Reviewing Kerala Syllabus Plus Two Political Science Previous Year Question Papers and Answers Pdf March 2024 helps in understanding answer patterns.
Kerala Plus Two Political Science Previous Year Question Paper March 2024
Time: 21/2 Hours
Total Score: 80 Marks
From questions 1 to 11, answer for 16 scores.
Question 1.
The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first election was the ___________ .
(a) Bharathiya Jana Sangh
(b) Indian National Congress
(c) Communist Party of India
(d) Socialist Party
Answer:
(c) Communist Party of India
Question 2.
Name the leader who is associated with the Slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’ ?
(a) Nehru
(b) Indira Gandhi
(c) Lai Bahadur Shastri
(d) Jayaprakash Narayan
Answer:
(b) Indira Gandhi
Question 3.
The commission appointed in 1977 by Janatha Government to inquire into the excesses committed during emergency.
(a) Sarkaria Commission
(b) Sri Krishna Commission
(c) Mandal Commission
(d) Shah Commission
Answer:
(d) Shah Commission
Question 4.
Who was the first non-Congress Prime Minister in India ?
(a) Morarji Desai
(b) V.P. Singh
(c) Deva Gowda
(d) A.B. Vajpayee
Answer:
(a) Morarji Desai
Question 5.
Identify the leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan Movement.
(a) Sundarlal Bahuguna
(b) Tikait
(c) Medha Patkar
(d) Chandi Prasad Bhat
Answer:
(c) Medha Patkar
Question 6.
Complete the table by using hints given below: (K.N. Raj, P.C. Mahalanobis, Priority given to agrarian sector, Rapid Industrialisation)
| 1st Five Year Plan | 2nd Five Year Plan |
Answer:
| 1st Five Year Plan | 2nd Five Year Plan |
| K.N. Raj | P.C. Mahalanobis |
| Priority given to agrarian Sector | Rapid Industrialisation |
Question 7.
Punjab accord was signed between __________ and __________ .
Answer:
Harchand Singh Longowal and Rajiv Gandhi
Question 8.
Complete the table:
Answer:
ASEAN – Economic Community
ASEAN – Socio-Cultural’Community
Question 9.
The UN Security Council has ___________ permanent and __________ non-permanent members.
Answer:
5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members.
Question 10.
Match the following:
| NATO | India |
| Warsaw Pact | USA |
| NAM | USSR |
Answer:
| NATO | USA |
| Warsaw Pact | USSR |
| NAM | India |
Question 11.
Match the following :
| First Gulf War | Al-Quida centres in Sudan and Afghanistan |
| Global War on Terror | Operation Desert storm |
| Second Gulf War | Operation enduring Freedom |
| Operation Infinite reach | Operation Iraqi Freedom |
Answer:
| First Gulf War | Operation Desert Storm |
| Global War on Terror | Operation Enduring Freedom |
| Second Gulf War | Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Operation Infinite Reach | Al-Quida centres in Sudan and Afghanistan |
Answer any 4 questions from 12 to 16. Each carries 3 scores. (4 × 3 = 12)
Question 12.
Identify the causes of the dominance of Congress Party in the first three general elections in India.
Answer:
a) Legacy of national freedom movement.
b) Organisational structure all over the country.
c) Presence of charismatic leadership.
Question 13.
Write a short note on Green Revolution.
Answer:
Green revolution is the name given to the policies of the government which aimed at maximum production in the minimum period in the agricultural sector with the use of high yield varieties of seeds, modem equipment’s, fertilizers and pesticides and with proper irrigation facilities.
Question 14.
Prepare a note on Narmada Bachao Andolan.
Answer:
Narmada bachao Andolan was basically a movement against Sardar Sarovar project which aimed to build a number of big and small dams in the states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The movement focused against large scale displacement of people for huge developmental projects.
Question 15.
Write your arguments in favour of India’s claim for the permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council.
Answer:
- Largest democratic country in the world
- India has participated in the UN activities since its beginning.
- India has long relations with the UN peace keeping force
- India gives regularly to the UN budget
Question 16.
Explain the Political Consequences of Globalization.
Answer:
Politically speaking, the authority of the government gets Weaker. It will have to reduce its welfare schemes with the coming of MNCs.it becomes difficult for the governments to have independent decision. According to the advocates of globalization, no political power of the government is lost. Technology „ helps governments to know the details of their citizens and make the administration efficient.
Answer any 4 questions from 17 to 21. Each carries 4 scores. (4 × 4 = 16)
Question 17.
Explain the features of first general election in India.
Answer:
The election commission came into existence in 1950 with Sukumar Sen as the Chief Election Commissioner to conduct general elections in India. The first general election was held in 1951 – 52. In a country like India a free and fair election was not easy to conduct we had three major challenges the formation of electoral constituencies, the making voters list, and the participation of the people. The people with voting rights were nearly 17 crores but only 15% of them were literate. The election commission trained nearly 300000 officials and poling officers. Election propaganda, voting and counting of votes took more than 6 months. For each seat, an average of four candidates completed more than 50% of the people voted.
Question 18.
Examine the major issues which led to the formal split of the Congress Party in 1969.
Answer:
Jawaharlal Nehru had great influence in the party because of his dynamic personality. His death created a vacuum in the party. Gradually the central group known as the Syndicate established itself in the Congress.
In 1969 there arose a difference between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate. When Dr. Zakir Hussain died, the Presidential post was vacant. The Syndicate nominated Indira Gandhi’s long time rival and the then speaker Sanjiva Reddy to the post. But Indira Gandhi preferred the then Vice-President V.V. Giri to be the next President. V.V. Giri was elected. The failure of the official candidate of the Syndicate caused the formal division of the Congress: The Congress President suspended Indira Gandhi from the Party. Indira claimed that her group was the real Congress. In 1969, the Congress led by the Syndicate was known as Congress (O) and the one led by Indira Gandhi was called Congress (R).
Question 19.
Write a short note on the ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka.
Answer:
The civil war that was going on in Sri Lanka ended with the killing of Veluppilla Prabhakaran and some other LTTE leaders. All this time democracy was functioning there. After independence, it was the Sinhala community that had the upper hand in Sri Lanka. They were not sympathetic towards the Tamils who actually migrated from India long ago.
The Sinhala nationalists were against giving any concessions to the Tamils there. In their view Sri Lanka is the motherland only for them. It was this enmity that forced the Tamils to rise in revolt against the Sinhalese. The Tamils organised the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eazham). From 1983, the LTTE began armed struggle against the Sinhalese. This racial problem became a headache to India as well. The Tamil people of India exerted great pressure on the Central Government to help the Tamils in Sri Lanka. In 1987 India signed an agreement with Sri Lanka. According to that there should be cordial relations between the Tamils and the Sri Lankan government. But the Indian government had to fight against LTTE. Sri Lanka thought India was interfering in its internal affairs. In 1989, the Indian Peace Keeping Force had to come back to India without achieving any result.
Sri Lankan problem became very violent. Scandinavian countries like Norway and Iceland tried to bring peace, but they failed. In May 2009, the Sri Lankan army attacked the LTTE army and killed Veluppilla Prabhakaran and his associates.
Question 20.
Explain any four new sources of global security threats.
Answer:
Security threats are of a different kind now. They can be categorized as follows:
1. Terrorism: Political attacks make the life of ordinary citizens difficult. The terrorists want the political circumstances to change. They try to bring about changes by threats or armed attacks. By unleashing violence, they make the people restless. They try to make the dislike and discontentment of the people their weapon against governments. Their activities include hijacking planes and bombing trains and markets and other places where people assemble. They attacked and destroyed the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001. The government and the people are more cautious now against terrorists.
2. Human Rights: We see that throughout the world there are human right violations. There is no unified thinking in any country about how to protect human rights. Recent incidents of human right violations are the annexation of Kuwait by Iraq, the ethnic cleansing in Ruanda and the mass killings of the people of Eastern Timor by the Indonesian army. All these prompted world leaders to have a talk. The talk was about whether the UN should interfere in such matters. The matter is still unresolved.
3. Global Poverty: This is another factor of security threat. It is believed that the population in the under-developed countries will triple in 50 years. In countries where the population is low, the per capita income will be high. Therefore the economically advanced countries will prosper further whereas the poor countries will grow poorer. The gap between countries of the North and South will increase. People from, the South countries immigrate to the North countries for better life and earning. This also creates a threat for the security of mankind.
4. Contagious Diseases: Contagious diseases are another threat to mankind. AIDS, bird flu, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) etc. are dangerous contagious diseases. These spread quickly from one country to another. A country’s success or failure in controlling these diseases affects other countries also. Recently swine-flu spread all over the world. It is when a problem becomes a threat to a nation and its people that it becomes an international security threat.
Question 21.
India is participating in Global efforts to reduce Green House gas emissions through a number of programmes and policies. Write any four policies.
Answer:
For the protection of environment India has taken the following steps:
a. According to the auto fuel policy of India, only purified fuel is used for vehicles.
b. The Energy Act passed in 2001, aims at the appropriate use of energy.
c. The 2003 Electricity Act requires the use of renewable energy sources.
d. In 2011 – 12, the Bio-diesel Mission acquired 11 million hectors of land for the production of biodiesel.
Recently 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.
Answer any 4 questions from 22 to 26. Each carries 5 scores. (4 × 5 = 20)
Question 22.
Explain the economic and political context for the declaration of National emergency in 1975.
Answer:
After the 1971 election, Indira became a popular leader with a lot of support from the people. This time there were serious problems in the Party. There were three main reasons:
a) Economic Reasons
b) Gujarat & Bihar Movement
a) 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 the refuge problem. Then there was the Bangladesh Crisis, followed by the IndoPakistan War. All these things created financial problems. Secondly, after the War, America stopped its aids to India. Thirdly, there was a sharp increase in oil prices. The 4th reason was inflation which made the life of ordinary people very difficult. The 5th problem was negative growth in industrial output. Unemployment increased, especially in the rural sector. Sixthly, the salaries of government employees had to be reduced and even stopped. Seventhly, lack of rain caused serious shortfall in foodstuff.
All the above things created an economic crisis in the country. There was general discontentment in the country. This gave the Opposition Parties an opportunity to organise protests.
b) Political Reasons: The second biggest problem was the students’ protest in Gujarat and Bihar which were Congress-ruled States. The main reason was the increase in the prices of essential commodities. Shortage of food, unemployment and corruption made the students angry. In both these States the Opposition Parties supported the students. In Gujarat, Presidentiaf Rule was imposed. At this time the main opponent of Indira Gandhi and the leader of Congress (0), Morarji Desai, decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike. He did that for demanding elections in Gujarat. In June 1975, because of heavy pressure from various sources, election was conducted. Congress lost the election. In Bihar the students invited Jay Prakash Narayan to lead their protest. He accepted the invitatton 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. But the Bihar government refused to resign. The entire country discussed the issue. Jay Prakash Narayan wanted to spread the protest to all parts of the country. In the meantime the railway workers went on a strike. It would make the entire country come to a standstill. In 1975, Jay Prakash Narayan organized a march to the Parliament. It was the biggest rally the capital had ever seen. The Opposition saw in him an alternative to Indira Gandhi. Both the protests were anti-Congress. Voices also rose against the leadership of Mrs. Gandhi. She believed that all this was done to take revenge on her.
Question 23.
Explain the external and internal disputes in Jammu and Kashmir.
Answer:
When India got independence, JammuKashmir was a Princely State. Initially, the King Raja Hari Singh refused to join either India or Pakistan as he wanted to remain independent. The Pakistani leaders believed that since JammuKashmir had a lot of Muslims, it would join Pakistan. The people there were known as Kashmiris. Under the leadership of Sheikh Abdulla there was an agitation to remove the King from power. But he also did not want to join Pakistan. National Conference was a secular organization. It was also pro-Congress. In October 1947 Pakistan encouraged some tribal groups to capture Pakistan. Then the King sought assistance from India.
The King signed the “Instrument of Accession” and so the Indian army helped the Jammu- Kashmir King. There was also a condition that when things become normal there would be a referendum. For the welfare of the people Sheikh Abdulla became the Prime Minister. India granted J&K autonomy.
External and Internal Squabbles: Because of external and internal problems, J&K is always in the midst of crises. On one side there is Pakistan claiming the Kashmir Valley. After the 1947 War, a part of Kashmir came under Pakistani control. India calls it illegal occupation. Pakistan calls this area Azad Kashmir. Internally also the Kashmir problems is a headache for the Centre. According to Article 370, Kashmir is given greater autonomy than other States. This Article is applicable only to Jammu and Kashmir. The special concession causes problems. Many believe that this autonomy given to Kashmir will adversely affect the unity and indivisibility of the country. They feel that Article 370 should be removed. But the Kashmiris feel that the autonomy they got by Article 370 is not enough. Some Kashmiris put forward 3 complaints.
- No referendum has taken place so far.
- The status promised by Article 370 is only on paper, not in practice. They need more autonomy.
- They also say that the kind of democracy implemented in other States of India is not found in J&K.
Question 24.
Since 1989 India witnessed five developments that were to make a long lasting impact on our Politics. Briefly explain them.
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 25.
Explain the Cuban missile crisis.
Answer:
Most North-Western countries became capitalist, anti-Communist nations. A big power like America could not easily tolerate a neighbouring country becoming a close ally of Communist Russia. As Cuba got financial and diplomatic support from Russia, it became a strong country, although it was small in size. It faced America without fear. In 1962, the Russian leader Khrushchev wanted to deploy missiles and other armaments in Cuba. Most American cities then would come under threat from Russia. Later this was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the circumstances, America was forced to take strict measures against Russia. America wanted to get the Cuban President killed with the help of the CIA. It wanted to stop the growth of Communism it its neighbourhood.
Question 26.
Discuss the capabilities of European Union as contemporary centres of power.
Answer:
After the WW II, many European countries faced serious financial crises. European leaders met together to find out ways of coming out of this problem. At this time the Cold War between the US and USSR had started. America gave a lot of financial help to Europe. It is known as the Marshall Plan. Under NATO, America also signed a security treaty.
In 1948, under the Marshall Plan, “European Economic Cooperation” was founded. Its aim was to help West European countries. It became a fellowship and the member countries decided to cooperate in trade and other economic problems. For political cooperation, in 1949, “Council of Europe” was established. The unity among members finally led to the formation of European Economic Community in 1957. The coming of the European Parliament made the organization very strong. The disintegration of the USSR quickened the pace of the growth of the European Union which was established in 1992. It helped in having a common foreign policy, law and justice and internal affairs. It also brought out a common currency the “Euro”.
European Union became the world largest’ economic system. According to the statistics of 2005, their GDP was 12 trillion dollars. This is more than the economy of America. Euro is stronger than American dollar. EU has become an important part of the WTO.
European Union has great political and diplomatic importance. Britain and France which are its members have permanent membership in the UN Security Council. Therefore the EU can influence in the formation of important policies. For examjDle, the nuclear programme of Iran. Militarily EU has the second position in the world. Britain and France are also nuclear powers. In space research and communication, the EU occupies the second place.
Answer any 2 questions from 27 to 29. Each carries 8 scores. (2 × 8 = 16)
Question 27.
Explain the process and consequences of partition of India.
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 Musfims. Therefore the Muslim League demanded a separate nation, Pakistan, for the Muslims. The formation of Pakistan was based on the majority of the population of an area. Thus the areas which had Muslim majority became Pakistan and the remaining areas remained as Indian Territory. It was not easy to implement such a division. There were three reasons for that.
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 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. Secondly, not all areas with majority Muslim population wanted to become part of Pakistan. Khan Abdul Gaffer 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.
The third problem was that British India’s Punjab and Bengal were areas with Muslim majority. But in these huge provinces there were very many non-Muslims. Therefore the Provinces were divided into Districts and Panchayats depending on the religious majority of the population there. The result was that on the day of Independence many people did not know to which country they belonged – India or Pakistan. It deeply wounded the people. The problem of the minorities in each country was the worst of all. The Hindus and Sikhs in the Pakistani areas and the Muslims in Punjab and Bengal were unfortunate preys to this division of the country. When the division was decided upon, there was large scale violence against the minorities in both the countries.
The division of British India in 1947 into India and Pakistan was a very tragic incident in history. In the border areas many people on both sides were killed because of their religion and caste. Huge cities like Lahore, Amritsar and 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. People were forced to flee their homes, suffering a lot of difficulties on their way. Many of the people in the minorities in the border areas had to live in refugee camps. The governments and the police were not there to help them. People had to walk or ride in some vehicles from their homes to their new places. During the journey, many were attacked and killed; women were raped. Many were forced to accept the majority religion and marry people against their will. In many homes women were killed by their own relatives in the name of honour. Children were separated from their parents and guardians. People who came to the new land had no houses and they had to live in refugee camps.
Not only the land, but even moveable proper¬ties like tables and chairs were divided. The government and railway workers were divided. People who were living like brethren were divided. It is believed that between 5 to 10 lakh people lost their lives in this tragic division of the country.
Question 28.
Explain the causes and consequences of India China war in 1962.
Answer:
In the beginning India and China had cordial relations. Our relations have a historical and cultural background. Nehru played a crucial role in making the relations better. India was the first country to recognize China after the Revolution. Nehru tried to help China in international matters. Because of these good relations, on the India-China border there were only paramilitary forces and not regular armymen.
The Panchsheel Agreement was a big landmark out India-China relations. It was signed on April 29 by the PMs of both countries, Nehru of India and Chou-en-Lai of China. Nehru visited China and Chou-en-Lai visited India getting the love and respect of people.
Nehru had an open-hearted approach to China. But people like Patel thought China was not a country to be believed. Nehru never expected any attack from China. But in 1962, China did attack India.
Two things spoiled the relations between India and China. One was the Tibetan Issue and the other was border disputes. Even in the 1950s when they were friends, India and China had border disputes. China was not ready to accept our suggestions regarding the border. China claimed Ladakh in Kashmir and some areas of Arunachal Pradesh to be theirs. During the period of 1957 – 59, they also took Aksai Chin sector and built the Karakoram Highway. The second issue was Tibet. In 1950, China annexed Tibet. It was a breach of faith. In the beginning India kept quiet. But the Chinese started imposing their culture on the Tibetans.
In 1959, the Tibetan Spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, sought refuge in India. China then accused India saying that India was acting against the interest of China. In October 1962 China infiltrated into Indian territories which she claimed to be hers. The first attack lasted a week. Chinese army occupied some places in Arunachal Pradesh. The next attack came a month later. But the Indian army stopped the Chinese in the western part of Ladakh. China declared a unilateral ceasefire and retreated from the places it had taken.
Results of the India-China War: During the war, Russia kept her neutrality. India had to seek support from America and Britain. The war was shameful to the country. But it strengthened national feeling.
Nehru’s close friend and the then defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon had to resign. Nehru was criticised for blindly believing China and for his lack of military preparation to prevent the attack. A no-confidence motion was brought against his government. In Lok Sabha there were a lot of discussions. In many bye-elections Congress lost.
The Opposition was also affected by the war. In 1964 Communist Party split into two – Pro- Chinese and Pro-Russia. One was CPI (M) and the other was CPI.
The War awakened the nation. The North Eastern region was backward. The Chinese war prompted the nation to keep its unity and to embark upon developmental projects.
Question 29.
Explain the causes of disintegration of Soviet Union.
Hints:
• Political causes
• Economic causes
• Emergence of Nationalism in Republics
• Reforms of Gorbachev
Answer:
There are many reasons for the disintegration of the USSR:
a) Political reasons
b) Economic reasons
c) The reforms of Gorbachev
a) Political Reasons
- In the Soviet system there was bureaucratic misrule and misuse of authority. The life of ordinary people was not at all smooth.
- Lack of democracy and lack of freedom of expression.
- Although on paper Russia was just one of the 15 republics, it-either suppressed or controlled the people of all other republics.
b) Economic reasons
To become equal with the US in weapons, USSR spent a lot of its money on weapons. USSR was behind the West in technology and internal structure. It had no ability to protect the political and economic interests of its people.
c) Reforms of Gorbachev
His two important reforms were Glasnost and Perestroika. They did not bring the expected results. They brought more troubles to the country leading to its disintegration.