Balbharti Yuvakbharati English 11th Digest Chapter 1.4 Pillars of Democracy Notes, Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers.
Maharashtra State Board Class 11 English Yuvakbharati Solutions Chapter 1.4 Pillars of Democracy
11th English Digest Chapter 1.4 Pillars of Democracy Textbook Questions and Answers
1. Discuss with your partner and choose the correct alternative.
Question (i)
‘Government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth’. This famous statement is made by –
(a) Mahatma Gandhi
(b) Nelson Mandela
(c) Abraham Lincoln
(d) Dalai Lama
Answer:
Abraham Lincoln
Question (ii)
A system where the government is elected and ruled by people is called —
(a) Bureaucracy
(b) Aristocracy
(c) Democracy
(d) Autocracy
Answer:
Democracy
Question (iii)
A democratic country is governed by, its –
(a) Military
(b) Police
(c) Politicians
(d) Constitution
Answer:
Constitution
2.
Question (i)
The trinity of democracy comprises of three principles. Complete the web to show the trinity of democracy.
Answer:
Question (ii)
Match the following.
| A | B |
| 1. Constitution | (a) It is the freedom to go where you want, do what you want etc. |
| 2. Liberty | (b) It is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights or opportunities. |
| 3. Equality | (c) It is the sense of common brotherhood. |
| 4. Fraternity | (d) It is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. |
Answer:
| A | B |
| 1. Constitution | (d) It is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. |
| 2. Liberty | (a) It is the freedom to go where you want, do what you want etc. |
| 3. Equality | (b) It is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights or opportunities. |
| 4. Fraternity | (c) It is the sense of common brotherhood. |
Question (iii)
Explain the pillars of a democratic nation. Make list of obstacles that are a threat to the progress of a nation.
Answer:
The pillars of a democratic nation are:
1. Legislative: In a democratic nation, the people of the country elect their representatives that govern a state or a country.
2. Executives: Executives, as the name suggests, are in-charge of putting the laws made by the legislatives in effect.
3. Judiciary: The job of the judiciary is to keep a check on the laws made by the legislative and their execution or fulfillment by the executives without disturbing the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country.
4. Press: All types of media have a responsibility of reaching to the people all over the country, the works of the legislatives and the executive and their basic duty is to be unbiased.
Major obstacles that are threats to the progress of a nation are:
- Caste and religion-based politics.
- Disrespect for the constitution values.
- Absence of universal education which makes people unaware of their basic rights and duties.
- Huge gap between haves and have-nots- lack of qualitative resources to the poor.
- Constant threat of the attack of enemy countries.
(A1)
Question (i)
State weather the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statement.
- There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men.
- Hero-worship leads to dictatorship.
- Liberty cannot be divorced from equality.
- One man one vote and one vote one value.
- Fraternity means common sense.
Answer:
- True
- True
- True
- True
- False.
Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood The correct statement is – Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood.
Question (ii)
Complete the web with information from the speech of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Answer:
(A2)
Question (i)
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar has cited the quotes by John Stuart Mill and Daniel O’Connell. Write down 4 to 5 lines for each of them.
Answer:
(i) John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher and economist who was considered to be the most powerful British thinker of the 19th Century. Mill’s philosophy concentrates on establishing standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. It also advocates freedom of speech, freedom to pursue taste as long as they do not harm others and the freedom to unite without being forced and harming anybody. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar agreed with Stuart Mill’s views on social liberty where people should have the right to have a say in the governments decision.
(ii) Daniel O’Connell who was often referred to as ‘The Liberator’ was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th Century. His philosophy has inspired leaders all over the world including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. He advocated mass political participation and was very much against idealizing somebody at the cost of ones own honour, chastity or liberty. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar felt that this Principle of Refraining from hero-worship propagated by Daniel O’Connell is badly needed in India and he agreed with Daniel who felt such kind of loyalty was actually slavery.
Question (ii)
Make a list of steps that you feel are essential to unite the people of different caste, religions and languages in India.
Answer:
India is a progressive nation but the directions of dividing India according to caste, religions and languages have still kept her handicapped. The possible remedies, I feel, to cure India from these diseases to make her stable and secure may be:
(i) Education for all irrespective of not only caste, creed, religion but also of gender.
(ii) Creation of job opportunities according to one’s abilities.
(iii) Provision for reservation to depend on the financial condition rather than caste or religion.
(iv) Creation of public welfare policies according to the need of the people of all communities and thus maintaining uniformity as well as equality in all matters.
(iii) Write your views/opinion in brief on the following topics.
Question (a)
We must always cast our vote.
Answer:
Voting is one of the fundamental duties of the citizen of a country. We have no right to criticize the works of the government if we abstain from voting which gives us a chance to choose suitable representative to govern the country. Our constitution has given the common man an important power and responsibility to select the right persons to take the country forward on the right path. We are supposed to discharge this duty judiciously.
Question (b)
Liberty, equality and fraternity lead to an ideal nation.
Answer:
The terms ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ were the mottos of French revolution. Liberty represents freedom and Indian constitution has specified various kinds of freedom for Indian citizens. Euqality stands for having equal law for all irrespective of caste, creed, gender or religion. Fraternity is associated with brotherhood among all communities of people sharing common interest and purpose. An ideal nation is recognized by the maintenance of an atmosphere of peace in all spheres of life. If the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity are followed responsibly by the people of the country as well as the leaders governing them, the prosperity of the nation is assured.
Question (c)
Steps to be taken to eradicate inequality.
Answer:
Inequality is a curse that can lead any nation to its doom. Inequality creates dissatisfaction and unrest among people who feel deprived. Some possible steps to eradicate inequality can be:
(a) Remove poverty by reducing unequal distribution of resources and equal access to the opportunities as far as possible.
(b) Advocate gender equality by preventing female foeticide and making provision for girls’ education and preventing early marriage.
(c) Investing in employment-oriented education for all, creating employment readiness among youth and institutions for skill development need to be encouraged.
(d) Ensuring that all groups and communities can express their voice without fear. But the groups and communities also need to be responsible to avoid loss of lives, damage of public properties while expressing their grievances.
(e) Strictly eliminate caste discrimination which is still pervasive and is causing a serious threat to the progress of the country. To make the above steps successful is the joint responsibility of the government and the people of the country.
Question (d)
Role of youth in creating awareness.
Answer:
Youths are the backbones of the society and that gives them the responsibility to act as catalysts for creating social awareness. Empowerment of the youth is one of the ways to fulfill the policies of good governance.
The social welfare units in the schools and colleges, NCC, NSS, etc., should be made more active and need to be made a part and parcel of the curriculum so that a large number of young minds are materialized to eradicate social evils like illiteracy, insanitation, superstitions, corruption. They can organize various cultural programmes like street plays, musical programmes with social messages, posters as well as powerpoint presentations.
They can set examples by fighting against various kinds of pollution with steps like quitting smoking, propagating against loud music, cleanliness, saving water. “Charity begins at home” thus, they need to bring about the change in their own habits and behaviour to create social awareness.
(A3)
Question (i)
Complete the following table.
Answer:
| Word | Type | Synonym | Antonym |
| observe | Verb | notice, discern, detect, mark | ignore, overlook |
| abandoned | Adjective | deserted, dumped, forsaken, dropped | adopted, defended, supported |
| grateful | Adjective | appreciative, thankful | ungrateful, thankless, inappreciative |
| initiative | Noun | action, drive, enterprise | apathy, idleness, laziness, in difference |
| peril | Noun Verb | danger, risk, hazard, threat endanger, risk | protection, certainty, safety protect, save |
| separation | Noun | division, break-up, split, parting | Connection, association, union |
2. Homograph: Homograph is a word spelt and pronounced like another word but with a different meaning.
(A4)
(i) Frame Wh-question to get the underlined parts of the following sentences as answers.
Question (a)
In politics we will be recognizing the principle of ‘one man one vote’ and ‘one vote one value’.
Answer:
Which principles will we be recognizing in politics?
Question (b)
The politically minded Indians preferred the expression ‘the Indian Nation’.
Answer:
Which expression did the politically-minded Indians prefer?
Question (c)
Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians.
Answer:
What does fraternity mean?
(A5)
Write speeches on the following topics.
Question 1.
Duties of an Ideal Citizen.
Answer:
Respected chief guest Dr. Ashok Pillai, our Principal Dr. Pradeep Sanghvi, teachers and my dear friends,
Good Evening ! I am Mayank Gala, a member of the NSS unit of our college. It is indeed a matter of pride for me to share my views on the topic ‘Duties of an Ideal Citizen.’ in front of an august gathering. ‘Duties of an ideal citizen’ according to me, has become a necessity for everyone to be aware of in the present situation of our country.
The first question that comes to my mind at this moment is “Who is an ideal citizen?” Is it a person who is honest, knows his responsibilities and values, respects others needs, is conscious of taking care of the environment and thus contributing to the society in general making it a better place to stay? , Yes, an ideal citizen ideally should have all these qualities.
I personally feel that an ideal citizen should not consider his duties as obligations and fulfill them on his own urge. If all of us make a sincere effort to carry on with our jobs, the society is bound to prosper. Since we all are members of the society, to make it exemplary is our duty. We need to remember this at every step we take in our lives and things will fall into their own places.
Here, I can give some examples which all of us can do easily. I know that there are big words like trustworthiness, honesty, courtesy, respecting the rights of others as well as laws, and these are the personal traits of an ideal citizen. But I want to give you a simple list of things which all of us can follow easily.
My list begins with a simple task of not littering the environment, followed by, conserving water, encouraging greenery in our housing societies, wearing helmets and also encouraging our pillons to wear one, maintaining dignity of all the communities and last but not the least, paying taxes on time.
Of course, the list will be longer than this. But “well begun is half done”. And the most important things, I remind all of us again that the “charity begins at home” So, let’s start!
I thank the organizers to give me an opportunity to talk to all of you. I am also grateful to each and every person in the audience for their patient hearing. I am convinced that we can fullfill our dreams of having an ideal society.
Thank you !
Question 2.
Merits of Democracy
Answer:
Respected judges and my dear friends,
I am Sandeep Agarwal wishing all of you a very good afternoon.
Today, I am going to talk on ‘Merits of Democracy’ I am sure, we all remember the definition Abraham Lincoln gave of democracy that it is “Government of the people, for the people and by the people”. In short, I can say that democracy is rule of the people.
So, what can be the merits of the rule of the people? The first merit that immediately comes to my mind is that recognizes the strength of people’s will which is expressed through their elected representatives sitting in the Parliament.
A true democracy limits the power of these representatives and they have to strictly follow the constitution which again cannot be altered or amended except through right procedural process. This is, I feel, the merit of democracy, where every effort is made to prevent the accumulation of power in the hands of any particular individual.
This leads us to the fact that the foremost demand of democracy is free and fair election. Every voter not only has access to the voting machine but secrecy of his vote has to be strictly maintained. Liberty, equality, fraternity are the three pillars of a good democracy and in a proper democratic situation it must be followed religiously.
Unless these principles are sincerely maintained, how will people who are an integral part of democracy, get assurance of safety, security as well as courage to express their views/ problems freely? Here comes the win of democracy over dictatorship where people do not have freedom of speech.
The role of unbiased press and then freedom of expression are urgent necessities so that they can reach a large number of people’s opinion to the government to judge the pros and cons of their decisions. The Parliament proceedings should be open to the public so that they can see how their elected representatives are behaving. In a true democracy, the people have the power of rejecting their representatives and that is their best safeguard.
But, I am sure you will all agree with me that no electoral system can be fool-proof and perfect democracy can be found in the utopia of poets and dreamers. We have to be satisfied with the nearest maintenance of the sanctity of democracy. Democracy is an evolutionary process. So, it is not wrong on our part to expect the scope for modification and change in the light of experience.
In conclusion, I request all of you to keep your hopes and expectations alive not only to have a true democracy in our country but to maintain its merits also. I thank our Cultural Forum team for giving me the opportunity to speak in front of an august audience. Thank you for your patient hearing !
Question 3.
Advantages of Education
Answer:
Respected judges and my dear friends,
Good afternoon! I am Deepak Shah and my topic for today’s elocution competition is ‘Advantages of Education’.
As I was thinking about the topic, two immediate questions that came to mind are, “How and when does education begin? Does it start when a child goes to school or learn alphabet? Looking around, I get a strong ’NO’ as answer. I believe, education begins with the Mother’s encouraging work, father’s words of praise and approval, sibling’s sympathy, help and sometimes fights even, with the gathering of flowers from the garden, with the chirping of the birds and last but not the least in the company of friends. Thus, the child learns to feel, observe, receive and remember as his mind opens out.
The ultimate aim of education, I know, everyone will agree, is to develop all the faculties of a person- physical, mental or moral. Education needs to help a person to be true to his own self as Shakespeare said, “To thy own self, be true.” Book-bound education limits a person. Rabindranath Tagore showed us the way at Shantiniketan how education would make a complete personality.
The true objective of education is to train the mind , to build confidence, to judge the good and bad of the things. I feel, the least advantage of education is to create the right temperament needed at the right time. I must include here the need for physical education since “A sound mind can only exist in a sound body” The harmony among mental, physical and moral learning can only supply the proper benefits of education.
To talk about the advantages of education, standing in front of so many educators, is not a small task. This has been possible because of my teachers who have been facilitators of giving me confidence to go ahead with my aspirations. This has been the advantage of my education, I believe and I salute my teachers for that.
I thank the judges, the Cultural forum team once again and all my dear friends and teachers sitting in the audience for their patient hearing which gave me the courage to present my views.
Question 4.
Equality : A Blessing
Answer:
Respected dignitaries on the dais, our honourable guests, my teachers and my dear friends,
Good afternoon to you all ! I am Deepali Doshi who is fortunate to be selected as one of the speakers to represent our college for the seminar organized by our college on the topic ‘Equality : A Blessing’.
‘Equality : A Blessing’ – one of the topics which is very close to my heart. From my childhood, I have enjoyed the situation of ‘no discrimination’ at home by my parents. I always thought of this as a natural things to happen.
I grew up and faced the big world. I started understanding the value and necessity of equal opportunity in the society. How a person uses that opportunity depends on his/her capabilities and the situations he/she faces in life. Ideally, equality means that all citizens are equal before the law, allowed to exercise the franchise, are entitled to fulfill equal rights and duties prescribed in the constitution. That leads to a levelling process which is definitely a blessing.
I must admit here, equality needs to be maintained at various levels like having social equality, political equality, economic equality and of course equality of opportunity and education. Social equality is an urgency for peaceful co-existence as it refers to the absence of discrimination of caste, creed, colour, clans, groups and classes.
Who can deny the benefits of this? Political equality gives access to all citizens similar political rights. We the people of India have the benefits of Universal Adult Franchise which gives us the right to elect our representatives to run the government the way we deserve it.
Economic equality is a dream-like situation where each citizen is provided equal opportunity to make economic progress. Practically, that seems difficult but a responsible government definitely makes an attempt to fulfill it to a large extent. Equal right to education is the birthright of every citizen. I know, everybody in this hall will say in unison with me, ‘Education is the great equalizer… opening doors of opportunity for all.’
I have tried to talk about various equalities and the ideal situations to provide them. But the toughest job is to make equality, a blessing in real life, though each one of us wishes for it. To make it a reality is the joint responsibility of the government and we, the people.
I enjoyed talking to such an alert and responsible audience. Thank you for all your patient hearing.
Question 5.
Freedom of Speech
Answer:
Respected judges, my teachers and my dear friends,
Good Evening ! I am Pooja Banerji. I am going to talk on ‘Freedom of Speech’.
‘Freedom of speech’ is an oft-quoted expression these days. Everyday wants to enjoy this freedom but in the process, knowingly or may be unknowingly, disturbs the peace in the society.
If freedom of speech is so powerful that it is capable of disturbing the peace in an otherwise stable society, then let me find out the answers to the questions like, “What is freedom of speech and what is the ideal situation to use this freedom?” I am sure, we all are bothered by these questions often because many times, some utterances in the name of freedom of speech, spread like wild fire, making the situations go out of hand.
We know that the constitution of India provides this fundamental right to the general public as well as the media to express their ideas and opinions freely. Like India, this right is provided by some other countries also but with some limitations.
But can’t freedom of speech be used positively? Constructive criticism is always welcome and is also needed to keep a person or the government under check since all activities are closely monitored.
With freedom comes responsibility. This license should not be misused to excite others and invite unwanted problems. When we get to enjoy the rights we need to respect it so that it does not spoil the peace and harmony of the society. These days, a common practice of spreading half-truths has become rampant just to create sensation. This, in the name of freedom of speech, causes serious harm and self-discipline, according to me, is the only remedy.
All good things have their positives and negatives and one should know how the use of them should not become liabilities. I want to conclude with a request to everyone that basic humanity should not be forgotten in the pretext of using the fundamental rights of freedom of speech. I join Tracy Morgan to tell all of you, “We have freedom of speech but you got to watch what you say”.
Thank you all for allowing my freedom of speech and giving it a patient hearing.
Question 6.
Unity in Diversity
Answer:
Respected judges, my teachers and my dear friends,
Good Morning ! I am Gauri Arora and I am fortunate that I have been assigned the job of talking on a topic, ‘Unity in Diversity’.
For the inter-collegiate elocution competition organized by our college. Here I am standing on the podium of a hall which is self-explanatory of ‘Unity in Diversity’. We can see very clearly that people of different religious beliefs, may be caste and creeds, languages, cultures , dresses, and diverse lifestyles as well as eating habits are harmoniously sitting under one roof.
‘Unity in Diversity’ is an expression which is frequently referred to when one talks of India. We, the Indians, are children of one mother, Mother India and that unites us on the principle of brotherhood. I am sure, my friends sitting over there, have ever bothered about caste, religion, social status of the person sitting next to them. That is, in other words, we can call national integration, in the true sense of the term.
India has won its freedom from the British rule of 200 years and the freedom fighters never bothered about their diversities. They all had one mantra in life and that was to free Mother India from the shackles of British rule.
We carry on that tradition after so many years of our independence. India is the land of festivals irrespective of culture, language, rituals, faiths, we are lost in the celebration forgetting completely the existence of our own origin.
One may ask, “How is it possible in the midst of so many diversities?” My answer to such questions will be “Its possible because we respect our togetherness. How can we forget the benefits of safeguarding this unity? It protects our heritage and in the process attracts tourism. The foreigners feel amased with the existence of so many traditions, cuisines, clothings, languages and of course the diverse gifts of Mother Nature.
I feel, the biggest benefit of ‘Unity in Diversity’ is the protection of human rights of all. This gives the citizens confidence of having safety at workplace and automatically encourages healthy teamwork that ultimately leads to progress.
Every coin has two sides, so has the principle of unity. It is an utopian idea to think that there is no social tension because of these diversities. But they can be tactfully handled by the authorities for getting global recognition and most importantly safety and security of our nation.
We all know the age-old saying, ‘United we stand, Divided we fall’ Today, my dear young friends, I am quoting J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, “ we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided” I am sure you all believe her and take it as a maxim to protect the principle of ‘Unity and Diversity’ which is so unique for our country. I want to express my gratitude to Cultural Forum for selecting me to talk on a topic so close to my heart.
Yuvakbharati English 11th Digest Chapter 1.4 Pillars of Democracy Additional Important Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Discuss hero-worship by citing some examples.
Answer:
Hero-worship is to have exclusive admiration for someone which may lead to bias. The admirer refuses to believe that the hero might have any imperfection. The hero is idolized. It happens with film stars, sportsmen, politicians and sometimes with religious gurus.
Question 2.
‘Fraternity leads to social stability’ – Explain the statement.
Answer:
Fraternity is a common bond or feeling of unity among people. It automatically gives rise to the concept of togetherness of all cast, creed and religion. For a society to be stable, these are the basic necessities. In a vast country like India, it is definitely a tough job to maintain such feelings, but it has to be observed for the progress of the country. India, being a country of diverse communities, social stability is an essential ingredient for keeping the country safe and secure.
Question 3.
Find some words starting with ‘Anti’ like ‘Anti-social’
Answer:
- Anti-climax
- Anti-pathy
- Anti-thesis
- Anti-dote
- Anti-virus
- Anti-hero
Comprehension
Read the extract and complete the activities given below.
Global Understanding:
Question 1.
Supply information from the passage.
Answer:
1. When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods.
2. There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered lifelong services to the
country.
Question 2.
Choose the correct statements which are the themes of the passage.
(i) This passage talks about the dangers of inequality.
(ii) This passage talks about the importance of equality and fraternity.
(iii) In this passage Dr. Ambedkar supported Bhakti in politics.
(iv) Dr. Ambedkar is pained to see the denial of ‘One Man One Value’.
Answer:
(ii) This passage talks about the importance of equality and fraternity.
(iv) Dr. Ambedkar is pained to see the denial of ‘One Man One Value’.
State whether the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statement.
Question (i)
The people of America did not think that they were a nation.
Answer:
True
Question (ii)
The laity accepted the word ‘nation’ wholeheartedly.
Answer:
False – So many objections were raised by the laity to the word ‘nation’.
Question (iii)
Politically-minded Indian were in favour of the expression ‘the people of India’.
Answer:
False – Politically-minded Indians resented the expression ‘the people of India’.
Question (iv)
According to Dr. Ambedkar, it is necessary to realize the importance of becoming a nation.
Answer:
True
Complex Factual
Question 1.
What are the two things necessary to maintain democracy?
Answer:
The first thing that is needed to maintaihn democracy is to follow constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. The second thing which is of utmost importance to safeguard our democracy is not to lay our liberties even at the feet of a great man blindly.
Question 2.
What are the contradictions Dr. Ambedkar was worried about ?
Answer:
Dr. Ambedkar was worried about the contradictions of equality and fraternity. He was concerned about equality in politics but the possible inequality in our social and economic life. For him, fraternity might be a good concept but it was difficult to achieve.
Question 3.
What according to Dr. Ambedkar, was the problem of India becoming a ‘nation’? What was his suggestion to overcome the problem?
Answer:
According to Dr. Ambedkar, a nation divided into several thousands of castes, was one of the biggest problems of India becoming a nation. His suggestion was the realization of this fact as early as possible and think of ways and means to realize that goal.
Inference / Interpretation / Analysis
Question 1.
Mention the threats of hero-worship in Indian politics.
Answer:
Hero-worship plays a huge negative role in Indian politics. By excessive admiration for a person, the people of India tend to sacrifice their liberties at the feet of the person whom they admire. This can lead to misuse of power by exercising unconstitutional methods and encroaching upon people’s freedom.
Question 2.
Dr. Ambedkar was worried about inequality because –
(i) It will lead democracy to danger.
(ii) Long-standing inequality may be the cause of rebellion among the people.
OR
Explain.
‘Fraternity is a different thing to achieve’.
Answer:
India is a vast country with diverse cultures. Expecting brotherhood among all is not easy since there might be differences of opinions. But for the greater interest of the well-being of Mother India, this unity is desirable. Dr. Ambedkar also felt that was the right path to travel.
Personal Response:
Question 1.
Give an example of hero worship that you have come across in Indian politics.
Answer:
Electing the popular actors and actresses with landslide majority is a common hero-worship observed in most parts of India. The actors enjoy certain level of admiration which helps them win key portfolios enabling them to subvert key institution.
Question 2.
Explain your views on hero-worship.
Answer:
I am not against hero-worship. In life, one can have an idol/hero whom one tries to follow to reach one’s goal but too much of anything is bad and I am against excessive hero-worship which leads to biased idolizing.
Question 3.
Do you think India as a democracy is a successful nation. Explain.
Answer:
India as a democratic nation is indeed successful though there are certain elements which come in the way obstructing the smooth functioning of the government. Such elements are regionalism, casteism and fanaticism.
Language Study:
Question (i)
We must hold fast to constitutional methods. (Rewrite using a modal auxiliary showing ‘necessity )
Answer:
We need to hold fast to constitutional methods.
Question (ii)
There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men. (Use infinitive)
Answer:
There is nothing wrong to be grateful to great men.
Question (i)
On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions.
(Frame a Wh-question to get the underlined part of the sentence as answer.)
Answer:
What are we going to enter into on the 26th January, 1950?
Question (ii)
In politics, we will have equality. (Pick up the preposition and say its purpose)
Answer:
In-Inside something
Question (iii)
We are cherishing a great delusion. (Begin the sentence with ‘A great delusion…’and rewrite)
Answer:
A great delusion is being cherished by us.
Question (iv)
We shall realize the necessity of becoming a nation. (Use ‘that’ and rewrite as a complex sentence) Answer:
We shall realize that it is necessary to become a nation.
Vocabulary:
Question 1.
Match the words in column ‘A’ with their synonyms in column ‘B’.
| Words (A) | Synonyms (B) |
| 1. Anarchy | (a) Contribute |
| 2. Render | (b) Purity |
| 3. Chastity | (c) Disorder |
| 4. Hero worship | (d) Excessive admiration |
Answer:
| Words (A) | Synonyms (B) |
| Anarchy | (c) Disorder |
| Render | (a) Contribute |
| Chastity | (b) Purity |
| Hero worship | (d) Excessive admiration |
Question 2.
Make a list of meanings of all the homographs that are found in the text
Answer:
(ii) Example of Homograph
match, might, letter, fly, fine, leaves, left, right, ring, spring, state, well.
Question 3.
Give synonyms of the following.
- Contradiction
- Solidarity
- Salvation
- Degradation
Answer:
- Situation in opposition
- harmony to one another
- liberation
- deterioration
Question 4.
Find out the word from the passage which means –
1. rites prescribed for public worship
2. unity or agreement of feeling
Answer:
1. liturgy
2. solidarity
Grammar:
Frame Wh-question to get the underlined parts of the following sentences as answers.
Question 1.
Make sentences of your own with the following prepositions.
Answer:
(i) in, into, inside
I live in Mumbai / the flowers will bloom in spring.
The frog jumped into the well.
The jacket was inside the cupboard.
(ii) on, onto, above, over
The duster was on the teacher’s desk.
The child scattered all his toys onto the floor.
We were driving over the expressway.
My friend lives just above my apartment.
(iii) beside, besides
Ramu sits beside his best friend in the classroom.
Besides being learned, the gentleman is a good human being.
(iv) for, from, since
My grandparents will stay only for three hours.
My grandparents have been waiting since morning.
My grandparents have been waiting from 10 o’ clock.
(v) to, towards
I was going to school. (Definite destination)
I was going towards school. (May be somewhere near the school)
(vi) down, below, under, beneath, underneath,
The mountaineers came down safely.
The temperature never went below 40°C.
The scenes under the sea were very well filmed.
My mother kept my football kit safely beneath the cot. (Usually used in formal language)
You can search your slippers underneath the sofa. (Casually used)
(vii) between, among, amongst
She was sitting between two of us.
I distributed the chocolates among all my friends, (more commonly used)
My sister was the topper amongst the girls, (less common than ‘among’)
Glossary:
- abandoned – left
- salvation – saving from sin (Christian belief)
- eventual – ultimate
- contradiction – situation / ideas in opposition
- solidarity – like-mindedness / harmony to one another
- eminent – distinguished / renowned
- divine – a cleric / clergyman
- on the spur of the movement (phr) – without thinking and planning
- resented – disliked/be displeased
- antipathy – hostility / opposition
- Grammar of Anarchy – a state of disorder due to the absence of non-recognition of controlling system
- rendered – contributed, made available
- chastity – purity, modesty
- hero-worship – excessive admiration for somebody
- degradation – cause something to become worse in quality
- peril – danger, risk
- triennial – the 300th anniversary
- liturgy – rites prescribed for public worship
- laity – members of a religious community
- delusion – a mistaken idea or opinion
- anti-national – the prefix ‘anti’ in anti-national expresses opposition to something.