ISC History Previous Year Question Paper 2011 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) Why did the Japanese victory in the Russo- Japanese War (1905) lead to the rise of radical nationalism in India ?
(ii) Give any two examples of industries set up by Indian nationalists during the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement.
(iii) Name the two Acts passed by the British in 1919, that reflected the dual policy followed by them in India.
(iv) Name any two prominent leaders among the pro-changers in the Congress.
(v) Where and why did Mahatma Gandhi launch his first great experiment in Satyagraha in India ?
(vi) Who was the President of the All-India States Peoples ’ Conference in 1939 ?
(vii) Which event after the Second World War, convinced the British that they could no longer depend on the loyalty of the armed forces in India ?
(viii) Name any one outstanding Congress leader among women, during the freedom movement.
(ix) On what grounds did Jinnah justify his two- nation theory ?
(x) Which state decided to join the Indian Union after an armed incursion supported by Pakistan in 1947 ?
(xi) Mention any two adverse effects of the Great Depression of 1929 on the Italian economy ?
(xii) Who passed the Enabling Law ? What was its significance ?
(xiii) What agreements did
(a) Mussolini and
(b) Hitler sign with the Pope in order to gain his support ?
(xiv) Why is the Battle of Britain regarded as the first major turning point in the Second World War ?
(xv) Why was the formation of NATO a highly significant development in the context of American foreign policy ?
(xvi) What effect did the Abyssinian War have on Mussolini’s relationship with Hitler ?
(xvii) State one reason for the ‘thaw’ in the Cold War.
(xviii) Why is it necessary to increase the number of permanent members in the Security Council ?
(xix) What was Britain’s main objection to joining the EEC in its formative years ?
(xx) Why did the Arabs consider the Sykes-Picot Treaty, a breach of faith by the British Government ?
Answer:
(vi) Jawaharlal Nehru.
(vii) There was a revolt of the Indian naval ratings at Mumbai in February 1946, they fought a 7 hour battle with the army and navy and had surrendered only when asked to do so by the national leaders. There were also widespread strikes in the royal Indian air force. The Indian signal cops at Jabalpur also went on strike.
(ix) Jinnah justified his Two Nation theory by declaring that the real aim of the Congress was not independence but a Hindu Raj, hostile to Muslim minorities.
(x) Kashmir decided to join the Indian Union after an armed incursion supported by Pakistan in 1947.
(xii) The enabling Act was an amendment to the German constitution which was passed by Hitler. It basically gave Hitler dictator powers and the right to enact laws without involvement of the German Reichstag. It was combined with the previous by passed Reichstag fire decree, which transferred state rights to the central government.
(xiii) In July 1933, Hitler and pope signed a concordat, according to which the church renounced guaranteed the right to free worship to circulate Pastoral Epistles, to maintain catholic schools and property. Mussolini signed the Lateran treaty in 1929 which made Vatican City a separate independent state, recognized Catholicism as the state sponsored religion and gave the church 750 million lire in compensation for the Vatican loss of sovereignty over the Papal States in the 1800’s.
(xiv) When the British did not surrender, Hitler called off the attack and went on to invade Russia thus, opening war on both fronts. Germany’s failure in the Battle of Britain thus, became one of the major reasons for the ultimate German defeat. This was Hitler’s first defeat.
(xv) The NATO was formed primarily to oppose the Russian influence in Western Europe, thus, the formation of NATO was highly significant in the context of American foreign policy.
(xvi) Italy had full admiration of Germany for her! role during Abyssinia conquest. Italy cartie closer to Germany and made understanding with Hitler by forming the Rome-Berlin axis. So, in the Seccyid World War Mussolini joined Germany and declared war on Britain and France.
(xvii) The death of Stalin in 1953 was probably the starting of the ‘thaw’ in the cold war because new leaders came to the forefront in Russia.
(xviii) The necessity is felt to increase the number of permanent members in Security Council to restore harmony and ensure wider cooperation and goodwill with third World Nations.
(xx) Arabs thought British Government played a double role by assuring the Arabs an independent Arabia and the Jews a homeland in Palestine. So, they
consi-dered the Sykes-Picot Treaty, a breach of faith by the British Government
Part-II
Section—A
Question 2.
Several factors were responsible for the communalisation of Indian politics (1885-1919). In this context, discuss :
(a) The initial rejection of Western education by
(b) The communal tinge in the ideas and activities of certain radical nationalist leaders. [6]
(c) The views of Sayyid Ahmad Khan after the establishment of the Indian National Congress. [6]
Question 3.
(a) Why was the Simon Commission sent to India ? [6]
(b) Give an account of the significant Indian Muslims developments in the National Movement from the Lahore Session of the Congress in 1929 to the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1931. [10]
Question 4.
With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, discuss :
(a) The elections of 1937. [4]
(b) The achievements of the Congress ministries. [8]
(c) The causes for the rift between the Muslim League and the Congress. [4]
Answer:
(a) In the elections under the Government of India Act, 1935, the mandate of the people came in favour of the Congress. The Congress swept the polls ,so far as general Hindu seats were concerned. Out of the 38 seats reserved for the labour, the Congress contested 20 seats and won 18 seats. Of the 482 seats reserved as Muslim seats, the Congress contested 58 seats and won only 26 seats. For commerce and industry, 56 seats were reserved. The Congress won only 3 seats. In five provinces, Congress had a clear majority.
In Bengal, NWFP, Assam and Bombay, the Congress emerged as the single largest party. Thus, the Congress formed ministries in 7 provinces out of 11 provinces. Coalition ministries were also formed in 2 other provinces. Only Bengal and Punjab had non-Congress ministries. On the other hand, the performance of Muslim League was not better. The Muslim League could not get a single seat in NWFP. In Punjab, the Muslim League got only 2 seats out of the 84 reserved seats.
(b) The major achievement of Congress Ministries were : 1. Reduction of the salaries of the ministers, 2. Welfare scheme for the tribals, 3. Jail reforms and, 4. Declaration of Fundamental rights. Although the Congress formed ministries in different provinces, they actually failed to introduce land reforms. The Marxist writers highlight that the zamindars and landlords had influence on the Congress. Naturally, the Congress ministries did not want to alienate this class. On the other hand, in UP, most of the talukdars were Muslims and land reform would affect their interests and they might side with the league. Congress required the cooperation of all the sections including the landed aristocracy. Though the people had great expectations, the Congress ministries were not destined to rule for long. The Congress ministries resigned in November 1939, on the war issue.
(c) In the Round Table Conference, it was taken for granted that the main communities, particularly, the Hindus and the Muslims, would be represented in the provincial ministries. But after the spectacular victory, the Congress did not accommodate any other group like Muslim League in any ministry. This became an important issue in UP when the Congress assumed the office. The Congress offered two seats to the Muslim league on certain conditions which the League rejected outrightly. The Muslim community felt that they had no political future as long as the Congress was in power. The Muslim League then accused the Congress of discrimination against the. minorities.
The Muslim League then appointed a committee to collect information on the subject. The Report of the committee contained a long list of charges against the Congress. Thus, throughout the 27 months of Congress rule in provinces, the League carried on intense anti-Congress propaganda. The charges of the League included failure to prevent communal riots, ban on Bakra eid cow slaughter, singing of Vande Mataram on public occasions, encouragement of Hindi at the cost of Urdu and discrimination towards the Muslims. The Congress denied the charges of the Muslim League but the Muslims now started to think that the Congress was going to introduce a ‘Hindu Raj’ against the interest of the Muslims.
Question 5.
(a) Give an account of Government repression of the Revolt of1942. [6]
(b) Discuss the revival of the INA and its contribution to India’s struggle for freedom under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose. [10]
Answer:
(a) The Government mobilised all its forces to suppress the Quit India Movement of 1942. The authorities adopted some common methods like arrests, detentions, flogging, firing and punitive fines. The press was completely muzzled. By the end of 1943, throughout India, the official figures for arrests stood at 91,836. The number of people killed in police firing was 1060 by 1943. Apart from the Government figure, many more had died and became wounded by police torture. In Midnapore, the Government forces had burnt 31 Congress camps and 164 private houses. The Government even used aeroplanes to gun down demons-trators at least in 5 places in Bihar, Orissa and Bengal. The Government also collected punitive fines from the residents of the areas affected by the Quit India Movement.
Question 6.
(a) Explain the circumstances that prompted the British to send the Cabinet Mission Plan to India. [6]
(b) State six major provisions of the Cabinet Mission Plan. [6]
(c) What were the reactions of the : [4]
(i) Congress to the proposals of the Cabinet Mission Plan ?
(ii) Muslim League to the proposals of the Cabinet Mission Plan ?
Answer:
(a) In July 1945, the Labour Party came to power in Britain and hopes were raised for an early settlement of the Indian question. To solve the Indian deadlock, the British Prime Minister Clement Atlee, decided to send a special mission to India in March 1946, consisting of three British Cabinet members Patrick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander.
The objective was to find out ways and means for a negotiated settlement to transfer power to the Indian people. The Cabinet Mission held extensive discussion with the Congress, the Muslim League and other Indian political groups, but failed to reach any agreed settlement on the constitutional issue. Jinnah stood firm on his demand for Pakistan, while Congress vigorously opposed the two-nation theory of Jinnah. The Cabinet Mission also rejected the idea of two sovereign states because that would not solve the problem of the minorities.
Section—B
Question 7.
(a) The Wall Street Crash of 1929 dealt a severe blow to the Weimar Republic Explain.
(b) Mention the two main economic aims of the Nazi State. What policies did the Nazis follow to achieve these aims ? [8]
(c) Why were Hitler’s policies popular with the :
(i) Workers.
(ii) Wealthy industrialists.
Answer:
(b) (i) Full employment : The idea that everyone should have a job. By 1939, there was virtually no unemployment in Germany.
(ii) To maintain the support of the population. (.i.e., feeding the population, providing basic needs).
(iii) To make Germany a global military and industrial superpower.
(iv) Hitler’s economic reforms.
(v) He introduced five year plans to have greater production.
(vi) Factories were set up to provide work to the labourers.
(vii) Industrialist and agricultural production and trade were encouraged.
A food corporation was established to control food production, its pricing and distribution. Price controls were introduced and incentives were provided for workers.
Imports and exports were controlled to maintain favorable trade balance. The production of heavy armaments, airplanes and naval ships on a large scale was increased.
(c) Reasons for popularity of Hitler’s policy with the workers :
- Capitalists were encouraged to increase production and strikes were banned.
- Imports and exports were controlled to maintain favorable trade balance.
- It also encouraged factory owners to improve conditions for workers for example : improved canteens, toilets and sometimes even sports facilities.
Reasons for popularity of Hitler’s policy with the industrialists :
- He encouraged agriculture production.
- A food corporation was established to control food production its pricing and distribution.
- He concentrated on building infrastructures which in turn helped in building the import and export.
Question 8.
The 1930’s witnessed the collapse of the international order. In this context, explain :
(a) The ideological, economic and political ‘ reasons for the rise of militarism in Japan. [10]
(b) The declaration of a ‘New Order in East Asia’ and its impact. [6]
Question 9.
(a) Give an account of the events that led to the American entry into the Second World War. [4]
(b) Discuss the contribution of the US to the victory of the Allies in the Pacific with reference to : [6]
(i) The battle of Midway Island.
(ii) The island-hopping campaign.
(c) Explain any three reasons for the defeat of the Axis powers. [6]
Answer:
(a) During the Second world War, Americans wanted to help Britain in all possible ways. In March 1941, the US Congress empowered the US Government to help the warring states with arms against the Axis power by passing the Lend lease Act. America thus became the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’. As a result, from 1941 America with her huge armaments came forward to help the Allied powers against Hitler. In 1941 in the North-Atlantic Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill accepted the Eight Point Programme of War Aims for the Second World War. Till the end of the war, they tried to observe those principles.
(b) At ‘Midway Island’ in the Pacific in June 1942, the Americans beat off a powerful Japanese attack. The Japanese forces became weaker due to the loss of their aircraft carriers and strike aircrafts, especially dive bombers. Gradually, America recovered the Pacific Islands. The struggle continued through 1943 and 1944 by a process known as ‘Island Hopping’ by which America recovered the Pacific Islands gradually. In this way, Midway became a crucial turning point in the battle of the Pacific.
(c) The reasons for the defeat of the Axis powers in the Second World War : There were many reasons for the defeat of the Axis powers in the war which are given below :
Americans helped Britain and other Allied powers in all possible ways. In March 1941, the U.S. Congress empowered the U.S. Government to help the Allied Powers with arms against the Axis Powers by passing the ‘Lend-lease Act’. America thus, became the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’. As a result from 1941, America with her huge armaments came forward to help the Allied powers against Hitler. In 1941, in the North-Atlantic Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill accepted the Eight point Programme of war aim for the Second World War. Till the end of the war, they tried to observe those principles.
The combined resources of America, Russia and Britain were so great that it was impossible for the Axis powers to win. The Russians reconstructed their industries and continued production of war material to a large extent. It has been estimated that, by 1944 they had four times as many tanks as the Germans and could put twice as many men in the field. America manufactured over 70,000 tanks and 20,000 aircrafts a year, with which the Germans and the Japanese could not compete at all.
The Axis Powers also made a number of tactical mistakes which proved detrimental to them. For example, Japan failed to realise the importance of aircraft carriers and concentrated more and more on battleships. Japan did not possess the reserves of men and materials to meet the counter attacks which she deliberately invited. On the other hand, the United States was in a position by December 1941, to produce new ships, aeroplanes, guns and trained men in unlimited number. Hitler made a blunder by starting a winter campaign in Russia. As a result, the German army faced a terrible loss of manpower. In Normandy also the German army had to face terrible losses. The retreat in Normandy thus, led to disasters in other battle-fields.
While declaring the war, Hitler and his advisers failed to understand that the war against Britain would involve the whole British Empire and its resources. Thus, the war for Germany became too stretched defeat. Japan also made the same mistake. In the opinion of the military historian Liddel Hart, they became stretched out far beyond their basic capacity for holding their gains.
Question 10.
The American policy of preventing the spread ‘ of Communism in South-East Asia ended in complete failure. In the context of the Vietnam War explain :
(a) The Tonkin Gulf incident (1964). [4]
(b) Reasons for the failure of the U.S. [4]
(c) Effects of the war. [4]
(d) Any four reasons for detente in the early 1970’s. [4]
Answer:
(a) The Gulf of Tonkin incident, or the USS Maddox incident involved what were originally claimed to be two separate conformations involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2,1964, the destroyer USS Maddox, while performing a routine patrol, was attacked by three North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats.
A sea battle resulted in which the Maddox fired over 280 3″ and 5″ shells. Four USN F-8 Crusader jet fighter bombers also engaged in the firing of the Vietnamese boats. One US aircraft was damaged, and four North Vietnamese tarpedo boats were damaged resulting in casualties of four North Vietnamese sailors and wounding of six others. There were no US casualities. The second Tonkin Gulf incident was originally claimed by the US National security Agency to have occurred on August 4, 1964, as another sea battle.
The outcome of these two incidents was the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by the US Congress which granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to assist any Southeast Asian country whose Government was considered to be jeopardized by the “Communist aggression”. The resolution served as Johnson’s legal justification for deploying US continental forces and the commencement of open warfare against North Vietnam.
(b) The reason for the US failure in Vietnam was the fact that there was no defined enemy. People of both the North and South Vietnam were so intermingled with those with whom they did not agree that it was difficult to determine as to who was the enemy. As also the fact that what pressed America into conflict was their paranoia about a mass scale spread of communism.
America suffered heavy losses which were unnecessary and highly disagreed upon by the American people who only supported the war because of their widespread fear of the communist ideology they knew nothing about. The other major cause was the long duration of the war which caused the Americans to lose faith in it, rather they became fed-up with it. Anti war protests in Washington D.C. also added fuel to the fire. To -win a war your country needs to be behind you, which it was not.
(c) The new American President Richard Nixon, changed the policy. The New Policy was Vietnamisation. The Americans would train the South Vietnamese army to take care of the defence of South Vietnam. Nixon also began heavy bombing on North Vietnam once more but all attempts failed. At the end of 1972, the Vietcong exercised their control over the entire western half of the country. Nixon was under tremendous pressure, both at home and abroad, to withdraw from Vietnam. Finally, a cease-fire was arranged in January, 1973.
It was agreed that the American troops would be withdrawn from Vietnam and both North and South Vietnam would respect the frontier along the 17th parallel (line of 17° latitude between North and South Vietnam). But still the Vietcong continued the attack and Saigon, the majority of South Vietnam was occupied in 1975. Vietnam at last became united and free from foreign intervention. The United Vietnam came under a Communist Government. Thus, the American policy of preventing the spread of communism in South East Asia ended in failure.
(d) The world ‘detente’ means the condition of relaxation of international tensions among nations leading to thaw in the cold war. It means decline in the tensions of cold war. The first sign of real detente between East and West came in the early 1970s, stimulated probably by the continuing fear of nuclear war and the horrors of Vietnam.
There were specific motives of the different powers for detente. China was anxious about her isolation in international politics and worsening relations with Russia. America felt that the policy she persuaded in Vietnam had to be revised and a policy of peaceful co¬existence needs to be adopted. Russia had also changed her thinking. She wanted to reduce expenditure on defence so as to increase the standard of living of the Russian people and that of people in the satellite states. There was unrest in Poland in the early 1970’s which threatened to destabilize the communist bloc. At that time, Russia was on bad terms with China.
Willie Brandt, the Vice-Chancellor of West Germany, wanted to develop better relations with the East European countries through the policy known as Ostpolitik. The most important factor was the fear of the Western States who were worried that they would be in the front line if nuclear war broke out.
Question 11.
(a) Why was the idea of greater cooperation in Western Europe supported by many European leaders after the Second World War ?
(b) Briefly outline the events that led to the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. [8]
(c) Comment on the expansion of the EC in 1973.
Answer:
(a) After the Second World War, with the gradual deterioration in relations between the Western Powers and Soviet Russia, there began a move for European integration. The chief objective was to strengthen the political, economic and social ties of Europe in the face of dispute and struggle between America and Russia. There were many reasons for this attempt of integration of the European states.
The first step towards economic integration of Europe was the Benelux Customs Convention of 1944. The Governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg agreed to set up the Benelux Customs Union. Under its terms, the tariff walls among the signatory states were abolished and free trade began. In the post-war Europe, it was the first attempt to bring about integration among the European states through trade and customs.
(b) The Treaty of Rome was the founding treaty of European Economic Community (EEC) signed in 1957 by heads of Government of France, Belgium, Luxemburg, West Germany, The Netherlands and Italy. The treaty was the result of eleven years of efforts to reconstruct the European continent after World War II. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) which was formed in the treaty of Paris in 1951, laid the ground for EEC, by opening the market for those products between several countries in continent Europe.
The treaty of Rome adopted many of institutional structures of the ECSC but set out to have greater reach. It tried to combine federalist and inter-governmental ideas. The original idea was conceived by Jean Monnet, a senior French civil servent. It was announced by Robert Schuman, the French foreign minister in a declaration on 9 May, 1950. The aim was to pool Franco-German Coal and Steel Production. The underlying political objective of the European Coal and Steel Community was to strengthen the Franco-German cooperation and banish the possibility of war.
France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands began negotiating the treaty. The treaty establishing the ECSC was signed in Paris on 18 April, 1951.
Partly, with the aim of creating a federal Europe, two further communities were proposed, again by the French, a European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Economic Community (EEC). But while the treaty for the latter was in the process of being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the French parliament.
Jean Monnet, who was the leading figure behind the communities and who was now the president, resigned in protest, and began work on alternative communi-ties based on economic integration rather than political integration.
As a result of energy crises, the Common Assembly proposed extending the power of the committee to other sources of energy. However, Monnet desired a separate committee to cover the nuclear power. Louise Armand was put in charge of a study into prospect of nuclear energy use in Europe. The report concluded further nuclear development was needed to reduce dependence on oil producers.
The Benelux states and Germany were also keen on creating a general common market. In the end Monnet proposed creating both as separate communities. As a result of the Messina conference of 1955, a preparatory committee (Spaak Committee) was formed under the chairmanship of Paul-Henri Spaak. The Spaak report drawn up by the Spaak committee was accepted at the Venice Conference (29th and 30th May 1956) where the decision was taken to organise an inter¬governmental conference. The report formed the cornerstone of the inter-governmental conference on the Common Market at Val Duchesse in 1956.
The conference led to the signing on 25 March, 1957, of the Treaties of Rome at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill in Rome.
(c) In 1962, at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers’s Conference in London, the proposal of Britain’s entry into the Common Market was strongly opposed. France strongly opposed Britain’s entry into European Economic Community and the Common Market. President De Gaulle was not happy about Britain’s American connection. He apprehended that Britain’s membership would allow America to dominate European affairs. He said that it would produce “a colossal Atlantic grouping under dependence and control.” He was probably annoyed that Britain without consulting France, had agreed to receive Polaris Missiles from America. He was also furious because America did not make the same offer to France.
On the other hand, Britain believed that De Gaulle’s real motive was to dominate the community. With Britain’s arrival, she would have a serious rival. Finally, on January 1, 1973, Britain entered the EEC and this was made possible by the resignation of De Gaulle in 1969 and the next French President Georges Pompidou’s more friendly attitude towards Britain. Edward Health, the Conservative Prime Minister of Britain, pressed Britain’s claims strongly for joining the EEC. He was the successful Prime Minister who finally took Britain into Europe.