Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in Current Affairs.

Emergence of the USA: A new nation called the ‘United States of America’ was born. They adopted the Republican type of government. In 1787, America adopted a republican form of Government with a federal structural. It became the first country in the world to adopt a written constitution. George Washington became the first president of USA.

Loss to England: According to the Paris treaty concluded in 1783, Britain suffered heavily in terms of economy and lost 13 resourceful colonies.

Triumph of Democracy: Victory of the Americans strengthened the democratic ideologies and principles all over the world. It inspired patriots, who fought against imperialism in several other countries.

A lesson to England: After losing the 13 colonies in the war, England changed its attitude towards its other colonies. The belief that the Sun never sets in their Empire received a deathblow.

Inspiration for French Revolution: The French soldiers, who participated in the American Revolution, were inspired by the revolutionary slogans of the Americans. This resulted in the outbreak of the French revolution in 1789.

End of the monarchy in England: After being defeated in the American war of independence, the English King Charles III lost his prestige and popularity. He was subjected to come under the rule of the Parliament. This led to the constitutional Kingship.

The changing cycles of climate and weather have greatly affected the human evolution to a very large extent. The last 6 to 8 million years have generally seen cooling trends marked by recurring ice ages. The onset of ice age around 2.5 million years ago covered most parts of’ Earth with snow and there were major changes in climate and vegetation. The species which could adapt better to the climatic changes and procure food survived and the others became extinct.

The ice age or glacial age induced the early humans to wear animal skins to keep themselves warm. Many times, new species originated, which adapted better than the earlier ones. The early species Australopithecus faced gradual extinction and genus Homo (early man) which was better adapted to drier conditions survived. The last ice age witnessed by earth was about 20,000 years ago. Today, we are living in a time that is relatively warm compared to the last 6 to 8 million years. The weather and climate of the earth has played an important role in the origin, evolution and existence of various species.

Human species evolved larger and complex brains to overcome the environmental challenges and survive against physically powerful animals. The size of the brain in the Homo habilis was 600 cubic centimeters, which was only slightly larger than that of Chimpanzees. The Homo erectus had a brain size of 800 – 1100 cc, the Neanderthal 1200-1900 cc and the Homo sapiens (wise man) of today about 1400 cc. It is more than twice the size of the brains of Chimpanzees or Gorillas. The growth in the brain size induced many activities like improved vision, upright posture, bipedalism, tool making, use of fire, planned and skilled hunting, storing food and language.

These activities helped in the development of the brain. Hominoids lived on trees which provided them protection from the predators. The Hominoids were food gatherers and not meat eaters. Then, they adapted to land dwelling. They began to use caves and extended stone boulders as shelters. The Neanderthal man was the earliest cave dweller. The shortage of food made them to scavenge for food. The above activities made them gradually develop an upright posture and consequently the bipedal motion. This was required for survival.

Hominines and the archaic human species added planned hunting and fishing to the already existing gathering, foraging and scavenging techniques. The earliest evidence of planned hunting and butchery of large animals is traced to two sites. (1) Box grove in England dated to about 50,0000 years ago and (2) Schoningen in Germany dated to about 4,00,000 years ago.

The Hominoids were quadrupeds. They walked on all four limbs, but, their forelimbs were flexible. The Hominids gradually adapted an upright posture. Hominines further adapted to bipedalism.

The skeletal structure and the muscles also adjusted over a period of time to the upright posture and the bipedal motion, which freed the forelimbs. The forelimbs developed precision grip and power grip and evolved into hands. This greatly helped in hunting and defending from predators as hands could be used to make tools and also use them. Walking on two legs also provided a greater long distance vision and helped them to cover long distances without spending much energy.

The use of tools is not confined to only humans. For e.g. some monkeys and apes use stones as tools to break nuts. But use of tools by humans is far more advanced compared to the monkeys and apes. Wood, bones and stones were used to make tools. They were mainly used for hunting or defending from predators. The use of stone tools is studied as the Stone Age in history. The making and use of stones tools were responsible to the evolution of forelimbs into hands and also the growth in brain size.

The use of tools is not confined to only humans. For e.g. some monkeys and apes use stones as tools to break nuts. But use of tools by humans is far more advanced compared to the monkeys and apes. Wood, bones and stones were used to make tools. They were mainly used for hunting or defending from predators. The use of stone tools is studied as the Stone Age in history. The making and use of stones tools were responsible to the evolution of forelimbs into hands and also the growth in brain size.

• Gave direction and motivation to the later freedom struggles and revolutions all over the world. 
• Put forward the concept of republican form of government. 
• Prepared the first written constitution.
• Contributed to the concept of federal system that ensured freedom and authority of states in the union.

Art of painting:- Chinese had developed wonderful painting. They painted on silk cloth, tomb walls, pots and papers. They believed that tomb painting were means to protect the dead and help their souls to go to heaven.

Sculpture:- Chinese developed the art of casting bronze statues of animals and monsters. This art developed during Shangs and Chous. Buddhism influenced their sculpture and the statues of Bodhisatwa carved in stone are found in large numbers. The Terracotta army assembled in the tomb of the first Kin Emperor consists of life size images of more than 8000 – warriors and horses. Chinese were massive builders.

The Great Wall of China is one of their most impressive and everlasting architectural accomplishment. It was purely built for the ’ utilitarian purpose of protecting the country from Mongolian invasions. They also built Buddhist temples called Pagodas, important among them are the ‘Giant Wild Goose Pagoda’, ‘Jade Pagoda’, ‘Flask Pagoda’ and the ‘Temple of Sleeping Buddha’ outside Peking, the present Beijing.

Writing and Literature:- Chinese had developed the art of writing during Shang period. Chinese script was standardized during Chin Rulers. They have no alphabets and parts of speech. It consists of only characters which are more than 40,000. It started as pictograph and later they developed Characters or Logograms. Chinese characters constitute the oldest continuously used systems of writing in the world. Their writing played an important role in cultural unification. Chinese script also influenced Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese scripts. It is written from top to bottom.

The invention of paper, silk and ink for writing helped the growth of writing and literature. The practice of writing history was also popular in China. The Chinese literature comprised of prose, poetry, philosophy and history. During Han and Tong dynasties, Chinese poetry reached great heights.

Chinese had developed Geography, Geometry, Arithmetic, Calendars, Astronomy and they could predict eclipses accurately. The important inventions of the Chinese are the following. Silk, Tea, Ink, Brushes for painting and writing, Abacus, Acupuncture, Rudder, Gun powder, Glass, Pottery, Porcelain, Rockets, Umbrella, Seismograph and Mariner Compass.

Philosophy and Religion:- Lao tse, Confucius and Mencius were three great Philosophers who influenced the religious ideas of Chinese to a great extent. Lao tse’s philosophy is known . as Taoism. He preached non violence, not to be conservative, to respect the wise, do one’s duty with sincerity and honesty etc., The philosophy of Confucius is known as ‘Confucianism’.

The principles of Confucius had basis in common Chinese traditions and beliefs. He taught loyalty towards family, worship of ancestors, respect to elders and unity among the people of China.

Administrative reforms of Napoleon Bonaparte: 

Napoleon centralized the entire system of local Government in France. The entire country was divided into Provinces, Arrondisments and Communes. The powers were vested in Prefects and Sub-Prefects who were responsible to only Napoleon. It assured that the decrees of the Central Government should promptly and uniformly be carried out. He developed and empowered the office of the ‘Secretariat of the State’.His major reforms were as follows.

1. Code Napoleon: The most durable of Napoleon’s work was the introduction of the legal code which is the base for the French Law. This was known as‘Code Napoleon’ and came into effect in 1804 A.D. He appointed two committees to draft the legal codes and the committees were presided over by Napoleon. He had a good commonsense and a legislative vision.

The 5 codes were: 

1. French Civil Code 

2. Code of Civil Procedure 

3. Code of Criminal Procedure 

4. Penal Code 

5. Commercial Code

The basic demands of the Revolution like Civil equality, religious toleration, emancipation of land etc., were taken care of with these codes. He was hailed as the second Justinian.

2. Education: He introduced a national scheme of education managed by the State which was organized into four types Elementary, Secondary, Higher and Special Schools. This was to maintain uniformity of standard in Schools and Colleges. He also established the University of France.

3. Religious reforms or the Concordat: He made a code of laws for the Clergy also and to heal up the mistrust with the Papacy, entered into a religious understanding with Pope Pius-VII in 1802 known as the Concordat. He regained the sympathy of the Catholics by improving his relations with the Pope and with this treaty, Catholicism became the State religion.

4. Public works: He built new highways connecting Paris with the other major cities and improved the means of communication. Bridges and Canals were constructed. These helped in sofving the unemployment problem also to a great extent. He. encouraged trade and commerce and Paris and other cities were beautified and transformed to modem cities.

5. Economy: Bank of France was established. It supervised the entire financial setup and stimulated trade and industry. Careful collection of taxes and rigid economic measures were carried out. Revenue boards were set up. The national loan was reduced and the Stock Exchanges were regulated. He took stern-measures to root out corruption and gambling.

6. Legion of honour: To honour those who had rendered meritorious Military and Civil services to the State, Napoleon started an award called ‘Legion of Honour’. It was based on principles of equality, without distinction of class and religion.

He was a great Ruler and a wise Statesman. After several years of political turmoil, Rome enjoyed more than three decades of peace. He not only built an Empire but also was a great patron of Art and Literature. His reign is called as the ‘Golden Age’ in the history of Rome. Julius Caesar’s assassination by the Brutus led Liberators, caused great political and social turmoil in Rome. The power passed into the hands of Mark Antony, Lepidus and Octavian who formed the ‘Second Triumvirate’.

The conspirators were defeated in the battle of Philippi and Brutus and Cassius were killed. The Triumvirate divided the Empire amongst themselves- Lepidus was in charge of Africa, Antony ruled in the Eastern Province and Octavian remained in Italy and controlled Gaul (France and Belgium). However, the relationship between Octavian and Antony deteriorated. Lepidus was forced to retire (after betraying Octavian in Sicily). Antony was living in Egypt and in the battle of ‘Actium’ was defeated by Octavian.

With the conquest of Egypt, a new Era began for Romans. By 27 BCE, Octavian was the sole Roman leader. His leadership brought the Zenith to Roman civilization that lasted for two centuries. He ruled the Roman Empire for 44 years with the titles ‘Augustus’, ‘Imperator’ and ‘Princeps’. The Government established by him was known as the ‘Principate’- ‘Government by the Princeps – The first citizen.

Augustus introduced many reforms which had far reaching consequences in Rome. He gave, ‘A centre to the System, a Chief to the Civil service, a Head to the Army, a Sovereign to the Subjects, a Protector to the Provinces and Peace to the Empire’.

He recognized the Governments of the conquered territories, stopped plunder and corruption and strengthened law and order. New Courts, and Postal Services were established. Augustus continued the calendar promoted by Julius Caesar and the month ‘August’ is named after him. The Emperor kept the poor people happy by supplying food grains.

He spent money lavishly on the construction of public buildings, roads, bridges, amphitheatres and fountains. The most important Amphitheatre was the Coliseum built at Rome. This could accommodate about 50000 people. Due to the construction of well paved inter linking system of roads, Rome became the nerve centre of trade and commerce in the Mediterranean world.

He maintained diplomatic and commercial contacts with a number of countries including India and China. There were the Generals Agrippa and Maecenas, and Writers, Poets and Historians like Livy, Horace, Virgil, Ovid, Pliny and Tacitus in his time. Jesus Christ was born during his reign..

Augustan age is popularly called as ‘Golden Age’ in the history of Rome. It was known for peace and prosperity. This period is known as ‘Pax Romana’ or Roman peace. He gave the idea of the ‘World State’. His imperial system lasted for nearly 500 years and saved the great treasures of Greco-Roman civilization. 

1. Early life of Shankaracharya (788-820 C.E.): Shankaracharya was the exponent of Advaitha (Non-duality) Philosophy. He was born at Kaladi in Kerala in 788 C.E. His parents were Shivaguru and Atyambha. He was inclined towards spiritualistic life and became a sanyasi with the permission of his mother. Shankara went in search of a spiritual teacher.

He met his teacher Govinda Bhagwathpada on the banks of the river Narmada. He studied under him, and very soon his teacher found in Shankara, great qualities to attain the highest spiritual knowledge. He toured the whole of India – from Kashmir to Kanyakumari three times on foot. Wherever he went, he expounded his Advaitha Philosophy. He made a spiritual conquest of India. He earned the titles of Sarvajna and Jagadguru.

2. Works of Shankaracharya: Shankara wrote commentaries on Brahmasutra, the Upanishads and the Bhagvadh Geetha. He composed Viveka Chudamani, Shivananda Lahari, Ananda Lahari, Soundarya Lahari, Bhajagovindam, Badaramayana, Geetha Bhashya, etc.

3. Establishment of the four mathas : To spread the Advaitha Philosophy, Shankaracharya established four mathas in the four directions of the country. They are:

• Govardhana Peeth at Puri (Orissa – east), 
• Kalika Peetha at Dwaraka (Gujarath – west), 
• Jyothirmatha at Badarinath (U. P. – north), 
• Sharada Peetha at Sringeri (Karnataka – south).

4. Advaitha (or Monoism) Philosophy: Shankaracharya’s contribution to Indian culture is the Advaitha Philosophy. Advaitha means non-duality or monoism. The main features of the Advaitha propounded by Shakaracharya are:

1. The Universal Soul (God or Brahma) and the individual Soul are inseparable. They are one and the same. 

2. By Jnana Marga (knowledge), individual Soul ultimately merges itself with the Universal Soul (Brahma). This may be called as salvation (Moksha). There is no duality between them. 

3. The individual Soul has no independent existence. The individual Soul merges itself with the Universal Soul (Brahma) through Sadhana. It is a part of Brahma and the ultimate reality is Brahma. That is why Shankara said ‘I am Brahma’ (Aham Brahmasmi).

4. Brahma is the ultimate truth. It is Nirguna, which means it has no predefined or specific qualities. It is Nirakara which means it has no shape or form of any kind and Swaprakashaka which means self-evident.

5. ‘Brahma Sathya, Jaga Mithya’ – It means Universal Soul (Brahma) is the ultimate reality and world is an illusion or Maya. To an ordinary man, the world appears to be real, because of ignorance.

Shankaracharya advocated ‘Jnana Marga’ (path of knowledge), to attain salvation (Moksha). He combined the path of Karma and Bhakti with Jnana. He strived to unify the different cults, by giving equal importance to the worship of Shiva, Vishnu, Surya,Ganesha, Kumara, and Shakti. Therefore he is called as ‘Shanmatha Sthapanacharya’.

The U.N.O. consists of six principal organs. They are General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat.

General Assembly: It is a consultative body of U.N.O. It consists of representatives of all member nations. Each member nation has one vote, but may send five representatives. It is empowered to discuss any matter relating to the maintenance of international peace and security.

1. The Assembly meets once in a year in September. But special sessions can be held at the request of majority of the members of the Security Council. Its resolutions require 2/3 majority. It elects the Secretaiy General, non permanent members of the Security Council, members of Economic and Social Council and Judges of International Court of Justice, and also discusses budgetary questions. Entry of any new members requires 2/3 majority of the General Assembly. 

2. Security Council: The Security Council is the executive body. It consists of 15 members- 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent. The permanent members are U.S.A., England, France, Russia and China. The non-permanent members are elected for a term of two years. Any measure to be carried out in the Security Council has to be accepted by 9 members including all the 5 permanent members.

3. Any permanent member can ‘Veto’ any decision of the Security Council.‘Veto’is a special power given to the five permanent members to negate any resolution of the United Nations. The Security Council is responsible for the prevention of aggression * and to the maintenance of international peace and security. 

4. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): The Economic and Social Council consists of 54 members, who are elected by the General Assembly for 3 years, i/3 of them retire every year. The Council meets at least twice in a year. Its main function is to promote welfare around the world, and to improve the economic, social, cultural, educational, health and other related matters.

5. Trusteeship Council: The Trusteeship Council consists of 14 members. All permanent members of the Security Council are the members of Trusteeship Council. Its duty is to investigate the conditions of Trust Territories and to advice the General Assembly. In 1994 all the Trust territories were detached from Japan and Italy and became independent. Since then, its operations are formally suspended and will meet as and when required. 

6. International Court of Justice: The International Court of Justice is located at The Hague in Netherlands. It consists of 15 Judges, who are elected by the General Assembly. Its main function is to settle the international disputes and to act as an advisory body. The tenure is 9 years and no country can have more than one representative at a time.

7. Secretariat: It is headed by the Secretary-General. It carries on the day-to-day administration of the U.N.O. Its headquarters is in New York. The term of the Secretary-general is five years. It is the duty of the Secretary General to ensure that all the branches function properly, and to submit annual reports.

1. Swami Vivekananda: He was born on 12^th January 1863 in Calcutta. Vishwanatha Datta and Bhuvaneshwari Devi were his parents. His original name was Narendranatha Datta. He was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He studied both Indian and western philosophies, but did not get intellectual satisfaction. He came under the spiritual influnce of Sri Ramakrishna. After the death of his Guru, Vivekananda took up the cause of spreading his messages (Ideas).

2. World religious conferance at Chicago- 31^st May 1893: Vivekananda travelled widely, spreading the divine message of his master in the World. In 1893, he attended the ‘World Religious Conference’ at Chicago, representing Hinduism, which was being misrepresented in the western countries. His Chicago address began as “Brothers and sisters of America….’’ This won over the hearts of the people.

He described Hinduism as the mother of all religions. He declared the superiority of Indian culture and civilization. He influenced Americans by his speeches and thoughts. For the purpose of spreading the message of Hinduism, he founded ‘Vedanta Samaja’ in America and other European countries.

3. Ramakrishna Mission – 5^th May 1897 – Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 at Belur Mutt near Calcutta. The Mission works for religious and social upliftment of the people. Its objective is to create cordial relations among the followers of different religions and to help the poor in the society.

The Mission started several Schools, Hospitals, Orphanages and old age homes across the country. It also serves people in times of natural calamities like floods, famines, epidemics, earthquakes, etc., Its branches have been established all over the world.

Swami Vivekananda succeeded in making Hindus conscious of their strengths and weaknesses. He remarked, “I do not believe in a religion that cannot wipe out the widow’s tear or bring a piece of bread to the orphan’s mouth”.

4. Social and religious reforms: Viveka nanda condemned the caste system, rituals, ceremonies, and superstitions. He stressed the need for social reforms. He preached tolerance, equality, and co-operation among the people of all faiths. He gave importance to education, emancipation of women and eradication of poverty.

5. National Awakening: Vivekananda was a great nationalist. He roused the national consciousness of Indians by his famous call “Awake, Arise, stop not till the goal is reached”. He wanted India to be a great nation. He has been popularly called as the Patriotic Saint of India, Vedantha Kesari and Cyclonic Monk of India. He edited and published two newspapers, Prabhuddha Bharata (English) and Udbhodhan (Bengali).

Administrative reforms of Napoleon Bonaparte:

Napoleon centralised the entire system of local Government in France. The entire country was divided into Provinces, Arrondisments and Communes. The powers were vested in Prefects and Sub-Prefects who were responsible to only Napoleon. It assured that the decrees of the Central Government should promptly and uniformly be carried out. He developed and i empowered the office of the ‘Secretariat of the State’.

His major reforms were as follows: 

1. Code Napoleon: The most durable of Napoleon’s work was the introduction of the a legal code which is the base for the French Law. This was known as‘Code Napoleon’ and came into effect in 1804 A.D. He appointed two committees to draft the legal codes and the committees were presided over by Napoleon. He had a good commonsense and a legislative vision.

The 5 codes were: 

1. French Civil Code 

2. Code of Civil Procedure 

3. Code of Criminal Procedure 

4. Penal Code 

5. Commercial Code

The basic demands of the Revolution like Civil equality, religious toleration, emancipation of land etc., were taken care of with these codes. He was hailed as the second Justinian.

2. Education: He introduced a national scheme of education managed by the State which was organized into four types Elementary, Secondary, Higher and Special Schools. This was to maintain uniformity of standard in Schools and Colleges. He also established the University of France.

3. Religious reforms or the Concordat: He made a code of laws for the Clergy also and to heal up the mistrust with the Papacy, entered into a religious understanding with Pope Pius-VII in 1802 known as the Concordat. He regained the sympathy of the Catholics by improving his relations with the Pope and with this treaty, Catholicism became the State religion.

4. Public works: He built new highways connecting Paris with the other major cities and improved the means of communication. Bridges and Canals were constructed. These helped in solving the unemployment problem also to a great extent. He. encouraged trade and commerce and Paris and other cities were beautified and transformed to modern cities. 

5. Economy: Bank of France was established. It supervised the entire financial setup and stimulated trade and industry. Careful collection of taxes and rigid economic measures were carried out. Revenue boards were set up. The national loan was reduced and the Stock Exchanges were regulated. He took stern-measures to root out corruption and gambling.

6. Legion of honour: To honour those who had rendered meritorious Military and Civil services to the State, Napoleon started an award called ‘Legion of Honour’. It was based on principles of equality, without distinction of class and religion.

The main causes for the American Revolution or war of Independence were the following.

1. Commercial policy of England 

2. Seven years War 

3. Intellectual Causes

4. British taxation Policy 

5. Coercive Act 

6. Quebec Act

Commercial policy of England: British Parliament thought that the colonies were for the benefit of the motherland. So they levied heavy taxes and to further restrict the trade of the colonies, they introduced the Navigation act. 

The main features of this act-were:

1. The raw materials produced in America (coffee, cotton, tobacco, etc) should be exported to England only. 

2. The essential goods like cotton, linen, cloth, glass, sugar, etc. that America needed should be imported from England only. 

3. Americans should use only the British ships for trade to keep away competition of other ^European nations. 

4. Iron, blue, paper, cotton, linen, cloth, etc. that were produced by England should not be produced in America. 

5. England’s merchant-agents should be kept and be given security.

Seven years War: England could not tolerate the progress of France, and did not want her to establish settlements in their neighborhood. The colonies also wanted British protection against the French. England declared war in 1756, which lasted till 1763. It is called the ‘Seven years war’. England won the war. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris, and France had to give away Canada to England. Thus the American colonies were freed from the fear of the French attack.

Intellectual Causes: The colonists set up their own social and political institutions. Their enlightenment was due to their own heritage. John Adams, a philosopher remarked, “The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of Americans and it had started even before the American war of Independence”. Roger Williams, a symbol of American enlightenment, preached Religious Tolerance and separation of State from the Church.

‘Two Treatises of Government’ by John Locke is considered as the Bible of American war Of Independence. Thus the American enlightened class and philosophers laid the strong foundation for the American Revolution.

British taxation Policy: The seven years war with France was a big financial burden on England. To recover these expenses, England levied taxes on goods imported into the colonies. The Sugar and Molasses Act was passed in 1764 which levied taxes on sugar and molasses. This was a hindrance to the production of wine. It led to the increase of smuggling activities and the colonies faced many problems. The public outcry made the British Parliament to decrease the same.

The stamp Act was passed in 1764, which declared that stamp duties were to be paid on all legal documents. The colonists opposed this Act. They said that the British Parliament did not have the right to tax the colonists when they were not given representation in the Parliament. Their slogan was ‘No Taxation without Representation’. The colonists showed their anger by burning the stamps. British Parliament was forced to withdraw this act.

In 1767, the Townsend Act was passed which imposed heavy taxes on Glass, Paper and Tea. Troops were sent to help the officers in collecting the taxes. When the colonists protested and revolted, troops were sent to put down the same. British troops occupied Boston and in a fight with them, five people lost their lives and many were injured. After this ‘Boston Massacre’, taxes on glass and paper were withdrawn and to show their power and control, tax on tea was retained.

Boston Tea Party: British Parliament passed an Act in 1773 and gave the monopoly of Tea trade to the East India Company. Colonists resented it. Cheaper Tea powder was available in the black market. When the first consignment came to New York and Philadelphia they were forced to go back to England. But again when another ship loaded with Tea packets arrived at Boston in 1773, the colonists disguised themselves as ‘Red Indians’ under the leadership of Paul Revere, entered the ship and threw the Tea boxes into the ocean marking the ‘Boston Tea Party’.

a. Capitalism 

b. Over Production 

c. Expensive production 

d. Export of Capital 

e. Colonization.

The First World War was fought from 1914 to 1918. Its causes are discussed below.

i) Imperialistic Conflicts: 

When the imperialist powers entered into mutual competition to conquer the world, conflicts among them became widespread. The international problems surfaced during this period caused mutual mistrust and enmity. The conflicts among imperialist powers led to the war.

ii) Military Alliances: 

The competition among the imperialist powers drove them to sign military alliances. The Tripple Alliance was formed by Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. To counter this, Britain, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente. The formation of such alliances created an atmosphere of war in Europe.

iii) Aggressive Nationalism: 

Aggressive nationalism was one of the strategies adopted by the imperialist countries to succeed in their competitions. The European nations used aggressive nationalism to invade other countries. Aggressive nationalists considered their own nations as the supreme and justified whatever be the actions of their nations. The Pan Slav Movement under Russia, the Pan German Movement under Germany and the Revenge Movement in France were examples for aggressive nationalism.

iv) International crises: 

Imperialist rivalries drove the European countries into several crises. Some of them were Moroccan crisis and Balkan crisis.

Moroccan crisis: 

A secret treaty was signed between Britain and France in 1904. According to this, Britain recognised the claim of France over Morocco. The French claim over Morocco was opposed by Germany and she sent battleships to Moroccan port Agadir. This was the Moroccan crisis. France agreed to transfer a part of French Congo to Germany and Germany agreed to concede Morocco to France in return.

Balkan crisis: 

The Balkan region is situated in Europe, close to the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. It was a part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1912, the Balkan League (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro) defeated Turkey. However, the conflict among the allied nations in sharing the benefits of the war led to the break up of the League and resulted in wars among them.

Immediate cause: 

The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria by Princep, a Serbian youth at the Bosnian capital Sarajevo in June 1914 was the immediate cause. Austria held Serbia responsible for it and declared war pESerbia on 28 July 1914. Almost all the nations of the world directly or indirectly were involved in it.

Results

• Over 10 million people lost their lives or were injured in war. 
• Liberation movements in Asia and Africa strengthened. 
• Economic dominance of Europe diminished. 
• Agriculture, industry and communication systems were destroyed. 
• Poverty, unemployment and inflation increased. 
• In a bid to bring peace in the world, the League of Nations was formed. 
• Emergence of Fascism and Nazism.

As USA and USSR called the neutral countries as inactive, Nehru used Non-Aligned instead of Neutral. He interpreted Non Alignment as dynamic neutrality protesting peacefully the oppression of the two military blocs.

Let the sum of ages of the members of the family initially be ‘x’ years and the age of the child when counted after 5 years be ‘y’ years

After 5 years, sum of the 7 members of the family = x + 7 × 5 (∵ Each person’s age increase by 5)

Sum of ages of the member = x + 35 + y

⇒ x/(x + 35 + y) = 105/ 124

⇒ 124x = 105x + 3675 + 105y

⇒ 19x – 105y = 3675      ---- 1

Sum of the ages of the members after 9 years = x + 35 + y + 4 × 8 (∵ 4 more years and 8 members are there)

⇒ x + y + 67

⇒ x/(x + y + 67) = 3/4

⇒ 4x = 3x + 3y + 201

⇒ x – 3y = 201      ---- 2

Equation 1 – 35 × Equation 2

⇒ 19x – 35x = 3675 – 35 × 201

⇒ -16x = -3360

∴ x = 210

Substituting in equation 2

⇒ 210 – 3y = 201

⇒ y = 3

The religious upheaval in the 16th century gave rise to Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism and the radical sects. The rapid spread of Protestantism alarmed the Catholics and they felt the urgency to check further damage to the Catholic Church. They demanded Reformation from within and the movement came to be known as Counter Reformation.

The attitude of the Popes changed. They took firm steps to check the spread of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic Church made efforts to win back the Protestant dominated countries, to the Roman obedience. 

A concerted Counter Reformation Movement was launched with the four-fold purpose of punishing, reforming, converting and rendering social service. The inquisition was to punish, the Council of Trent was to introduce reforms and the Society of Jesus was to render service to God and Society.

The inquisition was a Roman Catholic Court formed for conducting inquiry into cases of heresy and meting out punishments to those who were found guilty. The guilty were excommunicated and given over to the civil arm for punishment, which included torturing and execution by burning. They issued a strict code of conduct to be followed by the Church officials. The inquisition was first established in Spain and they were set up to deal with the , non-Catholics and to put down heresy.

The Council of Trent: (1545 – 1563 A.D). The Catholic Church held a General Council at Trent in north Italy, convened by Charles V in 1545 A.D. Its main purpose as clearly defined by the doctrines of the Church, was to remove some of the abuses and to restore unity in the Catholic Church. The Council condemned the sale of Church offices and bade the clergy to strictly adhere to clerical duties. It also banned the sale of indulgences.

Society of Jesus in 1540: The Counter Reformation Movement was bolstered by the formation of several new religious orders. The most popular of these was the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight of Noble descent. He inspired a large team of selfless, educated and disciplined priests to serve God and Christianity. They were known as Jesuits. They took the vows of simplicity, chastity, obedience, service and spreading Catholicism.

Cultural Contributions: The Greeks contributed to human civilization immensely. They believed in the principles of a sound mind in a sound body. They imagined the human body as a thing of beauty and had great curiosity and thirst for knowledge. They made great contributions to Literature, Sports, Philosophy, Politics, Ethics, Science, Music, Drama, . Religion, Art and Architecture. Greek ideology so completely dominated European culture that, the western culture today is predominantly Hellenic in its inspiration and ideals. So the legacy of Greece is vital and universal.

Literature: In the field of literature, Greeks contributed to Epics, Poetry, Drama and History. ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ are the two works of Homer. These epics give us a fairly faithful account of the social, economic and political conditions of early Greek culture. The shorter Greek poems were called Lyrics, as they were primarily sung to the music of lyres. Pindar and Sappo the poetess were two great lyric poets of Greek Civilization.

The drama is the most familiar of the Greek forms of literature. The founder of Greek tragedy – was Aeschylus, author of ‘Prometheus Bound’ and ‘Agamemnon’. Sophocles, the greatest of the Greek tragedians, wrote ‘Oedipus Rex’, ‘Antigone’ and ‘Electra’. These plays are admired all over the world even today. Euripides the third of the great tragic poets, believed that, in life people were more important than Gods. Hence he concerned himself with the passions and emotions of human beings.

One of his best known plays is the ‘Trojan women’. Aristophanes was the greatest comic poet. Famous historians of the period were Herodotus, Thucydides and Plutarch. Demosthenes was famous for his oratory skills, the art of making public speeches.

Science: Greek philosophers furnished the impetus for the beginning of the study of science. Aristotle laid the foundation for the study of natural science. Theophrastus, established Botany as a recognized science. Hippocrates known as the ‘Father of Medicine’ laid the foundations . of modern medicine. He taught that diseases have a natural origin and not caused by evil spirits. Herophilus is called as the ‘Father of Anatomy’.

Ptolemy believed that the Earth was the centre of the Universe. But Aristarchus propounded the theory that Earth and other Planets, revolved around the Sun. Eratosthenes calculated the approximate circumference of earth within a small error of 320 Kilometres. He also prepared a fairly accurate map of the world and he was the first to suggest that one could reach India from Europe by sailing westwards. Pythagoras and Euclid made many contributions to mathematics, especially to Geometry. Archimedes was also a famous scientist of ancient Greece.

Art and architecture: In the early times, the Greeks used wood, and later they used sun dried bricks and marbles to build their temples. The Greek architecture consists of three styles viz., Doric, Ionic and the Corinthian styles. The Parthenon is said to be the most beautiful temple ever built out of the coloured marble stones.

A tall marble statue of Goddess Athena carved by Phidias is inside the temple. The temple consists of 46 Doric columns, each 34 feet high. Actinus, the famous architect of this temple blended Doric, Ionian and Corinthian styles to make this temple a wonder of the world. It was built by King Pericles. Alexander’s conquest 1 initiated several centuries of cultural exchange between Greece and Central Asia.

The Gandhara art in Ancient India developed due to the Greek influence. The Greeks expressed the human values like beauty and courage in their sculptures. They portrayed naked, well built and muscular bodies. Even Gods were portrayed as human beings. Myron and Philidias were the best known sculptors. Greeks also excelled in Paintings on vases.

Mohenjodaro means ‘Mound of the dead‘

The Independence to India Act of 1947 provided for the formation of India and Pakistan. 562 Princely States were given the option of either joining India or Pakistan or could remain Independent. Our first Home Minister Sardar Vallababhai Patel (Indian Bismark) persuaded the Princely states to join the Indian Union. But the Rulers of Hyderabad, Junagad, and Kashmir refused to join the Indian Union.

At that moment, Sardar Vallababhai Patel skillfully handled the situation and merged these Princely States into the Indian Union. After the merger of Hyderbad, the ruling Government agreed to create Andhra Pradesh which would bring together all Telugu speaking people. Andhra province could not be formed.

In Andhra, people started agitations for the formation of Andhra state and Potti Sriramalu undertook a fast unto death for this cause and he died (58 days) in 1952. The unrest spread to many other provinces which wanted unification of provinces on the basis of linguistic and cultural unity. Kannada speaking regions also wanted unification and formation of a separate state.

Some important factors like newspaper editorials, Cultural and Political organizations, poets, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, recommendations of national leaders, etc., infused the provincial feeling in the minds of Kannadigas.

The Government appointed the Dhar Committee in 1948 to look into the question of the Reorganization of states. The committee’s report did not favour the formation of states on linguistic grounds and opined that it was detrimental to the national integration. The people were discontented and agitations continued.

The J.V.P. Committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallababhai Patel, and Pattabi Sitharamaiah) was formed in 1949. That committee agreed to the formation of Andhra but refused the formation of Karnataka. Andanappa Doddameti resigned from the Bombay Assembly and started a fast demanding the unification of Kannada speaking regions.

State Reorganization Committee (S.R.C.) was formed in 1953. It consisted of Fazl Ali as (Chairman) and H. M. Kunjru and K.M. Panikkar were its members. The Committee toured all over the state, interviewed thousands of people, studied their petitions and submitted its report on 30^th September 1955. As per its report, with some modifications the integrated Mysore State came into being on 1^st November 1956. The first Chief Minister of Mysore state was S. Nijalingappa. Mysore state was renamed as Karnataka on 1^st November 1973 under the Chief Ministership of D. Devaraja Urs.

1. Integrated Karnataka – 1956: The Kannada speaking areas that were integrated on 1^st November 1956.

I. Mysore Provinces (Old Mysore State) had 9 Districts. 

• Mysore 
• Bangalore 
• Mandya 
• Hassan 
• Kolar 
• Tumkur 
• Chitradurga 
• Chikkamagalur 
• Shimoga

II. From Bombay Presidency: 

• Belgaum 
• Dharwad 
• Bijapur
• Karwar (North Canara)

III. From Madras Presidency (State):

• South Canara (Mangalore) 
• Coorg (Kodagu) 
• Kollegal 
• Bellary.

IV. From Hyderabad Presidency (State): 

• Bidar 
• Gulbarga 
• Raichur 

V. From Independent States:

• Sandur 
• Jamakhandi 
• Mudhol 
• Savanur

• Mesopotamian civilization was based on the bank of the river Tigris and Euphrates.
• Mesopotamian civilization was the contemporary of civilizations like Indus Valley, Egyptian and Chinese.
• Mesopotamian civilization is a region of south-west Asia.

1. Religious causes or existence or abuses: Reformation began with the rebellion against the abuses of the church. The Popes, who claimed to be representatives of God, neglected their religious duties. The Church was ready to sacrifice moral and spiritual values for the sake of money. The clergy became corrupt and idle and naturally the Church lost its early purity. The principles like simplicity and forgiveness preached by Jesus were completely forgotten. The anger against such evils was one of the chief causes for the Reformation.

2. Intellectual causes: The spirit of inquiry and criticism generated by the Renaissance intellectuals like John Wycliffe and others resulted in protests against the abuses by the Church and corrupt practices of the Clergy. They demanded the purification of the Church organization. They challenged the supremacy of the Pope and declared that the Pope was not the representative of God and every Christian should be guided by the Bible.

3. Political causes: The Roman Catholic Church claimed the spiritual and temporal power over the States of Europe. Kings and people opposed the political power enjoyed by the Church. The growth of nationalism led to the establishment of National Churches with Kings as their heads. They felt that the Church should take interest only in the religious, spiritual and moral domains. They wanted to restrict the power of the Church and these political circumstances prompted reformation.

4. Economic causes: The Roman Church owned vast lands, money and property. Church properly was exempted from all taxes, but the common people were burdened with various taxes, fees and fines. The Church claimed that the wealth of the Church was the wealth of God and Kings had no rights to tax on church property.

5. Sale of indulgences: The immediate cause of the Reformation was the sale of indulgences by Pope Leo-X, who was badly in need of money for the rebuilding of the St. Peters Church at Rome. Church regardless of all the criticism leveled against it, continued to collect money in various ways. Pope Leo-X sent his agent, John Tetzel to Germany to sell indulgences.

Indulgences were certificates issued by the Pope for money, exempting the people from receiving punishment for their sins. Brokers and Bankers were appointed to sell them and were paid commissions. Martin Luther opposed this sale in his famous 95 points and nailed them to the Church door at Wittenberg. He began to question the Pope and the doctrines. 

Reformation produced far reaching results. The following ones are noteworthy.

• Reformation destroyed the unity of the Christian Church by the establishment of the protestent church.
• The medieval religious tradition and superstitious beliefs were rejected. The leaders of this movement also rejected the supreme authority of the church accepted the authority of the true bible.
• Reformation freed the Kings of Europe from the control of Pope. It gave birth to secular states.
• Reformation led to reforms in the Catholic Church and also much clearer statement of Christian doctrines.
• It had a great economic effect. The properties of the Church were confiscated by the Protestant Nobles and Princes, making them powerful. This wealth was utilized for the economic development and as a result, money lenders, bankers and financiers earned a high status.
• It had a great effect on the development of national literature. The translation of Bible into the vernacular languages spread the knowledge of scriptures among the common people.
• The religious clashes between the Catholics and the Protestants caused much bloodshed, death and destruction. It finally gave birth to secular States as the only way for national integration. European Kings adopted religious tolerance.
• It had further stimulus to the growth of spirit of nationalism.

Copper was the first metal used by humans in North India.

Hominoids lived on tress. The trees provided them protection from the predators. The Hominoids were food gatherers. They procured food by gathering seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, tubers, etc. They were not meat eaters. Hominids adapted to land dwelling. They began to use caves and extended stone boulders as shelters. These shelters on land provided them with considerable safety from the predators and from rain, wind and the sun. The Neanderthal man was the earliest cave dweller.

The shortage of food made them to scavenge for food. They covered long distances to forage or scavenge for naturally dead animals or leftovers of animals killed by predators. The above activities made them gradually develop an upright posture and consequently the bipedal motion. This was required for survival. Hominines and the archaic human species added planned hunting and fishing to the already existing gathering, foraging and scavenging techniques. Planned hunting and making tools stimulated the growth in the brain size. The growth in brain size in turn helped them to plan and make better tools.

Buddha Charita was written by Ashwagosha.

Agriculture was the main occupation of the Mesopotamian followed by cattle rearing and dairy farming. To that end, they developed erection of binds to lands and artificial irrigation. They gave to the world the know how about digging of canals, construction of dykes, embankments and storage basins to regulate water consumption and usage throughout the year. It is believed that the Shadow was developed by them for artificial irrigation.

They had a barter system in the beginning, but later started using metal coins. Weaving, dyeing, wood works, pottery, jewelry and metallurgy were the important crafts. They exported wooden articles and fibre clothes and had trade relations with India and Egypt.

As stone was not available in Mesopotamia, we do not find sculpture and architecture as we find in Egypt. Most of the buildings were built with brick and mud and only very few of them have survived.

King Nebuchadnezzar constructed a Palace with a variety of gardens on the roof known as the Hanging Garden of Babylon which was considered as one of the Seven wonders of the Ancient World. Mesopotamian were excellent artisans and sculptors. They carved beautiful images of eagles and other animals. Student copybooks and a library of clay books of 4,000 years old were found at excavations. They used flat bricks for writing which was known as ‘cuneiform’ writing. They composed many myths, legends and poems. Their Epic of Gilgamesh is a rich poetry.

They knew about the Planets and believed that Sun and Moon influenced the life of men. They had faith in Astrology which was based on Astronomy. They divided the year into 12 months with 354 days. They followed the lunar Calendar. Their hour had 60 minutes and a minute had 60 seconds.

They had made good progress in the field of medicine. Their book ‘Matoria Medica’ mentions of 550 medicines prepared from vegetables, minerals and animal products. That book also gives details of various diseases and their symptoms.

Mesopotamia’s worshipped Nature along with innumerable Gods and Goddesses. They built Ziggurats – Temples with tall towers. The Temples were also centres of education. They had streamlined Central and Provincial administrations. Governors were appointed to look after the provincial administration. They had a horse borne postal system for communication.

The greatest contribution of the Mesopotamian civilization was the ‘Code of Hammurabi’. King Hammurabi was a great Conqueror and an able Administrator. He collected all the existing laws, classified them, improved them, added new ones and codified all into one body of laws. It covered all aspects of human life and was a mixture of enlightened laws and barbarous punishments. It was an everlasting and monumental legal achievement of Hammurabi, which has made him immortal.

The teachings of Jesus Christ are founded in the holy book of Christians, the Bible. Some of the important ones are:

1. The existence of one God. We are his Children. God is omnipotent, the King of Heaven. He is all merciful. 

2. Jesus preached fatherhood of God and brotherhood of men. Men should live like brothers and be devoted to God. 

3. Jesus believed in forgiveness and love towards mankind. He insisted on justice, humility and duty. He said “Love your neighbours, love your enemies, bless them who curse you and do good to those who hate you and pray for them”. 

4. According to Jesus, humility, purity of heart, sincerity and fulfillment of duty were the gateway to heaven. 

5. Jesus said “Service to people is service to God” and such service is a tool for spiritual achievements. 

6. Forgiveness is a great virtue, and such persons are close to God.

Thus Jesus preached simple principles which are helpful to mankind, to achieve salvation.

Effects of Socialism: Socialism was an economic theory that sprang almost directly from the Industrial Revolution. It was a reaction against the unregulated capitalism of the time. Socialism r proposed that society as a whole should control the means of production. It advocated that the Government exists only to oversee its initial phases and then to become nonexistent, leaving the people to govern themselves cooperatively.

This contradicted the tenets of laissez-faire capitalism, which stated that the best total result for the society was achieved if competition 1 took its natural course. This movement was inspired by the problem that the Industrial Revolution presented for the common workers like unsafe working conditions, long hours, and low pay. This made the workers to come together and unite for a common socialist system.

Effects on Capitalism: Industrialization depends largely on capital wealth available for investment in order to speed up development and make more wealth. This capital was one of the leading reasons as to why the British industrial economy prospered.

Factories and Urbanization: Industrialization led to the creation of the factories. The Cotton Spinning activity was first to be mechanized. Later factory system developed. A large number of workers migrated to cities in search of employment. Many cotton mills were established at Manchester which is the first Industrial City of the World. The factory system speed up urbanization.

Child Labour: Industrial Revolution led to the increase in population. In fact mortality rates reduced remarkably. Still there was only a limited scope for education. Children were expected to work at a less pay even though their efficiency was comparable with adults. There was no need of strength to operate machines but skilled labours were needed. Since skilled adults 5 were not available child labour was the preferred choice in manufacturing industries.

Conclusion: Thus the Industrial Revolution has brought drastic changes in the life of nations. It gives rise to urban centres requiring vast municipal services. It created a specialized and interdependent economic life. It made the urban worker completely dependent and at the mercy of the employer. Relations between capitalist and labour were aggravated, and Marxism was the result of this unrest. The revolution also brought a need for a new type of state intervention to protect the labourer and to provide necessary services.

Jawaharlal Nehru was the Indian Prime Minister who participated in Bandung Conference.

• Cheap Labour 
• Availability of raw materials 
• Low cost involved in manufacturing and selling goods in colonies.

World Health Organization. 

The aims and objectives of CIS are:

• All the members are Sovereign and Independent Nations. 
• The existing borders of each Republic were recognized. 
• To establish a free market Ruble zone embracing all the Republics. 
• To establish a joint Defense Force of the participating Republics. 
• To promote co-operation on cross-border crime prevention 
• To prevent armed conflicts on the territory of the member States. 
• To co-ordinate the foreign and economic policies of member States.

June 28, 1919.

1. Renaissance scholars or rise of new ideas: The teachings of the medieval age were not progressive as the Church controlled all activities of the people. Religious beliefs, political principles and social standards were all stagnant in this period. There were all round discontentment and the time was ripe for a major upheaval and people started questioning the authority of the Church.

2. The capture of Constantinople in 1453: In 1453, Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and forced the Greek and Latin Scholars to flee to Italy. The encouraging and peaceful conditions in Italy helped the study of classical literature and birth of Renaissance.

3. Geographical exploration: Medieval age Europeans came out off religious restrictions and superstitious ideas were shattered. People became bold and adventurous. The geographical discoveries not only brought great wealth but also expanded their knowledge. Coming in contact with other cultures brought them new ideas, thoughts and knowledge. Thinkers began to give importance to Reason, Observation and Experimentation. This prepared the ground for a great cultural revolution.

4. Patronage of Kings, Popes and Nobles: When the Greek and Latin scholars fled to Italy and other European countries along with their books and manuscripts, King, Popes, Nobles and the rich Merchants patronized these scholars. European people got exposed to Classical Art, Architecture and Learning and interest in these grew all over.

5. Nation-State idea: In the age of new learning, emphasis was laid upon the freedom and dignity of man as an individual. With the dawn of the new spirit, City-States lost their significance and the idea of Nation States took shape. As feudalism collapsed, the Monarchs were interested in the welfare of their subjects and gave importance to Classical literature and Education in general.

6. The invention of Printing Press: This was the chief factor in spreading new ideas and thoughts across the multitude. Printing helped the tremendous development of European civilization and culture. Production of books on varied subjects stimulated a general desire for literacy.

The Hominoids were quadrupeds. They walked on all four limbs, but, their forelimbs were flexible. The Hominids gradually adapted an upright posture. Hominines further adapted to bipedalism. The skeletal structure and the muscles also adjusted over a period of time to the upright posture and the bipedal motion, which freed the forelimbs.

The forelimbs developed precision grip and power grip and evolved into hands. This greatly helped in hunting and defending from predators as hands could be used to make tools and also use them. Walking on two legs also provided a greater long distance vision and helped them to cover long distances without spending much energy. 

The use of tools is not confined to only humans. For e.g. some monkeys and apes use stones as tools to break nuts. But use of tools by humans is far more advanced compared to the monkeys and apes. Wood, bones and stones were used to make tools. They were mainly used for hunting or defending from predators. The use of stone tools is studied as the Stone Age in history. The making and use of stones tools were responsible td the evolution of forelimbs into hands and also the growth in brain size.

The oldest known stone tools are the ‘Oldowan stone tools’ from Ethiopia which are dated to a period 2.6 million years ago. The skill and advancement in making stone tools have made historians to classify the Stone Age as Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic stone ages. In course of time, humans began to produce metals from ores and make copper, bronze and iron tools which are studied in history as the respective metal ages. 

The Australopithecus species is said to have first used the naturally available stones as tools. But, the making of stone tools from naturally available stones and using them is positively identified to have begun with Homo habilis.

Joseph Mazzii said that Pen is mighter than sword.

Industrial Revolution First begin in United Kingdom.

1. The first Olympic Games 

2. Origin of Earth 

3. Disintegration of Soviet Union 

4. Unification of Italy 

5. Hejira Era

Arnold Toynbee the British historian defined History as “The story of the rise and fall of civilizations”.

i. (c) 

ii. (d) 

iii. (b) 

iv. (b)

i. (a) 

ii. (c) 

iii. (d) 

iv. (d)

Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar (1673-1704 C.E).

i. (b) 

ii. (d) 

iii. (c) 

iv. (b) 

v. (b)

Arab traveller Sulaiman.

Mohammad-bin-Tughalak.

Krishnadevaraya assumed the title Yavanarajya Pratishtapanacharya.

“Great personalities are no more, but history and autobiography of such personalities are still there” was his message.