CARMEL SCHOOL

Padmanabhanagar, Bengaluru – 70
FIRST TERMINAL EXAMINATION 2024 – 25
GRADE – X
SUBJECT : Subject – History, Civics and Geography
(H.C.G Paper – I)
Time : 2hrs Maximum Marks : 80

KEY ANSWER

PART I (Attempt all questions from this part)

Question 1

(i) A Member of Parliament notices that a critical issue affecting national security
is being ignored. What parliamentary tool can they use to bring immediate
attention to the matter? [1]

b) Adjournment Motion

(ii) Who decides whether a bill is a Money Bill or not? [1]

c) The Speaker of the Lok Sabha

(iii) Based on the written advice of which entity, the President of India can declare
the Emergency shown in the picture? [1]

d) The Union Cabinet

(iv) Identify the Executive powers of the President of India. [1]

P) Executive orders are issued.

Q) Appointment of officials of the state.
R) Nominates 12 members to Rajya Sabha
S) Can appoint a Finance Commission after every five years.

(a) P and Q

(v) The principle of collective responsibility means: [1]

c) The entire Council of Ministers is responsible as a body to the house of the
people

(vi) The initiative of summoning the Houses of Parliament is taken by ________

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
c)The President [1]

(vii) Which of the following was NOT a result of the 1857 rebellion as shown in
the headline? [1]

d) Introduction of Western education system

(viii) Who was the British officer responsible for ordering the Jallianwala Bagh
massacre?

c) General Dyer

(ix) Read the two statements given below and select the option that shows the
correct relationship between (A) and (B). [1]

(A) The Early Nationalists believed in moderate politics.

(B) They asked for constitutional and other reforms within the framework of
British rule.

a) (A) is the reason for (B)

_____________________________________________________________

x) Which of the following slogans is associated with the above cartoon?

c) Do or Die

(xi) Identify the odd one out of the following objectives of Muslim League. [1]

a) To train and organize public opinion in the country

xii) The Indian National Army (INA) was originally formed by __________[1]
a) Mohan Singh

(xiii) Complete the given analogy.

Bengal and Punjab : Legislative Assemblies :: The district of Sylhet : _________
Referendum [1]

(xiv) If you were asked to enact the role of one of the Assertive Nationalist
leaders, on the occasion of Independence Day, Whom would you choose? [1]

a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(xv) Replace the underlined word and correct the statement. [1]

Surendranath Banerjee presided over the Second Session of the Indian National
Congress.

a) Dadabhai Naoroji

xvi) Name the regiment of women formed on 12 July 1943. [1]

b) The Rani Jhansi Regiment

__________________________________________________________________

Question 2

(i) How are the members of Rajya Sabha elcted? [2]

Ans: (i)They are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of
each State in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means
of a single transferable vote.
(ii)The three representatives from Delhi are elected by the members of the
Legislative Assembly.

ii) State any two powers of Vice President as the Ex-officio Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha. [2]

Ans: a)He regulates debates and proceedings of the House and decides the order
of speeches.

b)He decides the admissibility of a resolution or of questions.

iii)He may suspend or adjourn the business of the House in case of grave disorder.
iv)He issues directions to the chairmen of various committees in all matters
relating to their working.

(iii) Under what provision can a non – member of Parliament be made a

Minister? [2]

In case a non – member is appointed as a minister, he must be elected or

nominated to the Parliament within 6 months from the date of his appointment.
Failing this, he will have to reign.

iv) On what basis the above shown region was annexed to the Company’s
dominions in 1856? Mention any one consequence of the annexation . [2]

Ans. Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh to the Company’s dominions on the pretext
of alleged misrule.
Consequences: [Any one]

i)They had to pay higher land revenue and additional taxes on food, house and ferries.

ii)The dissolution of the Nawab of Awadh’s army and administration threw

thousands of nobles, officials and soldiers out of jobs.
iii)The British confiscated the estates of the taluqdars and zamindars. The
dispossessed taluqdars became the opponents of the British rule.
iv)The annexation of Awadh also affected the soldiers financial position. They had to
pay higher taxes on the land their families held in Awadh.

v) Name the left wing Political Party started by Subhas Chandra Bose. Mention
its immediate objective. [2]
Ans: Bose started the Political Party known as Forward Bloc on May 3, 1939.
Forward Bloc’s immediate objective was liberation of India with the support of
workers, peasants, youth and other organizations.

vi)Name the event that led Mahatma Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation
Movement in 1922. Mention any two Swadeshi programmes of Non –
Cooperation Movement. [2]

Ans: The Chauri Chaura incident.

Swadeshi Programmes:
 i)Popularisation of Swadeshi and Khadi.

ii)Establishment of national schools, colleges and panchayats.

iii)Development of unity between Hindus and Muslims.
iv)Emancipation and upliftment of women.
v) Removal of untouchability and other measures for Harijan welfare.
vii) With reference to the given picture, why was the signing of the Pact
in 1916 an important event towards the growth of unity in India?[2]

The signing of the Lucknow Pact in 1916, between the Indian National
Congress and the Muslim League, was an important event towards the growth
of unity in India because:

a) The Lucknow Pact brought unity between the Congress and the Muslim
League.
b) The Lucknow Pact brought unity between the Assertive Nationalists and the
Early Nationalists.
c) The unity between the Congress and the League and between the Early
Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists became a threat to the British
Government of India.
d) The government felt it necessary to pacify the Indians.

PART II SECTION A

Answer any two questions from this sectionQuestion 3

“The Parliament is the body of people’s representatives who have supreme power
of governance in a democratic country” With reference to Parliament, answer the
following questions:

(i) State any three exclusive powers of Lok Sabha that is not enjoyed by
the other house. [3]

i) Motions of No – Confidence against the government can only be

introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha.
ii) Money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha.
iii) In case of a deadlock between the two Houses over a non – financial
bill, the will of the Lok Sabha normally prevails.
ii) State any three Judicial powers of the Parliament? [3]
i) The Parliament has the right to remove the President from the office through a
procedure known as ‘impeachment’.
ii) The Parliament can remove the judges of the supreme court and the high courts
etc. if they are found guilty of violating provisions of the constitution.
iii)The Parliament can punish a person for obstructing the work of Parliament or
showing disrespect to the House.

iii) What is Question Hour? What are the three types of questions
which the members of the house have a right to ask? [4]

Question Hour; The first hour on every working day of the Lok Sabha is
reserved for questions. It is decided by the speaker .This hour usually
starts at 11am.
There are 3 types of questions;
i)Starred questions; are those to which a member wishes to have an oral
answer on the floor of the House. They are indicated by an asterisk
(star)mark.
Supplementary questions may be asked.
ii)Unstarred questions; Answers to these questions are given in written
form.
No supplementary questions are asked.
iii)Short notice questions; are related to a matter of urgent importance
.Such questions are asked with a notice shorter than ten days.

Question 4

With reference to The President and the Vice President of India answer the
following:

(i) Mention any three discretionary powers of the President [3]

Ans: i)Appointment of the Prime Minister in a situation where no single party

commands the clear support of the majority in the Lok Sabha members and
there is a hung Parliament.

ii)Appointment of Prime Minister in case of sudden death where the ruling party is
unable to meet immediately to elect a leader.
iii)When the ruling party who has lost majority support in the Lok Sabha or when a
vote of no confidence has been passed against it, it recommends to the President to
dissolve the Lok Sabha.

iv)The President can dismiss ministers in case the Council of Ministers loses
confidence of the House but refuses to resign.

(ii) State any three qualifications necessary to become the Vice President
of India. [3]
i)must be a citizen of India.
ii)should have completed the age of 35 years.
iii)should be qualified for election as a member of the Council of States.[
Rajya Sabha]
iv)he should not hold any office of profit under the Government of India
or any State or any local or other Government authority .
___________________________________________________________
(iii) Mention any four reasons for adopting indirect elections to the office
of the President. [4]
i)If the President was to be elected directly by the people, he could
become a rival center of power to the Council of Ministers. ii)Since the
membership in two Houses of Parliament was likely to be dominated by
one party, election of the President merely by a majority of members of
the Union Parliament could make him a nominee of the ruling party.
iii)The President is elected by an Electoral College. Such an Electoral
College would make the President the elected representative of the whole
nation with a clear voice given to the States as well.
iv)The framers of the constitution wanted the Presidential election to
remain a quiet and dignified affair.
v)The direct election of the President would have been very costly and
time consuming due to the vast size of the electorate.
vi)It would be difficult to provide an electoral machinery for an election
in which millions of people would have to participate
vii)A direct election would place too much of power in the hands of the
masses, many of whom being illiterate even now. [Any four points]
___________________________________________________________
Question 5

The Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, is the most powerful
institution in the Indian polity. With reference to this, answer the following
questions:

(i) State any three differences between Council of Ministers and the
Cabinet [3]

Council of Ministers Cabinet

1)The Council of Ministers consists 1)The ‘Cabinet’ is a small group

Of all categories of Ministers – consisting of senior ministers
Cabinet ministers, Ministers of holding important portfolios such
State and Deputy Ministers. as defence, finance ,home etc.

2)The Prime Minister may or may 2)They are the most trusted
not consult the other ministers, colleagues of the Prime Minister.
below the rank of Cabinet The Prime Minister always
Ministers. consults them. The decisions of the
Cabinet are binding on all the
ministers.

3) In the day to day working of the 3)The Cabinet is a small group of

government, the Council of senior ministers who determine the
Ministers as a whole rarely meets. policy and programmes of the
government. So, they meet as
frequent as possible.

4) According to the Constitution, 4) In day – to day governance of

the President acts on advice of the the country, the Cabinet advises the
Council of ministers .In reality, it is President, through the Prime
not the Council of Ministers but the Minister.
Cabinet Which advises the
President.

(ii) Prime Minister a unique position in the parliament. Justify the

statement. [3]
 i)The Prime Minister is the leader of the Lok Sabha.
ii)He is the chief spokesman of the Government.
iii)He is the defender of the Government Policies.
iv)If an ugly situation arises in any of the Houses, the matter generally
ends with the intervention of the Prime Minister.
(iii) Mention any four Administrative Powers of the Cabinet? [4]
i)Policy making; The Cabinet formulates both external and domestic
policies of the Government.
ii)Implementation of Policies; They work out the details of policies and
pass it to the civil servants under that ministry to implement the decision.
iii)The Cabinet coordinates the functions of various ministers.
iv)All major appointments such as the appointments of Judges of the
Supreme Court, High Courts, Governors of State and others are decided
by the Cabinet.

SECTION B

Answer any three questions from this section

Question 6

The Indian Nationalists described the great uprising of 1857 as the First War of
Independence. With reference to this, answer the following questions:

(i) Mention any three economic causes of the revolt. [3]

i) The British exploited the Indian resources for their own benefits.
ii)They drained the wealth of India
iii)Indian Cottage industries and Handicrafts were decayed.
iv)Unemployment increased.
v)Inhuman treatment of Indigo cultivators
vi)India was continuously exposed to poverty and famines
vii)The landed aristocracy which included the talukdars and the hereditary
landlords were deprived of their estates .[any three]

ii)Describe the significance of the Enfield rifle in the context of the 1857
revolt. [3]

Ans.i)In 1856, the British government decided to replace the old fashioned musket
called Brown Bess with the new Enfield rifle.
ii)The loading process of the Enfield rifle involved bringing the cartridge to the
mouth and biting off the top greased paper with the teeth.
iii)In January 1857,there was a rumour in the Bengal regiments that the greased
cartridge had the fat of cow or pig.
iv)The sepoys were convinced that the introduction of greased cartridges was a
deliberate move. So both the Hindus and the Muslim soldiers refused to use these
cartridges and staged an uprising when they were forced to use them.
v)As a result Mangal Pandey, a sepoy led an attack on a British officer at
Barrackpore on March 29,1857.
vi)Mangal Pandey was executed after a court martial

The discontent caused by the introduction of the Enfield rifle was one of the
immediate triggers of the 1857 Revolt. The anger and suspicion regarding British
motives spread quickly among the soldiers, and it eventually led to widespread
mutinies, starting from Meerut, and then to other parts of India.

Thus, the Enfield rifle was significant in igniting the discontent that contributed to
the larger uprising against British rule in 1857.

iii) What were the four changes made in the army after the revolt? [4]

i)The strength of European troops in India was increased. The ratio of

European to Indian troops was fixed at 1:2.
ii)European troops were kept in key geographical and military positions.
iii)The sophisticated weapons and ammunition were never placed under
the charge of Indians.
iv)Discrimination on the basis of caste, region and religion was practiced
in the recruitment to the army.
 v)Newspapers, journals and nationalist publications were prevented from
reaching the soldiers to keep the Indian army separated from the life of
the rest of the population.

Question 7

One of the most distinguishing features of the second half of the 19 th century was
the birth of national awakening in India. In this context, answer the following:

i)Explain the role of the press in the growth of nationalism in India. Name any
two prominent newspapers of the later half of 19 century. [3]

i It was through the press that the message of patriotism and modern liberal
ideals of liberty, freedom ,equality, home rule and independence, spread among the
people.
ii The press carried on daily criticism of the unjust policies of the British
Government in India and exposed the true nature of British rule in India.
iii It made possible the exchange of views among different social groups from
different parts of the country and to organize political movements.
iv It made Indians aware of what was happening in the world. This awareness
helped them to understand the political and social development of the outside
world and shape their own policies and programmes.
Prominent newspapers:
Amrit Bazar Patrika , The Bengali ,The Tribune The Pioneer, The Times of
India ,The Hindu ,The Statesman [any two]
__________________________________________________________________
ii)What was the objective of the Ilbert Bill? Why was it not passed?[3]

Ans.(i)Lord Ripon, who succeeded Lord Lytton, tried to reduce some of

the grievances of the Indians.

(ii) This Bill provided for the trial of British or European persons by Indians
judges.
[any two]
The Ilbert Bill faced intense opposition from the British community in
India. The government ultimately withdrew the Bill.
iii)Name two early political associations that were formed before the Indian
National Congress. State any three objectives of Indian National Congress?
[4]

Ans.(i)East India Association

ii)Indian Association(1876)

iii)Indian National Conference;(1883) [any two]

Objectives of INC:

(i)To promote friendly relations between nationalist political workers from

different parts of
the country.
ii) To develop and consolidate the feelings of national unity irrespective of
caste, religion or province .
iii) To formulate popular demands and present them before the government

iv)To train and organize public opinion in the country.

Question 8

With reference to first and second phase of the Indian National Movement answer
the following:

(i) What were the main methods adopted by the Assertive nationalists in
the Indian National Movement? [3]
i)Swadeshi : Swadeshi means producing necessary items in one’s own
country and using them for one’s use without being dependent on imported
goods.
ii)Boycott: Initially, the Boycott Movement meant ‘abstaining from the
purchase of British goods’.
iii)National Education; Efforts were made to give education a national
orientation in the vernacular languages.
A large number of national schools were established in East Bengal.
iv)Passive Resistance : which included Revivalism, personal sacrifice, and
mass movement.
ii)When was Bengal partitioned? Name the Viceroy who was responsible
for the partition? What were the actual reasons for the Partition? [3]

Bengal was partitioned on October 16, 1905.

Lord Curzon was responsible for the partition

i)Bengal was the nerve center of Indian nationalism at that time. So the British
hoped to stop the rising tide of nationalism by partitioning Bengal.

ii)British wanted to reduce Hindu Bengalis to a minority in Bengal itself.

iii)The partition aimed to divide the Hindus and the Muslims in Bengal.

iii) State any three contributions of :

a) Surendranath Banerjee
b) Dadabhai Naoroji [4]

a)i)He established ‘the Indian Association’ to fight against the wrong policies of
the British.

ii)Through the Indian Association, he wanted to educate the people and create
strong public opinion in the country .

iii)He convened the Indian National Conference in 1883.

iv)He opposed the Arms Act, the Vernacular Press Act, the lowering of age for
appearing in the ICS examination from 21 to 19 years, the Morley Minto reforms
and the Partition of Bengal.

v)He edited a newspaper, Bengalee, which served as a powerful medium for

mobilizing public opinion. His book, Nation in the Making, gives an account of his
political concern and his views about self govt.

b) i)He founded the Bombay Association, edited the newspaper ‘Rast Goftar’ and
started a magazine ‘Dharma Marg Darshak’.
ii)In 1865, he founded the London India Society.
iii)It was due to his effort that in 1893, the House of Commons passed a resolution
in favor of holding the ICS examination in England and India simultaneously.
iv)He took active part in the foundation of the INC and was elected its President
thrice’.
v)Resolutions on self – government, swadeshi and National Education were
passed by the Congress under his Presidentship.
vi)He presented his ‘Drain Theory ‘ in his work ‘Poverty and Un- British Rule in
India’.

Question 9

Look at the given picture and answer the following questions

i) Gandhiji launched three National Movements. Name them in

chronological order. [3]
Non – Cooperation Movement of 1920.
Civil Disobedience movement 1930
Quit India Movement 1942
ii) When was the Second Round Table Conference held? Mention two
results. [3]

Ans. i) The second Round Table Conference was held between 7th September to
December 1, 1931.
Results:
i) Gandhiji participated in the conference.
ii) The conference was soon deadlocked on the minorities issue, with separate
electorates being demanded by the Depressed classes, Indian Christians, Anglo –
Indians and others.
iii)The British government refused to grant dominion status to India. Gandhiji
returned to India disappointed.

iii) Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin signed a pact in 1931.

Mention any two conditions that the Congress agreed to and two conditions
that the British government agreed to according to this pact. [4]

Ans. The pact signed by Gandhiji and Lord Irwin, the Viceroy, in March 1931 is
known as Gandhi – Irwin Pact.
The British government agreed to
i)Release all political prisoners, except those guilty of violence.
ii)Permit peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops.
iii)Restore the confiscated properties of the satyagrahis.
iv)Permit the free collection or manufacture of salt by persons near the seacoast.
The Congress consented to the following
i)To suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement.
ii)To participate in the second session of the Round Table Conference.
iii)Not to press for investigation into police excesses.

Question 10

(i) Mention any two reasons why the congress finally accepted the
Mountbatten Plan? [3]

i)The large scale communal riots that engulfed the whole country convinced all
that the only solution to the communal problem lay in the partition of India.

ii)The League had joined the Interim Government to obstruct and not to cooperate.

iii)The Congress felt that smaller India with a strong central authority was better
than a bigger State with a weak Centre.

iv)The British were instigating the rulers of the Indian States to remain
independent . Hence, partition was the price for immediate independence.

v)The leaders felt that further delay in the transfer of power could find India in the
midst of a civil war.

vi)The Congress felt that Partition would rid the Constitution of separate
electorates and other undemocratic procedures.

(ii) Mention the status of Princely States, according to the Indian

Independence Act, 1947. [3]

i)The Princely States would become independent and all the powers exercised
by the British authority were to be terminated.

ii)All treaties and agreements made by the British with reference to States would
lapse from August 15,1947.

iii)They would be free to join Pakistan, they could join India or they could remain
independent.
(iii) Mention any four Clauses of the Cabinet Mission plan. [4]
Ans .i)There will be a federal union of the British Provinces and the
Princely States
ii)The British Provinces would be divided into three groups – Group A,
Group B and Group C on the basis of religion.
iii)A Constituent Assembly would draw up the future Constitution of
India.
iv)An Interim government would be formed at the centre with 14
members
v)Freedom to join the commonwealth.
vi) The would control defence, foreign affairs and communications. The
province would enjoy full autonomy for all subjects other than the union
subjects.
vii) Separate representation was to be given to Muslims and Sikhs.
viii) The would have its own executive and legislature composed of
members elected by all provinces.
ix) Transfer of power.

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