SECTION A [MODERN INDIA]

Q.1 Critically examine the following statements/ Answer the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50

(a) “Tipu Sultan was trying to build in Mysore a strong centralised and militarised state, with ambitious territorial design.” [10 Marks]

(b) “Not until independence, when economic development became a conscious and pursued policy, did the Railways begin to realize their potential for assisting in the transformation of the Indian economy.” [10 Marks]

(c) “Two important intellectual criteria which informed the reform movements were rationalism and religious universalism.” [10 Marks]

(d) “… the Kol Insurrection was mainly a war of the tribal inhabitants of Chotanagpur against the non-tribal settlers and service-holders.” [10 Marks]

(e) “The Cripps Mission was plagued throughout, and ultimately torpedoed.” [10 Marks]

Q.2 (a) How far was the drain theory a focal point of nationalist critique of colonialism? [20 Marks]

(b) Examine the forces at work for the introduction of western education in India. Analyse the thrust given to it by the Christian Missionaries. [20 Marks]

(c) Do you subscribe to the view that Anglo-French tussle in Carnatic demonstrated the internal decay of the provincial chieftains of South India? [10 Marks]

Q.3 (a) How would you explain the major trends of the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal? [20 Marks]

(b) Is it justified to say that the Government of India Act of 1935 had all brakes, but no engine? [20 Marks]

(c) How far was the widow remarriage movement effective in arousing social concern for Indian women? [10 Marks]

Q.4 (a) Why is the Quit India Movement characterised as a ‘Spontaneous Revolution’? Did it accelerate the process of Indian independence? [20 Marks]

(b) Assess the role of Subas Chandra Bose in India’s struggle for independence. [20 Marks]

(c) How did the introduction of Community Development Programme and Panchayati Raj promote welfare of rural India? [10 Marks]