End of Cold War
(i) The US and the Soviet Union had created a bi-polar international structure. Initial the Soviet military capabilities were weak. But by 1969 USSR had equalled US in terms of nuclear capability. The threat of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) created fear in both powers Strong disarmament movements in Europe also put pressure on the ruling governments. This pushed the superpowers to the negotiating table.
(ii) The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT 1972 & 1979) and later the Strategic Arms Reduction (START, 1991) treaties heralded an era of coexistence and cooperation.
(iii) Glasnost was instituted as a part of an effort by Gorbachev to democratise the governing structure of Soviet Union.
(iv) Fundamental changes occurred in the political structure of the Soviet Union: reduction of the power of the Communist Party, and multi candidate elections for assembly membership.
(v) Glasnost also permitted criticism of government officials and allowed the media freer dissemination of news and people free expression of their opinions.
(vi) With glasnost, Soviet citizens no longer had to worry about arrest and exile for articulating negative opinions against the State.
(vii) These ideas created a revolutionary wave of liberalism in Soviet Union. At the same time, it eventually led to the disintegration of Soviet Union.

The Korean War (1950-53).
(i) Korea, ruled by Japan since 1910, was divided by the 38th parallel into two zones 1945.
(ii) The northern zone, with a third of the population and most of the industry, was occupied by the USSR.
(iii) The southern zone with two-thirds of the population and most of the farming area; was controlled by the United States.
(iv) In the elections held under the supervision of UNO, in South Korea Syngman Rhee became president. In North Korea, USSR set up the People's Democratic Republic, Communist government, headed by Kim II Sung.
(v) Soon after, the Russians and Americans withdrew their forces.
(vi) The South Korean president openly proclaimed his ambition to unite the whole country by force.
(vii) Open warfare began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea.

The Panchsheel (five principles), policy of Nehru, included
1. Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty,
2. Mutual non-aggression,
3. Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs,
4. Equality and mutual benefit,
5. Peaceful co-existence.

The War in Asia and the Pacific
1. German victories in the Soviet Union prompted Japanese leaders to go on an offensive in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
2. The decision for war with the US was taken in November 1941.
3. On 7 December Japanese aircraft attacked the Pearl Harbour naval base in the Hawaiian islands, inflicting severe damages to the US Pacific Fleet.
4. Japan then occupied English colonial territories in Burma, Malaya, Singapore
5. Where the British beat a shameful retreat, leaving the population under the mercy of the Japanese and the Dutch possession of East Indies.

(i) Incorporation of Saar into Germany
1. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, a plebiscite was to be held in the Saar in January 1935.
2. The people were to decide whether they wished to join Germany or France, or remain under League of Nations control.
3. Ninety per cent voted for a return to Germany. In March 1935 the Saar was incorporated into Germany. This was a morale booster for Hitler.
(ii) Annexation of Rhineland
1. In 1936 Hitler flouted the peace settlement by sending troops to occupy Rhineland, the area of Germany demilitarised by the Treaty of Versailles.
2. If the French had resisted, the Germans would have withdrawn.
3. The French army at that time  was stronger than the Germen but, economic distress caused by the Great Depression and political instability leading to the resignation of prime Minister Edouard Daladier rendered France incapable of resisting the breach of the Treaty of Versailles by Germany.
(iii) Forcible Merger of Austria with Germany
1. Hitler, an Austrian by birth, had always wanted Austria to be part of Germany.
2. In February 1938, Hitler summoned the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to Berchtesgaden, a mountain town in the Bavarian Alps, for a discussion.
3. The Austrian Chancellor was given a Hobson's choice - either to legalise Nazi Party in Austria and integrate Austria's economy with that of Germany or face a German invasion.
4. Austria has lost the support of Italy with the formation of the Rome-Bertin Axis. Schuschnigg was therefore left with no choice but to choose the first option.
5. At the instance of Hitler, the Austrian Chancellor cancelled the proposed plebiscite in Austria and formed a Nazi government there. Thereupon the German army entered Vienna to take control of the country,
(iv) Occupation of Sudetenland
1. Encouraged by the lack of resistance from major European powers, Hitler turned his attention towards Czechoslovakia.
2. In June 1938, Hitler sent directions to his anny about his intention of invading Sudetenland. A systematic Nazi propaganda that their German subjects were being subjected to harsh treatment in.

Trench Warfare:
(i) The bullets and shells flying through the air in the battle conditions of First World War compelled soldiers to burrow into the soil to obtain shelter and survive.
(ii) Trenches or ditches dug by troops enabled them to protect themselves from the effects of shell-fire.
(iii) The Germans supplied their infantry with deep, well-constructed dug-outs, lit by electric light, and furnished with beds.
(iv) The typical trench system in World War consisted of two to four trench lines running parallel to each other.
(v) Each trench was dug in a zigzag manner so that no enemy, standing at one end, could fire for more than a few yards down its length.
(vi) The main lines of trenches were connected to each other and to the rear by a series of linking trenches through which food, ammunition, fresh troops, mail, and orders were delivered.

(i) During the First World War Germany's most fearsome weapon was the submarine or U-Boat.
(ii) The Germans adopted a strategy to starve Britain by sinking every ship it could. 880,000 tons of shipping went to the bottom of the seas in one month alone.
(iii) The Q-ships were Britain's answer to the Germany.
(iv) The British sent more than 200 steamers, travelers, and cargo vessels in a disguised form of a cargo ship and pressed into action against the U-boat menace.
(v) The idea was to lure the U-boats into attacking these decoy ships which would unleash its hidden armed force and weaponry.

BalkanWar I
(i) With encouragement from Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and later Montenegro the Balkan league was formed in March 1912 to take over Macedonia.
(ii) Macedonia had a mixed population. The war started in October 1912 and in less' than two months the resistance of the Turks was broken.
(iii) The Turks were driven from their European provinces. But the problem started while dividing the conquered territories.
(iv) According to the Treaty of London signed in May 1913 the new state of Albania was created and Macedonia was divided.
BalkanWar II 
(i) The victors quarreled over the division of Macedonia. Bulgarians attacked their allies Serbia and Greece, but were easily defeated.
(ii) The Turks took the opportunity to retake Adrianople, which they had lost. The second Balkan War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913.
(iii) Two things emerged out of the Balkan crisis. First, the Bulgarians felt injured and awaited an opportunity to take revenge on Serbia.
(iv) Secondly, the passions of the Serbians were inflamed by victory. From this time on, anti-Austrian struggle in Serbia and in the neighbouring province of Bosnia became ever more militant.

Austro-Prussian War of 1866
1. By his diplomacy Bismarck had ensured the neutrality of Russia and France.
2. He also got the support of Piedmont-Sardinia which wanted to drive Austria out of Venetia.
3. Thus ensuring that Austria would not receive support from any major power, he forced Austria to attack Prussia. The Austro-Prussian war is also known as the Seven Weeks' War.
4. Prussia defeated Austria at the Battle of Sadowa or Konnniggratz in Bohemia.
5. While the Prussian army wanted to march into Austria and capture Vienna, Bismarck opposed it.
6. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Prague.
7. Austria withdrew from the German confederation. The northern states were formed into a north German Confederation under Prussia.
8. Though defeated, Italy was rewarded with Venetia for its support to Prussia. The North German Confederation consisted of 22 states north of river Maine.
9. A new constitution came into effect on 1 July 1867. Bismarck followed a friendly policy towards the southern states in an attempt to win them over.

1. The Industrial Revolution ended the domestic system of industry and necessitated the workmen to live near the factories.
2. Long rows of tenement houses were built for their accommodation.
3. Wages were abominably low.
4. Hours of labour were as hlgh as fifteen or even eighteen a day.
5. Womer' and children were employed in large numbers.
6. The factories were owned by a small class of capitalists, whose main object was unbridled profit.
7. The working classes were initially unorganised and therefore wholly at the mercy of their employers.

1. The French revolution created a deep impact, not only in France but also all over Europe, and even inspired anti-colonial intellectuals and movements across the world in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
2. The French revolution brought to an end the rule of Louis XVI in France.
3. It reduced social inequality. The privileges given to certain sections of the society based on birth were curtailed.
4. It introduced a republican form of government with electoral rights.
5. The feudal system was abolished
6. Slavery was abolished though it took some more years for the total abolition of slavery
7. The Church lost it supremacy and it became subordinate to the state. Freedom of faith and religious tolerance had come to stay.
8. The Declaration of right of 'Man and Citizens brought to light the importance of personal and collective rights.
9. The three organs of the government, namely, the legislative, executive and judiciary became prominent, and kept a check and balance on each other. It removed the concentration of power under a single authority.
10. All over Europe, the French Revolution gave the hope to the people to end the despotic rule and establish an egalitarian society.

War against Austria and Prussia:
1. The king agreed to the constitutional monarchy on one hand, on the other he was secretly appealing for help from Austria and Prussia.
2. The neighbouring kingdoms were watching the developments in France with concern.
3. They feared that the rise of common people might bring to an end the rule of monarchs and so they sent their troops to France to contain the revolution.
4. Meanwhile the National Assembly declared war against Austria and Prussia.
5. On hearing this, people from various parts of France united to fight the foreign forces.
6. A group of people from the place of Marseilles proceeded to Paris by singing the Marseillaise song.

1. Women played a significant role in the French revolution.
2. Women from the poorer areas of Paris marched on Versailles supported by 20,000 armed men.
3. They broke into the palace and forced the king to return with them to Paris, where he was kept under public surveillance. Many women were politically active.
4. Olympe de Gouges was dissatisfied with the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen, as it excluded women.
5. The wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Citizen, arguing for equality for women.

Significance of American Revolution:
1. The American Revolution opened up many avenues in the history of the world.
2. The concepts of democracy and republic became widespread.
3. The political and social changes were on the lines of democracy and equality.
4. USA became a land of opportunities and freedom for all settlers.
5. Education gained prominence.
6. The principle of federalism became widespread.
7. The American Revolution was a setback for colonialism. The demand of the colonies for independence against their colonial masters became widespread in many parts of the world.
8. It paved the way for a free society where every individual was given the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equal opportunities.

1. The reformation movement had a few pioneers. Erasmus was a protester of many Church practices and teachings.
2. His well known work, The Praise of Folly (1511), made fun of theologians and monks.
3. Others likehim who worked towards reform two centuries before him were John Wycliffe and John Hus.
4. They preached the gospel in the language of the people, and not in Latin. John Wycliffe, an English clergyman, was famous as the first translator of the Bible into English.
5. He managed to escape the anger of Rome during his life time, but in 1415, after thirty one years of his death, a Church Council ordered that his bones should be dug up and burnt. And this was faithfully carried out.
6. Though the bones ofWycliffe could be burnt, his views could not easily be suppressed.The event reached Bohemia, and influenced John Huss.
7. Huss, the head of the Prague University, was excommunicated by the Pope for his views. As he was popular in his town he escaped harm.
8. Promising a safe conduct by the Emperor, he was invited to Constance (Konstanz) in Switzerland, where a Church Council was in session. He was pressurised to confess his error.
9. When he refused, in spite of their promise for his safety, he was burnt alive.

Agricultural Policy:
1. At the time of Independence, agriculture in India was beset with many problems.
2. In general, productivity was low.
3. The total production of food grains was not enough to feed the country,so that a large quantity of food grains had to be imported.
4. Nearly 80 percent of the population depended on agriculture for their livelihood.
5. This automatically reduced the income of each person to very low levels.
6. This is a situation described as 'disguised unemployment'.
7. That is, even if many people shifted to other occupations, total production levels would remain the same,because this surplus population was not really required to sustain the activity, and was, in effect, unemployed.
8. Given the high level of poverty among the rural population, most of them were heavily indebted to moneylenders.
9. The backwardness of agriculture could be attributed to two factors: institutional and technological. Institutional factors refer to the social and economic relations that prevailed,particularly between the land- owning classes and the cultivating classes.
10. Technological factors relate to use of better seeds,improved methods of cultivation, use of chemical fertilizers, use of machinery like tractors and harvester combines,and provision of irrigation.
11.The government decided to tackle the institutional drawbacks first and began a programme of land reforms to improve the conditions in agriculture.
12. The basic assumption was that such measures would improve the efficiency of land use or productivity, apart from empowering the peasants by creating a socially just system. 

A series of Industrial Policy statements were adopted to promote these objectives. policy statement was made in 1948. It classified industries into four categories:
(i) Strategic industries which would be state monopolies (atomic energy, railways, arms and ammunition);
(ii) 18 industries of national importance under government control (heavy machinery, heavy chemicals, defense equipment, etc..);
(iii) Industries in both the public and private sectors;
(iv) Industries in the private sector the most definitive policy statement was the industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 which classified industries into three categories;
(i) Schedule A industries were under the monopoly of the state;
(ii) Schedule B industries, the state could start new units but the private sector could also set up or expand their units;
(iii) Schedule C were the remaining industries.
1. The Industrial Development and Regulation Act of 1951 was an important instrument for controlling the private sector.
2. This Act stipulated that no new industrial units could be set up, nor the capacity of existing units expanded without a licence or permit from the government.
3. The Policy Statement of 1973 encouraged large industrial houses to start operations in rural and backward areas to reduce regional imbalances in development.
4. The Policy Statement of 1977 was framed by the short- lived Janata government which was aimed at promoting rural, village and small scale industries.
5. The Policy Statement of 1980 was announced by the congress government which also aimed at promoting balanced growth.
6. Otherwise all these statements continued the ideology of a strong public sector owned by the state and control over the private sector and especially the large business house.

Industrial policy Statement 1991:
1. Finally in 1991 the Indian government announced a shift in its industrial policy to remove controls and licences, moving to a liberalised economy permitting a larger role to the private sector.
2. The share of the public sector was to be reduced through a policy of disinvestment and closure of sick units.
3. This created a sea change in the economic outlook of the country, particularly from the point of view of the consumers.
4. It is not merely that the aspirations of the growning middle class for a better standard of living in terms of availability of goods and services have been met.
5. Even the lower income families could now buy such goods.
On the positive side:
1. Liberalisation has certainly made India a more attractive destination for foreign investment.
2. State governments are keen to advertise that they are relaxing restrictions to improve the ease of doing business in their state.
3. All this has created a general air of prosperity which is reflected in the growth statistics of the economy as a whole.
On the negative side:
1. Liberalisation and globalisation have resulted in a significant increase in income disparities between the top income groups and the lower income groups.
2. The removal of ceilings on corporate salaries has widened the disparities between the salaried class of corporate executives and wage earners.
3. The formal sector has very limited potential for additional employment and most of the new employment is generated in the informal sector, and disparities have also increased across these two sectors.

A la-point "declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation", incorporating the principles of the United Nations Charter was adopted unanimously:
1. Respect for fundamental human rights and for the purposes and principles of the charter of the United Nations.
2. Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
3. Recognition of the equality of all races and of the equality of all nations large and small.
4. Abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country.
5. Respect for the right of each nation to defend itself, singly or collectively, in conformity with the charter of the United Nations.
6. (a) Abstention from the use of arrangements of collective defence to serve any particular interests of the big powers.
(b) Abstention by any country from exerting pressures on other countries.
7. Refraining from acts or threats of aggression or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country.
8. Settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties own choice, in conformity with the charter of the United Nations.
9. Promotion of mutual interests and cooperation.
10. Respect for justice and international obligations.

(a) Japan Storm South-East Asia:
1) The allied forces lost France, Poland, Belgium, Norway, Holland and some parts of Britain's to Germany.
2) Japan's march into South-east Asia and the attack on Pearl Harbour, gives more significance to India.
3) US & China were concerned with halting Japan on its march thus India came on their (allied forces) radar.
4) By the end of 1941, the Japanese forces captured
5)  Philippines, Indo- China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Burma and were waiting to knock at India's doors in the North-East. 
6) The way the South East Asian region fell raised concerns to Britain and the Indian National Congress. The British forces ran without offering any resistance.
7) The Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army were left to the mercy of the Japanese forces.
8) It was from among them that what would later on to become the Indian National Army (INA).
9) Churchill and leaders of the Congress too was worried that Calcutta and Madras might fall in Japanese hands.
10) It was in this situation that the Congress Working Committee, in December 1941, passed a resolution offering cooperation with the war effort on condition that Britain promised independence to India after the war and transfer power to Indians in a substantial sense immediately.
(b) Arrival of Cripps
1) A delegation headed by Sir Stafford Cripps reached India in March 1942
2) Churchill choose Cripps, to head the delegation lent credibility to the mission.
3) Before setting out to India, he announced that British policy in India aimed at 'the earliest possible realisation of self-government in India'.
4) But the draft declaration he presented before he began negotiations fell far short of independence.
(c) Cripps Proposals
1) Cripps promised Dominion Status and a constitution-making body after the war.
2) The constitution-making body was to be partly elected by the provincial assemblies and nominated members from the Princely states.
3) The draft also spelt out the prospect of Pakistan.
4)  It said that any province that was not prepared to accept the new constitution would have the right to enter into a separate agreement with Britain regarding its future status.
5) The draft did not contain anything new.
Rejection of Cripps' Proposals
1) The offer of Dominion Status was too little.
2) The Congress also rejected the idea of nominated members to the constitution-making body and sought elections in the Princely States as in the Provinces.
3) Above all these was the possibility of partition.
4) The negotiations were bound to breakdown and it did.

1) The arrogance displayed by the colonial government and its refusal to find a meeting point between the promise of dominion status at some future date and the Congress demand for the promise of independence after cessation of the war as a pre-condition to support war efforts was drawn from another development.
2) That was the demand for a separate nation for Muslims.
3) Though the genesis of a separate unit or units consisting of Muslim majority regions in the Eastern and North-Western India was in the making since the 1930s, the resolution on March 23, 1940, at Lahore was distinct.
4) There is ample evidence that the Muslim League and its associates were given the necessary encouragement to go for such a demand by the colonial administrators.
5) The resolution, then, gave the colonial rulers a certain sense of courage to refuse negotiating with the Indian National Congress even while they sought cooperation in the war efforts.
6) In many ways the Congress at the time was weaker in the organizational sense.
7) Moreover, its leaders were committed to the idea that the British war efforts called for support given the character of the Axis powers - Germany, Italy, and Japan - being fascist and thus a danger for democracy.
8) Bose was the only leader who sought non-cooperation with the allied forces and active cooperation with the Axis powers.
9) All these were the important markers of 1940. Things however changed soon with the Japanese advance in Southeast Asia and the collapse of the British army.
10) It led to a sense of urgency among the colonial rulers to ensure cooperation for the war efforts in India even while Ilot committing to freedom.
11) Winston Churchill, now heading the war cabinet, dispatched Sir Stafford Cripps to talk with the Congress.

Mahasabha.
1) In the wake of the formation of the Muslim League and introduction of the Government of India Act of 1909, a move to start a Hindu organisation was in the air.
2) In pursuance of the resolution passed at the fifth Punjab Hindu Conference at Arnbala and the sixth conference at Ferozepur, the first all Indian Conference of Hindus was convened at Haridwar in 1915.
3) The All India Hindu Mahasabha was started there with headquarters at Dehra Dun. Provincial Hindu Sabhas were started subsequently in UP, with headquarters at Allahabad and in Bombay and Bihar. While the sabhas in Bombay and Bihar were not active, there was little response in Madras and Bengal.
4) Predominantly urban in character, the Mahasabha was concentrated in the larger trading cities of north India, particularly in Allahabad, Kanpur, Benares, Lucknow and Lahore. In UP, the Mahasabha, to a large extent was the creation of the educated middle class leaders who were also activists in the Congress.
5) The Khilafat movement gave some respite to the separatist politics of the communalists. As a result, between 1920 and 1922, the Mahasabha ceased to function.
6) The entry of ulema into politics led Hindus to fear a revived and aggressive Islam. Even important Muslim leaders like Ali brothers had always been Khilafatists first and Congressmen second.
7) The power of mobilisation on religious grounds demonstrated by the Muslims during the Khilafat movement motivated the Hindu communalists to imitate them in mobilising the Hindu masses.
8) Suddhi movement was not a new phenomenon but in the post-Khilafat period it assumed new importance.
9) In an effort to draw Hindus into the boycott of the visit of Prince of Wales in 1921, Swami Shradhananda tried to revive the Mahasabha by organizing cow-protection propaganda.

1) In the late 1920s a young woman, Kalpana Dutt. (known as Kalpana Joshi after her marriage to the communist leader P.C. Joshi), fired the patriotic imagination of young people by her daring raid of the Chittagong armoury.
2) To understand the heroism of Kalpana Dutt, you should understand the revolutionary strand of nationalism that attracted women like her to these ideals. You have already learnt that there existed many revolutionary groups in British India.
3) The character of these organisations gradually changed from being ones that practiced individual annihilation to organising collective actions aimed at larger changes in the system.
Women in Action
1) While Bhagat Singh represented young men who dedicated their lives to the freedom of the country, Kalpana Dutt represented the young women who defied the existing patriarchal set up and took to arms for the liberation of their motherland. Not only did they act as 'messengers (as elsewhere) but they also participated in direct actions, fought along with men, carrying guns.
2) Kalpana Dutt's active participation in the revolutionary Chittagong movement led to her arrest. Tried along with Surya Sen, Kalpana was sentenced to transportation for life.
3) The charge was: "Waging war against the King Emperor". As all their activities started with the raid on the Armoury, the trial came to be known as the Chittagong Armoury Raid Trial.

1) The growth of newspapers, both in English and Tamil language, aided the swadeshi movement in Tamil Nadu.
2) G. Subramaniam was one of the first among the leaders to use newspapers to spread the nationalist message across a larger audience. Subramaniam, along with five others, founded The Hindu (in English) and Swadesamitran (which was the first ever Tamil daily).
3) In 1906 a book was published by Subramaniam to condemn the British actions during the Congress Conference in Barsal. Swadesamitran extensively reported nationalist activities, particularly the news regarding V.O.C and his speeches in Tuticorin.
4) Subramania Bharati became the sub-editor of Swadesamitran around the time (1904) when Indian nationalism was looking for a fresh direction. Bharati was also editing Chakravartini, a Tamil monthly devoted to the cause of Indian women.
5) Two events had a significant impact on Subramania Bharati. A meeting in 1905 with Sister Nivedita, an Irish woman and a disciple of Vivekananda, whom he referred to as Gurumani (teacher), greatly inspired his nationalist ideals.
6) The churning within the Congress on the nature of engagement with the British rule was also a contributory factor.
7) Bharati had little doubt, in his mind, that the British rule had to be challenged with a fresh approach and methods applied by the militant nationalists appealed to him more.
8) For instance, his fascination with Tilak grew after the Surat session of the Congress in 1907.
9) He translated into Tamil Tilak's Tenets of the New Party and a booklet on the Madras militants' trip to the Surat Congress in 1907.
10) Bharati edited a Tamil weekly India, which became the voice of the radicals.

Constitutional
Opportunity for participation in the government was one of the major demands of the Indian National Congress. It demanded Indian representation in the government.
Economic
High land revenue was one of the major factors that contributed to the oppression of the peasents. It demanded reduction in the land revenue and protection of peasants against exploitation of the zamindars. The Congress also advocated the imposition of heavy tax on the-imported goods for the benefit of swadeshi goods.
Administrative
Higher officials who had responsibility-of administration in India were selected through civil services examinations conducted in Britain. This meant that educated Indians who could not-afford to go to London had no opportunity to get high administrative jobs. Therefore, Indianisation of services through simultaneous Indian Civil Services Examinations in England and India was a major demand of the Congress.
Judicial
Because of the partial treatment against the Indian political activists by English judges it demanded the complete separation of the Executive and the Judiciary.