Short Questions with Answers
Q.1. Explain the nature of the Congress party as an ideological coalition during the freedom movement. [2024]
Ans. The Congress as an ideological coalition
(i) It accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre.
(ii) It was a platform for numerous interests groups and even political parties to take part in the national movement.
Q.2. Explain any two advantages of Coalition governments. [2024]
Ans. Advantages of Coalition government:
(i) Helps to form stable governments.
(ii) Regional parties get representation.
Q.3. In which year was the first coalition government formed in India and why? [2023]
Ans. First Coalition government was formed in the year 1989. As the Congress party could not win a clear majority of seats in Lok Sabha. V.P. Singh formed the Coalition government with the help of specific National Front and Janata Dal alliance of BJP and the Left Front. Or Even if a candidate mentions about a State govt, the marks should be award For example At state level , first coalition governments were formed in 1967 in states viz. Because no single party could win the majority.
Q.4. In what way are the coalition governments more democratic? Assess. [2023]
Ans. Coalition governments are more democratic in many ways:
(i) They eliminate the fear of one party dominance.
(ii) Different groups and regions get due representation in the government.
(iii) Many parties come together on different issues.
(v) They keep in view the regional aspirations and interests.
Q.5. Highlight any two reasons for the split in the Congress Party in 1969. [2023]
Ans. Reasons for the split in Congress:
(i) Differences between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate.
(ii) Revolutionary steps (Ten Point programme) taken by Indira Gandhi were not welcomed by the old Congress leaders.
(iii) The abolition of privy purse or special provisions given to former princess led to the differences among the Congress party members.
(iv) Nomination of N. Sanjiva Reddy by the Syndicate as the official candidate for the post of the President of India in 1969 but Indira Gandhi supported VV Giri as an independent candidate.
(v) The defeat of the official candidate led to the split of the Congress party to two parts.
Q.6. In which year was the Election Commission of India set up and who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India?
Ans. January 1950; Sukumar Sen
Q.7. What did the Indian leaders use politics for?
Ans. The Indian leaders used politics to solve the problems and to follow public interest.
Q.8. Four statements regarding one-party dominance are given below. Mark each of them as True or False:
(i) One-party dominance is rooted in the absence of strong alternative political parties.
(ii) One-party dominance occurs because of weak-public opinion.
(iii) One-party dominance is linked to the nation’s colonial past.
(iv) One-party dominance reflects the absence of democratic ideals in a country.
Ans.
(i) True
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) False
Q.9. Name two states where Congress was not in power even after huge victory in the first general elections?
Ans. Orissa (now Odisha), Madras (now Chennai),Kerala.
Q.10. By the time of Independence, why was the Congress Party called a ‘rainbow-like’ social coalition?
Ans. By the time India gained independence, Congress was a rainbow-like structure with people representing India’s diversity in terms of culture, region and religion.
Q.11. Which political party laid emphasis on the idea of one party, one culture and one nation?
Ans. Bhartiya Jana Sangh
Q.12. Which political party of India had leaders like A. K. Gopalan, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, and S.A. Dange?
Ans. Communist Party of India
Q.13. Who was the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh?
Ans. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Q.14. Name the founder President of Congress Socialist Party. What name was given to this party after 1948?
Ans. “Acharya Narendra Dev” was the founder President of the Congress Socialist Party. After 1948, this party was given the name of “ Praja Socialist Party”.
Q.15. Highlight two features of ideology of Bharatiya Jana Sangh?
Ans.
(i) The emphasis was on the idea of one party, one culture and one nation.
(ii) It proposed the slogan of ‘Akhand Bharat’ aiming at reunion of India and Pakistan.
Q.16. Explain the major difference of ideology between that of the Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Ans. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh aimed at India to be a Hindu nation or promote Hindutva under the umbrella of one party, one culture, one nation. On the other hand, Congress aimed at coalition of various cultures to have a secular nation.
Q.17. State any two ideologies of the Swatantra Party.
Ans.
(i) The party was of the view that prosperity could be achieved only by individual freedom and not under any restrictions.
(ii) The party was also against the ideas of cooperative farming and land ceilings in the field of agriculture.
Q.18. Identify the factors that contributed to the dominance of the Congress Party during the early years of independence.
Or
Explain any four reasons for the dominance of the Congress Party in the first general elections in India.
Ans. Factors that contributed to the dominance of the Congress Party during the early years of independence:
(i) Congress as social and ideological coalition: It brought together diverse groups, whose interests were often contradictory. Peasants and industrialists, urban dwellers and villagers, workers and owners, middle, lower and upper classes and castes, all found space in the Congress. The Congress was transformed into a rainbow-like social coalition broadly epresenting India’s diversity in terms of classes and castes, religions and languages and various interests.
(ii) Tolerance and management of factions: This coalition-like character of the Congress gave it an unusual strength. Firstly, a coalition accommodates all those who join it. Therefore, it has to avoid any extreme position and strike a balance on almost all issues. Secondly, in a party that has the nature of a coalition, there is a greater tolerance of internal differences and ambitions of various groups and leaders are accommodated.
Q.19. How did the dominance of the Congress Party in the first three general elections help in establishing a democratic setup in India?
Ans. The first general election was the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate country. Till then, democracy had existed only in the prosperous countries. By that time, many countries in Europe had not given voting rights to all women. In this context, India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and risky. India’s general elections of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. It was no longer possible to argue that democratic elections could not be held on conditions of poverty or lack of education. It proved that democracy could be practiced anywhere in the world. The next two general elections strengthened democratic setup in India.
Q.20. Describe the various steps taken to hold the first general elections in India. How far these elections were successful?
Ans. Initially the first general elections were postponed twice and finally held from October 1951 to February 1952.
The important points of these elections were:
(i) These elections were commonly called 1952 elections because the elections were held in major part of the country in January 1952 only.
(ii) The total duration of the elections starting from campaigning to polling and counting
was six months.
(iii) Every seat had average number of competing candidates as four, resulting in not one-sided elections.
Q.21. Did the prevalence of a ‘one-party dominant system’ affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics?
Ans. No, the prevalence of a one-party dominant system did not affect adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics. This is due to the following reasons:
(i) The key role of the Congress in the freedom struggle gave it a head start over others.
(ii) The Congress Party consisted of various factions inside itself, based on ideological
considerations who never taut together or went out of Congress.
(iii) Despite being taking place of free and fair elections, Congress won the elections in the
same manner again and again.
(iv) The Congress accommodated diversified interests, religions, beliefs and aspirations to strengthen democracy. Thus, it can be concluded from the above mentioned reasons that Congress strengthened the ideals of democracy and held unity and integrity of the country
(iv) The participation by voters was also extremely good.
(v) The losers also took the results in fair view and did not criticise the polling and counting system.
(vi) The elections proved to be a milestone in the international world of democracy.
Q.22. Highlight the circumstances that compelled the socialists to form a separate Socialist Party in 1948. Mention any two grounds on which they criticised the Congress Party.
Ans. In 1948, the Congress Party amended its Constitution to prevent its members from having a dual party membership. This forced the socialists to form a separate party.
(i) They criticised the Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords.
(ii) For ignoring the workers and the peasants.
Q.23. How did the coalition-like character of the Congress Party give it an unusual strength?
Or
Explain the functioning of the Congress Party as an ideological and social coalition.
Ans.
(i) A coalition accommodates all those who join it and help in striking a balance on almost all issues.
(ii) There is a greater tolerance of internal differences and ambitions of various groups and leaders are accommodated.
(iii) It helped the Congress to retain parity inside it even if a group was not happy.
(iv) Internal factionalism became strength of the Congress Party, which is usually a weakness.
Long Questions with Answers
Q.1. (a) Analyse any three reasons for the dominance of the Congress Party in Indian politics during the initial twenty years after independence. [2023]
OR
(b) Analyse any three reasons for the declaration of Emergency in 1975.
Ans. (a) Reasons for dominance of Congress Party:
(i) The Congress party had inherited a Legacy of the national movement.
(ii) It had wide organizational base spread all across the country. It enjoyed national popularity even when other regional parties contested elections.
(iii) The Congress party was very accommodative of different ideologies in the first two decades. Most of the other Non-Congress parties today have their origin in the Indian National Congress. or any other relevant point
OR
(b) Reasons for declaring Emergency in 1975:
(i) Tensions in the relationship between the government and Judiciary. Congress advocated parliamentary supremacy and alleged judiciary a conservative institution.
(ii) After Bangladesh war -Prices were rising and expectations of the people were raised by the slogan ‘Garibi hatao’. So people were unsatisfied and agitated when these were not fulfilled.
(iii) Gujarat and Bihar movements -Students unrest and participation of leaders like Morariji Desai and Jayaprakash Narayan put government into trouble.
(iv) Judgement of Allahabad High Court on 12th June 1975- which declared the election of Indira Gandhi (PM) invalid. Accordingly, she was no more a member of Lok Sabha which was threat to her Prime ministership.
(v) Combined opposition parties demanded her resignation -Ramlila Maidan rally- where JP give a call and had asked the army ,the police and the Government employees not to obey the illegal and immoral order -all these reasons combined together let to the declaration of emergency.
Q.2. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:
The Congress evolved from its origins in 1885 as a pressure group for the newly educated, professionals and commercial classes to a mass movement in the twentieth century. This laid the basis for its eventual transformation into a mass political party and its subsequent domination of the political system. Thus the Congress began as a party dominated by the English speaking, upper caste, upper-middle class and urban elite. But with every Civil Disobedience Movement it launched, its social base widened.
(a) What is meant by a pressure group?
(b) Explain the reason for the Congress to be transformed into a rainbow-like social coalition by the time of Independence.
(c) What made the Congress into a mass political party in the twentieth century?
Ans.
(a) An organisation that puts pressure on the government, directly or indirectly, to get its demands fulfilled.
(b) (i) With every mass movement launched by the Congress Party its social base widened.
(ii) It brought together diverse groups – industrialists, peasants, urban as well as rural dwellers, etc. as its members.
(c) (i) It broadly represented India’s diversity in terms of caste, class, religion and language and various interests.
(ii) It’s support base increased with every mass movement.
Q.3. State the causes responsible for the rise of Congress system in India.
Ans. The causes responsible for the rise of Congress system in India –
(i) The coalition like character of the Congress gave it an unusual strength. A coalition accommodates all those who join it. So, it has to avoid any other extreme position and strike a balance on almost all issues.
(ii) Secondly, in a party that has the nature of a Coalition, there is a greater tolerance of internal differences and ambitions of various groups and leaders are accommodated.
(iii) Even if a group was not happy with its position in the party or with its share of power, it would remain inside the party and fight the other groups rather than leaving the party and becoming an ‘opposition’. These groups inside the party are called factions.
(iv) The factions took different ideological positions making the Congress appear as a grand centrist party.
(v) The other parties primarily attempted to influence these factions and thereby indirectly influenced policy.
(vi) Therefore, political competitions took place within the Congress. In that sense, in the first decade of electoral competitions the Congress acted both as the ruling party as well as the opposition party within itself. That is why this period of Indian politics has been described as the Congress system.
Q.4. How was the one-party dominance in India different from the one-party system in Mexico? In your opinion which of the two political systems is better and why?
Or
What would you consider as the main differences between Mexico and India under one-part domination?
Ans. There was a huge difference between one-party dominance in India and that in Mexico. In India, the Congress Party was in majority but that does not mean that there was no opposition. There were ways and means by which the government was accountable to the public at large. The two situations are different in the sense that:
(i) In India, Congress Party dominated by democratic voting system whereas in Mexico, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (IRP) dominated by dictatorship.
(ii) The elections in India were free and fair whereas the elections in Mexico were full of malpractices by IRP.
(iii) The places where Congress lost majority (for example, in Kerala, Madras, etc.) were not oppressed but taken as a healthy political competition. In our opinion, the one-party dominance system in India is better because:
(i) The system showed respect for opposition also.
(ii) The system encouraged large number of participation by voters.
(iii) The system accommodated social, cultural and linguistic diversities.
(iv) The system ensured democratic setup.
(v) The system kept a check on government actions and policies by creating accountability through the Parliament.
Q.5. Read the following passage and answer the questions below:
“Patel, the organisational man of the Congress, wanted to purge the Congress with other political groups and sought to make it a cohesive and disciplined political party. He had sought to take the Congress away from its all-embracing character and turn it into a close- nit party of disciplined cadres. Being a ‘realist’, he looked more for discipline than for comprehension, while Gandhi took too romantic a view of “carrying on the movement”. Patel’s idea of transforming the Congress into strictly political party with a single ideology and tight discipline showed an equal lack of understanding of the eclectic role that the Congress, as a government, was to be called upon to perform in the decades to follow.” —
(i) Why does the author think that Congress should not have been a cohesive and disciplined party?
(ii) Give some examples of the eclectic role of the Congress Party in the early years.
(iii) Why does the author say that Gandhi’s view about Congress’ future was romantic?
Ans.
(i) The author wanted to take the Congress away from its all-embracing character and turn it into a close-knit party of disciplined cadres.
(ii) The following examples of the eclectic role of the Congress Party in the early years are in the form of social and ideological coalition of Congress:
(a) It provided a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to participate in national movement.
(b) Congress Party presented the social coalition that represents the diversity of India including various religions, languages and castes.
(iii) The author said this because Gandhi believed in hand-in-hand characteristic of national movement led by the Congress which attracted various groups and societies to form a social and ideological coalition in the Congress.
Q.6. Highlight the political ideology of the Communist Party of India.
Ans. The political ideology of the Communist Party of India at the time of Independence:
(i) The basic question that troubled the party was the nature of Indian Independence. Was India really free or was freedom a sham?
(ii) Soon after Independence, the party thought that the transfer of power in 1947 was not true independence and encouraged violent uprising in Telangana.
(iii) In 1951 the Communist Party abandoned the path of violent revolution and decided to participate in the approaching general elections.
Q.7. If Bharatiya Jana Sangh or the Communist Party of India had formed the government after the first elections, in which respects would the policies of the government have been different? Specify three differences each for both the parties.
Ans. Bharatiya Jana Sangh : The policies of Bharatiya Jana Sangh were based on the principles as follows:
(i) It replaced the secular concept by the ideology of one party, one culture and one nation.
(ii) No cultural and education rights as this party opposed the granting of concessions to religious and cultural minorities.
(iii) It focused on the reunion of India and Pakistan under the concept of “Akhand Bharat”. Communist Party of India – CPI would have been different on the principles as follows:
(i) It worked for proportional representation in the government.
(ii) This party followed communist ideology in various policies.
(iii) It emphasised on a control over electronic mass media by an autonomous body or corporation.
