Important Questions with Answers

Most frequently repeated

• 5 marksDescribe the role of Otto von Bismarck in the unification of Germany.

  The Rise of Nationalism in EuropeHow to answer: Frame around Bismarck as the Prussian chief minister who led unification through a policy of 'blood and iron', using the Prussian army and bureaucracy. Cover the three wars (with Austria, Denmark, and France) over seven years culminating in the 1871 proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles with William I as emperor.

• 5 marksExplain any five features of the 'utopian vision' depicted in Frédéric Sorrieu's series of prints (1848).

  The Rise of Nationalism in EuropeHow to answer: Describe the prints as showing peoples of the world as a procession marching to offer homage to the Statue of Liberty (with torch and Charter of the Rights of Man). Mention the shattered absolutist symbols, the nation-states with their flags and dress, the US and Switzerland in the lead, and Christ/saints/angels above signifying fraternity among nations.

• 3 marksWhy is 1848 considered a landmark year in the history of nationalism in Europe?

  The Rise of Nationalism in EuropeHow to answer: Cover the food shortages and unemployment-driven revolt of the poor, plus the parallel middle-class liberal-nationalist revolutions demanding constitutions, freedom of the press and association. Reference the Frankfurt Parliament's attempt to draft a constitution for a unified Germany.

• 5 marksHow did the First World War help in the growth of the National Movement in India? Explain.

  Nationalism in IndiaHow to answer: Link the war to a new economic and political situation: huge defence expenditure funded by loans and taxes, doubled customs duties and income tax, soaring prices, forced recruitment in rural areas, and crop failure/influenza causing famine and deaths. Show how this hardship made people receptive to Gandhi's mass movement.

• 5 marksWhy did Mahatma Gandhi decide to launch the Non-Cooperation Movement? Explain its various forms in the cities.

  Nationalism in IndiaHow to answer: Open with Gandhi's argument in 'Hind Swaraj' that British rule survived on Indian cooperation, so non-cooperation would bring it down within a year. For city participation, cover the boycott of foreign cloth, schools, colleges, councils and titles, the surrender of titles, and the use of khadi — while noting the movement slowed as the foreign-goods boycott made cloth costly.

• 3 marksWhat was the Salt March? Why did Mahatma Gandhi choose salt as a powerful symbol to unite the nation?

  Nationalism in IndiaHow to answer: Describe the march from Sabarmati to Dandi (about 240 miles) to break the Salt Law by making salt from seawater, launching the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain salt as something consumed by rich and poor alike, making the state monopoly and salt tax one of the most oppressive symbols of British rule.

• 5 marksExplain how the indentured labour migration from India was a 'new system of slavery'.

  The Making of a Global WorldHow to answer: Cover recruitment of indentured workers (mainly from eastern UP, Bihar, central India, dry Tamil Nadu) for plantations and mines in the Caribbean, Mauritius and Fiji. Stress the deception by agents, false information about destinations, harsh living and working conditions, legal penalties, and that the system was abolished in 1921.

• 3 marksWhat is meant by the term 'Great Depression'? Explain any two factors responsible for it.

  The Making of a Global WorldHow to answer: Define it as the worldwide economic crisis from around 1929 into the mid-1930s, marked by catastrophic declines in production, employment, incomes and trade. Then explain factors such as agricultural overproduction (falling prices), withdrawal of US loans, and the dependence of countries on US credit.

• 1 markWho was Marco Polo and what was his role in the global exchange of goods?

  The Making of a Global WorldHow to answer: Identify him as a great explorer who returned to Europe in the thirteenth century after a long stay in China, introducing many Chinese goods. One precise sentence is enough for full marks.

• 5 marksHow did print culture create the basis for the French Revolution? Explain.

  Print Culture and the Modern WorldHow to answer: Build three arguments: print popularised Enlightenment ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau, fostering critical thinking about tradition and despotism; it created a new culture of dialogue and debate; and by the 1780s a literature mocking royalty spread, eroding the monarchy's authority. Add the balanced caution that people did not read only one kind of literature.

Chapter-wise question bank

The Rise of Nationalism in Europe · Nationalism in India · The Making of a Global World · Print Culture and the Modern World