International Indian School Dammam (2018 – 19)

Class 8 -History Chapter 12- India after Independence

1. What were the challenges that the newly independent nation of India face? (3m)
The following were the challenges faced by the newly independent nation of India
 The rehabilitation of the 8 million refugees who had come to India from Pakistan.
 Integration of the princely states & unifying into one administration.
 Adopting a political system that would serve the hopes and aspirations of the people.
2. After Independence, why was there a reluctance to divide the country on linguistic lines? (2 m)
 Despite the wishes of Gandhiji, India got freedom with the division of the nation on the basis of
religion.
 So Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhai Patel were against the division of the
basis of language and creation of linguistic states.
3. Who was Potti Sriramulu? (1 m)
Potti Sriramulu was a Gandhian leader who strongly demanded and died fasting for a separate state
(Andhra) for the Telugu speaking people.
4. What did Dr. Ambedkar mean when he said that in politics we will have equality, and in social and
economic life we will have inequality”? (2 m)
What Ambedkar wanted to say was that providing voting right to the lower caste people would not
remove other inequalities such as between rich and poor, or between upper castes and lower castes.
These classes of people could be labelled equal only politically but in reality it could not be possible due
to our social and economic structure.
5. What are the 3 lists of subjects that the constitution has provided to balance the different views on
power sharing between the centre and the state? (3m)
The 3 lists of subjects that the constitution has provided are the following
 Union List: It includes the subjects such as taxes, defence and foreign affairs which would be exclusive
responsibility of the centre.
 State List: It includes the subjects such as education and health which would be the responsibility of
the state.
 Concurrent List: It includes the subjects such as forests and agriculture in which both the centre and
the state would have joint responsibility.
6. What special privileges were offered for the poorest and most disadvantaqed Indians by the
constitution? (3m)
 The practice of untouchability was abolished. Hindu temples were thrown open to all including the
former untouchables.
 A certain percentage of seats in legislatures as well as jobs in government were reserved for members
of the lowest castes.
 The adivasis also known as the Scheduled Tribes were also granted reservation in seats and jobs.
7. What were the recommendations of the State Reorganization Commission? (3m)
 The large Hindi-speaking region of north India was also to be broken up into several states.
 The bilingual state of Bombay was divided into separate states for Marathi & Gujarati speakers.
 The state of Punjab was also divided into Punjab & Haryana.
8. Write a brief note on the Constituent Assembly.(4m)
 The Constituent Assembly was set up to draft out the constitution of India.
 The meetings of the “Constituent Assembly” were held in New Delhi. The members of the assembly
came from all over India, and from different political parties.
 The most important role was played by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the Drafting
Committee.
 The writing of the constitution took almost three years to be completed and came into effect on 26 th
January 1950. On 26th January, India became a Republic and since then Republic Day has been
celebrated on 26th January every year.
9. What was the role of the Planning Commission?(2 m)
 The role of the Planning Commission was set to formulate & execute suitable policies for the
economic development of India.
 Productivity and employment opportunities were to be increased through proper implementation of
those policies.

Fill in the blanks

1. The strongest protest for the linguistic state was from the Telugu speaking people.
2. Sardar Vallabhai Patel persuaded most of the maharajas and princes to join India.
3. Dr.B.R.Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee and is known as the Father of the Indian
Constitution.
4. Education and Health are subjects of the State List.
5. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the Deputy Prime Minister of independent India.
6. C.Rajagopalachari was the first Governor General of Independent India.
7. The new state of Andhra Pradesh came into being on 1st October 1953.
8. The Bhilai Steel Plant was viewed as an important sign of the development of modern India after
Independence.
9. The basic objective of the foreign policy of independent India was a Policy of Non-alignment.
10. Krishna Menon led the Indian Delegation to the UN between 1952 and 1962.