NIOS Social Science 213 Solved Paper’ January 2021
NIOS Secondary Solved Papers
1. ‘Mesopotamian Civilization’ lay between which one of the following 1
(A) Tigris and Euphrates.
(B) Ganga and Yamuna.
(C) Krishna and Kaveri.
(D) Congo and Nile.
2. Mangal Pandey is related to which one of the following cities? 1
(A) Barrackpore.
(B) Meerut.
(C) Delhi.
(D) Agra.
3. The Southernmost point of Indian main land is: 1
(A) Thiruvananthpuram.
(B) Indira Point.
(C) Kanya Kumari.
(D) Tuticorin.
4. In which one of the following years did the ‘French Revolution’ take place? 1
(A) 1780.
(B) 1789.
(C) 1798.
(D) 1790.
5. Mention any tow features of ‘town planning’ of the ‘Harappan Civilization. 2 x 1=2
Ans. Features of ‘town planning’ of the ‘ Harappan Civilization are:-
1) A part from the living houses in the lower town, big multi-pillared halls have also been discovered at the citadel area in Mohenjo-Daro. Here, the most striking fear\ture was the Great Bath. The bathing pool in it was 39 feet long, 23 feet wide and 8 feet deep.
2) The Great Granary of Harappa was another important building. The surplus produced by the peasants was stored here.
6. Mention any two reforms brought by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in the field of education. 2
Ans. Two reforms brought by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in the field of education are:-
a) Some of Swami Dayanand’s followers later started a network of schools and colleges called D.A.V. (Dayanand Anglo Vedic) in the country to impart education on wetern lines without compromising on the Vedic teachings.
b) They encouraged teaching of English and modern science along with Sanskrit and Vedic education.
7. Mention any two features of the Western Ghats. 2
Ans. Two features of the Western Ghats are:-
(1) Western Ghats or Sahyadris lie on the Western edge of Decan plateau. It runs parallel to the western coast for about 1600 km.
(2) The average elevation of the Western Ghats is 1000 metres. The famous peaks in this area are Doda Betta, Anaimudi and Makurti.
8. Explain the provision under the ‘Right against Exploitation’ given in the Indian Constitution. 2
Ans. The provision under the ‘Right against Exploitation’ given in the Indian Constitution are:-
a) Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour:- Traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any breach of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
b) Provision of employment of children in factories, etc.:- As the Constitution provides, no child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment. This right aims at eliminating one of the most serious problems, child labour, that India has been facing since ages.
9. Describe any four characteristics of Indian economy during the Medieval period. 4
Ans. Four characteristics of Indian economy during the Medieval period:-
1) In the Mughal Empire, particularly in the reign of Akbar, far reaching changes were made in the system of revenue collection. Land was measured and land revenue was fixed according ot he exact area of land. Fertility of the land was also taken into account.
2) The cash value of the state’s share of the produce was then calculated according to prevailing market prices and the revenue was fixed in cash terms accordingly. The state encouraged payment of revenue in cash.
3) This was a period of commercialization of agriculture and the state encouraged cash crop production. The state also took a lot of interest in the extension of cultivation into zones which were hitherto uncultivated or forest areas.
4) It gave various incentives to pioneer agriculturists. The state also advanced to peasants loans as well as revenue relief in times of crop failure.
10. Explain the negative impacts of ‘Imperialism’ in the world. 4
Ans. The negative impact of Imperialism outweighs its positive one as it drained both the Asia and Africa of their wealth, raw materials and exploited their markets by selling their industrial goods thereby destroying the economy of these colonies. Their policy of racial discrimination made the people lose their self respect as well as their confidence. In India, the Europeans came as traders but became rulers. They destroyed our prosperous economy. India which was an exporter of textile became a buyer of finished goods and exporter of raw materials.
11. Highlight the impacts of British on Indian society in the 19th century. 4
Ans. Indian society underwent many changes after the British came to India.
(a) In the 19th century, certain social practices like female infanticide, child marriage, sati, polygamy and a rigid caste system became more prevalent.
(b) These practices were against human dignity and values.
(c) Women were discriminated against at all stages of life and were the disadvantaged section of the society.
(d) They did not have access to any development opportunities to improve their status.
(e) Education was limited to a handful of men belonging to the upper castes.
(f) Brahmins had access to the Vedas which were written in Sanskrit. Expensive rituals, sacrifices and practices after birth or death were outlined by the priestly class.
12. Explain the contribution of Swami Vivekananda in the religious and social reform movement in India. 4
Ans. Vivekananda was the first spiritual leader who thought beyond religious reforms. He felt that Indian masses needed secular as well as spiritual knowledge to empower them to believe in themselves. Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna mission after the name of his guru Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Through his speeches and writings, he brought out the essence of Hindu culture and religion. He believed in the spirit of Vedanta and the essential unity and equality of all religious. He laid stress on the removal of religious superstitions, obscurantism, and outdated social customs. He tried to remove caste rigidities, and untouchabilty. He motivated the people to respect women while he himself worked for women’s upliftment and education. Vivekananda attached primary importance to the removal of ignorance among the people.
13. Describe any four main features of ‘Hot Weather Season’ in India. 4
Ans. By the end of February the temperature starts rising. So from March to May it is hot weather season.
1) We find high temperature in plains, western part of India and in the central part of peninsular India.
2) In Northern plains, thus, an elongated low pressure which is called monsoonal trough created here, which extends from Jaisalmer in western Rajasthan to Jharkhand and parts of Odisha to the East.
3) In North-West India, afternoon dust storms are common. During summer, very hot and dry winds vlow over North Indian plains. They are Locally called ‘Loo;.
4) Towards the close of the summer season, pre-monsoon showers are common, especially in Kerala and Karnataka. They help in the early ripening of mangoes, and are often referred to as ‘mango showers’.
14. Describe any four characteristics of Thorn forests in India. 4
Ans. The areas with less than 75 cm of annual rainfall are characterized by the natural vegetation of thorny trees and bushes.
a) Climate of this part is mainly dry with occasional wet period, so it does not support dense vegetation.
b) They are mainly found in North-Western India, interior parts of the Peninsular India including semi arid areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
c) Vegetation of these forests is widely distributed in the form of small trees and bushes with deep roots.
d) The stems are succulent to conserve water. Leaves are mostly thick and small to minimize evaporation.
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15. Explain any four causes responsible for farmers’ suicide in India. 4
Ans. Four causes responsible for farmers’ suicide in India are:-
(1) Commercialization of the countryside along with massive decline in investment in agriculture was the beginning of the decline.
(2) Withdrawal of bank credit at a time of soaring input prices and the crash in farm incomes compounded the problems.
(3) Shifting of millions from food crop to cash crop cultivation had its own risks.
(4) Privatization of many resources has also compounded the problems.
16. Why is there dense rail network in the Gangetic Plain than in hilly and desert areas? Explain any four reasons. 4
Ans. The construction of railways is very difficult and costly in mountainous region whereas it can be easily done in areas of flat land. Therefore, India has dense railway network in the Gangetic plain where as desert, hills marshy regions, flood prone areas, dense forest, areas with rapids and rivers have not been developed much.
The states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana, are well connected by railways because these states are located in the plains. These areas are food bowl of India and most of the crops grown here are taken to other parts of the country through railways.
Areas where mining and industries are more developed tend to have better facilities of railways for easy transportation of goods. Areas with less industrial development cannot compensate the cost of construction of railways, therefore have less railway network.
Urban areas or large cities attract more people for jobs, business, education, trade, banking have high density railway network for quick movement of people.
17. Mention any eight values expressed in the ‘Preamble’ of the Indian Constitution. 4
Ans. Values expressed in the ‘Preamble’ of the Indian Constitution are:
1) Sovereignty.
2) Socialism.
3) Secularism.
4) Democracy.
5) Republic.
6) Justice.
7) Liberty and
8) Equality.
18. “The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines to the Central and State Governments of India.” Support the statement. 4
Ans. “The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines to the Central and State Governments of India.” The governments must keep these principles in mind while framing laws and policies. It is true that these provisions of the Constitution of India are non-justice able, which means that these are not enforceable by any court of law. But the principles are considered fundamental in the governance of the country. It is the duty of the central and state governments to apply these principles in making laws to establish a just society in the country. The principles have been inspired by the Directive Principles stated in the Constitution of Ireland and also by the principles of Gandhian philosophy.
The main aim of these principles is to create social and economic conditions under which all the citizens can lead a good life.
19. “The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992 brought about significant changes in the structure and functioning of urban local governments.” Explain any four changes. 4
Ans. “The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act 1992 brought about significant changes in the structure and functioning of urban local governments.” The following points are noteworthy:
(1) Constitution of urban local bodies (namely, Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, and Nagar Panchayat) in every Indian State;
(2) Constitution of Wards Committees within the territorial area of a municipality, to ensure people’s participation in civic affairs at the grass-root level;
(3) Regular and fair conduct of municipal elections by State Election Commissions;
(4) Provision for supersession of municipal governments for not more than 6 months.
20. Explain the function of the State Legislature. 4
Ans. The State Legislature performs the following categories of functions:
a) Legislative Functions:- The Assembly has the sole right to legislate. All the laws must be passed by it. Where there is a bicameral legislature, the ordinary Bills can be introduced in any of the Houses. A Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly is sent to the Legislative Council which has to pass it or to return it with recommendations to the Legislative Assembly.
b) Control over the Executive:- The State Legislature keeps control over the executive. The Council of Ministers is responsible to Vidhan Sabha collectively. It remains in office so long as it enjoys the confidence of the House. The Council of Ministers is removed, if the Vidhan Sabha adopts motion of no-confidence against it.
c) Electoral Functions:- The elected members of the Legislative Assembly are members of the ELECTORAL College for the election of the President of India. The members of the Vidhan Sabha also elect the members of the Rajya Sabha from their respective States. Moreover, they elect one-third members of the Legislative Council of their own State.
d) Functions related to Constitutional Amendments:- There are important functions of the State Legislature related to the amendment of the Constitution. A constitutional amendment requires the support of a special majority of each House of the Parliament as well as ratification by not less than half of the States where the State Legislatures ratify the amendments.
21. “Discrimination against girls and women exists in every walk of life.” Support the statement. 4
Ans. Discrimination against girls and women exists in every walk of life. You must have had such experiences of prevailing gender inequality in our society and polity. But we know that gender equality is one of the basic principles of democracy. The Constitution of India enjoins upon the State to ensure that men and women are treated as equals and there is no discrimination against women. Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties as well as the Directive Principles of State Policy make these intensions very clear. But the discrimination against females continues to be a fact of life. It is clearly reflected in the sex ratio, child sex ratio and maternal mortality rate. The number of females in comparison to males has been declining ever since 1901. In 1901, the sex ratio was 972 females per 1000 males. According to 2011 Census it is 940 females per 1000 males which is still very unfavourable to females.
22. “The extremist movements going on in different parts of the country are a challenge to national integration.” Support the statement with examples. 4
Ans. The extremist movements going on in different parts of the country are yet another challenge to national integration. You must have heard about Naxalite movement or Maoist movement. These movements quite often use violence, create fear in public life, cause loss of lives of government personnel and people and destroy public property. Mostly the youth participate in such movements. The basic reason for taking up arms by the youth is the continuing state of socio-economic deprivations. Moreover, the day-to-day humiliation, denial of justice, human rights violations, various kinds of exploitation and political marginalization prompt them to join the Nazalite movement.
23. Explain the role of ‘revolutionaries’ and secret societies in the National Movement. 4
Ans. The reactionary policy of the British developed a deep hatred towards them among a section of the younger generation of India. They believed that India could achieve independence only by an organized revolutionary movement. As a result, they organized secret groups to launch revolutionary activities against the British. Youths were trained in aggressive methods of violence as a means of strength against the British. They attempted killing of unpopular British officials, committed dacoities to finance their activities and looted arms. Many of them, therefore, chose the path of violence to gain independence for India. They were called revolutionaries. The centres of their activities were Punjab, Maharashtra, Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Prominent among these revolutionaries were Khudiram Bose, Sardar Bhagat Sigh, Raj Guru, Sukh Deo, and Chandra Shekhar Azad etc. These revolutionaries organized secret societies, murdered many British officers, disrupted railway traffic, engaged in organized attack on British wealth.
24. Describe Mahatma Gandhi’s detailed programme of Non co-operation movement 1920. 5
Ans. The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22):- Gandhiji by this time was convinced that no useful purpose would be served by supporting the government. He was also emboldened by his earlier success in Bihar In the light of the past events and the actions of British government; he decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlett Act in 1919. He threatened to start the non-cooperation movement in case the government failed to accept his demands. It was because the Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without any trial for two years. Gandhiji wanted non violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws. The government paid no heed to it. Gandhiji, therefore, started his non cooperation movement in August 1920, in which he appealed to the people not to cooperate with the British government. At this time, the Khilafat movement started by the Muslims and the Non-cooperation movement led by Gandhi merged into one common confrontation against the British Government.
25. “People’s participation does not begin and end with their voting in election.” Examine the statement with examples. 5
Ans. People’s participatory democracy. But the meaning of people’s participation is also expressed through public debates, newspaper editorials, protest demonstrations and their active involvement in government programmes. Even in respect of election process, it includes participation in campaign, political discussion, working for political parties and standing as candidates.
People’s participation may be defined as, “behaviour through which people directly express their political opinions.” This conceptualisation is broad enough to cover the electoral and non-electoral forms of political participation. In fact, participation comprises all those actions of citizens by which they seek to influence, support or criticize the government and its policies.
26. Why is the Prime Minister considered as the most powerful functionary of the Union Government? Explain with examples. 5
Ans. The Prime Minister is the most important and powerful functionary of the Union Government.
a) The Prime Minister being the head of the Council of Ministers, selects the Ministers to be sworn in by the President. The Ministers in fact are chosen by the Prime Minister and remain Ministers as long as they enjoy the confidence of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister distributes portfolios among Ministers.
b) The Prime Minister presides over the meetings of the Cabinet and conducts its proceedings. As head of the Cabinet, he/she largely influences the decisions of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister co-ordinates the working of various ministers. The President resolves disagreement if any amongst different Ministers. Prime Minister is the link between the president and Minister.
c) The Prime Minister is the “principal spokesman” and defender of the policies of the Government in the Parliament. When any Minister is unable to defend his/her actions properly, the Prime Minster comes to the help of that Minister both inside and outside the Parliament.
d) The Prime Minister has a special status both in the Government and in the Parliament. This makes him/her the most powerful functionary. His/her position and powers depend upon his/her personality. A person of the stature of Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi, is always more effective than a person who lacks vision or depends on support from outside.
27. Analyse the steps taken by the Government of India for economic empowerment of economically and socially disadvantaged groups. 5
Ans. Economic Empowerment:- Employment and income generation programmes have been launched for the economic empowerment of socially disadvantage groups. The following apex financial organizations have been set up:-
1) The National Scheduled Cates Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) provides financial and other support to beneficiaries for taking up various income generating activities.
2) The National Safai Karamchari Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) provides financial and other support to Safai karamcharis for taking up various income generating activities.
3) The National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) supports various income and employment generating activities through loans, marketing support, training and so on.
4) The Scheduled Castes Development Corporations (SCDCs) finance employment oriented schemes that cover agriculture and allied activities including minor irrigation, small scale industry, transport and trade and service sector.
5) The Scheduled Tribes Development Corporations (STDCs) function as channelizing agencies and extending financial and other assistance to beneficiaries. The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) provides marketing assistance to STs for collection of minor forest produce and surplus agricultural produce.
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