Chapter 1 - The Cold War Era :Important Questions and Answers

List of Questions and Answers

1.What is Cold War?

Ans:
The Cold War was an outcome of the emergence of the two superpowers rival to each other.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point of what came to be known as the Cold War.
The end of the Second World War was also the beginning of the Cold War.

2.In the decade of 1960s,name the agreements signed by the US and the USSR?

Ans:
The agreements signed between US and USSR in the year 1960 are :

  • The Limited Test Ban Treaty
  • Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty
  • The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

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3.What is meant by "Western Alliance"?

Ans:
The western alliance, headed by the US, represented the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism.

4.The Military alliance formed by USA was ______________.
(a) Warsaw Pact
(b) NATA
(c) NAM
(d) SEATO

Ans: (d) SEATO

5.Mention the two ideologies which were involved in a major conflict during the Cold War era.

Ans: The western alliance, headed by the US, represented the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism while the eastern alliance, headed by the Soviet Union, was committed to the ideology of socialism and communism.

6.Why super powers need alliances with the smaller states.

Ans:
The smaller states were helpful for the superpowers in gaining access to:
(i) vital resources, such as oil and minerals,
(ii) territory, from where the superpowers could launch their weapons and troops,
(iii) locations from where they could spy on each other, and
(iv) economic support, in that many small allies together could help pay for military expenses.

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7.Which among the following statements about the Cold War is wrong?
a) It was a competition between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies.
b) It was an ideological war between the superpowers.
c) It triggered off an arms race.
d) the US and USSR were engaged in direct wars.

Ans: (d) the US and USSR were engaged in direct wars

8.Which among the following statements does not reflect the objectives of NAM
a) Enabling newly decolonised countries to pursue independent policies
b) No to joining any military alliances
c) Following a policy of "neutrality" on global issues
d) Focus on elimination of global economic inequalities

Ans: (c) Following a policy of "neutrality" on global issues

9.Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statements that describe the features of the military alliances formed by the superpowers.
a) Member countries of the alliance are to provide bases in their respective lands for the superpowers.
b) Member countries to support the superpower both in terms of ideology and military strategy.
c) When a nation attacks any member country, it is considered as an attack on all the member countries.
d) Superpowers assist all the member countries to develop their own nuclear weapons.

Ans:
(a) => True
(b) => True
(c) => True
(d) => False

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10. Here is a list of countries. Write against each of these the bloc they belonged to during the Cold War.
a) Poland
b) France
c) Japan
d) Nigeria
e) North Korea
f) Sri Lanka

Ans:
Poland - Warsaw Pact
France - NATO
Japan - NATO
Nigeria - NAM
North Korea - Warsaw Pact
Sri Lanka - NAM

11. The Cold War produced an arms race as well as arms control. What were the reasons for both these developments?

Ans:
Following are the reasons that proves cold war produced arms race as well as arms control:

  • USSR and US (superpowers) were involved in Cuban Missile Crisis , but later it ended as both sides decided to avoid war.
  • The Cold War was an outcome of the emergence of the two superpowers rival to each other,it was also well understood by them that the destruction caused by the use of atom bombs is too costly for any country to bear.
  • The US dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities causing Japan to surrender and their main purpose was to stop the Soviet Union from making military and political gains in Asia and elsewhere and to show that the US was supreme.
  • The Cold War is referred to the competition, the tensions and a series of confrontations between the United States and Soviet Union, backed by their respective allies.
  • The rivalries between the two alliances was not eliminated, mutual suspicions led them to arm themselves and to constantly prepare for war. Huge stocks of arms were considered necessary to prevent wars from taking place.
  • Later US and USSR decided to collaborate in limiting or eliminating certain kinds of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.They decided a stable balance of weapons could be maintained through "arms control" and signed three significant agreements. These were the Limited Test Ban Treaty, Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

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12.Why did the superpowers have military alliances with smaller countries? Give three reasons.

Ans:
The smaller states were helpful for the superpowers in gaining access to:
(i) vital resources, such as oil and minerals,
(ii) territory, from where the superpowers could launch their weapons and troops,
(iii) locations from where they could spy on each other, and
(iv) economic support, in that many small allies together could help pay for military expenses.

13.During the second world war, name two countries of Allied powers and two countries of Axis powers.

Ans:
The Allied Forces, led by the US, Soviet Union, Britain and France.
The Axis Powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan.

14.What is Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?

Ans:
Allows only the nuclear weapon states to have nuclear weapons and stops others from acquiring them. For the purposes of the NPT, a nuclear weapon state is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. So there are five nuclear weapon states: US, USSR (later Russia), Britain, France and China.

15.Name the founders of Non-aligned movement.

Ans:
Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah.These five leaders came to be known as the five founders of NAM.

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16.In which way did the policy of Non-Alignment serve India’s interests?

Ans:
A non-aligned served India’s interests very directly, in two ways:

  • First, non-alignment allowed India to take international decisions and stances that served its interests rather than the interests of the superpowers and their allies.
  • Second, India was often able to balance one superpower against the other. If India felt ignored or unduly pressurised by one superpower, it could tilt towards the other. Neither alliance system could take India for granted or bully it.

17.Discuss the main events of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Ans:

  • Cuba was an ally of the Soviet Union and received both diplomatic and financial aid from it.
  • In April 1961, the leaders of the USSR were worried that the USA would invade communist-ruled in Cuba.
  • Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, decided to convert Cuba into a Russian base.
  • In 1962, he placed nuclear missiles in Cuba.
  • The installation of nuclear missiles put the US, for the first time, under fire from close range, US came to know about the nuclear missiles and were determined to get Khrushchev to remove the missiles and nuclear weapons from Cuba.
  • A clash between USSR and US seemed imminent in what came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  • The Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point of what came to be known as the Cold War.