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 markDuring the Bangladesh crisis, about how many people crossed over the East Pakistan border into India?
(A) About four million(B) About six million(C) About ten million(D) About eight million - 1 markThe Marxist-Leninist (now Maoist) groups, or Naxalites, were particularly strong in
(A) Bihar(B) Gujarat(C) Andhra Pradesh(D) West Bengal - 1 markOn what condition did Jayaprakash Narayan agree to lead the students’ movement in Bihar?
(A) That the Congress government in Bihar would resign first(B) That he would be given charge of the opposition alliance(C) That the movement would be confined to Bihar alone(D) That the movement would remain non-violent and would not limit itself to Bihar - 1 markIn the Kesavananda Bharati case the Supreme Court decided that
(A) there are some basic features of the Constitution and the Parliament cannot amend these features(B) the Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution it chooses(C) the right to property is a basic feature of the Constitution(D) the Directive Principles override the Fundamental Rights - 1 markOn what ground did Raj Narain’s election petition challenge Indira Gandhi’s election?
(A) That she had used the services of government servants in her election campaign(B) That she had exceeded the permitted limit on election expenditure(C) That she had made a false declaration of her assets(D) That the counting of votes in the constituency had been irregular - 1 markApprehending social and communal disharmony, the government banned
(A) the Socialist Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh(B) the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jamait-e-Islami(C) the Congress (O) and the Bharatiya Lok Dal(D) the Naxalite groups and the Socialist Party - 1 markThe anonymous advertisement that appeared in the Times of India soon after the declaration of Emergency in 1975 announced the death of
(A) ‘L. I. Bertie’, mourned by his wife ‘T. Ruth’(B) ‘Faith, Hope and Justice’, mourned by their father ‘D. E. M. O’Cracy’(C) ‘D. E. M. O’Cracy’, mourned by his wife ‘T. Ruth’, his son ‘L. I. Bertie’ and his daughters ‘Faith, Hope and Justice’(D) ‘T. Ruth’, mourned by her husband ‘D. E. M. O’Cracy’
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The Emergency of June 1975 was proclaimed on the ground that there was a threat of internal disturbances.
Reason (R): Article 352 allowed the government to declare a state of emergency on grounds of external threat or a threat of internal disturbances.
(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 markAssertion (A): The Congress lost every seat it contested in the southern States in the 1977 elections.
Reason (R): The Congress retained many seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa and virtually swept through the southern 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 markAssertion (A): An ‘internal’ Emergency can now be proclaimed only on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’.
Reason (R): The Emergency brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provision in the Constitution that have been rectified since.
(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 the person in List I with the description in List II.
List I: (i) George Fernandes, (ii) Raj Narain, (iii) A. N. Ray, (iv) Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
List II: (P) Appointed Chief Justice of India in 1973, (Q) Issued the proclamation of Emergency, (R) Led the National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle, (S) Filed the election petition against Indira Gandhi
(A) (i)-R, (ii)-P, (iii)-S, (iv)-Q(B) (i)-R, (ii)-S, (iii)-P, (iv)-Q(C) (i)-S, (ii)-R, (iii)-P, (iv)-Q(D) (i)-R, (ii)-S, (iii)-Q, (iv)-P - 1 markMatch the slogan in List I with its source in List II.
List I: (i) ‘Sampoorna Kranti ab nara hai, bhavi itihas hamara hai’, (ii) ‘Indira is India, India is Indira’, (iii) ‘save democracy’, (iv) ‘garibi hatao’
List II: (P) The Congress slogan in the elections of 1971, (Q) A slogan given by D. K. Barooah, President of the Congress, in 1974, (R) The slogan on which the opposition fought the 1977 election, (S) A slogan of the Bihar movement, 1974
(A) (i)-S, (ii)-R, (iii)-Q, (iv)-P(B) (i)-S, (ii)-Q, (iii)-R, (iv)-P(C) (i)-Q, (ii)-S, (iii)-R, (iv)-P(D) (i)-S, (ii)-Q, (iii)-P, (iv)-R
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) The students’ agitation of January 1974 led to the imposition of President’s rule in Bihar.
(ii) Assembly elections were held in Gujarat in June 1975 and the Congress was defeated.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii) - 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) Several High Courts gave judgments that even after the declaration of Emergency the courts could entertain a writ of habeas corpus.
(ii) In April 1976 the constitution bench of the Supreme Court over-ruled the High Courts and accepted the government’s plea.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)(B) Only (ii)(C) Both (i) and (ii)(D) Neither (i) nor (ii)
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following in the correct chronological order.
(i) The Supreme Court grants a partial stay
(ii) The Allahabad High Court declares the election invalid
(iii) The Cabinet is informed of the proclamation of Emergency
(iv) A massive demonstration is held at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds
(A) (ii), (i), (iv), (iii)(B) (ii), (iv), (i), (iii)(C) (i), (ii), (iv), (iii)(D) (ii), (i), (iii), (iv)
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markJayaprakash Narayan asked the army, the police and government employees not to obey “________” orders.
(A) unconstitutional and unjust(B) arbitrary and unlawful(C) unfair and partisan(D) illegal and immoral - 1 mark“Since 1969, the Congress party had starting shedding its character as an ________ party which accommodated leaders and workers of different ideological dispensations and view points.”
(A) ideological(B) national(C) umbrella(D) socialist
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of these are named by the chapter as contenders for the post of Prime Minister after the 1977 elections. Which is the odd one out?
(A) Morarji Desai(B) Atal Behari Vajpayee(C) Charan Singh(D) Jagjivan Ram
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
This brought the agitation to an abrupt stop; strikes were banned; many opposition leaders were put in jail; the political situation became very quiet though tense. Deciding to use its special powers under Emergency provisions, the government suspended the freedom of the Press. Newspapers were asked to get prior approval for all material to be published. This is known as press censorship. Apprehending social and communal disharmony, the government banned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jamait-e-Islami. Protests and strikes and public agitations were also disallowed. Most importantly, under the provisions of Emergency, the various Fundamental Rights of citizens stood suspended, including the right of citizens to move the Court for restoring their Fundamental Rights.
- 1 markThe passage stops to define one of its own terms. What does it say press censorship is?
(A) The banning of newspapers that oppose the government(B) Newspapers being asked to get prior approval for all material to be published(C) The disconnection of electricity to newspaper offices(D) The arrest of journalists who write against the government - 1 markWhich consequence does the passage itself single out as the most important?
(A) The suspension of the various Fundamental Rights of citizens, including the right to move the Court for restoring them(B) The banning of strikes(C) The jailing of many opposition leaders(D) The suspension of the freedom of the Press
Passage
The Emergency at once brought out both the weaknesses and the strengths of India’s democracy. Though there are many observers who think that India ceased to be democratic during the Emergency, it is noteworthy that normal democratic functioning resumed within a short span of time. Thus, one lesson of Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India. Secondly, it brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provision in the Constitution that have been rectified since. Now, ‘internal’ Emergency can be proclaimed only on the grounds of ‘armed rebellion’ and it is necessary that the advice to the President to proclaim Emergency must be given in writing by the Union Cabinet.
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what does the resumption of normal democratic functioning within a short span of time show?
(A) That the Emergency had little effect on the lives of ordinary citizens(B) That the observers who thought India had ceased to be democratic were entirely mistaken(C) That it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India(D) That the Constitution’s Emergency provisions had worked as they were intended to
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 mark(i) Many journalists were arrested for writing against the Emergency.
(ii) Many underground newsletters and leaflets were published to bypass censorship.
(A) Both statements are true(B) Both statements are untrue(C) (i) is true and (ii) is untrue(D) (i) is untrue and (ii) is true
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (D) The chapter’s figure is exact: “About eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border into India.” It is given as one of the reasons the Bangladesh crisis put a heavy strain on India’s economy.
- (D) The chapter says these groups “were particularly strong in West Bengal, where the State government took stringent measures to suppress them.” They are described as Marxist groups who did not believe in parliamentary politics and had taken to arms and insurgent techniques.
- (D) “He accepted it on the condition that the movement will remain non-violent and will not limit itself to Bihar.” Option (C) inverts the second half of that condition: the point of it was that the movement should spread beyond Bihar, which is how it took on a national character.
- (A) “In this case, the Court gave a decision that there are some basic features of the Constitution and the Parliament cannot amend these features.” The chapter presents it as the point at which the long conflict between Parliament and the judiciary culminated.
- (A) “The petition, challenged the election of Indira Gandhi on the ground that she had used the services of government servants in her election campaign.” Raj Narain is described as a socialist leader and a candidate who had contested against her in 1971.
- (B) “Apprehending social and communal disharmony, the government banned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jamait-e-Islami.” The other three options name political parties, none of which the chapter says were banned. (Jamait-e-Islami is the spelling the textbook itself prints.)
- (C) The box prints the advertisement as “… death of D. E. M. O’Cracy, mourned by his wife T. Ruth, his son L. I. Bertie, and his daughters Faith, Hope and Justice.” Read aloud, the names are democracy, truth, liberty, faith, hope and justice. The other options move the family around: it is O’Cracy who has died, and the other five who mourn him.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own statements, and the second is exactly why the first was possible. “On 25 June 1975, the government declared that there was a threat of internal disturbances and therefore, it invoked Article 352 of the Constitution,” and that article offered two grounds, of which internal disturbance was one. The chapter adds that “Technically speaking this was within the powers of the government.”
- (D) The reason is exactly what the chapter says: “It retained many seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa and virtually swept through the southern States.” That makes the assertion false. It was in the north that the Congress lost every constituency, and the chapter names those States: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and the Punjab.
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own, and the second is the reason for the first. The chapter gives this as the second lesson of the Emergency: it “brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provision in the Constitution that have been rectified since”, and the rectification it names is that internal Emergency now needs the ground of armed rebellion, together with written advice from the Union Cabinet.
Match the Following
- (B) George Fernandes led the National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle that called the 1974 strike; Raj Narain, a socialist leader who had contested against Indira Gandhi in 1971, filed the election petition; Justice A. N. Ray was appointed Chief Justice of India in 1973 over the seniority of three judges; and President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issued the proclamation of Emergency immediately on the night of 25 June 1975.
- (B) The chapter labels each of these itself. “Sampoorna Kranti ab nara hai, bhavi itihas hamara hai” is captioned a slogan of the Bihar movement, 1974; “Indira is India, India is Indira” is captioned a slogan given by D. K. Barooah, President of the Congress, 1974; the opposition fought the 1977 election on the slogan of ‘save democracy’; and garibi hatao was the slogan the Congress had given in the elections of 1971.
Statement-Based Questions
- (B) The first statement moves the state: the January 1974 agitation was in Gujarat, and it was in Gujarat that the protest “became widespread leading to the imposition of President’s rule in the state.” The Bihar movement began separately in March 1974, and there the government refused to resign. The second statement is the chapter’s own.
- (C) Both are the chapter’s own, and together they are the whole sequence: the High Courts held that a detained person could still be heard, and the Supreme Court’s constitution bench then over-ruled them, which meant that during Emergency the government could take away the citizen’s right to life and liberty.
Chronological Ordering
- (A) 12 June 1975: Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha declares the election invalid. 24 June: the Supreme Court grants the partial stay. 25 June: the opposition parties led by Jayaprakash Narayan hold the demonstration at Ramlila grounds, and that night the Emergency is proclaimed. 6 a.m., 26 June: the Cabinet is informed.
Fill in the Blanks
- (D) The chapter puts the phrase in quotation marks, so it is the exact wording that matters: he “asked the army, the police and government employees not to obey ‘illegal and immoral orders’.” The chapter adds that this too threatened to bring the activities of the government to a standstill.
- (C) Umbrella is the chapter’s own term for a party wide enough to hold people of different ideological dispensations and view points together. The chapter then says the Congress instead identified itself with a particular ideology, claiming to be the only socialist and pro-poor party.
Odd One Out
- (B) The chapter names exactly three: “there was stiff competition among three leaders for the post of Prime Minister – Morarji Desai … Charan Singh … and Jagjivan Ram.” Atal Behari Vajpayee is named in this chapter only in two picture captions, not as a contender for the office.
Passage-Based Questions
- (B) The passage defines the term for itself: “Newspapers were asked to get prior approval for all material to be published. This is known as press censorship.” The other three did happen during the Emergency, but the passage does not call any of them press censorship.
- (A) The passage marks it with its own words: “Most importantly, under the provisions of Emergency, the various Fundamental Rights of citizens stood suspended, including the right of citizens to move the Court for restoring their Fundamental Rights.” The other three are in the passage too, but none of them carries that phrase.
- (C) The passage draws the conclusion itself: “Thus, one lesson of Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.” Note that it does not dismiss the observers in option (B): it reports their view and then sets the speed of the recovery beside it.
True / False
- (A) Both are the chapter’s own sentences, and they sit next to each other: “Many journalists were arrested for writing against the Emergency. Many underground newsletters and leaflets were published to bypass censorship.”
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