ISC History Previous Year Question Paper 2010 Solved for Class 12
Maximum Marks: 80
Time allowed: Three hours
- Candidates are allowed additional 15 minutes for only reading the paper. They must NOT start writing during this time.
- Answer Question 1 (Compulsory) from Part I and five questions from Part II, choosing two questions from Section A, two
- questions from Section B and one question from either Section A or Section B.
- The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets [ ].
Part-I
Answer all questions
Question 1. [20]
(i) State one action taken by Tllak to arouse the feeling of Nationalism among the people
(ii) Name two well-known revolutionary organisations in Bengal and Maharashtra (one each).
(iii) Who led the deputation of Muslims that met Lord Minto in 1906 ?
(iv) Why did the Indians resent the Rowlatt Act of 1919 ?
(v) Which incident led to the suspension of the Non-cooperation Movement by Gandhiji ?
(vi) What was the impact of the Poona Pact of 1932 ?
(vii) Write the expanded forms of AITUC and AIKS.
(viii) When and in which year was the Quit India Resolution passed ?
(ix) Mention any two proposals contained in the Indian Independence Act.
(x) Give the name of the agreement signed by India and Pakistan relating to sharing of river waters.
(xi) What was the purpose of the Dopolavaro set up by Mussolini ?
(xii) State one way in which Hitler eliminated unemployment in Germany.
(xiii) Mention one economic problem that led to the rise of militarism in Japan.
(xiv) What was the Pact of Steel ?
(xv) What was the significance of the Battle of El Alamein in 1942 ?
(xvi) Mention any one primary objective of the EEC.
(xvii) Under which provision was the position of the United Nations General Assembly strengthened ?
(xviii) Name two founder members of ASEAN.
(xix) Why was the World Zionist Organization formed ?
(xx) Who was the chief of the PLO when it was formed ?
Answer:
(viii) The Quit India Resolution was passed on 8 August, 1942.
(ix) The two proposals contained in the Indian Independence Act were :
- The princely states were given the choice to join either of the Dominions or to retain their independence.
- Pakistan was to comprise of territories of Sind, British Baluchistan, North Western Frontier Province, the West Punjab and East Bengal.
(x) Indus Waters Treaty (1960) was the name of the agreement signed by India and Pakistan relating to sharing of river waters.
(xii) Created even more jobs – money spent on manufacturing weapons, tanks, ships & aircraft. Heavy industry especially benefited. 1933-39 production of coal & chemicals doubled, oil and iron & steel trebled and iron ore extraction increased five-fold. Expansion of army created more jobs – from 100,000 in 1933 (the limit set by Versailles Treaty) to 900,000 by 1938.
(xiii) This world-wide depression led to a collapse of international trade because each country raised protective tariffs to protect her own interests. This development was fatal to Japan’s economy which depended heavily on export trade. Thus, between 1929 and 1931, Japan’s exports dropped by 50%, unemployment reached 3 million, and peasants real income dropped one-third as a result of falling prices for silk. Then, there was a failure of rice crop in 1932. Such rural distresses intensified the discontents of the army officers, many of whom had connections with the rural population. The people lost faith in democratic means and strengthened the case of militarism.
(xiv) The pact of steel, known formally as the pact of friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was a military and political alliance between the kingdom of Italy and Nazi Germany.
(xv) The Second Battle of El Alamein pushed all German forces out of North Africa and opened up the way for the invasion of Sicily and Italy. It was a major defeat for Rommel’s Desert Army. Winston Churchill was quoted as saying: “before Alamein we never won a battle, after Alamein we never lost one”.
(xvi) The EEC (European Economic Community) was formed in 1958 after the Treaty of Rome by six countries- Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Italy. Their goals were to achieve a new age of peace, democracy, cooperation and economic union and prosperity between the European nations and citizens after the World War II.
(xvii) Uniting for Peace Resolution 1950 was the provision which strengthened the position of the United Nations General Assembly.
(xix) The World Zionist Organization was founded as the Zionist Organization in 1897. It changed its name to World Zionist Organization in lanuary, 1960. The Zionist Organization served as an umbrella organization for the Zionist movement, whose objective was the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
(xx) Yasser Arafat was the chief of the PLO when it was formed.
Part-I
Section—A
Question 2.
(a) Describe the causes and circumstances that the closing decades of the 19th and early years of the 20th century. [10]
(b) What were the motives of Lord Curzon behind the partition of Bengal ? [6]
Question 3.
(a) What was the impact of the First World War on Indian Politics ? [10]
(b) What were the activities of the Home Rule League ? [4]
(c) Name two prominent leaders of the Ghadar Party. [2]
Question 4.
(a) . What were the events which led to the Jalianwala Bagh massacre ? [4]
(b) Why did Mahatma Gandhi support the Khilafat Movement ? [2]
(c) Discuss the development of the Non-cooperation Movement. [10]
Question 5.
On August 8, 1940, a new policy called the ‘August Offer’ was announced. In this context, answer the following questions :
(a) What was the chief proposal of the ‘August Offer’ ? Why was the August Offer rejected by the Congress ? [4]
(b) What was the importance of the Lahore Session of 1940 ? [4]
(c) Why did the Cripps Mission come to India ? What were the proposals of the Cripps Mission? Why were the proposals rejected by almost all the Indian political parties ? [8]
Answer:
(a) In June 1940, Quaid-e-Azam and M. A. Jinnah had made some proposals, for bringing cooperation between the League and the Government. In these proposals, Jinnah had demanded that the Muslim leadership should be treated equally in the matter of authority and control in the Central and Provincial Governments.
The Viceroy had rejected all the proposals made by Quaid-e-Azam. But neither Quaid-e- Azam nor the British Government was disheartened by the lack of any agreement between the Congress and the League or between the Govem-ment and the League or Congress. On 8 August, 1940, the British Government made a significant pronouncement which came to be known as the August Offer.
The Offer contained the following points :
The British Government had decided not to postpone either the expansion of the Executive Council or the establishment of War Advisory Council which would more closely associate the public opinion with the conduct of war.
To remove the doubts of the Indian people it stated, no constitutional change, interim or final, will be undertaken by Parliament unless there had been antecedent agreement not only between the geographical units but also between the main social elements both as to manner of framing the constitution and the constitution itself. The safeguard of the rights of minorities and untouchable communities was also assured.
The work of constitution framing was not possible during the war. The representative body for this purpose would be set up after the conclusion of the war.
It was also assured that the Great Britain still offered Dominion Status to India. In the beginning, the Muslim League accepted the offer, as they were happy with the assurance that no future constitution would be framed without their approval. However, they made it clear that the partition of India was the only solution to future constitutional problems. Later, both the Muslim League and Congress rejected the offer. Congress wanted the transfer of power to occur at once; the problem of establishing Hindu-Muslim parity was to be postponed until after the war.
The British wanted to win the war first and transfer the power afterwards, while the Muslim League insisted on an immediate Hindu-Muslim settlement. Thus, when the Viceroy formed a National Defence Council in 1941, Quaid-e- Azam ordered all members of the Muslim League to resign from it.
(b) At a League conference in Lahore in 1940, Jinnah said: “Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs and literature. It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the Government of such a state.”
At Lahore the League formally recommitted itself to creating an independent Muslim state called Pakistan, including Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan, the North West Frontier Province and Bengal, that would be “wholly autonomous and sovereign.” The resolution guaranteed protection for non-Muslim religions. The Lahore Resolution was adopted on March 23, 1940, and its principles formed the foundation for Pakistan’s first constitution. Talks between Jinnah and Gandhi in 1944 in Bombay failed to achieve agreement. This was the last attempt to reach a single-state solution.
(c) In December 1941, the Japanese attacked an American naval base in Hawaii, and the United States entered the war against Japan, Germany
and Italy. Japan won a series of dramatic victories in the Western Pacific. Malaya and Singapore were overrun, and the retreating Anglo-Indian army surrendered Rangoon without a fight in early March. Soon the Japanese were at India’s eastern frontier, and an invasion of the country seemed imminent.
For some time the United States had been pressing Britain to satisfy Indian demands for self-government. But Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was dead-set against this.
But in March 1940, while Japanese troops were advancing through Burma, it became clear to Churchill that he would have to make some gesture, both to gain the support of the Indian people, and also to satisfy his American allies.
Late in March, Churchill sent Sir Stafford Cripps, a socialist member of the war cabinet, to negotiate with Indian leaders on behalf of the Government. Cripps brought a new set of proposals. The Government promised ‘the earliest possible realization of self-government in India1. A ‘new Indian union’ would be created which would be a ‘dominion, associated with the United Kingdom and the other dominions by a common allegiance to the Crown, but equal to them in every respect, in no way subordinate1 to them.
India would be able to frame its own constitution after the war. A new central executive council would operate till then. The net result of this would be that ‘in place of the majority of British members in the existing executive council, there would be an executive council composed of Indians alone, this statement was given by the current Congress President Abul Kalam Azad. This would mean that India would enjoy a significant measure of self-government .even before the conclusion of the war.
In exchange of these concessions, the British asked for India’s support in its war effort. Leaders of the principal sections of the Indian people were invited to give their active and constructive help in the discharge of a task. This task was vital and essential for the future freedom of India, namely the defeat of the Axis dictatorships. A few leaders of Indian opinion responded favourably to Cripps’s proposals. M. N. Roy, who was the Head of the Radical Democratic Party, supported them on the grounds that the defeat of the axis was the most important thing at the moment. But practically every other shade of opinion in India found the proposals unacceptable.
Most parties doubted the truth of Britain’s declared intention to share executive power. They could see that the Indian members of the proposed council could be prevented from taking part in the decision-making process. This happened especially in the critical area of defence. The clause that permitted provinces to break away from the proposed union was very clear. It can be explained as in the eyes of Congress leaders, ‘a severe blow to the conception of Indian unity’, for it admitted the possibility of a separate Muslim state. Muslim leaders felt that the mere possibility was not enough. They claimed that partition was ‘the only solution of India’s constitutional problem.’
These were not the only reasons the Cripps offer was rejected. The Indian people were not ready to trust a country that for almost two centuries had betrayed their confidence. It was too late for everything.
Section—B
Question 6.
(a) Examine the events from 1921 on wards, that culminated in Mussolini becoming the Prime Minister of Italy in October, 1922. [8]
(b) Discuss the main features of the Fascist state under Mussolini. [8]
Question 7.
(a) What is meant by the term appeasement ? Why did Britain and France follow this policy towards Germany ? [10]
(b) Explain the vital role played by the Battle of the Atlantic. [6]
Answer:
(a) Appeasement is a diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an enemy power to avoid war. This term is often in context with a country’s foreign policy. Actually appeasement was followed by Britain first and later on by France.
The purpose of this policy of Britain was to avoid war with aggressive powers such as Germany, Italy and Japan by giving way to their demands, provided the demands were not too unreasonable.
The appeasement policy was seen during the Jews and young plans which tried to appease Germany. During this period there was vague feeling that war could be avoided at all cost.
Hitler violated the clauses of the treaty of Versailles; the League of Nations appeared to be helpless. Britain thus, volunteered, by personal contacts with leaders, to settle disputes.
The Italian victory at Abyssinia was a grave blow to the League of Nations because this action of Italy proved the ineffectiveness of collective security system. Actually Britain and France were not militarily and economically prepared for war and were anxious to avoid any action which might provoke Italy into war with them. Germany occupied Rhineland, ignoring the treaty of Versailles. Britain and France protested only and it revealed again the weakness of Britain and France.
Question 8.
‘The basic cause of conflict lay in the difference of principles between the communist and the democratic states’. In this context, explain how the following events led to the development of the cold-war :
(a) The Potsdam Conference. [4]
(b) The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.
(c) The Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia. [4]
(d) The Berlin Blockade. [4]
Answer:
(b) The Truman Doctrine : On February 21, 1947, the British Government informed the United States that it would no longer be capable of supporting its aid to Greece and Turkey, two west controlled nations which geographically fell within the natural sphere of Soviet influence. Turkey was under heavy Soviet pressure, being a powerful place from which to gain influence over the Mediterranean Sea. The Soviet Union was not, however, responsible for the civil unrest in Greece, but this fact was either missed or simply overlooked.
Fearing that Soviet power would expand, Marshall, Acheson, and Kennan recommended to the President that America pick up where Britain was leaving off. Truman agreed, and the Truman Doctrine, was put into place. In reality, the Truman Doctrine only covered Greece and Turkey, but the philosophy itself was enduring beyond only these two. The Truman Doctrine might be considered the official “declaration of cold war” that got the Cold War underway.
The Marshall Plan : Greece and Turkey were not the only countries faltering in the post World War II environment. It was because of Britain’s decline that the Truman Doctrine was necessary, and now it was necessary to recover Britain as well. Americans believed that all of Europe was susceptible to Soviet subversion, and that the problem was economic in nature. They threw more money.
European workers were demoralized, food was scarce, equipment was out of repair, and the European economy was in the crapper. Inclement weather worsened the situation. As is the case in any country suffering from harsh economy from this point onward, the Socialist Party, at this time the Communist Party, was growing in strength. The United States feared that if things continued as they were, Communism would spread throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and the World. The duty to contain Communism had just become more important.
Marshall created a plan to offer aid to any European country that wanted it, including Russia, as pjjmeans to combat communism. Before it was ever taken to a vote in America, the Soviet Union withdrew from the delibera-tions and refused aid, correctly seeing that it was an attempt to undermine Soviet power. It was not easy to get through Congress, but in 1948 a civil unrest in Czechoslovakia sparked a war scare and the proposal was passed with a heavy majority. American money fostered the industrialization of Europe and effectively neutered Communist influence outside of the Soviet Union’s sphere of control.
(c) During the summer of 1947, the Communists began a campaign of political agitation and intrigue that gave them complete control of the Czech Government in Feb., 1948. In March, Jan Masaryk, the non-Communist foreign minister, died in suspicious circumstances. After the adoption of a new constitution (Benes resigned rather than sign it), a new legislature was elected and enacted a program for nationalizing the economy was formulated and enacted. Czechoslovakia became a Soviet- style state.
Political and cultural liberty was curtailed, and purge trials were conducted from 1950 to 1952. Riots occurred in 1953, reflecting economic discontent. A very modest liberalization trend begun in response but was reversed in Nov. 1957, when Antonin Novotny became President. In 1960, a new constitution was enacted. Another cautious movement toward liberalization was initiated in 1963. Restrictions on the press, education, and cultural activities were eased, and local authorities received increased economic autonomy. Profit considerations were introduced into the economy. Czechoslovakia became celebrated internationally for its experimental theater work and its many fine films. But political power remained the exclusive possession of a small circle in the Communist party.
That factor, the sluggishness of the economy (despite the reforms), and Slovak resentment over Novotny’s Czech-dominated administration, produced the startling developments of 1968. Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak, replaced Novotny as party leader in January; Ludvik Svoboda became President in March. Under Dubcek, in what is known as Prague Spring, democratization went further than in any other Communist state. Press censorship was reduced, and the restoration of a genuinely democratic political life seemed possible. Slovakia was granted political autonomy.
Seriously alarmed at what it construed to be a threat to Soviet security and to the supremacy within the USSR of the Soviet Communist party, the USSR with some of its Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia in Aug., 1968. Dubcek and other leaders were taken to Moscow. Despite opposition by the populace, the USSR forced the repeal of most of the reforms. A revised constitution was promulgated. (Slovakian autonomy was retained.) In Apr., 1969, Dubcek was replaced as party leader, and in June, 1970, he was expelled from the party.
In the early 1970s there were many efforts to stamp out dissent, including mass arrests, union purges, and religious persecution. The repressive policies and rigid Soviet-style economic policies continued throughout the 1970s despite inflation and a sluggish economy. In 1977, the appearance of a declaration of human rights called Charter 77, which was signed by 700 intellectuals and former party leaders, instigated further . repressive measures.
Question 9.
The partition of Palestine and the creation of . Israel became the bone of contention between Arabs and Jews. In this context :
(a) Discuss the causes, events and results of the Six Day War. [10]
(b) Explain how religious differences were responsible for the outbreak of the civil war in Lebanon. [6]
Answer:
(a) In May 1967, Egypt and Syria took a number of steps which led Israel to believe that an Arab attack was imminent. On May 16, Nasser ordered a withdrawal of the United Nations Emergency Forces (UNEF) stationed on the Egyptian-Israeli border, thus removing the international buffer between Egypt and Israel which had existed since 1957. On May 22, Egypt announced a blockade of all goods bound to and from Israel through the Straits of Tiran. Israel had held since 1957 that Egyptian blockade of the Tiran Straits would justify Israeli military action to maintain free access to the port of Eilat. Syria increased border clashes with Israel along the Golan Heights and mobilized its troops.
The U.S. feared a major Arab-Israeli and superpower confrontation and asked Israel to delay military action pending a diplomatic resolution of the crisis. On May 23, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson publicly reaffirmed that the Gulf of Aqaba was an international waterway and declared that a blockade of Israeli shipping was illegal. In accordance with U.S. wishes, the Israeli cabinet voted five days later to withhold military action.
The U.S., however, gained little support in the international community for its idea of a maritime force that would compel Egypt to open the waterway and it abandoned its diplomatic efforts in this regard. On May 30, President Nasser and King Hussein signed a mutual defense pact, followed on June 4 by a defense pact between Cairo and Baghdad. Also that week, Arab states began mobilizing their troops. Against this backdrop, Nasser and other Egyptian leaders intensified their anti- Israel rhetoric and repeatedly called for a war of total destruction against Israel.
Arab mobilization compelled Israel to mobilize its troops, 80 percent of which were reserve civilians. Israel feared slow economic strangulation because long-term mobilization of such a majority of the society meant that the Israeli economy and polity would be brought to a virtual standstill. Militarily, Israeli leaders feared the consequences of absorbing an Arab first strike against its civilian population, many of whom lived only miles from Arab- controlled territory. Incendiary Arab rhetoric threatening Israel’s annihilation terrified Israeli society and contributed to the pressures to go to war.
Against this background, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Egypt on June 5, 1967 and captured the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Despite an Israeli appeal to Jordan to stay out of the conflict,”Jordan attacked Israel and lost control of the West Bank and the eastern sector of Jerusalem. Israel went on to capture the Golan Heights from Syria. The war ended on June 10.
Israel did indeed simultaneously attack Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq on June 5, 1967. It had little choice. For weeks leading up to that day, Israel’s Arab enemies upped the temperature by amassing troops on the borders of the tiny Jewish state, while threatening murder and mayhem.