1. Name three problems that
the newly independent nation of India faced.
Answer three problems that the newly independent nation of
India faced:
→ As a
result of Partition, 8 million refugees had come into the country from
Pakistan. These people had to be found homes and jobs.
→ The
maharajas and nawabs of the princely states (almost 500) had to be persuaded to
join the new nation.
→ A
political system had to be adopted which would best serve the hopes and
expectations of the Indian population.
2. What was the role of the
Planning Commission?
Answer The
Planning Commission was set up to help design and sexecutes suitable policies
for the economic development of India.
5. What did Dr Ambedkar
mean when he said that "In politics we will have equality, and in social
and economic life we will have inequality"?
Answer
According to Dr Ambedkar giving the right to vote would not automatically lead
to the removal of other inequalities such as between rich and poor, or between
upper and lower castes. He believed that India needed to work towards
eradicating all forms of inequality in the economic and social spheres Otherwise,
India would just be a land of contradictions - following the principle of “one
man, one vote and one value” in its political life, and denying the principle
of “one man, one value” in its economic and social lives.
6. After Independence, why
was there a reluctance to divide the country on linguistic lines?
Answer There
was a reason for this. India had already been divided on the basis of religion.
The joy of freedom had come along with the tragedy of Partition.
This
Partition had led to the killing of a million people in riots.
Congress
leaders believed that any further divisions of the country would only disrupt
its unity and progress.
They
felt that the need of the hour was for India to remain strong and united, and
work towards becoming a nation, and anything that hindered the growth of
nationalism had to be rejected.
7. Give one reason why
English continued to be used in India after Independence.
Answer People
of the south those who could not speak Hindi, opposed Hindi as National
Language. They threatened to separate from India if Hindi was imposed on them.
The Constituent Assembly finally decided that Hindi would be the "official
language" of India and English would be used in the courts, the services,
and communications between one state and another.
8. How was the economic development of India visualized in the early decades after Independence?
8. How was the economic development of India visualized in the early decades after Independence?
Answer
The economic development of India visualized in the early decades after Independence were:
→ Objectives: Lifting India and Indians out of poverty, and building a modern technical and industrial base were among the major objectives of the new nation.
The economic development of India visualized in the early decades after Independence were:
→ Objectives: Lifting India and Indians out of poverty, and building a modern technical and industrial base were among the major objectives of the new nation.
→ Planning Commission and
Five Year Plans: A Planning Commission was set up to help design and executes
suitable policies for economic development.
→ Mixed-economy: A
mixed-economy model was agreed upon. In this economic model, both the State and
the private sector would play important and complementary roles in increasing
production and generating jobs.
→ Focus on heavy industries
and dams: In 1956, the Second Five Year Plan was formulated. This focused
strongly on the development of heavy industries such as steel, and on the
building of large dams.
→ the focus on heavy
industry, and the effort at state regulation of the economy (which
was to guide the economic policy for the next few decades) had many critics.
This approach was criticized
because:
(i) It
put inadequate emphasis on agriculture
(ii) It
neglected primary education
(iii)
It did not take into account the environmental implications of concentrating on
science and machinery
9. Who was Mira Behn? Find out more about her life and her
ideas.
Answer Mira Behn was a follower of Mahatma
Gandhi. She was greatly impressed by the ideals, philosophy and ways of working
of Gandhiji.
Mira Behn worked against caste discrimination, untouchability, in
favour of women equality and rights.
She emphasized the development of
agriculture, cottage, industries and education. Mira Behn worked for protection
of environment.
She opposed blindly use of modem science and technology.
Mira
Behn wrote in 1949, by "science and machinery he (mankind) may get huge
returns for a time, but ultimately will come desolation. We have got to study
Nature's balance, and develop our lives within her laws.
