The Class 9 is an important year in a student’s life and Maharashtra State Board Social Science Political Science (Civics) is one of the subjects that require dedication, hard work, and practice. It’s a subject where you can score well if you are well-versed with the concepts, remember the important formulas and solving methods, and have done an ample amount of practice. Worry not! Home Revise is here to make your Class 9 journey even easier. It’s essential for students to have the right study material and notes to prepare for their board examinations, and through Home Revise, you can cover all the fundamental topics in the subject and the complete Maharashtra State Board Class 9 Social Science Political Science (Civics) Book syllabus.
Q1. (A) Choose the right option and rewrite the sentence.
(1) A system of independent and sovereign States –
(a) Political system
(b) International system
(c) Social system
(d) None of these
(2) The main responsibility of the United Nations –
(a) to avoid war
(b) independence of colonies
(c) improving the economics of different nations
(d) disarmament
(3) The Cold War ended with this event
(a) Establishment of the United Nations
(b) Disintegration of the Soviet Union
(c) Creation of Military Organisations
(d) Cuban Missile Crisis
Answer 1: (b) International system
Answer 2: (a) to avoid war
Answer 3: (b) Disintegration of the Soviet Union
Q2. Explain with reasons whether the following statements are true or false.
(1) The League of Nations was established after the First Cold War.
(2) The world became unipolar due to the Cold War.
(3) The policies of Mikhail Gorbachev gave an impetus to democratisation.
Answer 1: The statement is False. The League of Nations was established after the First World War to establish peace.
Answer 2: The statement is False. During the Cold War, most countries of the world joined either of the two super power blocs. Such a division of the nations of the world in two groups is bipolarisation.
Answer 3: The statement is True. The policies of Mikhail Gorbachev gave an impetus to democratisation.
Q3. Explain the following concepts.
(1) Cold War
(2) Non-alignment
(3) Interdependence
(4) Bipolarisation
(5) Globalisation
Answer 1: Cold War –America and the Soviet Union, who were allies in the Second World War became competitors as soon as the war got over. The cooperation between them gave way to rivalry. This rivalry occupied a period of 40-45 years of international politics. There was no open war between these two countries; but there was such tension in their relations, that it seemed that a war would erupt any time. The concept of Cold War is used to describe the condition where there is no actual war, but there are such tensions in the circumstances, that they may be responsible to cause war. In this period, America was already a superpower, but the Soviet Union also tried to become a super power by making nuclear weapons and by increasing its military might. The struggle for power, arms race, differences in ideologies, attitude of checkmating each other by strategies and counter-strategies gave rise to the Cold War.
Answer 2: Non-alignment –In the period of the Cold War, while the world was becoming bipolar, there were some countries which did not want to join the super power rivalry. Such nations decided to stay out of the cold war rivalry. Their policy is known as Non-alignment. Non-alignment was an important movement during the Cold War.
Answer 3: Interdependence –All the countries of the world are dependent on each other for one reason or the other. However big, prosperous or developed a nation may be, it can never be self-sufficient about all its needs. Even big nations have to depend upon other big and small nations. Thus, interdependence is an important feature of the international system, i.e. today’s global system.
Answer 4: Bipolarisation –During the Cold War, most countries of the world joined either of the two super power blocs. Such a division of the nations of the world in two groups is bipolarisation. The scope of the Cold War increased due to this. The sphere of tension spread.
Answer 5: Globalisation –After the end of the Cold War, trade and economic relations between countries became more open. As been mentioned before, capital, labour, markets and information began circulating globally. The give and take of ideas among people all over the world grew. Due to the revolution in information technology, different events and developments began to be known everywhere. The boundaries between nations did not remain as sacrosanct as they were before. All these processes are together called globalisation.
Q4. Give your opinion on the following topics.
(1) What measures should the League of Nations have taken to avoid the Second World War?
(2) Non-alignment was necessary during the Cold War.
(3) Human welfare was neglected due to the Cold War.
(4) Which countries can come up as super powers as competitors to America in the present times?
Answer 1: League of nations lacked armed force of its own. They became dependent on the great power that enforced its resolution and when they were unwilling to do so, it was dominated by France and Britain. If the League of Nations convinced America of the number of military powers and won ’t be dominated by few countries then the Second World War could be avoided.
Answer 2: The non alignment was a movement which was formed during the Cold War. It was an initiative of the Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. It was necessary as an organization of states who did not seek to align themselves either with the Soviet Union or the United States, but remained independent. Ultimately the Cold War came to an end after this.
Answer 3: The Cold War was a war between two Superpowers of the world, the USSR and the United States, for the sole purpose of global hegemony and dominance. In this regard, both countries completely ignored the welfare of local populations as they funded and supported local dictators and sponsored global wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Afghanistan, South America, etc. Millions died for no reason at all, and both countries did not care or simply took a blind idea towards their suffering.
Answer 4: Recent studies have shown that many countries have started showing great economic progress. These countries are likely to overtake the United States very soon. Some of these countries are:
India – This wonderful country has started taking ventures for the establishment of branches of various top foreign companies like Google, Adobe, Nokia and more in different sectors.
Japan – This country has made a miraculous recovery after the bomb attacks and has effectively utilized its human resources. It has made various foreign investments and produced high quality steel, non-ferrous metals, processed foods, and electronics, among others.
South Africa – This country has an increasing GDP that has helped it to wipe out poverty to a large extent.
Q5. Write brief answers.
(1) Compare the First World War and the Second World War with the help of the following points.
| Points | First World War | Second World War |
| Period | ||
| Involved nations | ||
| Impacts (Political and Economic) | ||
| International Organisations
established after the War |
(2) What were the factors responsible for the end of the Cold War ?
(3) What major changes occured in global politics after the end of the Cold War?
Answer 1:
| Points | First World War | Second World War |
| Period | 1914-1918 | 1939-1945 |
| Involved nations | Allied Powers –Britain, France, Russia, Italy, America
Central Powers –Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottomon Empire. | Allied –Britain, France, America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, China, Soviet Union.
Axis Power –Germany, Italy, Japan |
| Impacts (Political and Economic) | Economic losses and Rise of Autocratic regimes in Europe | Political rivalry between America and Soviet Union leading to the Cold War. |
| International Organisations
established after the War | The Leagues of Nation | The United Nations |
Answer 2: There were many reasons for the end of the cold war, as given below :
(1) The Soviet Union adopted the policy of opening up the economy. The State loosened up its control of the economy.
(2) The then President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev implemented the policies of Perestroika (Restructuring)and Glasnost (Openness). Due to these policies, the control over the media reduced. Important changes took place in political and economic spheres. i.e. these spheres were restructured. This gave impetus to democracy.
(3) As the East European countries under the influence of the Soviet Union adopted the capitalist and democratic paths, the regimes there changed.
(4) The Soviet Union disintegrated and several new nations were created out of it. Russia was the biggest country in the Soviet Union.
Answer 3: The Cold War came to an end with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which till then had been a super power. As a result, major changes took place in world politics.