CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Term 2 Set 2 with Solutions

Students can access the CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History with Solutions and marking scheme Term 2 Set 2 will help students in understanding the difficulty level of the exam.

CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Term 2 Set 2 with Solutions

Time: 2 Hours
Maximum Marks: 40

General Instructions:

This Question paper is divided into four sections-Section A, B, C and D
All questions are compulsory.
Section-A: Question no. 1 to 4 are Short Answer type questions of 3 marks each. Answer to each question I should not exceed 80 words.
Section-B: Question no. 5 to 7 are Long Answer type questions, carrying 6 marks each. Answer to each I question should not exceed 150-200 word
Section-C: Question no. 8 and 9 are Case Based questions, carrying 4 marks each with subparts.
Section-D: Question no. 10 is map based, carrying 2 marks.
There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice has been provided in a few questions. Only one of the choices in such questions have to be attempted.
In addition to this, separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary.

Section A
(Short Answer Type Questions)

Question 1.
Show how the power of the Jotedars within a village was more effective than that of the Zamindars. (3)
Answer:
The power of the Jotedars within the village was more effective than that of the Zamindars:

Jotedars were located in villages while Zamindars lived in urban areas.
Indirectly controlled the ryots by advancing money, controlling local trade.
Withholding payment of revenue.
Holding benami lands.
Purchased the auctioned estates of Zamindars.
They became an alternate source of power in villages.

Question 2.
What was the problem India faced after the Independence besides the partition? (3)
OR
In the Constituent Assembly, the members had to balance between conflicting interests. Explain. (3)
Answer:
The problem faced by the new nation after independence was that of the princely states. During the period of the British Raj, approximately one-third of the area of the subcontinent was under the control of nawabs and maharajas who owed allegiance to the British Crown, but were otherwise left mostly free to rule – or misrule – their territory as they wished. When the British left India, the constitutional status of these princes remained ambiguous. As one contemporary observer remarked, some maharajas now began “to luxuriate in wild dreams of independent power in an India of many partitions”.

Since members of the Constituent Assembly came from different communities having a variant socioeconomic background, they had different political opinions. Often, they had conflicting views. Thus, the Constituent Assembly had to manage between these conflicting opinions and interests. Many members of the Constituent Assembly demanded that abattoirs should be closed and cow- slaughter made a criminal offence. Some people wanted Hindi as a national language and many others opposed it vehemently.

Question 3.
How did “Quit India” become a mass movement? (3)
Answer:
After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch his third major movement against British rule. This was the “Quit India” campaign, which began in August 1942. It was genuinely a mass movement, bringing to its ambit hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians.

It especially energised the young who, in very large numbers, left their colleges to go to jail. However, while the Congress leaders languished in jail, Jinnah and his colleagues in the Muslim League worked patiently at expanding their influence. It was in these years that the League began to make a mark in the Punjab and Sind, provinces where previously it had scarcely any presence.

Question 4.
Critically examine Lord Dalhousie’s policy of annexation in Awadh. (3)
Answer:
The Revolt of 1857 was well planned and well-coordinated. In spite of the Nawabs of Awadh being loyal to the British, it did not stop Lord Dalhousie’s plan to annex Awadh. It was done in stages and it was needed because the soil was good for the cultivation of cotton and indigo. On 13th February 1856, Awadh was annexed to the British Empire on the grounds of maladministration.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was sent to Calcutta with an annual pension. The British Government wrongly assumed that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved. With the dissolution of the royal administration, large number of officials, Taluqdars and courtiers, cooks, dancers, musicians, and poets, all lost their livelihoods. So, the social order was completely broken down.

Detailed Answer:
The annexation of Awadh:
(a) Lord Dalhousie had referred to Awadh as a “Cherry that is to Drop-in our (British) Mouth”.
(b) He had used a 2-tier policy annex Awadh.

The first phase was the implementation of the Subsidiary Alliance in 1801 under Wellesley:
(a) Through the Subsidiary Alliance, the Indian army/troops of the Nawab would be dismantled and replaced by the British troops.

(b) Through this, the Nawab’s control on the troops would be weakened and British could gain stronger control in the region. The British were interested in the annexation of Awadh because the land was fertile and was apt for growing indigo and cotton. The second phase was that they had annexed the Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah from the throne and exiled him to Calcutta. The British had wrongly assessed the Nawab as an unpopular ruler. When the Nawab was exiled many citizens/people had followed him till Kanpur and they sang songs of sorrow and despair, one such song was “The soul went out of the body”. Not only in Awadh, but this annexation also happened in the Maratha lands, Punjab and Bengal.

Section – B
(Long Answer Type Questions)

Question 5.
How did Mahatma Gandhi transform Indian nationalism? (6)
Answer:
By 1922, Gandhiji had transformed Indian nationalism, thereby redeeming the promise he made in his BHU speech of February 1916. It was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals; now, hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers and artisans also participated in it. Many of them venerated Gandhiji, referring to him as their “Mahatma”. They appreciated the fact that he dressed like them, lived like them, and spoke their language. Unlike other leaders, he did not stand apart from the common folk but empathised and even identified with them.

This identification was strikingly reflected in his dress, while other nationalist leaders dressed formally, wearing a Western suit or an Indian band gala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth. Meanwhile, he spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel) and encouraged other nationalists to do likewise. The act of spinning allowed Gandhiji to break the boundaries that prevailed within the traditional caste system, between mental labour and manual labour.

Question 6.
Describe the variety of tasks involved in creation of manuscripts during the reign of the Mughal. (6)
OR
Discuss, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles
Answer:
The process of manuscript production in Mughal court was as follows:

All books of Mughal India were in the form of manuscripts i.e. these were handwritten.
Royal kitabkhana was the main centre of manuscripts’ production. Although, the term kitabkhana can be translated as the term library, actually it was a scriptorium.
It was a place where the manuscripts of the empire were collected and the new manuscript was fabricated.
Various multi-tasking people were included for the fabrication of manuscripts.
Papermakers were needed to prepare the folios of the manuscript, calligraphers or scribes to copy the text, gilders to illuminate the pages, painters to illustrate a scene from the textbook, binders collected the individual folio’s and set them within the ornamental covers.
Prepared manuscript was taken as a precious object, an intellectual property and work of beauty.
Such books were seen as examples of the power of Mughal emperors.
Among the different persons involved in the production of manuscripts, calligraphers and painters hold a high social position, but paper makers or bookbinders have remained common artisans.

Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studying the empire and its court.
They were written in order to project a vision of an enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella.
The authors of Mughal chronicles focused on events related to the life of the ruler, their family, the court and nobles, wars, and the administrative system.
These chronicles were written in Persian.
This language flourished as a language of the court and of literary writings, alongside the north Indian languages, especially Hindavi and its regional variants.
As the Mughals were Chaghtai lurks by origin, Turkish was their mother tongue.
Chronicles narrating the events of a Mughal emperor’s reign contained, alongside the written text, images that described an event in visual form.
When scenes or themes in a book were to be given visual expression, the scribe left blank spaces on nearby pages; paintings, executed separately by artists, were inserted to accompany what was described in words.

Question 7.
Examine any four major issues that went into the making of the Indian Constitution. (6)
OR
Why was the plea to make Hindi the language of constitution-making a cause of agitation in the Constituent Assembly?
Answer:
The making of the Indian Constitution was greatly influenced by many subjects or issues. These issues were such without which the establishment of real democracy was not possible. Out of these important issues, the main was as follows:

1. Political equality and socio-economic justice: The right to Universal Adult Franchise was the symbol of political equality. However, this political equality was incomplete without social and economic justice. So, it was essential to abolish social and economic discrimination.

2. Issues concerning the Dalits and the untouchables: It was essential to give special patronage for the upliftment of the Dalits and the Untouchables. The same was needed for the scheduled tribes.

3. Centralised federation: A federal government with a strong centre was set up to maintain the unity and integrity of the nation. This federation was a symbol of unity amidst diversity.

4. Separate electorate: The Dalits and minority communities were demanding a separate electorate
so that they may be able to get their representatives elected in the legislature. But it could endanger one’s loyalty towards the state. So, this view was rejected remove.

In one of the earliest sessions of the Constituent Assembly, R. V Dhulekar, a Congressman from the United Provinces, made an aggressive plea that Hindi be used as the language of constitution-making. When told that not everyone in the Assembly knew the language, Dhulekar retorted: “People who are present in this House to fashion a constitution for India and do not know Hindustani is not worthy to be members of this Assembly. They better leave.”

As the House broke up in commotion over these remarks, Dhulekar proceeded with his speech in Hindi. On this occasion peace in the House was restored through Jawaharlal Nehru’s intervention, but the language issue continued to disrupt proceedings and agitate members over the subsequent three years. Almost three years later, on 12 September 1947, Dhulekar’s speech on the language of the nation once again sparked off a huge storm.

By now the Language Committee of the Constituent Assembly had produced its report and had thought of a compromise formula to resolve the deadlock between those who advocated Hindi as the national language and those who opposed it. It was decided, but not yet formally declared, that Hindi in the Devanagari script would be the official language, but the transition to Hindi would be gradual.

For the first fifteen years, English would continue to be used for all official purposes. Each province was to be allowed to choose one of the regional languages for official work within the province. By referring to Hindi as the official rather than the national language, the Language Committee of the Constituent Assembly hoped to placate ruffled emotions and arrive at a solution that would be acceptable to all. Dhulekar did not like such an attitude of reconciliation. He wanted Hindi to be declared not an Official Language, but a National Language.

Section – C
(Case Based Questions)

Question 8.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follows: (14 – 1 + 2 = 4)

Mahatma Gandhi was to spend much of 1917 in Champaran, seeking to obtain the peasants’ security of tenure as well as the freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice. The following year, 1918, Gandhiji was involved in two campaigns in his home state of Gujarat. First, he intervened in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad, demanding better working conditions for the textile mill workers. Then he joined peasants in Kheda in asking the state for the remission of taxes following the failure of their harvest. These initiatives in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda marked Gandhiji out as a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor. At the same time, these were all localised struggles

Question 8.1
Why did Mahatma Gandhi spend time in Champaran?
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi was to spend much of 1917 in Champaran, seeking to obtain for the peasant’s security of tenure as well as the freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice.

Question 8.2
Mention the two campaigns in which Mahatma Gandhi got involved.
Answer:
The two campaigns were – he intervened in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad, demanding better working conditions for the textile mill workers. Then he joined peasants in Kheda in asking the state for the remission of taxes following the failure of their harvest.

Question 8.3
What narrative about Mahatma Gandhi came out after the initiatives at Champaran?
Answer:
These initiatives in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda marked Gandhiji out as a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor.

Question 9.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follows. (1+1+2=4)

Abu’l Fazl defined sovereignty as a social contract: the emperor protects the four essences of his subjects, namely, life (jaan), property (mal), honour (namus) and faith (din), and in return demands obedience and a share of resources. Only just sovereigns were thought to be able to honour the contract with power and Divine guidance. Many symbols were created for the visual representation of the idea of justice which came to stand for the highest virtue of the Mughal monarchy. One of the favourite symbols used by artists was the motif of the lion and the lamb (or goat) peacefully nestling next to each other. This was meant to signify a realm where both the strong and the weak could exist in harmony. Court scenes from the illustrated Badshah Nama place such motifs in a niche directly below the emperor’s throne.

Question 9.1
Why did Abu’l Fazl define sovereignty as a social contract?
Answer:
Abu’l Fazl defined sovereignty as a social contract: the emperor protects the four essences of his subjects, namely, life (jan), property (mal), honour (namus) and faith (din), and in return demands obedience and a share of resources.

Question 9.2
What was the highest virtue of monarchy in the Mughal? Why?
Answer:
Justice was regarded as the most important virtue of monarchy in the Mughal Empire. Only just sovereigns were thought to be able to honour the contract with power and Divine guidance.

Question 9.3
What was one of the favourite symbols used by artists?
Answer:
One of the favourite symbols used by artists was the motif of the lion and the lamb (or goat) peacefully nestling next to each other.

Section – D
(Map Skill Base Question)

Question 10.
On the given political outline map of India, locate and label ANY ONE of the following with appropriate symbol: (1+1=2)

(a) (i) The place where the colonial rule was first established.
OR
(ii) The Santhal Revolt took place here in 1555-1556.

(b) On the same outline map of India, the place where the sepoys arrived in the morning on 11th Maynce Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar to lead the mutiny, is marked as A. Identify it and write its name on the line drawn near them.
Sample Question Papers

Answer :
(a) (i) Bengal

(ii) Jharkhand
(b) (A) Delhi