Class 8 History Chapter 6 Question Answers - Our Pasts III (Part - II)

Ques 1: When was the Indian Constitution adopted?
Ans:. The Indian Constitution was adopted on 26 January, 1950.

Ques 2: Which step has been described as revolutionary?
Ans: All Indians above the age of 21 would be allowed to vote in state and national elections.

Ques 3: On what point did Nathuram Godse disagree with Gandhiji?
Ans: Nathuram Godse disagreed with Gandhiji’s conviction that Hindus and Muslims should live together in harmony.

Ques 4: Name two subjects of the State List.
Ans: Education and health.

Ques 5: Name two subjects of the Concurrent List.
Answer. Forests and agriculture.

Ques 6: Who was Potti Sriramulu?
Ans: He was a veteran Gandhian who went on a hunger strike demanding the formation of Andhra state to protect the interests of Telugu speakers.

Ques 7: When did the new state of Andhra Pradesh come into existence?
Ans: The new state of Andhra Pradesh came into existence on 1 October, 1953. .

Ques 8: What were the points of focus of the Second Five Year Plan?
Ans: • Development of heavy industries.
• Building of large dams.

Ques 9: How was the Bhilai Steel Plant viewed?
Ans: The Bhilai Steel Plant was viewed as an important sign of the development of modem India after Independence.

Ques 10: What was the basic objective of the foreign policy of Independent India?
Ans: The basic objective of the foreign policy of Independent India was non-alignment, i.e. the American and Soviet alliances.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Ques 1: What created problems in unifying the people of India after it got independence?
Ans: The points that created problems were:
(a) At the time of independence, India’s population was large. It was divided too. There were divisions between high castes and low castes, between the majority Hindu corrfrnunity and Indians who practised other faiths.
(b) The citizen of this country spoke different languages, wore different kinds of dresses, ate different kinds of foods and practised different professions.

Ques 2: What was the label of development of India at the time it got independence?
Ans: At the time India got independence the label of its development was veiy low. A vast majority of Indians lived in the villages. Farmers and peasants depended on the monsoon for their survival. So did the non-farm sector of the rural economy, for if the crops failed, barbers, carpenters, weavers and other service groups would not get paid for their services either.
In the cities too the condition was not good. Factory workers usually lived in crowded slums. They had little access to education and health care.

Ques 3: What special privileges were offered for the poorest and most disadvantaqed Indians by the constitution?
Ans: First of all the practice of untouchability was abolished. Hindu temples were thrown open to all including the former untouchables.
• A certain percentage of seats in legislatures as well as jobs in government were reserved for members of the lowest castes.
• Alongwith the former untouchables, the adivasis also known as the Scheduled Tribes were also granted reservation in seats and jobs. They too had been deprived and discriminated against like the Scheduled Castes.

Ques 4: How have powers and functions of the Central and State Governments been divided by the Constitution?
Ans: The Indian Constitution gives the division of power in the form of three lists, known as Union List, State List and Concurrent List. The Union List includes subjects such as taxes, defence and foreign affairs. On these subjects the central government makes the laws. The State List includes subjects such as education and health. It is the exclusive responsibility of the state government to take care of these subjects. In the last comes the Concurrent List which contains subjects such as forests and agriculture. On these subjects the Centre and the States have joint responsibility.

Ques 5: Under what circumstances a compromise was made with respect to language?
Ans: Several members of the Constituent Assembly believed that the English language should be driven out of India with the British rule. They were of the opinion that Hindi should take place of English language. However, those who did not speak Hindi were of different opinion. T.T. Krishnamachari on behalf of the people of the south strongly opposed Hindi. Some threatened to separate from India if Hindi was imposed on them. Finally, a compromise was made. It was decided 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.

Ques 6: Under what circumstances did the new state of Andhra Pradesh come into being?
Ans: The decision of the Congress leaders not to divide the country on linguistic lines disappointed the Kannada speakers, Malayalam speakers and the Marathi speakers. They had all looked forward to having their own state. The Telrtgu-speaking districts of what was the Madras Presidency raised the strongest protests. In October 1952, a veteran Gandhian named Potti Sriramulu went on a hunger fast demanding the formation of Andhra state to protect the interests of Telugu-speakers. The fast went on and with it hartals and bandhs began to be observed. Meanwhile, Potti Sriramulu died. This incidence intensified the situation. The protests now became widespread and intense. This forced the Central Government to give in to demand. On 1 October, 1953, the new state of Andhra Pradesh came into being.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Ques 1: Give a detailed descriptions of the features of the Indian Constitution.
Ans: We have a writtten Constitution which was adopted on 26 January 1950.
Features:
(a) One feature of the Indian Costitution was that it adopted universal adult franchise. All Indians above the age of 21 (now 18) would be allowed to vote in state and national elections.
(b) Our Constitution guaranteed equality before the law to all citizens, regardless of their caste or religious affiliation.
(c) The Constitution offered special privileges for the poorest and most disadvantaged Indians. The evil practice of untouchability was abolished. Hindu temples were thrown open to all, including the former untouchables. After a long debate, the Constituent Assembly also recommended that a certain percentage of seats in legislatures as well as jobs in government be reserved for members of the lowest castes, including the adivasis.
(d) Our Constitution clearly defined the powers and functions of the central and the state governments. It gave division of power in the form of three lists—a Union List with subjects such as taxes, defence and foreign affairs, which would be the exclusive responsibility of the Centre, a State List of subjects such as education and health, which would be taken care of mainly by the States, a Concurrent List under which would come subjects such as forests and agriculture in which the Centre and the States would have joint responsibility.

Ques 2: Write in brief the process of state formation.
Ans: The Congress leaders were in no mood to further divide the country on linguistic lines. This created great
disappointment among the Kannada speakers, Malayalam speakers, and the Marathi speakers, and the Telugu speakers, because they had all looked forward to having their own state. The Telugu speakers, however, showed the strongest protests. Their leader Potti Sriramulu went on a hunger fast demanding the formation of Andhra state to protect the interests of Telugu speakers. As the fast went on, it attracted much Hartals and bandhs began to be observed. Meanwhile, Potti Sriramulu died. This incidence intensified the situation. The protests took intense form. This forced the Central Government to give in to the demand and the new state of Andhra Pradesh came into existence on 1 October, 1953.
After the formation of Andhra Pradesh, other linguistic communities also demanded their own separate states. Hence, a State Reorganisation Commission was set up, which submitted its report in 1956. It recommended the redrawing of district and provincial boundaries to form compact provinces of Assamese, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu speakers respectively. The large Hindi-speaking region of north India was broken up into several states. Then in 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was divided into separate states for Marathi and Gujarati speakers. In the year 1960, the state of Punjab was also divided into Punjab and Haiyana, Punjab for the Punjabi speakers and Haryana for the rest who spoke Haryanvi or Hindi.

Ques 3: Give an account of the successes and failures of the country during sixty-two years of its independence.
Ans: Sixty-two years of independence have passed. This duration covers a long journey. A lot have been achieved during this time. But at the same time there have been a number of failures.
Successes :
(a) India is still united and it is still democratic. These achievements definitely make us proud. Many foreign observers had felt that India could not survive as a single country. Others believed that it would come under military rule. Neither of these predictions proved to be true. As many as thirteen general elections have been held since independence, as well as hundreds of state and local elections.
(b) There is a free press and an idependent judicially.
(c) The fact that people speak different languages or practise different faiths has not come in the way of national unity.
Failures:
(a) Deep divisions are still there. Despite constitutional guarantees, people belonging to the lowest castes, such as dalits face violence and discrimination. In many parts of rural India they are not allowed access to water sources, temples, parks and other public places.
(b) The gulf between the rich and the poor has grown over the years. Some groups of people avail all facilities while many others continue to live below the poverty line.
(c) Our Constitution provides equality before the law but in real life this does not happen. Some Indians are more equal than others.