FYBA/BSc/BCom - Foundation Course – Sem 1

1) Q1) Indian society is a Multi-Lingual society. Discuss. FC-1

1) Q2) Explain gender wise composition of population in India? FC-2

Q3) FC-3
Q3) Explain the factors promoting unity in Diversity.

Q4) Explain the problems of the tribes. FC-4

Q5) Explain the violence against women in India. FC-5

Q6) Explain the solutions to women’s problems. FC-6

Q7) Explain the various services available for the challenged FC-7

Q8) Explain the cultural and physical unity in India. FC-8

Q9) Write a short note on Balwant Rai Mehta committee. FC-9

Q10) Explain the features of party system in India. FC-10

Q11) Write a short note on Local self government. FC-11

Q12) What is meant by social stratification? Explain different FC-12

forms of stratification.
Q13) Explain different types of challenged. FC-13

Q14) Explain the difference between urban society and rural FC-14
society?
Q Q15) Write a short note on Casteism? What are the main FC-15
characteristics of caste system.
Q16) Discuss the fundamental duties of Indian citizen. FC-16

Q17) Discuss the government efforts and measures to promote FC-17

National Integration.
Q18) Explain the role of youth in promoting communal harmony. FC-18

Q19) Explain the role of women in politics. FC-19

Q20) ‘Indian society is a multi religious society’. Discuss FC-20

Q21) Explain the importance of peace and communal harmony in FC-21

India.
 Q22) Explain the causes of communal violence. FC-22

Q23) Explain the positive role of mass media towards women. FC-23

Q24) Discuss the negative role of mass media towards women. FC-24

Q25) Explain the characteristics of tribal people in India. FC-25

1) Indian society is a Multi-Lingual society. Discuss.

Ans: India is a vast country, where people speak about 875 languages and dialects. It is a land of multilingual
people. The constitution of India has recognized 22 major Indian languages but about 33 languages are
spoken by about 1,00,000 population, along with all this, many speak non Indian languages but there
may be about 63 non-Indian languages which are spoken in India.
Sanskrit is the most ancient and purest language of India. This language has been serving India since last
3,000 years. Most of the Indian languages belong to the Indo Aryan or Dravidian families of languages.
Indo European languages are also spoken by many in India.
Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi,Bihari, Rajasthani, Bengali, Oriya,Assamese, etc. Belong to Indo Aryan
group of languages. The people from Northern regions speak these languages. About 38% of Indian
speaks Hindi language.
Most of the people from South India speak Dravidian group of languages. They have some level of
Sanskrit in their dialects.
Some of the languages like English, Portuguese, and French belong to Indo European group of
languages. This language was introduced by the British during their rule in India.

2) Explain gender wise composition of population in India?

Ans: Gender ratio refers to the ratio of females/1000 males in the country. In India presently the gender ratio
is 940/1000 males. The gender ratio of any country represents status of females in comparison to the
status of males.
The gender ratio has remained low all over India with few exceptions. The state of Kerala performs best
in the gender ratio. Kerala has 1084 females/1000 males, whereas Haryana has lowest gender ratio of
877 females/1000 males in 2011.
The lower sex ratio of India indicates that it is not a natural lower sex ratio but it is artificially created.
Some of the reasons for a lower sex ratio in India are enumerated below:
a. Preference for male child among many Indian families.
b. Practice of female foeticide.
c. Neglect of female babies.
d. Negligence of pregnant mothers especially when they come to know that they are going to deliver a
female baby.
e. Malnutrition of the females especially among the poor and illiterate families.
f. Orthodoxy and ignorance among many pregnant women.

3) Explain the factors promoting unity in Diversity.

Ans:
 A common name for the entire subcontinent of India – viz. ‘Bharatversa’ or ‘Bharatmata’ or ‘Matra
bhumi’.
 Some of the spiritual leaders like Gurunanak, Kabir and Gautam Buddha etc. tried to bring the people
closer. They have respected all religions.
 The Sanskrit language has influenced many Indian languages.
 Hinduism which has some common religious principles has brought the people of India together.
 The development of roads, railways and other networks has reduced physical distance and thereby has
brought the people closer.
 The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have almost cut down the physical distance
between the people.
 The national anthem, some of our national songs create the sentiment of oneness and bring the people
closer.
 Globalization and the use of internet, computers, telemedicine/tele-health, video conferencing etc. have
helped in bringing the people closer.

4) Explain the problems of the tribes.

Ans:
 The problem of Separation: The tribes are segregated and separated from the rest of the communities.
They stay in remote areas or on mountains, thus their contacts with outside world is limited.
 Economic Problems: As the tribes are illiterates and lead an isolated life, their source of livelihood is very
much restricted. Most of them are food gatherers. They suffer from the problem of unemployment and
utter poverty.
 Illiteracy and ignorance: The tribes do not have any access to education. They remain illiterates. This
also leads to ignorance and orthodoxy.
 Problems of Health and Sanitation: As the tribes suffer from poverty and ignorance, they are not able to
take care of their health. Many of them suffer from malnutrition. They believe in superstitions, they do
not believe in doctors and medical care for their problems.
 Socio-Cultural Problems: The tribal are orthodox and superstitious. They believe in old outdated
customs and traditions. They also have communication problems as they cannot speak in the local
language. They do not have good exposure, due to which they are backward.

5) Explain the violence against women in India.

Ans: Women in India have been the victims of various kinds of ill practices. They have been suffering from
womb to tomb. Some of the problems experienced by females are the following:
a) Female Foeticide: Indian families have a negative attitude towards girls. They consider females as
burden in the family. Even though sex determination tests are illegal, still many come to know the sex of
 their baby before birth; when they come to know that it is going to be a female baby the couple opt for
the abortion. The female foetus is killed brutally even though it is crime against humanity.
b) Female Infanticide: The moment parents come to know that it is a female baby; they kill her or throw
her in a lonely place. There are many instances where the female babies have been found in dust-bins.
Some times the mother may not know about this at all and she may be informed that she has delivered
a dead child.
c) Indian society is multi-lingual society: Many women in India have been victims of such brutal tortures.
Women have been harmed physically, psychologically and mentally. Women have to work day and night
in the house; she doesnot get any help from others. After slogging day and night she may not have food
or sleep empty stomach. If they are lucky they may get some consideration from husbands otherwise
they just weep over their misfortunes. Many suffer all kinds of atrocities on themselves as they don’t
want to bring their family matters outside.
d) Sexual abuse: Sexual abuse refers to any kind of sexual harassment. It may start from sexual comment,
molestation, touching or rubbing private parts of girls/women and end up with rape. There have been
many instances where the girls and women have been victims of sexual rape in public places. There have
been greedy males who have spoilt the girls feminity in trains, buses etc. Sexual harassment in the
workplace is a reality. Advanced countries as well as developing countries like India face this problem.
Many women have been used as sex symbols in work places. Girls with beauty are especially preferred
in private companies so that they can entertain their bosses in every possible ways.
e) Sati: Sati is a social and evil practice in India, in which a woman has to put herself in the sacred pyre of
husband when she becomes a widow. In traditional times widow remarriage was not allowed, she had
to experience a very bad life; she was not allowed to have any kind of social life. In such a situation a
widow felt it better to die instead of surviving. Sati was almost like a forced suicide.
f) Dowry deaths: The custom of dowry started from the practice of Streedhan which was practiced in
traditional times. As per this custom the father of the bride gave money and gifts to her daughter who
used to be in the form of ornaments and money etc. The parents of the bride promised to give dowry
and if they could not give then brides were ill treated and in extreme cases they are killed brutally by i-
laws. Many times they commit suicides.
g) Eve teasing: Girls and women have been the victims of eve teasing in public places and roads. The young
girls are humiliated in colleges and also in schools. Their dignity is lowered and sometimes condemned.
h) Divorce and Desertion: Many times the women are made to be separated from husbands due to various
reasons. Sometimes they are removed from the house and sometimes they are given divorce.
Separation either in the form of divorce or desertion affects the women more than the men. They are
morally hurt, which adds to their depression and frustration.
i) Problems of women at work:
 Low wages: Majority of Indian women are employed in unorganized sectors. They are usually unskilled
workers, where they are not governed by any factory rules. They work in extremely bad conditions, they
work more compared to men, and the wages are less, there is also insecurity of work.

6) Explain the solutions to women’s problems.

Ans:
a) Role of women’s organization – SNDT, SEWA, YWCA, etc.
b) Literal interpretation of laws by courts
c) Assistance to single girl child
d) Help by educational institutions in fostering equality between sexes
e) Approach by business and industry
f) Action by the youth
g) Fight by individual women
h) Change in the attitude towards life
i) Role of social reformers
j) Influence of women’s education
k) Enactment of social legislations and punishing the offenders
l) Participation of women in movements
m) Employment of women

7) Explain the various services available for the challenged.

Ans: The problem of challenged is a serious problem in developing as well as developed countries. Following
are some of the solutions to their problems:
 Rehabilitation programmes
In all civilised countries the state looks after the challenged. In India we have a welfare state. Thus there
are many rehabilitation centres which are managed by the govt. We also have private organisations
which look after the needs of the challenged. Some of the rehabilitation services available in India are:
o Medical care facilities
o Education for the blind, deaf and the orthopaedically challenged.
o Vocational trainings
o Job placement and sheltered workshops
o Pensions, scholarships, and allowances for the education and training of the challenged.
o A national institute of rehabilitation training and research is established at Cuttack for micro surgery,
physiotherapy, speech therapy etc.
o National Challenged and Finance Development Corporation has been providing loans on concessional
terms for undertaking self employment.
o Panchayat raj at village level and district level help the challenged to come forward and participate in
politics.
o India is a signatory to the declaration on the full participation and equality of people with disabilities in
the Asia pacific region
o There are also some private organisations and NGO’s which protect and help the challenged in India.
Some of the private organisations like Kamala Mehta School for the blind in Mumbai, Parents of Down’s
syndrome (PODS) in Mumbai etc.
o Some of the bogies and seats are especially reserved for physically challenged in local and long distance
trains and buses in India.

8) Explain the cultural and physical unity in India.

Ans: Indian culture maintains its own characteristics. Cultural unity in India is the result of long term process
of development. Hindu Brahmanical culture was accepted by many non Brahmins. People who had a
very different cultural background also accepted this culture. Some of the dressing habits, eating habits
and customs are similar to all that is to south Indians and North Indians. Another example is the
common dressing habits of girls such as salwar, kameez and dupatta are worn by south Indians and also
North Indians.Purdah system has been followed by different groups, south Indian foods like Idlis and
dosas are enjoyed almost by all.
Whenever an Indian stands with a foreigner, he can be always identified as an Indian. This is
because of his physical appearance which is different from the foreigners. In India there are so many
racial group exists. Races like Aryans,
Dravidians,Indo – Aryans , all had various physical characteristics. Due to this confluence of many races
Indians developed physical uniformity which is different from foreigners. Different religious groups
accepted the cultures of each others .Thus India depict a picture of Unity in diversity. Pandit Nehru in his
book ‘Discovery of India’ has described the beauty of India’s Unity in Diversity.

9) Write a short note on Balwant Rai Mehta committee.

Ans: For the improvement of the conditions of the rural areas the govt. of India had implemented the
community development programme. This was started in 1952. In the year 1957, the govt. of India
appointed a committee to examine the working of the community development programme and to
suggest measures for their improvement. The chairman of this committee was known Balwant Rai
Mehta Committee. The committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the
establishment of the scheme of democratic decentralization which came to be known as the Panchayati
raj system. The recommendations of the committee have been mentioned below:
a) Establishment of a three tier Panchayati raj system – which means there has to be gram panchayat at
the village level, panchayat samiti at the block level and Zila parishad at District level. They should be
linked through the indirect elections.
b) The village panchayat should be constituted with directly elected samiti and zila parishad should be
constituted with indirectly elected members.
c) The panchayat samiti should be the executive body while the zila parishad should be the advisory,
coordinating a supervisory body.
d) The development activities and the planning should take place through them.
e) The chairman of the zila parishad should be the district collector.
f) There should be a genuine transfer of power and responsibility to these democratic bodies.
g) These bodies should be provided with adequate resources so that they would perform the functions
efficiently.
The recommendations were accepted, the national development council in January 1958. Rajasthan was
the state to establish Panchayati Raj. Even though most of the states created Panchayati Raj system in
their states but there were differences with regards to the number of tiers, relative position of samiti
and parishad, their tenure, composition and functions.

10) Explain the features of party system in India.

Ans: a) India has a multi party system – Due t largeness of the India’s continental size, population,
diversity, and adoption of universal Adult franchise, the peculiar type of political process and other
factors have given rise to a large number of political parties. India has the largest number of political
parties in the world. In the year 1999, there were 7 nation al parties, 49 state parties and 656 registered
unrecognized parties in the country.
b) One dominant party system – In India, the congress enjoyed a majority and were quite
dominant and powerful for many years after independence. They enjoyed a dominant position till 1967.
c) Lack of clear ideology – It has been observed that most of the political parties in India do not
have clear ideology. Almost all parties give importance to some basic principles like democracy
secularism, socialism and Gandhism. Most of the political parties have their own ideologies and develop
difference of opinions with others.
d) Personality cult – Most of the parties are organized around an eminent leader, who become
more important than the party ideologies. For instance, the congress party became popular of Mrs.
Indira Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
e) Based on traditional factors – Caste, religion, language, culture and race even though are
considered as traditional way of looking at people, but still in India these traditional factors play a
dominant role in Indian political party system.
f) Emergence of regional parties – One of the important significant features of the Indian party
system is the emergence of a large number of regional parties in India. In many states, they have
become the ruling parties and play a dominant role.
g) Divisions and redivisions – Another significant feature of Indian party system is that each
political party has its own ideologies. Many a times the members from a particular political party
develop ego clashes and conflicts which in turn lead to difference of opinions. This again brings about
ideological differences, these ideological differences small or big but again lead to divisions and re-
divisions among the same political parties.
h) Lack of effective opposition – It has been observed by many political thinkers that India lacks an
effective and strong opposition party. Infact, democracy is run smoothly if the opposition party is strong,
honest and people centered. But, Indian experience is far from reality.

11) Write a short note on Local self government.

Ans: The ruling governance in the urban areas and rural areas is known as local self government.
As Indian nation consists of rural as well as urban areas, the governing bodies at both the levels are
quite different.
Governance of an urban area by the people through their elected representatives is known as urban
government and the governance of rural areas by the elected representatives is known as the rural local
self government. Rural local self govt popularly known as panchayati raj.
The formation of these two governing bodies at the urban and rural areas has been established in all the
states of India by the Acts of the state legislatures to build democracy at the grassroots level.

12.) What is meant by social stratification? Explain different forms of stratification.

Ans: Social stratification is a system by which society ranks its members in a hierarchy of positions. In a
stratified society the layers have unequal access to social opportunities and rewards. People in top
strata enjoy power and prestige that are not available to other members of society.
Four forms of stratification are,
1. Slavery system: In this system some individuals are owned by others as their property. Their basis of
slavery is always economic.
2. The estate system: These systems were made up of clergy, nobility and commoners. Clergy consists of
priesthood. Their duty was to look after spiritual wellbeing. Nobility consists of Lords. Their duty was to
provide military protection.
3.The caste system :It is a rigid system of inequality.
4.The class system : People who occupy the same layer of the socio –economic hierarchy are known as a
social class.

13) Explain different types of challenged.

Ans: Challenged can be classified into five broad categories. They are;
1) Visually challenged- They are known as blind. They are the people who can not see properly with
their eyes. Some are totally blind and some are partially. The people who can not see anything are
known as fully blind and people who can see little but have some miner problems known as partially
blind. Some main causes of blind are
 Heredity
 Some of the eye infection
 Deficiency of vitamin A
 Malnutrition and poor hygienic conditions
 Lack of basic medical facilities.
 Cataracts.
Eyes are one of the important sense organ of an individual. One has to take proper care of his eyes. The
daily diet should consist of good amount of vitamins and proteins. Regular diet should consist of lots of
green vegetable.
2) Auditory challenged- They are the people who can not hear. They are known as deaf. Some are
completely deaf and some are partially deaf. The people who can hear partially deaf can hear little but
their hearing capacity is less. Major causes of auditory disabilities are;
 Genetic factor
 Malnutrition
 Illness of the pregnant women
 Certain diseases like measles, typhoid, tuberculosis etc of the pregnant women or the new born child
 Severe injury to ear drums.
 Major infection of the ear if not treated properly
 Jaundice to the new born
Hearing problems can be corrected with proper treatment by an ENT specialist. The deaf children should
be sent to special schools. They should be encouraged to communicate through lip reading and
gestures.
 3) Orthopaedically Challenged – They are physically crippled. They are the people who have some
problems with their bones, joints, muscles etc. Some of the orthopeadically challenged are polio,
paralysis, epilepsy etc. Some of the causes are;
 Genetic factors.
 Malformations.
 Accidents.
 Effects of certain drugs taken by the pregnant women.
 Certain injuries to the pregnant women.
 Injuries to the child in the prenatal stage.
The physically crippled can be given physiotherapies. Some of the massage therapies are also helpful in
treating the orthopaedic patients.
4) Psychologically challenged. They are the people who suffer from minor and major mental disorders.
They are the people who have some problems in thinking. They suffer from depression and mood
changes. These people should be consulted by special psychiatrists or counselors. Some times they are
also making use of shock treatments in severe cases.
5) Mentally challenged. They are the people whose I Q is at the lower side. Their average I Q is below
70. They can not think properly. Their understanding capacities quite low. They are not able to
concentrate in their works and have social maladjustment. Some of the causes are heredity factors.
Malnutrition during pregnancy, injury to the brain, effect of some drugs, diseases like jaundice, polio, T B
etc. they should be admitted in some special institute. The children should be given love affection and
care.

14) Explain the difference between urban society and rural society?
Ans:

Rural Urban
1 It is homogenous. 1 It is hetrogenous.
2 It is dominated by primary relations. 2 It is dominated by secondary and formal
relations.
3 People are simple, frank, generous and 3 People have artificial behaviour.
hospitable.
4 People are guided by customs, traditions, 4 People are modern.
mores and religion.
5 Division of labour is simple. 5 Division of labour is more specified and
complex.
6 Family plays a very important role. Joint 6 Creche, friends and different institutes play
families are common. important role.
7 Women are traditional and enjoy a lower 7 Women are modern and enjoy equal position
position. to men.
8 It is a small community. 8 It is large.
9 It is close to nature. 9 Everything is impure. Environment is polluted.
10 The means of communication and transport 10 Plenty of modes of transport and
facilities are limited. communication are available.
15. Write a short note on Casteism? What are the main characteristics of caste system?
Ans: Caste plays a very important role in Indian society. Hindus who form the majority group in India is
divided into various caste and sub caste. Each caste and sub caste group is different from the other caste
and sub caste. Caste by itself is not bad or destructive but caste becomes dangerous when it is turned
into casteism. Casteism refers to a strong liking for one’s own caste group when this liking goes beyond
a certain level then it may lead to a caste differentiation which again causes hatred towards other caste
community.
The main features of caste system are as follows:
a) The caste system has its basis in religion. It is based on the ideas of purity and pollution.
b) Apart from occupation each caste has its own style of living.
c) In a village, a person’s caste may be identified by looking at his dress and jewellery, house types, food
habits and the manner of speaking.
d) Each caste follows the rules of endogamy. That is its members marry within their own caste.
e) Each caste has its own council called caste panchayat.
f) Each caste has its own rituals.
g) Associations are formed on the basis of caste. The caste associations may establish banks, schools,
colleges, rest houses etc. in the name of their castes.
h) In the field of politics, caste is a significant factor in mobilization of votes. The members of a caste may
constitute a “vote bank”.
i) Some sociologists maintain that one of features of the caste system is the practice of untouchability,
which was legally abolished in 1955. Such a practice is not found in any other system of stratification.

16. Discuss the fundamental duties of Indian citizen.

Ans: The constitution of India protects and safeguards the interest of all. It grants equality, liberty and
fraternity to all its citizens. Each citizen of India enjoys certain fundamental rights. As per the
constitution of India a citizen has to enjoy the fundamental rights, but at the same time he also has to
perform certain fundamental duties. Fundamental duties are contained in the part IV A of the
constitution which consists of Article 51 A. The constitution enlists 10 fundamental duties. These are as
follows:
a) To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, national symbols and national
anthem.
b) To cherish and the noble ideals which cherish the freedom struggle.
c) To upheld and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
d) To defend the country and render the national service when called upon to do so.
e) To promote harmony and spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending
religious, linguistic and regional diversities to maintain the dignity of women.
f) To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
g) To protect and improve the natural environment including forest, rivers and wild life and to have
compassion for living creatures.
h) To develop he scientific temper, humanism and spirit of enquiry and reform.
 i) To safeguard public property.
j) To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation
constantly rises to higher levels of achievements.

17) Discuss the government efforts and measures to promote National Integration.
Ans: After the independence of the country, India was in a very bad shape. The 1st ruling party tried their
level best to settle the issues in the best possible way. Some of the leaders like Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru,
Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and Dr. Ambedkar tried to bring about national integration for
the country’s development.
National integration is very important for the country’s development. No country can progress with the
disintegrated groups thus the Govt. of India had undertaken several measures to achieve national
integration. Some of them are the following:
a) The national integration conference - The conference held in Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi from 28 Sept. to
1st Oct., 1961. About 130 people attended the conference. The conference was attended by many
political thinkers, political leaders, Chie Ministers, academicians, educationists and union ministers. The
conference laid stress on national integration. They also stressed and showed that certain disruptive
tendencies like communalism, regionalism and casteism etc. could lead to national disintegration thus
one should be away from such narrow principles. Certain recommendations of the seminar, which were
organized by the University Grants Commission 18 were considered and discussed. A code of conduct of
the political parties was discussed and an agreement was reached on this issue. The conference
recognized the importance of Hindi language. It emphasized Hindi language as a common medium of
communication between different states. It further stressed the importance of English language as the
most advanced and modern medium of communication, which is to be given importance in the
international sphere. The conference also laid down a special code of conduct for the political parties for
conducting general elections and election campaign.
b) National Integration Council – National integration council was set up to review all matters related to
national integration.
c) National integration committee – This committee was set up under the chairmanship of late prime
minister Indira Gandhi. Its aims were:
i. Promoting national outlook in education and other fields.
ii. Creating opportunities for minorities in economic and political fields.
iii. Maintaining national security.
d) State chief minister’s conference – A conference of state chief minister was held for the promotion of
national integration. The objectives of the conference were as follows:
i. Use of English language at secondary level education.
ii. Establishment of zonal councils.
iii. Linguistic minorities to have education in their mother tongue.
iv. Use of local language as official language at Dist. Levels.
v. Chief ministers should conduct regular meetings and a follow up is to be taken up in each meeting.
e) The role of media in national integration – Mass media play a very important role in imparting
knowledge to the people. The Mass medias must develop and take all efforts in promoting communal
harmony. Today information and communication technologies are becoming more and more popular,
 the education should make use of latest technologies, they should pass on right culture and values to
the people, they must create an awareness on national integration.
National foundation for communal harmony – The national foundation for communal harmony was
instituted in the year 1996. This institution encourages the principle of national integration and
communal harmony. This organization was setup by the Govt. of India. This organization has introduced
the recognition of individual and organizations, who work for the promotion of communal harmony and
national integration.

18) Explain the role of youth in promoting communal harmony.

Ans: Communal and national harmony is very important in the progress of the nation. They are essential for
maintaining peace and order in the society. The youths in India constitute about 19% of the Indian
population. The youths of today are supposed to be very active and smart to bring about a social
change. They are smart enough to construct a peaceful and harmonious society. Youths can be involved
in the process of maintaining communal harmony and peace in the following manner.
1. Creating social awareness among the youths: The youths should develop awareness about our own
society. They can help the NGO’s and schools and colleges and various cultural organisations to prepare
a programme, which would create a social awareness.
2. Youths should try to develop moral values :The youths of today can inculcate the values of co-operation
,peace,excellence in the minds of people.
3. Cultivate scientific and rational outlook: The youths must develop a rational approach and scientific
attitude towards life. They must inculcate the spirit of enquiry and research to find about new
knowledge.
4. Wider exposures: The youths should be exposed to the outside world. They must be made to develop
respect and love towards each others. The efficient youths of today would be the designers of a
harmonious society tomorrow.
5. Encourage nationalistic and humanistic values and goals: The youths should be encouraged to
popularise the feeling of nationalism, tolerance, secularism and brotherhood.
6. Development of human skills : They should be encouraged to develop certain human skills which will
help them to adjust in the society.
7. Arrangement of camps , seminars, workshops, conference and street plays etc.
8. Establish their own youth associations and youth clubs
9. The youths should have meetings to think and decide about the steps , which can be taken to promote
national harmony.
10. N .S.S Activities: The youths can be involved in N.S.S activities.
11. The youths must understand that communalism, regionalism and casteism are dangerous in the
maintenance of communal harmony.

19) Explain the role of women in politics.

Ans: In traditional times women enjoyed a very inferior position as compared to men. Indian Constitution
grants equality to all sexes. From the middle of the 19th century, women have started participating in all
the activities. The educated women of today are entering each and every field. Women’s enhanced
participation in governance structures is viewed as the key to redress the gender inequalities in
 societies. Women constitute half of the world population and therefore it is felt that they should have
equal participation and representation in world democracies. Inspite of equality being granted in the
constitution all over the world and elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, presently
women’s representation in legislatures around the world is only 15%. Therefore , bringing more women
to the politics is a challenging task.
In the 20th century each one is influenced by equality, liberty and fraternity. Involvement of women in
various organizations would help them to be motivated and go ahead hands in hands with men in
political field. Woman should realize that there have been presidents and prime ministers like
honourable Pratibha Patil and late prime minister Indira Gandhi who have been the jewels in the
political scenario. Women’s participation would increase if the following strategies are taken care of:
a) Social Awareness
b) Education and broadminded attitude
c) Capacity building through networking
d) Negotiation skills
e) Development of communication skills
f) Management skills
g) Coordinating spirit
h) Use of mass media and ICT
i) Confidence and boldness
j) Care and love for the country

20 ) ‘Indian society is a multi religious society’. Discuss.

Ans: India is considered as a cradle of world religions.Indian constitution does not recognise any particular
religion as the religion of the country.

Religious groups % of Population

Hindus 80.5
Muslims 13.4
Christians 2.3
Sikhs 1.9
Buddhists 0.8
Jain 0.4
Others 0.7
Total 100%

As the table shows Indian state is inhabited by various religious groups like Hindus, Muslims , Sikhs,
Buddhists , Jains and many other castes.
Hinduism: It is one of the most ancient religions of India.Hinduism emphasises belief on any
supernatural being. Some of the ancient scriptures of the Hindus are the Vedas, The Upanishads, The
Gita, The Ramayana, The Mahabharata.
Islam : Islam is the religion of Muslims. Muslim communities form the second largest religious group of
India. Muslim believes in Allah. The most popular and the greatest prophet of Muslims is Prophet
Mohammed. Their Holy Book is Koran.
Sikhism : Nanak the founder of sikhism was born in Punjab in A.D 1469. The Holy Scripture of Sikhs is
“Adigranth” which contains some of the compositions of Hindu and Mohemmadan saints. Sikhism tried
to bridge the gap between Hinduism and Islam.
Jainism : The Jains follows the teachings of Tirthankaras . It is a small but influential religious minority in
India. Jainism emphasised on spiritual independence , equality, non violence, self control , peace and
aspires of Moksha. The jains are the best educated community in India.
Buddhism : Buddhism began in 563 BC. The religion of Buddhism was found by Lord Buddha. Buddhism
gives importance to Karma and rebirth. Karma determines in which form a person is reborn and rebirth
is a second birth.
Christianity: About 2.3% of total population is Christians. Most of the christian communities are in Goa,
Maharashtra,Tamil Nadu and Kerala.They are the followers of Jesus Christ and their Holy Book is Bible.
Zoroastrianism : The religious community who believe in the principle of king Zoroaster are known as
Parsis. The religion of Parsis are known as zoroastianism. They are less in number and majority of them
are settled in Mumbai. They are peace loving community.

21)Explain the importance of peace and communal harmony in India.

Peace refers to freedom from disturbances and violence. Communal harmony means creating peace
among a community. Thus peace and communal harmony always go hand in hand. In India the
communal clashes that took place due to demolition of Babri-Masjid and in Gujrat state on account of
the fire in the Sabarmati Express near Goghra railway station in 2002 have also aggrevated the
communal problems in India. It is important to bring peace and communal harmony in the country.

Following are the importance of peace and communal harmony.

1) It helps to reduce social conflicts arising out of social discrimination.

2) It helps to foster social ties among various communities.
3) It develops a sense of brotherhood or fellowship, and communal tensions or clashes tend to
reduce.
4) It promotes the feeling of patriotism among community members.
5) It enables the people to be more tolerant in the society
6) It helps to gain co-operation from other community members.

22 ) Explain the causes of communal violence.

 Ans) Following are the causes of communal violence.

1) Growth of communal organizations

2) Absence of uniform civil code
3) Inflammatory speeches by communal leaders
4) Local problems of two different community
5) Petty issues such as slaughtering of a cow, or singing of religious hymns during a religious
procession etc.
6) Failure of Law and Order
7) Yatras by political leaders
8) Disappointment of Hindu Community
9) Religious conversations between two religions
10) The backdoor support to communal activities by political parties to gain political mileage
11) The Hindu militancy

23) Explain the positive role of mass media towards women.

Ans) Mass media includes any medium or media that is exposed to masses . The mass media include Tv,
radio, newspapers, magazines,outdoor hoardings,cinema, and so on. the mass media exists to provide
information , to educate social awareness to fight for public rights and so on.

The mass media is also responsible for women- related issues including the highlighting of crime and
violence against women. In reality the mass media plays a positive role and negative role towards
women.

Positive Role of mass media towards women:

1) Mass media highlights women related problems

The mass media such as TV and newspaper news and programmes highlight the problems faced by
women folk in India. Violence against women related incidents are highlighted in the media. This
catches the attention of police , judiciary and the government.

2) Mass media provides social support to women:

The mass media also provides social and moral support to women in India. The mass media makes
women aware of their constituitional rights through editorials and programmes. The media especially
the press media undertake social awareness campaigns such as:

a) Concern for the girl child

b) Anti dowry campaign
 c) Maternal and child care campaign
d) Special reports on certain occasions such as on Mother’s Day (second Sunday of May)highlighting
the importance of a mother in the family.

2) Improves women status in society:

The mass media tries to improve the women status in the society .stories of successful women
like Kiran Bedi( former IPS officer) Mrs. Indira Gandhi(politics) Mother Teresa(social work) etc are
highlighted in press and other medias. Due to success stories parents are also induced to
mprovide an encouraging support to their daughters.

24) Discuss the negative role of mass media towards women.

Ans) Mass media includes any medium or media that is exposed to masses . The mass media include Tv,
radio, newspapers, magazines,outdoor hoardings,cinema, and so on. the mass media exists to provide
information , to educate social awareness to fight for public rights and so on.

The mass media is also responsible for women- related issues including the highlighting of crime and
violence against women. In reality the mass media plays a positive role and negative role towards
women.

Negative Role of mass media towards women are as follows.

1) Mass media depicts women in poor taste

The mass media supports the advertisements of certain unethical advertisers ,where ,women
are shown in a poor taste. Young female models are shown in certain ads with minimum cloths.
The media owners instead of rejecting such ads willingly accept on revenue grounds. Also too
much coverage is given to females with minimum clothes at certain events. In such cases one
cannot blame just the media it is the women folk who pose for cheap publicity are to be equally
blamed.

2) Mass media promotes women related violence programmes:

A good number of tv programmes and serials depict women related violence such as abduction
and rape. The overexposure to such programmes corrupts the minds of youngsters. some of
them even imitate the filmy scenes in reality, which affets innocent women folk in bad way. The
mass media must make efforts to minimize such programmes ,if not rejecting them.
25) Explain the characteristics of tribal people in India.

1)Common territory: A tribe has a definite territory in which its members live.For example
Nagas in Nagaland, Khasis in Assam, Bhils in MP, Thodas in Tamil Nadu etc
2) Common name: Each tribe is known by its distinctive name. Names of Indian tribes include
Gond, Bhil, Naga,Limbu, Khasi ,Garo etc.
3)Common language: Members of a tribe speak common language. They do not have a script.
4)Common culture: Each tribe has its own culture. The members of a particular tribe follow
common traditions, morals and values.
5)Religion: Majority of the tribals are Hindus (88%) followed by Christians(6%). A small percentage
of tribal’s follow Buddhism and Islam.
6) Occupation: Majority of the tribals are engaged in the agriculture sector. It is estimated that
about 80 to 90% of the tribals are farmers
7) Caste system: generally the tribals do not believe in caste system.
8) Status of women: The status of women differs from tribe to tribe. Most of the women do not
have access to education, resources and power. They don’t have the freedom to take decisions
regarding education, marriage etc.

A Fill in the blanks

1) ……………..means equal respect to all religions (Secular)

2)There are ………………parts in the structure of Indian Constitution (22)

3) The main aim of every political party is to promote……….( national interest)

4)The ----------- is the first citizen of city (Mayor)

5) ThePanchayat Raj System in India exist at ------------- tier level (3)

6) The holy book of Sikh is ---------------- (Guru Granth Sahiba)

7)The constitution of India Confers …………… Citizenship (Single)

8) …………means creating peace among a community.(communal harmony)

9)…………….. is the national language in India. (Hindi, )

10) The Constitution of India has recognized……..major languages.(22)

…11)……… is the main cause of blindness. ( deficiency in vitamin A,)

 12)The ………..to the constitution is called Preamble.(introductory note)

B True OR False

1) Caste system promotes social progress. ( false)

2) Preamble is regarded as the soul of the constitution (true)

3) The holy book of Jews is Torah. (True)

4) Indian society is pluralistic in nature. (true)

5) Kerala has the worst gender ratio among the states in India. (False)

6) President is the head of Gram Panchayat. (true)

7) Sovereign state means a secular state (false)

8) Class system is a social stratification (true)

9) The Holy book of the Sikhs is Gita. (false)

10) Kannada belongs to Dravidian family of languages (True)

C Q1 Match the Columns

A B

1 )Visually handicapped a) Neurological dis order

2) Auditorilly handicapped b) Truancy

3)Orthopedically handicapped c) Glaucoma

4)Mentally handicapped d) Deafness

5)Socially handicapped e) Polio

Ans; 1-c, 2-d, 3-e, 4-a ,5-b

Q2 A B

1) Parsis a)Torah

2) Hindus b) Zorasterism

3) Jews c)Guru Nanak

4) Islam d)Gita

5) Sikhs e) five duties

Ans:
1-b, 2-d,3-a -
4-e, 5-c