Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 7 Paths to Modernisation

Important Questions for Class 11 History Chapter 7 Paths to Modernisation

Paths to Modernisation is Chapter 7 of the Class 11 History book Themes in World History, published by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training). The chapter compares how Japan, China and Korea became modern nations. It explains the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Mao Zedong and the Great Leap Forward in China, the Tiananmen Square protest, and the rise of South Korea after the Korean War.

These Class 11 History Chapter 7 important questions and answers cover 5-mark long answer questions and 1-mark multiple choice questions, with the maps, posters and photographs from the chapter. They help students revise for exams, help parents check preparation at home, and give teachers ready material for class practice. A free printable PDF of the complete set is also available for download.

Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 7 Paths to Modernisation

Paths of Modernisation
Medium
Q.
What were the major developments before the Meiji restoration that made it possible for Japan to modernize rapidly?
Paths of Modernisation
Medium
Q.
Discuss how daily life was transformed as Japan developed.
Paths of Modernisation
Difficult
Q.
How did the Qing dynasty try and meet the challenge posed by the Western powers?
Paths of Modernisation
Easy
Q.
What were Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles?
Paths of Modernisation
Medium
Q.
How did Korea deal with the foreign currency crisis in 1997?
Paths of Modernisation
Medium
Q.
Did Japan’s policy of rapid industrialisation lead to wars with its neighbours and destruction of the environment?
Paths of Modernisation
Medium
Q.
Do you think that Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China were successful in liberating China and laying the basis for its current success?
Paths of Modernisation
Difficult
Q.
Did economic growth in South Korea contribute to its democratization?

Important Questions For Class 11 History Chapter 7 Paths to Modernisation

Question 1. After Korea was divided into North Korea and South Korea, the former went to war against the latter, which ended with an armistice signed by both countries. How do you think the war affected relations at the global level?

Map showing North Korea and South Korea

Answer: The Korean War ended in 1953, when an armistice was signed by both North Korea and South Korea.
Both India and the UN (United Nations) played the crucial role of mediators during the war.
However, the war worsened the already tense global situation.
In 1954, a military alliance – SEATO (South-East Asian Treaty Organisation) – was signed between the USA, France, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan.
The people's choice for a united Korea was disregarded.

Question 2. Several hundred civilians were shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking's (Beijing) Tiananmen Square. Why were the civilians protesting at Tiananmen Square?

Aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, 1989

Answer: Students marched in protest in memory of the former party leader Hu Yaobang, who had died a week before.
Millions of people from all walks of life joined in, angered by widespread corruption and calling for democracy.
Demonstrators, mainly students, occupied the square for seven weeks.
Democratisation, greater openness, an end to 'ossified dogmas' and a change of leadership were demanded.
They demonstrated against the unbearable living conditions in China and the incompetence and corruption of China's leaders.
The protest was brutally suppressed by the Chinese government.

Question 3. The Japanese authorities were aware that their country was lacking technologically and needed to industrialise in order to keep their power. What did this realisation eventually lead to?

Western ships arriving in Meiji-era Japan

Answer: This realisation of the lack of technological skill eventually led to the Meiji Restoration (1868).
It led to the acceleration of industrialisation in Japan.
New industries such as shipyards, iron smelters and spinning mills were built.
These industries were then sold to well-connected entrepreneurs.
This made the domestic companies consumers of Western technology.
The goods produced were sold cheaply in the international market.
There was massive migration from the countryside to the industrialising centres.

Question 4. After the decline of the Mughals, the regional capitals assumed the position once held by the imperial cities. We witness the same process in the history of Japan. Which historical process has been pointed out here?

Map of Japan showing its major cities

Answer: Japan was divided into over 250 domains under the rule of lords called daimyo.
The daimyo were the most powerful feudal rulers in Japan from the 10th century to the middle of the 19th century.
The regional capitals of the daimyo developed into large cities: Edo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc.
These cities became important centres of production and trade. Many merchants and artisans settled there.
These merchants formed groups called guilds to protect and increase their profits.
They sold the daimyo goods that he could not get from his country estates.

Question 5. Although Japan has been greatly Westernised, many traditional notions remain firmly in place. Indeed, Westernisation has provided the means for the reinforcement of these ideas. To what extent was Japan Westernised between 1868 and 1912?

The skyline of modern Tokyo

Answer: Feudalism was abolished.
A new social structure developed with a smaller peasantry, a larger working class and a growing middle class.
Western economic methods were introduced in the areas of shipbuilding, textiles, mining and railways.
In education, many Western methods were followed. Emphasis was laid on technical subjects such as science and mathematics.
In politics, a German-style constitution was adopted (the assembly was given the German name 'Diet').
The armed forces were modernised using British naval and German military techniques.

Question 6. Mao had toured China and concluded that the Chinese people were capable of anything and the two primary tasks that he felt they should target were industry and agriculture. Mao announced a second Five Year Plan to last from 1958 to 1963. What was this plan called?

A Great Leap Forward poster

Answer: This plan was called 'The Great Leap Forward'.
This movement was launched in 1958 to develop China's agriculture and industry.
Industry could only prosper if the workforce was well fed, while agricultural workers needed industry to produce the modern tools needed for modernisation.
To allow this, people's communes were organised in rural areas.
The Great Leap Forward also encouraged communes to set up 'backyard' production plants (furnaces for steel).

Question 7. Which of the following was NOT one of the goals that the Chinese Communist Party declared for modernisation in 1978?
(a) Society
(b) Industry
(c) Agriculture
(d) Defence

Answer: (a) Society
The four goals that the Chinese Communist Party declared for modernisation in 1978 were: development of science, development of industry, development of agriculture and development of defence. The development of society was not a goal.

Question 8. Which of the following was NOT a reason for the foreign currency crisis in Korea in 1997?
(a) Increased trade deficits
(b) Poor management by financial institutions
(c) Excess printing of local currency
(d) Reckless business operations by conglomerates

Answer: (c) Excess printing of local currency
Korea faced a foreign currency crisis in 1997 because of increased trade deficits, poor management by financial institutions, reckless business operations by conglomerates and other reasons. Excess printing of local currency was not a reason for the crisis.

Question 9. Which of the following events are matched with the years in which they took place?
1. Olympic Games in Tokyo – 1964
2. Cultural Revolution in China – 1975
3. Hong Kong returned to China by Britain – 1997
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
The events and the years in which they took place are: Olympic Games in Tokyo – 1964; Cultural Revolution in China – 1966; Hong Kong returned to China by Britain – 1997.

Question 10. Who among the following Chinese leaders is shown in the above image?
(a) Zhou Enlai
(b) Chiang Kai-shek
(c) Deng Xiaoping
(d) Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Answer: (d) Mao Zedong
The Chinese leader seen in the image is Mao Zedong. After emerging as a major Chinese Communist Party leader, he made the party independent of Russian influence. His success made the CCP a powerful political force that ultimately won against the Guomindang.

Question 11. He was the first president of South Korea and was elected in 1948 through a democratic process. He extended his administration twice through illegal constitutional amendments. In April 1960, citizens protested against a rigged election in what is known as the April Revolution, and he was forced to resign. Who among the following is described above?
(a) Park Chung-hee
(b) Syngman Rhee
(c) Roh Tae-woo
(d) Kim Young-sam

Answer: (b) Syngman Rhee
The person described is Syngman Rhee. The political party that gained power after Rhee's resignation could not properly respond to citizens' demands due to internal divisions and conflict, and in May 1961 a military coup was staged by General Park Chung-hee and other military authorities.

Question 12. Exports of which of the following types of products were supported by the Korean government in the early 1960s under the export-oriented policy?
1. Labour-intensive products
2. Light industrial products
3. Capital-intensive products
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
In the early 1960s, when Korean state policy shifted from import substitution industrialisation towards a focus on exports, the government supported labour-intensive light industrial products.

Question 13. Which of the following shows the influence of German legal ideas on Japan under the Meiji?
(a) Use of the German word for the national assembly
(b) Use of German ways of conducting elections
(c) Use of the German word Chancellor
(d) Use of the German system of power sharing

Answer: (a) Use of the German word for the national assembly
Under the Meiji, a constitution was created that was based on a restricted franchise and a national assembly with limited powers. They gave the German name 'Diet' to their assembly. This shows the influence of German legal ideas in Japan.

Question 14. The Chinese borrowed Japanese translations of European words such as justice, rights and revolution because:
(a) they used some of the same characters in their scripts at that time.
(b) they used the same ideographic script at that time.
(c) they used the same languages at that time.
(d) they used the same ideographic script as well as the same languages at that time.

Answer: (b) they used the same ideographic script at that time.
To train people in modern subjects, Chinese students were sent to study in Japan, Britain and France and bring back new ideas. Many Chinese students went to Japan in the 1890s. They brought back new ideas and many became leading republicans. The Chinese borrowed Japanese translations of European words such as justice, rights and revolution because they used the same ideographic script.

Question 15. Which of the following was the only European country that had trade relations with Japan in the mid-19th century?
(a) Britain
(b) USA
(c) Holland
(d) Portugal

Answer: (c) Holland
The only European country that had trade relations with Japan in the mid-19th century was Holland.

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