SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

ions
nt in J&K? Who started it? How were his relat
Q.1. What was the aim of the popular moveme
with the Indian leaders ?
and
. (a) The aim of the pop ular mov eme nt in Jam mu and Kashmir was to get rid of the Maharaja
Ans
was agai nst join ing Pakistan.
(b) It was star ted by Sheikh Abd ulla h of Nati
onal Conference which was a secular organisation.
the Congress. Sheikh Abdullah was a personal
(c) Nati onal Conference had a long association with
aharlal Neh ru.
friend of man y Con gres s lead ers incl udin g Jaw
Kashmir?
Q.2. What is the special status of Jammu and
special statu s to the State of Jam mu and Kashmir.
Ans. (i) Article 370 in our Con stitu tion prov ides
the othe r States in India.
(ii) It gives grea ter auto nom y to the State than
(iii) The State has its own Constitution.
(iv) All prov ision s of the Indi an Constitution
are not applicable to the State.
(v) Laws pass ed by the Parl iam ent apply to
J&K only if the State agrees.
cause?
Q.3. When had the J&K State come in the
grip of militant mov eme nt? What was its main
Which country supported it ?
Ans. (a) By 1989 the Jam mu and Kashmir Stat
e came in the grip of mili tant movement.
Kashmiri Nati on.
(b) Its mai n cause was the dem and for a sepa rate
al, material and mili tary supp ort to insurgents.
(c) It was supp orte d by Pakistan whic h gave mor
Punjab
e in 1966, the posi tion of the Aka lis in the
Q.4. Even after the reorganisation of the Stat
remained precarious. Why ?
the Akalis wer e as give n belo w :
Ans. The reasons for the precarious position of
(i) The gove rnm ent was dismissed by the Cen
tre mid -wa y thro ugh its term.
ng the Hind us.
(ii) The Akalis did not enjoy stro ng supp ort amo
(iii) There were differences amo ng the Sikh com
mun ity on the basis of caste and class. The Congress
- than the Akalis.
got more supp ort among the Dalits' - Hin du or Sikh
e was
Why did the Gov ernm ent of Indi a take army action in the Gol den Temple ? What nam
Q.5.
?
given to this operation ? What were its results
e their
the Golden Temple because militants had mad
Ans. (a) The Governm ent took army action in
headquarters in the Golden Temple.
(b) Operation Blue Star.

248 / U-LIKE Political Science-XII

 l\temment cou ld successfully flus h out
the militants.
aaxnaged the hist oric tem ple whi ch dee
ply hur t the sentiments
0
did prune Minister Manmohan Singh apo
logise to the Nation on 11 A

s•t,hl;e assassination of Ind ira Gan dhi on 31 Oct

~ >Jtef wns in the country. Mo re tha n two tho usa 1984, there was violence in the ca
ober
nd Sikhs wer e killed in Delhi and
other to like Bokaro, Kan pur and Cha s. Prim
in places e Minister expressed regret over these killi
. ed to the nati· on for anti·-S'k
1 h vio· 1 n
apalogis t .s ence whi·ch was the negation of the concep ·
d· C ti'tuti·on. t of nati.onh
and wa h 1 ens hrin e m our ons .
are the cau ses for the deli cate and com
plex natu re of politics and dem and s in
Q•7· W}lat f the Nor . ? Wh' h · different
th-E ast
states o . region • ic issues have been raised by the peo
ple?
Th e causes are as giv en bel ow :
'"5• (a) · n of the reg ion
ro>· (i) Isolatio · from rest of ·
India;
(ii) Complex social character;
(iii) Backwardness in com par ison to oth
er par ts of the country;
(iv) Vast inte rna tion al bor der ;
(v) We ak com mun icat ion bet wee n the
North-East and the rest of India.
(b) The issues rais ed are dem and s for
autonomy, movements for secession and
opposition to
outsiders.
dy
Q.8. Stu the ma p giv en bel ow and ans wer the que stio ns that follow :
NORTH-EAST INDIA
CHINA

MAYANMAR

.
(i) Wh ich are sev en Sta tes or 'sev en sist , in the North-East reg ion ?
ers . ?
..
(ii) Des crib e the geo gra phi cal pos1tto f Nor th-E ast reg ion ·
no h 1 ya Tripura, Mizoram, Manip~
Ans. (i) Sev en States or 'sev en si·sters' are Assam, Me g a a '
and Aru nac hal Pra des h.
, ulation but about twicQ
(iz) (a) The reg ion has four per cen t of the
cou ntry s pop
its area . kil eters connects the region to
(b) A sma ll cor rido r of abo_ut 22 . o~ arun
ar, and Bangla
d
(c) It sha res bou n ari ·es wit h Chi na, Y
t South-East Asia,
(d) It serv es as India's gat ewa y o
 es tha:t dominate the politics of no

demand for autonom y, (it) movem ents for~ ~

(iii) opposit ion to outside rs.
Q.11. What was the 'Operation Blue Star'? Why did it hurt the sentiments of the Sild{

:rt;
Ans. Operati on Blue Star was the Code name for the army operati on at the Golden Templei
In this operatio n, the govern ment was able to successfully flush out the militants but, in the
the historic temple was damage d which deeply hurt the sentime nts of the Sikhs. They!~lV this
military operati on as an attack on their faith.
deralism or
Q.12. In your opinion was the Anand pur Sahib Resolut ion a plea for strength ening·fe 1
Pea
S 'kh . ' . [CBSE 20l7J
for separ~te 1 nation. . _
the centre-state
Ans. The candida te may agree that It strength ened federalism because It redefined
relation s and fulfilled the aspirati ons of the Sikhs to some extent.
Or
nation
The candida te may disagre e by mention ing that it was a plea for demand of a separate Sikh
What will happen if the regions are not given their due share in decision-making at
national
Q.13.
level?
[CBSE 2017J
Ans. If the regions are not given their due share in decision-making at the national level, there will
of
be tension and conflict betwee n regions and union governm ent which may result in collapse
alienation
political and electoral process of country. It will also develop a feeling of injustice and
among the regional people.
How far did the Rajiv Gandhi -Longo wal Accord succeed in bringin g normalcy in
Punjab?
Q.14.
[CBSE 2017, 2019]
cy
Ans. The Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord or the Punjab Accord, ·w as a step towards bringing_normal
d
to Punjab, however, peace did not come easily or immediately. The cycle of violence continue
nearly for a decade.
during the
Q.15. State one similarity and one differen ce betwee n the crisis in Punjab and Assam
1980s.
Ans. One similarity between the Punjab and Assam was the regional aspirations
given to prior
importance and solving the crisis through democratic negotiations.
whereas
Difference: In Punjab, the Akali Dal started the movem ent for formation of 'Punjabi Sabha
were
in Assam, the movement was against the people who were seen as outsiders or migrants who
considered to be competitors for employ ment opportu nities that were minimal.
the outsiders?
Q.16. Why is the Assam Movem ent (1979 to 1985) conside red as a movem ent against
Explain. [CBSE 2017]
Or
Describe any four features of movem ent in Assam against outside rs from 1979 to 1985.
[CBS£
 0ove mme nt of India to detect, Clisienfil'Bmmis
ts nusesa major conc ern in the state durin g the p
the porou s borde rs. The prote st turne d viole nt upon
ts. The move ment ende d in 1985 with the Assa m
Accord.

LONG AN SW ER QUESTIO
+
•
• •

'be the main features of the India n approach to diver

sity.
Q.t. vescnain features of the India n appro ach to diver sity are as
ment ioned below :
u11. TJte Jl\
~-- ·
The different regio ns and lingws . f1c grou ps h ·
ave nght to retain their own culture.
ro (t) The cultural d1ver · s1ty· lS· not cons1"dered as hr
at eat toth e natio . n.
.~'. ., Jndia had adop ted a demo cratic appro ach to the quest
ion of diversity. It allows the political
(ru, expressions of reg1o · na1 aspir
. a ti"ons. It a11ows partie. s and grou ps to addre
ss the peop le on the
basis of their regional ident ity, aspir ation and specific regio
nal probl ems.
(iv) Regional issues and probl ems receive adeq uate atten
tion and accom moda tion in the policy
]llaking process.
J.. Describe the areas of tensi on that arose on diffe
rent occasions after indep ende nce. Whic h
Q political aspirations were the main cause of these
tensi ons ?
,Ans. The areas of tensions and politi cal aspir ation s
that cause d those tensions were as ment ioned below :
Region/ State Political aspirations of the peop le
(I) Jammu and Kash mir (a) A separ ate Kashmiri nation.
(b) Merger with Pakistan.
(c) Greater auton omy for the State.
(ii) Punjab (a) Form ation of a 'Punjabi Suba '.
(b) Political auton omy for the region.
(c) To attain 'bolbala' i.e., dominance and hegem ony of
the Sikhs (Ana ndpu r Sahib Resolution).
(d) Distr ibutio n of wate r betw een Punjab and
neigh bouri ng States.
(e) Secession from India and the creation of 'Khalistan'.
(iiz) Assam (a) Political auton omy.
(b) Tribal comm unitie s and separ ation from Assam.
(c) Secession from the India n Unio n (Mizos). I

(d) To detec t and depo rt outsi ders from Assam i.e.,

anti-foreigners move ment .
(iv) Tamil Nadu (a) Oppo sition to the Brah mins ' dominance.
(b) Agai nst the political, economic and
domi natio n of the North .
(c). Agai nst making Hind i the coun try's
langu age.
'1f. Write a short note on the Dravidian Movement.
'VadakJcu Vaazhkirathu; Therkku Thaeikirathu' (The north thriv
es even as the south d
sloga n whic h depic ts the domi nant senti ment s of Drav
idian Mov emen t
 political power in the State and also becam

lo Jh,e formation of Dravidar Kazhag~ (DK) under the leadershi

ibner E.V. Ramasami 'Periyar'.
It strongly opposed the Brahmins' dominance.
(vit) It affirmed regional pride against the political, economic and cultural domination of
(viii) The DK split and the political legacy of the movement was transferred to Dravida M
Kazhagam which fought various agitation's viz. restoration of the regional name of~-......,rn
railway station, to give Tamil cultural history greater importance in school curricula, a .
the craft education scheme, against making Hindi the country's official language. 8ilinst
(ix) Since 1967, The DMK and AIDMK have been dominating Tamil politics.
Q.4. "The entire region of the north-east has undergone considerable political reorganisation.,,
Mention the changes that have taken place since independence. What were their effects?
Ans. (a) The following changes have taken place in North-East since independence:
(z) Nagaland State were created in 1960.
(ii) Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura became States in 1972.
(iiz) Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram became separate States in 1987.
(iv) Earlier the partition had reduced the North-East to a land locked region and affected its
economy.
(b) (i) The region suffered neglect in developmental terms because it was cut off from the rest of
India.
(ii) Its politics remained insulated.
(iii) The region underwent demographic changes due to influx of migrants from neighbouring
states and countries.
Q.5. What were the causes for raising the demands for autonomy in the North-east region? Describe
various activities of the people to achieve the demands. What were its results ?
Ans. (a) Causes : Demands for autonomy were raised when the non-Assamese felt that the Assam
government was imposing Assamese language on them.
(b) Activities: (i) There was opposition and riots throughout the State.
(iz) The Eastern India Tribal Union was formed. It was later on transformed into All Parties
Hill Leaders' Conference.
(c) Demands: Leaders of the major tribal communities wanted to separate from Assam.
(d) Results : (z) As a result of opposition, the Government of India created Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Arunachal Pradesh out of Assam.
(iz) Tripura and Manipur were upgraded into States too.
(iiz) To satisfy the aspirations of some other tribal communities (like the Bodos, Karbis and
Dirnasas), Karbis and Dirnasas were granted autonomy under District Councils, while
Bodos were granted Autonomous Council.
Q.6. Write a short note on secessionist movement of Mizos in the North-east.
Ans. (a) Causes : Some Mizos believed that they were never a part of British India. A famine in 19~ ·
Mizo hills increased their anger and dissatisfaction which led to formation of Mizo Na ·
Front under the leadership of Laldenga.

Science-XII
 ~co
,: (i) In 1986 a peac e ~
was mad e a Stat e with special pow ets.
deng a took ove r as the Chi ef Min ister .
t.(izorain is one of the mos t peac eful state s and
half tht
and deve lopm ent.
it Jessons can be draw n from the feel ing of
alie nati on in som e p
hoo d and econ
onal aspirations in Indi a rang ed from dem and s of state
d the capa city of d em
and sepa ratio n. The se aspi ratio ns hav e teste
tonol Y
il lved . How ever , we can drm
Jn1I1odate them . Som e prob lem s are still unso
frorn thes e case s :
ns are very muc h a part of a
~ JJlOSt elem enta ry less on is that regi onal aspi ratio~gd om too. In Indi a, thes e asp·
(t) palitics. The y exis t in sma lle~ coun tries lik~
the U~i t:d
uild mg 1s an ong oing process.
JilUSt be deal t on regu lar basi s beca use nah on-b
. R •onal aspi ratio ns sho uld be resp ond ed thro ugh dem ocra tic nego tiati ons rath er
(u) egi gh suppress10n. · . mos t of th e case s, the Gov ernm ent of Indi a reac hed nego tiate a
Inin d.1a, m
thfou
ced tens ions exis ting in man y regions. For
settI~ment with regi onal mov eme nts. This redu m
eme nt can reso lve the prob lem of sepa ratis
example, Miz oram show s how poli tica l settl
effectively. shar e
(iu) It has prov ed the sign ifica nce of _power-sh
a~ing in dem ocra cy. Reg ions mus t be give n a
in deciding the dest iny of the nati on othe rwis
e ther e will be a feel ing of alien atio n and injustice
among the peop le. ng of
on prio rity basi s beca use this lead s to feeli
(iu) Regional imb alan ce shou ld be add ress ed
regional disc rimi nati on. special
(II) Our Con stitu tion -ma kers wer e fars ight
ed. The y enac ted a flexible cons titut ion with
s
e of the Con stitu tion allo ws diff eren t tribe
provisions for som e state s. The Sixt h Sch edul
tice s and cust oma ry laws . Thu s, regi onal
complete auto nomy of pres ervi ng thei r prac
ratis m.
aspirations are not enco urag ed to espo use sepa
mu and Kas hmi r?
What was the role of Con gres s in the poli tics of Jam g
ess dom inate d the poli tics of Jam mu and Kas hmi r betw een 1953 to 1974 in the follo win
Congr
manner: e
(i) National Conference rem aine d icon ic pow
er with the acti ve sup port of Con gres s for som etim
but later merged with the Con gres s.
(ii) The Congress gain ed dire ct con trol ove r the
gov ernm ent in state .
eme nt betw een She ikh Abd ulla h and
The Congress Part y also mad e atte mpt s to hav e an agre
.Government of India.
974 She ikh Abd ulla h. As per this agre eme nt,
1n ~ , Indira Gan dhi sign ed an agre eme nt with
e.
Abdullah beca me the Chi ef Min iste r of the stat
for mak ing the poli tics of J~ u and
: ~xtemal and inte rnal disp utes resp ons ible [CBSE 2017.J
tinuously cont rove rsia l.
Or
ys· Jammu and Kas hmi r.
uc reasons for the con flict -rid den poli tics of
[CBSE
 both dliinect cwert~
ent of Aa:ession with the Government
,pedal status by Article 370 of the Indian Constitu •
on was a special provision in the Indian Constitution whidt all
Kashmir to draft its own constitution and put curbs on the power of the
s'tate of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then, problems have been hovering over the
The external disputes are :
(1) Pakistan claims that Kashmir is under its territory.
(iz) It has been regularly sending infiltrators and has managed to capture one ol
that is now referred to as "PoK or Pakistan occupied Kashmir" by us and ~ r-1.-..,
Pakistan. --..._..,
Internal disputes : (i) The special status accorded by Art. 370, gives the state special p ..
autonomy differing from rest of the states of India. ~Clf
(ii) There have been differences in demands in the region, Kashmiris have been demandin
autonomy, a plebiscite in the region. Slltole
(iii) It is also felt that special status given to the state hinders its integration with the state of India
and thus the NDA government revoked the controversial Art. 370 on 5th August 2019 and the
three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were made into Union territories.
Q.10. Describe any three areas of tension which are yet to be solved to retain unity in diversity in
India. [CBSE 2017]
Ans. India adopted the democratic form of government keeping in view the diversity of the country.
It allows for regional aspirations to be expressed politically without labelling them anti-national.
However, there are problems which may be summarised as:
(i) We have not been able to find any resolution to the problems in the Kashmir valley. While
some Kashmiris w ant to be a part of India others want to join Pakistan while a small majority
also wants to be indep endent of the two states.
(ii) The same problem p ersists in the north-east as there is a lack of consensus about being part of
India. Nagaland and Mizoram have witnesses strong movements demanding separation from
India
(iii) In the south, some groups formed the Dravid movement and for some time raised their voice
for a separate country.
Q.11. "Regional aspirations expressed by people in different parts of India is an example of unity in
diversity." Support your answer with arguments. [CBSE 2019, 2020)
Or
Describe the importance of regional aspirations, power sharing and the regional balance in
democratic politics of India. [CBSE 2019)
Or
Suggest any three methods to accommodate the regional aspirations and maintain national
integration. [CBS£ 201']
• See N.C.E.R.T. Q.8 and Long Answer Q.1.
 witnessed major developmenls in
changed with partition and then later
it, Punjab had to wait till 1966 for reorganisation
· state.
AicaliS came to po:wer in 1977. it was observed that despite redra
. ·cal position remained precarious and thus began to demand politi
;e Anandpur Sahib Resolution asserted their demand for regional au

In: peal among the Sikh masses. The more extreme elements started deman
and creatio~ of 'Khalistan'. This t~ok the form of armed insurgency.
J)'.lilitants made their headquarters at the Golden Temple' in Amritsar. In 1984 the go
11te.ed out 'Operation Blue Star' to flush o~t. the milit_ants but in the process the historic
c,rna}so damaged that deeply hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikhs as this was seen as
fl8Sck on their faith.
•: was a watershed year with respect to peace initiatives. The year saw the assassination of
~dira Gandhi by her Sikh ~odyguards ".".'hich led t_o extreme communal violence in northern India
. t the Sikh commuruty. When Ra11v Gandhi came to power after the elections of 1984, he
~ e initiative to start a dialogue with moderate Akali Dal leaders.This led to the signing of
: Longowal Accord between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Akali leader Harchand Singh ·
Longowal in July 1985 for restoring peace and normalcy. But the militancy continued which led to
human rights violations and police excesses in the state. President's Rule had to be established.
Although militancy was eventually eradicated, it came at a heavy financial and social loss for the
state. The alliance of Akali Dal (Badal) and BJP won the elections in 1997 that were held under
normal circumstances.
Q.13. How far is it justified to remove Article 370 related to Jammu and Kashmir? Give any two
suitable arguments to support your answer. [CBSE 2020]
Ans. Itisaspecial status offered to Jammu and Kashmir which has been the subject of dispute between
India, Pakistan since 1947. It allows the state to have a separate constitution, a state flag and
autonomy over the internal administration of the state. Many feel that it has been 70-year-old
stumbling block which continues to prevent from becoming an integral part of India. It was against
this backdrop that the union government made a strong move by removing Article 370 offered to
Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir had a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. However,
in spite of it, the region witnessed violence, cross-border terrorism and political instability witl_l
internal and external ramifications. The Article resulted in the loss of many lives, inclu •
~t of innocent civilians, security personnel and militants. Besides, there was also a larg
displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley.
The Pakistani leaders thought that Kashmir region 'belonged' to Pakistan since tht
tion of the State was Muslim. But this is not how the people of the state th
thought of themselves as Kashmiris above all. This issue of regional aspiratii
.. t'
Jammu and Kashmir and I .Jd;;kh ,1rc fj vi.ng nr et lndad Not urilV ure there
diversities of all kh1ds (n:Ji,_;jou:,, c 1ilt11r~I, hn ct 1) but there urc ,1lc;o divc-rgent
political and dev clc>prn<:->1 1:11 ;1:,p ir,1tit1l'h , u•hich h1nc be u ht t be 1cl11cvcd by tht;; 1,it.cst Act.
I