Pride and Prejudice.

In the early times, silk and spices from China reached Europe through the Silk Route

Vietnam’s religious beliefs were a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and local practices

1. Women should be given proper education so that they are aware of their rights and duties and participate actively in all political occasions.
2. Every woman should be self reliant so that she enjoys a respectable position in the society and is confident about her meaningful contribution in politics as well.
3. It should be legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies. That is why 1/3rd of seats in local government bodies in panchayats and in municipalities are now reserved for women.
4. The participation of women in Indian politics has been increased by making it legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies. Earlier women participation in politics was minimal.

• In 1517, the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote Ninety five Theses criticizing many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.
• A printed copy of this was posted on a Church door in Wittenberg. It challenged the Church to debate his ideas.
• Luther’s writing were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely.
• This lead to division within the Church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

• Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk, priest and professor of theology. He wrote ‘Ninety Five Theses’ criticising many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin.
• He believed in the infallibility of the Bible but challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.Luther’s theses were printed and distributed widely in Germany. His translation of the New Testament sold '5000 copies within a few weeks. . A National Church was established in Germany and prayers began to be held in German language. It led to the beginning of the Reformation Movement in Europe.

The Balkan issue became one of the major factors responsible for the First World War in the following ways:

1. Balkans was a region of geographical and ethical variations comprising modern day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose inhabitants were known as slaves.
2. A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. The spread of the ideas of romantic nationalism in the Balkan together with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made this region very explosive.
3. As the different Slavic nationalities struggled to define their identity and independence, the Balkan area became as area of intense conflict.
4. The Balkan states were jealous of each other and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of other. Balkans also became as area of big power rivalry.
5. Each European power such as Russia, Germany, England, Austria-Hungry was keen on countering the hold of other powers over Balkans and this led to a series of wars, eventually the First World War.

Second World War was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945.
On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II. On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east.

Three changes introduced by the Treaty of Vienna (1815) in Europe were
1. A German confedration of 38 states was created from the previous 360 of the Holy Roman Empire, under the presidency of the Austrian Emperor.
2. Russia was given most of the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland) .
3. The Netherlands and Southern Netherlands (Belgium) were united in a monarchy called the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918

Power sharing is desirable in democracy because:

1. Prudential reasons:
   1. It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. Since social conflict often leads to violence and political instability
   2. Imposing the will of the majority, community over others may look like an attractive option in the short run, but in the long run, it undermines the unity of the nation.
   3. The domination of the majority is not only oppressive for minority but also ruins majority.
2. Moral reasons:
   1. Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise and who have to live with its effect.
   2. People have the right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.

Power sharing is desirable because of two main reasons. They are

• Prudential reason: It reduces any chances of conflicts between social groups. By avoiding conflicts, political stability and unity of the country can be maintained. Dictatorship of the majority community can be oppressive for the minority and can even wreck the majority community as well.
• Moral reason: Power sharing is the true spirit of democracy. Every section of community has the right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. Governance should be carried out keeping in mind the larger interests of each section of the community.

The Mughal Empire was founded by Babur.

• The ethnic composition of Belgium is very complex. In Belgium, the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities were recognized by the leaders. The Belgian constitution was amended four times to accommodate a proper arrangement of power sharing. The Belgium Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government. Powers of the central government were shared with state government. Community government was introduced to take decisions. This community government is elected by people belonging to one language community. It has the power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.
• On the other hand, the leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government. As a result, the democratically elected government adopted a series of majoritarian to establish Sinhala supremacy. Sinhala was declared as the official language disregarding Tamil. Sinhalas were preferred for university positions and government jobs. Buddhism was made the state religion. The state shall protect and foster Buddhism. Sri Lankan Tamils were denied equal political rights, discriminated against in the matter of jobs. This led to strained relations between the Sinhala and Tamil community resulting in the civil war.

Power sharing is the need in democracy because of the following:

• It helps in reducing the possibility of conflict between the social groups. Since social conflict often leads to violence and political instability, power sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of political order.
• It gives people the right to be consulted on how they should be governed and all the citizens tend to have the same political and legal rights.

Thus, it can be said that power sharing is the spirit of democracy.

Also, though it may seem that dividing of powers means dividing the nation or for that matter weakening the country, however the above reasons prove that in the long run it assists in building the unity of the nation.

The four main factors which help in the formation of soil are:

1. Relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetation and other forms of life and time are important factors in the formation of soil.
2. Various forces of nature such as change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and glaciers, activities of decomposition etc, contribute to the formation of soil.
3. Chemical and organic changes which take place in the soil are equally important.
4.  Soils also consist of organic (humus) or inorganic materials.

All of these ethnic groups had their own cultural and political traditions. But as the English nation steadily grew in wealth, importance and power, it was able to extend its influence over the other nations of the islands.