1.

The ancient civilization in Indian sub-continent differed from those of Egypt,

Mesopotamia and Greece in that its culture and traditions have been preserved
without breakdown to the present day. Comment.

Question Break up:

Cultural aspects in India followed from ancient times + Cultural aspects of
Egypt,Mesopotamia and Greece which became non-existent over the years.

Approach:
1. Make a list of all the cultural and traditional aspects that have been passed
down in the Indian subcontinent and has not been passed down in the case
of the other countries.
2. Ancient civilisations of Indian subcontinent include those from the pre-
historic times (7000 B.C or earlier) to the start of the Middle Ages (A.D 500)
3. Brainstorm for a list:
Religion
Language
Arts-music,dance, and painting
Literature
Architecture
Cuisine

Model Answer:
Unlike their western counterparts the remnants of the ancient civilisations of India from the
Indus valley civilisation to that of the Gupta's still abound in the culture and traditions of the
Indian subcontinent:
1. Ancient religions like Hinduism and Buddhism are still widely practised unlike
the now dead religions of Mesopotamia (Assyro-Babylonian religion) and
Ancient Greek religion which have given way to Islam and Christianity
respectively.
2. Languages like Sanskrit and Pali are learned even today unlike Sumerian,
Akkadian of Mesopotamia and Coptic of Egypt which have been replaced by
Arabic.
3. Ancient Indian civilisations were dominantly vegetarian and this culture is still
followed in many parts of the subcontinent. In ancient Greece meat eaters
were considered barbaric while modern day Greeks consume a lot of meat.
Thus culture in India has withstood the test of time due to factors like peculiar geography,
strong ideological foundations etc. while in the other countries it was replaced due to influx
of other religions and massive conquests.

Current Aspect: Static Portion (Art and Culture)

Related Topic:
1. Indus valley civilisation cultural aspects.
Clothing: Men and women dressed in colourful robes. Women
wore jewellery of gold and precious stone, and even wore
 lipstick! Among the treasures found was a statue of a women
wearing a bracelet.
Dance/Music: A beautiful small bronze statue of a dancer was
found, which tells us that they enjoyed dance and had great
skill working with metals.

Reference Material:
NCERT Themes in Indian history I- Class XII

2. Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the
times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically
evaluate this comment.

Question Break up and Approach:

How Mesolithic rock art reflects:
1. Cultural life
2. Fine aesthetic sense
Also compare its aesthetic sense to that of modern painting.
3. Keep in mind the time period (The term "Mesolithic art" refers to all arts and
crafts created between the end of the Palaeolithic Ice Age (10,000 BCE) and
the beginning of farming, with its cultivation and animal husbandry).
4. Think of examples of rock cut architecture from Mesolithic era and try to
bring out the two aspects from the rock cut art.
Bhimbetka caves

Model Answer:
Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India like the Adamgarh, Bhimbetka of Madhya Pradesh
and Pratapgarh, Mirzapur of Rajasthan give ample evidence about the cultural life of the
Mesolithic era and also display remarkable aesthetic quality.

The cultural life is depicted in the human figures and hunting scenes of the caves, giving a
clear picture of the weapons they used: barbed spears, pointed sticks, bows and arrows. The
depiction of communal dances, birds, musical instruments, mothers and children, pregnant
women, men carrying dead animals, drinking and burials appear in rhythmic movement.
These show community aspects of their culture and finer aspects like craft in ornaments,
masks and head-dresses etc.

The paintings of individual animals show the mastery of skill of the primitive artist in
drawing these forms. Both, proportion and tonal effect, have been realistically maintained
in them. The artists of Bhimbetka used many colours by grinding various rocks and minerals
which is comparable to that of modern era paintings in that they have remained intact for
thousands of years of adverse weather conditions. Despite various limitations such as acute
working conditions, inadequate tools, materials, etc., the pictorial quality of the paintings
are stellar.

Current Aspect:Static Portion (Art and Culture)

Related Topic:
Rock cut architecture of India
1. Indian rock-cut architecture is more various and found in greater
abundance than any other form of rock-cut architecture around the
world. Rock-cut architecture is the practice of creating a structure by
carving it out of solid natural rock.
2. Indian rock-cut architecture is mostly religious in nature.

Reference Material:
Introduction to Indian Art Part I - NCERT class XI

3. How difficult would have been the achievement of Indian independence without
Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss.

Question Break up:

Only one part- Gandhis role in Independence movement.

Approach:
1. List out the contributions of Gandhi and think how in the absence of those
contributions how the Independence movement would have turned out.

Model Answer:
Due to being a mass leader, skilled tactician and innovative thinker Mahatma Gandhi's role
in the Independence movement is unparalleled and his absence would have had possible
effects like:
Delayed Independence: Without Gandhi's charismatic nature
many Indians especially the lower caste would not have
participated in the struggle, resulting in delay of
Independence.
Independence on paper but not in reality: If not for Gandhi's
efforts many sections of the society like lower castes and
women would not have come fore to the process and thus
they would not be seen as equals by the rest of the society.
More bloodshed: Gandhi's role as a pacifier and icon of hope
would have been missed especially during the communal riots
and this would have resulted in more deaths.
Possible fragmentation upon independence: Gandhi acted as
the force which glued all parts of the country and all sections
of the society. In his absence many people would not have
identified with the concept of the Indian state and thus
independence would have become difficult.
Thus Gandhi effectively united everyone towards a common goal using symbols like charkha
and salt (Dandi Satyagraha) which everyone could associate with.
Current Aspect:
8,500 letters received by Mahatma Gandhi are to be published.

Related Topic:
Role of other leaders such as Valla Bhai Patel in uniting India, Nehru in the national
movement and socialist nature of independent India.
Vallabhbhai Patel, known as the iron man of India was a pivotal force in ensuring all
the states of India stayed together. He used his immense tact and persuaded and
coerced states which wanted to remain independent to stay with India.

Reference Topic:
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III (Class XII)

4. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B R Ambedkar, despite having divergent approaches and

strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden. Elucidate.

Question Break up:

Comparison of Gandhi and Ambedkar on various approaches towards caste.

Approach:
Describe aspects about caste upon which Ambedkar and Gandhi differed. Both
worked towards upliftment of lower castes but exactly how they did differed on
some points.

Model Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar both dedicated their lives to upliftment of the
downtrodden especially the lower caste people but they differed in their approach towards
it such as:
Gandhi wanted the savarna system of caste structure to stay whereas Ambedkar
wanted complete annihilation of the caste system. In this Ambedkar was more
radical in approach and distrusting of the upper castes.
Gandhi wanted a common electorate while Ambedkar wanted separate electorates
for lower castes. Gandhi thought that separate electorates would delay the
absorption of harijans into the rest of the society while Ambedkar thought this was
the only way to ensure harijans would get equal representation.
Gandhi focused on villages as the basic units of economy and wanted them to stay
intact while Ambedkar considered villages as the root of all caste related evils and
wanted urbanisation. Ambedkar also asked his followers to leave villages and live in
cities.
Gandhi sought to reform caste system from within Hinduism while Ambedkar
favoured using the state policies for reforms and stayed outside Hinduism by
converting to Buddhism.

Thus their basic goal was same while their methods differed.
Current Aspect:
2015 marks 125 years since BR Ambedkar's birth.

Related Topic:
Comparison of Nehru and Patel, Comparison of Gandhi and Patel, Comparison of
Subhash ChandraBose and Gandhi.
o Nehru was chosen as his successor by Gandhi and this was mainly due to
their difference in approach in handling the hindu-muslim divide that existed
back then. Nehru took an approach towards the issue which was similar to
what Gandhi wanted.
o Comparison of Subhash Chandra Bose and Gandhi.
o Subhash Chandra Bose opted for more radical measures and called for
military action while Gandhi wanted to follow the method of satyagraha to
achieve independence.

Reference Material:
1. Spectrum's- A Brief History of Modern India - Rajiv Ahir.
2. India's Struggle for Independence- Bipan Chandra.

5. It would have been difficult for the Constituent Assembly to complete its historic
task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India in just three years, but its
experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935.Discuss.

Question Break up:

How 1935 act helped in drafting the constitution.

Approach:
Explain not just how various features of GoI act of 1935 found their place in the
constitution but also how having seen and involved in the making of GoI 1935, the members
of the constituent assembly were very well placed to draft the new constitution.

Model Answer:
The GoI act was based on the recommendations of the Simon commission given
after elaborate dialogue including 3 round table conferences with various parties. The
experience from this process helped in different ways-
The structural part of the Indian Constitution is, largely, derived from the 1935
Government of India Act.
Even the Directive Principles of State Policy are said to be inspired by the
Instruments of Direction issued under GOI Act 1935.
Union State relationship in Constitution of India finds similarity in GOI Act 1935.
The provision for three lists federal, provincial and concurrent were replicated in
the Indian Constitution as union, state and concurrent lists.
But the stalwarts of our freedom struggle had already a taste of constitution making and
deliberation required for it when Nehru Report was made late 1920s. So apart from
knowledge of Government of India Act 1935, Indians learned from other sources and also
employed the experience that they had in making Nehru report while framing the
constitution.

Current Aspect: Static Portion (Modern Indian History)

Related Topic: Evolution of Indian Constitution, B R Ambedkars contribution to Indian

Constitution.
Indian constitution was not made in a day but it was shaped through various drafts
of it since the 1900s. Many of the aims of the struggles that happened after 1857
where incorporated in the constitution. E.g. federalism, rights for women etc.

Reference Material:Spectrum's- A Brief History of Modern India - Rajiv Ahir.

India's Struggle for Independence- Bipan Chandra.

6. Why did the industrial revolution first occur in England? Discuss the quality of life
of the people there during the industrialization. How does it compare with that in
India at present times?

Question Break up:

Reason for Industrial revolution beginning in England;
Quality of life during industrial revolution;
Comparison with living conditions of present day India.

Approach:
Think of the factors required for industrial revolution and connect it with that of
England. For example, steam engine required fuel such as coal and England has large
reserves of coal and thus it is one factor.
Quality of life: when examining quality of life examine it for various sections of the
society as everywhere in the world living conditions differ based on wealth.

Model Answer:
A number of factors contributed to Britains role as the birthplace of the Industrial
Revolution:
It had great deposits of coal and iron ore, which proved essential for
industrialization.
Additionally, Britain was a politically stable society providing solid foundation for
rapid industrialisation.
It was the worlds leading colonial power, which meant its colonies could serve as a
source for raw materials, as well as a marketplace for manufactured goods.
The quality of life in England became better for the middle class and upper
class while it became worse for the poor and the factory workers such as:
Wages for those who laboured in factories were low and working
conditions could be dangerous and monotonous.
Unskilled workers had little job security and were easily replaceable.
 Children were part of the labour force and often worked long hours
and were used for such highly hazardous tasks.
Inadequate, overcrowded housing and polluted, unsanitary living
conditions in which disease was rampant.
Poor air quality affected people living in industrial areas.

Quality of life of the poor in India is comparable to poor of England in 18th century because
the issues faced by the poor are similar even now. Lack of housing, unsanitary living
conditions and low wages are widespread in India as well. But severe environmental issues
are less in India compared to that of 18th century England.

Current Aspect:Static Portion (World History)

Related Topics:
Factors leading to emergence of colonial powers, WWI, WWII.
There are many reasons which led to Europeans being colonialists and
African and Asian nations turning into colonies. Primary reason for this was the
advancements made by Europe after Renaissance in Technology especially
gunpowder and other combat technologies.

Reference:
NCERT HISTORY FOR CLASS XI- Themes in world history.

7. To what extend can Germany be held responsible for causing the two World Wars?
Discuss critically.

Question Break up&Approach:

WW I
WW II
While taking a stand give valid reasons.

Model Answer:
WW-1:
In numerous perspectives, Germany has had a significant role in causing word
war I; however, some other events which occurred much earlier like the
Balkan wars, the alliance system also fuelled the commencement of WWI.

German responsibility for WWI:

The German government under the Kaiser's rule held the notion since
1911/12 that a war in Europe was inevitable. They consequently prepared for
a war, and acted when the opportunity arose.
German government and general staff precipitated an escalation of the
Austro-Serb crisis in order to launch what they considered a preventive strike
against Russia and France.
 A long-term continuity existed in German aims for expansion, leading right up
to the Second World War: an eastern empire, predominance over Belgium
and France.
WWII
Germany under Adolf Hitler violated the treaty of Versailles by mounting an
army and preparing for a war.
Germany demanded that Poland return the Polish Corridor and the port of
Danzig of Germany.

But some others reasons for the war included the weak nature of league of nations and
Nazi-Soviet pact signed by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin that two countries would not war
with each other. Therefore Germanys expansionist dictatorial regime combined by apathy
and isolation of Europe by USA and the truce by Soviet Union led to Germany trying to
occupy the vacuum in Europe through WW II.

Current Aspect:
100 years of World War 1 ,1914-2014

Related Topic:
Armenian Genocide (100-year anniversary)
o The Armenian Genocidealso known as the Armenian Holocaust, the
Armenian Massacres and, traditionally by Armenians, as Medz Yeghern was
the Ottoman government's systematic extermination of its minority
Armenian subjects inside their historic homeland, which lies within the
territory constituting the present-day Republic of Turkey. The total number of
people killed as a result has been estimated at between 800,000 and 1.5
million. The starting date is conventionally held to be 24 April 1915, the day
Ottoman authorities rounded up and arrested, subsequently executing, some
250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople.

Reference Material: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26048324

8. Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative
significance in building a national identity.

Model Answer:
1. Religion has been of prime importance India since ancient times and still
remain so. Despite many religions coexisting India has generally remained
peaceful and tolerant compared to its neighbours in accommodating religious
diversity.
2. Language: India is home to thousands of different languages and has 22
officially recognised languages. From being the basis for demarcating
different states to a source of cultural pride language is truly diverse in India.
3. Cuisine: Food habits vary widely from place to place owing to the geography
and history of each place. It varies from primarily vegetarian places such as
 kurukshetra, Varanasi to predominantly meat eating states like Kerala and
north eastern states.
4. Art: Movies,music, dance, paintings vary widely across the country.

The most important factor is language, language trumps other identities such as race or
common ancestry and brings together diverse races. Next comes religion, major religions in
India are followed by millions cutting across race,language and region. This shared identity
and respect for other religions is one reason for India's success as a democracy when its
neighbours have faltered. Third, cuisine varies across the nation depending upon the
cropping pattern, religious beliefs etc. While language might instill separate identities
different people in the north east, their shared food habits bring them together. Fourth, art
has played a distinct role in tying India together. Movies,music,dances from different
regions are enjoyed by everyone in India irrespective of the race,religion, and language.
Thus having distinct set of cultural practices which cut across all sorts of elements has built
multiple identities for every Indian. E.g. While language might separate a person from UP
and Tamil Nadu, their shared love for Hindustani music helps them build fraternity as fellow
Indians.

Current Aspect:
Debates about intolerance and religious polarisation in the country.

Related Topic:
Role of cinema, music, art in national integration.
o Music brings together different diverse communities in India. Communities
which are otherwise hostile maybe brought together through their shared
love for the same kind of music.

Reference Material: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_India

9. Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty

is the mains cause of population increase in India.

Question Break up:

Part 1: growing population causing poverty
Part 2: poverty causing population growth.

Approach:
Examine how growing population results in poverty and how poverty results in
population growth.

Model Answer:
Poverty causes high population growth and high population growth also results in poverty.
Both reinforce each other in many ways:
How poverty causes population growth:
The poor have low literacy levels and this results in lack of awareness about
contraceptive measures.
 Some of the poor farmers think of more children as more workforce for farm work
but this reinforces poverty as there is not adequate work for everyone.
Children of the poor have high mortality rate due to lack of healthcare and this
results in them choosing to have many kids.
Impoverished parents think of more kids as more people to take care of them during
old age as they don't have the financial resources.

How high population growth causes poverty:

It decreases the amount of resources a family can spare per child be it food or
healthcare.
It decreases the per person welfare measure government can provide to each poor
person.
It leads to division of land among many children resulting in fragmentation of land
holdings.

But high population need not always mean poverty if the population is educated, skilled and
healthy. Thus while trying to propagate family planning measures we need to increase
quality of our population.

Current Aspect:Static Portion (Poverty and Developmental Issues)

Related Topic:
Relation between population and urbanisation, population and disasters etc.
o Extensive urbanisation in Chennai and Uttarakhand made the natural
disasters in these places worse. Part of the reason for this extensive
urbanisation is the fast rise in population in India.

Reference Topic:
http://www.donellameadows.org/archives/poverty-causes-population-growth-causes-
poverty/

10. How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is
more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes?

Question Break up:

Reasons for better sex ratio among ST's
Reasons for lower sex ratio among SC's

Approach:
Reasons include positive ones like social conditions and negative ones like lack of
access to abortion clinics.

Model Answer:
Despite being worse off compared to SC's the tribes of India have better sex ratio due to a
host of positive and negative reasons:
Positive reasons:
Cultural gender parity- Many tribes of India, especially in the north east have equal
rights and hold equal respect for their women. Some tribes also have matrilineal
systems this makes having girl children a positive thing and discourages sex
selection.
Women are active participants in work among tribals, spending on food and
healthcare is almost equal among men and women of tribals and this results in
better sex ratio.

Negative reasons:
Lack of access to pre-natal diagnostic technology: Many tribes do not even have
access to basic healthcare technology and consequently they cannot indulge in
abortion of female foetus.
The SC's generally follow strict patriarchy and also have more access to pre-natal
diagnostic technology and this causes sex selection and consequent decrease in sex ratio
among them.

Current Aspect:
Socio economic caste census results were published in 2015.

Related Topics:
Geographical variations of sex ratio, literacy rate, Gross enrolment ratio, income
levels (Both North-south variation and East-west variation).
o Southern states fare better in many social indicators mentioned above. But
there is also an east west divide that exists in India. States in the east such
as NE states, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand are worse off compared to states such
as Gujarat and Rajasthan although they are all northern states.

Reference Material: Understanding Society NCERT

11. Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in
the last four decades.

Question Break up:

International migration
Within India

Approach:
Look at who migrated and where they migrated to.

Model Answer:

International migration:
1980's saw large scale migration to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia in the
migration wave that started after Second World War. This was especially common
 from the southern states. Most of the migration was by high-school-educated, semi-
skilled workers.
From 1975 to 1992, until the first gulf war there was massive migration to Persian
Gulf, the United States, Germany and other countries in Europe and elsewhere. This
was fuelled by the oil boom in Middle East as well as demand for qualified
professionals in European countries such as engineers,doctors and nurses. The
migration to the Middle East saw mainly labourers and semi-skilled workers owing to
the growth of the construction industry in Middle East.
Post liberalisation (-1993) migration decreased due to increased availability of jobs
within India.

Domestic migration:
While pre 1980 migration was to the traditional port cities of Kolkata,Mumbai and
the capital Delhi, the IT boom 90's saw new centres of migration such as Bangalore
and Chennai.
Women's migration: women mostly migrated before 80's due to marriage but they
began migrating for work in the 90's.
Post 2000, considerable labour migration from states like Bihar and UP to Delhi and
southern states started occurring. This was fuelled by the promise of higher wages in
the new states.

Current Aspect:
Demographic Dividend, lack of employment opportunities in rural areas, in particular
and India in general.

Related Topics:
Social repercussions of large scale rural to urban migration.
Increase in crimes in cities such as Delhi has been pointed to large scale migration of
rural poor.
Vast cultural difference exists between rural migrants and the city folk. This leads to
migrants being perceived as uncultured and consequently them being discriminated
against and treated badly.

Reference Topic: http://www.journalcra.com/article/changing-pattern-internal-

migration-india-some-evidences-census-data

12. Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India?

Question Break up:

Positive effects
Negative effects

Approach: Self-explanatory.

Model Answer:
Positive effects:
 More job opportunities: Modern jobs are gender blind and this has helped more
women take up these jobs.
Better status and respect in family and society: Due to women being earners they
are seen on an equal footing.

Negative effects:
More pressure due to having to manage work and chores at home.
Attacks on women have increased as they work late as well as due to patriarchal
setups being questioned. There are also increasing trends of sexual harassment of
women at workplaces.
Job security has decreased in some sectors due to globalisation and this affects
women more as they are laid off first.

Thus globalisation has been a mixed bag for Indian women but the negative effects can be
solved using adequate policy measures and societal awareness.

Current Aspect:Increasing globalisation in the present world.

Related Topics:
Effect of globalisation on agriculture, casual labourers, tribals, older population
(basically all vulnerable sections of the society)
o Globalisation has decreased the permanency of jobs. This has led to
casualization of labour.
o Globalisation in India has led to neo-liberalisation and this has negatively
affected the tribals of India. Often they are displace and their livelihoods
destroyed to give way for development projects that benefit other sections of
the society.

Reference Material:http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1351.html

13. Debate the issue whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit
identity work towards annihilation of caste.
Question Break up:
Effect of Dalit movements in annihilating caste
Effect of Dalit movements in propagating caste

Approach:
Since a debate on the issue is demanded, both sides have to be presented.

Model Answer:
Contemporary movements for Dalit identity have the upliftment of Dalits as their objective
and this has had both positive and negative effects towards annihilation of caste:

Positive effects:
 Dalit movements focus on equal rights and opportunities for them and this helps
them get better living conditions. This in turn decreases their differences with upper
caste people.
Negative effects:
Dalit movements make the lower caste dependent upon support from government
and this institutionalises the caste system and reinforces it in a way.
Contemporary movements and their involvement in politics causes divisions among
people based on caste lines. This causes Dalit people and their leaders to be seen as
a separate group.
Given the poor state of Dalits in India contemporary movements are required but
they also cause deepening of caste divisions in the society.

Current Aspect:
Change in Dalit politics and voting patterns in 2014 Lok Sabha elections compared to
2009 elections.

Related Topic:
Change in the pattern of communal issues and riots in India:
o Communal riots in India have changed drastically. From direct confrontations
between communities, the recent riots have been politically motivated.
Accusations are that many of the riots happen to take political advantage
before elections. Political parties have been accused of instigating riots and
also engaging in proxy riots.

Reference Material: The Hindu

14. Explain the factors responsible for the origin of ocean currents. How do they
influence regional climates, fishing and navigation?

Question Break up:

Factors causing ocean currents
Influence on regional climates
Influence on fishing
Influence on navigation

Approach:
List out the factors and explain the influence of ocean currents on each of the three.

Model Answer:

The primary factors that cause ocean currents are:

(i) Heating by solar energy:Heating by solar energy causes the water to expand. This causes
a very slight gradientand water tends to flow down the slope.
(ii) Wind: Wind blowing on the surface of the ocean pushes the water to move. Friction
between the wind andthe water surface affects the movement of the water body in its
course.
(iii) Gravity: Gravity tends to pull the water down the pile and create gradient variation.
(iv) CoriolisForce. The Coriolis force intervenes and causes the water to move to the right in
the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.
Effect of ocean currents on:
1. Regional climates: Warm ocean currents help decrease the severity of
winters (e.g. UK). Cold currents sometimes prevent cloud formation (e.g.
Canary current in WestAfrica) and warm currents result in cloud formation
and consequently precipitation.
2. Fishing: The mixing of warm and cold currents help to replenish the oxygen
and favour the growth of planktons, the primary food for fish population. The
best fishing grounds of the world exist mainly in these mixing zones.
3. Navigation: Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential in reducing
costs of shipping, since traveling with them reduces fuel costs and decreases
travel time.

Current Aspect:Static Portion Geography

Related Topic:
Cause and effects of:
el-Nio and la Nina:
o El Nio is defined by prolonged warming in the Pacific Ocean sea surface
temperatures when compared with the average value.
o The first signs of an El Nio are a weakening of the Walker circulation or
trade winds and strengthening of the Hadley circulation and may include:
Rise in surface pressure over the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and
Australia;
Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the central and eastern
Pacific Ocean;
Trade winds in the south Pacific weaken or head east
Warm air rises near Peru, causing rain in the northern Peruvian
deserts.
Effects of El nino:
o Economic impact
When El Nio conditions last for many months, extensive ocean
warming and the reduction in easterly trade winds limits upwelling of
cold nutrient-rich deep water, and its economic impact to local fishing
for an international market can be serious.
Health and social impacts:
Extreme weather conditions related to the El Nio cycle
correlate with changes in the incidence of epidemic diseases.
For example, the El Nio cycle is associated with increased
risks of some of the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such
as malaria, dengue, and Rift Valley fever.

Reference Material: NCERT Geography Class XI- FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

15. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three Mega cities of the country but the air
pollution is much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two.
Why is this so?

Question Break up:

Peculiar causes of air pollution in Delhi

Approach:
Think about the various factors which cause air pollution and those factors which
exacerbate it like wind patterns, weather and temperature etc.

Model Answer:
Air pollution in Delhi is a much bigger problem compared to the other cities because:
Peculiar geography: Delhi is a landlocked megacity and unlike Mumbai and Kolkata
there are no sea breezes to take away polluted air. Delhi lies locked between the
Aravallis and the Himalayas and this decreases air movement.
Low quality fuels: Delhi has a lot more diesel vehicles compared to other cities and
diesel pollutes more than petrol. Delhi uses comparatively lower quality fuels such as
raw wood, agricultural and plastic waste in industrial settings, cow dung for cooking
stoves and widespread use of diesel generator. This leads to heavy levels of
particulate matter in Delhi.
Severe winter: Delhi being higher in latitude has a severe winter and this causes
temperature inversion effects which result in lack of movement of polluted air. The
severe winter also results in more people burning wood, coal etc. for warmth.
Poorly planned city: Delhi being a city from ancient times was not properly planned
and this results in choked roads which causes more pollution from vehicles.
Thus various factors cause production of pollutants and also lack of air movement
which exacerbates the pollution unlike other cities.

Current Aspect:
NGT ruling on diesel vehicles in Delhi
Delhi govt. -odd even rule for vehicles

Related Topics:
Why was Chennai more affected by strong rains than Mumbai which experiences strong
monsoon every year?
Many reasons can be pointed out such as poor drainage system, not experienced in
handling floods like Mumbai etc.

Why is water logging more rampant in Punjab and Haryana?

Water logging is a serious issue in Punjab and Haryana due to the faulty irrigation
practises employed in these areas.

Despite higher income levels Punjab and Haryana fare worse compared to southern states
when it comes to social indicators.
 Punjab and Haryana have poorer social indicators compared to states such as TN and
Kerala. This could be attributed to less welfare spending by the governments of
Punjab and Haryana and this subsequently leading to social disparities.

Reference Material:http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/delhi-s-
transport-sector-3-times-more-polluting-than-mumbai-s-115121800228_1.html

16. India is well endowed with fresh water resources. Critically examine why it still
suffers from water scarcity.

Question Break up:

Only list the reasons

Approach:
List all factors which cause scarcity- with respect to obtaining water,
accessibility, over exploitation etc.

Model Answer:
India suffers from water scarcity due to a multitude of reasons:
Falling ground water tables due to aggressive use for agriculture, as around 40% of
India depends on ground water;
Water leakages are rampant in distribution in the cities and towns.
Overpopulation causes stress on existing water resources especially in drier areas
and cities.
Inefficient irrigation techniques result in drawing of excessive water and water
logging. This is more severe in areas which use a lot of deep bore wells.
Lack of on-time de-silting operations in large water bodies results in them becoming
unusable.
Inadequate access to sanitation causes pollution of water bodies due to mixing of
waste with water.
Regional conflicts over scarce water resources causes certain groups to not get
access to water.
Sometimes even though water maybe available, caste discrimination results in not
granting of access to water for lower castes.

Current Aspect:Groundwater levels in many parts of the country are at low level.

Related Topic:
Energy scarcity despite potential.
o India is endowed with a lot of potential but we are not able to harness it. We
have immense potential for wind and solar energy but we utilised only very
little.
o Hunger despite producing sufficient quantity of food grains.
Tons of grains are wasted in FCI warehouses even when people are
dying of hunger and malnutrition. This is an irony. This has to do with
poor management and lack of adequate transportation facilities.
Reference:Indian Geography Khullar

17. The states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are reaching
the limits of ecological carrying capacity due to tourism. Critically evaluate.

Question Break up:

Ecological carrying capacity of these states
Role of tourism in this.

Approach:
Examine if ecological capacity is being exceeded by presenting evidence to support
the same and then give a verdict on whether tourism is causing it and what can be done to
solve the problem without harming tourism economy in these states.

Model Answer:
The three states are major tourist centres but recently they have been home to
disasters which were augmented by human mismanagement. Ecological carrying capacity is
the maximum population that an areas can support sustainably. There is evidence to prove
that these limits have been breached in these 3 states:
Construction on slopes which are prone to landslides has caused thousands of
deaths during floods in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
Pollution of the land, water and air in ecologically sensitive areas have occurred in
these states, thereby impacting flora and fauna along with natural beauty of the
place.
Therefore, there is an immediate need to ensure the safety of the local population as well as
stop the pollution of these areas. Like many tourist destinations in India, there should be
stringent measures to stop pollution by tourists by restricting food, plastic etc. Buildings in
these areas must be checked to ensure buildings codes are followed as well as no
construction on dangerous floodplains is undertaken.
Tourism being a very important source of income for these states, any measure taken in
this regard must be sensitive towards the socio-economic setup of the local population. A
new brand of eco-tourism which is sustainable for everyone should be promoted.

Current Aspect:
Floods in these states

Related Topics:
Western Ghats ecological issue- Gadgil committee;
There are serious issues with the economic activities that are
happening in Western Ghats. These pose a serious threat to the
ecological diversity of Western Ghats. The Gadgil committee has
recommended various measures to tackle these. Examine if these are
feasible since this could affect the economic activities of the region.
What should be given priority environment or economic
development?
Reference Topic: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/03/tourism-woes-replace-terrorism-in-
kashmir/

18. How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing
due to humanizing landscape? Discuss.

Question Break up:

Has Indian monsoon been changing?
If it is, how much of the change can be attributed to human factors?

Approach:
Show that Indian monsoon is indeed changing and then examine how humans are
inducing it.

Model Answer:
The Indian monsoon has been seeing variations in in its pattern and intensity and increased
humanising of landscapes and the subsequent climate change is partly responsible for this.
Evidence for this include:
Increased freak incidents of unprecedented heavy rainfalls leading to floods.
E.g. Chennai floods witnessed the highest rainfall in about 100 years.
Increased incidents of drought: Since 1970's there has been a rise in drought
incidents in the Indian subcontinent according to World Bank studies.
There have been unprecedented delays in the onset of monsoon since
2000's.
Events such as El-Nio have been expanding in the duration through which it
occurs.
Such weather extremes can be attributed to the phenomenon of global warming due to
human activities. The latest IPCC report also points to the same reason for occurrence of
weather extremes. Hence measures to mitigate climate change and coping up with the loss
and damages due to the vagaries of weather have become very important. With the CoP in
Paris, positive steps have been taken but much more financial contribution is required to
cope up with the extensive damage due to floods and the crop failures due to drought.
Government programmes such as National action plan on climate change need to be aligned
to the changing Indian monsoon and provide adaptation measures. If unchecked this could
result in heavy crop loss and loss of livelihood subsequently resulting in heavy food inflation
and increased incidents of hunger. It could also lead to extensive flood damages and loss of
lives.

Current Aspect:
Chennai floods
Droughts in Vidarbha, Telangana

Related Topic:
 Delay in winter onset in India.
There has been delays in the onset of winter in India. Reasons for this
could be the global warming and the associated climate change.

Reference: http://qz.com/246563/indias-vital-monsoon-rains-are-changing-and-not-for-the-
better/

19. Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart villages. Discuss this statement
in the backdrop of rural urban integration.

Question Break up &Approach:

Connect smart city to villages.

Discuss how rural and urban landscape can be integrated

Model Answer:
Smart cities envisions to transform and build well planned, sustainable cities leaning on
state of the art technology from countries such as Sweden. Smart villages are vital to sustain
smart cities because:
Villages still host more than 60% of Indians and the economy will
break down if only select places are developed due to the
interconnected nature of the economy.
Smart cities will not be able to sustain large scale migration from
villages by people in search of better places to live and work. Hence to
avoid breakdown of capacity, the villages of India must also be made
smart.
Developmental disparities across geography has historically led to
crime and unrest. E.g. In Sri Lanka Tamil places were historically less
developed and this led to the formation of LTTE.

To build truly sustainable and smart cities, India also needs to develop its villages in
terms of connectivity, transportation, sanitation, power and water. True sustainability is
achieved only wheneconomic (e.g. investment in solar panels), social (e.g. gender sensitive
cities) and ecological sustainability (e.g. biogas plants) is achieved and this should be
simultaneously done in both cities and villages.

Current Aspect:
Introduction of smart city project
Statements by politicians that smart villages are needed before smart cities.

Related Topic:
Rural urban digital divide- and digital Indias role.
Although 15% of Indians access internet they are mostly
concentrated in the urban areas. This disparity could be bridged by
digital India. Although they do not have internet most of them have
 access to mobiles. So with reasonable pricing and coverage they can
also access internet and achieve the objectives of digital India.

Reference: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/rs-5000-crore-plan-govt-
plans-300-clusters-of-smart-villages/

20. What are the economic significance of discovery of oil in Arctic Sea and its possible
environmental consequences?

Question Break up and Approach:

Economic significance
Environmental consequences

Model Answer:
The discovery of oil in arctic sea could have economic impacts like:
The global price of crude oil which is already low could go down further.
This benefits oil importer countries such as India and china as their
fiscal deficits will fall and they can use this opportunity to recover
from economic slump and achieve much needed economic growth.
This negatively affects the oil exporting nations such as USA and
OPEC.
The nations which lie around the arctic sea like Canada, Russia, Norway and
Denmark have staked claims for the oil resources and they are most likely to gain from the
oil discovery.
The exploration of oil and allied activities are likely to open new
shipping lanes which could change the global trade routes and
thereby negatively affect the nations who lie on the existing trade
route.

But the estimation of costs is still in progress and it could be expensive to extract oil from
arctic sea. With such low global oil prices (around $40/barrel), the exploration could be
delayed as cost of extraction is estimated to be around $100/barrel.

Possible environmental consequences:

Oil exploration could lead to trapped carbon dioxide escaping from
ice, adding to the global warming.
Exploration of marine resources would negatively affect the marine
ecology which is very fragile.
Many threatened species like seals, polar bears face extinction due to
oil exploration.
The new shipping lanes and activities will lead to melting of more ice
leading to increase in global sea levels putting vulnerable port cities at
risk.
Current Aspect:
1. Global race to drill oil in the arctic sea.
2. Differing opinions on who gets what and the possible environmental issues
Related Topic:
South china sea resources
1. South China Sea is home to oil resources and fishing resources. These
are claimed by many nations in the rim such as China, Philippines, and
Vietnam etc. India needs to be vary of the developments in the South
China Sea because it is a major global shipping lane and the key for
India to connect with the east. With bilateral agreements with Japan
these become all the more important. India also has oil exploration
agreements in the region with Vietnam.

Reference Material: http://thediplomat.com/2014/02/asian-giants-look-to-the-arctic/