Vardaan Learning Institute

Culture played a vital role in creating the idea of the nation in Europe in several ways:
(i) Romanticism: This was a cultural movement which sought to develop a particular form of nationalist sentiment. Romantic artists and poets generally criticized 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.
(ii) Folk Culture (Das Volk): German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder 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 popularized. So collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was essential to the project of nation-building.
(iii) Language as a Weapon: Language played an important role in developing nationalist sentiments. For example, in Poland, language was used as a weapon of national resistance against Russian dominance. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian rule.

The 1830s were years of great economic hardship in Europe. The justification lies in the following factors:
(i) Population Explosion: The first half of the nineteenth century saw an enormous increase in population all over Europe. In most countries, there were more seekers of jobs than employment.
(ii) Rural to Urban Migration: Population from rural areas migrated to the cities to live in overcrowded slums, leading to poor living conditions.
(iii) Stiff Competition: Small producers in towns were often faced with stiff competition from imports of cheap machine-made goods from England, where industrialization was more advanced.
(iv) Feudal Dues: In those regions of Europe where the aristocracy still enjoyed power, peasants struggled under the burden of feudal dues and obligations.
(v) Rise in Food Prices: The rise of food prices or a year of bad harvest (like the potato famine) led to widespread pauperism in town and country.

The Balkans became an area of intense conflict because:
(i) Ethnic Diversity: A region of geographical and ethnic variation comprising modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro whose inhabitants were broadly known as the Slavs.
(ii) Ottoman Disintegration: A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism in the Balkans together with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made this region very explosive.
(iii) Struggles for Independence: One by one, its European subject nationalities broke away from its control and declared independence. The Balkan peoples based their claims for independence or political rights on nationality and used history to prove that they had once been independent but had subsequently been subjugated by foreign powers.
(iv) Big Power Rivalry: The Balkans also became the scene of big power rivalry. Matters were complicated because the Balkans also became the scene of big power rivalry. Russia, Germany, England, Austro-Hungary—each power was keen on countering the hold of other powers over the Balkans, and extending its own control over the area. This led to a series of wars in the region and finally the First World War.

The movement in the cities gradually slowed down for a variety of reasons:
(i) Expensive Khadi: Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it. They could not boycott mill cloth for too long.
(ii) Lack of Alternative Institutions: Similarly, the boycott of British institutions posed a problem. For the movement to be successful, alternative Indian institutions had to be set up so that they could be used in place of the British ones. These were slow to come up.
(iii) Return to Status Quo: So students and teachers began trickling back to government schools and lawyers joined back work in government courts. They had to return to their jobs for livelihood.

Gandhiji decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919) because:
(i) Hurried Passing: This Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members.
(ii) Repressive Powers: It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities.
(iii) Detention without Trial: It allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. This was seen as a "Black Act" that denied civil liberties and fundamental rights.

(i) Reaction to Colonial Policies: During the First World War, Indian merchants and industrialists had made huge profits and become powerful. They reacted against colonial policies that restricted business activities.
(ii) Demand for Protection: They wanted protection against imports of foreign goods, and a rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports.
(iii) Organization: To organize business interests, they formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.
(iv) Financial Support: Led by prominent industrialists like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G. D. Birla, the industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was first launched. They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.

Many historians argue that print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution occurred. Three types of arguments are usually advanced:
(i) Popularized Enlightenment Ideas: Print popularized the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau. Collectively, their writings provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and despotism. They argued for the rule of reason rather than custom, and demanded that everything be judged through the application of reason and rationality.
(ii) Culture of Dialogue: Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All values, norms, and institutions were re-evaluated and discussed by a public that had become aware of the power of reason, and recognized the need to question existing ideas and beliefs.
(iii) Criticism of Monarchy: By the 1780s there was an outpouring of literature that mocked the royalty and criticized their morality. In the process, it raised questions about the existing social order. Cartoons and caricatures typically suggested that the monarchy remained absorbed in sensual pleasures while the common people suffered immense hardships.

(i) Debates: From the early nineteenth century, there were intense debates around religious issues. Different groups confronted the changes happening within colonial society in different ways, and offered a variety of new interpretations of the beliefs of different religions.
(ii) Public Participation: Some criticized existing practices and campaigned for reform, while others countered the arguments of reformers. These debates were carried out in public and in print. Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread the new ideas, but they shaped the nature of the debate.
(iii) Pan-Indian Identity: A wider public could now participate in these public discussions and express their views. New ideas emerged through these clashes of opinions. This allowed people from different parts of India to connect with each other, realizing their shared grievances and shared national identity.

Moral Reason: Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects. People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system. Ignoring the views of minority groups can undermine the integrity of the nation.

The Belgian leaders took a different path by recognizing the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities:
(i) Constitution Amendment: Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.
(ii) Parity in Central Govt: Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government. Some special laws require the support of majority of members from each linguistic group.
(iii) Community Government: Apart from the central and the state government, there is a third kind of government — 'community government' elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.

The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country.
(i) Linguistic States: The creation of linguistic states was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country. It ensured that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state.
(ii) Language Policy: A second test for Indian federation is the language policy. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.
(iii) Centre-State Relations: Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. The rise of regional political parties and coalition governments has led to a new culture of power sharing.

A major step towards decentralization was taken in 1992. The Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
(i) Regular Elections: It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
(ii) Reservation: Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
(iii) State Election Commission: An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
(iv) Power Sharing: The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Women in India face discrimination in various ways:
(i) Literacy Rate: The literacy rate among women is only 54 per cent compared with 76 per cent among men.
(ii) Unpaid Work: On an average an Indian woman works one hour more than an average man every day. Yet much of her work is not paid and therefore often not valued.
(iii) Sex Ratio: In many parts of India parents prefer to have sons and find ways to have the girl child aborted before she is born. This has led to a decline in child sex ratio.
(iv) Representation: The percentage of elected women members in Lok Sabha has touched 14.36 per cent of its total strength for the first time in 2019. Their share in the state assemblies is less than 5 per cent.

Caste has not disappeared from contemporary India:
(i) Marriage: Even now most people marry within their own caste or tribe.
(ii) Untouchability: Untouchability has not ended completely, despite constitutional prohibition.
(iii) Economic Link: Effects of centuries of advantages and disadvantages continue to be felt today. The caste groups that had access to education under the old system have done well in acquiring modern education as well. Those groups that did not have access to education or were prohibited from acquiring it have naturally lagged behind.

Political parties are necessary because:
(i) Representative Democracy: As societies become large and complex, they also need some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
(ii) Policy Making: Parties bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They provide a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them.
(iii) Accountability: Without parties, every candidate in the elections will be independent. No one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes. The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever uncertain. Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality. But no one will be responsible for how the country will be run.

Democracy is seen to be good in principle but involves challenges in practice:
(i) Moral Good: It promotes equality among citizens, enhances the dignity of the individual, improves the quality of decision-making, and provides a method to resolve conflicts.
(ii) Accountability vs Efficiency: Democratic governments are accountable, responsive, and legitimate. However, they may be slow, less efficient, not always very responsive or clean compared to dictatorships in terms of quick decision making (which ignores public opinion).
(iii) Economic Growth: Rates of economic growth in poor countries under dictatorship have been slightly higher. However, democracy guarantees political and social rights which dictatorships do not.
(iv) Conclusion: The difference in the rates of economic development between less developed countries with dictatorships and democracies is negligible. Overall, we cannot say that democracy overlaps with economic growth, but it is better than any other form of government because of its non-economic benefits.

Indiscriminate use of resources has led to:
(i) Depletion: Depletion of resources for satisfying the greed of a few individuals.
(ii) Accumulation of Wealth: Accumulation of resources in few hands, which, in turn, divided the society into two segments i.e. haves and have nots or rich and poor.
(iii) Global Crisis: Indiscriminate exploitation of resources has led to global ecological crises such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, environmental pollution and land degradation.

Planning is important because:
(i) Finite Resources: Most resources are exhaustible.
(ii) Uneven Distribution: There are regions which are rich in certain types of resources but are deficient in some other vital resources. For example, the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are rich in minerals and coal deposits. Arunachal Pradesh has abundance of water resources but lacks in infrastructural development.
(iii) Conservation: To ensure the availability of resources for future generations (Sustainable Development).

Agriculture and industry move hand in hand:
(i) Raw Materials: Agriculture provides raw materials to agro-based industries such as cotton, jute, sugar, etc.
(ii) Industrial Products: The industries provide many agricultural inputs like irrigation pumps, fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, plastic and PVC pipes, machines and tools, etc. to the farmers.
(iii) Productivity: Thus, development and competitiveness of manufacturing industry has not only assisted agriculturists in increasing their production but also made the production processes very efficient.

(i) Leguminous Crops: Pulses are leguminous crops.
(ii) Nitrogen Fixation: All these crops (except arhar) help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air. Therefore, these are mostly grown in rotation with other crops to maintain the nutrient level of the soil naturally.

Roadways have an edge because:
(i) Construction Cost: Construction cost of roads is much lower than that of railway lines.
(ii) Terrain: Roads can traverse comparatively more dissected and undulating topography. They can negotiate higher gradients of slopes and as such can traverse mountains such as the Himalayas.
(iii) Economic for Short Distance: Road transport is economical in transportation of few persons and relatively smaller amount of goods over short distances.
(iv) Door-to-Door Service: It provides door-to-door service, thus the cost of loading and unloading is much lower.
(v) Feeder to other modes: Road transport is also used as a feeder to other modes of transport such as they provide a link between railway stations, air and sea ports.

(i) Employment: More than 15 million people are directly engaged in the tourism industry.
(ii) National Integration: Tourism promotes national integration and provides support to local handicrafts and cultural pursuits.
(iii) International Understanding: It also helps in the development of international understanding about our culture and heritage.
(iv) Foreign Exchange: Foreign tourists visit India for heritage tourism, eco tourism, adventure tourism, cultural tourism, medical tourism and business tourism, contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

This statement by Mahatma Gandhi brings out the essence of resource conservation.
(i) Irrational Consumption: He believed that irrational consumption and over-utilization of resources lead to socio-economic and environmental problems.
(ii) Root Cause: He placed the greedy and selfish individuals and exploitative nature of modern technology as the root cause for resource depletion at the global level.
(iii) Production by Masses: He was against mass production and wanted to replace it with the production by the masses.

The consequences of environmental degradation do not respect national or state boundaries; this issue is no longer a regional or national issue.
(i) Global Interconnectedness: Our future is linked together. Pollution in one country causes climate change that affects the whole world (e.g., Global Warming).
(ii) Shared Resources: Water pollution in rivers affects all states downstream. Air pollution travels with wind currents across borders.
(iii) Collective Responsibility: Sustainability of development is essential for all mankind and it is a matter of discussion among different countries of the world.

Reasons for the rising importance of the tertiary sector:
(i) Basic Services: In any country, several services such as hospitals, educational institutions, post and telegraph services, police stations, courts, village administrative offices, municipal corporations, defence, transport, banks, insurance companies, etc. are required. In a developing country, the government has to take responsibility for the provision of these services.
(ii) Development of Primary/Secondary Sectors: The development of agriculture and industry leads to the development of services such as transport, trade, storage etc.
(iii) Rise in Income: As income levels rise, certain sections of people start demanding many more services like eating out, tourism, shopping, private hospitals, private schools, professional training etc.
(iv) ICT Growth: Over the past decade or so, certain new services such as those based on Information and Communication Technology have become important and essential.

(i) Definition: A situation where more people are employed in an activity than are needed. If you pull out some people, production will not drop. They seem employed but are actually underemployed.
(ii) Example: Laxmi owns a plot of 2 hectares. All 5 members of her family work in the plot throughout the year. They have nowhere else to go. Each one is doing some work but no one is fully employed. If two members move out to work in a factory, the yield of the plot remains the same, but the family income increases. This is disguised unemployment.

The Reserve Bank of India supervises the functioning of formal sources of loans:
(i) Cash Balance: The RBI monitors the banks in actually maintaining cash balance (CRR).
(ii) Loan Distribution: The RBI sees that the banks give loans not just to profit-making businesses and traders but also to small cultivators, small scale industries, to small borrowers etc.
(iii) Reporting: Periodically, banks have to submit information to the RBI on how much they are lending, to whom, at what interest rate, etc. This prevents unfair practices.

Self-Help Groups are building blocks of the organization of the rural poor because:
(i) Financial Independence: They help borrowers overcome the problem of lack of collateral. They can get timely loans for a variety of purposes and at a reasonable interest rate.
(ii) Savings Habit: They encourage regular savings among members.
(iii) Empowerment: It helps women to become financially self-reliant.
(iv) Social Platform: The regular meetings of the group provide a platform to discuss and act on a variety of social issues such as health, nutrition, domestic violence, etc.

For Consumers:
1. There is greater choice before these consumers who now enjoy improved quality and lower prices for several products.
2. People today enjoy much higher standards of living than was possible earlier.
For Producers:
1. MNCs have increased their investments in India over the past 20 years, which means investing in India has been beneficial for them.
2. Top Indian companies have been able to benefit from the increased competition. They have invested in newer technology and production methods and raised their production standards.
3. Some have gained from successful collaborations with foreign companies.
4. Globalization has enabled some large Indian companies to emerge as multinationals themselves (e.g., Tata Motors, Infosys, Ranbaxy, Asian Paints).

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has played a major role:
(i) Instant Communication: Telecommunication facilities (telegraph, telephone including mobile phones, fax) are used to contact one another around the world, to access information instantly, and to communicate from remote areas.
(ii) Outsourcing: It has facilitated outsourcing of services. A news magazine published for London readers can be designed and printed in Delhi. The text is sent through Internet to the Delhi office. The designers in Delhi office get orders on how to design the magazine from the office in London using telecommunication facilities. The designing is done on a computer. After printing, the magazines are sent by air to London.
(iii) Payment: Even the payment of money for designing and printing from a bank in London to a bank in Delhi is done instantly through the Internet (e-banking).