ICSE Class 10 History and Civics Syllabus

What is the present composition (strength) of the Supreme Court of India?

One Chief Justice of India and a maximum of 33 other judges (34 judges in total).

What are the qualifications to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court?

Must be a citizen of India and either have been a High Court judge for 5 years, or an advocate of a High Court for 10 years, or be a distinguished jurist in the President's opinion.

What is the retirement age of a Supreme Court judge and of a High Court judge?

Supreme Court judge: 65 years. High Court judge: 62 years.

Differentiate between Original and Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Original Jurisdiction: cases the Supreme Court hears directly, e.g., disputes between the Centre and states or among states. Appellate Jurisdiction: power to hear appeals against judgements of lower courts in constitutional, civil and criminal matters.

What is meant by the Supreme Court being a 'Court of Record'?

Its judgements are recorded as precedents and evidence, and it has the power to punish for contempt of court.

What are Writs, and name the five writs the courts can issue.

Writs are formal orders to protect Fundamental Rights. The five are: Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari, and Quo-Warranto.

What does the writ of Habeas Corpus mean and do?

'You may have the body' — it orders that a detained person be produced before the court to check whether the detention is lawful, protecting against unlawful detention.

What is 'Judicial Review'?

The power of the courts to examine the constitutional validity of laws and executive actions and declare them void if they violate the Constitution.

What were the immediate and a key political cause of the Revolt of 1857?

Immediate cause: the introduction of the greased Enfield rifle cartridges (rumoured to be coated with cow and pig fat). A key political cause: Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse, which annexed Indian states lacking a natural heir.

At which place did the Revolt of 1857 begin and on what date?

It began at Meerut on 10 May 1857, when sepoys mutinied and then marched to Delhi.

Name any three leaders of the Revolt of 1857 and their centres.

Rani Lakshmibai (Jhansi), Nana Saheb (Kanpur), and Begum Hazrat Mahal (Lucknow). (Also Bahadur Shah Zafar in Delhi, Kunwar Singh in Bihar.)

What was the most important political consequence of the Revolt of 1857?

The rule of the East India Company ended and the British Crown took over direct control of India through the Government of India Act, 1858 (Queen Victoria's Proclamation).

In which year and city was the Indian National Congress founded, and by whom?

Founded in 1885 in Bombay by Allan Octavian Hume; its first president was W.C. Bonnerjee.

Distinguish between the Moderates and the Assertives (Extremists) in the early Congress.

Moderates (e.g., Gokhale, Naoroji) believed in constitutional methods, petitions and prayers, and faith in British justice. Assertives/Extremists (e.g., Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal) believed in self-reliance, swadeshi, boycott and Swaraj as a birthright.

Who gave the slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it'?

Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

What was the Partition of Bengal (1905) and which movement did it trigger?

Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal in 1905 on communal/administrative lines. It triggered the Swadeshi Movement and the Boycott of British goods.

What was the Lucknow Pact of 1916?

An agreement between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League in which they united to demand self-government; the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims.

What was the Rowlatt Act, and what tragic event was linked to protests against it?

The Rowlatt Act (1919) allowed detention without trial. Protests against it led to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on 13 April 1919, when General Dyer ordered firing on an unarmed crowd in Amritsar.

Name the three movements led by Mahatma Gandhi in the national struggle.

The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930), and the Quit India Movement (1942).

What event caused Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement?

The Chauri Chaura incident (February 1922), where a mob set fire to a police station killing policemen; Gandhi withdrew the movement because it had turned violent.

What was the Dandi March (Salt March) and when did it take place?

In March-April 1930, Gandhi marched about 240 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi to make salt from seawater, breaking the salt law and launching the Civil Disobedience Movement.

What slogan and demand marked the Quit India Movement of 1942?

The slogan was 'Do or Die' (Karo ya Maro); the demand was the immediate end of British rule in India.

Who founded the Indian National Army (INA), and what was its battle cry?

It was reorganised and led by Subhas Chandra Bose; its battle cry/slogan was 'Dilli Chalo' (March to Delhi) and 'Jai Hind'.

What were the immediate cause and one major underlying cause of World War I?

Immediate cause: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at Sarajevo (28 June 1914). Underlying cause: the system of secret alliances combined with aggressive nationalism and militarism.

Name the two rival alliance blocs in World War I.

The Allied Powers (Britain, France, Russia, later Italy and the USA) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey/Ottoman Empire).

By which treaty did World War I formally end, and what did it impose on Germany?

The Treaty of Versailles (1919). It forced Germany to accept war guilt, pay heavy reparations, surrender colonies, and drastically reduce its armed forces.

What were the immediate cause and a key ideological cause of World War II?

Immediate cause: Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Key ideological cause: the rise of Fascism (Italy) and Nazism (Germany) and aggressive expansionism, aided by the failure of the policy of appeasement.

Name the two opposing groups in World War II.

The Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allied Powers (Britain, France, the USSR, the USA, China).

How did World War II come to an end in 1945?

Germany surrendered in May 1945; Japan surrendered in August 1945 after the USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima (6 Aug) and Nagasaki (9 Aug).

When and where was the United Nations founded, and how many members did it start with?

The UN was founded on 24 October 1945 when the UN Charter came into force, signed at San Francisco; it began with 51 founding member states.

Name the principal organs of the United Nations and the function of the Security Council, including the five permanent members.

Organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Secretariat (and formerly Trusteeship Council). The Security Council maintains international peace and security; its 5 permanent members (with veto power) are the USA, Russia, UK, France and China.