Chapter 5 Contemporary South Asia
TEXTBOOK
QUESTIONS SOLVED
1. Identify the country:
(a) The struggle among pro-monarchy, pro-democracy groups and
extremists created an atmosphere of political instability.
(b) A landlocked country with multi¬party competition.
(c) The first country to liberalise the economy in the South Asian
region.
(d) In the conflict between the military and pro-democracy groups, the
military has prevailed over democracy.
(e) Centrally located and shares borders with most of the South Asian
Countries.
(f) Earlier the island had the Sultans as the head of state. Now, it is
a republic.
(g) Small savings and credit cooperatives in the rural areas have
helped in reducing poverty.
( h ) A landlocked country with a monarchy.
Answer: (a) Nepal (b) Bhutan
(c) India (d) Pakistan
(e) India (f) Maldives
(g) India (h) Nepal
2. Which among the following statements about South
Asia is wrong?
(a) All the countries in South Asia are democratic.
(b) Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement on river-water
sharing.
(c) SAFTA was signed at the 12th SAARC Summit in South Asian politics.
(d) The US and China play an influential role in South Asian politics.
Answer: (a) All the countries in South Asia are
democratic.
3. What are some of the commonalities and differences
between Bangladesh and Pakistan in their democratic experiences?
Answer: Bangladesh has been the part of Pakistan itself.
Both of these countries bear some similarities and differences as follows:
Commonalities
1. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan were under a military rule.
2. At both the places, the struggle for democracy took place in their own way.
3. Pakistan’s administration began under the command of General Ayub Khan and
gave up due to dissatisfaction among people giving way to Yahya’s military rule
and continued with the army rule though elections were held by military rulers
to give a democratic shape to their own rule.
4. In the same way, Bangladesh drafted its own constitution to begin with
democracy. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman formed presidential setup by abolishing all
the parties except Awami Legue. But after his assassination the new military
ruler Zia-ur-Rahman formed his own party and won elections in 1979. Later on he
was also assassinated and another military leader Lt. Gen. H.M. Ershad took
over. Differences
1. In Pakistan, military, clergy and land-owning aristocrats dominated socially
to overthrow elected government whereas in Bangladesh the leaders and their party
members dominated for the same.
2. Pro-military groups have become more powerful due to conflict with India in
Pakistan whereas in Bangladesh, pro-military groups are powerful due to
friendship and encouragement of India.
4. List three challenges to democracy in Nepal.
Answer: The three challenges to democracy in Nepal were
the result of a triangular conflict between-
1. the monarchist forces
2. the democrats
3. the Maoists
These challenges created massive, countrywide, pro-democracy protest in April
2006.
5. Name the principal players in the ethnic conflict
in Sri Lanka. How do you assess the prospects of the resolution of this
conflict?
Answer: The principal players in the ethnic conflict in
Sri Lanka were Sinhala and Sri Lankan Tamils.
After its independence, politics in Sri Lanka was dominated by the interests of
Sinhala community who was hostile to Tamils, who migrated from India to be
settled there. Sinhalese presumed Sri Lanka to be belonged to them only, hence
no concession should be given to Tamils. This created militant Tamil
nationalism
i. e. ‘Ethnic conflict’.
Despite the revenges of internal conflict Sri Lanka has maintained democratic
political system and registered considerable economic growth and high level of
human development.
6. Mention some of the recent agreements between India
and Pakistan. Can we be sure that the two countries are well in their way to a
friendly relationship?
Answer: Although Indo-Pakistan relations seem to be the
story of endemic conflict and violence, there have been a series of efforts to
manage tensions and build peace under the various agreements:
1. Agreed to undertake confidence building measures to reduce the risk of war.
2. Social activists and prominent personalities have collaborated to create an
atmosphere of friendship.
3. Leaders have met at summits to better understanding.
4. Bus routes have been opened up between these two countries.
5. Trade between the two parts of Punjab has increased substantially in the
last five years.
6. Visas have been given more easily. No, despite the above mentioned
agreements and initiatives, we can not be sure that both the countries are well
in their way to friendship, still some areas of conflict exist there to be
sorted out,
7. Mention two areas each of cooperation and
disagreement between India and Bangladesh.
Answer: Disagreement
1. Differences over the sharing of the Ganga and Brahmaputra river waters.
2. Illegal immigration to India.
3. Refusal to allow Indian troops to move through its territory.
4. Not to export natural gas to India.
Cooperation
1. Economic relations have been improved considerably within last ten years.
2. Bangladesh is the part of India’s ‘Look East’ policy to link up with
southeast Asia via Myanmar.
3. Cooperated on the issues of disaster management and environment.
4. Cooperation on identifying common threats and being more sensitive to each
other’s needs.
8. How are the external powers influencing bilateral
relations in South Asia? Take any one example to illustrate your point.
Answer: The external powers influence bilateral relations
in South Asia because no region exists in the vacuum. It is influenced by
outside powers and events no matter how much it may try to insulate itself from
non-regional powers:
1. China and the US remain key players in South Asian politics.
2. Sino-Indian relations have improved significantly in the last ten years, but
China’s strategic partnership with Pakistan remains a major irritant.
3. The demands of development and globalisation have brought the two Asian
giants closer and their economic ties have multiplied rapidly since 1991.
4. The US enjoys good relations with both India and Pakistan and works as a
moderator in Indo-Pak relations.
5. Economic reforms and liberal economic policies in both the countries have
increased the depth of American participation. . _
6. The large South Asian economy remains in the US and the huge size of
population and markets of the region give America an added stake in the future
of regional security and peace.
9. Write a short note on the role and the limitations
of SAARC as a forum for facilitating economic cooperation among the South Asian
Countries.
Answer: Role of SAARC: Role of SAARC can be identified as
follows:
1. ‘South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation’ (SAARC) is a regional
initiative among South Asian states to evolve cooperation since 1985 onwards.
2. It consists of seven members to encourage mutual harmony and understanding.
3. SAARC has initiated SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) to free trade
zones for wThole south Asia for collective economic security.
4. SAARC has projected on economic development of its member states to reduce
their dependencies on the non-regional powers.
Limitations: SAARC is growing slowly due to political differences among its
member states—
1. Only the conflicts led to bilateral issues as Kashmir problem between India
and Pak.
2. Some of the India’s neighbours fear that India intends to dominate them by
influencing their societies and politics.
3. SAARC members are from among the developing or least developing countries
which creates insufficiency of funds.
10. India’s neighbours often think that the Indian
government tries to dominate and interfere in the domestic affairs of the
smaller countries of the region. Is this a correct impression?
Answer: No, the impression is not correct because India
makes efforts to manage its neighbours beyond its size and powers which can be
justified on following grounds-
1. India often feels exploited by its neighbours.
2. On the other hand, India’s neighbours fear that India wants to dominate them
regionally but India is centrally located who shares borders with other
countries geographically, which should be accepted on mutual understanding.
3. India avoids political instability in its neighbouring states so that
outsiders should not take advantage of influence in the region.
MORE
QUESTIONS SOLVED
Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]
1. Fill in the blanks:
The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed by the members
of in the year
Ans: SAARC, 2004.
2. Whose mediation resolved the Indus River water
dispute between India and Pakistan?
Answer: The World Bank.
3. How long did East and West Pakistan remain
together?
Answer: From 1947 to 1971.
4. What was the reason for the formation of SAARC?
Answer: The states of South Asia recognised cooperation
and friendly relations among themselves which gave birth to the formation of
SAARC for mutual trust and understanding among its member states.
5. What is the full form of SAARC?
Answer: SAARC: South Asian Association for Regional
Co-operation.
6. Mention present status of Sri Lanka.
Answer: Sri Lanka has maintained a democratic political
system alongwith a considerable economic growth i.e. Sri Lanka is one of the
first developing countries to control population growth rate, liberalised
economy and bears highest per capita Gross Domestic Product despite ongoing
conflicts.
7. What does the MDP stand for?
Answer: MDP stands for Maldivian Democratic Party.
8. Who took the command over Pakistan after its first
constitution was framed?
Answer: General Ayub Khan.
9. What does SPA stand for?
Answer: SPA stands for Seven Party Alliance to protest
against monarchy in Nepal.
10. What was the former name of Sri Lanka?
Answer: Ceylon.
11. Mention changes that occurred in Maldives.
Answer: 1. Transformed into a republic with a
presidential form of government in 1968.
2. In June 2005, parliament voted unanimously to introduce multi¬party system.
3. Democracy strengthened after 2005 elections.
12. What is meant by Geo-politics?
Answer: Geo-politics refers togetherness of countries who
are bound with each other geographically and their interests are also
interlinked politically and economically.
13. What do you mean by South Asia?
Answer: South Asia signifies a group of seven countries
i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives who
stand for diversity in every sense but still constitute one geo¬political
space.
14. How did LTTE emerge?
Answer: LTTE emerged 1983 onwards on the negligence of
Tamil interest by Sri Lanka government. Hence, ‘Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Elam’ (LTTE) took birth demanding a seperate state for Tamil in Sri Lanka.
15. What does SAFTA stand for?
Answer: SAFTA: South Asian Free Trade Area Agreement.
Very Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks]
1. Mention the names of member states of SAARC.
Answer: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan and Maldives.
2. Mention any two objectives of SAARC.
Answer: 1. To provide an integrated programme for
regional development.
2. To accelerate economic growth, social progress in the region.
3. “Democracy in South Asia has expanded the global
imagination of democracy”. Do you agree? Justify.
Answer: The various countries in South Asia have
experienced mixed record of democracies and the people also share an aspiration
for democracy to be flourished not only in rich or developed countries but in
developing and underdeveloped countries also which can be drawn from the
examples of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives, because—
1. Every ordinary citizen, rich or poor belonging to different religions view
the idea of democracy positively and support the institutions of representative
democracy.
2. They prefer democracy over any other form of democracy and think that
democracy is suitable for their country.
4. Explain the problems that India have with Pakistan.
Answer: India have following problems with Pakistan:
1. The problem of Kashmir on the issues of Pak occupied Kashmir (Pok) and Line
of Control (LOC). India claims Kashmir to be its integral part and Pakistan
refuses to accept it. Hence, wars took place in 1965 and 1971, but issue
remained unsettled.
2. Problems over starting issues like control of Siachin glacier and over
acquisition of arms involved both the states acquiring nuclear weapons and
missiles to deliver such arms against each other in 1990s.
3. Pakistan government has been blamed for using a strategy of low key violence
by helping Kashmiri militants with arms, training, money and protection to
carry out terrorist strikes against India.
4. Pak’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is alleged to involve in
various anti India campaigns.
5. “Military rule and democracy are the two sides of a
coin in Pakistan”. Examine the statement.
Answer: Military rule and democracy co-exist or are the
two sides of a coin can be examined with the following facts:
1. After the implementation of first constitution in Pakistan, General Ayub
Khan took the command, but was overthrown by military general Yahya Khan due to
dissatisfaction of rule.
2. Again in 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto formed an elected government which was
later removed by General Zia-ul- Haq in 1977.
3. 1982 onwards, pro-democracy movements took place resulting an elected
democratic government in 1988 under leadership of Benazir Bhutto, replaced by
Nawaz Sharif.
4. Nawaz Sharif was again removed by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999 and in
2005, he got himself elected as president but was later dethroned by the court.
6. What is Indus River Water Treaty? Mention its
significance also.
Answer: India and Pakistan signed Indus River Water
Treaty by the mediation of the world bank in 1960 over the issue of sharing of
rivers of the Indus basin. This treaty has been survived despite many military
conflicts between these two countries. .
7. Why did India help Bangladesh to get independence
and how?
Answer: Bangladesh was created by the support of India
because:
1. West Pakistan did not allow Awami League, an East Pakistani Party to form
government despite winning all the seats.
2. East Pakistanis rebelled against and were suppressed by the army of West
Pakistan, resulting large scale migration into India.
3. This created huge refugee problem for India.
4. Hence, India supported the demand of East Pakistanis financially and
militarily.
5. In December 1971, a war took place between India and Pakistan and ended with
the surrender of Pakistani forces by forming Bangladesh as an independent
country.
8. Mention some points of agreement between India and
Nepal.
Answer: India and Nepal enjoy the following agreements:
1. Allow their citizens to travel and work without visas and passport.
2. India is the largest aid giver to Nepal to provide financial and technical
assistance in areas of trade, scientific cooperation, common natural resources
and electricity generation.
9. Mention the features of SAFTA.
Answer: South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was
signed by SAARC members in 2004 with the following features:
1. Formation of Free Trade Zone for whole south Asia.
2. To sustain mutual trade and cooperation among SAARC members.
10. Mention some other conflicts in South Asia except
with that of India.
Answer: 1. Nepal and Bhutan as well as Bangladesh and
Myanmar have disagreement over the migration of ethnic Nepalese into Bhutan and
Rohingyas into Myanmar.
2. Bangladesh and Nepal bear some differences over the future of Himalayan
river water.
Short Answer Type Questions [4 Marks]
1. Despite the mixed record of democratic experience, the people of all
the countries of South Asia share the aspiration of democracy.
Answer: The various countries in South Asia have
experienced mixed record of democracies and the people also share an aspiration
for democracy to be flourished not only in rich or developed countries but in
developing and underdeveloped countries also which can be drawn from the
examples of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives, because:
1. Every ordinary citizen, rich or poor and belonging to different religions
view the idea of democracy positively and support the institutions of
representative democracy.
2. They prefer democracy over any other form of democracy and think that
democracy is suitable for their country.
2. Describe any two major issues of conflicts between
India and Pakistan leading to the war of 1971.
Answer: The 1947-48 war resulted in the division of the
province into Pakistan occupied Kashmir (Pok) and the Indian province of Jammu
and Kashmir divided by the Line of Control (LOC). Pakistan claims Kashmir to be
its part but India presumes it to be its integral part. Hence, these conflicts
led to war in 1971 and India won but the issues remain unsettled.
3. Describe any four consequences of Bangladesh war of
1971.
Ans: 1. India supported the demand of East Pakistan
financially and militarily.
2. The war of 1971 made Pakistani forces to surrender in East Pakistan.
3. Bangladesh was formed as an independent country.
4. Bangladesh drafted its constitution declaring faith in secularism, democracy
and socialism.
4. Explain India’s changing relationship with
Pakistan.
Answer: Although Indo-Pakistan relations seem to be story
of endemic conflict and violence, there have been a series of efforts to manage
tensions and build peace under the various agreements:
1. Agreed to undertake confidence building measures to reduce the risk of war.
2. Social activists and prominent personalities have collaborated to create an
atmosphere of friendship.
3. Leaders have met at summits to create better understanding.
4. Bus routes have been opened up between these two countries.
5. Trade between the two parts of Punjab has increased substantially in the
last five years.
6. Visas have been given more easily. Despite above mentioned agreements and
initiatives, we cannot be sure that both the countries are well on their way to
friendship, still some areas of conflict exist there to be sorted out.
5. Highlight any two issues of cooperation as well as
confrontation each between India and Bangladesh.
Or
Explain any two points of conflict between India and Bangladesh.
Answer: Co-operation:
1. Economic relations have been improved considerably in last ten years.
2. Bangladesh is the part of India’s ‘Look East’ policy to link up South East
Asia via Myanmar.
3. Both the countries have cooperated regularly on the issues of disaster
management and environment.
Confrontation:
1. Bear differences over several issues including the sharing of Ganga and
Brahmaputra river water.
2. India is unhappy on the issues of denial of illegal immigration, refusal to
allow Indian troops and not to export natural gas to India.
6. What is meant by SAARC? How can peace and
cooperation be enhanced through it?
Answer: SAARC stands for South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation for mutual trust and understanding among states of South
Asia.
Role of SAARC:
1. SAARC is a regional initiative among South Asian states to evolve
cooperation since 1985 onwards.
2. It consists of seven member’s to encourage mutual harmony and understanding.
3. SAARC has initiated SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) to form free
trade zones for whole South Asia for collective economic security.
4. SAARC has projected on economic development of its member states to reduce
their dependencies on the non-regional powers.
7. Name the countries included in South Asia. How can
peace and cooperation be enhanced in this region?
Answer: Countries included in South Asia are India,
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. South Asian
countries are diverse in every sense, still constitute one geo¬political space
by enhancing peace and cooperation in the following way-
1. People in all these countries share an aspiration of fair democracy.
2. South Asian members recognise the importance of cooperation and friendly
relations among themselves.
3. SAARC is the regional initiative to evolve cooperation among member states.
4. SAARC members have signed South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) to free
trade for the whole of south Asia.
8. How was democracy restored in Nepal over monarchy?
Explain
Answer: Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in the past and then a
constitutional monarchy in the modern period for many years-
1. Throughout this period, the political parties and common people wanted to
establish democracy, but the king retained full control with the help of army
and restricted expansion of democracy.
2. The king accepted new democratic constitution in 1990 due. to pro-democracy
movement but again in 2007, due to triangular conflict of monarchists,
democrats and maoists, king abolished the parliament.
3. A massive countrywide pro¬democracy protest took place and achieved first
major victory to force king to restore the house of representatives.
4. But Nepal’s transition to democracy is not complete. It is moving towards
the framing of constituent assembly to France and its constitution.
9. Why did India and Nepal experience differences
between themselves?
Ans: India and Nepal experience differences between
themselves due to the following reasons-
1. Indian government expressed displeasure at the warm relationship between
Nepal and China.
2. India is unhappy on inaction of Nepal government against anti-Indian
elements.
3. The Maoist movement in Nepal is a security threat to India giving rise to
Naxalite groups in various states of India from Bihar in the North to Andhra
Pradesh in the South.
10. Mention some features of Indo-Bhutan relationship.
Answer: India does not have any major conflict with the
Bhutanese government.
1. The efforts made by Bhutanese monarch to weed out the gurillas and militants
from north-eastern India that operate in the country have been helpful to
India.
2. India is involved in big hydroelectric projects in Bhutan and remains the
Himalayan Kingdom’s biggest source of development aid.
Passage Based Questions [5 Marks]
1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions:
Pakistan and Bangladesh have experienced both civilian and military
rulers, with Bangladesh remaining democracy, in the Post Cold War period.
Pakistan began the post cold war period with successive democratic governments
under Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif respectively. But it suffered a military
coup in 1999 and-has been run by a military regime since then. Till 2006, Nepal
was a constitutional monarchy with the danger of the king taking over executive
powers. In 2006, a successful uprising led to restoration of democracy and
reduced the king to a nominal position, from the experience of Bangladesh and
Nepal, we can say that democracy is becoming an accepted norm in the entire
region of South Asia.
Questions
1. How did Pakistan begin with Post Cold War period?
2. Mention two reasons for the aspiration of democracy in South Asia.
3. Why these findings are significant?
Answer:
1. Pakistan began with post cold war period with successive democratic
government under Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
2. Ordinary citizens rich or poor or belonging to different religions or
institutions view democracy more suitable and support them.
3. Because it was earlier believed that democracy could flourish and find
support only in prosperous countries of the world.
2. Read the following passage carefully and answer the
questions:
No region exists in a vacuum. It is influenced by outside powers and
events, no matter how much it may try to insulate itself from non-regional
powers. China and the United States remain key players in South Asian politics.
Sino-Indian relations have improved significantly in the last ten years, but
China’s strategic partnership with Pakistan remains a major irritant. The
demands of development and globalisation have brought the two Asian giants
closer and their economic ties have multiplied rapidly since 1991.
Questions
1. Which two countries have been referred to as outside powers?
2. Which are the two Asian giants and why they have been called so?
3. China’s strategic partnership with Pakistan is a major irritant for
which country and why?
Answer:
1. The US and China.
2. India and China, because both of them have been considered as rising
economic powers in the world.
3. India, because China has been seen as a contributor to Pakistan’s nuclear
programme.
Long Answer Type Questions [6 Marks]
1. Assess the positive and negative aspects of India’s relations with
Bangladesh.
Answer: Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan from 1947 to
1971. It consisted of the partitioned areas of Bengal and Assam from British
India. The people of this region resented the domination of Western Pakistan
and the imposition of Urdu language. Soon after the partition, they began
protests against the unfair treatment meted out to the Bengali culture and
language. They demanded autonomy for the eastern region. But the government
dominated by the West Pakistan leadership refused their demand. The Pakistan
army tried to suppress the mass movement of the Bengali people. Thousands were
killed by the Pakistan army. This led a large scale migration into India,
creating a huge refugee problem for India. The government of India supported
the demand of the people of East Pakistan for their independence and helped
them financially and militarily. This resulted in a war between India and
Pakistan in December 1971 that ended in surrender of the Pakistan forces in
East Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh as an independent country.
2. How is the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) a major regional initiative by South Asian States to evolve
co-operation through multilateral means? Assess.
Answer: Role of SAARC:
Role of SAARC can be identified in the following ways:
1. ‘South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation’ (SAARC) is a regional
initiative among South Asian States to evolve cooperation since 1985 onwards.
2. It consists of seven members to encourage mutual harmony and understanding.
3. SAARC has initiated SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) to form free
trade zones for whole South Asia for collective economic security.
4. SAARC has projected economic development of its member states to reduce their
dependencies on the non-regional powers.
South Asian free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) was signed by SAARC members in 2004
with the following features:
1. Formation of free trade zone for whole South Asia.
2. To lower trade tarrifs by 20%.
3. To sustain mutual trade and cooperation among SAARC members.
3. Like India why could democracy not take roots in
Pakistan despite the fact that both the countries share a common part?
Or
Explain the factors responsible for Pak’s failure in building a stable
democracy.
Or
Describe any two pro-democracy factors present in Pakistan which can
pave the way for establishing a lasting democratic setup over there?
Or
“Since 1947 Pakistan has been experimenting with democratic system and
the military rule”. In the light of above statement explain any two reasons why
democratic system has not been stable there?
Answer: The following factors are responsible for
Pakistan’s failure in building a stable democracy:
1. The lack of genuine international support for a democratic rule in Pakistan
has encouraged to military to continue its dominance. The US and other
countries have also supported military rule due to fulfilling their own
interests.
2. Pakistan’s conflict with India has made paramilitary groups more powerful
which have often said that political parties and democracy in Pakistan are
flawed, that Pakistan’s security would be harmed by selfish minded parties and
chaotic democracy, hence army stay in power is justified.
3. The social dominance of military, clergy, and owning aristocracy has led to
frequent overthrow of elected governments and the establishing of military
governments.
4. Global Islamic Terrorism and their apprehension that Pakistan’s nuclear
arsenal might fall into hands
of these terrorist groups, the military regime in Pakistan was seen as the
protector of western interests in West Asia and South Asia.
The two pro-democracy factors present in Pakistan that can pave the way for
establishing a lasting democratic set up over there are:
1. Pakistan bears a courageous and entirely free press.
2. Pakistan enjoys strong human rights movement.
4. What are the major differences between SAARC and
European Union as an alternative centres of poor?
Answer: 1. The European Union bears economic
political-diplomatic and military influence all over the region and its closest
neighbours whereas SAARC is limited towards its South Asian Region only.
2. The member states of European Union are maximum from among the developed
countries while SAARC members are from among least developed countries (LOCs)
3. The EU behaves like a nation state by having its own anthem and currency but
SARRC does not enjoy these.
4. The EU performance as an important bloc in international economic
organisations such as WTO but SAARC has initiated SAFTA only to cooperate
economically among its member states.
Picture/Map Based Questions [5 Marks]
A1. Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. What does the cartoon represent?
2. What does the equations speak about?
3. “I’m always good at calculations”. What does this represent?
Answer:
1. Dual role of Pakistan’s ruler Pervez
Musharraf as the president and as army General. ,
2. These equations speak about dominance of one person militarily more rather
than only president.
3. It shows the nation that Musharraf wants to command the country militarily
and administratively both to strengthen his power because president’s survival
is not easy without military support.
2. Study the picture given below and answer the
questions that follow:
Questions
1. What does the cartoon represent?
2. Which animals do represent Sinhala and LTTE?
3. What does Sri Lankan leadership speak in the cartoon?
Answer:
1. Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict between LTTE and Sinhala.
2. Sinhala by Lion, LTTE by Tiger.
3. Sri Lankan leadership is supposed to balance both Sinhala hardliners and
Tamil militants while negotiating peace.
B. On a political outline map of world locate and
label the following and symbolise them as indicated:
Questions
1. A landlocked country with multi-party competition.
2. Centrally located and shares borders with most South Asian
Countries.
3. Earlier the island had Sultan as head, now its a republic.
4. A landlocked country with a monarchy.
5. Country, where military has prevailed over democracy
Answer:
1. Bhutan
2. India
3. Maldives
4. Nepal
5. Pakistan
