NCERT solutions for Political Science Politics in India Since Independence [English] Class 12 chapter 2 - era of one-party dominance [Latest edition]

What’s so special about our being a democracy? Sooner or later every country has become a democracy, isn’t it?

That was a good decision. But what about men who still refer to a woman as Mrs. Somebody, as if she does not have a name of her own?

Ask the elders in your family and neighbourhood about their experience of participating in elections.

• Did anyone vote in the first or second general election? Who did they vote for and why?
• Is there someone who has used all the three methods of voting? Which one did they prefer?
• In which ways do they find the elections of those days different from the present ones?

Can you identify the places where the Congress had a strong presence?

In which States, did the other parties perform reasonably well?

Earlier we had coalition in a party, now we have coalition of parties. Does it mean that we have had a coalition government since 1952?

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank.

The First General Elections in 1952 involved simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and ______.

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank.

The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first elections was the ______.

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank.

One of the guiding principles of the ideology of the Swatantra Party was ______________ .

Match the following leaders listed in List A with the parties in List B.

The statement regarding one-party dominance is given below. Mark it as true or false. 

One-party dominance is rooted in the absence of strong alternative political parties.

The statement regarding one-party dominance is given below. Mark it as true or false.

One-party dominance occurs because of weak public opinion.

The statement regarding one-party dominance is given below. Mark it as true or false.

One-party dominance is linked to the nation’s colonial past.

The statement regarding one-party dominance is given below. Mark it as true or false.

One-party dominance reflects the absence of democratic ideals in a country. 

Take a political map of India (with State outlines) and mark :

(a) two states where congress was not in power at same point during 1952-67.

(b) two states where the congress remained in power through this period.

Read the following passage and answer the questions below :

" Patel, the organisational man of the congress, wanted to purge the congress of other political groups and sought to make of it a cohesive and disciplined political party . He ... sought to take the Congress away from its all-embracing character and turn it into a close-knit party of disciplined cadres . Being a 'realist' he looked more for discipline than for comprehension . while Gandhi took too romantic view of "carrying on the movement," Patel's idea of transforming the congress into strictly political party with a single ideology and tight discipline showed an equal  lack of understanding of the eclectic role that the congress, as a government, was to be called upon to perform in the decades to follow." - Rajni Kothari

(a) Why does the author think that Congress should not have been a cohesive and disciplined party?

(b) Give some examples of the eclectic role of the Congress party in the early years.

(c) Why does the author say that Gandhi’s view about Congress future was romantic?

Make a chart of elections and governments in your State since 1952. The chart could have the following columns: year of election, name of the winning party, name of ruling party or parties, name of the Chief Minister(s).