PICTURE BASED QUESTIONS

 Shows the peoples of Europe and America – men and women of all ages
and social classes – marching in a long train, and offering homage to the
Statue of Liberty as they pass by it.
 On the earth in the foreground of the image lie the shattered remains of the
symbols of absolutist institutions.
 From the heavens above, Christ, saints, and angels gaze upon the scene.
They have been used by the artist to symbolise fraternity among the
nations of the world.

The cover of a German almanac designed by the journalist Andreas

Rebmann in 1798. The image of the French Bastille being stormed by the
revolutionary crowd has been placed next to a similar fortress meant to
represent the bastion of despotic rule in the German province of Kassel.
Accompanying the illustration is the
slogan: ‘The people must seize their own freedom!’ Rebmann lived in the city
of Mainz and was a member of a German Jacobin group.

The Planting of Tree of Liberty in Zweibrücken, Germany.

The subject of this colour print by the German painter Karl Kaspar Fritz is
the occupation of the town of Zweibrücken by the French armies. French
soldiers, recognisable by their blue, white and red uniforms, have been
portrayed as oppressors as they seize a peasant’s cart (left), harass some
young women (centre foreground) and force a peasant down to his knees. The
plaque being affixed to the Tree of Liberty carries a German inscription which
in translation reads: ‘Take freedom and equality from us, the model of
humanity.’ This is a sarcastic reference to the claim of the French as being
liberators who opposed monarchy in the territories they entered

The courier of Rhineland loses all that he has on his way home from
Leipzig. Napoleon here is represented as a postman on his way back to France after he lost
the battle of Leipzig in 1813. Each letter dropping out of his bag bears the names of the
territories he lost.

The Club of Thinkers, anonymous caricature dating to c. 1820.

The plaque on the left bears the inscription: ‘The most important question of today’s meeting:
How long will thinking be allowed to us?’
The board on the right lists the rules of the Club which include the following:
‘1. Silence is the first commandment of this learned society.
2. To avoid the eventuality whereby a member of this club may succumb to the temptation of
speech, muzzles will be distributed to members upon entering.’

Giuseppe Mazzini and the founding of

Young Europe in Berne 1833.
Print by Giacomo Mantegazza.
The Frankfurt parliament in the Church of St Paul.
Contemporary colour print. Notice the women in the upper left gallery

Germania, Philip Veit (the artist), 1848.

The artist prepared this painting of Germania on a
cotton banner, as it was meant to hang from the ceiling of the Church of St Paul where the
Frankfurt parliament was convened in March 1848.
The fallen Germania, Julius Hübner (the artist), 1850.

Germania guarding the Rhine.

In 1860, the artist Lorenz Clasen was commissioned to paint this image. The inscription on
Germania’s sword reads: ‘The German sword protects the German Rhine.’
A map celebrating the British Empire.
At the top, angels are shown carrying the banner of freedom. In the foreground, Britannia —
the symbol of the British nation — is triumphantly sitting over the globe. The colonies are
represented
through images of tigers, elephants, forests, and primitive people. The domination of the
world is shown as the basis of Britain’s national pride.

What does the cartoon represent?

Ans. The cartoon refers to the problems of running a coalition government. If anyone party fails
to get a majority, they are left with no option but to form a coalition government. In a coalition
government, convicts are maximum, decision making becomes slow and they generally result
in fall of the government as all the parties want to have the charge of the key areas (steering
wheel as depicted in this cartoon). There cannot be two steering wheels in car, as it will make it
directionless.

2)
Which country is represented here?
Ans. The country represented and talked here is Germany. The two major parties of the
country, namely the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party formed a coalition. The
two parties are historically rivals to each other. They had to form a coalition government
because neither of them got clear majority of seats on their own in the 2005 elections. They
take divergent positions on several policy matters, but still jointly run the government.
What does the cartoon represent?
Ans. In 2005, some new laws were made in Russia giving more powers to its President.
During the same time the US President visited Russia. Here, Putin can be seen advising Bush
that they got to keep their rein tight, i.e. they should have the maximum control.
2) Identify the two main leaders shown here.
Ans. George W. Bush of USA and Vladimir Putin of Russia.
3) What, according to this cartoon, is the relationship between democracy and concentration
of power?
Ans. The very idea of democracy is against the concept of concentration of power. The
cartoon explains how the US and the Russian President have given them more powers in
having a final say with regard to any policy decision and are controlling the democratic
regimes of their respective country.
Can you think of some other examples to illustrate the point being made here?
Ans. Any other country where power distribution is not fair and is uneven can be cited as an
example here. For example- when Sheikh Mujib Ur Rahman did the same thing by declaring
Bangladesh as a one party democracy and making his own party ( Awami League) more
dominant and powerful.

What does the cartoon reflect?

Ans. This cartoon shows the relations between centre and states when it comes to division of
powers. Central government has a say in the allocation of funds, resources and powers to the
states in India. States feel that this has made the central government more dominant. The
centre is seen here as very selective in distributing powers to the states.
2) Identify the leader shown in the above cartoon.
Ans. The leader shown above is the first woman Prime Minister of India- Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
She was the Prime Minister of India from 1967 to 1977 and 1980-1984.
3) What kind of powers can the states be seen demanding here?
Ans. Power to run their governments independently without control, to get more resources,
authority to change boundaries and form new states or may be separatists’ demands.
Has Centre misused this power ?
Ans. Central government was made stronger by the constitution makers as it was very clear
that states cannot be given equal powers as it may lead to conflicts and at the end
disintegration of the country. Nehru too was a strong and ardent supporter of a strong central
government. Sometimes central governments have misused this power by using Article 356
of the Indian Constitution by imposing President’s Rule in some states. For e.g.: In 1957 CPI
party was dismissed by the Congress by using this Article as Congress failed to form
government there.
5) How can you say India has a strong central government?
Ans. Central government has the power to frame laws on important functions like defence ,
finance , external affairs etc; Centre has overriding authority over concurrent list and also
residuary powers ;it has unilateral power to change the area , boundaries of states; Power to
amend Constitution under provisions of article 368 , the power states doesn't have ;All India
services like IAS, IPS , IFS are recruited and trained by centre; Emergency provisions ,
central government will becomes all powerful and states go into the total control of centre;
Appointing Governors to states.

Identify the leader shown in the above cartoon.

Ans. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
2) What is being shown in this cartoon?
Ans. The concept of coalition government has been shown here in the cartoon. Vajpayee’s
government could not garner support in the 1996 elections and his government fell in just 13
days. So to overcome this, in the 1998 elections, BJP formed an alliance before the elections
known as NDA- National Democratic Alliance.
3) Identify the year which has been shown here.
Ans. 1998- when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister of India.
4) Why is the man on the chair holding a lotus?
Atal Bihari Vajpayee belonged from the Bharatiya Janata Party( BJP) and their electoral
symbol is lotus. That is why he is seen holding one as it marks the victory of lotus in the 1998
elections.
5) What is his chair made up of?
Ans. His chair is made up of bombs as the main issue with a coalition government is that it
can explode/ break at any point of time due to conflicts and differences. There is always a
fear that the smaller parties will withdraw support from the government.
6) Mention one advantage and one disadvantage of a coalition government. Ans.
ADVANTAGE: A smaller party, state level parties also gets a chance to form a government at
the centre.
DISADVANTAGE: It is risky as any party can withdraw support suddenly and it might lead
to fall of such government.

What does the above cartoon represent?

Ans. The given cartoon represents how a woman is perceived by various sections of the
society. For a TV show maker, a woman is seen a housewife who sits idle and just watches
TV whole day. For the fashion industry, an ideal woman is the one who is beautiful and slim
figure. For society, a housewife is supposed to be a multi-tasker, who should work all day
without complaining. For a potential groom and in laws, the ideal bride is the one who can
bring lots of dowry.
2) How is a woman perceived by the male employees and the employer?
Ans. For an employer and the fellow male colleagues of a female employee, a woman can
only be seen as a show piece, a flower vase that is just there to beautify the office and nothing
else. She should not ask for equal salary, equal rights. She is just there for the decoration.
This is the most harmful perception of women.

) Identify the building shown in the above cartoon.

Ans. The Indian Parliament House is shown here.
2) What is shown in the above cartoon?
Ans. The cartoon shows male politicians blocking the gates of the Parliament for women.
The Women’s Reservation Bill is pending since 2008 and it has not been passed asks for
reserving 33 % seats for women in the Parliament.
What is the status of Women’s Reservation Bill?
Ans. It is a lapsed bill. It has not been passed yet. Though women have got reservation in the
local government by the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1992.It has been passed .

What does the cartoon represent?

Ans. The cartoon shows how a special chair has been made for the new Chief Minister to
prove his secular credentials. The chair has all religious symbols. But the irony is, a chair
having all the symbols won’t make a politician secular. They have to be secular from within
and needs to prove during their tenure that they are impartial towards any particular religion.
2) Which concept is shown here?
Ans. Secularism. It means that all the religions are equal and that the government and religion
are separate entities.
Give example of the events in India when there was a threat to secularism.
Ans. In 2002, after the Godhara Riots in Gujarat, the then CM- Narendra Modi was allegated
of his involvement in provoking actions against the Muslim community. Later, he was also
advised by the then courts.

What is shown in the cartoon?

Ans. It is shown that how some political parties influence a particular caste based group, a
community and focus on them so that they become their loyal voters.
2) Identify any 2 leaders. Ans. L.K Advani, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, V.P Singh
What is Vote Bank politics?
Ans. Vote bank politics is the practice of creating and maintaining vote banks through
divisive policies. As it encourages voters to vote on the basis of narrow communal
considerations, often against their better judgement, it is considered harmful to the principles
of representative democracy.
4) Do you think that political leaders are right to treat people belonging to a caste as ‘vote
banks’?
Ans. I think that political leaders are not right in treating people belonging to a caste as vote
banks. The reason is that making a vote bank based on caste will divide the velocity into
different groups by dirty game of politicians and political parties during elections to win the
election. It can create tension among different castes as a result there may be blood sheds on
the occasion of polling.
What is shown in the given cartoon?
Ans. The famous cartoonist R. K Laxman is seen holding and reading a newspaper which
shows that when the nation is in peril and facing lots of difficulties and the politicians are
nowhere be seen. Politicians are only active when there are elections. Another case can be
seen here that nobody is willing to take any responsibility for the problems being faced.
What issue can be seen being discussed here?
Ans. One of the major issues that can be seen discussed here is the Ayodhya case, as one man
is holding a banner which has a temple made on it. Religious matters can be the core issue
discussed here.
Identify the country and the leader.
Ans. Berlusconi , the Prime Minister of Italy.
2) What is the cartoon trying to depict?
Ans. This cartoon shows the then Prime Minister of Italy- Berlusconi. He was also one of the
top businessmen in Italy. He was the leader of the Forza Italia founded in 1993. His company
owns TV channels, the most important publishing company, a foot ball club (AC Milan) and
a bank. This cartoon was made during the last elections and is portraying how is using the
media as a puppet to serve his vested interests.
Identify the country represented in this cartoon.
Ans. United States of America.
2) What does this cartoon represent?
Ans. This cartoon was drawn during the Presidency of George Bush of the Republican Party
in the USA. The party’s symbol is elephant. The cartoon seems to suggest that the Corporate
America controls all major institutions of the country.
3) What are the major institutions shown here?
Ans. Senate, The Supreme Court, Media, White House.

Explain the given cartoon.

Ans. This cartoon shows how a person in India is filing his nomination as a candidate in
elections to the Election Commission of India. It is now mandatory to show your assets in an
affidavit before elections. The woman is shown to mention 50 crores as her assets, and the
officer is surprised to see that. He is seen asking her, if she has so much money, why she is
even contesting the elections, as the politicians in India tend to get corrupted and make
money except for doing well for people.
2) Which reform of the Election Commission of India is discussed here?
Ans. The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals.
Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an AFFIDAVIT giving
details of his property and criminal cases pending against him. The new system has made a
lot of information available to the public. But there is no system of check if the information
given by the candidates is true. An affidavit is a signed document submitted to an officer,
where a people makes a sworn statement regarding her personal information.

What kind of political reform has been discussed here?

Ans. The Election Commission of India has issued a code of conduct which needs to be
strictly followed before and during the elections.
2) What is the “ Election Code” as shown in the cartoon?
Ans. Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by
the Election Commission of India for conduct of political parties and candidates during
elections mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, portfolios, election
manifestos, processions and general conduct. Its main purpose is to ensure that ruling parties,
at the Centre and in the States, do not misuse their position of advantage to gain an unfair
edge. It is designed to avert practices which are deemed corrupt under model code of
conduct. For example, politicians should not make hate speeches, putting one community
against another or make promises about new projects that may sway a voter.
Why are people shown disinterested about it?
Ans. Politicians in India do not take this code of conduct seriously sometimes. And there are
adverse consequences of it too. It may lead to ban on their rallies, promotion and even
cancellation of ticket.

) What is shown in the given cartoon?

Ans. The cartoon throws a light on the issues faced in a democracy. It includes the Indian
examples- language dispute, separatist movements, students’ demands, border disputes with
different countries, excesses made by the police and bureaucrats.
2) Identify the man sitting on the rock named democracy. Ans. This is the famous cartoonist
R.K Laxman who gave Indian politics a new dimension by releasing political cartoons which
commented on all relevant issues. He is seen worried here due to an array of problems faced
by India.
Q. Which of the following option best signifies this cartoon?
A. Demand for separate state from Democratic Government
B. Democratic Government is facing territorial issues with the bordering states
C. Democratic Government is coping with multiple pressures through accommodation
D. Democratic Government accepts demands based on separate state