Political Science Test - 27

During the Cold War, the United States was based upon capitalism and democracy while the Soviet Union was based upon communism and dictatorship.

The Kallakudi demonstration was organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on 15 July, 1953 in Kallakudi in the erstwhile Tiruchirappalli district against naming the place as Dalmiapuram.

Ramakrishna Dalmia, a businessman from Bihar, established a cement factory in Kallakudi and the place was renamed Dalmiapuram on his request. DMK opposed the move as a suppression of South Indians by North India. It was the first notable demonstration by M. Karunanidhi. His protest at Kallakudi, in Trichy, to change the name of the railway station from Dalmiapuram to Kallakudi became a turning point in his political career.

The western alliance, headed by the US, represented the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism while the eastern alliance, headed by the Soviet Union, was committed to the ideology of socialism and communism.

Arms control regulates the acquisition or development of weapons. The Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 1972 tried to stop the United States and the Soviet Union from using ballistic missiles as a defensive shield to launch a nuclear attack. While it allowed both countries to deploy a very limited number of defensive systems, it stopped them from large-scale production of those systems.

The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989 as well as encircling and separating West Berlin from East German territory. Construction of the wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic on 13 August 1961.

Kurt Waldheim was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations for a five-year term beginning on 1 January, 1972. In February 1973, during an official trip to the subcontinent, the Secretary-General discussed with the governments of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh the problems created by the war between India and Pakistan and ways and means to overcome its consequences. He also inspected the United Nations Relief Operation in Bangladesh, the largest relief operation ever undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations.

The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all European colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US). Allies during World War II, the US and the USSR became competitors on the world stage and engaged in the Cold War, so called because it never resulted in overt, declared total war between the two powers but was instead characterized by espionage, political subversion and proxy wars.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These were based on the OECD DAC International Development Goals agreed by Development Ministers in the "Shaping the 21st Century Strategy". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) succeeded the MDGs in 2016.

Lithuania was the first republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union by the Act of March 11, 1990 with its Baltic neighbours and the Southern Caucasus republic of Georgia joining it in a course of two months.

After the reorganisation, the Akalis came to power in 1967 and then in 1977. On both the occasions it was a coalition government. The Akalis discovered that despite the redrawing of the boundaries, their political position remained precarious. Firstly, their government was dismissed by the Centre mid-way through its term. Secondly, they did not enjoy strong support among the Hindus. Thirdly, the Sikh community, like all other religious communities, was internally differentiated on caste and class lines. The Congress got more support among the dalits, whether Hindu or Sikh, than the Akalis.