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1. Name three problems that the newly independent nation of India faced.
Answer.
When India became independent in August 1947, it faced a series of very great challenges:
a. 8 million refugees had come into the country from what was now Pakistan. Homes and jobs had to be found for these people.
b. The problem of the princely states, almost 500 of them, each ruled by a Maharaja or a Nawab, each of whom had to be persuaded to join the new nation.
c. Challenges faced by the refugees and the princely states had to be addressed immediately.
2. What was the role of the Planning Commission?
Answer.
In 1950, the government set up a Planning Commission to help design and execute suitable policies for economic development. The commission had to design the roles played by the private players and the government in a system which was to be called a mixed economy system.
3. Fill in the blanks:
(a) Subjects that were placed on the Union List were _________, _________ and _________.
(b) Subjects on the Concurrent List were _________ and _________.
(c) Economic planning by which both the state and the private sector played a role in development was called a _________ _________ model.
(d) The death of _________ sparked off such violent protests that the government was forced to give in to the demand for the linguistic state of Andhra.
Answer.
(a) Subjects that were placed on the Union List were taxes, defence and foreign affairs.
(b) Subjects on the Concurrent List were forest and agriculture.
(c) Economic planning by which both the state and the private sector played a role in developing what was called a mixed economy model.
(d) The death of Potti Sriramulu sparked off such violent protests, that the government was forced to give in to the demand for the linguistic state of Andhra.
4. State whether true or false:
(a) At independence, the majority of Indians lived in villages.
(b) The Constituent Assembly was made up of members of the Congress party.
(c) In the first national election, only men were allowed to vote.
(d) The Second Five Year Plan focused on the development of the heavy industry.
Answer.
(a) True
(b) False
(c) False
(d) True
5. What did Dr Ambedkar mean when he said that “In politics, we will have equality, and in social and economic life we will have inequality”?
Answer.
B.R Ambedkar believed that political democracy should be followed by economic and social democracy. When he said the above-given words, he meant to eradicate the inequality in the social and economic spheres of life. He wanted no discrimination between rich and poor or upper-caste or lower-caste. According to him, only when the democracy touches all the spheres of people’ lives, only then can we can it a true democracy.
6. After Independence, why was there a reluctance to divide the country on linguistic lines?
Answer.
Both Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel were against the creation of linguistic states. After the Partition, Nehru said, “disruptionist tendencies had come to the fore”; to check them, the nation had to be strong and united. India had already been divided on the basis of religion: despite the wishes and efforts of Mahatma Gandhi, freedom had come not to one nation but to two.
7. Give one reason why English continued to be used in India after Independence.
Answer.
Many Congress members believed that the English language should leave India with the British rulers. According to them, Hindi should take English’s place. However, those who did not speak Hindi were of a different opinion. Speaking in the Assembly, T.T. Krishnamachari conveyed “a warning on behalf of people of the South”, some of whom threatened to separate from India if Hindi was imposed on them. A compromise was finally arrived at: namely, that while Hindi would be the “official language” of India, English would be used in the courts, the services and communications between one state and another.
8. How was the economic development of India visualised in the early decades after Independence?
Answer.
There is a free press, as well as an independent judiciary. The fact that the people of India speak different languages or practice different faiths, has not come in the way of national unity. Some parts of India and some groups of Indians have benefited a great deal from economic development. They live in large houses and dine in expensive restaurants, send their children to expensive private schools and take expensive foreign holidays. At the same time, many others continue to live below the poverty line. Housed in urban slums or living in remote villages on lands that yield little, they cannot afford to send their children to school.