Social Studies LONG ANS. QUESTIONS(5 Mark)

A. As protests and struggles against apartheid had increased, the government realised that they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule through repression.
B. The White regime changed its policies. Discriminatory laws were repealed. Ban on political parties and restrictions on the media were lifted.
C. After 28 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela walked out of jail as a free man.
D. Finally at the midnight of 26th April 1994 the new national flag of Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world.
E. The apartheid government came to an end, paving the way for the formation of a multiracial government.
F. After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa, black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities they had committed while in power. They said let us build a new South Africa based on equality of all races and men and women, on democratic values, social justice and human rights.
G. The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the party that led the freedom struggle sat together to draw up a common constitution.

a. Not True: Constitution is the supreme law. It describes how government is elected and the powers, rights of citizens and their protection. This is totally different than any other law. Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among people living in a territory (called citizens) and also the relationship between the people and government.
b. True: The Constitution defines the role of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and how they should be formed and by whom.
c. True: The Constitutional setup limits the power of government through different institutions and also talks about the right of citizens. As the supreme law of the country, the constitution determines the rights of citizens, the powers of the government and how the government should function.
d. Not True: The Constitution contains all the values which the institutions have to promote. The Preamble to the Constitution is a shining example of this and states clearly that justice, liberty, equality and fraternity have to be promoted. Secularism has to be followed and socialism and democracy should be the basis of the government.

The initiatives taken by the government to improve elementary education in India are:
i. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan aims at the universalisation of elementary education in a timebound manner, making it tree to children between the ages of 6 and 14 years, with a special emphasis on girls' education. It has been embodied as a right under the Right to Education Act.
ii. Mid-day Meal scheme has been implemented to encourage attendance and retention of children and improve their nutritional status.
iii. Navodaya Vidyalayas (i.e. model schools) have been opened in each district as ideal schools, whose facilities and methods can be replicated, by other schools.
iv. Vocational streams have been developed to enable a larger number of high school students to find jobs in occupations related to knowledge and skills.
v. Bridge courses and back-to-school camps have been initiated to increase enrollment in elementary education.

A. The Western Cyclonic Disturbances are weather phenomena of the winter months.
B. They are brought in by the westerly flow from the Mediterranean region.
C. They usually influence the weather of the north and north western regions of India. The western cyclonic disturbances experienced in the north and north-western parts of the country are brought in by the westerly flow.
D. They bring rainfall in the states of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
E. Tropical cyclones occur during the monsoon as well as in October-November, and are part of the easterly flow.
F. This rainfall is very beneficial for the Rabi crops.

(i) During winter, a high pressure area develops north of the Himalayas.
(ii) Cold dry winds blow from this region to the low pressure areas over the oceans to the south.
(iii) In summer, a low pressure area develops over interior Asia as well as over northwestern India.
(iv) This causes a complete reversal of the direction of winds during summer.
(v) Air moves from the high pressure area over the southern Indian ocean in a southwesterly direction, crosses the equator and turns right towards the low pressure area over the Indian sub-continent.
(vi) These winds are known as south-west monsoon winds.
(vii) These winds blow over the warm oceans, gather moisture and bring widespread rainfall over the mainland of India.

A. In the past peasants and workers had participated in the revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity. But they could not change the social and economic order. This was left to those groups within the Third Estate who had become prosperous and had access to education and new ideas.
B. The 18th century witnessed the emergence of social groups termed as middle class who earned their wealth through an expanding overseas trade and from manufacturing goods and exporting them.
C. In addition to merchants and manufacturers, the Third estate included professions such as that of lawyers or administrative officials. All of these were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person's social position must depend on his merit.
D. These ideas envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all, were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

a. In 1774, Louis XVI ascended the throne of France. He was 20 years old and married to Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.
b. Upon his accession, the new king found an empty treasury. Long years of war and the cost of maintaining an extravagant court had drained its financial resources.
c. Under Louis XVI, France helped the thirteen American colonies to gain independence from their common enemy, Britain. The war added more than a billion livers (currency) to a debt that went to more than 2 billion livers.
d. Lenders who gave credit to the state began to charge 10 percent interest on loans. So the French government decided to spend its increased percentage of the budget on paying interest alone. The state was forced to increase the taxes to meet the cost of maintaining its army, court, and government offices or universities,