Extra 30 short-answer questions with answers from Chapter:3 Democracy and Diversity (Class 10 CBSE Political Science).
1. What is social diversity?
Answer: Social diversity refers to the presence of different social groups in a society based on factors such as religion, language, ethnicity, caste, and gender.
2. How are social differences created?
Answer: Social differences arise due to two main reasons:
By Birth
– People are born into different religions, castes, and linguistic groups.
By Choice
– People may adopt different professions, follow different ideologies, or move to new places.
3. What is meant by overlapping social differences?
Answer: Overlapping social differences occur when one social division is linked with another, leading to discrimination and conflicts.
Example:
In the USA, African-Americans tend to be poor, leading to racial and economic inequality.
4. What is meant by cross-cutting social differences?
Answer: Cross-cutting social differences occur when social divisions exist but do not lead to conflict.
Example:
In the Netherlands, religious and economic differences do not create social tensions.
5. How did the Civil Rights Movement in the USA promote equality?
Answer: The Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s) led by Martin Luther King Jr. aimed to end racial discrimination against African-Americans.
It resulted in laws ensuring equal rights for all races.
6. What was the Black Power Movement?
Answer: The Black Power Movement (1966-1975) encouraged African-Americans to embrace their culture and fight for equal rights through militant and non-violent protests.
7. How did apartheid affect South Africa?
Answer: Apartheid was a system of racial segregation in South Africa where black people were denied basic rights.
It ended in 1994 when
Nelson Mandela
became the first black President.
8. How does democracy help in reducing social divisions?
Answer: Democracy allows for power-sharing, equal representation, and protection of minority rights, preventing discrimination and conflicts.
9. What role does power-sharing play in a diverse country?
Answer: Power-sharing ensures that different communities and groups have political representation, reducing tensions and promoting stability.
10. What was the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka?
Answer: In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese majority discriminated against the Tamil minority, leading to a civil war (1983-2009).
11. What led to social conflicts in Northern Ireland?
Answer: Conflict arose between Protestants and Catholics due to religious and political differences, causing decades of violence.
12. How did Belgium successfully manage diversity?
Answer: Belgium adopted a power-sharing model, ensuring equal representation for Dutch and French-speaking communities, preventing conflicts.
13. What is meant by the term ‘homogeneous society’?
Answer: A homogeneous society has people who share a common culture, language, and identity.
Example:
Japan.
14. How does discrimination lead to social division?
Answer: When certain groups are denied equal opportunities, it creates dissatisfaction, leading to conflicts and division in society.
15. Why do some social differences become political?
Answer: When people start demanding political representation or government support based on social identity, it turns into a political issue.
16. How does political competition affect social divisions?
Answer: If political parties exploit social differences for votes, it may increase conflicts. However, fair representation can strengthen democracy.
17. What is the relationship between democracy and diversity?
Answer: Democracy ensures that diverse groups get representation, while diversity challenges democracy to be more inclusive and just.
18. Why do social divisions sometimes lead to violence?
Answer: If social divisions are not managed properly, discrimination, economic inequality, and political rivalry may lead to violent conflicts.
19. How do social differences lead to unity?
Answer: If social diversity is respected, it fosters mutual respect, tolerance, and national unity in a democratic setup.
20. What is the significance of the Civil Rights Act (1964) in the USA?
Answer: The Civil Rights Act outlawed racial discrimination in public places, schools, and workplaces, ensuring equality for all citizens.
21. What does majoritarianism mean?
Answer: Majoritarianism is the idea that the majority community should dominate political decision-making, often ignoring minority rights.
Example:
Sri Lanka (Sinhalese over Tamils).
22. What was the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on democracy?
Answer: It strengthened democratic principles by ensuring that all races had equal rights and participation in governance.
23. How does economic inequality lead to social division?
Answer: When wealth is unequally distributed, certain communities remain poor, leading to class conflicts and resentment.
24. Why is social accommodation important in democracy?
Answer: Social accommodation helps in reducing discrimination, resolving conflicts, and promoting peaceful coexistence in a diverse society.
25. How can democracy prevent social conflicts?
Answer: Democracy allows open discussions, legal solutions, and power-sharing mechanisms to resolve conflicts peacefully.
26. What is the significance of the Three-Language Formula in India?
Answer: It promotes linguistic diversity by ensuring students learn Hindi, English, and a regional language, reducing language-based conflicts.
27. How did power-sharing help in preventing conflicts in Belgium?
Answer: Belgium’s Constitution provided equal representation to both Dutch and French speakers, preventing ethnic tensions.
28. How did the Black Power Movement differ from the Civil Rights Movement?
Answer:
The
Civil Rights Movement
was
non-violent
and led by Martin Luther King Jr.
The
Black Power Movement
was
more aggressive
and demanded immediate action.
29. How does federalism help in managing social diversity?
Answer: Federalism allows different regions and communities to have autonomy, preventing majoritarian dominance and conflicts.
30. What lesson does the Sri Lankan conflict teach us about democracy?
Answer: It shows that democracy must be inclusive, giving fair representation to all communities, or else conflicts may arise.
