Political Science Mock Test - 2

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

Cuban Missile Crisis

• The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis, the Caribbean Crisis, or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba.
• Having promised in May 1960 to defend Cuba with Soviet arms, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev assumed that the United States would take no steps to prevent the installation of Soviet medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in Cuba.
• Such missiles could hit much of the eastern United States within a few minutes if launched from Cuba. The United States learned in July 1962 that the Soviet Union had begun missile shipments to Cuba.
• By August 29 new military construction and the presence of Soviet technicians had been reported by U.S. U-2 spy planes flying over the island, and on October 14 the presence of a ballistic missile on a launching site was reported.

The correct answer is 1947-1991.

Key Points

• Period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States said to be Cold War Era, in 1947-1991.

Additional Information

• The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies, the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc, after World War II.
• The period is generally considered to span 1947 to the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars.
• The West was led by the United States as well as the other First World nations of the Western Bloc that were generally liberal democratic but tied to a network of authoritarian states, most of which were their former colonies.
• The East was led by the Soviet Union and its Communist Party, which had an influence across the Second World. The US government supported right-wing governments and uprisings across the world, while the Soviet government-funded communist parties and revolutions around the world.
• As nearly all the colonial states achieved independence in the period 1945–1960, they became Third World battlefields in the Cold War.

Introduction ​

• The Second World War, as its name suggests, was a global conflict that embroiled peoples of many races and backgrounds.
• The conflict in Yugoslavia, though left out or brushed over in most mainstream narrative accounts was nonetheless a critical part of the war against the Axis and representative of the sacrifices made by the occupied peoples in Europe.
• These minor conflicts, though of less consequence in the larger picture of the war today, were quite well covered by the press in the United States and Great Britain during the war. The conflict in Yugoslavia was no exception. The Western governments played a critical role in the development of the Tito – Mihailović wartime conflict because the Western leaders were forced to decide which group to aid with military and medical supplies.
• Mihailović had the support of the Western leaders from the initiation of his operations in April of 1941 until February of 1944 when Churchill made the decision to shift his official support to Marshal Tito.
• Yugoslavia was a nation still scarred by a war that had ended only a year before, but the change in the political landscape made the nation unrecognizable.
• A Communist government led by wartime hero Marshal Tito had supplanted the monarchy that existed before the war. These alleged traitors, it was charged, had obstructed the efforts of Tito and his supporters and collaborated with the Axis forces that had occupied Yugoslavia.

• The Soviet satellite states were similarly hostile toward Yugoslavia. A staunch ally of Moscow in the Balkans and an ardent anti-Titoist, Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov accused the Yugoslavs of creating disunity within the bloc. “There is no need for us to use the Stalinist methods of the past, but we are obligated to take measures to introduce order in Czechoslovakia as well as in Romania. 

• Fragmentary Yugoslav records show that the Soviets indeed tried to use Yugoslav domestic instability to weaken Tito and install pro-Soviet cadres within the Yugoslav leadership and thus finally resolve the Yugoslav-Soviet dispute dating from 1948.

The correct answer is Yugoslavia.

Key Points

• In Yugoslavia, political competition along religious ending ethnic lines led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia into six independent countries.
• Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe and Central Europe for most of the 20th century. It came into existence after World War I in 1918 under the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by the merger of the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the Kingdom of Serbia, and constituted the first union of the South Slavic people as a sovereign state, following centuries in which the region had been part of the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary.
• The official name of the state was changed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 3 October 1929.

The correct answer is Option 3.

Key Points

• The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a Russia-led military alliance of seven former Soviet states that was created in 2002.
• The CSTO’s purpose is to ensure the collective defence of any member that faces external aggression. It has been described by political scientists as the Eurasian counterpart of NATO, which has 29 member states, while the CSTO has just six.
• The organization supports arms sales and manufacturing as well as military training and exercises, making the CSTO the most important multilateral defence organization in the former Soviet Union.
• Current CSTO members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan. Afghanistan and Serbia hold observer status in the CSTO.

The correct answer is 1996 - 2001.

Key Points

• The Taliban had previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
• American troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and toppled the Taliban’s control when the Taliban refused the U.S. demand to hand over bin Laden.
• The Taliban’s promise was to restore peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and enforce Sharia in the country.
• They endorsed Sharia mixed with the Pashtun tribal code.
• Only three countries recognised the Taliban while they were in power namely, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Important Points

• The Taliban refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban is a Deobandi Islamist movement and military organization in Afghanistan. 
• The Taliban had first emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War.
• Mullah Mohammed Omar, a local imam, had founded the Taliban and Abdul Ghani Barabar was the co-founder.
• Mullah Mohammad Omar had led the Taliban militants until his death in 2013.  

The Correct Answer is Japan.

• Malabar Exercise is a trilateral naval exercise involving permanent relationships with the United States, Japan, and India.
  • Before 1998, when the Americans suspended exercises after India tested nuclear weapons, three exercises had been carried out.
  • Japan was originally launched as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States in 1992 and became a permanent partner in 2015. Neither Australia nor Singapore is past non-permanent participants.
  • The annual Malabar series started in 1992 and involves numerous events, ranging from aircraft carriers to fighter combat operations to Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.
  • Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya declared that Malabar 2019 would be held in Japan from 26 September to 4 October 2019 at the Japan-India Annual Ministerial Dialog on Security, held in Tokyo on 2 September 2019.

• Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is the informal strategic dialogue between India, the USA, Japan, and Australia.
• The idea of Quad was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. 
• With the aim to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
• India, Australia, the US, and Japan, formed the “quadrilateral” coalition on November 12, 2017, and held a meeting a day before the ASEAN Summit.
• They formed it mainly to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.
• All four nations find a common ground of being democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.
• Economically, the strategy is regarded as an answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is establishing a China-centric trade route.

• ASEAN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental organization which comprises 10 Southeast Asian nations- Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines, and Brunei.
• The organization promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates sociocultural, educational, military, security, political, and economic integration among the members.

The correct answer is Eurasian Economic Union.

Key Points 

• The economic union of states located in Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and Central Asia is the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
• On 29th May 2014 the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
• It came into force on 1st January 2015.
• Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, and Amenia are members of the Eurasian Economic Union.
• The official/ working language of the Eurasian Economic Union is Russian.
• Cuba, Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Iran are observer countries in Eurasian Economic Union.
• It encourages free movement of goods and services, competition and antitrust regulations, provides for common policies in the macroeconomic sphere, technical regulations, foreign trade, and investment, etc.
• The chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission is Mikhail Myasnikovich. (May 2022)

Additional Information

• European Union:
  • The European Union is a group of 27 countries and was formed in the year 1993.
  • It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
  • The purpose of the European Union is to:
    • Promote peace among nations.
    • Establish a unified economic and monetary system.
    • Promote inclusion and combat discrimination.
    • Break down barriers to trade and borders.
    • Encourage technological and scientific developments.
    • Environmental protection campaign.
  • The United Kingdom left the European Union membership in the year 2020 taking the total tally to 27 member countries.
• CARICOM Single Market and Economy (Caribbean Single Market and Economy)
  • It is a group of 15 member countries (currently 13 active) and was formed in 1989 at Grande Anse, Grenada.
  • This treaty has transformed the Common Market into the Single Market.
• Andean Community (CAN)
  • It was formed on 26 May 1969, in Quito, Ecuador.
  • The Headquarters of CAN are located in Lima, Peru.
  • It is a South American organization founded to encourage industrial, agricultural, social, and trade cooperation.
  • It is a trade bloc of four countries - Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
  • Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay are associate members while Panama, Mexico, and Spain are Observers.

Key Points

• The people residing in the Terai of Nepal are called the Madhesi people.
• The Madhesi tribe is related to India and Nepal.
• The Madhesi movement was the struggle of the Madhesi people for their rights.

The correct answer is option 4 i.e. Parvez Musharraf

• Pakistan's elected government was couped in 1999 by General Pervez Musharraf.
• General Pervez Musharraf served as general of the Pakistan Army from 6 October 1998 to 28 November 2007.
• General Qamar Javed Bajwa is appointed as the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army since 29 November 2016.
• Raheel Sharif was a former Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan.
• Ziauddin Butt served as the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan for a brief time.

The correct answer is Velupillai Prabhakaran

Key Points

• LTTE

  • It was a militant organization in North-east Sri Lanka founded in 1975.

  • Its aim was for an independent state for the Tamil-speaking minority in the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka. (against the discriminatory policies of majority Sinhalese).

  • It was founded by Velupillai Prabhakaran.

  • The guerilla warfare led to the civil war in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009.

  • Though there were some mediations held that failed, it ended with the Sri Lankan military operation that killed Prabhakaran in 2009.

  • LTTE is behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former PM of India.

Additional Information

• Douglas Devananda
  • He is a Srilankan Tamil politician.
  • He has a history of fighting against the government for a separate Tamil state and subsequently joined the government side.
  • He is a minister in the cabinet of Sri Lanka (as of May 2022).
• A Neminathan and S Ravishankar were key members of LTTE who played an important role in the civil war.

The correct answer is San Francisco Conference.

• The United Nations Charter was signed by 51 original members of the United Nations in 1945 at the San Francis conference 850 delegates from 51 nations deliberated, discussed, and finalised the charter which initially led into 4 sections.
• It was passed unanimously on 26th June 1945.

Important Points

• The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945.
• United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.
• The main organs of the UN are:
  1. the General Assembly
  2. the Security Council
  3. the Economic and Social Council
  4. the Trusteeship Council
  5. the International Court of Justice
  6. and the UN Secretariat
• All the 6 were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.
• The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.

Additional Information

• London conference (officially named as Declaration of St James' palace) was signed on 12th June 1941.
  • This conference led to the idea of the formation of the United Nation,
• The Hague Conference, 1954 is related to the protection of cultural property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
• The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference or West Africa Conference regulated European colonization and trade in Africa.

The correct answer is Geneva.

• The headquarters of the International Red Cross Committee is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The International Committee Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a three-time Nobel Prize laureate.
• States Parties (signatories) to the 1949 Geneva Convention and its 1977 Additional Protocols (Protocol I, Protocol II) and 2005 gave the ICRC a mandate to protect victims of foreign and internal armed conflict.
• The ICRC, along with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and 192 National Societies, is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
• It is the oldest and most respected movement organization and one of the world's most known organizations, having received three Nobel Peace Prizes in 1917, 1944, and 1963.

The correct answer is Geneva, Switzerland.

• The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland, is a unique place, with many United Nations and other international organizations, as well as missions to the WTO.
• The Centre William Rappard (CWR) is the name of the building that has been home to the WTO Secretariat since the WTO was established in 1995.

Other organisation

• World Tourism Organisation is headquartered at Madrid ,Spain

The correct option is Russia & DRDO

• The Brahmos is a joint venture between Russia & DRDO.
• It is the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile.
• The missile can target ships and land-based targets and can be installed on ships, submarines, aircraft and ground vehicles.
• It is named after rivers, the Brahmaputra in India and the Moskva in Russia.
• The missile has a flight range of up to 290km and can reach a speed of Mach 3.

The correct answer is UNDP.

Key Points

• HDI is a statistical tool used to measure a country's overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions.
• It was first developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in the year 1990.
• It combines 4 major indicators-
  • Life expectancy
  • Expected years of schooling
  • Mean years of schooling
  • Gross National Income per capita for standard of Living
• HDI is published by UNDP.
• Out of 189 countries, India has ranked 131 on the Human Development Index 2020.
• With an HDI value of 0.645, the country fell in the medium human development categor

​Additional Information

• Headquarters-
  • UNDP - New York, USA
  • IMF - Washington DC, USA
  • UNICEF -  New York, USA
  • UNCTAS - Geneva, Switzerland

The correct answer is UNICEF.

Key Points

• UNICEF is a United Nations organisation that provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children around the world.UNICEF is also known as the United Nations Children's Fund.
  • UNICEF was established on 11 December 1946.
  • UNICEF was created by the United Nations to provide emergency food and health care to children and mothers in the countries affected by World War II.
  • UNICEF's mandate was expanded in 1950 to include the long-term needs of children and women in underdeveloped nations around the world.
  • The phrases "international" and "emergency" were omitted from the organization's name in 1953 when it became a permanent member of the United Nations System, however, the abbreviation "UNICEF" was kept.
  • It is the successor of the League of Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.
  • The headquarters of UNICEF is located in New York City, USA.
  • In 1965, UNICEF received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Additional Information

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is an international organisation that promotes education, science, and culture.
  • UNESCO was founded on November 16, 1945.
  • The headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is in Paris, France.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded in 1944 in the aftermath of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
  • IMF was established on 27 December 1945.
  • The headquarters of IMF is located in Washington, D.C., U.S.
• The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.
  • WHO was established on 7 April 1948.
  • The headquarters of WHO is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

The correct answer is Rachel Carson.

Key Points

• The book "Silent Spring" is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson.
• On 27 September 1962, The book was published.
• The book documenting the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides.
• Rachel Carson was an American marine biologist, conservationist, and author.

Additional Information 

• "Under the Sea Wind" and "The Sea Around Us" are important works by him.
• "The Edge of the Sea" and "Silent Spring" are also important works by him.

Key Points

Montreal Protocol:

• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol) is an international agreement made in 1987.
• The Montreal Protocol is signed by 197 countries.
• It is the first treaty in the history of the United Nations to achieve universal ratification.
• It is considered by many the most successful environmental global action.
• It sits under the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (the Vienna Convention).
• It was designed to stop the production and import of ozone-depleting substances and reduce their concentration.
• It targets 96 ozone-depleting chemicals in thousands of applications across more than 240 industrial sectors.

Thus, Montreal protocol refers to substances that deplete the ozone layer.

Additional Information 

Paris Agreement: 

• The Paris Agreement (French: L'accord de Paris) is a legally binding international treaty on climate change United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to combat climate change.
• It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016.

​Kyoto Protocol:

• The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty.
• It deals with reducing overall greenhouse emissions. 
• It was the result of the Rio-1992 and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997.
• It entered into force on 16 February 2005. 
• There are currently 192 parties.
• Canada withdrew from the protocol in 2012.
• The USA never ratified it.

Stockholm Convention (2004):

• ​Aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
• POPs are defined as “chemical substances that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment”.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):

• It is a legally binding agreement and an outcome of the Rio Earth Summit in the year 1992. 
• It has three main goals-
  • Conservation of biodiversity
  • Sustainable use of components of biodiversity

  • It has three major aims, one of which focuses on sharing the benefit of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.

The correct answer is Option 1 i.e. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

• UNFCCC stands for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• It has universal membership with 197 countries called parties.
• The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
• The ultimate objective of all three agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

The correct answer is Marrakesh Agreement.

Key Points

• World Trade Organisation (WTO)
  • The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 124 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. Hence, Option 1 is correct.
  • WTO is an international organization whose primary purpose is to open trade for the benefit of all.
  • GATT was established in 1948 with 23 countries as the global trade organization to administer all multilateral trade agreements by providing equal opportunities to all countries in the international market for trading purposes.
  • WTO is expected to establish a rule-based trading regime
  • in which nations cannot place arbitrary restrictions on trade. In addition, its purpose is also to enlarge production and trade of services, to ensure optimum utilization of world resources, and to protect the environment.
  • The WTO agreements cover trade in goods as well as services to facilitate international trade (bilateral and multilateral) through the removal of the tariff as well as non-tariff barriers and providing greater market access to all member countries.

Additional Information

• Bretton woods Agreement
  • The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement.
• The Washington Agreement
  • It was a ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, signed in Washington, D.C. on 18 March 1994 and Vienna. 
• The Paris Agreement
  • Often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change, adopted in 2015.
  • It covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance.

• BREXIT refers to the exit of Britain from the European Union.
• The referendum held on 23 June 2016 provided for 71.8% for the BREXIT.
• The European Union was established after the World War II as a political and economic partnership so that the economy of Europe could be uplifted.
• The member states acted as same country and there is no restriction is the movement of products and services across the member states of the EU.
• Britain decided to leave the EU due to economic backlogs, failure to take independent economic decisions and political issues.

The correct answer is Narsimha Rao.

Key Points

• Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization Policy:
  • LPG stands for Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization.
  • India under its New Economic Policy approached International Banks for the development of the country.
  • The policy of liberalization, privatization, and globalization was announced as New Economic Policy by Prime Minister Narsimha Rao.
  • These agencies asked the Indian Government to open its restrictions on trade done by the private sector and between India and other countries.
  • Indian Government agreed to the conditions of lending agencies and announced New Economic Policy (NEP) which consisted wide range of reforms.
  • Broadly we can classify the measures into two groups:
    •  Structural Reforms
    • Stabilization Measures (LPG)

 Additional Information

• Liberalization:
  • The basic aim of liberalization was to put an end to those restrictions which became hindrances in the development and growth of the nation.
  • The loosening of government control in a country and when private sector companies start working without or with fewer restrictions and the government allow private players to expand for the growth of the country depicts liberalization in a country.
• Privatization:
  • It is the increment of the dominating role of private sector companies and the reduced role of public sector companies.
  • In other words, it is the reduction of ownership of the management of a government-owned enterprise.
  • Government companies can be converted into private companies in two ways:-
    • By disinvestment
    • By withdrawal of governmental ownership and management of public sector companies.
• Globalization:
  • It means integrating the economy of one country with the global economy.
  • During Globalization the main focus is on foreign trade & private and institutional foreign investment. 
  • The main aim of Globalization is to transform the world towards independence and integration of the world as a whole by setting various strategic policies.
  • Globalization is attempting to create a borderless world, wherein the need of one country can be driven from across the globe and turning into one large economy.

The correct answer is Mandal Commission.

• In the year 1990, the then Prime Minister VP Singh accepted the Mandal Commission report, which recommended a 27% reservation for OBC candidates at all levels of its services.

Key Points

• The Mandal Commission, the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC), was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes" of India.
  • It was headed by B.P. Mandal, an Indian parliamentarian, used eleven social, economic, and educational indicators to consider the question of reservation for people to prevent caste discrimination, and to determine backwardness.

Additional Information

• Sarkaria Commission was established in 1983 by the Central Government of India.
  • The charter of the Sarkaria Commission was to examine center-state relations on various departments and suggest changes within the framework of the Constitution of India.
• The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was originally a committee appointed by the Government of India on 16 January 1957 to examine the working of the Community Development Program and the National Extension Service and suggest measures for their better functioning.
  • Balwantrai G Mehta was the chairman of this committee.
• The Kothari Commission was appointed by the Government of India to reform the Indian education sector.
  • Its objectives and important recommendations.
  •  Kothari Commission was formed on 14 July 1964.

The correct answer is Simla Pact.

Key Points

• Simla Pact
  • ​The Simla Agreement, signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on July 2, 1972, at Shimla, the capital of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, was a peace treaty between India and Pakistan.
  •  It followed the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which began after India intervened in East Pakistan as an ally of Bengali rebels who were fighting against Pakistani state forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
  • The treaty's stated objective was to "bring an end to the war and confrontation that has previously stained their relations" and to "conceive the steps to be taken for further normalization of India–Pakistan relations, while also laying down the principles that should govern their future interactions.

Additional Information

•  Lucknow Pact
  • The Lucknow Pact was a combined conference of the Indian National Congress headed by Maratha leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the All-India Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah conducted in Lucknow in December 1916 that resulted in an agreement between the two organizations.
  • The two parties agreed to provide religious minorities participation in provincial legislatures as part of the agreement.
  • The major achievement of the Lucknow Pact was that the moderates and radicals reunited and they jointly demanded self-rule for India. All the Indians got united and protested against the Britishers for self-rule.
• Agra Summit
  • The Agra Summit was a landmark two-day conference between India and Pakistan that took place between July 14 and 16, 2001.
  • It was held in the hopes of settling long-standing tensions between India and Pakistan.
  • A suggestion was presented at this summit to dramatically reduce nuclear arsenals, as well as other issues such as the Kashmir dispute and cross-border terrorism.
  • The Agra Treaty was never signed because the negotiations broke down and the process collapsed.

Confusion Points

• Don't get confused by the spelling of Shimla. The pact is known as as 'Simla Pact'. It is without the letter 'h'.

The Correct Answer is "Kanshi Ram".

Important Points

• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a national political party in India, was formed in 1984.
• The BSP states that it represents the people at the lowest levels of the Hindu social system—those officially designated as members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes—as well as other religious and social minorities.
• The core support group of the BSP consists primarily of the Dalits (Scheduled Castes, formerly called untouchables).
• The party espouses no specific ideology, other than its opposition to and outspoken criticism of the inequalities of the caste system, and its main tenets are focused on respecting and upholding the constitutional rights of the lower members of Indian society.

Key Points

• Kanshi Ram (1934–2006), a Dalit and a civil service worker, was spurred into pro-Dalit activism in the 1960s after reading Ambedkar’s writings and through witnessing firsthand caste discrimination.
• Ram’s efforts to mobilize Dalits and other minorities led to his involvement in politics, in which he spent years crisscrossing Uttar Pradesh state and traveling throughout the country eliciting support for the cause.
• In 1984 he founded the party and led it until he was succeeded by Kumari Mayawati in 2003.
• Although Ram was responsible for building the support base for the party, Mayawati shaped and nurtured it into a powerful political force in Uttar Pradesh—India’s most populous state—and at the national level.
• The state long remained the BSP’s stronghold, and the party also has a presence in Punjab state.
• The first significant political success for the BSP came in 1993, when it entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi (Socialist) Party for the governance of Uttar Pradesh.
• In 1995, however, the BSP left the coalition, and Mayawati, with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), became chief minister (head of government) in the state.
• Her first term lasted less than five months until the BJP withdrew its support.
• In the next several years Mayawati served two more short stints as chief minister: 6 months in 1997 and another 15 months in 2002–03.

Communalism has been described as sectarian exploitation of social traditions as a medium of political mobilization. This is done to punish the interests of the entrenched groups. Thus communalism is an ideology used to fulfill social politico hopes of a community or social ups. It requires proposals and programs to ensure its very existence. These become active in phases of social change.  

Key Points

Communalism is a belief that all those who have a common religion, also have, as a result, common social, political, cultural, and economic interests and identities. In other words, it is the notion that religion forms the base of the society and a basic unit of division in the society: that it is a religion that determines all the other interests of man.

• To understand it better, let us look at it differently. Man is a multi-faceted social being, who can, at the same time have a number of identities. His identity can be based on his country, region, sex, occupation, position within the family, caste, or religion.
• A communalist would choose from this wide range, only the religious identity, and emphasize it out of proportion. As a result, social relationships, political behavior, and economic struggles might be defined on the basis of religious identity.
• So, briefly put, it is the super-imposition of the religious category over all others, which becomes the starting point of communalism. 

• Hindu nationalists emphasize this common cultural and religious bond creating an emotional attachment to this land and its people. The anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Bhagalpur massacres in 1989, the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, attacks on missionaries in the late nineties, and the havoc caused due to the communal riots after the incidence of Godra in 2002 are some of the manifestations of majoritarian communal movements organized on religious lines.

Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that the Babri Masjid incident is a classic example of communalism.

Additional Information

• It can be argued that the politics around the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute has been the prime contributor to the growing intolerance and violence in India over the past decade or more. The primary contention of those responsible for the destruction of the Babri mosque and who are mobilizing for the construction of a Ram temple is that India is a Hindu nation and therefore Hindu community’s, rights take precedence over everything else. This is clearly the two-nation theory at work and this politics openly advocates the formation of a Hindu nation-state in India. The politics of Ramjanmabhoomi has been a prime contributor to the electoral fortunes of the BJP. The Lok Sabha strength of the BJP went up from 2 seats in the 1984 election to 88 seats, in the 1989 elections, and in the 1991 elections to 120 seats. It is this dependence of the BJP on the Ramjanmabhoomi movement which prevents it from dealing firmly with communal violence and politics despite being in power.

The correct answer is option 2, i.e. Arrow.

EXPLANATION:

• The symbol of Janata Dal (United) is an arrow and the green and white flag.
• Janata Dal (United) is a regional political party that was formed by the merger of Samata Party, the Lok Shakti Party with Janta Dal in Bihar.

Important Points

• Jharkhand's regional political party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has more or less the same symbol as that of Shiv Sena in Maharashtra (Bow & Arrow).
• Telugu Desam Party is a leading political party in Andhra Pradesh which uses Bi-cycle as its election symbol which is identical to the election symbol of Samajwadi Party in UP and National Panthers Party in Jammu & Kashmir.
• All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is an Indian regional political party in the state of Tamil Nadu having two leaves as its party symbol.

Symbols of political parties:-

Political Parties	Symbol
Janata Dal (United)
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
Shiv Sena in Maharashtra
Telugu Desam Party
Samajwadi Party in UP
National Panthers Party
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

The correct answer is Sahajanand Saraswati.

Key Points

The All India Kisan Sabha(AIKS) was a peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 1936 to address the problems of farmers against the zamindari system.

• Sahajanand Saraswati formed the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in Bihar in 1929 to abolish the zamindari system and give a platform to solve the problems of the farmers.
• In 1935, N. G. Ranga and E. M. S. Namboodiripad of the  South Indian Federation of Peasants and Agricultural Labour suggested forming an all-India farmers body.
• It also included people like Karyanand Sharma, Yamuna Karjee, Yadunandan (Jadunandan) Sharma, Rahul Sankrityayan, P. Sundarayya, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Bankim Mukherjee.
• On 11 April 1936 in Lucknow, the AIKS was formed with Sahajanand Saraswati as its first President, and NG Ranga as its Secretary.
• It had three objectives:

1. Abolish the Zamindari system
2. Reduce land revenue

3. Institutionalize credit

• As the party was dominated by leftists and Communists, it moved away from the Congress party. In 1942, when Mahatma Gandhi started the Quit India movement, the party ordered all its cadre to stay away, but many defied the order.

• In 1964 it split into two factions, namely: All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhawan), attached to the Communist Party of India, and All India Kisan Sabha (36, Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane), attached to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The Vedanta Case concerns a proposal to develop an open cast bauxite mine on the upper reaches of the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa.

The correct answer is option 1 i.e 1984

• Operation Blue Star was took place in 1984 in Amritsar and it was one of the biggest internal security mission undertaken by the Indian Army.
• Operation Blue Star was Indira Gandhi's solution to the haywire going law and order situation in Punjab.
• Former PM Indira Gandhi ordered the military operation to remove Sikh militants who were accumulating weapons in the Harmandir Sahib Complex (Golden Temple).
• The mission was launched to remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab.

• Mehbooba Mufti, the ex-Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, belongs to which Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party.
• She served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 4 April 2016 to 19 June 2018.
• She was the first and the last woman to hold the office of the Chief Minister in the state Jammu and Kashmir.
• She contested in 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag seat but lost it to Hasnain Masoodi of National Conference.
• The State of Jammu and Kashmir translated into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh on October 31, 2019.

• The recently revoked 'Article 370' is associated with Jammu and  Kashmir. 
• Under this article, the state of J&K had certain autonomy- separate constitution, separate flag and freedom to make laws. However, Foreign affairs, defense and communications of the state were still under the authority of the Central Government.
• After the scrapping of Article 370, it would have to abide by the Indian constitution much like any other state.
• All Indian laws are automatically applicable to people residing there and people from outside the state would be able to buy property there as it was not allowed as per the state's constitution.
• This move is welcomed by many as the Central Government would now be able to run academic institutions, build proper infrastructure and construct factories for production, etc.
• Now the former state has been divided into Union Territories - Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The president can declare three types of emergencies. They are - National emergency, State emergency and financial emergency. All other emergencies except the Financial Emergency have been promulgated in India till date.

State emergency is also known as the President’s rule in laymen language. State emergency can be proclaimed on the order of the President with the advice from the council of ministers. It is entertained under article 356 in the Indian Constitution.

Financial emergency	Article 360
National emergency	Article 352
State Emergency	Article 356

The correct answer is Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

• Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the first president of India who declared a national emergency in 1975.

Key Points

• The national emergency was set in motion under Article 352 on June 25, 1975, on the grounds of internal disturbance and was in place for 21 months till its withdrawal on March 21, 1977.
• The four major occurrences of the 1975s following which Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency.
  • Navnirman Andolan in Gujarat.
  • The JP movement.
  • The railways’ protest.
  • The Raj Narain verdict.

Additional Information

• Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed:
  • ​Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was born on 13 May 1905 in the Hauz Qazi area of Old Delhi, India.
  • Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed served as the 5th president of India from 1974 to 1977.
  • He was a member of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee from 1936 and of AICC from 1947 to 1974.
  • He was a  Minister of Finance, Revenue, and labor in 1948 Gopinath Bordoloi Ministry.

Important Points

Person Name	Details
V. V. Giri	Varahagiri Venkata Giri was an Indian politician and activist who served as the 4th president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974.
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982.
Ramaswamy Venkataraman	He was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union Minister and as the eighth president of India from 25 July 1987 to 25 July 1992.

 

The correct answer is Loknayak.

• Jayaprakash Narayan is popularly known as JP or Lok Nayak.
• He was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader.
• He is also known as the "Hero of Quit India Movement".
• JP Narayan is best known for opposing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
  • It is said that Indira Gandhi's power was snatched away from her after the "JP movement" and gave the famous slogan "Sinhaasan khaali karo ki janta aati hai".

Additional Information

• Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan was born on 11 October 1902 in Sitabadiyara, Bihar.
• In 1948, he led the Socialist Party of the Congress and later formed the Samajwadi Socialist Party in association with the Gandhian Party.

The correct answer is "​Electoral Reforms".

Additional Information

• Jayprakash Narayan had appointed a committee to study and report on the scheme for electoral reforms in 1974 under the chairmanship of V.M. Tarkunde known as JP Committee or the Tarkunde Committee.
  • Besides other recommendations, the Committee recommended that the minimum age of voting should be 18 years. It was enacted by the 61st Amendment Act of 1988.
  • The committee submitted the report in 1975.
• Vithal Mahadeo Tarkunde has been referred to as the "Father of the Civil Liberties movement" in India.

Important Points

• Dinesh Goswami Committee
  • Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) was concerned with electoral reforms.
  • It suggested providing state funding in kind to political parties.
  • It also suggested that a candidate should not be allowed to contest elections from more than two constituencies.
• Indrajit Gupta
  • Indrajit Gupta was the chairman of the committee on state funding of elections.
  • It was an 8-member committee that was set up by the all-party conference in May 1998.

The Nehru-Mahalanobis Strategy of Development was implemented for the first time by the Second Five-Year Plan.

• Its main focus was on the industrial development of the country.
• The time period of the plan was between 1956 to 1961.
• First Five-Year Plan - Harrod-Domar model focussing on agricultural development of the country.
• Third Five-Year Plan - Gadgil plan, focussed on making the economy independent to reach the self active position of take-off
• Fourth Five-Year Plan - Stable growth and progressive achievement of self-reliance.
• Fifth Five Year Plan - Top priority was agriculture, then industry and mines.
• Sixth Five Year Plan - Poverty Eradication and Technology Reliance.
• Seventh Five Year Plan - Productive Development.
• Current Five year plan - Faster, Inclusive and Sustainable growth.

The correct answer is Drafting Committee.

Key Points

• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was not the chairman of the Drafting Committee.
• Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee.
• The drafting committee was set up on August 29^th, 1947.
• A Drafting Committee was set up to prepare a draft for the new constitution.
• The committee is comprised of 7 members.
  • Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Chairman)
  • Dr. K. M. Munshi
  • Syed Mohammad Saadullah
  • Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyangar
  • N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
  • N. Madhava Rau replaced B.L. Mitter who had to resign due to poor health conditions.
  • T.T. Krishnamachari replaced D.P. Khaitan who died in 1948.
• Dr. B. R. Ambedkar presented the final draft of the constitution in the Assembly on 4^th November 1948 for first reading and General discussion.
• After the third and final reading, the draft was passed and adopted as the Constitution of India on 26^th November 1949.

Additional Information

• It took 2 years 11months and 18 days to make the constitution.
• Although the Constitution was adopted on 26^th November 1949 it came into force on 26^th January 1950.
• Originally the constitution had 395 Articles, 22 parts, and 8 Schedules, presently there are 448 articles 25 parts, and 12 schedules.
• The constituent Assembly had 13 committees

Committee	Head
Union Powers Committee	J. L. Nehru
States Committee	J. L. Nehru
Union Constitution Committee	J. L. Nehru
Drafting Committee	Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Provincial Constituion Committee	Sardar V. B. Patel
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights	Sardar V. B. Patel
Rules of Procedure Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Steering Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Finance and Staff Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Credential Committee	Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyangar
House Committee	Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Order of Business Committee	K. M. Munshi
Flag Committee	Rajendra Prasad

Pact	Year	Details
Nehru-Liaquat/Delhi Pact	1950	Around one million people- Muslims from West Bengal and Hindus from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) crossed borders. The pact was signed between the then Prime Minister of India Jawahar Lal Nehru and Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan.
Lucknow Pact	1916	Friendly relations between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress (INC). It was for the first time that the Hindus and the Muslims came together on common ground. It sowed the seed of belief among the British that India could get a government of Self. The extremist and moderate faction of the INC also got united.
Poona Pact	1932	Agreement between Hindu leaders in India granting new rights to untouchables (low-caste Hindu groups).
Gandhi-Irwin Pact	1931	A pact was signed between Mahatma Gandhi and the Viceroy Lord Irwin. Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934) and attend the Round Table Conference. In return, Irwin will release imprisoned Satyagrahis.

The correct answer is Brahmaputra.

• Brahmaputra river is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in the Tibet region of China.

Key Points

• The Yarlung Tsangpo River is the longest river in the Tibet Region, China.
• Downstream from Arunachal Pradesh, the river becomes wider and after reaching Assam, the river is known as the Brahmaputra.
• The river is called the Everest of Rivers because of its extreme conditions.
• It is also called the Dihang River in Arunachal Pradesh.
• It originates from the Manasarovar Lake region, near Mount Kailash.
• It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as the Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna.
• It merges with the Ganges, popularly known as the Padma in Bangladesh, becomes the Meghna, and ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Additional Information

• Indus:​
  • The Indus originates from the Bokhar Chu (glacier) on the northern slopes of Mt. Kailash.
  • Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Satluj are its main tributaries.
  • The River passes by the Nanga-Parvat and turns southwest to enter Pakistan.
• Sutlej:​
  • Sutlej originates from Rakshastal Lake.
  • Rakshastal Lake is located near Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash.
  • Sutlej River is also known as Shatadru (Ancient name).
  • River Sutlej is one of the major tributaries of Indus.
• Teesta:
  • ​Teesta River originates from the Pahunri (or Teesta Kangse) glacier in Sikkim.
  • It is a tributary of the Brahmaputra.
  • It flows through Sikkim and West Bengal through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal.

Five year plans:

• From 1947 to 2017, the Indian economy was premised on the concept of planning. The planning commission of India was set up in  15 March 1950
• This was carried through the Five-Year Plans, developed, executed, and monitored by the Planning Commission (1951-2014) and the NITI Aayog (2015-2017).
• Montek Singh Ahluwalia is the last deputy chairman of the commission (resigned on 26 May 2014). The Twelfth Plan completed its term in March 2017.
• The present NDA government has stopped the formation of five-year plans. So the 12th five-year plan would be called the last five-year plan of India.
• The decades-old Five-Year Plans will make way for a three-year action plan, which will be part of a seven-year strategy paper and a 15-year vision document.
• The NITI Aayog (an acronym for National Institution for Transforming India), which has replaced the Planning Commission, is launching a three-year action plan from April 1, 2017.

First Five Year Plan:

• The first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, presented the First Five-Year Plan to the Parliament of India.
• The First Five-year Plan was launched in 1951 which mainly focused on the development of the primary sector.
• The First Five-Year Plan was based on the Harrod–Domar model with few modifications.
• The target growth rate was 2.1% annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth; the achieved growth rate was 3.6% the net domestic product went up by 15
• Many irrigation projects were initiated during this period, including the Bhakra, Hirakud, Mettur Dam, and Damodar Valley dams.
• At the end of the plan period in 1956, five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were started and The University Grants Commission (UGC) was set up.
• Contracts were signed to start five steel plants, which came into existence in the middle of the Second Five-Year Plan. The plan was quasi-successful for the government.

Hence, it is clear that the First Five Year Plan was formulated based on Harrod–Domar model with modification.

The correct answer is Integration of Hyderabad State into the dominion of India.

Key Points

• The Razakars were a non-public militia organized by Qasim Razvi to support the rule of Nizam Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, and resist the combination of Hyderabad State into the Dominion of India.
• ​They additionally tried to create the Nizam accede his princely state to the Asian nation rather than India.
• The Razakars were related to the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen organization.
• ​To counter the Razakars, folks of Telangana beneath the leadership of Hindu Ramanand Tirtha shaped the Andhra Hindu Mahasabha that wanted integration of the state with the remainder of India.

Katchatheevu is an uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka and was a disputed territory claimed by India until 1976. Ownership of the island was controversial up until 1974 as during British Rule the island was administered by both countries. India recognized Sri Lankan equal ownership. The legality of the transfer was challenged in the Indian Supreme Court since the recognizing was not ratified by the Indian parliament. This recognition of an island that is culturally important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu state in India has led to some agitations by Tamil Nadu politicians that it should be claimed to Indian sovereignty.

The correct answer is The fission bomb dropped at Hiroshima.

Key Points

• Little Boy was the codename for the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 during World War II. It was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare.
• The bomb was dropped by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., commander of the 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Forces and Captain Robert A. Lewis.
• It exploded with an energy of approximately 15 kilotons of TNT (63 TJ) and caused widespread death and destruction throughout the city. The Hiroshima bombing was the second man-made nuclear explosion in history, after the Trinity test.

Important Points

• Fat Man was the codename for the type of nuclear bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the United States on 9 August 1945.
• It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the first being Little Boy, and its detonation marked the third nuclear explosion in history.
• It was built by scientists and engineers at Los Alamos Laboratory using plutonium from the Hanford Site, and it was dropped from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bockscar piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. 

The correct answer is 1 and 2 only.

Key Points

The table below is correctly matched:

Geo-Political Event	Year
1.Reunification of Germany	1990
2.Korean War	1950
3.Cuban Missile Crisis	1962
4.Disintegration of Soviet	1991

• German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic became part of the Federal Republic of Germany to form the reunited nation of Germany. The end of the unification process is officially referred to as German unity, celebrated each year on 3 October as German Unity Day.
• The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and insurrections in the south. The war ended unofficially on 27 July 1953 in an armistice.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis of 1962  the Caribbean Crisis or the Missile Scare, was the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union which escalated into an international crisis when American deployments of missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of similar ballistic missiles in Cuba. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.

• The dissolution of the Soviet Union (1988–1991) was the process of internal disintegration within the USSR, which began with growing unrest in its various constituent republics developing into an incessant political and legislative conflict between the republics and the central government, and ended when the leaders of three primal republics (the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Byelorussian SSR) declared it no longer existed, later accompanied by 11 more republics, resulting in President Mikhail Gorbachev had to resign and what was left of the Soviet parliament formally acknowledging what had already taken place. 

The correct answer is None of the above.

Key Points

• Globalisation is defined as the integration between countries through foreign trade and foreign investments by multinational corporations (MNCs).
• Increase in foreign trade, migration of people from one country to another, the flow of capital finance from one country to another and private and public investments from foreign countries all together contribute to globalisation.
• Fair globalisation means the benefits of globalisation are shared in a better way and there are better opportunities for all. However, globalisation has not benefited everyone. 
• The best use of new opportunities thrown open by globalization, were done by people with better skills, wealth and education.
• On the other hand, there are plenty of people who have not received similar benefits.
• To have a uniform impact of globalization, the governments can play a major role.
• At WTO, to prevent the domination of developed countries, Governments of developing countries can cooperate with each other.
• For rules which are fair, Governments can negotiate with WTO and even use investment and trade barriers.