22 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru passed away in
(A) January 1966(B) May 1964(C) February 1967(D) November 1969 - 1 markAfter Nehru’s death, who consulted party leaders and Congress members of Parliament and found a consensus in favour of Lal Bahadur Shastri?
(A) K. Kamraj, the president of the Congress party(B) S. Nijalingappa(C) Morarji Desai(D) S. K. Patil - 1 markWho gave the strategy of the opposition parties coming together the name ‘non-Congressism’?
(A) C. N. Annadurai(B) Charan Singh(C) Ram Manohar Lohia(D) Karpoori Thakur - 1 markMany contemporary political observers described the 1967 election results as
(A) a ‘political earthquake’(B) a ‘silent revolution’(C) a ‘quiet correction’(D) a ‘grand finish’ - 1 markWhich was the first non-Congress party to secure a majority of its own in any State?
(A) The Swatantra Party in Rajasthan(B) The Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Madhya Pradesh(C) The Akali Dal in Punjab(D) The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Madras State - 1 markWho was the official Congress candidate in the 1969 presidential election?
(A) V.V. Giri(B) Morarji Desai(C) S. Nijalingappa(D) N. Sanjeeva Reddy - 1 markIn the 1971 Lok Sabha elections the Congress(R)-CPI alliance won
(A) 375 seats and 48.4 per cent of the votes(B) 352 seats and 44 per cent of the votes(C) 283 seats and 40.7 per cent of the votes(D) 16 seats and 10 per cent of the votes - 1 markAccording to the chapter’s opening cartoon caption, the original election symbol of the Congress was
(A) a spinning wheel(B) a pair of bullocks(C) a hand(D) a lamp
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markTwo statements are given below, one labelled Assertion (A) and the other Reason (R).
A: The year 1967 is considered a landmark year in India’s political and electoral history.
R: In the 1967 elections the Congress got its lowest tally of seats and share of votes since 1952, and lost power in nine States.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.(C) A is true but R is false.(D) A is false but R is true. - 1 markTwo statements are given below, one labelled Assertion (A) and the other Reason (R).
A: Morarji Desai left the Indira Gandhi government in 1969.
R: Morarji Desai had earlier served as Chief Minister of Bombay state.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.(B) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.(C) A is true but R is false.(D) A is false but R is true.
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II:
List I: (i) K. Kamaraj (ii) S. Nijalingappa (iii) V.V. Giri (iv) C. Natarajan Annadurai
List II: (p) President of India from 1969 to 1974 (q) Proposed the ‘Kamaraj plan’ in 1963 (r) Formed the DMK as a political party in 1949 (s) President of Congress during 1968-71
(A) i-p, ii-r, iii-q, iv-s(B) i-r, ii-s, iii-p, iv-q(C) i-q, ii-s, iii-p, iv-r(D) i-s, ii-q, iii-r, iv-p - 1 markMatch List I with List II:
List I: (i) Jai Jawan Jai Kisan (ii) Garibi Hatao (iii) Indira Hatao (iv) Aya Ram, Gaya Ram
List II: (p) The only common programme of the Grand Alliance of 1971 (q) Lal Bahadur Shastri (r) Frequent floor-crossing by legislators (s) Indira Gandhi’s positive programme in the 1971 campaign
(A) i-p, ii-r, iii-q, iv-s(B) i-s, ii-q, iii-r, iv-p(C) i-r, ii-p, iii-s, iv-q(D) i-q, ii-s, iii-p, iv-r
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements about the 1967 election results:
I. Half the ministers in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet were defeated.
II. Kamaraj lost in Tamil Nadu and S.K. Patil in Maharashtra.
III. Atulya Ghosh lost in West Bengal and K. B. Sahay in Bihar.
Which of the statements is/are correct?
(A) I and II only(B) I, II and III(C) II and III only(D) I only - 1 markConsider the following statements about the Congress ‘Syndicate’:
I. It was led by K. Kamraj, then the president of the Congress party.
II. It included S. K. Patil, S. Nijalingappa, N. Sanjeeva Reddy and Atulya Ghosh.
III. Both Lal Bahadur Shastri and later Indira Gandhi owed their position to the support received from the Syndicate.
Which of the statements is/are correct?
(A) I, II and III(B) I and III only(C) II only(D) I and II only
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following in the correct chronological order:
I. Neville Maxwell’s article ‘India’s Disintegrating Democracy’
II. The ‘Kamaraj plan’
III. S. Nijalingappa’s letter expelling Indira Gandhi from the party
IV. The editorial in The Guardian on the succession after Nehru
(A) IV, II, I, III(B) II, IV, I, III(C) I, II, III, IV(D) II, I, IV, III
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markA popular saying after the 1967 elections was that one could take a train from Delhi to ______ and not pass through a single Congress ruled State.
(A) Chennai(B) Mumbai(C) Howrah(D) Amritsar - 1 markIndira Gandhi’s government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in ______.
(A) May 1967(B) November 1969(C) December 1970(D) February 1971
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich one of the following was NOT part of the Grand Alliance of 1971?
(A) Samyukta Socialist Party(B) Bharatiya Jana Sangh(C) Swatantra Party(D) Communist Party of India
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
The expression ‘aya ram, gaya ram’ became popular in the political vocabulary in India to describe the practice of frequent floor-crossing by legislators. Literally translated the terms meant, Ram came and Ram went. The expression originated in an amazing feat of floor crossing achieved by Gaya Lal, an MLA in Haryana, in 1967. He changed his party thrice in a fortnight, from Congress to United Front, back to Congress and then within nine hours to United Front again! It is said that when Gaya Lal declared his intention to quit the United Front and join the Congress, the Congress leader, Rao Birendra Singh brought him to Chandigarh press and declared “Gaya Ram was now Aya Ram”. Gaya Lal’s feat was immortalised in the phrase “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” which became the subject of numerous jokes and cartoons. Later, the Constitution was amended to prevent defections.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, in what span of time and how many times did Gaya Lal change his party?
(A) Thrice within a month(B) Thrice within a fortnight(C) Thrice within nine hours(D) Thrice within a year
Passage
Yet, hereditary privileges were not consonant with the principles of equality and social and economic justice laid down in the Constitution of India. Nehru had expressed his dissatisfaction over the matter time and again. Following the 1967 elections, Indira Gandhi supported the demand that the government should abolish privy purses. Morarji Desai, however, called the move morally wrong and amounting to a ‘breach of faith with the princes’. The government tried to bring a Constitutional amendment in 1970, but it was not passed in Rajya Sabha. It then issued an ordinance which was struck down by the Supreme Court. Indira Gandhi made this into a major election issue in 1971 and got a lot of public support. Following its massive victory in the 1971 election, the Constitution was amended to remove legal obstacles for abolition of ‘privy purse’.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, who called the move to abolish the privy purses morally wrong?
(A) S. Nijalingappa(B) Jawaharlal Nehru(C) Morarji Desai(D) N. Sanjeeva Reddy
Passage
This is a story about 1967 assembly elections. In the Chomu constituency, the main parties in the fray were Congress and the Swatantra party. But village Devisar had its own local political dynamics and it got mixed up with the competition between the two parties. Sher Singh, traditionally dominated village politics, but gradually his nephew, Bhim Singh was emerging as the more popular leader and rival. Though both were Rajputs, Bhim Singh cultivated the support of many non-Rajputs in the village by attending to their requirements after becoming the panchayat Pradhan. … He proved to be more adept in building alliances across the village by supporting candidates in other villages for the posts of village Pradhan. In fact, he took an initiative and took a delegation to the State Chief Minister and Congress leader Mohan Lal Sukhadia for pressing the name of one of his friends from a nearby village as Congress candidate in the Assembly election. … Sher Singh had no option but to work for the Swatantra candidate, who was a jagirdar. He kept telling people that the jagirdar would help build the village school and use his resources for the development of the locality. At least in Devisar village, the Assembly election had turned into a factional fight between uncle and nephew.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, which two parties were the main contenders in the Chomu constituency?
(A) The Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh(B) The Congress and the Swatantra party(C) The Swatantra party and the Samyukta Socialist Party(D) The Congress and the Communist Party of India
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the two statements below:
I. Most non-Congress coalition governments formed in the States after 1967 did not survive for long.
II. When such a government lost its majority, either new combinations were formed or President’s rule had to be imposed.
(A) Both I and II are true(B) Both I and II are false(C) I is true but II is false(D) I is false but II is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (B) The chapter opens with it: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru passed away in May 1964, after being unwell for more than a year.
- (A) When Nehru passed away, K. Kamraj, the president of the Congress party, consulted party leaders and Congress members of Parliament and found that there was a consensus in favour of Lal Bahadur Shastri.
- (C) The socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia gave this strategy the name of ‘non-Congressism’ and also produced a theoretical argument in its defence.
- (A) The results jolted the Congress at both the national and state levels, and many contemporary political observers described the election results as a ‘political earthquake’.
- (D) In Madras State (now called Tamil Nadu) the DMK came to power by securing a clear majority, after having led a massive anti-Hindi agitation by students against the centre. This was the first time any non-Congress party had secured a majority of its own in any State.
- (D) Despite Mrs Gandhi’s reservations the ‘syndicate’ managed to nominate her long time opponent and then speaker of the Lok Sabha, N. Sanjeeva Reddy, as the official Congress candidate. He was defeated by V.V. Giri, the independent candidate.
- (A) The combine won 375 seats in Lok Sabha and secured 48.4 per cent votes, more seats and votes than the Congress had ever won in the first four general elections.
- (B) The caption says that originally the election symbol of the Congress was a pair of bullocks, and that the famous cartoon depicts the changes within the Congress leading to a head-on confrontation in the 22nd year after Independence.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both statements are the chapter’s own. 1967 is a landmark because the 1967 results broke the Congress dominance that had held since 1952 (lowest tally of seats and vote share, power lost in nine States); R states those results, so R is the correct explanation of A.
- (B) Both statements are true, but R does not explain A. He left because serious differences emerged between him and the Prime Minister over the nationalisation of fourteen banks and the abolition of the privy purse, not because of his earlier career in Bombay state.
Match the Following
- (C) Kamaraj proposed in 1963 that all senior Congressmen resign to make way for younger workers, the ‘Kamaraj plan’; Nijalingappa was President of Congress during 1968-71; V.V. Giri was President of India from 1969 to 1974; Annadurai formed the DMK as a political party in 1949.
- (D) ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ was Shastri’s; ‘Garibi Hatao’ was Indira Gandhi’s positive programme in 1971; the chapter says the opposition alliance had only one common programme, ‘Indira Hatao’; and ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’ describes the practice of frequent floor-crossing by legislators.
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) All three are the chapter’s own. Half the ministers in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet were defeated, and the political stalwarts who lost in their constituencies included Kamaraj in Tamil Nadu, S.K. Patil in Maharashtra, Atulya Ghosh in West Bengal and K. B. Sahay in Bihar.
- (A) All three come straight from the box on the Syndicate, which also records that it had a decisive say in Indira Gandhi’s first Council of Ministers and in policy formulation and implementation.
Chronological Ordering
- (B) Kamaraj made his proposal in 1963; the Guardian editorial is dated 3 June 1964; Neville Maxwell’s article was published in the London Times in 1967; and Nijalingappa’s letter of expulsion is dated 11 November 1969.
Fill in the Blanks
- (C) The chapter records the saying that one could take a train from Delhi to Howrah and not pass through a single Congress ruled State.
- (C) In order to end her dependence on other parties, strengthen her party’s position in Parliament and seek a popular mandate, the government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970. The election itself followed in February 1971.
Odd One Out
- (D) The Grand Alliance was formed by the SSP, PSP, BJS, Swatantra Party and Bharatiya Kranti Dal, all non-communist and non-Congress. The CPI was on the other side: it was the ruling party’s ally, and had earlier given Indira Gandhi’s minority government issue-based support along with the DMK.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The passage says he changed his party thrice in a fortnight, from Congress to United Front, back to Congress and then within nine hours to United Front again. The nine hours is the last of those three moves, not the whole span.
- (C) The passage says Morarji Desai called the move morally wrong and amounting to a ‘breach of faith with the princes’.
- (B) The passage says that in the Chomu constituency the main parties in the fray were Congress and the Swatantra party.
True / False
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own. Most non-Congress coalition governments in the States did not survive for long; they lost majority, and either new combinations were formed or President’s rule had to be imposed.
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