Social Studies LONG ANS. QUESTIONS(5 Mark)

1. Ans. In a barter system where goods are directly exchanged without the use of money, double coincidence of wants is an essential feature. In contrast, in an economy where money is in use, money by providing the crucial intermediate step eliminates the need for double coincidence of wants.
2. People with the help of money can purchase whatever he needs. No goods or other items are needed for exchange anymore. Since money acts as an intermediate in the exchange process, it is called a medium of exchange.
3. Modern forms of money include currency - paper notes and coins. Unlike the things that were used as money earlier, modern currency is not made of precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. And unlike grain and cattle, they are neither of everyday use. The modern currency is without any use of its own.
4. It is accepted as a medium of exchange because the currency is authorised by the government of the country. In India, the Reserve Bank of India issues currency notes on behalf of the central government. As per Indian law, no other individual or organisation is allowed to issue currency. Moreover, the law legalises the use of rupee as a medium of payment that cannot be refused in settling transactions in India. No individual in India can legally refuse a payment made in rupees. Hence, the rupee is widely accepted as a medium of exchange.

Self Help Groups help the poor to become self-reliant in terms of savings and generating income.
1. Can avail the facilities of loans from formal sources like banks at a low rate of interest.
2. They do not demand collateral and so she can easily access.
3. Self-help groups are exclusively meant for rural women like Miss X to make
them economically independent through self-employment opportunities.
4. This will help her to start and expand her business and thus improving the standard of living.
5. Skill development: SHGs in India have also been successful in providing skill development and training opportunities to women. Through training programs, she can be equipped with the necessary skills to start and run a successful business.
6. Social empowerment. By providing a platform for women to come together, share their experiences, and support each other, SHGs have empowered women to take charge of their lives and become active participants in their communities.

1. The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties. All over the world, there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens Inside the party. They do not have the means, or the connections needed to influence the decisions.
2.The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the first one. Since most political parties do not practise open and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their family members. in many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family.
3. The third challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections. Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use shortcuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the political parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
4. The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. To offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of world. For
example- The difference between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain is very little. They agree on more fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how policies are to be framed and implemented.
5. Not much difference between the leaders as well. They keep shifting from one party to another.

In a democratic set-up, political parties are required because without political parties.
1. Every candidate in the elections will be independent. No promises could be made, and the utility of the government formed will remain uncertain.
2. No one will be responsible for running the country. Elected representatives.will only be accountable to their constituency.
3. There will be no agency to gather and present different views on various issues to the government.
4. No one will be responsible for bringing various representatives together to form a responsible government.
5. There will be no mechanism to support the government, make policies and justify or oppose them.

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, European governments were driven by a spirit of conservatism. The representatives of the four great European powers- Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria who had collectively defeated Napoleon, met at Vienna to draw up a settlement for Europe. The Congress was hosted by the Austrian Chancellor Duke Metternich. The result was the Treaty of Vienna of 1815.
1. Its object was to undo the changes that had come about in Europe during the Napoleonic wars and to restore the monarchies that had been overthrown by Napoleon and create a new conservative order in Europe. Conservatives believed that established, traditional institutions of state and society-like the monarchy, the Church, social hierarchies, property, and the family - should be preserved.
2. The Bourbon dynasty, (deposed during the French Revolution) was restored to power. France lost the territories it had annexed under Napoleon.
3. A series of states were set up on the boundaries of France to prevent it from expansion in future. For example, kingdom of the Netherlands, which included Belgium, was set up in the north. Genoa was added to Piedmont in the south.
4. Prussia was given territories on its western frontiers. Austria was given control
of northern Italy. The German confederation of 39 states set up by Napoleon was left untouched.
5. In the east, Russia was given part of Poland while Prussia was given a portion of Saxony.
The main intention was to restore the monarchies that had been overthrown by Napoleon and create a new conservative order in Europe.

The development of nationalism did not come about only through wars and territorial expansion. Culture played an important role in creating the idea of the nation: art and poetry, stories and music helped express and shape nationalist feelings.
1. Romantic artists and poets generally criticised the glorification of reason and science and focused instead on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings. Their effort was to create a sense of a shared collective heritage, a common cultural past, as the basis of a nation.
2. Romantics such as the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-
1803) claimed that true German culture was to be discovered among the
common people das volk. It was through folk songs, folk poetry and folk
dances that the true spirit of the nation (volksgeist) was popularised. So
collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was essential to the project
of nation-building.
3. The emphasis on vernacular language and the collection of local folklore was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterate. This was especially so in the case of Poland, which had been partitioned at the end of the eighteenth century by the Great Powers - Russia, Prussia and Austria.
4. Even though Poland no longer existed as an independent territory, national feelings were kept alive through music and language. Karol Kurpinski, for example, celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols.
5. Language too played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments. After the Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere. In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took place which was ultimately crushed. Following this, many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance. Polish was used for Church gatherings and all religious instruction. As a result, a large number of priests and bishops were put in jail or sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities as punishment for their refusal to preach in Russian. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian dominance.

There are various measures which can be adopted to prevent soil erosion caused due to natural forces.
1. Ploughing along the contour lines can decelerate the flow of water down the slopes. This is called contour ploughing.
2. Steps can be cut out on the slopes making terraces. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion. Western and central Himalayas have well developed terrace farming.
3. Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left to grow between the crops. This breaks up the force of the wind. This method is known as strip cropping.
4. Planting lines of trees to create shelter also works in a similar way. Rows of such trees are called shelter belts. These shelter belts have contributed significantly to the stabilisation of sand dunes and in stabilising the desert in western India.
5. Natural forces like wind, glacier and water lead to soil erosion.