India Flashcards
Which is not true about Gandhi in his early years?
After returning from England, he wasn’t very successful as a lawyer, in part because he was soft spoken and rather shy.
While earning a law degree in England he talked to people of various religious backgrounds such as Theosophy and Christianity. The Sermon on the Mount especially interested him.
He was born into the Brahmin (priest) class.
At age 13 he married Kasturbai, an even younger girl.
The leaders of his caste tried to discourage him from going to England to study law because he would be made impure by doing so.
He was born into the Brahmin (priest) class.
Response Feedback:
Yes, he was from a trader class.
What is not true about Gandhi in South Africa?
Gandhi and General Smuts, the political leader, become close friends.
He worked as a lawyer for Indians in South Africa, as they struggled against oppressive laws.
He and other Indians there were belittled with slurs like ‘Sammie’.
He started Phoenix Farm, as an ideal community where all members were equal in status.
The experience of being kicked off a train at Pietermaritzburg was an experience that helped shape his later stance against injustice.
He and other Indian leaders were jailed as they did peaceful protests against the laws that treated them as 2nd class citizens.
Gandhi and General Smuts, the political leader, become close friends.
Response Feedback:
Yes. Gandhi and Smuts were rivals.
Gandhi’s non-violent approach to civil disobedience challenging unjust laws and discrimination is usually translated in English as ‘Power of Truth’ . Type in the Indian word that he used, as found in the Gandhi Handout. (just one word, and it isn’t case sensitive)
satyagraha
Which is not true about Gandhi’s mature years back in India.
Gandhi’s Indian supporters begin calling him Mahatma, meaning ‘god on earth’.
He was assassinated by a radical Hindu, an RSS member, who likely felt that Gandhi had been too accommodating to India’s Muslims.
While in jail, he undertakes a fast unto death, and when it proves effective he later fasts to put an end to the Hindu-Muslim violence that erupted after Indepence in 1947.
He leads a march to the sea to make salt, disobeying a law that gave Britain exclusive control of salt sales.
Gandhi’s legacy continues as an inspiration to non-violent protests movements and small scale NGO development projects.
He went to England in an attempt at negotiating independence for India.
Gandhi’s Indian supporters begin calling him Mahatma, meaning ‘god on earth’.
Response Feedback:
Yes. Mahatma means Great Soul.
Which is not true about the flag of India.
The middle colour is white.
The symbol in the middle represents the eye on an Indian tiger.
The top colour is saffron, a common spice in India.
The bottom colour is green.
The symbol in the middle represents the eye on an Indian tiger.
Which is not true about the languages of India?
There are also several languages spoken by tribal groups in India.
The four main languages spoken in the states in the far south are classed in the Dravidian family
Most languages spoken in central and northern India are classed in the Indo-European family.
English is in the same language family as the languages of southern India.
English is in the same language family as the languages of southern India.
Response Feedback:
Yes, the northern languages are distantly related to English.
Which is not true about the historic periods in Indian political history?
During the Classical period large parts of what is now India and Pakistan came under one rule.
During the Vedic period the the sacred texts of Hinduism were formed over many centuries.
The Harappan period saw one civilization spread over a vast region of what is now large parts of Pakistan and India.
During the later Vedic period of the Upanishads, women were not allowed to be teachers of religious concepts.
During the later Vedic period of the Upanishads, women were not allowed to be teachers of religious concepts.
Which is not true about the traditional system of class and caste in India?
One’s caste is determined by the caste group of the family into which one is born.
There are hundreds and hundreds of different castes, which are typically named typically, after the traditional occupation of one’s ancestors.
The Laws of Manu is a traditional Hindu book of ethics, which does not support the class system.
There is a traditional system in which a particular caste are ranked as higher or lower than another, symbolized as being more or less pure.
The term ‘class’ refers to a traditional system of four social strata: a priestly class, a ruling/warrior class, and middle level class, and a lower status class who, unlike the top three, were not considered to be Aryan (‘noble’).
Traditionally, people are expected to marry someone of their same caste.
The Laws of Manu is a traditional Hindu book of ethics, which does not support the class system.
Response Feedback: Yes, Manu supports the class system.
Which is not true about the Bhagavad Gita.
It tells about the teachings of a chariot driver named Krishna to Arjun(a), one of the five princes leading the fight for the Panduva side.
Krishna advises the warrior to practice devotion to god rather than fight in the war.
The Gita is one part of the much longer Mahabharata Epic.
Krishna teaches about three religious disciplines (yogas), including the highly recommended yoga of practicing devotion (bhakti) to the god Krishna.
Krishna advises the warrior to practice devotion to god rather than fight in the war.
Response Feedback: Yes, Krishna says fighting is his duty, since he was born in the warrior class and his king (elder brother) has called for the war.
Which is not true about Ram?
He is the main character in the Mahabharata Epic.
He and his brother Lakshman undertook a long journey to get his wife Sita back.
He is the main character in the Mahabharata Epic.
Ram and Sita are still lauded as the moral models for husbands and wives.
Sita was abducted by an evil king named Ravana.
Ram was from Ayodhya.
He is the main character in the Mahabharata Epic.
Response Feedback:
Yes, what Epic really?
According to the BBC story [use link in the latest version of the lecture slides] about a Tibetan who died recently, which is not true?
China appreciates that India has received so many Tibetans because it shows the two countries are on good terms.
Tibetans in India have been recruited into special units of the Indian army to serve in high altitude assignments.
The existence of ethnic Tibetan units in the Indian army came to public attention recently when one Tibetan soldier was killed by a mine explosion.
India’s Special Frontier Force (SFF) is staffed primarily with ethnic Tibetans.
China appreciates that India has received so many Tibetans because it shows the two countries are on good terms.
Response Feedback:
Yes, quite the opposite.
The existence of ethnic Tibetan units in the Indian army came to public attention recently when one Tibetan soldier was killed by a mine explosion.
Which is not true about the Babri Mosque controversy?
The Muslim side wanted to rebuild the Babri Mosque on its original site.
Several Hindu volunteers (karsaveks) died in a train fire, leading to riots and violence against Muslims in Gujarat State, where Modi was then the political leaders.
The Hindu side claimed that a temple dedicated to Ram had been destroyed by the Muslim general who oversaw the building of the Babri Mosque during the time of Sultan Babar.
In 1992 some of the Hindu volunteers (karsaveks) climbed on the roof of the out-of-service Babri Mosque and torn down its roof and did other damage.
The Hindu side wanted to build build a temple on the site where they believe Ram was born.
The 2020 Supreme Court decision granted both Hindu and Muslim factions some space to build their temple or mosque on the hill sight.
The 2020 Supreme Court decision granted both Hindu and Muslim factions some space to build their temple or mosque on the hill sight.
Response Feedback:
Yes. The Muslims have to settle for building a new mosque elsewhere.
Which is not true about dalits?
Gandhi called them Harijan, children of god, and they liked that term.
There are laws mandating that a certain percentage of university admissions and civil servant positions are reserved for Dalits. This ‘Reservation’ system is similar to what we call ‘affirmative action.’
Traditionally, and still in some places of India, Dalits were not allowed to live (spend the night) inside the village boundaries, drink from the main well, touch higher caste persons, or bury their dead in the main cemeteries.
The term Dalit is often translated as ‘Oppressed’ (people), and it refers to many of India’s lowest castes.
Gandhi called them Harijan, children of god, and they liked that term.
Response Feedback:
Yes, they found it a little demeaning.
Which is not true about the Congress Party?
J. Nehru was the leader of the Congress Party and became the first Prime Minister after Independence.
Indira Gandhi was Nehru’s daughter. She was one of the worlds first democratically elected female political leaders.
Began as a protest to the way Nehru’s government handled the communal strife riots after the Partition (into Pakistan and India).
Began in the Colonial period as a meeting (congress) of India’s elite who wanted ‘home rule’, also called ‘self rule’ [Or Swaraj in Indian terms.]
The so-called Nehru Dynasty continued past Indira Gandhi, to include Indira’s son Rajiv Gandhi and her daughter-in-law Sonia, and the 4th generation are still leaders in the party.
Began as a protest to the way Nehru’s government handled the communal strife riots after the Partition (into Pakistan and India).
Response Feedback:
Yes, the Congress Party pre-dates Independence.
Which is not true about the BJP Party?
The BJP leaders took a strong stand against the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992.
The BJP’s has strong support among the various ‘Hindu nationalists’ organizations such as the RSS and Shiva Sena.
The BJP is now in power at the national level (the ‘Centre’) and in many of the states.
The national leader of the BJP is Narenda Modi, who is serving a second term as PM.
The BJP leaders took a strong stand against the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992.
Response Feedback:
Yes, the BJP locally and nationally favour conservative Hinduism and the building of a Ram Temple.
