Challenges of nation building
1. Which among the following statements about the partition is incorrect?
(a) Partition of India was the outcome of the “two-nation theory.”
(b) Punjab and Bengal were the two provinces divided on the basis
of religion.
(c) East Pakistan and West Pakistan were not contiguous.
(d) The scheme of partition included a plan for transfer of
population across the border.
Answer: (d) The scheme of partition included a plan for transfer of population across the border.
2. Match the principles with the instances:
(a) Mapping of boundaries i. Pakistan and
on religious grounds Bangladesh
(b) Mapping of boundaries on grounds ii. India and
of different languages Pakistan
(c) Demarcating boundaries within a iii. Jharkhand and
country by geographical zones Chhattisgarh
(d) Demarcating boundaries within a iv. Himachal Pradesh
country on administrative and and Uttarakhand
political grounds
Answer: (a)-(ii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(i), (d)-(iii)
3. Take a current political map of India (showing outlines of states) and
mark the location of the following Princely States.
(a) Junagadh (b) Manipur
(c) Mysore (d) Gwalior
Answer: Please see the Map attached at the end of the chapter. The places are marked as 3(a), 3(b), 3(c) and 3(d).
4. Here are two opinions –
Bismay: “The merger with the Indian State was an extension of
democracy to the people of the Princely States.”
Inderpreet: “I am not so sure, there was force being used. Democracy
comes by creating consensus.”
What is your own opinion in the light of accession of Princely States and
the responses of the people in these parts?
Answer:
5. Read the following very different statements made in August 1947 –
“Today you have worn on your heads a crown of thorns. The seat of
power is a nasty thing. You have to remain ever wakeful on that seat….
you have to be more humble and forbearing…now there will be no end
to your being tested.” — M.K Gandhi
“…India will awake to a life of freedom….we step out from the old to the
new…we end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself
again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of
opportunity…” — Jawaharlal Nehru
Spell out the agenda of nation building that flows from these two
statements. Which one appeals more to you and why?
Answer:
6. What are the reasons being used by Nehru for keeping India secular?
Do you think these reasons were only ethical and sentimental? Or were
there some prudential reasons as well?
Answer:
Reasons for keeping India secular:
1. Not all Muslims left India at the time of participation, some Muslims remained in India as a minority and Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to deal with them in a very civilized and dignified manner.
2. He advocated the security and democratic rights of Muslims as citizens of India.
No, these reasons weren’t just moral and emotional, there were also some prudent ones like:
1. India’s secular nature fostered its long-term goals and policies
Like socialism, equality, liberty and fraternity.
2. Secularism prevents any single faith from being superior and inferior to those who practice other religions. It therefore considers all citizens equal irrespective of religious affiliation.
7. Bring out two major differences between the challenge of nation
building for eastern and western regions of the country at the time of
Independence.
Answer:
The two major differences between the eastern (Bengal) and western (Punjab) regions can be summarized as follows.
1. These areas were the Muslim majority provinces to be joined. It was therefore decided that the new country Pakistan would cover two territories i.e. West and East Pakistan.
2. Secondly, there were minority problems on both sides of the border (east and west). Hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistani territory and Muslims on the Indian side of Punjab and Bengal were stranded with no option but to leave their homes.
8. What was the task of the States Reorganisation Commission? What
was its most salient recommendation?
Answer:
The Central Government set up the State Reorganization Commission in 1953 to look into the issue of redrawing state boundaries:
1. The Commission developed that to accommodate linguistic diversity, the boundaries of states should reflect the boundaries of different languages.
2. In 1956, the State Reorganization Act was passed which created 14 states and 6 union territories.
3. Its most significant recommendation was the formation of a linguistic state, i.e., the reorganization of states on the basis of their language accommodation to prepare a uniform basis for the nation.
9. It is said that the nation is to a large extent an “ imagined community”
held together by common beliefs, history, political aspirations and
imaginations. Identify the features that make India a nation.
Answer:
India proved itself through all phases of three challenges during nation building viz.
1. India is a secular country where people speak different languages and follow different cultures and religions and are recognized as a nation of unity in diversity with common beliefs and faith.
2. Political aspirations ensure a democratic structure based on a parliamentary form of government by creating political competition in a democratic framework.
3. The imagination of India established a welfare state on the principle of equality and special protection to socially disadvantaged groups and religions as well as cultural communities.
10. Read the following passage and answer the questions below:
“In the history of nation-building only the Soviet experiment bears
comparison with the Indian. There too, a sense of unity had to be forged
between many diverse ethnic groups, religious, linguistic communities
and social classes. The scale – geographic as well as demographic
– was comparably massive. The raw material the state had to work with
was equally unpropitious: a people divided by faith and driven by debt
and disease.” — Ramachandra Guha
(a) List the commonalities that the author mentions between India
and Soviet Union and give one example for each of these from
India.
(b) The author does not talk about dissimilarities between the two
experiments. Can you mention two dissimilarities?
(c) In retrospect which of these two experiments worked better and
why?
Answer:
(a) Harmony between India and the Soviet Union:
(i) Both nations shaped the nation on linguistic basis.
(ii) Economic and technological developments also took place in India to promote welfare objectives.
(iii) In both nations, the state was divided according to the geographical limits and strength of the population.
(b) Discrimination:
(i) The Soviet Union was divided into 15 independent republics/countries to be disintegrated.
(ii) India maintained its unity and integrity despite the diverse nature of states and peoples without any further divisions.
(c) While India took some diplomatic measures to unite the country, the Indian Experiment worked well to promote linguistic and cultural pluralism without affecting the unity and integrity of the nation.
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