Question 1

Which of the following is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A)  According to the government's definition of poverty, about 25 percent of Indians live in poverty but according to World Bank measures, about 76 percent live below the poverty line. 
B)  Although the proportion of Indians living in poverty has decreased since independence, the absolute number of poor has increased due to the country's rapid population growth. 
C)  Although India has the largest number of poor people in the world, the country also has a sizeable middle class. 
D)  The majority of the country's poor live in urban slums. 
E)  Over the past two decades, income inequality has become more skewed regionally.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a feature of the Indian constitution?

Accepted Answer

A)  It includes a directive to promote social and economic justice. 
B)  It is not particularly detailed and thus subject to interpretation. 
C)  It provides for religious freedom. 
D)  It allows for the temporary suspension of democratic rights in times of emergency. 
E)  It allows the national government to suspend elected state government.

Question 3

The nonaligned bloc, of which India was a founding member, refers to countries that

Accepted Answer

A)  refused to ally with either superpower during the Cold War. 
B)  refused to ally themselves with their former colonial masters. 
C)  accepts the separation of church and state. 
D)  has refused to actively support America's War on Terror. 
E)  seeks to remain isolated from the global economic system.

Question 4

Which of the following post-9/11 attacks intensified the fragile relationship between Pakistan and India?

Accepted Answer

A)  Raids by Islamic militant groups associated with Al Qaeda and supported by Pakistani intelligence services on Indian civilians in Punjab 
B)  Attacks by Islamic terrorists associated with Al Qaeda and supported by Pakistani intelligence services on civilian and government sites in New Delhi and Calcutta 
C)  Attacks by Islamic terrorists associated with Al Qaeda and supported by Pakistani intelligence services on civilian and government sites in New Delhi and Mumbai 
D)  Attacks by Islamic militant groups associated with Al Qaeda and supported by Pakistani intelligence services on Indian armed forces facilities in New Delhi and the Kashmir region 
E)  All of the above

Question 5

The Janta Party

Accepted Answer

A)  is a loose, changing coalition of small parties and factions. 
B)  is generally seen as a right-wing party. 
C)  was the first political party to mobilize on the basis of religious identity. 
D)  draws most of its support from the urban areas. 
E)  is a loose, changing coalition of large parties and factions.

Question 6

What is unique about Manmohan Singh?

Accepted Answer

A)  He was the first person to serve as prime minister who was neither the leader of his own party nor that of a ruling coalition. 
B)  He was the only non-Congress prime minister prior to 1989. 
C)  He was the first prime minister not to come from the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. 
D)  He was the first prime minister to be assassinated by his own bodyguards. 
E)  He was the first prime minister to seek normalization with Pakistan.

Question 7

What is the balance sheet (advantages and shortcomings) of India's two principal economic orientations: state-led industrialization and economic liberalization? Which would you argue has been superior? Please cite specific evidence in your argument.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the balance sheet (advantages and...

Question 8

Discuss the ways in which India's numerous bases of stratification: along lines of caste, class, gender, religion and ethnicity: have both undermined and enhanced democratic processes in the country. Please cite specific examples in your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the ways in which India's numerous...

Question 9

The Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, is unable to play a significant role in policy-making for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A)  most legislation is introduced by the government. 
B)  most legislators are beholden to their party leaders. 
C)  parties maintain tight discipline. 
D)  parliament's social composition makes this difficult. 
E)  all of the above.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A)  India developed nuclear weapons in part because of electoral considerations. 
B)  India developed nuclear weapons after Pakistan did so. 
C)  India developed nuclear weapons in part because of tense relations with China. 
D)  Even though India has consistently violated nonproliferation norms since developing its arsenal, the country has recently pledged to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 
E)  India has refused to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Question 11

A problem for Indian courts arise because the constitution simultaneously

Accepted Answer

A)  protects private property and directs the government to pursue social justice. 
B)  divides executive power between a powerful president and a powerful prime minister. 
C)  provides the legislature certain specific powers and the executive others. 
D)  none of the above. 
E)  Statements a, b, and c.

Question 12

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)

Accepted Answer

A)  was the first major Indian party to mobilize on the basis of religious identity. 
B)  is a highly centralized and well-disciplined political party. 
C)  was the first major Indian party to adopt an openly anti-Muslim stance. 
D)  maintains close ties to two non-parliamentary groups through which many of its leaders have been recruited. 
E)  All of the above statements are true.

Question 13

From 1947 until 1989, virtually all of India's prime ministers came from a single family. Who among the following was NOT among them?

Accepted Answer

A)  Indira Gandhi 
B)  Rajiv Gandhi 
C)  Sonia Gandhi 
D)  Jawahalal Nehru 
E)  All of the above were prime ministers during this time.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an example of the poor's impact on Indian politics?

Accepted Answer

A)  In some states, the poor have organized to elect left-leaning governments in some states. 
B)  Many parties and politicians adopt populist or socialist platforms. 
C)  The Naxalite movement has organized the landless poor to engage in land seizures. 
D)  Over the years, the government has undertaken a number of poverty alleviation programs although many of these have not been successful. 
E)  The government recently introduced a program of universal primary education as an effort to ensure that poverty will not become perpetuated in future generations.

Question 15

Initially, after Independence, India adopted an economic strategy that

Accepted Answer

A)  involved state planning while allowing for a role for private entrepreneurs. 
B)  included heavy tariffs in order to protect domestic industry. 
C)  enabled the country to build up an impressive industrial base fairly quickly. 
D)  included the creation of large public enterprises. 
E)  All of the above statements are true.

Question 16

Which of the following is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

A)  India's history shows that a diverse country can process conflicts concerning collective identities peacefully within a democratic setting. 
B)  Indian political leaders have sometimes mobilized the electorate along ethnic and religious lines that has led to polarization and violence. 
C)  Although India has many cleavages-language, ethnicity, religion, class, region, and so on-the fact that these crosscut one another has meant that no single cleavage has become dominant. 
D)  Larger numbers of people with more diverse identities are participating in Indian politics than ever before. 
E)  All of the above statements are true.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about India's relations with its neighbors is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A)  India and China have only one war although there have been recurrent border disputes. 
B)  India and Nepal have generally had strong economic and political ties. 
C)  Indian troops intervened in the Sri Lankan civil war. 
D)  India and Bangladesh have had tense relations since the 1970s. 
E)  The Indian prime minister invited the Pakistani prime minister to the Cricket World Cup tournament in 2011.

Question 18

Which of the following is a NOT a role performed by cabinet ministers?

Accepted Answer

A)  They participate in the shaping of government policy. 
B)  They regularly appear before parliament during scheduled question times. 
C)  They maintain party cohesion and support for government policy. 
D)  They supervise civil servants. 
E)  They are leaders of their parties.

Question 19

The Green Revolution was a strategy

Accepted Answer

A)  involving environmental planning in India. 
B)  for improving agricultural production involving improved seeds, heavy use of fertilizers, and irrigation. 
C)  for decreasing India's output of greenhouse gases. 
D)  for improving agricultural production through the creation of large publicly-owned collectives. 
E)  for increased environmental protection regulation in the aftermath of a major disaster at a foreign-owned chemical plant.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about Indian political culture is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Because the public and private spheres are not separate, corruption results. 
B)  While group fragmentation may play a role in promoting political stability, it may also help contribute to identity-based conflicts. 
C)  Because the Indian elite are highly factionalized, political consensus is difficult to achieve. 
D)  Because the public and private spheres are not separate, there is a high level of citizen involvement in politics. 
E)  All of the above are true statements.

Exam 6: India

Which of the following is NOT true?

Which of the following is NOT a feature of the Indian constitution?

The nonaligned bloc, of which India was a founding member, refers to countries that

Which of the following post-9/11 attacks intensified the fragile relationship between Pakistan and India?

The Janta Party

What is unique about Manmohan Singh?

What is the balance sheet (advantages and shortcomings) of India's two principal economic orientations: state-led industrialization and economic liberalization? Which would you argue has been superior? Please cite specific evidence in your argument.

Discuss the ways in which India's numerous bases of stratification: along lines of caste, class, gender, religion and ethnicity: have both undermined and enhanced democratic processes in the country. Please cite specific examples in your answer.

The Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, is unable to play a significant role in policy-making for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

Which of the following is NOT true?

A problem for Indian courts arise because the constitution simultaneously

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)

From 1947 until 1989, virtually all of India's prime ministers came from a single family. Who among the following was NOT among them?

Which of the following is NOT an example of the poor's impact on Indian politics?

Initially, after Independence, India adopted an economic strategy that

Which of the following is TRUE?

Which of the following statements about India's relations with its neighbors is NOT true?

Which of the following is a NOT a role performed by cabinet ministers?

The Green Revolution was a strategy

Which of the following statements about Indian political culture is NOT true?