Pedagogy

CTET Social Studies (SST) MCQ with Answers, Paper 2

756 practice questions on Social Studies and its Pedagogy (Paper II) for CTET Paper II (Social Studies/Social Science), with answers; most also have an explanation or a worked solution. Try each one before you open its answer.

Read the lesson on this topic →

Page 1 / 16 Next →

1. Q.1

   In 2005, the government set up a high-level committee to study the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India. It was chaired by:

   1. A Justice Ranganath Misra
   2. B Justice Rajindar Sachar
   3. C B.P. Mandal
   4. D Justice J.S. Verma
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (B) Justice Rajindar Sachar

   The Sachar Committee, chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar, found that on several indicators of social, economic and educational development the Muslim community lagged behind other communities. The Mandal Commission dealt with the backward classes.

   Report this question

2. Q.2

   Before independence the Congress had promised that each major linguistic group would have its own province. Yet after 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel were both against creating linguistic states. Why?

   1. A After a partition on religious lines, they feared further division
   2. B They wanted Hindi to be the only language used in every state of India
   3. C They wanted every state to be ruled directly by the central government
   4. D They felt India had too few major languages to need separate states
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (A) After a partition on religious lines, they feared further division

   Having seen the country divided on the basis of religion, Nehru and Patel feared that linguistic states might divide it further. Pressure from below, especially the movement for a Telugu-speaking state, eventually led to reorganisation on linguistic lines.

   Report this question

3. Q.3

   Harappan craftspersons made beads, bangles, earrings and tiny vessels of faience. Unlike stone or shell, faience is:

   1. A a soft natural stone quarried in the Aravalli hills of Rajasthan
   2. B a hard shell collected along the seashore of Gujarat and then polished smooth
   3. C an artificial material: sand or powdered quartz shaped with gum and glazed
   4. D a metal alloy made by mixing copper with a little tin
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (C) an artificial material: sand or powdered quartz shaped with gum and glazed

   Faience is artificially produced: gum was used to shape sand or powdered quartz into an object, which was then glazed to give a shiny, glassy surface, usually blue or sea green. Copper mixed with tin gives bronze, not faience.

   Report this question

4. Q.4

   Assertion (A): In Akbar's reign, most mansabdars lived in their jagirs and personally administered them. Reason (R): Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs.

   1. A Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
   2. B Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
   3. C A is true, but R is false
   4. D A is false, but R is true
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (D) A is false, but R is true

   R is true: mansabdars were paid through jagirs, which were somewhat like iqtas. A is false: unlike muqtis, most mansabdars did not live in or administer their jagirs; they only had rights to the revenue, which their servants collected while they served elsewhere.

   Report this question

5. Q.5

   A classroom debate on 'Should plastic bags be banned?' is especially useful in a social science class because it develops the ability to:

   1. A Listen silently without responding
   2. B Construct arguments supported by evidence and consider opposing views
   3. C Read map symbols accurately
   4. D Write in neat handwriting
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (B) Construct arguments supported by evidence and consider opposing views

   Debate requires students to research, organise and defend a position while responding to counter-arguments, building critical thinking, communication and tolerance of differing views.

   Report this question

6. Q.6

   Match each graphic organiser with its best use in social science. A. Timeline; B. Venn diagram; C. Flow chart; D. Concept map. 1. Showing similarities and differences between two societies; 2. Showing how several ideas are related to one another; 3. Showing events in order over time; 4. Showing the steps of a process, such as how a bill becomes a law.

   1. A A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
   2. B A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
   3. C A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1
   4. D A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (A) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

   A timeline orders events in time, a Venn diagram compares and contrasts, a flow chart shows the steps of a process and a concept map shows the relationships among ideas.

   Report this question

7. Q.7

   Rabindranath Tagore expressed the pain and anger of the country by renouncing his knighthood. He did so in protest against:

   1. A the Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar
   2. B the partition of Bengal
   3. C the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi during the Salt March
   4. D the hanging of Bhagat Singh
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (A) the Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar

   After General Dyer's troops fired on an unarmed gathering at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in April 1919, Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest. The partition of Bengal took place in 1905, and Bhagat Singh was hanged in 1931.

   Report this question

8. Q.8

   Match the type of map or drawing with its best use in class. A. Physical map; B. Political map; C. Thematic map; D. Sketch. 1. Showing state boundaries and capitals; 2. Showing the distribution of rainfall or crops; 3. Showing mountains, plateaus and plains; 4. A rough drawing of the route to school made without scale.

   1. A A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
   2. B A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
   3. C A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
   4. D A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (B) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

   Physical (relief) maps show natural features, political maps show boundaries of states and countries, thematic maps focus on particular information such as rainfall, and a sketch is a rough drawing based on memory and observation, not drawn to scale.

   Report this question

9. Q.9

   In his autobiography 'Joothan', which writer describes how, as a Dalit child, he was made to sweep the school and its playground by the headmaster instead of being allowed to study?

   1. A Premchand
   2. B Mulk Raj Anand
   3. C Omprakash Valmiki
   4. D Jyotirao Phule
   Show answer

   Correct answer: (C) Omprakash Valmiki

   Omprakash Valmiki's 'Joothan' records the caste discrimination he faced, including being made to sweep the school while other children studied. NCERT uses it to show how such treatment violates a person's dignity and equality.

   Report this question

10. Q.10

    Ravi leaves India to settle in Canada. For India he is an ______, and for Canada he is an ______.

    1. A emigrant; immigrant
    2. B immigrant; emigrant
    3. C emigrant; emigrant
    4. D immigrant; immigrant
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) emigrant; immigrant

    Emigrants are people who leave a country, and immigrants are those who arrive in a country. Migration, along with births and deaths, changes the size of a population.

    Report this question

11. Q.11

    During the Non-Cooperation–Khilafat movement, the Akali agitation of the Sikhs in Punjab sought to:

    1. A win a separate electorate for Sikhs in the Punjab legislature
    2. B stop the export of Punjab's wheat to Britain during the war
    3. C remove corrupt mahants, supported by the British, from the gurdwaras
    4. D free Sikh soldiers from overseas service in the British Indian army
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) remove corrupt mahants, supported by the British, from the gurdwaras

    The Akali agitation sought to remove corrupt mahants, who were backed by the British, from the gurdwaras, and it became closely identified with the Non-Cooperation Movement. Elsewhere, local struggles such as the forest satyagrahas in Guntur district also took up Gandhiji's call.

    Report this question

12. Q.12

    When the British tried to annex a small state in present-day Karnataka, its queen, Rani Channamma, took up arms and led an anti-British resistance. She was arrested in 1824 and died in prison in 1829. Which state did she rule?

    1. A Jhansi
    2. B Kittur
    3. C Ramgarh
    4. D Satara
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Kittur

    Rani Channamma of Kittur resisted the Company's attempt to annex her state, long before the revolt of 1857. Jhansi was the state of Rani Lakshmibai, and Ramgarh that of Rani Avantibai Lodhi.

    Report this question

13. Q.13

    A social science textbook shows women only in the kitchen and men only in offices and fields. A teacher sensitive to gender issues should:

    1. A Ignore the pictures as they are only illustrations
    2. B Use these images as material for a critical discussion on gender stereotypes
    3. C Skip the chapter altogether
    4. D Tell students that the pictures simply show reality
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Use these images as material for a critical discussion on gender stereotypes

    NCF 2005 expects teachers to help children read textbooks critically. Stereotyped images become a resource for questioning assumptions about gender roles, which is itself an aim of social science teaching.

    Report this question

14. Q.14

    An industry can be seen as a system of inputs, processes and outputs. In a cotton textile mill, spinning and weaving are:

    1. A inputs
    2. B processes
    3. C outputs
    4. D markets
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) processes

    Raw cotton, labour and power are inputs; ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing and printing are the processes that change the raw material; and the finished cloth is the output.

    Report this question

15. Q.15

    Many Company officials returned to Britain with great wealth, led flashy lives and flaunted their riches. They were mockingly called 'nabobs', a word that was:

    1. A a Portuguese word for a ship's captain
    2. B an anglicised version of the Indian word 'nawab'
    3. C a title the Mughal emperor gave to Company servants
    4. D a Persian word for a revenue collector
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) an anglicised version of the Indian word 'nawab'

    'Nabob' was the English version of 'nawab'; in Britain it was used for Company officials who came home rich, and they were often ridiculed in plays and cartoons. It was not an official title.

    Report this question

16. Q.16

    During Question Hour in Parliament, Members of Parliament:

    1. A ask ministers questions to get information about the working of the government
    2. B elect the Speaker of the Lok Sabha for a new term
    3. C hear and decide appeals against the judgments of the High Courts of the states
    4. D vote to choose the President of India
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) ask ministers questions to get information about the working of the government

    Question Hour is an important way for MPs to elicit information about the government's work and draw attention to its shortcomings. It is one of the ways in which Parliament controls, guides and informs the government.

    Report this question

17. Q.17

    After Nadir Shah's invasion and conquest of Delhi in 1739, many Mughal artists migrated to the Himalayan foothills. Which school of painting was founded with their arrival, known for soft colours such as cool blues and greens?

    1. A Basohli school
    2. B Deccani style
    3. C Mughal imperial style
    4. D Kangra school
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) Kangra school

    Mughal artists who moved to the hills found ready patrons, which led to the founding of the Kangra school; its soft colours, cool blues and greens and lyrical treatment of Vaishnavite themes set it apart. The Basohli style, which developed earlier in the same region, was bold and intense.

    Report this question

18. Q.18

    Wet clothes take much longer to dry on some days of the rainy season than on a dry summer day. The main reason is that on those days:

    1. A the air pressure is very high
    2. B the air contains more nitrogen than usual
    3. C the air already holds a lot of water vapour, so evaporation is slow
    4. D the temperature is far below freezing
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) the air already holds a lot of water vapour, so evaporation is slow

    The moisture in the air at any time is called humidity. When the air is already full of water vapour it can take up little more, so water from wet clothes evaporates slowly.

    Report this question

19. Q.19

    Mahatma Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922 because:

    1. A a crowd burnt a police station at Chauri Chaura, and he opposed violence
    2. B the British had at last agreed to grant complete independence to India at once
    3. C the Khilafat leaders had gone over to the British side
    4. D the Congress had decided to contest the coming elections
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) a crowd burnt a police station at Chauri Chaura, and he opposed violence

    At Chauri Chaura, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, a crowd of peasants set fire to a police station and policemen were killed. Gandhiji, who was against violent movements, called off the Non-Cooperation Movement.

    Report this question

20. Q.20

    Match the institutions of the Pallava period with their descriptions: A. Sabha B. Ur C. Nagaram; 1. An organisation of merchants 2. An assembly of brahmin landowners 3. A village assembly in areas where landowners were not brahmins

    1. A A-2, B-3, C-1
    2. B A-1, B-3, C-2
    3. C A-3, B-2, C-1
    4. D A-2, B-1, C-3
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) A-2, B-3, C-1

    Pallava inscriptions mention the sabha (brahmin landowners), the ur (a village assembly where landowners were not brahmins) and the nagaram (an organisation of merchants). These bodies were probably controlled by rich and powerful landowners and merchants.

    Report this question

21. Q.21

    Rashsundari Devi, who taught herself to read in secret, wrote 'Amar Jiban' in Bengali. This book is known as:

    1. A A novel that imagines a country where women run everything
    2. B The first known autobiography written by an Indian woman
    3. C A collection of songs of the freedom movement
    4. D A report on the condition of widows in Bengal
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) The first known autobiography written by an Indian woman

    Amar Jiban by Rashsundari Devi is the first known autobiography written by an Indian woman. The story imagining a world run by women is 'Sultana's Dream' by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain.

    Report this question

22. Q.22

    Assertion (A): By the 1880s, about two-thirds of all the cotton clothes worn by Indians were made of cloth produced in Britain. Reason (R): Bombay's first cotton mill was set up as a spinning mill in 1854. Choose the correct option.

    1. A Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
    2. B Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
    3. C A is true, but R is false
    4. D A is false, but R is true
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

    Both statements are true, but R does not explain A. Cheap machine-made cloth from Britain had flooded Indian markets from the 1830s, ruining many weavers; the growth of Indian mills was a separate development, and their cloth competed with British imports. (An earlier mill near Calcutta, at Fort Gloster in 1818, had failed, so R speaks only of Bombay's first mill.)

    Report this question

23. Q.23

    Students compare a map of the subcontinent made by the Arab geographer al-Idrisi in 1154 CE, in which south India appears at the top, with a modern map. The main point the teacher should bring out is that:

    1. A Al-Idrisi's map is simply wrong and of no value to historians
    2. B Every map must show north at the top to be correct
    3. C Maps reflect the knowledge and conventions of their time
    4. D Modern maps show the subcontinent just as al-Idrisi did
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) Maps reflect the knowledge and conventions of their time

    Placing north at the top is a convention, not a rule of nature. Old maps reflect what their makers knew and the conventions they followed, and they are valuable sources when read in that context.

    Report this question

24. Q.24

    Between 1927 and 1935 Dr B.R. Ambedkar led three movements, in which his Mahar caste followers took part, to win for Dalits a right long denied to them. What were these movements about?

    1. A Boycott of foreign cloth
    2. B Entry into temples
    3. C Rights over forest produce
    4. D Abolition of the salt tax
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Entry into temples

    Ambedkar led three temple entry movements between 1927 and 1935, the best known being the Kalaram temple satyagraha at Nashik, begun in 1930. His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within society. His Mahad satyagraha of 1927, in which Dalits drank water from a public tank, was a separate struggle for the right to use public water.

    Report this question

25. Q.25

    In 1917 Mahatma Gandhi visited Champaran in Bihar. This visit marked the beginning of a movement against:

    1. A mill owners who had cut the wages of Ahmedabad textile workers
    2. B the government's monopoly over the making and sale of salt
    3. C European planters who forced peasants to grow indigo
    4. D the Rowlatt Act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) European planters who forced peasants to grow indigo

    In Champaran, European indigo planters forced peasants to grow indigo on unfair terms, and Gandhiji's visit in 1917 began the Champaran movement against them. The Ahmedabad mill workers' struggle and the salt satyagraha were separate struggles.

    Report this question

26. Q.26

    To show Class 6 students that a map shows places as seen from above, a teacher asks them to draw a glass, a book and a pencil box as they look from directly overhead. This activity develops the idea of:

    1. A A plan or bird's-eye view
    2. B The scale of a map
    3. C Projection of a globe on paper
    4. D Contour lines showing height
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) A plan or bird's-eye view

    A map, like a plan, shows features as seen from directly above. Drawing familiar objects from overhead helps children shift from the side view they usually draw to the view used in maps.

    Report this question

27. Q.27

    A news channel owned by a large business group shows only one side of a dispute in which that group has a business interest. This mainly goes against the principle of:

    1. A Universal adult franchise
    2. B Social advertising
    3. C Independence of the media
    4. D Federalism
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) Independence of the media

    An independent media means that no one, whether the government or business interests, should control or influence its coverage. When the owners' business links shape the news, viewers get a one-sided report instead of a balanced one.

    Report this question

28. Q.28

    Why did Mahatma Gandhi choose salt as the issue for the civil disobedience campaign of 1930?

    1. A Salt was a luxury that only the rich could afford to use
    2. B Everyone, rich or poor, ate salt, so the state's salt monopoly hurt all
    3. C Salt was produced only in Gujarat, and Gandhiji wanted to help his home region
    4. D The British had banned Indians from eating salt altogether
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Everyone, rich or poor, ate salt, so the state's salt monopoly hurt all

    Salt was an essential item of food for everyone, so protesting against the state's monopoly over its manufacture and sale united people across classes. Gandhiji and his followers marched from Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi, where they broke the salt law.

    Report this question

29. Q.29

    Which of the following pairs of a tribal group and its main occupation in the nineteenth century is NOT correctly matched?

    1. A Van Gujjars of the Punjab hills – cattle herders
    2. B Gaddis of Kulu – shepherds
    3. C Bakarwals of Kashmir – goat herders
    4. D Labadis of Andhra Pradesh – iron smelters
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) Labadis of Andhra Pradesh – iron smelters

    The Labadis of Andhra Pradesh, like the Van Gujjars, were cattle herders. The Gaddis of Kulu were shepherds and the Bakarwals of Kashmir reared goats; the Agarias of central India are an example of an iron-smelting community.

    Report this question

30. Q.30

    Match the types of rainfall with their descriptions:

    (a) Convectional (b) Orographic (c) Cyclonic

    1. Air heated by the ground rises, cools and gives rain, often in the afternoon

    2. Moist air is forced up a mountain slope, cools and gives rain on the windward side

    3. Rain associated with a cyclone, where warm and cold air masses meet

    1. A a-2, b-1, c-3
    2. B a-1, b-2, c-3
    3. C a-1, b-3, c-2
    4. D a-3, b-2, c-1
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) a-1, b-2, c-3

    Convectional rain comes from strongly heated air rising and cooling; orographic (relief) rain falls on the windward slopes of mountains, leaving the leeward side drier; and cyclonic rain occurs where warm and cold air masses meet in a cyclone.

    Report this question

31. Q.31

    In the early thirteenth century, the control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons. What was the result?

    1. A They collected regular land revenue from every village as far south as the Deccan
    2. B They ruled the coastal ports of Gujarat and Bengal directly from their capital at Delhi
    3. C They rarely held the hinterland and relied on trade, tribute or plunder for supplies
    4. D They gave up cavalry and relied only on foot soldiers in the towns
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) They rarely held the hinterland and relied on trade, tribute or plunder for supplies

    Since the Sultans seldom controlled the hinterland of the cities, they depended on trade, tribute or plunder for supplies. Later campaigns cleared forests in the Ganga-Yamuna doab and consolidated the hinterland, and from Alauddin Khalji's reign the Sultans campaigned far into south India.

    Report this question

32. Q.32

    Which statement about ocean currents is correct?

    1. A Cold currents begin near the Equator and flow towards the poles
    2. B The Labrador Current is a warm current and the Gulf Stream a cold one
    3. C Warm currents lower the temperature of the coasts they reach
    4. D Warm currents begin near the Equator and flow towards the poles
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) Warm currents begin near the Equator and flow towards the poles

    Warm currents originate near the Equator and move towards the poles, while cold currents carry water from polar or higher latitudes towards the tropics. The Gulf Stream is warm and the Labrador Current is cold, and warm currents raise the temperature of the land they reach.

    Report this question

33. Q.33

    The Ward Members (Panchs) and the Sarpanch together form the:

    1. A Gram Sabha
    2. B Gram Panchayat
    3. C Panchayat Samiti
    4. D Zila Parishad
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Gram Panchayat

    The elected Panchs and the Sarpanch form the Gram Panchayat, which is elected for five years. The Gram Sabha is much larger: it includes all adults of the panchayat area who are registered as voters.

    Report this question

34. Q.34

    A student stands facing north and then turns clockwise through 135°. Which direction is the student now facing?

    1. A North-east
    2. B South-west
    3. C North-west
    4. D South-east
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) South-east

    Turning clockwise from north, 90° brings the student to face east and another 45° to face south-east, the intermediate direction midway between east and south. Turning anticlockwise through 135° would give south-west.

    Report this question

35. Q.35

    On a globe lit by a torch in a dark room, the line that divides the lit half from the dark half (day from night) is called the:

    1. A Equator
    2. B Prime Meridian
    3. C Circle of illumination
    4. D Arctic Circle
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) Circle of illumination

    The circle of illumination separates the half of the Earth facing the Sun (day) from the half facing away from it (night). As the Earth rotates, places keep crossing it, which gives sunrise and sunset.

    Report this question

36. Q.36

    Places such as Varanasi, Jerusalem and Vatican City attract and hold large numbers of people. Which kind of factor affecting the distribution of population does this illustrate?

    1. A Topography
    2. B Climate
    3. C Availability of minerals
    4. D Social and cultural
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) Social and cultural

    Besides geographical factors such as topography, climate, soil, water and minerals, social, cultural and economic factors affect where people live. Places of religious or cultural importance, such as Varanasi, Jerusalem and Vatican City, draw people to them.

    Report this question

37. Q.37

    Many fishing families in coastal villages borrow money from traders during the monsoon months. The main reason is that during these months they:

    1. A must pay a yearly tax on their boats to the panchayat
    2. B are busy repairing roads for the panchayat
    3. C prefer to buy new houses in nearby towns
    4. D cannot go out to sea and so earn very little
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) cannot go out to sea and so earn very little

    In NCERT's example of Aruna's fishing family, the boats cannot go to sea for about four months during the monsoon, because this is when the fish breed. The family earns very little in these months and survives by borrowing from the trader, and is then forced to sell its catch to that trader instead of auctioning it.

    Report this question

38. Q.38

    A small cotton farmer borrows money from a local trader for seeds and fertiliser, on the condition that she sells her crop to him. At harvest he offers her a price well below the market price. This situation mainly shows that:

    1. A Markets always give every seller, big or small, a fair price for the crop
    2. B The government buys all cotton at a fixed price
    3. C Debt weakens the small farmer's bargaining power and benefits the trader
    4. D Selling through the trader earns the farmer the highest price
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) Debt weakens the small farmer's bargaining power and benefits the trader

    Because she owes him money, the farmer can neither sell elsewhere nor wait for a better price, so the trader gains at her cost. Such examples show that markets do not treat everyone equally.

    Report this question

39. Q.39

    E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar) joined the Congress but soon left it in disgust. What made him leave?

    1. A The Congress refused to support the remarriage of widows
    2. B The Congress wanted English to be the only official language of India
    3. C The Congress had suddenly called off the Non-Cooperation Movement
    4. D At a Congress-funded school, non-Brahman pupils had to eat apart
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) At a Congress-funded school, non-Brahman pupils had to eat apart

    Periyar left the Congress in 1925, disgusted by caste discrimination among nationalists: at the Cheranmadevi gurukulam, a nationalist school run with Congress funds, non-Brahman pupils were made to eat apart from Brahman pupils, and the provincial Congress would not even take up his demand for communal representation for non-Brahmans. Our Pasts III describes this as caste-based seating at a feast organised by nationalists. He went on to argue that untouchables were the true upholders of the original Tamil and Dravidian culture.

    Report this question

40. Q.40

    Under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, which of the following counts as domestic violence?

    1. A Only physical injury serious enough to need treatment in a hospital
    2. B Only violence by the husband, and not by any other member of the family
    3. C Only abuse that has already been reported to the police in writing
    4. D Physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse, or threats of it
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) Physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse, or threats of it

    The Act covers actual abuse or the threat of abuse, whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic, against a woman by her husband, his relatives or another person with whom she shares, or has shared, a household. It was passed after years of campaigning by women's groups, which shows how citizens help shape laws.

    Report this question

41. Q.41

    A teacher begins the study of medieval India by taking students to an old fort and stepwell in their own town. The main pedagogical justification for using local history in this way is that it:

    1. A Moves from the familiar and concrete to the unfamiliar and abstract, making history real to children
    2. B Is easier for the teacher than preparing a lesson
    3. C Allows the textbook to be avoided entirely
    4. D Is compulsory under the examination syllabus
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) Moves from the familiar and concrete to the unfamiliar and abstract, making history real to children

    Starting from monuments and stories children can see and touch builds on their experience and curiosity, a constructivist principle, and helps them connect the local past with the larger narrative in the textbook.

    Report this question

42. Q.42

    Which of the following is NOT a measure to reduce the damage caused by landslides?

    1. A Mapping hazard-prone areas so that settlements avoid them
    2. B Removing the vegetation cover from steep hill slopes
    3. C Building retention walls to stop land from slipping
    4. D Controlling the surface drainage of rainwater and spring flows
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Removing the vegetation cover from steep hill slopes

    Hazard mapping, retention walls, more vegetation cover and surface drainage control all help to reduce landslides. Removing vegetation loosens the soil on slopes and makes landslides more likely.

    Report this question

43. Q.43

    During a lesson on forests, a girl from an Adivasi family describes how her community collects forest produce and protects a sacred grove. The teacher should:

    1. A Value her account as valid knowledge and use it to enrich the lesson
    2. B Tell her that only the information in the textbook is correct
    3. C Ask her to stop because the account is not part of the chapter
    4. D Present her community's practices as backward compared with life in cities
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) Value her account as valid knowledge and use it to enrich the lesson

    NCF 2005 asks schools to respect the knowledge of communities, including Adivasi knowledge of forests, and to connect lessons with children's lives. Valuing her account also counters the marginalisation of tribal communities.

    Report this question

44. Q.44

    Behind Shah Jahan's throne in his audience hall in the Red Fort at Delhi were pietra dura inlays, one showing Orpheus, the legendary musician of Greek myth, playing the lute, whose music was believed to calm wild beasts. What was the hall meant to convey?

    1. A That the emperor had adopted the religion of ancient Greece
    2. B That music was to be banned from the royal court
    3. C That only foreign artists were allowed to work in the palace
    4. D That the king's justice treated the high and the low as equals
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) That the king's justice treated the high and the low as equals

    Orpheus's music was believed to calm ferocious beasts so that they lived together peaceably; the audience hall aimed to show that the king's justice would treat high and low as equals, so that all could live in harmony. In pietra dura, coloured hard stones are set into depressions carved in marble or sandstone.

    Report this question

45. Q.45

    The right of religious and linguistic minorities to set up and run educational institutions of their choice is part of which Fundamental Right?

    1. A Cultural and Educational Rights
    2. B Right to Equality
    3. C Right to Freedom
    4. D Right against Exploitation
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (A) Cultural and Educational Rights

    Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29 and 30) protect the right of minorities to conserve their language and culture and to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. They help ensure that minority cultures are not swamped by the majority.

    Report this question

46. Q.46

    On 8 April 1857, a young soldier, Mangal Pandey, was hanged to death for attacking his officers. Where did this take place?

    1. A Meerut
    2. B Barrackpore
    3. C Lucknow
    4. D Kanpur
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (B) Barrackpore

    Mangal Pandey attacked his officers at Barrackpore, near Calcutta, on 29 March 1857 and was hanged there on 8 April. A few weeks later, in May 1857, the sepoys at Meerut rebelled and marched to Delhi.

    Report this question

47. Q.47

    For a project, students find a website that gives a date for the building of a fort in their district. Before using it, the teacher asks them to check it against the information board at the fort and a book on the region's history. This develops the habit of:

    1. A Accepting the first source that appears in a search
    2. B Rejecting all information found on the internet
    3. C Corroborating information by cross-checking several sources
    4. D Copying text from the website into the project file
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) Corroborating information by cross-checking several sources

    Corroboration means checking a claim against independent sources before accepting it. It is a core habit of historical enquiry and of responsible use of online information.

    Report this question

48. Q.48

    Aryabhata, a mathematician and astronomer, wrote that:

    1. A the sun moves around a stationary earth, and this causes day and night
    2. B eclipses are caused by Rahu swallowing the sun or the moon
    3. C the earth is flat and floats on water
    4. D day and night are caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) day and night are caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis

    In the Aryabhatiyam, written in Sanskrit, Aryabhata stated that day and night are caused by the earth rotating on its axis, even though it seems as if the sun rises and sets. He also gave a scientific explanation of eclipses.

    Report this question

49. Q.49

    After the failure of the Cabinet Mission in 1946, the Muslim League announced 16 August 1946 as 'Direct Action Day' to press its demand for Pakistan. What happened on that day?

    1. A The Constituent Assembly met in Delhi for the very first time
    2. B The British announced the exact date on which India would be free
    3. C Riots broke out in Calcutta and went on for several days
    4. D The Congress and the League agreed to form a joint government
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (C) Riots broke out in Calcutta and went on for several days

    On Direct Action Day riots broke out in Calcutta, lasting several days and resulting in the death of thousands of people; violence soon spread to other parts of the country. The Constituent Assembly first met in December 1946.

    Report this question

50. Q.50

    Which of the following is NOT a Fundamental Right in the Indian Constitution today?

    1. A Right against Exploitation
    2. B Right to Freedom of Religion
    3. C Right to Constitutional Remedies
    4. D Right to Property
    Show answer

    Correct answer: (D) Right to Property

    The Right to Property was removed from the Fundamental Rights by the 44th Amendment (1978) and is now a legal right under Article 300A. The six Fundamental Rights are equality, freedom, against exploitation, freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and constitutional remedies.

    Report this question

Page 1 / 16 Next →

Practise this topic →