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Challenges of nation building — NCERT Solutions

Madhya Pradesh Board · Class 12 · Political Science

NCERT Solutions for Challenges of nation building, Madhya Pradesh Board Class 12 Political Science: 9 textbook questions solved step by step.

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An infographic illustrating the three main challenges faced by independent India: shaping a united nation, establishing democracy, and ensuring development and wellbeing for all. Each challenge should
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9 Questions Solved · 1 Section

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Exercises

1Which among the following statements about the Partition is incorrect?Show solution

The incorrect statement is (d). The chapter says Partition caused a huge, unplanned transfer of population, but it was not a planned scheme. In fact, the movement of people happened through violence and compulsion, often at short notice.

2Match the principles with the instances:Show solution

The correct matching is:

  • (a) Mapping of boundaries on religious grounds → (i) Pakistan and Bangladesh
  • (b) Mapping of boundaries on grounds of different languages → (ii) India and Pakistan
  • (c) Demarcating boundaries within a country by geographical zones → (iv) Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
  • (d) Demarcating boundaries within a country on administrative and political grounds → (iii) Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh

So the answer is i–a, ii–b, iii–d, iv–c.

4Here are two opinions –
Bismay: “The merger with the Indian State was an extension of democracy to the people of the Princely States.”
Inderpreet: “I am not so sure, there was force being used. Democracy comes by creating consensus.”
What is your own opinion in the light of accession of Princely States and the responses of the people in these parts?
Show solution

मेरी राय में दोनों पक्षों में सच्चाई है। रियासतों का भारतीय संघ में विलय देश की एकता और लोकतंत्र की दिशा में एक जरूरी कदम था, क्योंकि अधिकतर रियासतों की जनता भारत में शामिल होना चाहती थी और वहाँ गैर-लोकतांत्रिक शासन था। इस दृष्टि से विलय लोकतंत्र का विस्तार था।

लेकिन यह भी सच है कि कुछ रियासतों, जैसे हैदराबाद और मणिपुर, के मामले में सरकार को कड़ा रुख अपनाना पड़ा और कहीं-कहीं बल का भी प्रयोग हुआ। इसलिए इसे पूरी तरह केवल स्वैच्छिक और सहमति-आधारित प्रक्रिया नहीं कहा जा सकता।

इसलिए मेरा निष्कर्ष है कि रियासतों का भारत में विलय आवश्यक और कुल मिलाकर लोकतांत्रिक था, लेकिन यह प्रक्रिया पूरी तरह शांतिपूर्ण या सर्वसम्मति से नहीं हुई।

5Read the following very different statements made in August 1947 –
“Today you have worn on your heads a crown of thorns. The seat of power is a nasty thing. You have to remain ever wakeful on that seat... you have to be more humble and forbearing...now there will be no end to your being tested.” — M.K GANDHI
“...India will awake to a life of freedom...we step out from the old to the new...we end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity...” — JAWAHARLAL NEHRU
Spell out the agenda of nation building that flows from these two statements. Which one appeals more to you and why?
Show solution

इन दोनों कथनों से राष्ट्र-निर्माण का एक व्यापक कार्यक्रम निकलता है।

गांधीजी के कथन से यह संदेश मिलता है कि सत्ता पाना ही पर्याप्त नहीं है। नए नेताओं को नैतिकता, विनम्रता, सतर्कता, सहिष्णुता और जन-सेवा के साथ काम करना होगा। राष्ट्र-निर्माण का अर्थ है लोगों में एकता, साम्प्रदायिक सद्भाव, और त्याग की भावना विकसित करना।

नेहरू के कथन से यह कार्यक्रम निकलता है कि स्वतंत्रता को केवल उत्सव की तरह नहीं, बल्कि अवसर की तरह लेना है। देश को आधुनिक, लोकतांत्रिक, प्रगतिशील और न्यायपूर्ण बनाना है। इसके लिए जनता के जीवन में सुधार, विकास, समानता और नई शुरुआत आवश्यक है।

मुझे नेहरू का दृष्टिकोण अधिक आकर्षक लगता है, क्योंकि वह भविष्य-उन्मुख है और देश को आगे बढ़ाने, नई संभावनाएँ खोलने और विकास करने की बात करता है।

6What are the reasons being used by Nehru for keeping India secular? Do you think these reasons were only ethical and sentimental? Or were there some prudential reasons as well?Show solution

नेहरू भारत को धर्मनिरपेक्ष इसलिए रखना चाहते थे क्योंकि भारत में अनेक धर्मों के लोग रहते थे और किसी एक धर्म को दूसरे पर श्रेष्ठ नहीं बनाया जा सकता था। उनके अनुसार:

  • सभी नागरिक धर्म के आधार पर समान होने चाहिए।
  • किसी धर्म या आस्था को नागरिकता की कसौटी नहीं बनाया जाना चाहिए।
  • भारत को ऐसा देश होना चाहिए जहाँ सभी धर्मों के लोग सुरक्षित महसूस करें।

ये कारण केवल नैतिक और भावनात्मक नहीं थे। इनके साथ व्यावहारिक या prudential कारण भी थे:

  • विभाजन के बाद सांप्रदायिक तनाव बहुत अधिक था, इसलिए धर्मनिरपेक्षता शांति बनाए रखने के लिए जरूरी थी।
  • भारत में मुस्लिम और अन्य अल्पसंख्यक बड़ी संख्या में थे; उन्हें सुरक्षा और समान अधिकार देना आवश्यक था।
  • यदि राज्य किसी एक धर्म का पक्ष लेता, तो राष्ट्रीय एकता को खतरा हो सकता था।

इसलिए धर्मनिरपेक्षता नैतिक आदर्श भी थी और देश की एकता व स्थिरता के लिए व्यावहारिक आवश्यकता भी।

7Bring out two major differences between the challenge of nation building for eastern and western regions of the country at the time of Independence.

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8What was the task of the States Reorganisation Commission? What was its most salient recommendation?

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9It is said that the nation is to a large extent an “imagined community” held together by common beliefs, history, political aspirations and imaginations. Identify the features that make India a nation.

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10Read the following passage and answer the questions below:
“In the history of nation-building only the Soviet experiment bears comparison with the Indian. There too, a sense of unity had to be forged between many diverse ethnic groups, religious, linguistic communities and social classes. The scale – geographic as well as demographic – was comparably massive. The raw material the state had to work with was equally unpropitious: a people divided by faith and driven by debt and disease.” — RAMACHANDRA GUHA

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the important topics in Challenges of nation building for Madhya Pradesh Board Class 12 Political Science?
Key topics in Challenges of nation building include The three major challenges after independence, Partition: displacement, violence, and rehabilitation, Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah on the new situation, Integration of Princely States. Study these first, then practise questions on each for the Madhya Pradesh Board Class 12 board exam.
Are these NCERT Solutions for Challenges of nation building free?
The first 5 of the 9 solutions on this page are open to read. The other 4 are free with a Super Tutor account — signing up is free and needs no card.
How should I revise Challenges of nation building for the Madhya Pradesh Board Class 12 board exam?
Learn the core ideas first, then work through the 33 practice questions on Challenges of nation building. Revise definitions regularly and use flashcards for quick recall before the exam.

Sources & Official References

Content is aligned to the official syllabus. Refer to the board website for the latest curriculum.

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