Solved 2026 Improvement Paper ICSE Class 10 History & Civics

Choose the correct option to replace the underlined word:

The Sessions Court deals with civil cases.

1. criminal
2. revisory
3. advisory
4. revenue

Answer

criminal

Reason — The Sessions Court belongs to the criminal courts of the district. The same judge is called the District Judge when he decides civil cases and the Sessions Judge when he decides criminal cases. Cases relating to land, property, money transactions, marriage and divorce go to the civil courts, while the assessment and collection of land revenue is dealt with by the courts of revenue.

In which months will the session associated with the picture given below be conducted?

1. July-August
2. February-May
3. November-December
4. September-October

Answer

February-May

Reason — The picture refers to the Budget, which is passed during the Budget session held from February to May. Of the three sessions normally held each year, the Monsoon session is conducted in July-August and the Winter session in November-December.

Given below are details of a few Indian citizens.
Select the person who fulfils the eligibility criteria to become a member of the Rajya Sabha.

1. W
2. X
3. Y
4. Z

Answer

Z

Reason — A member of the Rajya Sabha must be an Indian citizen, must be at least 30 years of age and must not hold any office of profit under the government. Z, aged 59, satisfies all these conditions. W is disqualified because he holds an office of profit, while X and Y are both below the minimum age of 30 years.

Identify the type of Emergency declared in the article given below.

1. Presidential Emergency
2. General Emergency
3. Emergency due to Breakdown of Constitution.
4. Financial Emergency

Answer

General Emergency

Reason — A National or General Emergency is declared when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion. It is different from an Emergency caused by the failure of constitutional machinery in a State.

Identify the correct statements about the sessions of the Parliament.

P: There are three sessions of the Parliament.
Q: The gap between two sessions must be seven months.
R: The house has to meet at least twice a year.
S: The house has to compulsorily meet thrice a year.

1. P and R
2. R and S
3. P and Q
4. Q and S

Answer

P and R

Reason — Normally there are three sessions of Parliament in a year — the Budget, the Monsoon and the Winter Session — and each House must meet at least twice a year. Q is incorrect because the interval between two consecutive sessions must not be more than six months. S is incorrect because meeting three times a year is the usual practice and not a constitutional requirement.

A High Court judge retires at the age of ............... years.

1. 60
2. 65
3. 62
4. 68

Answer

62

Reason — A judge of a High Court enjoys security of tenure and can remain in office till he/she attains the age of 62 years. Neither an additional nor an acting judge can hold office beyond this age. The age of 65 years is the retirement age for a judge of the Supreme Court.

Assertion (A): Gandhi suspended the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Reason (R): The protesting mob turned violent at Chauri Chaura.

1. (A) is true and (R) is false.
2. (A) is false and (R) is true.
3. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
4. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

Answer

Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Explanation — At Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, on February 4, 1922, a procession of peasants was fired upon by the police. The infuriated demonstrators set the police station on fire, killing 22 policemen. Gandhiji, a firm believer in Ahimsa, was greatly shocked and called off the whole movement on February 12, 1922. The violence at Chauri Chaura was therefore the direct reason for the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Identify the ODD one out of the countries which were part of the Axis Powers.

1. Italy
2. Germany
3. Japan
4. Austria

Answer

Austria

Reason — Germany, Italy and Japan formed the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis and were known as the Axis Powers during the Second World War. Austria was not a member of the Axis Powers; it was annexed by Germany in 1938.

Identify the option which shows the correct chronology of the following events:
1. The Annexation of Awadh
2. The Cabinet Mission Proposal
3. The Formation of Congress

1. 3-1-2
2. 1-3-2
3. 2-3-1
4. 3-2-1

Answer

1-3-2

Reason — Awadh was annexed by the British on the pretext of misrule in 1856, the Indian National Congress was formed in 1885, and the Cabinet Mission came to India with its proposals in 1946.

Which of the following organisations is connected with the given picture?

1. UNESCO
2. WHO
3. ILO
4. UNDP

Answer

UNESCO

Reason — The picture shows the Sanchi Stupa, a site of cultural heritage. UNESCO prepares the World Heritage List to identify monuments and sites that are to be protected, and provides technical advice, assistance, equipment and funds for their preservation.

In the riverside town of Kamalpur, British traders had recently taken control of the textile market after the colonial government introduced heavy taxes on locally produced goods. As a result, Indian weavers began losing their livelihood, and imported British products became cheaper and more widely used. A young college student named Anita began encouraging people to stop buying foreign cloth and instead support local artisans. She also helped set up small groups where villagers learned to spin yarn and produce homemade goods.
Which of the following principles of the Assertive Nationalists is Anita following?

1. National Education and Revivalism
2. Protest and Passive Resistance
3. Prayers and Petitions
4. Swadeshi and Boycott

Answer

Swadeshi and Boycott

Reason — Swadeshi encouraged the use of goods produced in India, while Boycott meant refusing to buy foreign goods. Anita follows both principles by promoting homemade goods and asking people to stop buying foreign cloth.

Identify the correct pair of words from the given options.

1. Gandhi – Indian National Army
2. Nehru – Non-Aligned Movement
3. Churchill – The Last Viceroy
4. Stalin – The League of Nations

Answer

Nehru – Non-Aligned Movement

Reason — Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the architects and leading advocates of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Indian National Army is associated with Subhas Chandra Bose, the last Viceroy of India was Lord Mountbatten, and the League of Nations was formed after the First World War.

Read the description and identify the person.
He was a famous early nationalist also known as the mentor of Gandhi.

1. Lala Lajpat Rai
2. W. C. Bonnerjee
3. A. O. Hume
4. Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Answer

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Reason — Gopal Krishna Gokhale was an Early Nationalist and Gandhiji regarded him as his political mentor. Lala Lajpat Rai was an Assertive Nationalist, W. C. Bonnerjee was the first President of the Congress, and A. O. Hume was the founder of the Indian National Congress.

Which one of the following countries was part of the Triple Alliance?

1. England
2. Russia
3. Germany
4. France

Answer

Germany

Reason — Germany entered into an alliance with Austria-Hungary, and in 1882 Italy joined it, forming the Triple Alliance. France, Russia and England came together in the Triple Entente in 1907 to counter this alliance.

What is the term of the judges of the organisation seen in the picture given below?

1. 9 years
2. 3 years
3. 5 years
4. 2 years

Answer

9 years

Reason — The picture shows the International Court of Justice, which is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council sitting independently of each other. Elections are held every three years for one-third of the seats, and retiring judges may be re-elected.

Which of the following statements describes the composition of the General Assembly?

1. Fifteen members
2. Ten members
3. All member nations
4. Only the Permanent members.

Answer

All member nations

Reason — All members of the United Nations are members of the General Assembly. Each State has five representatives in the Assembly, but each State has only one vote. It is the Security Council which consists of fifteen members, of whom five are permanent and ten are non-permanent.

What are the two benefits of the establishment of the Lok Adalat?

Answer

Two benefits of the establishment of the Lok Adalat are:

1. Lok Adalats deliver fast and inexpensive justice. There is no court fee payable, and any person can move a Lok Adalat by an application on plain paper and expect speedy justice.
2. Lok Adalats reduce the workload of the other courts, enabling them to deal with more serious matters. This reduces delays in the higher courts.

Imagine your country was a member of the League of Nations in 1920. Mention any two objectives you would have to follow.

Answer

As a member of the League of Nations in 1920, my country would have to follow these two objectives:

1. All States were to refer their mutual disputes, if any, to the League of Nations for a peaceful settlement.
2. The member-States were to take necessary action as directed by the League against any State which tried to disturb world peace and order.

It was a mere adjustment of boundaries for better administration.

— Lord Curzon

What event is this above statement explaining? In which year did it happen?

Answer

The statement is explaining the Partition of Bengal, which Lord Curzon justified on the ground of administrative convenience.

It happened in the year 1905.

Mention any two objectives of the Forward Bloc.

Answer

Two objectives of the Forward Bloc are:

1. Liberation of India with the support of workers, peasants, youth, and other organizations.
2. After independence, establishment of a socialist state through measures such as reorganisation of agriculture and industry on socialist lines and abolition of the Zamindari system.

Hitler wanted to capture the Danzig Port. Give two reasons for the same.

Answer

Two reasons why Hitler wanted to capture the Danzig Port are:

1. The Treaty of Versailles separated Germany from East Prussia by giving Poland a corridor to the Baltic Sea and placed Danzig under a separate arrangement. Hitler wanted to recover the territories lost by Germany.
2. Danzig had a predominantly German population, and Hitler wanted to bring Danzig back under German control.

Identify the leader shown in the given image. Which group of Congress did he belong to?

Answer

The leader shown in the image is Dadabhai Naoroji.

He belonged to the Early Nationalists (Moderates) group of the Congress.

No confidence motions have been moved in Lok Sabha 27 times in the past, and all of them have either been defeated or remained inconclusive, data compiled by a think tank shows.

— The Times of India, July 26, 2023

Who can move the above motion? What happens if this motion is passed?

Answer

A No-Confidence Motion can be moved by a member of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

If the motion is passed, the Government loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha and the Prime Minister along with the entire Council of Ministers has to resign.

With reference to the Parliament, answer the following questions:

(i) What is meant by the term quorum? What is the quorum of the Indian Parliament? What action can the Speaker take if the quorum is not met?

(ii) Mention the three legislative powers of the Parliament.

(iii) Mention any four exclusive powers of the Lok Sabha.

Answer

(i) Quorum — The quorum means the minimum number of members required to be present in the House to enable it to transact its business.

The quorum of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha is one-tenth of the total membership of each House. This means that the House cannot conduct its proceedings and pass Bills and resolutions without the presence of at least one-tenth of its total membership.

If the quorum is not met, the Speaker may adjourn the House or suspend the sitting until there is a requisite quorum.

(ii) Three legislative powers of the Parliament are:

1. Matters in the Union List — The Parliament has exclusive powers to make laws on all the subjects mentioned in the Union List, including important subjects like Defence, Banking, Communications and Foreign Affairs.
2. Matters in the Concurrent List — Along with the State Legislative Assemblies, the Parliament can make laws on subjects listed in the Concurrent List, such as education, forests, adoption, succession and trade unions. If there is a conflict between the two, the Union law prevails.
3. Residuary Powers — The Parliament can make laws with respect to all those matters which are not mentioned in any of the three Lists — the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List.

(iii) Four exclusive powers of the Lok Sabha are:

1. No-confidence Motion — Motions of No-confidence against the Government can only be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha. If passed by a majority vote, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers resign collectively.
2. Money Bill — A Money Bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha. It is sent to the Rajya Sabha after being passed, and the Rajya Sabha can deliberate on it for up to 14 days.
3. Deadlock over an Ordinary Bill — In case of a deadlock between the two Houses over an Ordinary Bill, a joint sitting may be summoned. At such a sitting, the Lok Sabha normally has an advantage because of its greater numerical strength.
4. Adjournment Motion — An Adjournment Motion indicating strong disapproval of the policy of the Government is moved only in the Lok Sabha. The Council of Ministers is responsible only to the Lok Sabha.

With reference to the powers of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers, answer the following questions:

(i) Who appoints the Cabinet Ministers? Mention any two financial powers of the Cabinet.

(ii) To whom are the ministers individually responsible? What is meant by the term individual responsibility?

(iii) Mention any four functions of the Prime Minister inside the Parliament.

Answer

(i) The Cabinet Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Two financial powers of the Cabinet are:

1. Budget — The Finance Minister prepares the Annual Budget containing the estimates of income and expenditure for the ensuing year. Though the budget is passed by Parliament, usually no changes are made in the budget figures against the wishes of the Cabinet.
2. Finances of the Government — The Cabinet is responsible for the expenditure of the government, for presenting the demand for grants and also for raising the necessary income by various means including taxation.

(ii) The ministers are individually responsible to the President.

Individual Responsibility — Each Minister is individually responsible for the functioning of his/her department and is answerable for its acts, omissions and lapses. The Ministers also hold office during the pleasure of the President and may be dismissed by him/her on the advice of the Prime Minister.

(iii) Four functions of the Prime Minister inside the Parliament are:

1. Leader of the Lok Sabha — As the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in Parliament, he/she is said to be the leader of the House.
2. Spokesperson of the Government — The Prime Minister is the chief spokesman of the Government in the Parliament and makes all important announcements on national policies on the floor of the House.
3. Defender of Government Policies — The Prime Minister defends the Government in the Parliament. When a policy or a Minister comes under attack, the Prime Minister comes to defend the issue involved.
4. Intervention in case of Controversial Issues — On controversial issues such as the language issue, Centre-State relations or price-rise, if an ugly situation arises in any of the Houses, the matter generally ends with the intervention of the Prime Minister.

With reference to the Supreme Court of India, answer the following questions:

(i) Mention the three categories of cases under Appellate jurisdiction.

(ii) Name any three writs issued by the Supreme Court to protect Fundamental Rights.

(iii) What is the composition of the Supreme Court? Why is it called a Court of Record?

Answer

(i) The three categories of cases under the Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court are:

1. Constitutional Cases
2. Civil Cases
3. Criminal Cases

(ii) Three writs issued by the Supreme Court to protect Fundamental Rights are:

1. Habeas Corpus
2. Mandamus
3. Certiorari

(iii) Composition of the Supreme Court — The Supreme Court of India consists of a Chief Justice of India and not more than 33 other judges, until Parliament by law prescribes a larger number of judges.

Court of Record — The Supreme Court is called a Court of Record for the following reasons:

1. Its judgements are recorded for evidence and testimony, and these records are of evidentiary value and cannot be questioned in any court.
2. Its judgements are in the nature of precedents, i.e., the High Courts and other courts are bound to follow them while deciding similar cases.
3. As a Court of Record, it has the power to punish for contempt of court those who disobey its orders or show disrespect to it.

The First War of Independence 1857 was a rebellion against the British. With reference to this, answer the following questions:

(i) Mention any three conditions of the Subsidiary Alliance.

(ii) Mention any three economic causes of the war.

(iii) With reference to the consequences of the war, mention the following:

1. Any two changes made in the administration.
2. Any two points of Queen Victoria's Proclamation.

Answer

(i) The Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by Lord Wellesley. Under this system, the Indian rulers who agreed to it:

1. Accepted the British as the supreme power.
2. Surrendered their foreign relations to the East India Company and agreed that they would not enter into any alliance with any other power and would not wage wars.
3. Accepted a British Resident at their headquarters and agreed not to employ any European in their service without consulting the Company.

(ii) Three economic causes of the First War of Independence were:

1. Exploitation of Economic Resources — The British made agricultural India an economic colony to serve the interests of industrial England. India was forced to export raw materials such as raw cotton and raw silk at low prices, while British manufactured goods were imported into India duty-free or at nominal duties.
2. Drain of Wealth — After the conquest of Bengal, the British began to purchase raw material for their industries in England out of the revenues of Bengal itself. The transfer of wealth from India to England, for which India got no proportionate economic return, is called the Drain of Wealth.
3. Decay of Cottage Industries and Handicrafts — Heavy duties on Indian silk and cotton textiles in Britain and the import of cheap British manufactured goods into India led to the decline of Indian cottage industries and caused unemployment among artisans.

(iii)
(a) Two changes made in the administration were:

1. The rule of the East India Company came to an end and the Government of India was taken over directly by the Crown through the Government of India Act of 1858. The Company's Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished.
2. A member of the British Cabinet was appointed Secretary of State for India, assisted by a Council called the Indian Council. The Governor-General was also given the title of Viceroy, and Lord Canning was appointed the first Viceroy under this Act.

(b) Two points of Queen Victoria's Proclamation were:

1. The Government of India would follow a policy of non-intervention in the social and religious matters of Indians.
2. All subjects — Indians and Europeans — would be treated as equals, education and ability being the basis of all appointments.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

The one call that pushed India towards its ultimate freedom call was the rebel cry of the Congress between early August 1942 and September 1944. The resolution taken by Gandhi at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay was by far the strongest and most vociferous appeal made by the Congress, asking the British to leave India once and for all. Gandhi's call of "do or die" infused the masses with a life of its own.

Express web desk, August 9, 2017 [edited]

(i) Identify the above movement. Mention any two causes which led to the movement.

(ii) Mention any three impacts of the above movement.

(iii) Why did Gandhi launch the Dandi March? From where did he begin the march? Mention any two impacts of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Answer

(i) The movement identified in the passage is the Quit India Movement.

Two causes which led to the movement were:

1. Failure of the Cripps Mission — The Cripps' Mission did not promise independence in the near future and did not propose any immediate transfer of power. Gandhiji described the proposals as a 'post-dated cheque on a failing bank'. Its failure left no further meeting ground between the British Government and the Congress.
2. Japanese Threat — The Japanese Army had attacked Burma and was marching towards Assam. Gandhiji observed that the presence of the British in India was an invitation to Japan to invade India and that their withdrawal would remove the bait.

(ii) Three impacts of the Quit India Movement were:

1. Though the movement was short-lived, its importance lay in the fact that it demonstrated the depth that nationalist feeling had reached in the country and the great capacity for struggle and sacrifice that the people had developed.
2. It became evident that the British would no longer find it possible to rule India against the wishes of the people.
3. It developed into a widespread mass uprising. People from different parts of India and from various communities participated in processions and demonstrations, and people in the Princely States also joined the movement.

(iii) Gandhiji launched the Dandi March to violate the Salt Law. The government had a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt, and Gandhiji chose the Salt Law because the salt tax affected all sections of society, especially the poor.

He began the march from the Sabarmati Ashram, from where he marched to Dandi, a village on the Gujarat sea coast.

Two impacts of the Civil Disobedience Movement were:

1. It widened the base of the freedom struggle. A large number of social groups like merchants and shopkeepers, peasants, tribals and workers in different parts of the country were mobilised for the Indian national movement.
2. It brought women out of their homes to participate in politics and to make them equal partners in the freedom struggle.

With reference to the events leading to the Partition of India, answer the following questions:

(i) Mention any three proposals of the Cabinet Mission.

(ii) What did the Mountbatten Plan decide about the following?

1. The Date of Independence
2. The boundaries between dominions
3. The North – West Frontier Province

(iii) Why did the Congress accept this plan of Mountbatten?

Answer

(i) Three proposals of the Cabinet Mission were:

1. Provincial Autonomy — The Provinces would enjoy full autonomy for all subjects other than the Union Subjects, which were Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communication.
2. Grouping of Provinces — The British Provinces would be divided into three groups — Group A of six Hindu-majority provinces, Group B of three Muslim-majority provinces, and Group C consisting of Bengal and Assam.
3. Formation of a Constituent Assembly — A Constituent Assembly of 389 members would be set up to frame the new Constitution of the Indian Union, of which 296 members were to be elected from the British Provinces and 93 from the Princely States.

(ii)
(a) The Date of Independence — The transfer of power, originally proposed for June 1948, was to be advanced and completed at the earliest possible date.

(b) The boundaries between dominions — The Plan provided for the creation of a Boundary Commission to settle the boundaries of the two Dominions in case partition was decided upon.

(c) The North-West Frontier Province — A plebiscite was to be held in the North-West Frontier Province to ascertain whether the people wanted to join India or Pakistan.

(iii) The Congress accepted the Mountbatten Plan for the following reasons:

1. The large-scale communal riots that engulfed the country convinced the Congress leaders that Partition was the only practical solution to the communal problem.
2. The Muslim League had joined the Interim Government to obstruct and not to cooperate. The experience of working with the League convinced the Congress that it could not have a joint administration with it.
3. The only alternative to Partition was a Federation with a weak Centre. A smaller India with a strong central authority was better than a bigger State with a weak Centre.
4. The leaders felt that further delay in the transfer of power could find India in the midst of a Civil War.

The devastating First World War led to death and devastation. With reference to this war, answer the following questions:

(i) Name the countries of the Triple Entente.

(ii) Mention any three ways in which the territories were rearranged after the war.

(iii) Mention any four common ideologies of Hitler and Mussolini.

Answer

(i) The countries of the Triple Entente, formed in 1907, were France, Russia and England.

(ii) Three ways in which the territories were rearranged after the First World War were:

1. Austria-Hungary was broken up — Austria and Hungary became separate independent States, while Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged as new States.
2. New States emerged in Europe — Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became independent States.
3. Territories were restored to neighbouring countries — Alsace-Lorraine was restored to France and Schleswig was ceded to Denmark.

(iii) Four common ideologies of Hitler and Mussolini were:

1. To have faith in totalitarian rule and to despise democratic political systems.
2. To hold that the State is supreme and that it could suppress the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.
3. To uphold One-Party rule and one leader.
4. To believe in aggressive nationalism and imperialism, and to regard war as an instrument for furthering national interests.

Look at the picture given and answer the questions that follow:

(i) Name any three objectives of the organisation mentioned in the above headline.

(ii) How many permanent members does the Security Council have? Name them.

(iii) Mention any four functions of the WHO.

Answer

(i) The organisation mentioned in the headline is the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Three of its objectives are:

1. To eliminate all those causes which could lead to war and to advocate the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
2. To oppose colonialism, imperialism and racial discrimination, and to protect the nascent freedom of the new-born independent countries of Asia and Africa from colonial domination.
3. To advocate the sovereign equality of all states and to encourage friendly relations among countries.

(ii) The Security Council has five permanent members.

They are China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States of America.

(iii) Four functions of the WHO are:

1. It helps countries to improve their health systems by building up infrastructure, especially manpower, institutions and services for the individual and the community.
2. It gives important drugs needed for medical care. The WHO launched a programme to immunise children against six major diseases — Measles, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Polio and Whooping Cough.
3. It promotes research to cure and prevent diseases. For example, it arranged for the investigation of cancer and heart diseases in laboratories in many countries to identify disease-causing organisms, to improve vaccines and to train research workers.
4. It works towards providing safe drinking water and adequate waste disposal, and it aims at fighting diseases and preventing them from spreading.