Q 1 – How are the people of working-class exploited economically?
Ans. They are made to work for lower pay and for longer hours.
Q 2 – What does the right against exploitation state
Ans. The Right against Exploitation says that no one can be forced to work for low wages or under bondage.
Q 3 – Why do the workers willingly work in unsafe conditions?
Ans. Since there is so much unemployment, there are many workers who are willing to work in unsafe conditions in return for a wage.
Q 4 – How can the government ensure social justice?
Ans. Through making, enforcing, and upholding certain laws, the government can control the activities of individuals or private companies so as to ensure social justice.
Q 5 – What does Article 21 of the Constitution state?
Ans. Right to Life is a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution and it includes the right to the enjoyment of pollution-free water and air for full enjoyment of life.
Q 6 – Why do we need a law on minimum wages?
Ans. We need a law on minimum wages so that workers may get fair wages from their employers. Most often they are denied fair wages by their employers. Employers usually take advantage of their poverty and pay them low wages.
Q 7 –Who were the most exposed to poison gas of Bhopal gas tragedy?
Ans. Most of those exposed to the poison gas came from poor, working-class, families, of which nearly 50,000 people are today too sick to work.
Q 8 – Can you suggest some ways in which enforcement can be improved
Ans. Ways to improve the enforcement
- Recruitment of adequate number of enforcement staff
- Anyone found violating the law must be penalised with a strict punishment
Q 9 –What does the government is supposed to ensure being law maker and enforcer?
Ans. Being lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented.
Q 10 – Do you think the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy got justice? Discuss.
Ans. The victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy did not get justice. The disaster was caused due to gross neglect of safety measures by the management of the factory.
Q 11 – When did the methyl-isocyanite (MIC) start to leak from the U.C. plant.
Ans. At midnight on 2nd December 1984 methyl isocyanite (MIC) a highly poisonous gas started leaking from the U.C. plant.
Q 12 – How many people were dead within 3 days during Bhopal gas tragedy?
Ans. Within three days, more than 8000 people were dead.
Q 13 – What is the full form of CNG?
Ans. CNG – Compressed Natural Gas.
Q 14 – What is the duty of the government with regards to Article 21?
Ans. Duty of government is to ensure that the Right to Life guranteed under Art 21 of the Constitution is not violated.
Q 15 – Where is West Virginia located?
Ans. West Virginia is located in the U.S.A.
Q 16 – What was there for 12 million children in the 2001 census?
Ans. According to the 2001 census, over 12 million children in India aged between 5 and 14 work in various occupations including hazardous ones.
Q 17 – What does the Right against Exploitation say?
Ans. The Right against Exploitation says that no one can be forced to work for law wages or under bondage.
Q 18 – When does the Enforcement become even more important?
Ans. Enforcement becomes even more important when the law seeks to protect the weak from the strong.
Q 19 – What role does the government have for the betterment of society?
Ans. The government has the role of making ‘appropriate laws’ and also was to enforce the laws.
Q 20 – What type of laws can cause serious harm?
Ans. Laws weak in nature and poorly enforced can cause serious harm.
Q 21 – What issues does the Bhopal tragedy brought to the forefront?
Ans. Bhopal tragedy causing disaster has brought the environment issues to the forefront.
Q 22 – What are the reasons for the sharp differences in safety standards between the 2 Union carbide factories in the USA and India?
Ans. India has a high rate of unemployment and due to this workers are willing to work in unsafe conditions. One worker can easily replace another due to overpopulation. Ignorance and the vulnerability of Indian workers is also another reason why the safety standards in the Indian factory were very much lower than the factory in USA.
Q 23 – With any example state that how markets everywhere tend to be exploitative of people?
Ans. Many of the people directly or indirectly involved in the production of the shirt – the small farmer producing cotton, the weavers of erode, or the workers in the garment-exporting factory – faced exploitation or an unfair situation in the market. Markets everywhere tend to be exploitative of people – whether as worker, consumers, or producers.
Q 24 – What does the law of minimum wages says?
Ans. To ensure that workers are not underpaid, or paid fairly, there is a law on minimum wages, a worker is paid less than the minimum wage by the employer. The minimum wages are revised upwards every few years and law on minimum wages is meant to protect workers. *
Q 25 – How does the laws protect the interests of producers and consumers in the market?
Ans. There are laws that protect the interest of producers and consumers in the market. The help ensure that the relations between these three parties – the workers, consumer and producers are governed in matter so that exploitation of any party could be avoided.
Q 26 – Who was Aziza sultan. What statement made by her?
Ans. Aziza Sultan was the survivor of the Bhopal gas tragedy. According to her the statement was: “At 12.30 am I woke to the sound of my baby coughing badly. In the half-light I saw that the room was tied with a white cloud. I here people shouting ‘run, run’. Then I started coughing, with each breath seeming as it I was breathing in fire. My eyes were burning”.
Q 27 – What were the reasons for the Bhopal tragedy?
Ans. The Union Carbide tank’s alarms had not worked for 4 years. The steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was out of action and water sprays designed to “knock down” gas leaks were poorly designed. No action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude. The local authorities were not informed of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at the factory. These were the reasons for the Bhopal tragedy.
Q 28 – How did the Indian government introduce new laws on the environment after the Bhopal disaster?
Ans. The Bhopal disaster brought the issue of environment to the forefront thousands of persons who were not associated with the factory in any way were greatly affected because of the poisonous gases leaked from the plant. This made people realise that the existing laws, though weak, only covered the individual worker and not persons who might be injured due to industrial accidents.
- In response to this pressure from environmental activists and others in the years following the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian government introduced new laws on the environment. Henceforth, the polluter was to be held accountable for the damage done to environment.
- The environment is something that people over generations will share, and it could not be destroyed merely for industrial development. The courts also gave a number of judgment upholding the right to a healthy environment as intrinsic to the Fundamental Right to Life.
Q 29 – What are the advantages to foreign companies in setting up production in India?
Ans. India provides cheap labour compared to some other countries. Wages paid to workers in foreign countries are much higher than in India. For lower pay, foreign companies can get long hours of work. Additional expenses such as housing facilities for workers are also fewer in India. Thus, foreign companies can save costs and earn higher profits.
Q 30 – In what way was the Government responsible for the Bhopal tragedy?
Ans. Safety laws were lax in India and these weak safety laws were not enforced.
- Government officials refused to recognise the plant as hazardous and allowed it to come up in a populated locality. Though there was some objection regarding the safety violation, the government allowed the factory to start production as it was providing jobs for the local people.
- The government did not take the initiative to ask the Union Carbide Company to shift to cleaner technology or safer procedures. Government inspectors continued to approve the procedures in the plant, even when there were repeated incidents of poisonous gas leaks. So the government has to bear certain responsibility for the tragedy.
Q 31 – How can laws ensure that markets work in a manner that is fair? Give two examples to support youranswer.
Ans. Law can ensure that markets work in a manner that is fair by ensuring the enforcement of the law in letter and spirit.
- Law against hoarding and black marketing must be enforced in such a way that stringent punishment is given to the violators of the law and the hoarded goods must be forfeited.
- Anti Child Labour Act must be enforced, not a single child must be allowed to work in shops, tea stalls, and restaurants.
Q 32 – What do we mean when we speak of law enforcement? Who is responsible for enforcement? Why is enforcement so important?
Ans.
- When we speak of law enforcement, we mean that the provisions of the law must be applied to all and sundry without discrimination.
- Government is responsible for law enforcement.
- Rights of workers and citizens to be protected.
- With more industries being set up by both Indians and foreign businesses, there is a greater need for stronger laws.
- It is all the more important to safeguard our environment.
Q 33 – How do government certifications like the ISI certification help the consumer?
Ans. When a product has the ISI mark the consumer can be certain that the product is of good quality and it is safe. Hall mark certification assures the consumer of the purity of gold they buy. ISO certification assures the consumer that a company has a good Quality Management System. Consumers might be put to risk by the poor quality of products such as electrical appliances, food, medicines if the government had not set up the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Q 34 – What are the three basic rights of workers?
Ans. Basics rights of workers are:
- Right to work
- Right to a fair wage
- Decent work conditions
Q 35 – Write a brief note on the Bhopal gas tragedy.
Ans. Union Carbide was an American Company which had a factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, which produced pesticides. At idnight on 2nd December, 1984, methyl-isocyanides – a highly poisonous gas – started leaking from the factory plant.
- Within three days, more than 8,000 people were dead. Hundreds of thousands were maimed. Most of those exposed to the poison gas came from poor, working-class families.
- There are nearly 50,000 people today who are too sick to work. Among those who survived, many developed severe respiratory disorders, eye problems and other disorders. Children developed peculiar abnormalities.
- The Bhopal disaster is frequently cited as the world’s worst industrial disaster.
Q 36 – How can the government ensure social justice?
Ans. Through making, enforcing and upholding the laws, the government can control the activities of individuals or private companies so as to ensure social justice. Many of these laws have their basis in the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
Q 37 – Can you point to a few other situations where laws (or rules) exist but people do not follow them because of poor enforcement?
Ans. Yes, they are
- Over-speeding by motorists
- Boarding a running bus
- Not using Zebra crossing for crossing the road
Q 38 – Why do you think enforcement of safety laws is important in any factory?
Ans. Enforcement of safety laws is important in any factory for the safety of the workers and general public.
As the lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is not violated.
Q 39 – Why are advanced countries relocating the toxic and hazardous industries to developing countries?
Ans. Advanced countries are relocating the toxic and hazardous industries to developing countries to take advantage of the weaker laws in these countries and keep their own countries safe. South Asian countries – particularly India, Bangladesh and Pakistan – play hosts for industries producing pesticides, asbestos or processing zinc and lead.
Q 40 – How can the government meet the challenges where everyone can benefit from the clean environment?
Ans. One way this can be done is to gradually move to cleaner technologies and processes in factories. The government has to encourage and support factories to do this. It will need to fine those who pollute. This will ensure that the workers livelihoods are
protected and both workers and communities living around the factories enjoy a safe environment.
Q 41 – Who was the painter of the following painting?
Ans. Raja Ravi Varma.
Q 42 – What does the pictures describes?
Ans. It describes about the Clive street in Calcutta draw by Thomas and William Daniell, 1786.
Q 43 – whom does the portrait belongs to.
Ans. Muhammad Ali Khan of Arcot.
Q 44 – How was the economic development of India visualised in the early decades after
Independence?
Ans.
- In 1950, the government set up a Planning Commission to help design and execute suitable policies for economic development.
- There was a broad agreement on what was called a “mixed economy” model. Here, both the State and the private sector would play important and complementary roles in increasing production and generating jobs.
- It was on Planning Commission to define which industries should be initiated by the state and which by the market, how to achieve a balance between the different regions and states.
- In 1956, the Second Five Year Plan was formulated. This focused strongly on the development of heavy industries such as steel, and on the building of large dams.
- These sectors would be under the control of the State. This focus on heavy industry, and the effort at state regulation of the economy was to guide economic policy for the next few decades.
Q 45 – Under what circumstances a compromise was made with respect to language?
Or
Why a compromise was made with respect to language?
Ans. Many members believed that the English language should leave India with the British rulers. Its place, they argued, should be taken by Hindi. However, those who did not speak Hindi were of a different opinion. Speaking in the Assembly, T.T.
Krishna machair conveyed “a warning on behalf of people of the South”, some of whom threatened to separate from India if Hindi was imposed on them. A compromise was finally arrived at: namely, that while Hindi would be the “official language” of India, English would be used in the courts, the services, and communications between one state and another.
Q 46 – What special privileges were offered to the poorest and most disadvantaged Indians by the constitutions?
Ans. It offered special privileges for the poorest and most disadvantaged Indians.
- The practice of untouchability was abolished.
- Hindu temples, previously open to only the higher castes, were thrown open to all, including the former untouchables.
- A certain percentage of seats in legislatures as well as jobs in government be reserved for members of the lowest castes.
- Along with the former Untouchables, the adivasis or Scheduled Tribes were also granted reservation in seats and jobs.
Q 47 – After Independence, why was there a reluctance to divide the country into linguistic lines?
Ans. Back in the 1920s, the Indian National Congress had promised that once the country won independence, each major linguistic group would have its own province. However, after independence the Congress did not take any steps to honour this promise. There was a reason for this. India had been divided on the basis of religion. As a result of the partition of India, more than a million people had been killed in riots between Hindus and Muslims. Country could not afford further divisions on the basis of language. Both Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel were against the creation of linguistic states.
Q 48 – What created the problems in unifying the people of India after it got independence?
Ans. The problems were:
- India’s population in 1947 was large, almost 345 million. It was also divided. There were divisions between high castes and low castes, between the majority Hindu community and Indians who practised other faiths.
- The citizens of this vast land spoke many different languages, wore many different kinds of dress, ate different kinds of food and practised different professions
Q 49 – How have the powers and functions of the central and state governments have
been divided by the constitution?
Or
How does the Constitution divide power between central and state governments?
Or
How are the powers divided between state and Centre?
Ans. The Constitution of India provides for a division of powers between the Union (Centre) and states. It divides all the subjects into 3 lists: a Union List, with subjects such as taxes, defence and foreign affairs, which would be the exclusive responsibility of the Centre; a State List of subjects, such as education and health, which would be taken care of principally by the states; a Concurrent List, under which would come subjects such as forests and agriculture, in which the Centre and the states would have joint responsibility.
Q 50 – Name three problems that the newly independent nation of India faced.
Ans. The three problems that the newly independent nation of India faced were:
- As a result of Partition, 8 millio refugees had come into the country from what was now Pakistan. These people had to be found homes and jobs.
- Maharajas or nawabs of princely states (almost 500) had to be persuaded to join the new nation.
- The new nation had to adopt a political system that would best serve the hopes and expectations of its population.