9 Geo-Climate Q&A

NCERT Solutions Class 9 Geography Climate

Question 1. Choose the correct answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) Which one of the following places receives the highest rainfall in the world?(a) Silchar

(b) Mawsynram(c) Cherrapunji(d) Guwahati

Answer : (b) Mawsynram

(ii) The wind blowing in the northern plains in summers is known as:

(a) Kaal Baisakhi

(b) Loo

(c) Trade Winds

(d) None of the above

Answer : (b) Loo

(iii) Monsoon arrives in India approximately in:

(a) Early May

(b) Early July

(c) Early June

(d) Early August

Answer : (c) Early June

(iv) Which one of the following characterises the cold weather season in India?

(a) Warm days and warm nights

(b) Warm days and cold nights

(c) Cool days and cold nights

(d) Cold days and warm nights

Answer :(b)Warm days and cold nights

Question 2. Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) What are the controls affecting the climate of India?

Answer (i)The elements affecting the climate are temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity and precipitation.

(ii) Why does India have a monsoon type of climate?Answer:(ii)India comes in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) also with various other factors, like the El Nino, Jet Stream and Coriolois Force are the reasons for monsoon type of climate in India.

(iii) Which part of India does experience the highest diurnal range of temperature and why?

Answer : (iii)Northwestern part of India experiences the highest diurnal range of temperature. This happens because of the presence of the Thar Desert and also because this region does not have the moderating influence of the ocean.

(iv) Which winds account for rainfall along the Malabar coast?

Answer : (iv)Malabar Coast gets rains from depressions and cyclones.

(v) Define monsoons. What do you understand by “break” in monsoon?

Answer :(v)Monsoon refers to the seasonal reversal in the wind direction. Monsoon ‘break’ refers to the happening of wet and dry spells during the rainy season. The monsoon rains take place only for a few days at a time.

(vi) Why is the monsoon considered a unifying bond?

Answer :(vi)Although there are wide variations in weather patterns across India, the monsoon brings some unifying influences on India. The Indian landscape, its flora and fauna, etc. are highly influenced by the monsoon.The entire agricultural calendar in India is governed by the monsoon.Most of the festivals in India are related to agricultural cycle. These festivals may be known by different names in different parts of the country, but their celebration is decided by the monsoon.

Question 3. Why does the rainfall decrease from the east to the west in Northern India ?

Answer :The Bay of Bengal branch of the monsoon winds moves towards northeast and return westwards covering the northern plains. While they move towards west, their moisture contains tends to reduce with subsequent rains. Hence the rainfall decreases from east to west in northern India.

Question 4. Give reasons as to why.

(i) Seasonal reversal of wind direction takes place over the Indian subcontinent?

Answer : (i)Seasonal reversal of wind direction over the Indian subcontinent takes place due to pressure differential. El Nino has major role to play in the seasonal reversal of wind direction over the Indian subcontinent.

(ii) The bulk of rainfall in India is concentrated over a few months.

Answer :(ii)The monsoon begins from the first week of June and advances quite rapidly to cover almost the whole country by mid-July. Hence, the bulk of rainfall in India is concentrated over the months of a few months; mainly June to August.

(iii) The Tamil Nadu coast receives winter rainfall.

Answer :(iii)The Tami Nadu coast receives winter rainfall because of movement of low-pressure conditions to the Bay of Bengal.

(iv) The delta region of the eastern coast is frequently struck by cyclones.

Answer (iv) The Bay of Bengal is the centre of various pressure changes and hence there is always a chance of development of cyclone. Due to this, the delta region of the eastern coast is frequently struck by cyclones.

(v) Parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and the leeward side of the Western Ghats are drought-prone.

Answer : (v)The parts fall in the rain shadow area of the Aravalli. Hence, they are drought prone and don’t receive much of rainfall.

Question 5. Describe the regional variations in the climatic conditions of India with the help of suitable examples.

Answer :There is regional variation in the climatic conditions of India. Temperature and Precipitation vary from place to place and season to season.

→ In summers the temperature rises up to 50°C in parts of Rajasthan, whereas it may be around 20°C in Pahalgam in Kashmir.

→ In winters night temperature in Dress in Kashmir may be minus 45°C, whereas in Tiruvanantapuram in Kerala may have a temperature of 20°C.

→ In Andaman Islands the difference between day and night temperature may be hardly 7° – 8°C.

→ Coastal areas experience less contrast in the temperature, whereas seasonal contrasts are more in the interior of the country.

→ There is decrease in rainfall generally from east to west in the northern plains.

→ Most part of India get rainfall from June – September, whereas Coromandel Coast gets rainfall in winter season.

Question 6. Discuss the mechanism of monsoons.

Answer :
Following are the factors responsible for the mechanism of monsoon:
→ The Sun causes differential heating and cooling of land and water. This creates low pressure on the landmass of India and high pressure over the ocean surface.
→The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is normally positioned about 5°N of the equator. It shifts over the Ganga plains during summer. It is also known as the monsoon trough during the monsoon season.
→ The high pressure area, east of Madagascar is approximately 20°S over the Indian Ocean. This area affects the Indian Monsoon.
→ The Tibetan plateau gets intensely heated during summer. This results in strong vertical air currents and formation of high pressure over the plateau. This high pressure zone is about 9 km above the sea level.
→ The westerly jet stream move to the north of the Himalayas, and the tropical easterly jet stream moves over the Indian Peninsula during summer.
→ The periodic change in pressure conditions between Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean that is known as the Southern Oscillation or SO also affects the monsoon.
→ The difference in pressure over Tahiti and Darwin is computed to predict the intensity of the monsoons. Tahiti (18°S/149°W) lies in the Pacific Ocean and Darwin (12°30’S/131°E) lies in northern Australia. If the pressure differences are negative, it means a below average and late monsoon.

Question 7. Give an account of weather conditions and characteristics of the cold season.

Answer :

Following are the features of the cold season:

→ The winter season begins from mid-November and till February; in northern India.

→ December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of India.

→ The temperature ranges between 10°-15°C in the northern plains, while it ranges between 24°-25°C in Chennai.

→ The northeast trade winds prevail over the country in this season. As these winds blow from land to sea, most parts of the country experience a dry season.

→ The weather is usually marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity and weak variable winds.

→ The inflow of the cyclonic disturbances from the west and the northwest is a characteristic feature of the cold weather over the northern plains.

→ These low-pressure systems originate over the Mediterranean Sea and Western Asia and move into India. They cause winter rains over the plains and snowfall in the mountains.

→ The winter rainfall is in small amount but is very important for the rabi crop. This rainfall is locally known as mahawat.

→ The peninsular region does not get a well-defined winter because of the moderating influence of the sea.

Question 8. Give the characteristics and effects of the monsoon rainfall in India.

Answer :

Characteristics of the monsoon rainfall in India:

→ The duration of the monsoon varies from 100 to 120 days from early June to mid- September.

→ Around the time of its arrival, the normal rainfall increase suddenly and continues regularly for several days. This is called the ‘burst’ of the monsoon.

→ They are distinguished from the pre-monsoon showers because of their increase in rainfall amount and regularity.

→ The monsoon arrives at the southern tip of the Indian Peninsular generally by the first week of June.

→ The rainfall is unevenly distributed across the country.

Effects of the monsoon rainfall in India:

→ Agriculture in India largely depends on Indian monsoons for water. Late, Low or excessive rains have a negative impact upon crops.

→ Due to uneven distribution of rainfall across the country, there are few places that are drought prone and few are flood affected.

→ The monsoon provides India with a diverse climatic pattern. Hence, in spite of the presence of great regional variations, it has a unifying influence upon the country and its people.

Map skills

On an outline map of India, show the following.

(i) Areas receiving rainfall over 400 cm.

(ii) Areas receiving less than 20 cm of rainfall.

10civics Notes Political Parties

NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Parties

Question 1. State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

Answer: The various functions political parties perform in a democracy are as follows:

Contest election: Candidates are put forward by all political parties to contest in elections. These candidates may be chosen by the top leaders or by the members of the party.

Put forward policies and programmes: Political parties put forward their policies and programmes for the welfare of the people and voters choose those parties whose policy they like the most.

Making Laws: Political parties play a major role in making laws for the country. No law can become a bill unless a majority of the parties support it.

Form the government: Political parties form and run governments. Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the government in the way they want.

Play the role of opposition: Parties that lose election play the role of opposition to the party in power, by voicing different views and criticizing the government for its failures or wrong policies. Opposition parties also mobilize opposition to the government.

Voice public opinion: Political parties voice the public opinion and raise issues to social concern. Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people. Often opinions in the society crystallize on the lines parties take.

Social welfare schemes: Political parties form an important link between the government and the people. It is easy for the public to approach their local leader than a government official. The local leader has to listen to the public demand, otherwise, he will lose the next election.

Question 2. What are the various challenges faced by political parties?

Answer: The various challenges faced by political parties are:

Lack of Internal democracy: Every member of the party does not have a chance to take part in the decision-making process. Power remains in the hands of a few top leaders, who do not consult ordinary members. All the major or minor decision are taken by the party head. Ordinary members have no information about the internal working of the party. They hardly get a ‘ticket’ in an election. Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party. More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

Dynastic Succession: The biggest challenge within the political party is the issues of dynastic succession. These parties do not have transparent functioning and always try to give an unfair advantage to their family members. Hence, a political party remains under the control of one family. This is unfair to the other members of the party. This is also bad for democracy since people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy the positions of power. We can take examples of Congress, SP, RJD, DMK, etc.

Money and Muscle Power: Money is needed to organize demonstrations, public meetings, and speeches to publicize the image of the party. Parties choose those candidates who can raise money for the party and win elections with their money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have an influence on the policies and decisions of the party. Sometimes parties also support criminals candidates because they can win elections.

The Meaningful choice to others: Most of the political parties have same fundamental and ideological issues. Voters do not have a meaningful choice. Even leaders keep changing parties, thus confusing the voter.

Question 3. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well?

Answer: Some reforms to strengthen parties are:

A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. Amendment was made in the constitution to prevent MPs and MLAs from changing parties. If anyone tries to change his/her party then he/she will lose their seat. This new law has helped to bring defection down.

It should be mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets (about 1/3rd) to the women candidates. Similarly, there should be a quota for women in decision making bodies of the party.

There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support the election expenses. This support could be given in the form of petrol, paper, telephone etc. This may reduce the influence of money in the election.

Supreme court has helped in reducing the influence of criminals and money in elections. It is now mandatory for every person contesting the election, to give an affidavit regarding his wealth and criminal cases pending against him. The new system has made a lot of information available to the public.

Question 4. What is a political party?

Answer: A political party is a group of people who follow an ideology and thus come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good.Question

5. What are the characteristics of a political party?

Answer: Characteristics of a political party are as follows:

A political party has members who agree on same policies and programmes for the society keeping in view to promote common welfare for the people.

It seeks to implement the policies by winning popular support from the people through elections.

The presence of a leader makes the difference for the party workers and supporters.

It is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Question 6. A group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government is called a _____________________.

Answer: Political Party

Question 8. Who among the following is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party?

A. Kanshi Ram

B. Sahu Maharaj

C. B.R. Ambedkar

D. JotibaPhule

Answer: A. Kanshi Ram

Explanation: BSP seeks to represent and secure the power for the Bahujan Samaj party which includes the Dalits, Adivasis, OBC’s and various religious minorities.

Question 9. What is the guiding philosophy of the Bharatiya Janata Party?

A. Bahujan Samaj

B. Revolutionary democracy

C. Integral humanism

D. Modernity

Answer: D. Modernity

Explanation: Wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values.

Question 10. Consider the following statements on parties.

A. Political parties do not enjoy much trust among the people.

B. Parties are often rocked by scandals involving top party leaders.

C. Parties are not necessary to run governments.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) A, B, and C

(b) A and B

(c) B and C

(d) A and C

Answer: A and B

X - Notes -6 Political Parties

CLASS X - Notes Chapter-6 Political Parties

1. In class IX, we noticed the role of political parties in the rise of democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics and in the making and working of government.

2. Before we concluding this tour, let us take a close look at the nature and working of political parties, especially in our country.

Why do we need political parties?

1. Political parties are easily one of the most visible institutions in a democracy.

2. Parties have become identified with social and political divisions.

3. About hundred years ago there were a few countries of the world that had any political party: Now there are few that do not have parties.

Meaning:

1. A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

2. They agree on some policies and programs for the society with a view to promoting the collective good.

3. Parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. Parties are a part of the society and thus involve PARTNERSHIP.

4. A political party has three components:

I) The leaders,

II) The active members and

III) The followers

Functions:

Basically, political parties fill political offices and exercise political power. Parties do so by performing a series of functions:

(i) Parties contest elections. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties.

(ii) Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.

(iii) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Formally, laws are debated and passed in the legislature.

(iv) Parties form and run the government. As we noted last year, the big policy decisions are taken by the political executive that comes from the political parties.

(v) Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, by voicing different views and criticizing the government for its failures or wrong policies.

(vi) Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues. Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country.

(vii) Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments.

Necessity

1. We need political parties because they perform all these functions.

2. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies.

3. As we have seen, large scale societies need representative democracies.

4. Political parties fulfill these needs that every representative government has.

How many parties should we have?

1. In a democracy, any group of citizens is free to form the political party.

2. In this formal sense, there are a large number of political parties in each country.

3. More than 750 parties are registered with the Election Commission of India.

4. In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party system.

5. In class IX, we noted that in China, only the Communist Party is allowed to rule.

6. We cannot consider one party system as a good option because this is not a democratic option.

7. Any democratic system must allow at least two parties to compete in the election and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come to the power.

8. In some countries, power usually changes between two main parties.

9. But only the two main parties have a serious chance of winning the majority of seats to form the government. Such a party system is called two-party system.

10. If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others, we call it multi-party system.

11. When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front.

12. The multi-party system often appears very messy and leads to political instability.

13. At the same time, this system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.

National political parties

1. Democracies that follow a federal system all over the world tend to have two kinds of political parties: parties that are present in only one of the federal units and parties that are present in several or all units of Federation.

2. Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission. While the Election Commission treats all parties equally it offers some special facilities to large and established parties.

3. Parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities are ‘recognised’ by the Election Commission for this purpose. That is why these parties are called, ‘recognised political parties’.

4. According to this classification, there were six national recognised parties in the country in 2006. These are:

I) Indian National Congress

II) Bharatiya Janta Party

III) Bahujan Samaj Party

IV) Communist Party of Indian-Marxist

V) Communist Party of India

VI) Nationalist Congress Party

State party

1. Other than these six parties, most of the major parties of the country are classified by the Election Commission as ‘State parties’.

2. Parties like the

I) Samajwadi party,

II) Samata party and Rashtriya Janta Dal have national level political organization with units in several states.

3. Some of these parties like Biju Janta Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front and Mizo national Front are conscious about their state identity.

4. Over the last three decades, the number and strength of these parties has expanded.

Challenges to political parties

1. All over the world, people express strong dissatisfaction with the failure of political parties to perform their functions as well.

2. The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties. All over the world there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top.

3. The leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.

4. Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party.

5. The second challenge of the dynastic succession is related to the first one. Since most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.

6. The third challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections.

7. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decision of the party.

8. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.

9. The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters.

How can parties be reformed?

1. Let us look at some of the recent efforts and suggestions in our country to reform political parties and its leaders:

I) The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in DEFECTION in order to become ministers or for cash rewards.

II) The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals.

III) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their income tax returns.

Besides these, many suggestions are often made to reform political parties:

I) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members.

II) It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates.

III) There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support their elections expenses.

2. These suggestions have not yet been accepted by political parties.

3. There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed.

4. One, people can put pressure on political parties. This can be done through petition, publicity, and agitation.