Read the following passage and answer the questions below: “In the history of nation-building only the Soviet experiment bears comparison with the Indian. There too, a sense of unity had to be forged between many diverse ethnic groups, religious, linguistic communities and social classes. The scale – geographic as well as demographic – was comparably massive. The raw material the state had to work with was equally unpropitious: a people divided by faith and driven by debt and disease.” — Ramachandra Guha (a) List the commonalities that the author mentions between India and Soviet Union and give one example for each of these from India. (b) The author does not talk about dissimilarities between the two experiments. Can you mention two dissimilarities? (c) In retrospect which of these two experiments worked better and why?

Question

Philoid · Accepted Answer

commonalities between India and Soviet Union:

1. (a) Commonalities between India and Soviet Union:

(i) Both the nations were shaped on the basis of religion majority. Example formation of India and Pakistan

(ii) To work for the welfare of the nation many technological and economic reforms were brought in both nations.

2. (b) Dissimilarities:

(i) Soviet Union was divided into 15 independent republics/countries to be disintegrated. (ii) India maintained its unity and integrity even among diversified nature of states and peoples without any more division.

(c) The Indian experiment worked better to promote linguistic and cultural plurality without affecting unity and integrity of the nation though India adopted some diplomatic measures to make country united.