Class X

CARTOON/ PICTURE/MAP BASED QUESTIONS

Look at the picture and answer the questions that follow:

CHAPTER 1: POWER SHARING

Q1: Study the map thoroughly and mention the languages that are dominantly spoken in
Belgium.
Ans1: The languages that are dominantly spoken in Belgium are Dutch and French.
Q2. What is the population composition in the capital of Brussels?
A2. 80% French and 20% Dutch.
Q3. Which language is mainly spoken in Flemish and Wallonia region respectively?
A3. Flemish – Dutch
Wallonia- French

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Q1. Where are the Sri Lankan Tamils concentrated in Sri Lanka?
A1. In the North-Eastern region.
Q2. What did the political organizations demand from Sinhalas in 1980’s?
A2. In 1980’s, they demanded an independent Tamil Eelam.
Q3. Which are the two major social groups in Sri lanka
A3. Sinhala speaker – 74%
Tamil speakers- 18%

Q1. What does the cartoon signify?

A1. It refers to the problems of running a coalition government.
Q2. Why are there two steering wheels?

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A2. Two steering wheels represent the divergent positions taken by the different political
parties in the coalition government on policy matters.
Q3. What is the problem with it?
A3. There cannot be two steering wheels in a car as it will make it directionless. Coalition
governments also would face similar problems at times leading to instability.

I. Explain the relation between democracy and concentration of power according to this
cartoon.
Ans. The cartoon shows that Putin, the President of Russia and Bush, the former President
of USA are trying to hold power tightly. This is against the principle of democracy as
power needs to be shared and not to be concentrated in the hands of few.
II. In a true democracy, with whom is the power expected to rest?
Ans In a democracy, power is expected to stay with the people. The people elect their
representatives who rule on their behalf.
III. If power is concentrated in the hands of few, what would happen?
Ans It will lead to authoritarianism and will damage the spirit of democracy.

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CHAPTER 2: FEDERALISM

I. Mention the changes that came about in 1947.

Ans. Boundaries of several old states were changed and new states were created.
II. What was the purpose behind the changes made with regard to the boundaries?
Ans It was done to ensure that the people who spoke the same language lived in the same
State and also to recognize the differences based on culture, ethnicity and geography.
III. Name some states which were created on the basis of culture, ethnicity or geography.
Ans Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
IV. Name some states created on the basis of language.
Ans. Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

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I. What does the cartoon signify?

Ans. It shows the situation when the states had to plead to the Centre for more powers.

II. Who is the female figure shown in the cartoon?

Ans. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then PM of India.

III. Why were the Chief Ministers of various states pleading for power?

Ans. During that period, the same party ruled both at the Centre and most of the states. This
meant that on some occasions state governments were not given the right to exercise
their power as autonomous federal units.

IV. What does the begging bowl signify?

Ans. It is showing that the chief Ministers had to beg to the Centre for more powers, resources
and finance.

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I. What do you mean by Coalition government?

Ans. The government formed by coming together of at least two or more political parties.
II. How can the leaders of the coalition keep the partners of the government satisfied?

Ans. They can do so by sharing of power and including them in the decision making process
by giving due respect and recognition to their views and ideas.
III. Name the prime minister who is shown in the cartoon.

Ans. A. B. Vajpayee
IV. What does the trophy, fire and the smoke which is coming out signify?

Ans. Trophy signifies power which the government and the ministers hold. The fire and the
smoke shows the disagreements, tensions, unstable situations, conflict of opinions etc
which may happen in a coalition government.
V. Why is the Prime Minister in the cartoon sweating?

Ans. Running a coalition government is a tough job. The Prime Minister as the leader of the
government goes through all the troubles of keeping the coalition together in the midst
of the differences and disagreements. Heat coming out of the fire seen in the picture
makes him sweat.
VI. Why is the Prime Minister Vajpayee holding a lotus?

Ans. Lotus is the symbol of BJP. The Prime Minister, Vajpayee was the leader of the party
which won the elections.
VII. What is his chair made up of? What does it signify?

Ans. His chair is made up of bombs which explains that the government can explode or break
up at any time due to differences among the party leaders and the ministers of the
coalition.

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 Q1. Name three countries which follow federal political systems?
A1. Canada, USA and India.

CHAPTER 4: GENDER, RELIGION AND CASTE

Q1. What does the cartoon represent?

A1. This chair is for the new chief minister to prove his secular credentials.
Q2. What concept is shown here?
A2. Need for a secular country.
Q3. Identify the situation of irony shown in the picture here.
A3. The irony is that a chair having all religious symbols won’t make a politician secular, he
needs to be impartial towards all the religions.
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Q1. Identify the building shown here?
A1. The Indian Parliament.
Q2. What does the cartoon signify?
A2. It gives us an understanding as to why the Women’s Reservation Bill has not been passed
in the Parliament.
Q3. What was Women’s Reservation Bill?
A3. It was a bill which had proposed reservation of 33% of seats in the parliament for women.
Q4. What is the status of this bill?
A4. It has not been passed as there was no consensus over it among all the political parties.

Q1. What does the cartoon represent?

A1. It shows how a woman is perceived by various sections of the society. She is expected to
be an ideal person in every sphere of life.

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Q1. What is shown in the cartoon?
A1. It shows how some political leaders treat people belonging to a caste as prospective ‘vote
banks’.
Q2. What do we mean when we say that a particular caste is a vote bank?
A2. It means that a large proportion of the voters from that caste vote for that party.

Q1. What is meant by Sex Ratio?

A1. Number of girl children per 1000 boys.
Q2. Identify 3 states where child sex ratio is below 850.
A2. Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana.
Q3. What is the latest child sex ratio in India?
A3. 914

Q4. Give the main reason for decline in child sex ratio.
A4. Sex selective abortion.

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CHAPTER 6: POLITICAL PARTIES

Q1. What kind of electoral discipline is discussed in the cartoon?

A1. The code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of India.
Q2. What has to be declared by the candidate in the affidavit for election?
A2. A) Details regarding his property.
B) Any criminal case pending against him.
C) His educational qualification

Q1. Identify the country shown here.

A1. United States of America
Q2. What does the cartoon signify?
A2. It shows that Corporate America controls all major institutions of the country.
Q3. What are the major institutions shown here?
A3. Supreme Court, Media, White House, Corporate Houses and Senate

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Q1. What does the cartoon signify?
A1. The lady who is a candidate in the election is submitting the affidavit which shows that
she owns fifty crores as her asset. The electoral officer and the people around her surprised to
see that. They are wondering why is such a wealthy person wants to contest in the election.
The cartoon is mocking at the politicians in India who are greedy for money.

Q1. Identify the country and the leader.

A1. Italy, Prime Minister- Berlusconi
Q2. What does the cartoon depict?
A2. The cartoon shows how Berlusconi was using media as a puppet to serve his vested
interests. Since he owns the country’s topmost TV channels.

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Q1. What is the cartoon depicting?
A1. When the country is in peril( danger) the politicians are nowhere to see in. They are
engaged in campaigning in the name of religion, caste, community and not concerned about
the problems and progress of the country

Q1. Name some of the regional parties which have national; level political organisation.
A1. Samajwadi party, Samata party and Rashtriya Janata Dal
Q2. Name some parties which are conscious about their state identity.
A2. Biju Janada Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front, Mizo National Front

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CHAPTER 7: OUTCOMES OF DEMOCRACY

Q1. What is shown in this cartoon?

A1.It shows how the government is keeping an eye on the citizens.
Q2. Which factor discussed here is often missing from a non-democratic government?
A2. Transparency.
Q3. Name two sources of information for the government about the citizens?
A3. 1.Ration Card
2.Voter identity Card
3.Aadhar card

Q1. Which of the following options best signifies the cartoon?

a) Demand for separate state from democratic government.
b) Democratic government is facing territorial issues with the bordering states.
c) Democratic government is coping with multiple pressures through accommodation.
d) Democratic government accepts demands based on separate state.

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Q1. What does the cartoon depict?
A1. The cartoon shows that the advantage of the rich in terms of the policies which are
introduced by the government as they have great influence on them.
The economic gains are distributed in the society in such a way that the poor gets poorer
and the rich gets richer.

Q1. What does the cartoon depict?

A1. The cartoon shows that the voice of the poor is unheard by the
concerned authorities and that the poor are deprived of the
basic needs of livelihood such as food, schooling, heath,
housing etc.

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Q1. What does the cartoon depict?
A1. The cartoon shows that the advantage of the rich in terms of the policies which
are introduced by the government as they have great influence on them.
The economic gains are distributed in the society in such a way that The poor gets
poorer and the rich gets richer. The poor gets poorer and the rich gets richer.
Q2. How can the poor get a voice for a better share in the nation?
A2. The poor get a voice for a better share in the nation when they will be given a
proper representation and when they get a chance to participate in the decision
making process.

Q1. What does the cartoon depict?

A1. It depicts unequal distribution of world’s wealth. 2% of the countries have a major share
of wealth in contrast to 50% of the countries who share extremely less share of world’s wealth.

Q2. What can the poor countries do to receive a greater share in world’s wealth?
A2. They should get united to fight for the cause. Only then they will be able to get their share.
At the same time, they will have to take initiatives to strengthen their internal democracy and
exploit their own natural resources.

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