CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science Set 1 with Solutions

Students must start practicing the questions from CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science with Solutions Set 1 are designed as per the revised syllabus.

CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science Set 1 with Solutions

Time : 3 Hours
Maximum Marks : 80

General Instructions:
Please read the following instructions carefully and follow them:

1. The question paper consists of five sections (A, B, C, D and E) with 30 questions in total.
2. All questions are compulsory.
3. Question numbers 1 – 12 are multiple choice questions of one mark each.
4. Question numbers 13 – 18 are of 2 marks each. Answers to these questions should not exceed 50 – 60 words each.
5. Question numbers 19 – 23 are of 4 marks each. Answers to these questions should not exceed 100-120 words each.
   There is an internal choice in two of the 4 marks questions
6. Question numbers 24 – 26 are passage, cartoon and map-based questions. Answer accordingly.
7. Question numbers 27 – 30 are of 6 marks each. Answers to these questions should not exceed 170 – 180 words.
8. There is an internal choice in 6 marks questions.

Section A

Question 1.
Arrange the following in chronological order. (1)
(i) The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
(ii) End of civil war in Tajikistan.
(iii) A military coup by the Communist Party hardliners.
(iv) Russian Revolution.
(a) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
(b) (ii), (i), (iv), (iii)
(c) (iv), (i), (iii), (ii)
(d) (iii), (i), (ii), (iv)
Answer:
(c) (iv), (i), (iii), (ii)

Question 2.
The President of which Central Asian country appointed himself to power, first for ten years and extended it for another ten years? (1)
(a) Turkmenistan
(b) Ukraine
(c) Azerbaijan
(d) Kyrgyzstan
Answer:
(a) Turkmenistan

Question 3.
Arms control is an important measure of traditional security as (1)
(a) It prevents the military action.
(b) It coordinates actions to defend against military attack.
(c) It regulates the acquisition or development of weapons.
(d) It is concerned with preventing a war like situation.
Answer:
(c) It regulates the acquisition or development of weapons.

Question 4.
……………. ensures that rivals do not go to war through misunderstanding or misconception. (1)
(a) Alliance building
(b) Confidence building
(c) Balance of power
(d) Arms control
Answer:
(b) Confidence building

Question 5.
Match the List I with the List II. (1)

Codes
(a) A – (iii), B – (i), C – (ii), D – (iv)
(b) A – (ii), B – (i), C – (iii), D – (iv)
(c) A – (ii), B – (i), C – (iv), D – (iii)
(d) A – (iv), B – (ii), C – (iii), D – (i)
Answer:
(a) A – (iii), B – (i), C – (ii), D – (iv)

Question 6.
In the following question, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Choose the appropriate option. (1)
Assertion (A) Throughout the Cold War the industrialised countries of the North tried to ensure a steady flow of resources.
Reason (R) They deployed military forces near exploitation sites.
Codes
(a) Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct, and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.
(b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.
(c) The Assertion is incorrect, but the Reason is correct.
(d) The Assertion is correct, but the Reason is incorrect.
Answer:
(b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.

Question 7.
Name the founder President of Congress Socialist Party. (1)
(a) K.M. Munshi
(b) Acharya Narendra Dev
(c) Shyama Prasad Mukheijee
(d) Minoo Masani
Answer:
(b) Acharya Narendra Dev

Question 8.
After Independence, the first Lok Sabha elections had to be postponed twice and was finally held from (1)
(a) November 1951 to February 1952
(b) December 1951 to February 1952
(c) Septemberl951 to February 1952
(d) October 1951 to February 1952
Answer:
(d) October 1951 to February 1952

Question 9.
Chinese the leader who accompanied Dalai Lama during the official visit to India in 1956. (1)
(a) Hua Guofeng
(b) Zhao Ziyang
(c) Premier Zhou Enlai
(d) Li Peng
Answer:
(c) Premier Zhou Enlai

Question 10.
In the following question, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Choose the appropriate option
Assertion (A): The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution allows tribal autonomy of preserving their practices and customary laws.
Reason (R): These provisions proved crucial in resolving complex political problems in the North-East. (1)
Codes
(a) Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct, and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.
(b) Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct, but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.
(c) The Assertion is incorrect, but the Reason is correct.
(d) The Assertion is correct, but the Reason is incorrect.
Answer:
(c) The Assertion is incorrect, but the Reason is correct.

Question 11.
For the early realisation of freedom of which country did India make an earnest effort by convening an international
(a) Malaysia
(b) Vietnam
(c) Thailand
(d) Indonesia
Answer:
(d) Indonesia

Question 12.
Bodo community belongs to ………….. . (1)
(a) Manipur
(b) Assam
(c) Mizoram
(d) Arunachal Pradesh
Answer:
(b) Assam

Section B

Question 13.
Enlist the features of Indo-Bhutan relationship. (2)
Answer:
India shares a special relation with Bhutan and does not have any major conflict with the Bhutanese government. Being a land locked country, Bhutan is depended on India for most of its products and financial support and India on its part has been providing all possible support.
(i) The efforts made by the Bhutanese monarch to weed out the guerrillas and militants from northeastern India that operate in his country have been helpful to India.
(ii) India is involved in big hydroelectric projects in Bhutan and remains the Himalayan kingdom’s biggest source of development aid.

Question 14.
Analyse any two components of India’s security strategy. (2)
Answer:
India has faced traditional (military) and non-traditional threats to its security that have emerged from within as well as outside its borders. Two components of India’s security strategy are as follows

• The first component was strengthening its military capabilities because India has been involved in conflicts with its neighbours — Pakistan in 1947 – 48, 1965, 1971 and 1999; and China in 1962.
• The second component of India’s security strategy has been to strengthen international norms and international institutions to protect its security interests. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, supported the cause of Asian solidarity, decolonisation, disarmament, and the UN as a forum in which international conflicts could be settled.

Question 15.
State any two differences between the First Five Year Plan and the Second Five Year Plan. (2)
Answer:
Difference between the First Five Year Plan and Second Five Year Plan

• The First Five Year Plan (1951 – 1956) sought to get the country’s economy out of the cycle of poverty. It addressed mainly, the agrarian sector including investment in dams and irrigation, whereas the Second FYP stressed on heavy industries.
• First Five Year Plan economists argued that India should ‘hasten slowly’ for the first two decades as a fast rate of development might endanger democracy, while the Second FYP wanted to bring about quick structural transformation by making changes simultaneously in all possible directions.

Question 16.
What problems did the Election Commission confront while holding the first general elections in the country? (2)
Answer:
Election Commission confronts the following problems while holding the first general elections in the country are

1. Holding an election required delimitation or drawing the boundaries of the electoral constituencies. It also required preparing the electoral rolls, or the list of all the citizens eligible to vote. Both these tasks took a lot of time.
2. When the first draft of the rolls was published, it was discovered that the names of nearly 40 lakh women were not recorded in the list.
3. There were 17 crore eligible voters, who had to elect about 3,200 MLAs and 489 Members of Lok Sabha.
4. Only 15 percent of these eligible voters were literate. Therefore the Election Commission had to think of some special method of voting.

Question 17.
Describe the security challenges faced by the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa after the Second World War. (2)
Answer:
After the Second World War, the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa faced the security challenges

1. They faced the prospect of military conflict with neighbouring countries.
2. These countries faced threats not only from outside their borders, mostly from neighbours, but also from within.
3. Terrorism is also a problem faced from outside the borders.
4. Many newly independent countries came to fear their neighbours even more than they feared the US or Soviet Union or the former colonial powers.

Question 18.
Explain any two lessons learnt from the emergency imposed in 1975. (2)
Answer:
The emergency brought out both the strengths and weaknesses of India’s democracy

• One lesson, Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.
• Secondly, it brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provision in the Constitution that have been rectified since. Now, ‘internal’ Emergency can be proclaimed only on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’ and it is necessary that the advice to the President to proclaim Emergency must be given in writing by the Union Cabinet ministers.
• Thirdly, the Emergency made everyone more aware of the value of civil liberties. The Courts too, have taken an active role after the Emergency in protecting the civil liberties of the individuals.

Section C

Question 19.
Describe the features of India’s Nuclear Policy. (4)
Answer:
The main features of India’s Nuclear Policy are

• India advocates no first use and reiterates India’s commitment to global verifiable on non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament loading to a nuclear weapon free world.
• Pt. Nehru always promoted science and technology to build a modern India i.e. initiated nuclear programme in the late 1940s under the guidance of Homi J. Bhaba.
• India was against nuclear weapons hence pleaded much nuclear disarmament with superpowers.
• India always considered NPT as discriminatory and refused to sign on it.
• Even India’s first Nuclear Test in May 1974 was termed as a peaceful explosion and India argued to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes only.

Question 20.
Discuss the developments that escalated the crisis within the USSR that hastened its Disintegration. (4)
Answer:
The developments that escalated the crisis within the USSR that hastened its disintegration

• Gorbachev initiated the policies of economic and political reform and democratisation within the
  country. The leaders within the Communist Party opposed the reforms.
• A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners. The people had tasted freedom by then and did not want the old-style rule of the Communist Party. Power began to shift from the Soviet centre to the republics, especially in the more Europeanized part of the Soviet Union, which saw themselves as sovereign states.
• The administration and political system of the Soviet Union became stagnant. The Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to the people. Ordinary people were alienated by slow and stifling administration, rampant corruption, the inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government led to the collapse of the system.
• Gorbachev’s ignorance and his liberal outlook, in turn, strengthened the anti-communal forces in Eastern Europe. Consequently, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and East Germany witnessed the downfall of the communist regimes. These sudden developments paved the way for the disintegration of the USSR.

Question 21.
‘In spite of the conflict, Sri Lanka has registered considerable economic growth and recorded high levels of human development’. Comment on the statement. (4)
Or
What have been the main hurdles in the path of building a stable democracy in Pakistan?
Answer:

• • The ethnic conflict has been going on since 1983 but Sri Lanka made considerable economic growth as is clear from the given following facts .
• • Sri Lanka was one of the first developing countries to successfully control the rate of growth of population.
• • Sri Lanka was the first country in the region to liberalise the economy.
• • It had the highest per capita gross domestic product (GDP) for many years right through the civil war.
• • Despite the ravages of internal conflict, it has maintained a democratic political system.

Or
The following factors are responsible for Pakistan’s failure in building a stable democracy

• The lack of genuine international support for democratic rule in Pakistan has further encouraged the military to continue its dominance. The United States and other Western countries have encouraged the military’s authoritarian rule in the past, for their own interests.
• Pakistan’s conflict with India has made the paramilitary groups more powerful. These groups have often said that political parties and democracy in Pakistan are flawed, that Pakistan’s security would be harmed by selfish-minded parties and chaotic democracy, and that the army’s stay in power is, therefore, justified.
• The social dominance of the military, clergy, and landowning aristocracy has led to the frequent overthrow of elected governments and the establishment of military government.
• ‘Global Islamic terrorism’ and their apprehension that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal might fall into the hands of these terrorist groups, the military regime in Pakistan has been seen as the protector of Western interests in West Asia and South Asia.

Question 22.
‘The culture of the politically & economically dominant society leaves its imprint on a less powerful society.’
Analyse the statement. (4)
Or
Explain the economic implications of globalisation and give your opinion if it was favorable for the developing nations.
Answer:
The culture of the politically and economically dominant society leaves its imprint on a less powerful society’. This statement describes

• External influences simply enlarge our choices, and sometimes they modify our culture without overwhelming the traditional.
• The burger is no substitute for a masala dosa and, therefore, does not pose any real challenge. It is simply added on to our food choices. Blue jeans, on the other hand, can go well with a homespun khadi kurta.
• Globalisation broadens our cultural outlook and generates cultural homogenisation, making cultures more different and distinctive.
• This is dangerous not only for the poor countries but for the whole of humanity, for it leads to the shrinking of the rich cultural heritage of the entire globe.

Or
Economic implications of globalisation are as
follows

1. Globalisation has increased trade in commodities across the globe. The restrictions imposed by different countries on the imports of other countries have been reduced.
2. The restrictions on the movement of capital across countries have also been reduced. Thus, investors in rich countries can invest their money in other countries particularly developing countries, where they get better returns.
3. Globalisation has led to spread of ideas such as internet and computer related services.
4. Globalisation has led to increase in the movement of people. For example, about 300,000 Indians are working in Silicon Valley in USA.
   Yes, it had a positive impact on the developing nations.

Question 23.
‘Regional demands from different parts of India exemplify the principle of unity with diversity’. Do you agree? Give reasons (4)
Answer:
Yes, I agree for the following reasons.

• Regional aspirations are part of democratic politics- Regional demands have to be addressed in a democratic way.
• When we try to suppress, regional aspirations will lead to resistance and secession. It is not in
  India but in other smaller countries like the UK there are regional aspirations in Scotland. The best way to respond to regional aspirations is through democratic negotiations.
• Power sharing Regional parties should be allowed to share power at regional level at state as well as centre in order to be more representative.
• Farsightedness of the makers of our constitution – Allows federal characteristic to provide flexibility and special provision to accommodate diversity like Sixth schedule of the constitution Regional imbalances can accommodated without being discriminated in any way. Therefore, regional aspirations are not encouraged to espouse separatism.
  Thus, in India regionalism is accepted as part of democratic politics.

Section D

Question 24.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
‘Commons’ are those resources which are not owned by anyone but rather shared by a community. This could be a ‘common room’, a ‘community centre’, a park or a river. Similarly, there are some areas or regions of the world which are located outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one state, and therefore require common governance by the international community. These are known as res communis humanitatis or global commons. (1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4)

(i) Which of the following is a part of global commons?
(a) Ocean floor
(b) River Narmada
(c) Thar desert
(d) Nilgiris
Answer:
(a) Ocean floor

(ii) The Earth summit was held in ……………… .
(a) Kyoto
(b) Rio- de- Janeiro
(c) Rome
(d) Montreal
Answer:
(b) Rio- de- Janeiro

(iii) Which of the following agencies of the United Nations is associated in dealing with environmental issues?
(a) UNESCO
(b) ECOSOC
(c) UNEP
(d) UNFCCC
Answer:
(c) UNEP

(iv) Why is cooperation over global commons not easy?
(a) Task cannot be monitored
(b) Lack of consensus on common environmental agendas
(c) Similar approach to environment between the global north and south.
(d) All of the above
Answer:
(b) Lack of consensus on common environmental agendas

Question 25.
In the given outline political map of India, four states have been marked as (A), (B), (C) and (D). Identify these states on the basis of the information given below and write their correct names in your answer book along with the respective serial numbers of the information used and the concerned alphabets as per the format that follows. (1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4)

(i) The state related to the leader who signed the Tashkent Agreement
(ii) The state related to C Natarajan Annadurai.
(iii) The state related to Karpuri Thakur, who implemented reservation for backward classes.
(iv) V Gin belonged to this state.

Answer:

Question 26.
Study the given cartoon and answer the guestions that follow. (1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4)

(i) Identify any two leaders that won the 1977 elections.
Answer:
Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh, Raj Narain (Any 2)

(ii) WhatisMISA?
Answer:
Maintenance of Internal Security Act

(iii) Why was the Congress voted out of power?
Answer:
The Congress was voted out of power due to the imposition of emergency, 42nd Amendment of Constitution, Censorship of press, and the misuse of Preventive detention laws in the country.

Section E

Question 27.
Explain the factors that make European Union a highly influential regional organisation. (6)
Or
What is meant by ASEAN Way’? Name the pillars and objectives of ASEAN community. What are the components of the ASEAN Vision 2020?
Answer:
The factors that make European Union a highly influential regional organisation
Economic Factors

• The EU is the world’s second biggest economy with a GDP of more than $17 trillion in 2016, next to that of the United States of America.
• Its currency, the euro, can pose a threat to the dominance of the US dollar.
• The EU functions as an important bloc in World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Political Factors

• One member of the EU, France holds permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
• The EU also includes various non-permanent members of the UNSC.
• The European Union plays an influential role in diplomacy and negotiations. EU’s dialogue with China on Fluman Rights and Environmental degradation is remarkable.

Military factors

• The EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world.
• Its total spending on defence is second after the US.
• Its one important member state, France also has nuclear arsenals of approximately 335 nuclear warheads.
• EU is also the world’s second most important source of space and communications technology.

Or
The ‘ASEAN Way’ encourages an informal, non-confrontationist approach among the member states to encourage consensus building and consultation in order to enhance confidence among the member states. Respecting each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty remains one of the key ideals of the ‘ASEAN Way’.

ASEAN Community comprising three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-cultural Community.

The objectives of ASEAN were primarily to accelerate economic growth and through that ‘social progress and cultural development’. A secondary objective was to promote regional peace and stability based on the rule of law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.

ASEAN Vision 2020 has defined an outward-looking role for ASEAN in the international community. This builds on the existing ASEAN policy to encourage negotiation over conflicts in the region.

Question 28.
‘Reforming the UN means restructuring of the Security Council’. Justify this statement with suitable arguments. (6)
Or
What makes the UN an indispensable organisation? What steps should be taken
to make the UN more relevant in the changing context?
Answer:
Security Council plays a crucial role in functioning of the UN. In today’s scenario power equations have been changed with the disintegration of USSR and many new countries are entering into the UN.

• The UN charter has given a privileged position to permanent members to bring stability all over the world. This position remains the same and no one is allowed to enter.
• Except permanent members enjoy veto power to be placed in a valuable position.
• Permanent member’s category is from industrialized developed country which should be balanced by enhancing representation from developing countries to become either permanent or non-permanent members.
• Hence, Security Council should reform and improve its working to make the UN more effective i.e., inclusion of member states should be judged on the basis of contribution to peace keeping initiatives.

Or
The following makes UN an indispensable organisation

• Interdependence and globalization is not possible without the international organisations such as the UN.
• To enforce cooperation on the issues of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation etc.
• To provide financial assistance to developing countries to stabilise economy all over the world.
• The UN works as a forum to solve any international dispute among nations and sort out the best possible way.
• To promote international peace and understanding.

Some steps to be taken to make the UN more relevant in the changing context

1. Creation of Peace Building Commission.
2. Acceptance of responsibility of international community in case of failures of national governments to protect their own citizens from atrocities.
3. Condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
4. An agreement to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Question 29.
Explain any three challenges faced by India at the time of its independence. (6)
Or
Analyse any six conseguences of the partition of India in 1947.
Answer:
Three challenges faced by India at the time of its independence

• Challenge to Shape a Nation: India was divided among various states at the time of independence. Hence a great challenge arose to unify and integrate country into one bond. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took upon himself to integrate these states either wishfully or diplomatically to be completed into different stages.
• To Establish Democracy: India constituted representative democracy based on parliamentary form of government and it was a great challenge to develop these democratic practices in the nation.
• To Ensure economic development and Well Being of the Society and to achieve welfare goals with the help of effective economic policies and eradication of poverty and unemployment.

Or
The six consequences of the partition of India in 1947 were

• The first consequence of partition was the largest unplanned and tragic transfer of population that human history has known. On both sides of the border, there were large-scale killings and atrocities. In the name of religion, people of one community killed the people of another community.
• Minorities were forced to abandon their homes and move across borders. Even during their journey, they were often attacked, killed, and looted. On both sides, thousands of women were raped, abducted, and killed. The partition forced about 80 lakh people to migrate across the new border. More than five lakh people were killed due to partition.
• Another consequence of the partition was the ‘Refugees Problem’. The people who crossed the border found that they had no home. For lakhs of people independence meant life in ‘refugee camps’. The Indian leadership and the Government of India had to face, this immediate and unexpected problem.
• Division of Properties and Financial Assets. Partition also meant the division of properties, liabilities, and financial assets. The employees of the government and railways were also divided.
• Problems of Minorities. Even after large- scale migration of Muslims to Pakistan, about 12 percent of the total population of India were Muslims. The biggest problem before the Indian Government was how to deal with Muslim minorities and other religious minorities.
• Due to the partition, Bengal was divided into East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and West Bengal. Similarly, Punjab was divided into the Punjab province of West Pakistan and the Indian state of Punjab.

Question 30.
Describe any three major developments in Indian politics since 1989. (6)
Or
‘In the midst of severe competition and many conflicts, a consensus appears to have emerged among most parties.’ Describe any three in detail.
Answer:
Three major developments in Indian politics since 1989

• First the most crucial development of this period was the defeat of the Congress party in the elections held in 1989. The party that had won as many as 415 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 was reduced to only 197 in this election.
• Second development was the rise of the ‘Mandal issue’ in national politics. This followed the decision by the new National Front government in 1990, to implement the recommendation of the Mandal Commission that jobs in central government should be reserved for the Other Backward Classes. This led to violent ‘AntiMandal’ protests in different parts of the country.
• Third, the economic policy followed by the various governments took a radically different turn. This is known as the initiation of the structural adjustment programme or the new economic reforms. Started by Rajiv Gandhi, these changes first became very visible in 1991 and radically changed the direction that the Indian economy had pursued since Independence. These policies have been widely criticized by various movements and organisations.

Or
‘In the midst of severe competition and many conflicts, a consensus appears to have emerged among most parties.’

• First, agreement on new economic policies – while many groups are opposed to the new economic policies, most political parties are in support of the new economic policies. Most parties believe that these policies would lead the country to prosperity and a status of economic power in the world.
• Second, acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes – political parties have recognised that the social and political claims of the backward castes need to be accepted. As a result, all political parties now support reservation of seats for the ‘backward classes’ in education and employment. Political parties are also willing to ensure that the OBCs get adequate share of power.
• Third, acceptance of the role of State level parties in governance of the country – the distinction between State level and national level parties is fast becoming less important.