Deck 9: India

Question 1

Which of the following statements about India's House of the People is accurate?

A)It has rejected most of the rituals and institutions of its colonial model.
B)Most of its members are elected to fixed six-year terms.
C)Each representative in the chamber serves roughly 2 million people.
D)It represents India's 29 states and 7 territories.
E)It is the weaker of the two legislative houses.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

India's Green Revolution:

A)expelled Mongol invaders in the sixteenth century.
B)introduced enhanced crops and cropping methods in the 1960s and '70s.
C)promises to halve India's carbon emissions by 2050.
D)pitted Muslims against Hindus in a nineteenth-century civil war.
E)pitted Communists against nationalists in a civil war following independence.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following has been a result of greater reliance on coalition governments?

A)strengthening of the policy influence of the prime minister
B)greater use of emergency rule
C)more frequent declarations of presidential rule
D)devolution of power to regional parties and states
E)weakening of regional parties

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following statements about India's local government is accurate?

A)The chief minister of each state is appointed by India's president, although appointments are subject to each state legislature's approval.
B)Indian states are typically divided along linguistic, ethnic, or religious differences, which helps fuel calls for greater devolution.
C)States control most of their public policies involving health, security, and education but have little control over economic development policy.
D)India currently seems poised to consolidate several states, bringing the total number down from 29 to 25.
E)Most state legislatures are bicameral, mimicking the structure of the federal legislature.

Question 5

The region that lies between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both is:

A)Jammu and Kashmir.
B)Sikkim.
C)Bengal.
D)Kerala.
E)Gujarat.

Question 6

The western Indian state in which Hindu retaliatory violence killed thousands of Muslims in 2002 is:

A)Amritsar.
B)Ayodhya.
C)Gujarat.
D)Kashmir.
E)Delhi.

Question 7

In which of the following ways does presidential rule differ from emergency rule?

A)Presidential rule is used only with respect to states, not with respect to the country as a whole.
B)Presidential rule is more likely to be used during international conflicts than during domestic ones.
C)Presidential rule is more of an economic tool than a governing one.
D)Presidential rule is more controversial in its use than emergency rule.
E)Presidential rule is used by the prime minister, not the president.

Question 8

How did Rajiv Gandhi's policies differ from those of his mother, Indira Gandhi?

A)He demonstrated a greater affinity-and success-for tackling India's ethnic and social tensions.
B)He proved more committed to economic liberalization.
C)He proved more willing to declare martial law in the face of public protest.
D)He proved more authoritarian in his governing style.
E)He associated himself more with the poorer classes through populist campaigns.

Question 9

Sikhism shares the beliefs of:

A)Hinduism and Buddhism.
B)Hinduism and Islam.
C)Islam and Buddhism.
D)Islam and Jainism.
E)Christianity and Islam.

Question 10

The most significant trend in recent national elections in India has been the growing dominance of:

A)the Indian National Congress.
B)the Bharatiya Janata Party.
C)coalition governments.
D)independent politicians.
E)the Indian Communist Party.

Question 11

India's Sepoy Mutiny pitted:

A)the East India Company against British colonial troops.
B)Hindu conscripts against Muslim conscripts.
C)British colonial troops against British officers.
D)Hindu and Muslim conscripts against British colonial troops.
E)British soldiers against French revolutionary forces.

Question 12

In which of the following ways does the Council of States differ from the House of the People?

A)It has greater policy influence over bills that raise revenue.
B)It can force the prime minister from office with a two-thirds vote.
C)Its Speaker is not politically neutral.
D)It holds less political influence over the cabinet.
E)It has the right to introduce legislation.

Question 13

Which prime minister declared emergency rule in 1975?

A)Rajiv Gandhi
B)Jawaharlal Nehru
C)Manmohan Singh
D)Indira Gandhi
E)Mohandes K. Gandhi

Question 14

Which of the following statements about recent Indian foreign policy is accurate?

A)India's request for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council has prompted vocal opposition from both the United States and China.
B)India continues to oppose China's claim to Tibet and maintains a significant army presence on the border.
C)Economic and nuclear cooperation between India and the United States has increased dramatically over the last decade.
D)India signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2008 at the request of the United States.
E)Pakistan-Indian relations have improved over the last decade after Pakistan renounced the use of terrorist groups to fight as proxies in the dispute over Kashmir.

Question 15

How did the incoming 2014 BJP government address the problem of rape in India?

A)It blamed the problem on a culture of promiscuity.
B)It promised zero tolerance for violence against women.
C)It argued that most accused of rape are judged too harshly.
D)It imposed the death penalty for any attacks against a woman.
E)It sought the help of international bodies, requesting that UN agencies come into India and help establish special anti-violence-against-women programs.

Question 16

Partition in India:

A)granted Muslims the right of abode.
B)legalized the caste system.
C)established a bicameral legislature.
D)created the states of East Pakistan, West Pakistan, and India.
E)established federalism upon independence.

Question 17

How does a representative get elected to the House of the People?

A)winning the plurality of the vote on the first ballot in an SMD
B)being on the party ballot that wins a high enough proportion of the vote in an MMD
C)winning a plurality of the vote on the first ballot and a majority on the second in an SMD
D)winning a required majority of the vote on the first ballot in an SMD
E)being on the party ballot that wins a high enough proportion of the vote in an SMD

Question 18

The nabob game in India allowed British merchants to plunder Indian wealth and resources by:

A)introducing cricket to the Indian ruling class.
B)playing the Spanish off of the Portuguese.
C)setting up puppet governorships.
D)encouraging opium addiction.
E)investing in Indian oil fields.

Question 19

The Indian National Congress led the anticolonial movement in India with which of the following organizations?

A)Muslim League
B)Gleaming Sword
C)Rajistan Resistance
D)Hindu Alliance
E)Raj Movement

Question 20

The Indian constitutional measure that allows the Center to oust a state government and assert direct rule of that state is called:

A)federal mandate.
B)presidential rule.
C)state suppression.
D)federal injunction.
E)martial law.

Question 21

Discuss both the costs and benefits of British colonialism to Indian development, and assess the net influence of this colonial legacy.

Question 22

Hindutva is championed primarily by the:

A)Indian National Congress.
B)Bharatiya Janata Party.
C)Communist Party of India.
D)Samajawadi Party.
E)Left Front.

Question 23

Naxalism refers to a:

A)fusion of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs.
B)neo-Nazi fascist movement.
C)Maoist insurgency.
D)Hindu ascetic movement.
E)high caste ranking.

Question 24

Explain the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India. What effect has it had on ethnic relations within states and on diplomatic relations with Pakistan?

Question 25

Which of the following statements about the fight against corruption and the Aam Aadmi ("Common Man") Party (AAP) is accurate?

A)The anticorruption populist movement began in large part as a result of several scandals committed under the BJP single-party rule that replaced a string of more transparent coalition governments.
B)Arvind Kejriwal brought the AAP into being in large part to take control of the new anticorruption body established by Congress.
C)Although the watchdog bill advocated by the AAP was eventually passed, it was far inferior to the version desired by civil activists.
D)The AAP only lasted 49 days in office before being voted out in early elections.
E)The AAP ultimately had much better success in national elections than in regional parliamentary elections.

Question 26

The Indian state of Kerala's high female literacy rates and low fertility rates are largely the result of:

A)a coalition government between Muslim and Hindu leaders.
B)socialist state policies in education, health care, and land reform.
C)neoliberal economic policies.
D)the influence of a legacy British colonial government.
E)agricultural yields and profit made possible by the Green Revolution.

Question 27

Why has one-party dominance given way to rule by coalition government since the early 1990s? Has this trend produced a stable, workable government, and why?

Question 28

Identify and discuss three primary obstacles to economic development in India. Has the deepening of democracy helped or hindered India's modernization?

Question 29

Which of the following statements about the development of India's economy is accurate?

A)Efforts to transition from import substitution industrialization and toward social-democratic policies began in the 1980s and came into full swing in the 1990s.
B)The total number of poor Indians continued to increase through the first decade of the current century.
C)The stamping out of corruption and protectionism as barriers to economic growth is one of the major successes of the 1990s reform effort.
D)China's faster economic growth is credited in part to slower population growth than that of India, as well as to better education.
E)The license raj has only acquired more complexity and red tape in recent years, and will soon force the Indian National Congress to address a reform effort.

Question 30

What is the modern legacy of the ancient patterns of division and settlement between Indo-Aryans and the Dravidians in India? What is the current state of the caste system in Indian society?