Since technology has advanced so much, governments can do a lot. Technology helps governments to know the details of its citizens and make the administration efficient.

Questions from 34 to 41 carry 5 scores each. (8 × 5 = 40)

Question 34.
Write a brief note on the challenges to nation building process in India.
Answer:
Independent India faced three kinds of challenges,
a) Integrating India
b) Ensuring the welfare of the people and development
c) Establish the democratic system

a) Integrating India:
When India got freedom, it had more than 500 Princely States. The rulers of these places wanted to get back their sovereignty when the British left. The government approached the Princely States keeping three things in mind.

a) The majority of people of the Princely States wanted to join Indian Union.
b) Giving some kind of self-rule to some Princely States.
c) In the background of the division, we needed States with precision.

Integration:
Except Junagarh, Hyderabad. Kashmir and Manipur, all the Princely States signed in the Instrument of Accession and joined the Indian Union. Then through a referendum, Junagarh joined Indian Union. Because of popular uprising in Hyderabad against the Nizam, the Indian army took some action and got Hyderabad also into the Union. The Congress Group in Manipur wanted to join the Union, but other parties objected. However, the Manipur king was persuaded and he too joined the Union. Kashmir King also signed the Instruction of Accession to save himself from the attacks of Pakistan and thus Kashmir too became part of India.

The division of the country into States on linguistic basis showed that it could accommodate all the diversities. The people can accept the diversities and live in unity. This is the strength of a country. The Telungana protest and the martyrdom of Potti ” Sriramulu should be remembered here.

Ensuring the welfare of people:
India was a poor country. The country has included provisions in the Constitution to ensure protection to the socially backward people, to religious and cultural minorities and to give all the people equality. Through Directive Principles, the Constitution shows us the way to eradicate poverty and to make the marginalized people come into the mainstream society.

Five Year Plans:
The country has a development model based on socialist principles. We have adopted a mixed economy accommodating both public and private sector enterprises. Establishing democratic system: Democracy was a discovery of foreigners. But the big thing was that we chose democracy in spite of the fact that India is a poor country and there are many illiterates here. The first election was called the greatest gamble in history by foreign media. A British member of the Civil Service said that the future generations would condemn this democratic process as a foolish enterprise. The first Election Commission wasformed with Dr. Sukumar Sen as the Commissioner.

Illiterate Indians were supposed to think in terms of caste and creed. But by making a voters’ list based on our secular system and equality, we succeeded in conducting a fair election and we were successful in our democratic experiment Even after 70 years of Independence, we still face some challenges to our democracy. There are new demands for regional autonomy. There is the Maoist threat. There is intolerance, following the integration of Manipur. There is the Kashmir problem. In spite of all these we have been able to maintain our democratic tradition. After the 1975 Emergency, our rulers have been able to maintain the democratic order without any interruption.

Question 35.
Briefly explain Congress party as a social and ideological coalition.
Answer:
The success of congress was mainly for its social and ideological nature. Different social sections of the people were included in congress such as industrialists, farmers, labourers, city-dwellers, capitalists etc. Thus it became a party representing people at different-levels, religions and languages. Because of the representation of different groups, it became a coalition of different ideologies. It included moderates, extremists, radicals, and people of the left right ideologies. The social and ideological nature of congress helped its success in the first three general elections.

Question 36.
Write the major reasons of 1962 war between India and China.
Answer:

1. Swathantra party was formed in August 1959.
2. C.Rajagopalachari, K.M.Munshi, Meenu Massani were its prominent leaders.
3. Swathantra party opposed centralised planning, state intervention, public sector, etc.
4. They stood for individual freedom and . privatisation.
5. They were against the policy of non-alignment and progressive tax regime.
6. Most of the ideologies of Swathantra party are in favour of capitalist system and they wanted to make India a capitalist country.

Question 37.
Write the major reasons of I 962 war between India and China.
Answer:
The main reasons of Indo-China war in 1962 were boundary disputes and Tibetan issue. The main dispute was about the boundary of the West and East. China claimed the Ladakh Region of Jammu and Kashmirand many areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Between 1957-59, the Chinese occupied the Akasai-chin sector and built the Karakorum Highway.

The second issue was Tibet. In 1950, China annexed Tibet. China imposed their culture on the Tibetans. In 1959, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetans, sought refuge in India. In October 1962, the Chinese army occupied some important places of Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian army stopped the Chinese on the western side of Ladakh. Then they announced a unilateral ceasefire and retreated from the occupied land Sometimes DODular movements were aaainst the democratic process and development of the country.

Question 38.
“Popular Movements hinder democratic process and development.” Discuss.
Answer:

1. Protests, dharnas and rallies prevent governments from smooth functioning.
2. Most moverments were for or against a particular issue. Thus these movements get the support of only some particular groups of people.
3. For democratic policies, there is a need for broad fellowships and unity. But such broad fellowship is not seen in most of these movements.
4. These movements can work only for limited objectives. Often there were clashes between these movements and political parties.

Question 39.
Explain any two major issues of North East.
Answer:
The North-Eastern States have some geographical peculiarities. It was a region that was not closely linked to the rest of the country. It has long international orders, but communications facilities were less there. Its development was neglected to an extent and the problem was made complex by the emigrants that came from other places. In this complex situation, some complex demands were made:

1) Demand for Autonomy :
At the time of independence, except Manipur and Tripura, the entire North-Eastern region was just one State. After independence, the non-Assamese felt that. Assamese language was imposed on them. Therefore they demanded political self-rule. The Adivasi leaders wanted to keep away from Assam. They formed “Eastern India Tribal Union”., Later it was known as “All Party Hill Leaders Conference”. They demanded one Adivasi State, but more Adivasi States like Meghalaya and Mizoram were formed. Even with this, their demand for self-rule did not end. The Bodos, Karbis and Dimasas etc. demanded their own States. The same area was demanded by more than one community. Because of that the only solution was forming tiny States. Some stayed in Assam and gained their right for self-rule. The Karbis and Dimasas were given self-rule at the District level. The Bodos were given their self¬rule council very’recently.

2) SECESSIONIST MOVEMENT:
MIZORAM: India faced demands for secession from two North-Eastern States – Mizoram and Nagaland. After independence, Mizoram region within Assam itself was enjoying self-rule. But many of them thought that they were not part of British India and so there was no reason for them to join India. In 1959 there was a serious famine in the Mizo Hills. But the Assam government could not take appropriate measures to help the suffering people there. This caused the formation of Mizo National Front (MNF) under the leadership of Lai Denga. From 1966, they started an armed struggle to get freedom.

Pakistan aided them and gave them refuge in Eastern Pakistan. In the conflict many ordinary people were killed. This made the local people very angry. In spite of the 20-year long resistance, no party made any gain. Then they had a rethinking. The exiled Lai Denga returned from Pakistan and started talks with Indian authorities. In 1986, a peace accord was signed between him and Rajiv Gandhi. Mizoram thus became a State with some special rights. MNF gave up their resistance.

Question 40.
Towards the end of 1980s, India witnessed several political developments that determined the future of the Indian politics. Explain.
Answer:
a) In 1989, Congress lost the election. With that election the ‘Congress System’ ended.

b) Mandal issue in national politics: In the 1990s,the government decided to implement the job reservations recommended by the Mandal Commission. Reservations were also made for Other Backward Classes. This resulted in a move against the Mandal Commission throughout the country.

c) The economic policy changed according to the change in the government. A new economic policy was implemented in the name of Structural Adjustment.

d) In 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished as a result of many things. It was an incident that threatened the unity and integration of the country. It happened because of the coming of BJP with its Hindutva agenda.

e) The Murder of Rajiv Gandhi (1991): This brought changes in the leadership of Congress. In the next election, Congress won the maximum seats.

Question 41.
List out the principal organs of the UN. Briefly explain any two.
Answer:
The UNO was formed in 24th October 1945 to promote International peace and security. The major organs of United Nations Organisation were

1. General Assembly
2. Security Council
3. Secretariate
4. International Court of Justice
5. Economic and Social Council
6. Trusteeship Council

1) General Assembly:
When all the members of the UN meet together it is called the World Parliament. Each country can send 5 representative in the General Assembly. But each country has only one vote. Once every year the General Assembly will meet.

2) Security Council:
Security council is the executive council of UN. It has 15 members, 10 temporary members and 5 permanent members. USA, UK, USSR, France, China were the permanent members of UN has veto power. The main concern of UN Security Council was international peace and security.

Questions from 42 to 45 carry 8 scores each (4 × 8 = 32)

Question 42.
Explain the process of partition of India and examine its consequences.
Answer:
The division of India was carried out on the basis of the Two-Nation Theory put forward by the Muslim League. According to that theory, in India there were two nations – the Hindus and Muslims. Therefore, the Muslim League demanded a seperate nation, Pakistan for the Muslims. There were four major issues in the process of the partition of India.

First of all in British India, there was not a single area which had only Muslims.There were two areas in which the majority was Muslims, one in the west and the other other in the East. Therefore Pakistan was formed consisting of two areas – West Pakistan and East Pakistan. Between them there were large areas of Indian territory.

1. Secondly, not all areas with majority Muslim of population wanted to become part of Pakistan, – Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, who was the leader of the North Western Province, had objected to the Two-Nation Theory. But ignoring his objection, the north west province was included in Pakistan.
2. Third problem was that British India’s Pubjab and Bengal were areas with Muslim majority. But in these provinces there were very many non- muslims.
3. The fourth issue regarding partition was the minorities lived in the both sides of the boundary of two countries. When the division was decided upon, there was large scale violence against the minorities in both the countries.

Consequences

1. The division of British India in 1947 into India and Pakistan was a very tragic incident in history. In the border areas many people in both sides were killed because of their religion and caste.
2. The cities like Lahore, Amritsar, Calcutta became religious areas. Muslims avoided going to areas of Hindus and Sikhs. Similarly Hindus and Sikhs did not want to go near the Muslim areas.
3. People migrated from one place to other, but during the journey many were attacked and killed, women were brutally raped. In homes, women were killed by their own relatives in the name of honour.
4. Not only the land, but even movable properties like tables and chairs were divided. The government and railway workers were divided. The writers were described it as ‘division of hearts’.

Question 43.
The declaration of emergancy in 1975 affected normal life of people in various ways. Explain the major causes of emergency.
Answer:
On June 25 1975, the President, on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency.
The main reasons behind the declaration of emergency are following.
a) Economic Reasons
b) Gujarat and Bihar Movements
c) Dispute with the Judiciary
d) Allahabad HC Verdict and popular movements
e) Protest from opposition

a) Economic Reasons: The main slogan in the 1971 election was ‘Garibi Hatao’. But when the government came to power it could not improve the economic condition of the country. There were a number of reasons for that.

First of all there was a refugee problem. Secondly, after the war, America stopped its aid to India. Thirdly there was a sharp increase in oil prices. The fourth reason was inflation which made the life of ordinary people very difficult. The fifth problem was negative growth in industrial output. Sixthly the salaries of government employees had to be reduced or even stopped. Seventhly, lack of rain caused serious shortfall in foodstuff. All the above things created an economic crisis in the country.

b) Gujarat and Bihar Movement:
The second biggest problem was the students’ protest in Gujarat and Bihar which were congress led states. The main reason was the increase in the unemployment and corruption made the students angry. In both these states the opposition parties supported the students. In Gujarat, Presidential Rule was imposed. In June 1975, because of heavy pressure from various sources, election was conducted and congress lost in the election.

In Bihar the students invited Jay Prakash Narayan to lead their protest. He accepted the invitation insisting that the protest must be non-violent. He asked for the dismissal of the Bihar government. He argued that there was’ a need for a revolution in social, economic and political spheres. In the meantime the railway workers also went on a strike. In 1975 Jay
Prakash Narayan orgnaised a march to the parliament. The opposition saw in him an alternative to Indira Gandhi.

c) Dispute with the Judiciary : Another reason for the declaration of Emergency was Indira Gandhi’s dispute with the judiciary. The Supreme Court said that some of the things the government did were against the constitution. The dispute was mainly in three things. Firstly, can the Parliament change the fundamental rights? Secondly can the Parliament change ownership of land. Thirdly the Parliament said that it had the right to reduce fundamental rights. Parliament amended the constitution, but Supreme Court objected. All these were the reasons for the dispute between the Government and Judiciary.

d) Allahabad High Court Verdict: On 12 June Justice J.L.Sinha of the Allahabad High Court passed a judgement declaring Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha invalid. This order came on an election petition filed by Raj Narain, a socialist leader and a candidate who had contested against her in 1971. The petition challenged the election of Indira Gandhi on the ground that she had used the services of government servants in her election campaign. But later Supreme Court granted her a partial stay on the High Court order, that she could remain as MP but could not take part in the proceedings of Lok Sabha.

e) Protest from opposition: The opposition parties started widespread protest under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan pressed for Indira Gandhi’s resignation. They announced nation wide Satyagraha and asked the army, police and government employees not to obey immoral orders. The political mood of the country had turned against the congress.

Question 44.
Describe the reasons behind the disintegration of Soviet Union.
Hints :
• Political causes
• Economic causes
• Growth of Nationalism
• Gorbachev and Disintegration
Answer:
There are many reasons for the disintegration of USSR. Theyare
a) Political Reasons

1. In Soviet system there was bureaucratic misrule and misuse of authority.
2. The control exercised by the Soviet government on its citizens made their life difficult.
3. Therewas no freedom of expression ordemocracy. The party refused to give people their rights.
4. Communist party strictly controlled them and reforms were not possible.
5. Soviet Union was a confederation of 15 Republics. Russia dominated the other Republics and the people of the other Republics were either ignored or suppressed.

b) Economic Reasons
Although the Soviet Union was able to maintain its equality with the US in arms race. It was very costly for them. Western technology was better than Russian Technology. The political and economic needs of the soviet people were not taken care of the Soviet government. Soviet union used most of its resources to develop atomic weapons.

The Reforms of Gorbachev
Th reforms of the Gorbacheve like Glasnost and perestroika were the sudden reasons for the disintegration of Soviet Union. Glasnost means openness and Perestroika means re-structuring. These reforms did not bring the expected results. They brought more troubles to the country leading to its disintegration.

Consequences
End of cold war
Disintegration of Soviet Union was the end of cold war and bi-polar polity. It was also the end of power- block rivalry and arms race. The world became unipolar in nature nad the hegemony of US became a reality.

Change in power relations
After the second world war, there were two power blocks competing each other. They are the capitalist block led by USA and the socialist blocks led by USSR. But the disintegration resulted a change in the existing power system.

Emergence of new countries
As a result of the disintegration, there were many new countries emerged and others disappeared. The mighty confederation USSR became fragmented into 15 independent Republics. Like some of the satellite countries of USSR in the eastern European region were divided and that resulted in the formation of new countries.

Question 45.
The American Hegemony has military, economic and cultural dimensions. Describe three different aspects of U.S. Hegemony.
Answer:
World nations try to gain and maintain dominance over others by using military, economic and cultural power. During the Cold War the fight was between the Soviet Union and America. With the disintegration of the Soviet, Union America remains the only Superpower. Dominance or hegemony is attained through three things:

a) Hard Power
b) Structural Power
c) Soft Power

Hard Power: This includes military power and the relations between nations. Today America is in the forefront of military power. There is nobody to challenge its military might. It has the capacity to reach any corner of the world any moment. They spend a major part of their budget to maintain this position. They spend huge sums of money for research and technological developments. It is technology that keeps America in the forefront. With their military might they are even ready to police the world, and punish the culprits.

STRUCTURAL POWER: This dominance is based on the economic structure. The global economic system relies on America. If America helps the global economic system, it is mainly for their benefits and profits. But America does a lot of good things for the world. For example, communication channels through the oceans. Merchant ships travel through sea routes and America has much authority on the water transport system. It is the American navy that keeps the sea-routes safe for ships.

The next is the Internet. In fact it was an American military project. It was started in 1950. Today the global network functions using satellites. Most of them belong to America. 28% of the world economy is controlled by America. 15% of the international trade is also done by them. In any economic sector, at least one of out of three biggest companies will be American. The world economic structure follows the Breton Woods style of America. The World Bank, I.M.F. and World Trade Organization etc. are examples of American supremacy in world business and finance.

Now comes another example – the MBA degree. It was America that made this course and the degree so popular. It was Americans who discovered that business is a profession that could be taught. The ” first Business School was established in Pennsylvania in 1881. Its name was Wharton School. Today in all countries MBA has become a prestigious degree.

Soft Power: This is the ideological and cultural dominance. America has become the model for all other nations and they try to copy America. In weak countries, America is able to make the people like its culture. We all speak highly of the American life style and personal success. America is number one in the world. By using ‘soft power, and not force, America is able to achieve this dominance over the world.