French Revolution, Indian Nationalism & Power-Sharing in Democracies
2. What steps did the French revolutionaries take to create a sense of collective identity among the French people?
Answer:
1. The ideas of ‘La Patrie’ (the fatherland) and ‘Le Citoyen’ (the citizen) emphasised the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
2. A new French flag, the tricolour, was chosen to replace the former royal standard.
3. New hymns were composed, oaths taken and martyrs commemorated, all in the name of the nation.
4. A centralised administrative system was put in place, and it formulated uniform laws for all citizens within its territory.
5. Internal customs duties and dues were abolished, and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
6. Regional dialects were discouraged and French, as it was spoken and written in Paris, became the common language of the nation.
7. The revolutionaries further declared that it was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotism. In other words, to help other peoples of Europe to become nations.
3. Who were Marianne and Germania?
What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?
Answer:
Female allegories were invented by artists in the nineteenth century to represent the nation.
1. Marianne, a popular Christian name – underlined the idea of a people’s nation.
2. Her characteristics were drawn from those of Liberty and the Republic – the red cap, the tricolour, the cockade. Statues of Marianne were erected in public squares to remind the public of the national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify with it.
3. The image of Marianne was marked on coins and stamps.
Germania became the allegory of the German nation. In visual representations, Germania wears a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism.
Write a newspaper report on
A) the jallianwala bagh massacre
Answer
on 13 april, the infamous jallianwalla bagh incident took place. On that day, a large crowd was gathered in the enclosed ground of jallianwalla bagh. Some came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures. Others had come to attend the annual baisakhi fair. Being from outside the city, many villagers were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. His objective, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’ in the minds of satyagrahis. The incident brought a feeling of terror and awe among people.
B) the simon commission
answer:
when the simon commission arrived in india in 1928, it was greeted with the slogan ‘go back, simon’. All parties, including the congress and the muslim league, participated in the demonstrations. In an effort to win them over, the viceroy, lord irwin, announced in october 1929 a vague offer of ‘dominion status’ for india in an unspecified future and a round table conference to discuss a future constitution. This did not satisfy the congress leaders.
Discuss the salt march to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism
answer:
mahatma gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation. On 31 january 1930, he sent a letter to viceroy irwin stating eleven demands. Some of these were of general interest; others were specific demands of different classes, from industrialists to peasants. The idea was to make the demands wide-ranging so that all classes within indian society could identify with them and everyone could be brought together in a united campaign. The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the essential food items. Mahatma gandhi started his famous salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march was over 240 miles, from gandhiji’s ashram in sabarmati to the gujarati coastal town of dandi. The volunteers walked for 24 days, about 10 miles a day.
What are the different forms of power- Sharing in modern democracies? Give an example of each of these
answer.
there are different forms of power-sharing in modern democracies. They are given below:
- horizontal distribution of power – power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. Example: india
- the federal division of power – power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. Example: india (union government and state governments)
- community government – power may also be shared among different social groups, such as religious and linguistic groups. Example: belgium
- power-sharing between political parties, pressure groups and movements – such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand. In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups.
State one prudential reason and one moral reason for power-sharing with an example from the indian context
answer.
while prudential reasons stress that power-sharing will bring out better outcomes. In india, the power is shared horizontally among various organs of government. The legislature, executive and judiciary are responsible for administering india. Reservation is applicable in india, where various sections are given benefits over others to avoid conflicts.
moral reasons emphasise the very act of power-sharing as valuable. In india, citizens are conferred with fundamental rights and directive principles of state policies are implied in the government.
3. After reading this chapter, three students drew different conclusions. Which of these do you agree with and why? Give your reasons in about 50 words. Thomman – power sharing is necessary only in societies which have religious, linguistic or ethnic divisions. Mathayi – power sharing is suitable only for big countries that have regional divisions. Ouseph – every society needs some form of power-sharing, even if it is small or does not have social divisions.
answer.
ouseph’s conclusion is the right one. Every state should have some or other form of power-sharing. Power-sharing ensures an optimum balance between different sections of society. The chances of conflict lessen, and so does the injustice. Hence, power-sharing becomes the value of democracy. Also, power-sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of political order
Mention different aspects of life in which women are discriminated or disadvantaged in india
answer.
the women in india are discriminated or disadvantaged in the following ways:
- literacy – the literacy rate for women is 65.46 per cent, against 82.14 per cent for men. This shows that since independence, the gap between the ratio of men and women with respect to literacy still cannot be filled.
- higher education – when you compare the percentage of boys and girls opting for higher studies after school, it is lower for girls as they tend to drop out after schools. This is because parents do not wish to spend their resources on a girl’s education, which is quite expected in boys’ cases.
- highly paid jobs – the percentage of women working in high-paying jobs is still smaller than that of men. On an average, an indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day. Yet, much of her work is not paid and therefore often not valued.
- the equal remuneration act, 1976 states that equal wages should be paid for equal work. However, in almost all areas of work, from sports and cinema to factories and fields, women are paid less than men, even when both do exactly the same work.
- sex-ratio – sex ratio of india is 107.48, i.E., 107.48 males per 100 females in 2019.
State different forms of communal politics with one example each
answer.
the different forms of communal politics are:
- communalism takes the form of religious prejudices, stereotypes of religious communities and a belief in the superiority of one’s religion over other religions. E.G., militant religious groups.
- the quest for political dominance of one religion over another in a community. It takes a form of majoritarianism. For example, rift between political parties based on religion.
- political mobilisation on religious lines is another frequent form of communalism. Example – during elections, hate speeches come to the surface, revealing the communalism.
- communal violence is another form of communalism in politics. For example, riots on the basis of religious sentiments.
State how caste inequalities are still continuing in india
answer.
according to the national sample survey office (nsso), the following evidence reflects the present caste inequalities in india:
- the average economic status (measured by criteria like monthly consumption expenditure) of caste groups still follows the old hierarchy – the ‘upper’ castes are best off, the dalits and adivasis are worse off, and the backward classes are in between.
- although every caste has some poor members, the proportion living in extreme poverty (below the official ‘poverty line’) is much higher for the lowest castes and much lower for the upper castes, with the backward classes once again in between.
State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in india
answer.
the two reasons that say that caste alone cannot determine election results in india are as follows:
- in india, no parliamentary constituency has a clear majority of one single caste. So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win elections.
- no party wins the votes of all the voters of caste or community. When people say that caste is a ‘vote bank’ of one party, it usually means that a large proportion of the voters from that caste vote for that party.