India After Independence | Chapter 10 | History 8th |

Chapter 10 – India After Independence

 Let’s Recall

Q1. Name three problems that the newly independent nation of India faced.

Ans. Three problems that the newly independent nation of India faced.

(i) As a result of Partition, 8 million refugees had come into the country from what was now Pakistan. These people had to be found in homes and jobs.

(ii) The maharajas and nawabs of the princely states (almost 500) had to be persuaded to join the new nation.

(iii) A political system had to be adopted which would best serve the hopes and expectations of the Indian population.

Q2. What was the role of the Planning Commission?

Ans. The Planning Commission was set up to help design and execute suitable policies for the economic development of India.

Q3. Fill in the blanks.

(a) Subjects that were placed on the Union List were _________, _________ and _________.

(b) Subjects on the Concur rent List were _________ and _________.

(c) Economic planning by which both the state and the private sector played a role in development was called a _________ _________ model.

(d) The death of _________ spark ed off such violent protests that the government was forced to give in to the demand for the linguistic state of Andhra.

Ans.

(a) Subjects that were placed on the Union List were taxes, defence , and foreign affairs.
(b) Subjects on the Concurrent List were education and health.
(c) Economic planning by which both the state and the private sector played a role in development was called a mixed-economy model.
(d) The death of Potti Sriramulu sparked off such violent protests that the government was forced to give in to the demand for the linguistic state of Andhra.

Q4. State whether true or false.

(a) At independence, the majority of Indians lived in villages.

(b) The Constituent Assembly was made up of members of the Congress party.

(c) In the first national election, only men were allowed to vote.

(d) The Second Five Year Plan focused on the development of the heavy industry.

Ans.

(a) At independence, the majority of Indians lived in villages. True

(b) The Constituent Assembly was made up of members of the Congress party. False

(c) In the first national election, only men were allowed to vote. False

(d) The Second Five Year Plan focused on the development of the heavy industry. True

Let’s Discuss

Q5. 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?

Ans. According to Dr. Ambedkar, political democracy had to be accompanied by economic and social democracy. Giving the right to vote would not automatically lead to the removal of other inequalities such as between rich and poor, or between upper and lower castes. He believed that India needed to work towards eradicating all forms of inequality in economic and social spheres. Only then would the equality granted by the Constitution in the sphere of politics (i.e., one vote for every adult Indian citizen) be of any value. Otherwise, India would just be a land of contradictions following the principle of one man, one vote, and one value? in its political life, and denying the principle of one man, one value? in its economic and social lives.

Q6. After Independence, why was there a reluctance to divide the country on linguistic lines?

Ans. The partition of the country along communal lines changed the mindset of the nationalist leaders. They wanted to prevent further divisions in the country on sectarian lines. This division had been done on the basis of religion. As a result of this division, more than a million people had been killed in riots between Hindus and Muslims. In such circumstances, it was not wise to further divide the country on the basis of language. Therefore, both Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Patel was against the creation of linguistic states.

Q7. Give one reason why English continued to be used in India after Independence?

Ans. The question of language is an important one in the Indian setup. India is a land of several regional languages. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganized on the basis of language. In such circumstances, imposing any one of the regional languages on the entire country would have proved divisive, as it did in the case of Pakistan (which imposed Urdu on Bengali-speaking East Pakistan) and Sri Lanka (which made Sinhala the sole official language of the country, disregarding the Tamil-speaking the minority who lived in the North of the island).

While discussing the language question in the Constituent Assembly, many members wanted Hindi to take over as the sole official language in place of English. However, those who did not speak Hindi were of a different opinion. They did not wish Hindi to be imposed on them. A compromise was finally arrived at. namely, that while Hindi would be the official language? of India, English would be used in the courts, the services, and communications between one state and another.

Q8. How was the economic development of India visualised in the early decades after Independence?

Ans. Objectives Lifting India and Indians out of poverty and building a modern technical and industrial base were among the major objectives of the new nation.

Planning Commission and Five Year Plans: A Planning Commission was set up to help design and execute suitable policies for economic development.

Mixed-economy: A mixed-economy model was agreed upon. In this economic model, both the State and the private sector would play important and complementary roles in increasing production and generating jobs.

Focus on heavy industries and dams: In 1956, the Second Five Year Plan was formulated. This focused strongly on the development of heavy industries such as steel, and on the building of large dams.

The focus on heavy industry and the effort at state regulation of the economy (which was to guide the economic policy for the next few decades) had many critics. This approach was criticised because.

(i) It put inadequate emphasis on agriculture

(ii) It neglected primary education

(iii) It did not take into account the environmental implications of concentrating on science and machinery.

·         Free Download | Political Science | Class 8th | eBook |

·         Free Download | History | Class 8th | eBook |

·         Free Download | Geography | Class 8th | eBook |

·         Free Download | Urdu | Class 8th | eBook |

·         Free Download | Mathematics | Class 8th | eBook |

·         Free Download | Science | Class 8th | eBook |

·         Free Download | Kashmiri | Class 8th | eBook |