Challenges of Nation-Building Class 12 MCQs Questions with Answers
Question 1.
The ‘Two-Nation Theory’ was based upon:
(A) expansion of India
(B) bifurcation of the states
(C) partition of India
(D) All of the Above
Answer:
(C) partition of India
Explanation:
The Two Nation Theory is based on the hypothesis that India should be divided into two: Pakistan and Hindustan, the Muslim nation to occupy Pakistan and the Hindu nation to occupy Hindustan.
Question 2.
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the undisputed leader of the North Western Frontier Province was known as:
(A) Frontier Gandhi
(B) Father of Pakistan
(C) Staunch Muslim
(D) Patriot of Pakistan
Answer:
(A) Frontier Gandhi
Explanation:
Ghaffar Khan was a Pashtun who greatly admired Mahatma Gandhi and his non¬violence principles and saw support for the Congress as a way of pressing his grievances against the British frontier regime. Hence, he was called the Frontier Gandhi.
Question 3.
Which of these statements about the princely states is incorrect:
(A) Some of the princely states clearly wanted to become part of the Indian Union.
(B) The Indian government was ready to give autonomy to some regions.
(C) The ruler of Junagadh had decided not be an independent state and be part of independent India.
(D) Princely states covered one third of the land area of the British Indian Empire.
Answer:
(C) The ruler of Junagadh had decided not be an independent state and be part of independent India.
Explanation:
Junagarh or Junagadh was a princely state in Gujarat ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty in British India, until its annexation by the Union of India in 1948.
Question 4.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel faced key challenges of integration in which of the following states.
(A) Hyderabad, Moradabad, Junagarh
(B) Hyderabad, Sikandrabad, Jammu
(C) Hyderabad, Junagarh, Kashmir
(D) Jammu, Junagarh, Kashmir
Answer:
(C) Hyderabad, Junagarh, Kashmir
Explanation:
Sardar Patel faced key challenges of integration from three states, viz., Hyderabad, Junagarh and Kashmir. It was under his leadership that Indian forces compelled Hyderabad and Junagarh to merge with India. Like Hyderabad, he also wanted Kashmir’s integration with India through military operations. But due to political decisions of some prominent leaders, Sardar could not succeed in integrating Kashmir fully with India which later turned into a major historical blunder for the country.
Question 5.
Which state was carved out of Assam from the following:
(A) Meghalaya
(B) Sikkim
(C) Manipur
(D) Tripura
Answer:
(A) Meghalaya
Explanation:
Meghalaya was created as an autonomous state within the state of Assam on 2 April, 1970. The full-fledged State of Meghalaya came into existence on 21 January, 1972. It is bound on the north and east by Assam, and on the south and west by Bangladesh.
Question 6.
Which one of the following leaders played an important role in the integration of princely states with India? (Delhi-Set 1,2020)
(A) Jawahar Lai Nehru
(B) SardarVallabhbhai Patel
(C) C. Rajagopalchari
(D) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Answer:
(B) SardarVallabhbhai Patel
Explanation:
At the time of independence, the problem of integration of princely states was a big challenge for the national unity and integrity of India. Under such difficult times, Sardar Patel undertook the daunting tasks of uniting all 565 princely states of India. Known as an ‘Iron Man’ of India, Patel’s approach to the question of the merger of princely states into independent India was very clear. He was not in favour of any compromise with the territorial integrity of India.
Question 7.
Reorganization of the North-East was completed in:
(A) 1962
(B) 1972
(C) 1982
(D) 1992
Answer:
(B) 1972
Question 8.
What was Jawahar Lai Nehru’s first speech called?
(A) Wake of the Nation
(B) Breaking of Tyranny
(C) Tryst with Destiny
(D) None of the above
Answer:
(C) Tryst with Destiny
Explanation:
“Tryst with Destiny” was a speech delivered by Jawahar Lai Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, to the Indian Constituent Assembly in the Parliament, on the eve of India’s Independence, towards midnight on 14 August 1947. The speech was on the aspects that transcended Indian history.
Question 9.
What was India’s partition plan called?
(A) Gandhi Plan
(B) Nehru Plan
(C) Mountbatten Plan
(D) Jinnah Plan
Answer:
(C) Mountbatten Plan
Explanation:
Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, came up with a plan under which he proposed that the provinces be declared independent successor states. The plan was the last plan for Indian independence and included the principles of partition, autonomy, sovereignty, and the right to make the Indian constitution.
Question 10.
When did Mahatma Gandhi die?
(A) 30th January 1948
(B) 31st January 1948
(C) 30th December 1948
(D) 30th November 1948
Answer:
(A) 30th January 1948
Explanation:
Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 in the compound of Birla House, New Delhi by Nathuram Godse.
Question 11.
What was the stand of Indian Government on partition?
(A) India did not respond at all.
(B) India wanted peace, harmony and equality of religion.
(C) India wanted to become a Hindu nation.
(D) None of the above.
Answer:
(B) India wanted peace, harmony and equality of religion.
Explanation:
Indian Government believed in communal harmony and equality of religion for all. This highly important belief also found its place in the Constitution of India where India was declared a secular nation and the Fundamental Right of ‘Right to Religion’ was given to all citizens of India.
Question 12.
What was the first among the three challenges to India while building a nation-state?
(A) building a united nation
(B) poverty
(C) communal tensions
(D) All of the above
Answer:
(A) building a united nation
Explanation:
The first and the immediate challenge was to shape a nation that was united, yet accommodative of the diversity in our society.
Question 13.
Who was India’s Deputy Prime Minister at the time of integration of princely states?
(A) Jawahar Lai Nehru
(B) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
(C) Narsimha Rao Reddy
(D) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Answer:
(D) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Question 14.
How were the boundaries of the states decided?
(A) On the basis of locality
(B) On the basis of linguistic principles
(C) On the basis of area
(D) None of the above
Answer:
Option (B) is correct.
Assertion and Reason Based MCQs
Directions: In the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(C) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(D) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Question 1.
Assertion: The British Government took the view that all these 565 states were free to join either India or Pakistan or remain independent if they so wished.
Reason: This was a very serious problem and could threaten the very existence of a united India.
Answer:
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation:
The official policy statement of the Government of India made by Sardar Patel on July 5, 1947 made no such threats.
It reassured the princely states about the Congress’ intentions, and invited them to join independent India.
Question 2.
Assertion: The interim government took a firm stance against the possible division of India into small principalities of different sizes.
Reason: Before 15 August 1947, peaceful negotiations had brought almost all states whose territories were contiguous to the new boundaries of India, into the Indian Union.
Answer:
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation:
The interim government took a firm stance against the possible division of India into smaller principalities of different sizes. The Muslim League opposed the Indian National Congress and took the view that the States should be free to adopt any course they liked.
Question 3.
Assertion: The Nizam of Hyderabad never negotiated with Sardar Patel. He was not at all agreed to accept any offer to join India.
Reason: The Nizam wanted an independent status for Hyderabad.
Answer:
(D) (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Explanation:
Nizam entered into what was called the Standstill Agreement with India in November 1947 for a year while negotiations with the Indian government were going on.
Question 4.
Assertion: India adopted representative democracy based on the parliamentary form of government.
Reason: These features ensure that the political competition would take place in a democratic framework.
Answer:
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation:
India is a parliamentary Democratic Republic in which the President of India is the head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. It is based on the federal structure of government, although the word is not used in the Constitution itself. It assures a healthy and democratic political competition.
Question 5.
Assertion: The Constitution also set out in the Directive Principles of State Policy the welfare goals that democratic politics must achieve.
Reason: On 14-15 August 1947, not one but two nation-states came into existence – India and Pakistan.
Answer:
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation:
On 14-15 August 1947, not one but two nation-states came into existence India and Pakistan. This was a result of ‘partition’, the division of British India into India and Pakistan. Thus it was decided that what was till then known as ‘India’ would be divided into two countries, ‘India’ and ‘Pakistan’.
Question 6.
Assertion: It was decided to follow the principle of religious majorities for the partition.
Reason: The process of partition was smooth and none of the violence took place.
Answer:
(C) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
Explanation:
During the Partition of India, violence against women was an extensive issue. It is estimated that during the partition between 75,000 and 100,000 women were kidnapped and raped. India and Pakistan later worked to repatriate the abducted women. Muslim women were to be sent to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh women to India.
Question 7.
Assertion: The problem was that two of the Muslim majority provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal, had very large areas where the non- Muslims were in majority.
Reason: It was decided that these two provinces would be bifurcated according to the religious majority at the district or even lower level.
Answer:
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation:
Since there was no possibility of large-scale migration of the people, the decision was taken to divide it according to the religious majority.
Case-Based MCQs
I. Study the cartoon carefully and give the answers to the question that follows:
Question 1.
Who propounded the ‘two nation theory’?
(A) Sardar Patel and Congress
(B) Muslim League
(C) Khan Abdul Ghaffar
(D) None of the above
Answer:
(B) Muslim League
Explanation:
According to the ‘two-nation theory’ advanced by the Muslim League, India consisted of not one but two ‘people’, Hindus and Muslims. That is why it demanded a separate country for the Muslims- Pakistan.
Question 2.
On what basis was the two-nation theory proposed?
(A) on the basis of differences among two communities, Hindu and Muslim
(B) on the basis of different political ideologies of Hindus and Muslims
(C) on the basis of communal discrimination
(D) all the above
Answer:
(A) on the basis of differences among two communities, Hindu and Muslim
Question 3.
Which two states were undecided to be part of either of these countries, at the time of partition?
(A) Travancore and Hyderabad
(B) Gujarat and Haryana
(C) Madhya Pradesh and Bengal
(D) Assam and Bengal
Answer:
(A) Travancore and Hyderabad
Explanation:
At the time of Independence, Britishers announced that with the end of their rule over India, all princely states were free to join either India or Pakistan or remain independent if they so wished.
Question 4.
Who among the following leaders were opposed the partition?
(A) Mahatma Gandhi
(B) Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan
(C) Mohammad Ali Jinnah
(D) Both (A) and (B)
Answer:
(D) Both (A) and (B)
II. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follows:
Thus it was decided that what was till then known as ‘India’ would be divided into two countries, ‘India’ and ‘Pakistan’. Such a division was not only very painful, but also very difficult to decide and to implement. It was decided to follow the principle of religious majorities. This basically means that areas where the Muslims were in majority would make up the territory of Pakistan. The rest was to stay with India. The idea might appear simple, but it presented all kinds of difficulties.
First of all, there was no single belt of Muslim majority areas in British India. There were two areas of concentration, one in the west and one in the east. There was no way these two parts could be joined. So it was decided that the new country, Pakistan, will comprise two territories, West and East Pakistan separated by a long expanse of Indian territory. Secondly, not all Muslim majority areas wanted to be in Pakistan.
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the undisputed leader of the North Western Frontier Province and known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’, was staunchly opposed to the two-nation theory. Eventually, his voice was simply ignored and the NWFP was made to merge with Pakistan. The third problem was that two of the Muslim majority provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal, had very large areas where the non-Muslims were in majority.
Eventually it was decided that these two provinces would be bifurcated according to the religious majority at the district or even lower level. This decision could not be made by the midnight of 14-15 August. It meant that a large number of people did not know on the day of Independence whether they were in India or in Pakistan. The Partition of these two provinces caused the deepest trauma of Partition.
Question 1.
Which principle was followed for the division of India and Pakistan?
(A) Principal of cultural majorities
(B) Principal of ethnicity of the people
(C) Principle of religious majorities
(D) None of the above
Answer:
(C) Principle of religious majorities
Explanation:
The partition was caused by the two-nation theory presented by Muslim League, due to presented religious issues. Pakistan became a Muslim country, and India became a majority Hindu but secular country.
Question 2.
“There was no way these two parts could be joined.” For which of the below this sentence is meant to be:
(A) There were two areas of concentration, one in the west and one in the east.
(B) There were two belts one in north and another in west.
(C) There were two areas within the borders of modern India.
(D) There were two areas within the borders of modern Pakistan.
Answer:
(A) There were two areas of concentration, one in the west and one in the east.
Question 3.
Who was known as “Frontier Gandhi”?
(A) Mohammad Ali Jinnah
(B) Abdul Gaffar Khan
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) None of the above
Answer:
(B) Abdul Gaffar Khan
Explanation:
Ghaffar Khan was a Pashtun who greatly admired Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent principles and saw support for the Congress as a way of pressing his grievances against the British frontier regime. He was called the Frontier Gandhi.
Question 4.
Which two provinces of British India had very large areas where non-Muslims were in majority?
(A) Punjab and UP
(B) Bengal and Gujarat
(C) Punjab and Haryana
(D) Punjab and Bengal
Answer:
(D) Punjab and Bengal
III. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follows:
The Partition was not merely a division of properties, liabilities and assets, or a political division of the country and the administrative apparatus. What also got divided were the financial assets, and things like tables, chairs, typewriters, paper-clips, books and also musical instruments of the police band The employees of the government and the railways were also ‘divided’. Above all, it was a violent separation of communities who had hitherto lived together as neighbours.
It is estimated that the Partition forced about 80 lakh people to migrate across the new border. Between five to ten lakh people were killed in Partition related violence. Beyond the administrative concerns and financial strains, however, the Partition posed another deeper issue. The leaders of the Indian national struggle did not believe in the two-nation theory. And yet, partition on religious basis had taken place. The Muslim population in India accounted for 12 per cent of the total population in 1951.
There were competing political interests behind these conflicts. The Muslim League was formed to protect the interests of the Muslims in colonial India. But most leaders of the national movement believed that India must treat persons of all religions equally and that India should not be a country that gave superior status to adherents of one faith and inferior to those who practiced another religion.
Question 1.
What was the number of the people who had to forcefully migrate across new borders?
(A) 83 lakh
(B) 81 lakh
(C) 80.5 lakh
(D) 80 lakh
Answer:
(D) 80 lakh
Question 2.
Who did not believe in “Two-Nation Theory”?
(A) The leaders of Indian National Struggle
(B) People of Pakistan
(C) Muslim League
(D) None of the above
Answer:
(A) The leaders of Indian National Struggle
Explanation:
The leaders of Indian National Struggle and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan were not convinced by the two-nation theory and wanted a single united India as a home for both Hindus and Muslims.
Question 3.
What was the percentage of Muslim population in India in 1951?
(A) 12 percent
(B) 15 percent
(C) 12.5 percent
(D) 13.3 percent
Answer:
(A) 12 percent
Question 4.
Why Muslim League was formed?
(A) To propose two-nation theory.
(B) To look after the administration in newly formed Pakistan.
(C) To prepare the constitution of Pakistan
(D) To protect the interests of the Muslims in colonial India.
Answer:
(D) To protect the interests of the Muslims in colonial India.
Explanation:
The Muslim League was a political party established in 1906 in British India. Its strong advocacy, from 1930 onwards, for the establishment of a separate Muslim-majority nation-state, Pakistan, successfully led to the partition of India in 1947 by the British Empire
IV. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follows:
The steps for creating a new state are as follows: A bill on a new state has to be recommended by the President. In India, it is usually the Cabinet which requests the President to do that. Article 3 makes it clear that the Parliament is the sole authority on making a decision on a new state.
President refers the bill to the State Assembly for its views giving it a certain period of time. Parliament is not obligated to follow on the views of State Assembly. If the State Assembly does not express its opinion within the specified period of time, the bill could be introduced in the Parliament after the expiry of the specified period.
Why did the authors of the constitution put complete responsibility of creating new states ONLY with the Parliament? Why did they not provide a bigger role for a State Assembly other than expressing ‘its views’ on the topic? To understand the intentions behind a certain clause in our Constitution the legal experts refer to the discussions of the authors that preceded the formulation of these clauses referred to as Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD). One legal expert clarifies:
When the Constituent Assembly was deliberating in November 1948 on the scope and content of Article 3, there was a proposal by Prof. KT Shah that the legislation constituting a new State from any region of a State should originate from the legislature of the State concerned. Had this procedure been approved, the power to decide the statehood of a region seeking separation would have been vested with the State legislature dominated by the elite of developed regions.
Opposing the same and using the then demand for an Andhra Province as an example, Shri K. Santhanam stated as under: “I wonder whether Professor Shah fully realizes the implications of his amendment. If his amendment is adopted, it would mean that no minority in any State can ask for separation of territory… unless it can get a majority in that State legislature. Take the case of Madras Province for instance.
The Andhra’s want separation. They bring up a resolution in the Madras Legislature. It is defeated by a majority. There ends the matter. The way of the Andhra’s is blocked altogether. They cannot take any further step to constitute an Andhra province.” Thus Article 3 emerged in its current form.
Question 1.
In India, who presents the bill for the formation of the new state to the President?
(A) Prime Minister
(B) Chief Ministers of the state
(C) Legislative
(D) Cabinet
Answer:
(D) Cabinet
Question 2.
To whom does the President refer the bill after his review?
(A) Parliament
(B) State Assembly
(C) Prime Minister
(D) None of these
Answer:
(B) State Assembly
Question 3.
“The legislation constituting a new State from any region of a State should originate from the legislature of the State concerned.” This proposal who put forth by whom in 1948?
(A) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
(B) Prof. KT Shah
(C) Pt. Jawahar Lai Nehru
(D) Sardar Patel
Answer:
(B) Prof. KT Shah
Question 4.
Where did the Andhra’s get resolution from?
(A) Supreme Court
(B) Madras Legislature
(C) Madras high Court
(D) Delhi
Answer:
(B) Madras Legislature