ICSE History and Civics Previous Year Question Paper 2009 Solved for Class 10
ICSE Paper 2009
HISTORY & CIVICS
(Two Hours)
Answers to this Paper must be written on the paper provided separately.
You will not be allowed to write during the first 15 minutes.
This time is to be spent in reading the question paper.
The time given at the head of this Paper is the time allowed for writing the answers.
Attempt all questions from Part I (Compulsory). A total of five questions are to be attempted from Part II; two out of three questions from Section A and three out of five questions from Section B.
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets [ ].
PART I (30 Marks)
Attempt all questions from this Part.
Question 1:
(a) How many members can the President nominate to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha ? [1]
(b) Explain the term quorum. [1]
(c) Mr. Konar was not found eligible for the election as the Vice President of India even though he had the qualifications of being a citizen of India and not being a member of the Parliament and the State legislature. On what grounds was he disqualified ? Give one reason. [1]
(d) When can ordinances be issued by the President ? [1]
(e) By whom and on whose advice is the State Council of Ministers appointed ? [1]
(f) Under what provision can a non-member of the State Legislature be appointed as a minister ? [1]
(g) What does the term ‘collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers’ imply ? [1]
(h) Who appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ? [1]
(i) What is understood by the Revisory Jurisdiction of the High Court ? [1]
(j) Which is the highest Court dealing with the criminal cases at the district level ? [1]
Answer:
(a) Two members of the anglo Indian community to the Lok Sabha and Twelve members to Rajya Sabha.
(b) Quorum: It means the minimum number of members required to be present in order to enable the house to conduct the session of the assembly. It is usually 1/10 of the total membership.
(c) Mr. Konar was disqualified on the basis of his disqualification for election as a member of Rajya Sabha.
(d) Ordinances can be issued by the President at a time when both Houses of Parliament are not in session.
(e) Answer has not given due to out of present syllabus.
(f) Answer has not given due to out of present syllabus.
(g) The term Collective Responsibility means that all the members of the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible for the decisions taken by them pertaining to the Government of the State.
(1) Supreme Court
(2) High Court
(h) The President appoints the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
(i) If the High court feels that the Subordinate court has exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it or has acted with gross irregularity, it may make such order in the case as it seems fit. This is the revisory jurisdiction of the High Court.
(j) The highest criminal court of the district is the court of session judge.
Question 2:
(a) Mention any two social reforms advocated by the British which affected the religious traditions of the Indian people. [2]
(b) When and by whom was the Indian National Congress founded ? [2]
(c) What were Curzon’s two real motives behind the Partition of Bengal ? [2]
(d) Mention two reasons why the Lucknow pact is considered important in the history of the Indian National Congress. [2]
(e) State two methods of political struggle evolved by Mahatma Gandhi as part of the national movement. [2]
(f) Mention any two policies of Gorbachev that brought democracy to the USSR. [2]
(g) Mention any two important consequences of the First World War. [2]
(h) Where are the headquarters of the WHO located ? Mention any one function of the Security Council. [2]
(i) Name two organizations which fight for Human Rights. [2]
(j) Explain the meaning of Cold War. What was the objective of the Truman Doctrine? [2]
Answer:
(a) (i) Widow Remarriage Act. (ii) Abolition of Sati.
(b) Indian National Congress was founded by A.O. Hume in December, 1885.
(c) Curzon’s real motives behind the partition of Bengal were:
- To curb the radical Bengali Nationalist and thus to weaken the Nationalist Movement.
- To set the Hindus and Muslims against each other.
(d) (a) It brought an unity between the aggressive nationalists and moderates.
(b) It was a step towards Hindu-Muslim unity.
(e) Two methods of political struggle evolved by Mahatma Gandhi as part of the National Movement are :
- Satyagrah of 1919, in which he opposed the Rowlatt Bills which endangered the life, liberty and property of the people.
- Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 to oppose the British laws which were against the interest of the people of India.
(f) Answer has not given due to out of present syllabus.
(g) The consequences of the First World War are:
- There was a great loss of life. Eighty lakh people were wounded, many were rendered invalid for the whole of their life.
- The expenditure on the Allied side was nearly forty-one thousand million pounds and that on the German side over fifteen thousand million pounds which create financial problems for years and years.
(h) The WHO has its headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland).
Function of the Security Council: The Security Council may investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction.
(i) (1) UN Human Right Commission
(2) High Commissioner for Human Rights.
(j) Cold War: A deep mutual rivalry and hostility grew between the Soviet bloc , and the American bloc. There was no armed conflict and the hostility was non-cooperation, such attitude of the two blocs came to be called the Cold War. It was also a war of words, of ideologies and of nerves. It created a communication barrier between peoples and governments.
The main objective of Truman Doctrine is to keep Russia’s Power or area of control within acceptable limits or boundaries.
PART II (50 Marks)
SECTION ‘A’
Attempt any two questions from this Section.
Question 3:
With reference to the Union Parliament, state:
(a) Three reasons to justify why the Lok Sabha is considered to be more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. [3]
(b) Three functions of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. [3]
(c) The procedure to be followed by the Union Parliament in passing a Money Bill. [4]
Answer:
(a) Lok Sabha is considered to be more powerful than the Rajya Sabha because :
- Member of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people.
- The money bills are introduced only in the Lok Sabha. Referring money bills to the Rajya Sabha is a mere constitutional formality.
- The council of Ministers is responsible only to Lok Sabha.
(b) Three Functions of the speaker:
- The Speaker preside over the meetings of the house. All speeches and remarks are addressed to the Speaker.
- He allots time for the discussion and decides who shall have the floor.
- The speaker admits or disallows questions, adjournment nations, resolutions and points of order.
(c) The process of passing a Money Bill is:
- Money Bill can’t originate in Rajya Sabha.
- A Money Bill after being passed by the Lok Sabha is sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations.
- The Rajya Sabha must return the money bill with or without recommendations within 14 days from the date of receipt.
- If it does not return the Bill within 14 days, it is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.
Question 4:
With reference to the powers of the President and the Governor, write on:
(a) The reasons for adopting the indirect method of election for the presidential election. [3]
(b) The options open to the Governor when an ordinary Bill is sent to him for his assent. [3]
(c) Any two judicial and two discretionary powers of the Governor. [4]
Answer:
(a) If the President was to be elected by the people, he could become a rival centre power to council of ministers. This would be against the parliamentary system with ministerial responsibility. Since the membership in the two houses of Parliament was likely to be dominated by one party, election of the President merely by a majority of members of the union Parliament could not represent the constituent states of the Union.
(b) Answer has not given due to out of present syllabus.
(c) Answer has not given due to out of present syllabus.
Question 5:
Like the Centre, the State too has a parliamentary system of Government in which the Governor plays the role of a constitutional head aided by the Chief Minister and his/her Council of Ministers. In this context state :
(a) Three similar features between the function of the Prime Minister in relation to the President, and the Chief Minister in relation to the Governor. [3]
(b) Any three ways in which the Parliament exercises an effective control over the Council of Ministers. [3]
(c) Any four functions of the Chief Minister in relation to the State Legislature. [4]
Answer:
(a) Function of the Prime Minister in relation to the President:
- Prime Minister is selected by the President.
- Prime Minister is the head of the Union Council of Ministers whereas the President is the head of the executive powers of the Union.
- The Cabinet Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
(b) Parliament exercises an effective control over the Council of Ministers by:
- Interpolation (The Question Hour): The purpose of the question is to obtain information on a matter of public importance or to ventilate a grievance. Question Hour provides on opportunity to members to hit hard at the Ministers.
- The Zero Hour: During zero hour members raise all types of questions, without any permission or prior notice.
- No Confidence Motion: The council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. It the Assembly passes a No-confidence motion, then the council of Minister must resign.
SECTION ‘B’
Attempt any three questions from this Section.
Question 6:
Describe the results of the First War of Independence, with reference to the following:
(a) Policy towards the Indian princes. [3]
(b) Rise of nationalism in India. [3]
(c) Changes in the administrative set-up of the British territories in India. [4]
Answer:
(a) (i) Queen Victoria Proclamation declared that the British Government would not annex the Indian states.
(ii) The rights of the princes and rulers were reduced and their military forces were limited, their continual existence was guaranteed.
(iii) Doctrine of Lapse was abolished and right to adoption was recognized.
(b) (i) The First War of Independence roused national feelings and paved the way for the rise of the National Movement.
(ii) The sacrifices of great Indian leaders and general people served as the source of inspiration for the struggle for freedom and served as the source of inspiration for the rise of the National Movement.
(iii) Due to the First War of Independence the Indian people realised that unless they wake up from the slumber and work with the feeling of self respect, unity, freedom and nationalism the country will remain under foreign, this realization rise the nationalistic feelings.
(c) Due to First War of Independence the following changes in the administrative set up of the British territories were introduced:
- The right of rule was transferred to British Government from the East India Company.
- British Government had lost faith in Indian soldiers, all important posts in army were given to British officers.
- The Board of Directors of the East India Company had abolished and the responsibility of Government of India was passed on to a separate ministers known as the Secretary of State for India.
- The Governor General was made the Viceroy who was the representative of the British Sovereign in India.
Question 7:
(a) Identify the persons ‘A’ and ‘B’ given above. To which section of the Congress did each belong and what were their ultimate objectives ? [3]
(b) Highlight three different methods of struggle adopted by each section of the Congress. [3]
(c) State the contributions of the person ‘B’ in the freedom struggle. [4]
Answer:
(a) A : Gopal Krishan Gokhale – He belonged to the moderate section of the congress.
B : Lala Lajpat Rai – He belonged to the extremist section of the congress.
Objectives: The ultimate objective of the Moderates was to bring constitutional and other reforms in India by presenting their demands before the British in peaceful way.
On the other hand, the Extremists believed in the ultimate objective of Swaraj Or self-rule. They wanted to put pressure on England through revolutionary methods, and political agitation.
(b) Methods adopted by:
Moderates: The Moderates had full faith in British sense of Justice and fairplay and believed that Indians needed a balanced presentation of its demands before the British rulers. Therefore they did not follow a policy of confrontation but highlighted their problems in the following manner:
- They organized meetings and passed resolutions to achieve popular demands.
- They submitted memorandums and petitions to the government.
- They criticized the wrong policies of the government through Press.
- They sent high-level delegations to England to present Indian viewpoint before the British government. (any three)
Extremists: The Extremists favoured the use of force and revolutionary methods for achieving their aims. The Extremists followed harsh methods and assorted to passive resistance. They adopted the following methods for the struggle :
- The Extremists mainly relied on the strength of their masses. They converted the national movement into a mass movement.
- Swadeshi was adopted by the Extremists to hit the British. It was a clear cut break from the method adopted by the Moderates.
- National education and boycott were other methods to achieve Swaraj. Swadeshi and Boycott were two sides of the same coin intended as an economic challenge to the British rule. Boycott was based on the philosophy of passive resistance. It involved withdrawing all cooperation to the government by boycotting everything such as British goods, offices and education. They also laid stress on national education. There was a need for promoting an education which could strengthen the national feelings. On 15th Aug., 1906, the National Council of Education was set up.
(c) The notable contributions of Lala Lajpat Rai in the freedom struggle were :
- Being an aggressive nationalist, he exhorted people to fight repression with full strength during the Anti-Partition agitation.
- He started a newspaper called “The Young India” to propagate his ideas of radical nationalism among the people of India.
- He motivated the people to take action against the British rulers rather than prayers and petitions. For this purpose he delivered many seditious speeches due to this he was arrested and deported to Mandalay in prison fpr six months.
- He was assaulted by a British sergeant while demonstrating against the Simon Commission in Lahore in 1928. This incident fuelled anti-British passion and enraged revolutionaries.
Question 8:
In 1919 Gandhiji plunged into India’s struggle for freedom. He guided the affairs of the Indian National Congress with new techniques. Through various national movements he got the public support to win freedom for India.
In this context explain :
(a) The reasons leading to the Non-Cooperation movement. [3]
(b) Which resolution was passed on 8th August, 1942 leading to a mass struggle on non-violent lines ? State any two reasons behind the launching of this movement. [3]
(c) The impact of the non-cooperation movement in India’s struggle for freedom. [4]
Answer:
(a) Reasons Leading to the Non-cooperation Movement are:
- In 1918, those peasants who had been facing the effects of famine and drought resorted to Satyagraha to have their demands fulfilled. In 1918-1919 Ahmedabad mill workers strike also received Gandhi’s support. These movements of local character brought Gandhi closer to the life of the people. He would now think of challenging the total authority of the Government.
- The Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 to curb the growing nationalist upsurge in the country as this act gave enormous power to the police to search a place and arrest any person they disapproved of without warrant.
- During a protest meeting in Amritsar against Rowlatt Act, the military commander of Amritsar, General O’Dyer ordered firing on a peaceful and unarmed gathering in which 1200 people got killed and 300 got injured, which shocked Gandhiji and he decided to stop co-operation with the British Government at all levels.
(b) Two reasons behind the launching of Quit India Movement are:
- India was not willing to take part in the Second World War but was forced to join without any consent. Due to this the economy of the country worsened and the expenditure went up three folds. Due to this congress decided to start Quit India Movement.
- On the night of 9th August the British Government arrested many eminent leaders like Gandhiji, Moulana Azad, Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members, of working committee and sent them to Pune. This hasty action of the Government lead to start the movement without any effort.
(c) Impact of the Non-cooperation movement on the National Movement:
- The National Movement truly became a mass movement.
- It brought forward Hindu-Muslim unity as Khilafat leaders actively supported the Non-cooperation movement.
- The Demand for Swaraj became much more popular.
- The movement provide a great national base to the congress.
Question 9:
It was the hope of the Founding Fathers of the United Nations that with the goodwill and cooperation of all member-states, it would be able to function effectively. With reference to this:
(a) Explain the composition of the Security Council. [3]
(b) Mention any three objectives of the United Nations. [3]
(c) Write the expanded form of the UNICEF and state three functions of this agency. [4]
Answer:
(a) The Security Council is the executive body of the UN. It is composed of fifteen member nations. The USA, Russia, England, France and China are its permanent members. The other ten non-permanent members are elected by General Assembly for two years term. Each member of the Council has one vote.
(b) Three objectives of the United Nations:
- To save succeeding generations from the ‘Scourge of War’
- To maintain international peace and security and to take effective measures for removal of threats to the peace.
- To develop friendly relations among nations and to achieve international cooperation in solving problems of economic, social and cultural character.
(c) UNICEF: United Nations International Children Emergency fund.
Three Functions of UNICEF
- To render assistance in providing protective food like milk, meat, fish and fats to the children. It also takes care of interests of women and pregnant mothers.
- To provide funds for the training of health and sanitation workers, nutritionists and creche workers.
- Universal Child Immunization against preventable diseases by 1990 was one of the leading goals of UNICEF.
Question 10:
With reference to the Non-Aligned Movement, state:
(a) The names of the architects of the Non-Aligned Movement. What is meant by Non-Alignment ? [3]
(b) The factors that led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement. [3]
(c) The role of Nehru in the Non-Aligned Movement. [4]
Answer:
(a) President Sukarno of Indonesia, President Tito of Yugoslavia, President Nasser of Egypt and Prime Minister Jawahar lal Nehru of India.
Non-Alignment: Non-alignment is an independent movement that enables each nation to follow its own policies without joining any super power blocs nor coming under their influence. A non-aligned nation judges an issue on its merit. It upholds the rights of all people for freedom and allows them to have a choice of action on international issues. An important aspect of non-alignment is its antipathy to military alliance and its opposition to any form of imperialism. The Non-Aligned Movement has become one of the biggest peace movements in the world. The members of NAM are increasing steadily. At present, there are 108 members. President Tito defined NAM in the first summit at Belgrade, “This group of non- aligned countries is not a bloc, but a group of like-minded nations.” Though sometimes it is referred to as the Third Bloc NAM is exactly what its name implies, a movement rather than an organisation.
(b) Factors that led to the formation of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM):
- The concept of non-alignment emerged soon after the World War II. It arose as a reaction against Cold War tensions and Military alliances.
- It was also an assertion of the national independence by nations of Africa and Asia.
- Another factor responsible for the adoption of policy was the poverty of these nations.
(c) Role of Nehru in the Non-Aligned Movement:
- Nehru was largely responsible for the adoption of the said statement— Statement on the Danger of War and Appeal for Peace.
- (a) He laid emphasis on negotiations for peace,
(b) Negotiations for complete disarmament, and
(c) Ending imperialism in all its form. - Nehru opposed the very idea of Power Blocs and strong condemnation of Acts of Aggression.