ISC History Previous Year Question Paper 2019 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 (20 Marks)
Answer all questions
Question 1. [20 x 1]
(i) What is the significance of 8th August, 1942, in the history of India’s struggle for freedom ?
(ii) Why did Subhash Chandra Bose resign from the post of Congress President at the Tripuri Session in 1939 ?
(iii) Name the activist who undertook an epic fast unto death for a separate Andhra State.
(iv) Who succeeded Lai Bahadur Shastri as the Prime Minister of India, in 1966 ?
(v) Name two important leaders of the Naxalite Movement in Bengal.
(vi) What was the fundamental difference between the demands of the Khalistan Movement and that of the Assam Movement ?
(vii) In the context of the Non-Aligned Movement, what was India’s stance during the Korean War ?
(viii) What was the primary objective of the ‘Sampoorna Kranti Movement’ (Total Revolution) led by Jayprakash Narayan ?
(ix) Why did Dalai Lama seek asylum in India ?
(x) Name any one organisation that campaigned against the evils of the dowry system in the 1970s.
(xi) Define the term appeasement in the context of the causes of the Second World War.
(xii) What was the objective of Operation Overlord launched by the Allied Powers on 6th June, 1944 ?
(xiii) In the context of Mao Tse Tung’s agricultural policy, what is meant by the term Communes ?
(xiv) What is the most important reason for the downfall of Kwame Nkrumah ?
(xv) Mention one example to show that the thaw in the Cold War was partial.
(xvi) Name the first Chancellor of United Germany (1990) since the Second World War.
(xvii) Mention any one important international organisation that condemned Apartheid.
(xviii) What is the full form of :
(a) NOW
(b) ERA
(xix) Name the signatories of the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
(xx) By which treaty (1993) did Israel and the PLO formally and mutually recognize each other ?
Answer:
(i) On 8th August, 1942, All India Congress Committee passed the Quit India Resolution. Mahatma Gandhi then launched the Quit India Movement in Bombay for freedom from British rule and persisted despite arrests and intense repression. Leaders, women and students from all sections of society participated in the movement. This compelled the British officials to start a dialogue with the Indian parties for a possible transfer of power.
(ii) Subhash Chandra Bose won the elections for the President of Indian National Congress (INC) at the Tripuri Session in 1939 by defeating Gandhiji’s candidate Pattabhai Sitara-maiyya. Following this, Gandhiji and other members in his support made it impossible for Subhash Chandra Bose to work efficiently in the committee. Problems began in the formation of the Working Committee. Subhash Chandra Bose had to ultimately resign from the post of Congress President. He thus formed Forward Bloc in May, 1939.
(iii) Potti Sreeramulu undertook an epic fast unto death for a separate Andhra State out of Northern Portion of Madras State.
(iv) Gulzarilal Nanda succeeded Lai Bahadur Shastri as the Acting Prime Minister of India in 1966. His term was however very short and he was succeeded by Indira Gandhi who became the Prime Minister later in the same year.
(v) Two important leaders of the Naxalite Movement in Bengal were Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal.
(vi) The Khalistan Movement wanted to create a separate Sikh country while the Assam Movement was a popular movement against undocumented immigrants in Assam.
(vii) During the Korean War (1950), India backed the US by endorsing the United Nations resolution that condemned North Korea’s attack on South Korea. Jawaharlal Nehru, who coined the term Non-Alignment, believed that Indian freedom struggle was a part of the world wide struggle for freedom and progress.
(viii) Total Revolution movement (Sampoorna Kranti movement) initiated by students in Bihar in 1974 and led by veteran Gandhian socialist, Jayprakash Narayan, was against the misrule and corruption being practised in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
(ix) China, under the leadership of Mao-Tse Tung was determined to assert her right of suzerainty over Tibet. China overran and occupied Tibet in 1959. The religious leader Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetan refugees sought asylum in India which was granted to them by Nehruvian government.
(x) An organisation that campaigned against the evils of the dowry system in the 1970s was the Progressive Organization of Women of Hyderabad.
(xi) Appeasement is a “diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an enemy power to avoid war”. The Anglo- French appeasement policy was largely repsonsible for the outbreak of the Second World War. Anglo-French failed to intervene during Japan’s attack on China, Italy’s aggression on Abyssinia and Germany’s occupation of Prague. The appeasement policy encouraged Hitler again and again, and jeopardized the balance of power in Europe, which led to the Second World War.
(xii) Operation Overlord or D-Day was launched on 6th June, 1944, when 3 million allied troops from US, Britain and Canada landed on five beacheads of Normandy Beach. The German forces offered strong resistance. The main objective was to liberate northern France from Germany and Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium from the Axis forces.
(xiii) Mao Tse Tung introduced the ‘Communes’ where people ran their own collective farms and performed the function of the local government under an elected Council. In the Commune, each family received a share of profits from the sale of produced.
(xiv) The most important reason for the downfall of Kwame Nkrumah was probably because he began to abandon parliamentary government in favour of a one-party state and personal dictatorship.
(xv) The thaw in the Cold War was partial. This could easily be observed from the policy of Khrushchev. Sometimes, he followed concilatory policy and sometimes a policy that seemed to threaten the Western Bloc. He did not show any interest in reducing Russian control over the satellite states. When the Hungarians revolted in Budapest against the Communist government, the movement was crushed by Russian tanks.
(xvi) Helmut Kohl became the first Chancellor of United Germany since the Second World War.
(xvii) The United Nations organisation (UNO) condemned Apartheid.
(xviii) (a) NOW: National Organisation for Women
(b) ERA : Equal Rights Amendment
(xix) Sykes-Picot Agreement, also known as the Asia Minor Agreement was a secret convention made during the First World War between Great Britain and France, with assent of Russian Empire, for the division of the Ottoman Empire among the Allied Powers.
(xx) The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) through which they formally and mutually recognized each other.
Part—II (60 Marks)
Answer five questions in all, choosing two questions from Section A, two questions from Section B and one question from either Section A or Section B.
Section—A
(a) Outline the main features of Provincial Autonomy under the Government of India Act of 1935. [6]
(b) Critically assess the working of the Congress ministers from 1937 to 1939. [6]
Answer:
(a) The main features of Provincial Autonomy under the Government of India Act of 1935 were:
This Act established a ‘Federation of India’ consisting of British Indian Provinces and Indian states and provided for provincial autonomy with a government responsible to the elected legislature in every province. The ministers would control the departments and would remain responsible to the legislatures.
The Federal structure of the government of India was to comprise the Governor-General and a Council of Ministers. Governors were to be aided and advised by the Council of Ministers.
The Federal Legislature was to be a Bicameral Legislature the Council of States and the House of Assembly. The ministers were to be selected by the Governor-General and they were to hold office during his pleasure. In the Council of States, the representatives of the native states were to be chosen directly by the rulers.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Defence were reserved exclusively for the Governor-General. The other Federal subjects would be administered by the Governor- General with the assistance and suggestions of a Council of Ministers. Thus, Diarchy was introduced at the Centre.
The voting right was based on property qualifications. Separate electorate and the system of weight age were retained.
(b) The Congress committed to release all the political prisoners. Through the intervention of Gandhiji, 1,100 detenues of Bengal were released. In Uttar Pradesh, many prisoners, including the Kakori prisoners were released.
The Congress also worked for removing restrictions on political exiles but were not successful. The prisoners who were imprisoned by Central Government could not be released from Andaman jails. Suspension order on the political parties and similar organisations were repealed.
The major achievements of the Congress Ministers were 1. Reduction of the salaries of the ministers 2. Welfare scheme for the tribals
Jail reforms and 4. Declaration of fundamental rights. The Congress however formed ministries in different provinces but failed to introduce land reforms. The zamindars and the landowners, especially from interior regions, had influence on the Congress Party. The Congress did not want to lose the support of these zamindars and landowners.
In Uttar Pradesh, most of the talukdars were Muslims. Land reforms might have affected their interests and Congress feared that they would join and support the Muslim League. Congress needed support from all sections, especially the landed aristocracy. Therefore, they did not take much action in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress ministers could not rule for long and resigned in November 1939 on the war issue. Congress claimed that the Viceroy had involved India in Second World War without consulting the Central Legislature and the Provincial governments.
Question 3.
The first General Election in India (1952) was a landmark event in the history of independent India. Discuss. [12]
Answer:
India’s first General Election of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. The following were the features of general elections of 1952 :
The elections took place according to the new constitution. The success reflected the faith of the Indian leaders in democracy.
Inspite of having a large illiterate population, Jawaharlal Nehru had granted voting rights to all the adults through Adult Franchise.
Sukumar Sen, the first Election Commi¬ssioner of India, along with 10 lakh government officials managed the entire election process with great care and caution.
14 national parties, 53 regional parties and numerous independent candidates contested for 489 Lok Sabha and 3283 State Assembly seats. 98 Lok Sabha seats and 669 Assembly seats were reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Congress won with huge majority with 75% seats in Lok Sabha and 68.5% seats in State Assembly. It had got absolute majority in most states except Madras, Travancore-Cochin, Orissa and PEPSU. It also formed coalition with smaller parties and independent candidates, and formed government in few states. There was no tradition of any leader of opposition then.
The next winning party was the Communist Party of India and its allies. It won 23 seats in the Lok Sabha and 147 seats in the Assembly.
Jan Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha and Ramrajya Parishad won only 10 seats in the Lok Sabha.
Besides the above mentioned parties, former royals and big landlords performed well in certain regions of the country.
In spite of achieving absolute power, the Congress followed democratic norms and encouraged the development of democratic ideas in the nation. The Opposition leaders participated in debates and gave constructive feedback for government policies.
Full freedom was enjoyed by the press, the political parties, trade unions and other organisations. They could voice their opinions.
Several leaders, such as Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Rammanohar Lohia, J.B. Kriplani, A.K. Gopalan, etc. shared their valuable ideas on the working of the Central Government
Question 4.
(a) Critically review the Assam agitation. [6]
(b) What was the Centre’s response to the Assam agitation? [6]
Answer:
During the Golap Barbara Ministry (March 1978-August 1979), emergence of students .union became prominent. All Assam-fStudents’ Union or AASU was the strongest organisation and their main demand was deportation of foreigners from Assam.
AASU spearheaded the movement against undocumented immigrants in Assam. When Hiralal Patwari died in 1978 and a by-election was required in Mangaldoi Lok Sabha Constituency to fill his seat, it was realised that there was a substantial increase in number of registered voters.
AASU wanted the names of foreign nationals to be identified and deleted from electoral rolls. Therefore, they demanded for the elections to be postponed. This initiated Assam Agitation or the Assam Movement (1979-1985).
The AASU and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) developed a strategy of protests and demonstrations to force the government to identify and deport the illegal immigrants.
The two groups together on 27 November 1979, called for the closure of all educational institutes, and picketing began in state and central government offices. Filing of nomination papers for the elections was stopped in the Brahmaputra Valley. A statewide bandh was declared on the last date of filing the nomination papers.
Though the agitation was mostly peaceful and non-violent, there was a massacre in Nellie and it turned violent.
The government introduced curfew in many parts of the state, including Guwahati. As a result, Illegal Immigrants Act was passed in October 1983.
(b) With the situation turning violent day by day the Parliament had to take some stringent measures.
The Parliament passed the Illegal Immigrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act (IM-DT) in October 1983 and put it into effect in Assam.
There were negotiations between the government and AASU-AAGSPO during the later parts of 1984 and early 1985. Official talks began in May 1985′, where the Home Secretary led the central government team. Several rounds of talks were held in various months.
In the beginning, the Assam coalition government wanted the immigrants from the 1961-71 war to be removed to other parts of the country. However, by August 1985, it was decided that all the illegal immigrants who had entered Assam till January 1966 were to be identified, deported and defranchised for 10 years.
This agitation finally came to an end in August, 1985 with ‘Assam Accord’, which was signed by the leaders of AASU-AAGSP and the Government of India in the presence of the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Question 5.
(a) Give an account of the main features of the course of the JP Movement which led to the declaration of Emergency on 25th June, 1975. [6]
(b) What were the main features of the Emergency declared on 25th June, 1975 ? [6]
Answer:
(a) A movement was started by the students of Bihar in 1974 under the Veteran Gandhian socialist Jayprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, against misrule and corruption practised by the Bihar Government.
Several Students’ political groups, such as Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Samajwadi Yuvajan Sabha (SYS), and All India Student Federation (AISF) joined various political parties to participate in the movement.
Eight young students were killed in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in police firing as a means of protest against participation in JP movement. Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (BCSS) was formed to spearhead the agitation. Their demand was related to education and food in hostels.
During the course of the movement, BCSS tried to gherao Bihar Legislative Assembly, blocked roads to the Assembly, damaged government buildings including the Telephone Exchange and set the residence of former Education Minister on fire. Protests continued at colleges and universities. Three students died in police firing. JP agreed to lead the movement when BCSS approached him. A state wide strike was declared on 23 March.
Indira Gandhi attacked JP on 1 April, 1974 for demanding to outcast the elected government. 12 students died in police firing in Gaya while trying to paralyze the government programme. The students and people organisations kept persuading for dissolution of the Bihar Assembly but failed.
JP turned the movement into Sampurna Kranti Movement. Exams were boycotted, several MLAs resigned, and appeal was made to the people to outcast Congress government of Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi decided to drag this to election arena. JP realized this and encouraged and appealed to opposition parties, following which the Janata Party was formed. He started traveling all over the country encouraging people to join the opposition and defeat the Congress Party.
When Indira Gandhi was removed from the Parliament seat on the grounds of electoral malpractice, she approached the Supreme Court. She imposed a nationwide Emergency on the night of 25 June 1975, when JP opposed her move and asked her to resign.
(b) The main features of the Emergency declared on 25th June, 1975 are as follows :
Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency on 25th June, 1975 to safeguard her own position.
JP and many opposition leaders, such as Kriplani, Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lai Krishna Advani were arrested. Members in her own party who opposed her were also arrested. Opposition party organisations, such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were banned and leaders were
arrested. JP was detained at Chandigarh. In Tamil Nadu, M.K. Karunanidhi government was dissolved and his son M.K.
Stalin was arrested under Maintenance of Internal Security Act.
Only Communist Party of India (CPI) supported the Emergency.
Press was censored. Several other atrocities, such as forced mass-sterlisation was carried out by Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s son. The administration’ used police forces across the country to detain large mass of protestors and demonstrators
People were detained by police without charge or notification of families. According to Amnesty International, 1,40,000 people had been arrested without trial during twenty months of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency. Detainees and political prisoners were abused and tortured. Public and private media institutions were used for government propaganda.
Question 6.
(a) Trace the circumstances that led to the outbreak of the Indo-China war in 1962. [6]
(b) What were the consequences of this war? [6]
Answer:
(a) India and Tibet had very good relations since the ancient times when Buddhism started to spread to Tibet, during British period. The government found it difficult to establish and maintain trade relations. With Tibet. Finally Colonel Younghusband, was able to start the trade relation with Tibet. Tibet agreed to open three trade marts to the British.
China had established herself as a powerful Communist state. Under the leadership of Mao- Tse Tung, she asserted her suzerainty over Tibet and occupied it in 1959.
While Nehru’s government remained only a passive spectator, it supported Dalai Lama and the thousands of Tibetans who entered India as refugees. This act was not taken positively by China and it aggravated her into making strategic attack plans against India.
China forcibly occupied the Indian territories of Long in the North Eastern Frontier and Ladakh in the Himalayan region in 1959. Without any warning or any intimation, China made an aggressive attack on the Northern and Eastern frontiers of India in 1962.
The main cause of this war was the conflict over the sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions. While India claimed Aksai Chin as part of Jammu and Kashmir, China demanded it as part of their Xinjiang province. Aksai Chin had an important road that connected the Chinese regions of Tibet and Xinjiang and its construction was one of the major causes of conflict.
(b) Consequences of Indo-China war in 1962 were as follows :
China was able to retain de facto control of Aksai Chin. India abandoned the Forward Policy and the de facto borders along the Line of Actual Control. This gave China sole control on its western sector.
Drastic changes took place in the military system. Defense Minister Krishna Menon resigned for he was blamed for the unpreparedness of the army. Sweeping changes were made in Indian Military system to prepare it for similar conflicts in future. The main aim was to modernize the Indian military system and be prepared for the future.
Soon after the war, the Government of India passed the Defense of India Act in December 1962, which allowed arresting any person with a Chinese surname, drop of Chinese blood or a Chinese spouse. Thousands of Chinese-Indians were therefore deported or forced to leave India.
Section—B
Answer any two questions.
Question 7.
(a) State the aims of Hitler’s foreign policy and his plans to fulfil those aims. [6]
(b) Give an account of the Anschluss with Austria with reference to Hitler’s aggressive policy. [6]
Answer:
(a) Hitler wanted to make Germany into a great power. He aimed to achieve this by :
destroying the hated Versailles settlement;
building up a strong army;
reclaiming lost territories such as the Saar and the Polish Corridor; and
bringing together all the Germans inside the Reich, which would involve annexing Austria, and capturing territories from Czechoslovakia and Poland, both of which had large German minorities because of the peace settlement.
Some historians however believed that Hitler aimed to achieve more than this. It was his.aim to take over entire Poland and Czechoslovakia and then occupy Russia, as far east as the Ural Mountains. This was supposed to help Hitler to achieve Lebensraum to provide food for the German people, and area for the German supposed to people to settle down. This was also destroy communism.
(b) Hitler suffered a setback in July 1934 when his ambition of an Anschluss (union) between Germany and Austria met with constraints.
The Austrian Nazis were encouraged by Hitler to revolt and murder the Chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, who had been supported by Mussolini.
When Mussolini advanced his troops to the Austrian frontiers and warned the Germans off, the revolt subsided. Hitler realised that Germany was not strong enough to force the concern.
Hitler also denied responsibility for the actions of the Austrian Nazis’.
When Hitler saw that his intervention in Spain had not been resisted by the powers, he came forward to fulfill his plan of uniting of Austria with Germany. Thus Nazi agitation was encouraged within Austria and the Austrian Chancellor was compelled to agree to conduct foreign affairs at Germany’s direction and also to appoint a Nazi minister. .
Finally on 14 March, 1938, Hitler poured troops into Austria and incorporated Austria within German Empire. In this way ‘Anschluss’ was complete. The annexation of Austria was a prelude to the annexation of Czechoslovakia in near future.
Question 8.
In the context of the rapid growth of African nationalism and decolonization in Africa, discuss :
(a) Kenya’s struggle for freedom under the leadership ofJomo Kenyatta. [6]
(b) The initial achievements of Kwame Nkrumah in the field of internal and external affairs of Ghana. [6]
Answer:
(a) Kenya, in Africa, was a British colony from 1920 to 1963.
In 1947, Jomo Kenyatta was elected the President of the Kenya African Union.
Kenyatta was arrested and imprisoned on charges of anti-colonial movement during the Mau Mau uprising. Emergency was declared on 2 October, 1952. When emergency was lifted in January 1960, there was public demand for his release. He was released in August 1961.
The number of white settlers in Kenya was huge. They resented the black majority rule and
refused to negotiate with Kenyatta and his Kenya African Unity Party (KAU). Kenya was a difficult area to negotiate with for freedom.
The white settlers turned aggressive thinking that the struggle of African Party would weaken. The British government was in great pressure from both the sides as these white settlers were backed by few big business houses of Britain.
KAU was not able to make much progress because only six Africans were allowed to join the Legislative Council of fifty-four members.
The agitated and irritated Kenyan people started terrorist attacks on European-owned farms. These attacks were organised by the Mau Mau secret society. Their members were mainly from the Kikuyu tribes, who lost their best lands to the white settlers. The British authority deployed huge forces to suppress the terrorists and arrested and imprisoned the national leaders and Kenyatta. Over the next eight years, approximately ten thousand Africans were killed and number of people in jail. It was no better than a concentration camp.
The terrorists were defeated by 1960 but the Britishers were able to analyse the expense of this entire anti-terrorist campaing by themselves. Kenya became independent in 1963 and Kenyatta was made the Prime Minister of Kenya. Once in power, he gradually changed from radical nationalist to a conservative bourgeois politician.
(b) Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister of Ghana and ruled from 1957 till his removal by the army in 1966.
- Nkrumah was the first person to organise the workers and peasants in a mass movement for independence.
- He had a socialist outlook and wanted better living conditions for his people and industrialization.
- Under his struggle and efforts, Ghana became a Commonwealth country.
- He tried to establish a welfare state.
- Cocoa was Ghana’s mainly exported product and its production doubled under his reign. Forestry, fishing and cattle-breeding expanded. It had modest deposits of gold and bauxite, which were effectively exploited. Dam was built across Volta River to arrest water for irrigation and hydro-electric power.
- Village people built roads and schools from the Government funds received for village projects.
- Nkrumah also was known internationally for his movement for the Africans across the globe. He supported the Organization of African Unity, set up in 1963, maintaining ties with Russia and China, and “keeping Ghana under Commonwealth group of nations.
Question 9.
With reference to break-up of the USSR, answer the following questions :
(a) To what extent was the failure of Mikhail Gorbachev’s economic reforms responsible for the end of the Soviet Union ? [6]
(b) Briefly discuss the coup of August 1991. [6]
Answer:
(a) Though Mikhail Gorbachev’s economic policy was positive in all aspects, it failed to bring about changes in the society. The stagnant economic growth in 1988 and 1989 and the previous years disillusioned the people. The national income fell in 1990 and continued to fall by about 15% in 1991.
The major cause of crisis is said to be the Law on State Enterprises. The wages were dependent on output, and as output was measured by its value in roubles, the factories were not interested in increasing overall output. It concentrated on production of more expensive goods and reduced output of cheaper goods.
This increased the wages and government was forced to print more money. This led to inflation and deficit in government budget. Production of essentials goods reduced, were in short supply and the queues in the towns for it was endless.The workers in the biggest coal mining area in the USSR went on strike as they did not even have soaps to wash themselves. They were disciplined and well-organised, and put forward their demands, which included better living and working conditions, proper and adequate supply of food, share in profits, and more local control over the mines.
The government considered many of their demands and made a promise to reorganise the industrial sector.
However, the economic situation was so grave that by early 1990, about a quarter of the population was living below the poverty line. The large families, the unemployed and the pensioners were worst affected.Economic crisis was one of the major reasons for the break down of Soviet Union.
(b) With the poor economic conditions of USSR and resentment of the people for the poor living and working conditions,
the political scenario of the nation turned troublesome.
Gorbachev lost control and many of the republics started demanding independence. Massive demonstrations were held. He held a conference with the leaders of fifteen republics and encouraged them to form a new voluntary union in which they would be independent of Moscow at large.
Gorbachev was under house arrest by the Conservative section led by Gorbachev’s Vice President Gennady Yanayev. This was the coup of August 1991. After the coup, Gorbachev dissolved the Communist Party and resigned from his post. Boris Yeltsin became the new General Secretary.
On 8 December, 1991, Yeltsin met the leaders of other republics and related the dissolution of USSR and decided to form Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) of fifteen republics.
Question 10.
Give an account of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa and its transition to black majority rule. [12]
Answer:
In the Union of South Africa, the white people dominated the political and economic life of the country. The Natives or the black people were discriminated and not allowed to vote. They had to live in a reserved area and could not hold skilled jobs or hold a strike. Their movements were controlled by a system of Pass Laws by the government.
Apartheid was introduced by Dr. Malan as the whites were against racial equality. Thewhites considered themselves the master race and the non-whites primitive and inferior .
Apartheid mean complete separation both socially and politically. There were separate buses, coaches, trains, cafes, toilets, parks, benches, hospitals, beaches, church, etc. Black children had to attend separate schools and were given much inferior education.
The blacks had no representation in the parliament, had to carry documents all the time so that their movement could be checked, and marriage between whites and non-whites was forbidden.
Nelson Mandela was a South African who was imprisoned for 25 years for revolting against-apartheid movement.
The African National Congress (ANC) had a difficult time fighting against discrimination. Anyone who voiced against this policy was labeled a communist and punished. Albert Luthuli, an ANC leader started protest movements and there began a systematic breach of laws. The Africans stopped working on certain days, entered shops and other places reserved for whites. Luthuli was jailed and 8000 blacks were arrested.
ANC formed a coalition with Asian and Coloured Groups in 1955 and formed the Freedom Charter at Kliptown near Johannesburg. This charter became the main ANC programme.
All the programmes and protests like boycott was met with strict punishments and police firing. Thousands of innocent blacks were killed.
Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) continued outside the country too. It scored its major victory when South Africa was forced to leave Commonwealth in 1961. The UN and OAU condemned apartheid. The UN in 1962 passed a resolution for all members to have a trade boycott against South Africa. However, most nations did not follow the same in reality and it was not successful.
South Africa was suspended from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics for racism. AAM was instrumental in introducing academic boycott of South Africa. It was signed by 496 university professors and lecturers.
Some changes were introduced in Apartheid when P.W. Botha became the Prime Minister in 1979. Though he was not willing to consider ANC’s major demands, he allowed the blacks to joint trade unions, go on strikes, marriages between whites and non-whites could were allowed. The non-whites elect their own local township councils, form a new consitution with one house for Coloured and one for Asians in the Parliament; and Pass Law was abolished.
In 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 25 long years and became the leader of the ANC. Discussions began in 1991 between the government and ANC to work out a new constitution for full political rights to the blacks.
With these discussions, a transition began to pass on the rule to the black majority. A general election was held and Nelson Mandela became the first Black President and F.W. De Klerk, the Deputy President of South Africa. Africa was able to transform the Apartheid rule to a black majority rule without a civil war because of the two wonderful personalities.
Question 11.
In the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, discuss the following:
(a) The role of Anwar Sadat in the signing of the Camp David Acccord (1979). [6]
(b) The circumstances that led to the Oslo Peace Accords (1993), its terms and impact. [6]
Answer 11.
(a) After the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat realised the power of Israel and was convinced that they could not be destroyed by force. He understood that negotiations and peace settlement with Israel were necessary.
He wanted to win back the Support of America for the Arabs. It was America who could talk and convince Israel to make peace with Arabs.
He was the first Arab to meet the Israelis face to face for a peace talk. It took him immense courage to do so as he knew that such PLO and the other aggressive Arab states, Iraq and Syria would be against him for taking such a step. However, he took the bold step to meet them at Knesset, the Israeli Parliament.
The Israelis were suffering from economic problems due to their immense defence expenditures and partly because of world recession. The Arabs also were facing similar problems. America was pressurising Israel to settle disputes with some Arab states.
When Sadat offered to visit Israel, they accepted. Sadat visited Israel in November 1977, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Menahem Begin visited Egypt the following month.
US President, Jimmy Carter took the initiative for a formal negotiation between the two countries at a place called Camp David near Washington. The treaty was signed in March 1979 following ten days of secret negotiations.
(b) Camp David Accord (1979) was condemned by PLO and most of the Arab states except Sudan and Morocco.
President Sadat was assassinated by some extremist Muslim soldiers. They believed the Arabs had been betrayed by him by signing the Camp David Accord with Israel and trying to make peace with them. However, Sadat’s successor Hosni Mubarak also decided to continue with the Camp David Accord.
Iraq-Iran war occupied the Arabs for few years and Arab-Israeli feud got overshadowed.
Tensions arose one again when there was massive demonstration by the Palestinians who lived as refugees along Gaza Strip and the West Bank. They protested against repressive Israeli rules and policies and the brutal behaviour of the Israeli army in the refugee camps in the occupied territories. Israelis tried to clamp down the unrest with tough measures but it earned them condemnation from the UN and rest of the world.
America kept pressuring both the nations to settle for peace. Situations changed after
election in Israel in June 1992. Yitzhak Rabin, the new Prime Minister of Israel and PLO leader Yasser Arafat both agreed for lasting peace.
This led to the Oslo Peace Accord of September 1993. The main terms of this treaty were: –
- Israel formally recognized PLO.
- PLO recognized Israel and committed , to give up terrorism.
- The Palestinians were to be given limited self-rule in Jericcho, on the West Bank and in part of the Gaza Strip, areas that were occupied by Israel since the 1967 war. Israeli troops would be withdrawn from these areas. The areas would be ruled by a Parliament or Palestinian Council of 88 members that were to be elected in 1966 by all West Bankers and Arab residents of Jerusalem aged over 18.
- Around 6000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel were to be released in three phases.
The leaders of different countries welcomed this bold attempt and hoped that it would bring peace.
There were many extremists of both sides, who were ashamed of this treaty and claimed that the leaders were guilty of this surrender. Yitzak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel was assassinated by a right wing extremist.
King Hussein of Jordan made an official visit to Israel for the first time, 1200 Palestinian prisoners were released, and talks went on between Syria and Israel.
Elections were held as promised. Yasser Arafat became the Palestinian President with huge majority.
However, tensions continue between the Arab states and Israel and there are often bomb shelling and attacks.