Class 12 Regional Aspirations Mock Test (CBSE)

Topics in Regional Aspirations

• Region and the nation
• India's approach to regional aspirations
• Areas of tension
• Jammu and Kashmir
• Punjab
• The North-East
• Demands for autonomy and secessionist movements
• Movements against outsiders
• Accommodation and national integration
• Goa's liberation and Sikkim's merger

Regional Aspirations practice questions with answers

1. Q1Multiple choice·1 mark
   Which of the following regions witnessed major separatist movements and demands for autonomy, posing significant areas of tension in post-independence India?

   1. (a)Gujarat and Rajasthan
   2. (b)Nagaland and Mizoram
   3. (c)Kerala and Karnataka
   4. (d)Goa and Puducherry
   Show answer and step marks

   1. Correct option: (b) Nagaland and Mizoram+1

   Answer: (b)
2. Q2Multiple choice·1 mark
   Which of the following best describes India's democratic approach to dealing with regional aspirations?

   1. (a)Suppressing all regional demands through central military power
   2. (b)Accommodating regional demands through democratic negotiations and within the constitutional framework
   3. (c)Ignoring regional identities in favor of a strictly unitary state structure
   4. (d)Encouraging the immediate division of the country into smaller independent states
   Show answer and step marks

   1. Correct option: (b) Accommodating regional demands through democratic negotiations and within the constitutional framework+1

   Answer: (b)
3. Q3Short answer·3 marks
   Explain the major provisions of the Punjab Accord (Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal Accord) of 1985 aimed at restoring peace and normalcy in Punjab.
   Show answer and step marks

   1. The accord was signed in July 1985 between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal, then President of the Akali Dal.+0.5
   2. Chandigarh was to be transferred to Punjab (agreed, though the transfer has not taken place).+0.5
   3. A separate commission was to be appointed to resolve the border dispute between Punjab and Haryana.+0.5
   4. A tribunal was to be set up to decide the sharing of Ravi-Beas river waters among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.+0.5
   5. Those affected by militancy in Punjab were to receive compensation and better treatment.+0.5
   6. The application of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Punjab was to be withdrawn.+0.5

   Answer: Signed in July 1985 by Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal: Chandigarh to be transferred to Punjab (not carried out); a commission for the Punjab-Haryana border dispute; a tribunal for sharing Ravi-Beas waters among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan; compensation and better treatment for those affected by militancy; withdrawal of AFSPA from Punjab.
4. Q4Short answer·3 marks
   Describe the three major challenges that dominated the politics of the North-Eastern region of India in the decades following independence.
   Show answer and step marks

   1. Demands for secession and independence (e.g., Naga National Council and Mizo National Front demanding separate sovereign status).+1
   2. Movements against outsiders and immigrants, leading to ethnic conflicts and identity protection demands (e.g., the Assam movement).+1
   3. Demands for regional autonomy and statehood, leading to the creation of separate states out of Assam (e.g., Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh).+1

   Answer: (1) Secession: the Naga National Council under Phizo and the Mizo National Front under Laldenga demanded independence from India (the MNF's armed struggle ended with the 1986 Mizo accord). (2) Opposition to outsiders: movements against migrants, such as the Assam Movement (1979-85) against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which ended with the Assam Accord. (3) Autonomy: non-Assamese groups demanded separate states, leading to Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh being formed out of Assam, while groups such as the Bodos sought autonomy.

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