Plus Two Political Science Previous Year Question Paper 2011

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Kerala Plus Two Political Science Previous Year Question Paper 2011

Question 1.
From the list given below identify the factors that influenced India to frame the foreign policy ideal “peaceful co-existence.” (2)

  1. Influence of Buddhism
  2. Fear of military strength of neighboring countries.
  3. Not to join power blocs.
  4. Influence of Gandhian non-violence.

Answer:

  1. The influence of Buddhism.
  2. Influence Gandhi’s principle of non-violence.

Question 2.
Expand the abbreviations given below: (3)

  1. SALT
  2. START
  3. CTBT

Answer:

  1. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.
  2. StrategicArms Reduction Treaty
  3. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

Question 3.
From the table given below, name the States from which they were carved out. (3)

  1. Chhattisgarh – Maharashtra
  2. Uttaranchal – Andhra Pradesh
  3. Jharkhand – Bihar – Uttar Pradesh – Madya Pradesh

Answer:

  1. Chattisgarh – Madhya Pradesh
  2. Uttaranchal – Uttar Pradesh
  3. Jharkhand – Bihar

Question 4.
If we examine the State Politics in Kerala, Kerala has been practicing Coalition Form of Government successfully since its formation. Find out the factors for the success of a Coalition Government. Do you think that a Coalition is a good Government? Substantiate your arguments. (6)
Answer:
Coalition governments started in Kerala in 1960. In 1957 (CPI) and 1962 (Congress), there were single-party governments. Here are the features of the coalition governments of Kerala:

There is no political party that maintains permanent enmity with any another political party. At one time, Muslim League had worked with Communist groups. Kerala Congress is a regional party. It has many groups and all of them have aligned themselves with both the Left and Right Fronts. It was the Achutha Menon Ministry that completed its fuil term for the first time. Even when some highly useful bills are enacted some parties create problems Tor the majority ruling party making the government collapse. In the 1960s and 70s, there were Ton- political, but influential organizations like the SNDP and NSS trying to help bring stability in the governments. The golden period of Kerala’s coalition governments is the Achutha Menon Ministry of 1970. The various political parties of Kerala do not have a stable and fixed ideological base. The best example of this instable ideological base is the Kerala Congress Groups which come in and go out of Ministries, both Left and Right. Sometimes they are here and sometimes they are there.

Question 5.
“A new balance between environmental concern and industrial needs is needed.”
“Sustainable development is not possible without protecting the environment.”
In light of the above statements, state your arguments for sustainable development without compromising environmental protection. (4)
Answer:
In modern times, ‘development’ should be seen as sustainable development. The traditional concepts of development were based on the growth of industries,, in the statistics about per capita income. But in the 1992 Rio Summit, the UN presented before the world “Agenda-21 ” which is a different development mode!. It is sustainable development Let us see how sustainable development is possible without harming our environment.

a. Give priority to non-traditional energy sources. Here we give stress to wind, waves and solar power to produce energy.
b. Avoid plastic waste and things like plastic bags. Make use of things that can be used again and again.
c. if deforestation is done for the development of roads and industries, plant trees in more places to compensate for the deforested land.
d. Ensure that the marshes and watersheds are maintained and protected.
e. Make sure that common resources of the world like; air and water are not polluted. Enforce anti-pollution laws.

People must realize that this earth belongs to future generations also and therefore steps must be taken to insure that it is not polluted. There should- be awareness programs on the part of the governments.

Question 6.
After the Second World War, nations are grouped under two power blocs – one under USA and other under USSR. List out the factors responsible for this Bipolarity. (4)
Answer:
After the Second World War, nations joined either the Soviet Bloc or the American Bloc. Beyond an ideological grouping, this polarization could be seen as a means of strengthening the economic and military power of the Superpowers, Let us see in which areas they tried to make their supremacy felt:

(a) Taking control of the natural resources: America and Soviet Union competed among themselves to keep developing countries with oil, natural gas, rare minerals and other resources in their group.

(b) The Superpowers wanted venues to store their arms and strategic spots from which they could use them against enemy countries.

(c) The Superpowers wanted friendly countries around from which they could spy on the movements of their enemies.

(d) In a war-like atmosphere, the Superpowers wanted to make huge profits by selling the destructive weapons they manufactured to various countries. All these were the reasons for the polarization,

Question 7.
From the list given below, find out the institutions which are not the principal organs of U.N.O (3)
(1) General Assembly
(2) World Health Organisation
(3) Security Council
(4) Economic and Social Council
(5) United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
(6) United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
Answer:
(a) World Health Organization.
(b) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(c) United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

Question 8.
Interstate relations in the Post-Cold War era have been subjected to many changes in power relations. Examine them on the basis of the hints below. (4)
(1) Imperialism
(2) Disintegration of Communist Bloc
(3) American Hegemony
(4) Weak ness of Non-Alignment Movement
Answer:
With the end of the Cold War, the dangerous power struggle between the Superpowers ended. Both Paper March – 2011 America and Soviet Union desisted from their desire to bring third-world nations under their control. An internal economic crisis rocked the Soviet Union, In his efforts to find solutions to the pressing problem, Gorbachev tried some reforms known as Glasnost and Perestroika. In fact, these policies led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the isolation of Russia as an economic power. The disintegration of the USSR began in March 1885 and by 1991, it was complete. Now it is the American hegemony. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came out of the Soviet Union and joined NATO. America has been eyeing at the rich hydrocarbon resources of some Asian countries and it is trying to build its army bases in some of these countries on a lease basis.

America now has three kinds of hegemony or dominance:
1. Dominance as a military power: American military presence is felt almost everywhere In the world and they sell military hardware to many developing nations.

2. Structural dominance: America has its omnipresence in the world through the Internet, the Breton Woods system that controls global economy and non-traditional educational disciplines like MBA and Fashion Technology. 15% of the world trade is done by America.

3. Dominance as a Soft Power: Ideological and cultural dominance is what is meant by soft power. America has been able to westernize consumerism in many countries. Today’s generation that prefers coca-cola to tender coconut water is in the grip of this Western soft power. With the collapse of the Soviet Union many people doubt the relevance of the NAM (Non- Aligned Movement) which was formed under the leadership of Nehru. Tito and Nasser. Today NAM is trying hard to become an economic power, it can make positive contributions in areas like global warming, production of carbon, poverty in Africa, proper utilization of international resources, terrorism and so on.

Question 9.
Identify the Commission which was appointed by the Government to enquire into Emergency Excess in 1977. (1)
Answer:
Shah Commission

Question 10.
Match the Country with the Leaders who are associated with Non-Alignment Movement. (2)
A – B
Ghana – Nehru
India – Nassar
Egypt – Nkrumah
Yugoslavia – Tito, Sukarno
Answer:
1. Ghana – Nkrumah
2. India – Nehru.
3. Egypt – Nasser
4. Yugoslavia – Tito

Question 11.
Independent India faced many challenges in nation-building process. Do you think that we have overcome ail these challenges? You can use the following hints to develop your answer. (7)
(1) Ensure the accommodation of Diversity
(2) Ensure Democracy
(3) Ensure Equality
(4) Ensure Development
Answer:
independent India faced three kinds of challenges.
(a) Integrating India
(b) Ensuring the welfare of the people and development
(c) Establish the democratic system

(a) Integrating India: When India got freedom, it had more than 500 Princely States. The rulers of these places wanted to get back their sovereignty when the British left. The government approached the Princely States keeping three things in mind.

  • The majority of people of the Princely States wanted to join Indian Union.
  • Giving some kind of self-rule to some Princely States.
  • In the background of the division, we needed States with precision.

Integration:
Except for Junagarh, Hyderabad. Kashmir and Manipur, all the Princely States signed in the Instrument of Accession and joined the Indian Union. Then through a referendum, Junagarh joined Indian Union. Because of popular uprising in Hyderabad against the Nizam, the Indian army took some action and got Hyderabad also into the Union. The Congress Group in Manipur wanted to join the Union, but other parties objected. However, the Manipur king was persuaded and he too joined the Union. Kashmir King also signed the Instruction of Accession to save himself from the attacks of Pakistan and thus Kashmirtoo became part of India.

The division of the country into States on linguistic basis showed that it could accommodate all the diversities. The people can accept the diversities and live in unity. This is the strength of a country. The Telangana protest and the martyrdom of Potti Sriramuiu should be remembered here.

Ensuring the welfare of people:
India was a poor country. The country has included provisions in the Constitution to ensure protection to the socially backward people, to religious and cultural minorities and to give all the people equality. Through Directive Principles, the Constitution shows us the way to eradicate poverty and to make the marginalized people come into mainstream society.

Five Year Plans:
The country has a development model based on socialist principles. We have adopted a mixed economy accommodating both public and private sector enterprises.

Establishing democratic system:
Democracy was a discovery of foreigners. But the big thing was that we chose democracy in spite of the fact that India is a poor country and there are many illiterates here. The first election was called the greatest gamble in history by foreign media. A British member of the Civil Service said that the future generations would condemn this democratic process as a foolish enterprise. The first Election Commission was formed with Dr. SukumarSen as the Commissioner. Illiterate Indians were supposed to think in terms of caste and creed. But by making a voters’ list based on our secular system and equality, we succeeded in conducting a fair election and we were successful in our democratic experiment Even after 70 years of Independence, we still face some challenges to our democracy. There are new demands for regional autonomy. There is the Maoist threat. There is intolerance, following the integration of Manipur. There is the Kashmir problem. In spite of all these we have been able to maintain our democratic tradition. After the 1975 Emergency, our rulers have been able to maintain democratic order without any interruption.

Question 12.
Ban Ki-Moon is the present Secretary-General of the United Nations. Identify the nation to which he belongs. (1)
(1) America
(2) South Korea
(3) Japan
(4) North Korea
Answer:
South Korea

Question 13.
From the list given below, find out the ultimate aim of the United Nations Organization. (1)

  1. Ensure international peace and security
  2. To avoid armament race
  3. Ensure economic stability

Answer:

  1. Ensuring international peace and security.

Question 14.
Nations face security threats. They may be traditional and non-traditional. Find out any five major security threats and prepare a brief note. (5)
Answer:
The concept of global security came in the 1990s. Based on this idea, the challenges countries and people face are called non-traditional treats. First, let us see the most important traditional threats:
a. Military attacks and annexations.
b. The presence of nuclear weapons, their testing and possible misuse.
c. Colonialism.

Non-traditional threats challenge even the existence of mankind and their living. Here are some of the important threats of this kind:
a. terrorism
b. contagious diseases
c. human rights violations
d. global warming
e. challenges that global resources face.

Question 15.
“History makes man wise”. Based on the above statement, bring out the lessons we learn from the National Emergency of 1975.
Answer:
The historical events help us to get greater insights. India got her freedom after constant agitations and sacrifices. Our Constitution stresses human rights. But we saw during the Emergency of 1975 that there were some provisions in the Constitution that could make the rights null and void. It was in this period that the people thought of the challenges to democracy and the precautions we should take to preserve our rights.

Question 16.
Match the following. (4)
A                 –            B
1. Chipko Movement – Agrarian struggles
2. Dalit Movement – Social Justice
3. Kissah Movement – Gender equality
4. Women Movement – Environmental Issues, Educational Issues
Answer:
a. Chipko Movement – Environmental Problems
b. Dalit Movement – social justice
c. Kisan Movement – agriculture protests
d. Women Movement – Gender equality

Question 17.
We have experienced several agitations for social justice by the marginalized sections. Do you think these agitations can ensure social justice? Express your opinion. (4)
Answer:
The protests of the marginalized people become relevant in light of the demands they make. Problems that are not
high lighted or rejected by the mainstream political organizations are often brought up by organizations of the marginalized people. Overcoming the narrow vote-bank politics, there have been some movements working for various needs of the people. These organizations work for environmental protection (Chipko Movement), for ensuring social justice (Dalit Panthers) and for gender equality (Women Movements). There was the Plachimada Protest (against exploitation of water resources). The Chengara Protest was against the situation in which people had to live on their own land as aliens.

All the above movements were for common public interests. Long before the Rio Summit took place for Environmental Protection, the illiterate women in the Himalayan villages had organized the Chipko Movement for the protection of their environment. It shows the importance of such movements.

It is not protests and movements that should bring social justice, but the government. The protests by various groups have highlighted the problems and governments have been made aware of their significance forcing them to make laws to ensure social justice.

Question 18.
In a class-room discussion, teacher pointed out that new forms of regionalism are emerging in India. Do you agree with this comment? Substantiate your arguments with suitable examples. (3)
Answer:

India, some new kinds of regionalism are coming up. In the name of “Son of the soil some movements have come up in Maharashtra and Coorg (Kutak) area. The statement of Sachin Tendulkar that Mumbai is the city of all Indians should be taken as a fitting reply to all such region-minded people.

The regional demands that took place in Punjab and the North-Eastern States sometimes degenerated into armed struggle and revolts. The Operation Blue Star of June 1984 and the consequent assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards can be pointed out in this context.

The long-standing satyagraha protest by Irom Urmila for recalling the soldiers from Manipur is also a proof of regional demands. (Very recently she stopped her satyagraha)

Question 19.
What can we do for the preservation of beautiful Earth for future generations? Suggest measures. (3)
Answer:
We should know that this beautiful earth belongs to future generations, too. The following suggestions may help:
a. Don’t overuse water. Protect the water sources from pollution.
b. Governments should stress sustainable development for prosperity.
c. Create the awareness that social justice is applicable to the environment also.
d. Let the intelligent man realize that just like him the flora and fauna of this earth have a right to survive here. .
e. Never forget that the earth’s resources will one day finish up. This awareness should come to those who exploit them and those who consume them.

Question 20.
After the disintegration of USSR, America became a power to dominate world politics. Examine the reasons for American Hegemony. (3)
Answer:
The most important points that helped American hegemony are:
a. Disintegration of the USSR and the rise of the Baltic countries.
b: The global interests and power of the Breton Woods system.
c. The military moves and attacks America makes to counter-terrorism.

Question 21.
Given below are certain regional groupings. State the purpose for which they are established. (4)
(1) NATO
(2) ASEAN
(3) SEATO
(4) European Union
Answer:
NATO: It is a military alliance that America formed to reduce the power of the Soviet Union and to prevent the spread of Communism.

ASEAN: This is a fellowship of the South East Asian nations. It started with the declaration in Bangkok in 1967. The members of ASEAN are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Brunei. The aims of ASEAN are: trying to bring about quick economic growth among member countries, progress in social and cultural matters, peace and stability in the region and making opportunities for the members to solve their mutual problems in an amicable manner.

CEATO: This was started in 1954 under the leadership of America with the intention of preventing Communism from spreading. Its headquarters were in Bangkok. On 31 June 1977, this organization was dispersed. Its members were France. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand.

European Union: After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, this organization was started through the Maastricht Treaty. There are 27 members in it. It is considered as an effort to unify the economic and political matters of Europe. It has common currency, common flag, European Commission and European Central Bank, It thus becomes the biggest economic power in the world.

Question 22.
Though there are many regional groupings in the world, European Union is the most powerful one.’ Do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your arguments. (3)
Answer:
It is true that the strongest regional group in the world is the European Union (EU). Here are the reasons:
a. It is the biggest economic power in the world. It has a greater GDP than America. Euro is more valuable in the international currency than the US dollar.
b. Two of the EU members have veto power in the UN Security Council.
c. Britain and France are nuclear powers. After the USA, EU spends the maximum amount of money for defense. At one these countries were in enmity, leading to even World Wars, but now they are on the path of unity and growth.

Question 23.
Globalisation has reached every nook and corner of our society. We are experiencing its merits and demerits. Identify any three evil effects of globalization. (3)
Answer:
Globalization has mainly 3 demerits:

  1. It weakens the traditional concept of sovereignty of nations. The governments that ought to work for social justice withdraw from their responsibilities and this is a defect of globalization.
  2. As soft power, we see how Western Culture is making inroads into traditional cultures of nations. There is a tendency for consumerism to grow and the poor and marginalized people continue to remain so.
  3. The MNCs are ready to trade anything for the growing market. The resources of the earth are mindlessly exploited. As result global warming and the excessive melting of glaciers threaten the very existence of mankind.

Question 24.
Observe the following statements on South East Asia and prepare a seminar paper on ‘Politics of South East Asia’ (4)
(1) Influence of military is very high. Hence the soil of many nations is fertile for military coup.
(2) Economic backwardness of people is not suitable for the success of democracy.
(3) Ethnic issue makes the problem’more complex.
(4) The lack of charismatic leaders accelerates the threat to democracy.
Answer:
South-Eastern Asia has always been a venue of political polarization. This area includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

In Pakistan and Bangladesh democracy comes and goes. Often, there democracy has led to military rule. Ganeral Yahya Khan, Zia-ul-Haq and Parvez Musharaf were military leaders who overthrew democracy and assumed power. Lack of stable political parties and parties working only for selfish interests are the main reasons for the lack of stable democracy in these countries. The 18 constitutions Amend Act was signed by President Asif Ali Zardari on 19 April 2014. It is hoped that the reduction of Presidential power, the increased powers of the PM and the Parliament might make democracy more stable in Pakistan. on Paper March – 2011 The problems in the Sind and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and the question of survival by the Tamils in Sri Lanka have made South East Asia have turmoil. People think it is the lack of leaders like Nehru that brings troubles to democracy in other countries.

The situation in Bangladesh is not different. It has a Constitution upholding secularism and democracy. The bad days for democracy here started in 1975 with the restructuring of its Constitution. From Parliamentary democracy, it went to Presidential rule. This change helped Sheikh Mujibur Rehman to rule the country in an undemocratic manner. In 1975 itself he was killed. Later Zia-ur-Rehman formed the Bangladesh National Party which won the election in 1979. He was also killed. Then the military leader General Ershad came to power. Later he was elected President. The military rulers of Bangladesh used political parties as a camouflage for their military dictatorship. They were afraid of the democratic rights and desires of the people.

In Nepal, we see the dominance of Maoists organizations. The Maldives is slowly coming towards democracy. Rajapakse of Sri Lanka thinks that the racial problem there could be solved with the fall of the LTTE. Economic backwardness does not become a reason for the collapse of democracy. When India got its freedom it was a very poor country. But it has not adversely affected our democracy.

The problems in the Sind and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and the question of survival by the Tamils in Sri Lanka have made South East Asia to have turmoil. People think it is the lack of leaders like Nehru that brings troubles to democracy in other countries.

Plus Two Political Science Previous Year Question Papers and Answers