CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science Term 2 Set 7 with Solutions

Students can access the CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science with Solutions and marking scheme Term 2 Set 7 will help students in understanding the difficulty level of the exam.

CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science Term 2 Set 7 with Solutions

Time allowed: 2 Hours
Maximum Marks: 40

General Instructions:

• The question paper has three sections as A,B and C.
• Section A has 8 questions of 2 marks each. Answer to these questions should be completed within 50 words each.
• Section B has 3 questions of 4 marks each. Answer to these questions should be completed within 100 words each. Answer of map question should be attempted accordingly.
• Section C has 2 question of 6 marks each. Answer to these questions should be completed within 170 words each.

Section A

Question 1.
Discuss the impact of New Economic Policy of China? (2)
Or
What were the two major policy decisions taken by the Chinese leadership in the 1970s?
Answer:
The impact of New Economic Policy of China was as follows

• The new economic policies helped the Chinese economy to deal with stagnation.
• Privatisation of agriculture resulted in rise of agricultural production and rural incomes which helped the rural economy growth at a faster pace.
• The new trading laws and creating of Special Economic Zones attracted players and foreign trade.
• China has become an important place for Foreign Direct Investment in the world. Now, China has large foreign exchange reserves which allow it to make big investments in other countries. China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 also helped its opening to the outside world. (Any two)

Or
China’s economic success has been linked to its rise as a great power. The major policy decisions new economic policies of China were.

• China ended its political and economic isolation with the establishments of relations with the United States in 1972.
• Four modernisations (agriculture, industry, science and technology and military) were proposed by Premier Zhou Enlai in 1973.
• Deng Xiaoping declared the ‘Open Door Policy’ and rapid economic reforms in China. It was meant to generate higher productivity by investments of capital and technology from other countries.
• The privatisation of agriculture in 1982 was followed by the privatisation of industry in 1998.
• The trade barriers were eliminated only in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where foreign investors could set up enterprises. (Any two)

Question 2.
Discuss the factors which led to unstable democracy in Pakistan? (2)
Answer:
Several factors that led to Pakistan’s failure in building a stable democracy were as follows
(i) Social dominance of military, clergy and landowning aristocracy were responsible for the frequent overthrow of elected government and establishment of military governments.

(ii) The pro-military groups became more powerful over India-Pakistan’s conflict. These groups are against the principles of political parties and democracy.

(iii) There has been a strong sense of pro-democracy sentiment in the country.

(iv) Absence of genuine international support for democratic rule has further encouraged the
dominance of military. Like for instance, USA and other Western,countries have encouraged the military’s authoritarian rule for their own reasons.

Question 3.
“Globalisation results in decline of state capacity”. In the light of the statement discuss the political manifestations of globalisation?
Answer:
One of the debates that has arisen as a result of current globalisation processes refers to its continued political impact. Some of the discussions related to it are given below

• Globalisation results in decline of state capacity that is the ability of the government to perform tasks get reduced. Globalisation has impacted the way the state functions.
• It has set international standards that have be to adhered to in order to keep up with the wave of economic growth through assistance from organisations such as the World Bank and IMF.
• Market becomes a prime determinant to settle down social and economic priorities in place of welfare.
• The increased role of MNC all over the tire world leads to a reduction in the capacity of government to take decision on their own.

Question 4.
Discuss the main causes of globalisation? (2)
Answer:
The main causes of globalisation are
(i) The increased interconnectedness has led to migration of people in search of economic opportunities. This in turn helps in the flow of investments across the world. This has initiated globalisation on a large scale.

(ii) Technology is the most important element. The invention of the telegraph, the telephone and the microchip has revolutionised communication between various global factors.

(iii) Communication has made it easier to exchange ideas, capital and commodities from one place to another. The transfer of capital and commodities is a major cause of globalisation.

Question 5.
Who led the National Coordination Committee? What were their demands? (2)
Answer:
The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle, led by George Fernandes, has called for a state wide strike by all railway employees to press their demands for bonus and better working conditions.

These demands were met with opposition from the government. As a result, in May 1974, the employees of India’s largest public sector undertaking went on strike. The railway workers’ strike heightened the mood of unrest in the workplace.

It also raised concerns such as workers’ rights and whether or not employees of critical services should engage in strike action.

The strike had to be called off after twenty days without a settlement because the government refused to fulfil the striking employees’ demands, jailed several of their leaders and deployed the territorial army to safeguard railway tracks.

Question 6.
Despite the slogan Garibi Hatao there isn’t much progress on socio-economic condition in the country. Discuss the economic condition in India post-emergency era. (2)
Answer:
The social and economic conditions in the country didn’t improve much despite the Congress had won the elections of 1971 on the slogan of garibi hatao. The following points highlight the economic condition in India in the post-emergency Congress rule

• The Bangladesh worsened the conditions of Indian economy. Almost eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border in India.
• After the Bangladesh war, US Government stopped all aid to India. Oil Prices increased manifold which caused all round increase in prices of commodities during this period.
• Prices increased by 23% and 30% in 1973 and 1974 respectively. People had to suffer lots of hardship because of high level of inflation.
• Industrial growth was low and unemployment was very high, particularly in the rural areas. (Any two)

Question 7.
Discuss the controversies regarding the Emergency. (2)
Answer:
The most controversial episode in Indian politics was Emergency due to the following reasons:

• Internal disturbances as mentioned by the Constitution became the reason for declaring Emergency. Emergency was never proclaimed on this ground prior to 1975.
• There were differing view points on the need to implement emergency.
• By using the powers of Constitution, the government practically suspended democratic functioning.
• Investigations by Shah Commission later found out that excesses were committed during emergency.

Question 8.
Describe two benefits and two drawbacks of India’s coalition government. (2)
Answer:
When two or more parties join hands together to form a government is known as coalition government, e.g. UP A, NDA, etc.

Two benefits of coalition government are as follows

• Dominance of one party is minimised.
• More than one ideologies come together and gives strength to democracy.

Two drawbacks of coalition government are as follows

• It gives unstable government.
• It slows the process of policy-making.

Section B

Question 9.
What happened in the Godhra episode? What were the consequences? (4)
Answer:
In February-March 2002 large scale violence took place against Muslims in Gujarat because at Godhra station a bogey of Sabarmati Express train was set on fire which was full of Karsevaks. They were returning from Ayodhya and suspecting the hands of Muslims in setting fire to the bogey large-scale violence against Muslims began in Gujarat from the next day.
The consequences were

• This violence continued for almost a whole month. Nearly 1100 persons, mostly Muslims were killed.
• The National Human Rights Commission criticised the Gujarat Government’s role in failing to control this communal violence, providing relief to the victims and prosecute the perpetrators of this violence.
• The Election Commission of India ordered are assembly elections to be postponed.

Question 10.
What distinguishes India as a rising power or a new power centre? Explain. (4)
Answer:
India is considered one of the emerging superpowers of the world. The country must overcome many economic, social and political problems before it can be considered a superpower.

India has become the third largest economy in Asia to keep its high rate of growth. Some of the essential aspects based on which India can be considered as the major emerging powers are discussed below. India as an Economic Power

(i) It is the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third-Iargest by purchasing power partity. In 2019, India’s ten largest trading partners were USA, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Iraq, Singapore, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland.

(ii) The Indian IT industry is a major exporter of IT services with $180 billion in revenue and employs over four million people.

(iii) It is the world’s tenth-largest oil producer and the third-Iargest oil comsumer. The Indian automobile industry is the world’s fourth largest by production.

India as Military Power

• Indian army is the third largest army in the world.
• It has also the fourth-largest defence budget in the world.
• India is also well equipped with nuclear arsenal. It has recently purchased modem weapons and arms from USA.

India as Political and Diplomatic Power

• India shares extremely positive relations through economic and political agreements with several Western, European Asian and South-East Asian countries.
• India has also played an important and influential role in other international organisations like East Asia Summit.
• India could almost become sixth permanent member of UNSC but the decision was vetoed by China.
• India is part of some very important emerging centres of power like BRICS, G20, SAARC etc.

Question 11.
In an outline Political Map of India, four states have been marked as A, B, C and D.
Answer the following questions below on the basis of the map. (4)

(i) The State to which C. Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor-General of India, belonged.
(ii) The State where the first non-Congress Government was formed by E.M.S.Namboodiripad.
(iii) The State to which Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the Union Minister for Food and Agriculture (1952-54) belonged.
(iv) The State faced the most acute food crisis in 1965-67.

Sr. No. of the Information Used Alphabet Concerned		Name of the State
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Answer:

Sr. Number of the information used	Alphabet concerned	Name of the State
(i)	D	Tamil Nadu
(ii)	C	Kerala
(iii)	B	Uttar Pradesh
(iv)	A	Bihar

Section C

Question 12.
“Due to India’s strategic location in the region, it is involved in the majority of conflicts. In the light of discuss the four main conflict issues between India and Pakistan. (6)
Or
What are the common problems faced by the South Asian Countries? Discuss any four.
Answer:
Conflicts and tensions in South-Asian region have not diminished in the post-Cold War era. Conflicts over internal democracy and ethnic disparities have already been mentioned. However, there are some important international conflicts.

Due to India’s strategic location in the region, it is involved in the majority of conflicts, India and Pakistan represent very crucial conflicts of an international nature which are discussed below

(i) Conflict over Kashmir is the major issue between both the countries. Pakistan government always claimed Kashmir to be its part and same goes with Indian government. Wars took place over this issue between India and Pakistan in 1947-48 and 1965 failed to settle the dispute.

The 1947-48 war led to the division of the province into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir divided by the Line of Control (LoC). In 1971, India won decisive war against Pakistan but the Kashmir issue remained unsettled.

(ii) Both countries also have problems related to sharing of Indus River waters. With the help of World Bank in 1960, both countries negotiated over this issue. There are still some minor differences about the interpretation of the Indus Waters Treaty and the use of the river waters. The two countries are not in agreement over the demarcation line in Sir Creek in the Rann of Kutch.

(iii) Suspicious nature of both the governments led to border disruptions especially in the Kashmir region. Pakistan’s spy agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) is considered to be involved in various anti-India campaigns in North-East India. Indian security agencies are blamed too with similar blames by the government of Pakistan.

(iv) Strategic issues conflicts are also evident among these countries like the control of the Siachen Glacier and over acquisition of arms. Both countries want to acquire more nuclear weapons and missiles against each other in the 1990’s. For instance, in 1998 India conducted its nuclear explosion in Pokharan. Within few days Pakistan responded by carrying out nuclear tests in the Chagai Hills.
Or
South Asia includes countries like India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Sri
Lanka. The various natural areas such as the Himalayas, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean are part of this region. The common problems among them are

• Poverty All countries of South Asia suffer from large masses living in poverty. In India, nearly 38 percent of people are living in poverty.
• Violation of human rights There exists a great threat to human rights from anti-social elements, communalist and from people with a negative attitude, thinking and approach.
• A problem faced by democracy Several countries of South Asia aspire to be a democratic country but face a problem.
• Women employment Women are generally seen at a lower position in most of the South Asian nations. They are restricted and are not as free as their counterparts.

Question 13.
Assess any three challenges that are congress party had to face during the period from 1954 to 1971. (6)
Or
List any four activities carried out by the opposition in the 1952 and 1957 legislatures.
Answer:
The three challenges that the Congress Party had to face during the period from 1964 to 1971 were.
(i) Political Succession: After Nehru, some outsiders had doubts that Indian democracy will not survive, meanwhile party President K Kamaraj, suggested Lai Bahadur Shastri’s name as the Prime Minister, thus he became the second Prime Minister of India.

An abrupt end of Shastri led to challenge of political succession. This time, there was intense competition between Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi. Finally, Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister. She set out to gain control over the party and to demonstrate her leadership skills.

(ii) Emergence of Non-Congressism: Opposition parties realised that the division of their votes kept the Congress in power. So that they joined together to form anti-Congress fronts. This strategy was named as non-Congressism by Ram Manohar Lohia.

The result of 1967 elections jolted the Congress at both centre and state levels. Many elite leaders of Congress parties came together to form joint legislative parties (Samyukt Vidhayak Dal). In most of the states, Congress lost and coalition government was formed.

(iii) Split in the Congress: Indira Gandhi had to face internal challenge that was Syndicate, a group of influential Congress leaders who were in control of the party’s organisation. Gradually, she attempted to assert her position within the government and the party. She choose her trusted group of advisers from outside the party. Slowly and carefully she sidelined the Syndicate.

Meanwhile, President of India Dr Zakir Hussain was dead, the post of President fell vacant. Despite of Mrs Gandhi reservations, the Syndicate nominated N Sanjeeva Reddy’s name as President. But Indira Gandhi Supported VV Giri as an independent candidate.

The election ultimately, resulted in the victory of W Giri and the defeat of Sanjeeva Reddy, the official Congress candidate. The defeat of the official Congress candidate formalised the split in the party Congress (O) which was Syndicate supported party and Congress (R) which was Indira Gandhi party.
Or
At the time of Independence, there were many opposition parties and after independence it increased, but it gained only token representation in the Lok Sabha and also in State Assemblies. Yet their presence played a crucial role in maintaining the democratic character of the system. The four activities of the opposition during the Parliament of 1952 and 1957 are as follows

(i) These opposition parties offered sustained and principled criticism of the policies and practices of the Congress Party. This phenomenon indicated the check and balance of power of the Congress.

(ii) In 1957, in Kerala, Congress was defeated by CPI and made government, but after that Congress dismissed the Kerala Government under Article 356. It was criticised by the opposition leaders and said that it was the first instance of the misuse of constitutional emergency powers.

(iii) In 1950, Bhartiya Jansangh was able to secure 3 seats and in 1957 it secured 4 seats. The party played the role of opposition and started agitation to replace English with Hindi as the official language and also advocated for the development of nuclear weapons.

(iv) The opposition parties prevented the resentment with the system from turning anti-democratic. These parties also groomed the leaders (young citizens) who wanted to shape the India as developed and powerful state.