Social issues are those problems in a society by which a significant population is affected and requires immediate solution. Right from the most basic problem of poverty that kills people physically to the problem of social media that affects children mentally, there are a variety of social issues in the society that have affected considerable amount of population and requires solution urgently.

Poverty:

It is shocking to note that Global Hunger Index places India on the 97th position in terms of starvation. Statistics also indicate that about 15% of the Indian population is undernourished. Therefore, it has become an undeniable fact that poverty exists in India although the politicians, the media and the general public have failed to recognise it. Food security is the basic right of every citizen and the Government must ensure effective laws to fulfill it.

Corruption:

Corruption is a social issues which includes the misuse of authority in public and private services for personal gains. It is the root cause for all other social evils and backwardness in the society. Though India is developing into a super power on the one hand, it is being pulled down on many grounds due to corruption. If the general public restrains from offering bribe, then truthfulness and transparency would prevail in the administration. It requires a change from both the corrupted and affected people.

Caste System:

Caste System discriminates the citizens and causes unnecessary tensions in the society. Though many leaders and stakeholders have been working since independence days, it still remains a social issue. The first step in this direction is the removal of reservations based on caste system. Though inter-caste marriages have been prevalent in the last few decades, the reservations have been adding fuel to the waning caste system.

Dowry System:

The dowry system has been affecting the women of the society in many ways. Though many pioneers have worked to eradicate this social issue for several decades, it has also been prevalent in the society. Some steps that help overcome this social issue includes economic freedom to women through inheriting family properties and employment. It requires the combined effort of both the offending and affected parties to root out this social evil.

Child Labour:

This social issue against children prevents the right of a child to enjoy its childhood and attend regular schooling. The inability of parents and selfishness of employers work together to promote child labour. Online help systems have been initiated to locate child labourers, rescue them and provide relief from their suffering. The general public requires more awareness to eradicate this social issue.

Uncleanliness:

The progress of a society is determined by the cleanliness maintained in public places, workplaces and residences. Cleanliness ensures good health, provides good feeling, promotes confidence and demands respect from others. Uncleanliness, on the other hand, acts as deterrent for the progress and prosperity of the nation as well as demean the society.

Other Social Issues:

Apart from the social issues listed above, there are a variety of social issues that affect various sections of the society. They include terrorism, human rights issues, issues related to women like female foeticide, discrimination on status, jobs and wages etc., drugs abuse, child abuse, unemployment, population explosion, unrestrained use of social media, etc.

Conclusion:

Recognition of the social issues is the first step to find solution. Most of the issues are due to lack of awareness and could be addressed through sensitization programs from the Governments and stakeholders. Since many social issues like sati, untouchability etc., have been dealt successfully in the past, the future holds hope to deal with the current social issues.

Q u e s t i o n : What does a blind folded woman carrying a pair of weight scale symbolise?
Answer: A blind-folded woman carrying a pair of weighing scales symbolises the 'justice'.

The causes that led to the rising of Nationalism in India is,

• Contradiction against Colonial Interests
• Political, Administration and Economical conditions give rise to situations of Unification
• Education and Western thoughts
• Rediscovering India’s past through scholars and other resources
• Press and Literature influences
• Discrimination and poor policies
• Increase in Socio-religious movements

The process of unification of Germany:

1. The middle-class Germans had tried to fight for a united nation governed by an elected parliament in 1848 but were repressed by the monarchy and military.

2. Otto von Bismarck, chief minister of Prussian led the movement for unification of Germany. He was supported by the bureaucracy and the Prussian army.

3. After three wars with Austria, Denmark, and France, Prussia won and unified Germany. The Prussian king, William I, was proclaimed the German emperor in January 1871.

The 1848 revolution of the liberals refers to the various national movements pioneered by educated middle classes alongside the revolts of the poor, unemployed and starving peasants and workers in Europe. While in countries like France, food shortages and widespread unemployment during 1848 led to popular uprisings, in other parts of Europe (such as Germany, Italy, Poland, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire), men and women of the liberal middle classes came together to voice their demands for the creation of nation-states based on parliamentary principles. The political, social and economic ideas supported by the liberals were:

•  Politically, they demanded constitutionalism with national unification, nation-state with a written constitution and parliamentary administration.
•  Socially, they wanted to rid society of its class-based partialities and birthrights. Serfdom and bonded labor had to be abolished.
•  Economically they demanded freedom of markets and right to property. The abolition of state-imposed restrictions on the movements of goods and capital.

The female figures as an allegory of the nation:Artists found a way out to represent a country in the form of a person. Then nations were portrayed as female figures.The female figure was chosen to personify the nation did not stand for any particular woman in real life. It gave the abstract idea of the nation a concrete form. Thus the female figure became an allegory of the nation.During the French Revolution artists used the formal allegory to portray idea such as Liberty Justice and the Republic.

The nationalism groups became more increasingly intolerant of each other & were ever ready to go to war by the last quarter of 19th century.The major European powers,in turn,manipulated the nationalist aspirations of the subject peoples in Europe to further their own imperialist aims.There was intense rivalry among the European powers over trade & colonies as well as naval & military might during this period.The rivalries were very evident in the way the Balkan problem unfolded.Each power-Russia,Germany,England,Austro-Hungary-was keen on countering the hold of other powers over the Balkans,& extending its own control over the area.

Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary in 19th century Europe. His contributions were:

• Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary who later became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari.
• At a young age of 24 in 1831, he was exiled for attempting a revolution in Liguria.
• To further spread the revolutionary ideas, he founded two more underground societies- ‘Young Italy’ in Marseilles and ‘Young Europe’ in Berne, whose members were like-minded young men from Poland, France, Italy and the German states.
• Mazzini believed that God had created nations to be the natural units of mankind. Thus, Italy cannot remain divided into various kingdoms. It has to be a single unified republic.
• Following his example, secret societies were set up in Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland. Mazzini’s opposition to monarchy and his vision of democratic republics scared the conservatives. Metternich described him as ‘the most dangerous enemy of our social order’.

Italy, before its unification, was divided into seven states. While northern states were under the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria, central states were under the control of the Pope. Southern states were ruled by the Bourbon dynasty of Spain. Giuseppe Garibaldi has been one of the most celebrated of all Italian freedom fighters. Sailor by profession, he joined the secret society, ‘Young Italy’. He supported King Victor Emmanuel II in his efforts to unify the Italian states. He organised an army to achieve the unification of Italy. People joined his army in large numbers and came to be known as ‘Red Shirts’.

By the end of 1860, he along with his army had conquered the states of Sicily and Naples which further paved the way for the unification of Italy

The history of nationalism in Britain unlike the rest of Europe because:

• In Britain the formation of the nation-state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution.
• The primary identities of the people who inhabited the British Isles were ethnic ones - such as English, Welsh, Scot or Irish.
• The Act of Union (1707) between England and Scotland resulted in the formation of the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain' meant that England was able to impose its influence on Scotland. Scotland's distinctive culture and political institutions were systematically suppressed.
• The Scottish Highlanders were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language or wear their national dress and large numbers were forcibly driven out of their homeland.
• The English helped the Protestants of Ireland to establish their dominance over a largely Catholic country. Catholic revolts against British dominance were suppressed. Ireland was forcibly incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801.
• The symbols of the new Britain - the British flag, the national anthem, the English language were actively promoted and the older nations survived only as subordinate partners in this union.

The Revolutions of 1830 were a revolutionary wave in Europe which took place in 1830. It included two "romantic nationalist" revolutions, the Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the July Revolution in France along with revolutions in Congress Poland and Switzerland. It was followed eighteen years later, by another and possibly even stronger wave of revolutions known as the Revolutions of 1848.

Language played an important role in Poland in developing nationalist sentiments. After Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and the Rusian language was imposed everywhere. In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took place which was ultimately crushed. Following this, many members of the clergy in poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance.

Polish was used for church gathering and all religious instruction. As a result, a large number of priest and bishops were put in jail or sent to Siberia by the Russian authorities as punishment for their refusal to preach in Russian. The use of Polish came to be seen as a symbol of the struggle against Russian Dominance.

 Italy  had a long history of political fragmentation are
(a) Italians were scattered over several dynastic states  as well  as  the multi-national Habsburg empire.
(b) During the middle of the 19th century, Italy was divided into seven states   of   which   only   one, Sardinia-Piedmont was ruled by an Italian Princely House.
(c) The   North    under   Austrian Habsburgs, the center was ruled by the pope and the southern regions were under the domination of the Bourbon kings of Spain.
(d) Even the Italian language had not any standard common form. It had many regional and local variations.  

The act of union of 1707 had a major impact on the Scottish people :
1.rhe Catholic clans that inhabited Scotland faced terrible repression when they tried to assert their freedom.
2.the Scottish Highlanders were forbidden to speak their Gaelic language.
3.they were not allowed to wear their national dresses.
4.a large number of people were driven out of their homeland.

• Political Fragmentation: Like Germany, Italy was also politically fragmented. During the middle of the 19th century, Italy was divided into seven states, of which only one, Sardinia- Piedmont was ruled by an Italian Prince.
• Role ofMazzini: Giuseppe Mazzini made efforts to unite Italian Republic. He had formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’ for achieving his goal.
• Role of Count Cavour: He was the chief minister who led the movement to unify Italy. He formed a tactful diplomatic alliance with France and defeated the Austrian forces.
• Role of Giuseppe Garibaldi: Garibaldi also formed armed volunteers. In 1860, they marched into South Italy and the Kingdoms of Two Sicilies and succeeded in driving out the Spanish rulers.
• In 1861, Victor Emmanuel II was proclaimed King of United Italy.

Answer: A. Banks

1. Formal sources of credit do not include employers as there is no role of these employers all these works are related to banks and the cooperatives.
2. Employers are there merely to serve the bank staff and do the work as it is asked to do by their owner.

3. Moneylenders are informal source of credit

SELF Help Group are small groups of 15-20 members of rural people in particular women belonging to one neighbouhood who meet and saves regularly. The members of the group can take small loan to meet their needs on low interest rate.
Functioning:

• Most of the decisions regarding the savings and loan activities are taken by the group members.
• The group decides as regards the loans to be granted- the purpose, amount, interest to be
  charged, repayment schedule etc.
• Group is responsible for the repayment of the loan.
• Any case of non-repayment of loan, by any one member is followed up seriously by other members in the group.
• The SHG help borrowers overcome the problem of collateral.
• They provide timely loans for a variety of purposes and at a reasonable interest rate.
• The group provrdes a platform to discuss and act on a variety of social issues such as health, nutrition, domestic violence, etc.

एक ऐसा समूह जिसका निर्माण चुनाव लड़ने और सरकार बनाने के उद्देश्य से हुआ हो, राजनीतिक पार्टी या दल कहलाता है। किसी भी राजनीतिक पार्टी में शामिल लोग कुछ नीतियों और कार्यक्रमों पर सहमत होते हैं जिसका लक्ष्य समाज का भलाई करना होता है।

एक राजनीतिक पार्टी लोगों को इस बात का भरोसा दिलाती है उसकी नीतियाँ अन्य पार्टियों से बेहतर हैं। वह चुनाव जीतने की कोशिश करती है ताकि अपनी नीतियों को लागू कर सके।

विभिन्न राजनीतिक पार्टियाँ हमारे समाज के मूलभूत राजनैतिक विभाजन का प्रतिबिंब होते हैं। कोई भी राजनीतिक पार्टी समाज के किसी खास पार्ट का प्रतिनिधित्व करती इसलिए इसमें पार्टिजनशिप की बात होती है। किसी भी पार्टी की पहचान इससे बनती है कि वह समाज के किस पार्ट की बात करती है, किन नीतियों का समर्थन करती है और किनके हितों की वकालत करती है। एक राजनैतिक पार्टी के तीन अवयव होते हैं।

• नेता
• सक्रिय सदस्य
• अनुयायी

a n s w e r 
(i) Division of powers between the centre and states – 

(ii) There are three lists: Union List, State List, Concurrent List. 

(iii) Residuary subjects 

(iv) Control of union territories with Centre

 (i) Division of powers between the centre and states – 
(ii) There are three lists: Union List, State List, Concurrent List. 

(iii) Residuary subjects 

(iv) Control of union territories with Centre

The entire tertiary sector has not grown in importance because of the peculiarity of the skills and income it entails. Highly skilled and educated professionals make the upper end of this spectrum whereas the other end comprises of low skilled people, small shopkeepers, repairpersons, transport persons, domestic servants etc.

Though the highly skilled professionals make rapid growth in terms of development and income, those at the lower end are barely able to make a living. Such a disparity has hindered the growth of the tertiary sector in entirety.

The distribution pattern of the Railway network.

• The northern plains with their vast level land, high population density and rich agricultural resources provided the most favourable condition for their growth.
• In the hilly terrains of the peninsular region, railway tracts are laid through low hills, gaps or tunnels.
• The Himalayan mountainous regions too are unfavourable for the construction of railway lines due to high relief, sparse population and lack of economic opportunities. Likewise,
• It was difficult to lay railway lines on the sandy plain of western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat, forested tracks of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand.
• The contiguous stretch of Sahyadri could be crossed only through gaps or passes (Ghats).
• The development of the Konkan railway along the west coast has facilitated the movement of passengers and goods.

The process of unification of Britain:

1. Before the eighteenth century, there were different ethnic identities with its own culture and politics-English, Welsh, Scot, and Irish.

 2. As the English nation's wealth and power increased, its influence over other island nations also increased.

3. English Parliament had taken the power from the monarchy in 1688 after a long conflict. It became an instrument in building the nation-state of Britain, with England at its center.

4. United Kingdom of Britain was established through the Act of Union in 1707 between England and Scotland.

5. Scotland eventually got suppressed by the English politically and culturally as the British Parliament was dominated by the English.

a n s w e r

Functions of the opposition parties: 

(i) They oppose the government by voicing different views. 

(ii) They criticise government for its failure and wrong policies.

(iii) They mobilise opposition to the government.

Functions of Opposition party
(1) To check the government from becoming authoritarian and to restrict its powers, the opposition parties keep a watch over them.
(2) The main duty of the opposition party is to criticize the policies of the government.
(3) Outside the legislature the opposition parties attract the attention of the press and report their criticism of the government policy in the news papers.
(4)  The opposition parties have the right to check the expenditure of the government also.
(5) During the question hour, the opposition parties criticism the government generally 

•  Subsidies bring about equity between rich and poor farmers by enabling the poor farmers to use modern technology and inputs. On the other hand, some economists believe that once subsidies should be phased out since their purpose has been served and the technology is now widely adopted due to its profitability. They argue that there is no case for continuing with subsidies as It does not benefit the target group and it is a huge burden on the government's finances. They give the following arguments against subsidies in agriculture (i) Subsidies are benefiting the fertilizer industry more than farmers and it is not making any efforts towards increasing its efficiency as it is protected from market competition by subsidies. (ii) Subsidies are mainly being availed by big farmers in affluent regions who do not actually need them. Hence, based on the above arguments, we can conclude that although subsidies are very useful and necessary for poor farmers and to overcome uncertainties associated with farming. It may lead to wastage of resources and thus put an excessive burden on the scarce government finances. Thus, suitable reforms need to be undertaken in order to ensure allocation of subsidies in a targeted manner only to the needy farmers.

d. All of these

Detailed explanation:

Different forms of power-sharing in modern democracies are:

(i) Power-sharing in different forms of government: Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. It is also termed as horizontal distribution of power because it allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers. For example,  The distribution of power between Indian Parliament (legislature), the council of ministers headed by chief ministers (executive) and Courts of India.

(ii)  Power-sharing among various levels of governments: The power is shared among governments at different levels– a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. This is also called the federal division of power. Under this the Constitution clearly lays down the power of each level of government. For example, In India, power is shared among three levels of government which are Central government, State government and the local governments.

(iii) Power-sharing among different social groups: Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups. For example, in India, reservations are made for the socially weaker sections of society in legislatures and bureaucracy.

(iv) Power-sharing among political parties, pressure groups and movements: Political Parties, Pressure Groups and Movements control or influence those who are in power. Different political parties contest elections for power which ensures that power does not remain in one hand. In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups.