CBSE Class 10 Social Science: 2026 board paper, set 32/5/1

1. Kheda Satyagraha (1917) came first, followed by the Ahmedabad Mill Workers' Satyagraha (1918), the Rowlatt Satyagraha (1919) and the Salt Satyagraha (1930). The order is II, IV, III, I.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (B): II, IV, III, I

1. Sea routes to Asia and America shrank the pre-modern world in the sixteenth century. European entry into the Indian Ocean expanded trade, which explains this shrinking. Both statements are true and R explains A.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (A)

1. The figure has a laurel wreath, sword and a shield with an eagle. This is the allegory of Germania, the German nation. Britannia, Marianne and Helvetia have different symbols.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (D) Germania

1. Raja Rammohan Roy edited the journal Sambad Kaumudi, so pair (C) is correct. Gulamgiri is by Phule, Amar Jiban by Rashsundari Debi, and Istri Purush Tulna by Tarabai Shinde.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (C)

1. Until the nineteenth century Europe had poverty and hunger. Cities were overcrowded and diseases were widespread. Religious conflicts were common, and religious dissenters were punished harshly. So thousands fled to America.

   1 mark

2. America's vast lands and abundant crops and minerals attracted settlers. African slaves worked the plantations that grew cotton and sugar for European markets. Silver from the mines of Peru and Mexico added to Europe's wealth and trade.

   1 mark

Answer: Europeans migrated to escape poverty, disease and religious persecution, and because America offered land, plantations and mineral wealth.

1. From ancient times traders, travellers, priests and pilgrims travelled long distances. They carried goods, ideas and skills with them, and also germs and diseases.

   1 mark

2. Example: Spanish and Portuguese conquerors took smallpox germs to America. The local people had no immunity against it, so whole communities were wiped out.

   1 mark

Answer: Long-distance travel and trade carried disease germs to new regions, as smallpox carried to America by European conquerors shows.

1. Print spread the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. They stressed reason over custom and demanded that everything be tested by reason. They attacked the Church and despotic state power. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were widely read.

   1 mark

2. Print created a culture of debate. Old values and institutions were questioned in public discussion. The new reading public used reason to question religion and faith, and this 'public sphere' gave rise to new ideas of social revolution.

   1 mark

3. By the 1780s a mass of literature mocked the monarchy and its morality. Cartoons showed the people struggling while the royalty indulged in luxury. This underground literature turned people against the monarchy.

   1 mark

Answer: Print spread Enlightenment ideas, encouraged debate, and mocked the monarchy, creating conditions for the French Revolution.

1. Printing technology improved steadily through the nineteenth century, raising both the quality and the quantity of printing.

   1 mark

2. By the mid-century Richard M. Hoe of New York perfected the power-driven cylindrical press, which printed 8000 sheets an hour. Towards the end of the century the offset press could print six colours at a time.

   1 mark

3. In the twentieth century electrically operated presses sped up printing. Other improvements followed: better paper feeding, better plates, automatic paper reels and photo-electric colour control.

   1 mark

Answer: Printing improved through the power-driven cylindrical press, the offset press, electric presses and better plates and paper feeding.

1. The Balkans were a region of geographical and ethnic variety. It included modern Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Greece, and its inhabitants were called Slavs.

   1 mark

2. Much of the region was under the Ottoman Empire. The spread of romantic nationalism and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire made the situation explosive.

   1 mark

3. One by one the subject European nationalities broke away and declared independence. The Balkan peoples based their claims on history, arguing that they had once been free but were later subjugated by foreign powers.

   1 mark

4. As the Slavic groups defined their identity and independence, the region became an area of intense conflict. The Balkan states were jealous of each other, and each hoped to gain more territory.

   1 mark

5. Big power rivalry (Russia, Germany, England, Austria-Hungary) over trade, colonies and naval and military strength complicated matters. Each wanted to weaken the others' hold on the Balkans. This led to several wars and finally the First World War.

   1 mark

Answer: Ethnic diversity, Ottoman decline, nationalist claims to independence, rivalry among Balkan states and great-power competition made the Balkans explosive and led to the First World War.

1. Mazzini was born in Genoa in 1805 and joined the secret society of the Carbonari. At 24 he was sent into exile for attempting a revolution in Liguria.

   1 mark

2. In the 1830s he tried to put forward a clear programme for a unified Italian Republic.

   1 mark

3. He believed that God had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. Italy therefore could not remain a patchwork of small states. It had to be a single republic within a wider alliance of nations.

   1 mark

4. He founded two underground societies to spread his ideas, Young Italy in Marseilles and Young Europe in Berne.

   1 mark

5. His opposition to monarchy and his vision of democratic republics frightened the conservatives. His ideas and methods inspired other revolutionaries and so helped make unification possible.

   1 mark

Answer: Mazzini inspired Italian unification through his vision of a republican nation-state, his societies Young Italy and Young Europe, and by motivating later revolutionaries.

1. (8.1) Devotion to an icon such as Bharat Mata came to be seen as a sign of nationalism, and the carrying of the national flag became a symbol of resistance. This united people with a common feeling.

   1 mark

2. (8.2) The British portrayed Indians as backward and primitive and unable to rule themselves. In response, nationalists looked to the past to find India's achievements and to instill pride and inspire struggle against British rule.

   1 mark

3. (8.3) The past was shown as glorious, with art, architecture, science, mathematics, religion, law, crafts and trade flourishing.

   1 mark

4. The present was shown as a time of decline and misery after India was colonised. Readers were urged to take pride in the past and to struggle to change life under British rule.

   1 mark

Answer: (8.1) Icons like Bharat Mata and the flag created shared feeling and became symbols of resistance. (8.2) To counter the British view of Indians as backward and to build pride. (8.3) Past: glorious achievements; present: decline and misery under colonial rule.

1. (a) The place where Gandhiji launched satyagraha for the indigo planters is Champaran (Bihar).

   1 mark

2. (b) The place in Maharashtra where the Indian National Congress held its 1920 session is Nagpur. The map is not visible, so the marked points A and B cannot be matched here.

   1 mark

Answer: (a) Champaran; (b) Nagpur

1. Black soil is made of very fine clayey material, is rich in nutrients and is ideal for cotton, so it is also called black cotton soil.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (B) Black Soil

1. Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests, about 75 percent of its forest area.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (B) Madhya Pradesh

1. Paddy, jowar and maize are kharif crops sown with the monsoon. Peas, mustard and gram are rabi crops.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (C)

1. Minerals are classified as metallic, non-metallic and energy minerals. Coal is an energy mineral.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (C) Energy minerals

1. Current fallow is land left uncultivated for one or less than one agricultural year.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (D)

1. Sariska is in Rajasthan, Sunderban in West Bengal, Corbett in Uttarakhand and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. So a-iv, b-iii, c-ii, d-i.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (C)

1. After independence the government gave priority to institutional reforms such as consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari. Land reform was the main aim of the First Five Year Plan. Multipurpose river projects were started, with dams and canals for irrigation, power and flood control.

   1 mark

2. The Green Revolution and the White Revolution (Operation Flood) were launched as package technology programmes. Crop insurance was provided against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease. Cheap credit came through rural banks and cooperatives, and the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and the Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS) were introduced. Minimum Support Prices are announced for important crops.

   1 mark

Answer: Land reforms, multipurpose projects, the Green and White Revolutions, crop insurance, cheap credit and KCC, and Minimum Support Prices.

1. Energy is a basic requirement for economic development. Every sector of the economy (agriculture, industry, transport, commerce and domestic needs) needs energy inputs.

   1 mark

2. There is an urgent need to develop a sustainable path of energy development. The two bases of sustainable energy are the promotion of energy conservation and the increased use of renewable energy sources.

   1 mark

3. Non-conventional sources such as solar, wind, biogas and geothermal are renewable, eco-friendly and cheap, and leave no residue.

   1 mark

4. India is following a cautious approach for the judicious use of its limited energy resources. As citizens we can contribute by using public transport instead of private vehicles, switching off electricity when not in use, and using power-saving devices.

   1 mark

5. Conserving energy helps protect the ecological balance, and India is also improving its energy efficiency.

   1 mark

Answer: Energy conservation, together with renewable sources, supports sustainable development by meeting the needs of the economy while protecting resources and the environment.

1. In igneous and metamorphic rocks, minerals occur in cracks, joints, faults and fissures. They are formed when minerals in liquid or gaseous form are forced up, cooled and solidified. Small occurrences are veins and large ones are lodes. Examples are metallic minerals like zinc, copper, tin and lead.

   1 mark

2. In sedimentary rocks, many minerals are formed by deposition, accumulation and concentration in horizontal strata. Coal and some iron ores formed through long periods of intense heat and pressure.

   1 mark

3. Another group in sedimentary rocks, such as gypsum, potash salt and sodium salt, forms by evaporation in arid regions.

   1 mark

4. Decomposition of surface rocks removes soluble elements and leaves a residual mass of weathered material containing ores, as in the formation of bauxite.

   1 mark

5. Placer deposits occur as alluvial deposits in sands of valley floors and the base of hills. They hold minerals not corroded by water, such as gold, silver, tin and platinum. Ocean water also contains minerals such as common salt, magnesium and bromine, and the ocean floor has manganese nodules.

   1 mark

Answer: Minerals occur in veins and lodes, in sedimentary strata, as evaporites, as residual weathered ores, as placer deposits and in ocean water, each with its own formation and properties.

1. (18.1) Floods cause extensive soil erosion. Sediment collects in dam reservoirs, so the natural fertilizer, silt, does not reach the flood plains, which adds to land degradation.

   1 mark

2. (18.2) Farmers have shifted to water-intensive and commercial crops.

   1 mark

3. (18.3) One objective is to enhance the physical access of water on the farm and expand the cultivable area under assured irrigation (Har Khet Ko Pani).

   1 mark

4. Another is to improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage, and to adopt water-saving technologies (per drop more crop) and sustainable water conservation practices.

   1 mark

Answer: (18.1) Floods erode soil and deprive flood plains of silt. (18.2) Farmers shifted to water-intensive and commercial crops. (18.3) Har Khet Ko Pani and per drop more crop.

1. (i) The dam on the Satluj river is Bhakra Nangal in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

   1 mark

2. (ii) The nuclear power plant in Gujarat is Kakrapara.

   1 mark

3. (iii) The software technology park in Uttar Pradesh is Noida.

   1 mark

4. (iv) The international airport in Maharashtra is Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport). Any three are to be marked and labelled on the map.

Answer: (i) Bhakra Nangal; (ii) Kakrapara; (iii) Noida; (iv) Mumbai

1. Belgian leaders recognised regional and cultural differences, so they designed power sharing to accommodate them. Both are true and R explains A.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (A)

1. The cartoon shows huge arms (rich) with a thin body and legs (middle and poor). This shows that gains of growth go mostly to the rich, i.e. uneven distribution of wealth.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (C)

1. BJP and AAP are both national parties. The other pairs are state or regional parties. So (A) is the odd one out.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (A)

1. I and II are correct. The municipal chairperson heads the municipality, not a Block Samiti, so III is wrong. The head of a Municipal Corporation is the Mayor, so IV is correct. Hence I, II and IV.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (B)

1. Encourage women from an early age to take part in sports events. Educational institutions and the government should regularly organise sports training programmes for women.

   1 mark

2. Women should be given nutritious food. Equal pay with men should be promoted in every sport.

   1 mark

Answer: Encourage participation from an early age with regular training programmes, and ensure equal pay and nutrition.

1. Democracy promotes equality among citizens and enhances the dignity of the individual. It improves the quality of decision making through consultation and discussion.

   1 mark

2. It provides a method to resolve conflicts and allows room to correct mistakes. Citizens enjoy freedom of expression and the right to vote and choose their representatives, which makes the government legitimate. Hence democracy is better than the alternatives.

   1 mark

Answer: Democracy is better because it ensures equality and dignity, gives better decisions, resolves conflicts, allows correction of mistakes and is a legitimate government.

1. The Constitution clearly provides a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the State governments, in the Union List, State List and Concurrent List.

   1 mark

2. The Union List covers subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs, banking, communication and currency, on which only the Centre can legislate. The State List covers subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation, on which only the states can legislate.

   1 mark

3. The Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest, such as education, forests, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. Both governments can make laws on them, and if the laws conflict, the Union law prevails. Residuary subjects such as computer software come under the Centre.

   1 mark

Answer: The Union List, State List and Concurrent List divide legislative powers, with the Union law prevailing in conflicts on the Concurrent List and residuary powers with the Centre.

1. Political parties contest elections. They put forward different policies and programmes, and the voters choose among them.

   1 mark

2. Parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country.

   1 mark

3. Parties form and run governments. They select and train leaders and then make them ministers to take decisions according to the party's programme.

   1 mark

4. Parties that lose elections act as the opposition. They criticise wrong policies and failures of the government and mobilise public opinion against it.

   1 mark

5. Parties shape public opinion by raising and discussing issues. They also give people access to government machinery and welfare schemes.

   1 mark

Answer: Parties contest elections, offer policies, make laws, form governments, act as opposition, shape public opinion and connect people to welfare schemes.

1. Lack of internal democracy: Power gets concentrated in one or a few leaders. Parties often keep no open membership register, hold no regular organisational meetings and conduct no internal elections, so ordinary members have little say.

   1 mark

2. Dynastic succession: Since most parties do not function transparently, an ordinary worker finds it hard to rise. Leaders use their position to favour relatives and close associates.

   1 mark

3. Growing role of money and muscle power: Parties focus on winning elections and may adopt fair or unfair means to do so. They tend to nominate rich candidates or those who can raise funds. Rich companies and wealthy people who donate heavily can influence party policies and decisions.

   1 mark

4. Criminals in politics: Parties sometimes support or field criminals who can win elections, which weakens the democratic process.

   1 mark

5. Lack of meaningful choice: Ideological differences between parties have narrowed, so voters get no real alternatives. For example, in Britain the Labour and Conservative parties now differ very little.

   1 mark

Answer: Challenges: no internal democracy, dynastic succession, role of money and muscle power, criminals in politics, and lack of meaningful choice between parties.

1. (i) Power sharing lets people take part directly in the political system. This gives the government legitimacy. It also gives due respect to the different groups and views in society, which reduces the chances of conflict and violence and so keeps the political order stable.

   1 mark

2. (ii) Pressure groups such as traders, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers share power. They take part directly in government committees, or they put pressure on the government to adopt policies that benefit their members.

   1 mark

3. (iii) Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy, because democracy means that power is shared among the people who live under it.

   1 mark

4. It gives legitimacy to the government, since every group joins in governance through its own participation. It also ensures that everyone's voice is heard on public issues, which prevents the tyranny of the majority and social conflict.

   1 mark

Answer: (i) Reduces conflict and gives legitimacy, so the political order stays stable; (ii) Pressure groups take part in government committees or influence policy; (iii) Power sharing is the spirit of democracy because it gives legitimacy, gives every group a voice and prevents tyranny of the majority.

1. Literacy of B is 94 and of A is 82, so the difference is 94 - 82 = 12.

   1 mark

Answer: 12, option (A)

1. Private ownership of assets and a profit motive define the private sector.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (A) Private Sector

1. The interest rate is the cost the borrower pays for the loan, i.e. the cost of credit.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (B) Cost of Credit

1. Trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas regulate (increase or decrease) foreign trade into the country. They do not stop it completely.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (C)

1. Ground water is replenished by rain, so it is renewable. Coal, crude oil and natural gas are exhaustible fossil fuels.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (D) Ground Water

1. Infant Mortality Rate is the number of children dying before the age of one year per 1000 live births.

   1 mark

Answer: Option (A) One

1. Rapid improvement in transport technology over the last fifty years has made faster delivery of goods over long distances possible at lower cost.

   1 mark

2. Telecommunication facilities (telegraph, telephone, mobile phones, fax) are used to contact people across the world, get information instantly and communicate with remote areas. Communication satellites have further advanced information and communication technology.

   1 mark

3. The Internet has changed how we receive and share information. We can send e-mail instantly and talk (voice mail) across the world at very low cost. Therefore, technology has stimulated globalisation.

   1 mark

Answer: Better transport, telecommunication, satellites and the Internet made faster, cheaper movement of goods and information, so they stimulated globalisation.

1. The Reserve Bank of India issues currency on behalf of the central government.

   1 mark

2. It supervises the functioning of formal sources of loans. It checks that banks maintain the minimum cash balance against their deposits. It also checks that banks lend not only to profit-making businesses and traders but also to small farmers, small industries and small borrowers.

   1 mark

3. Banks submit information periodically to the RBI on how much they lend, to whom and at what interest rates. In this way the RBI ensures that cheap and affordable credit is available to all, which is essential for the country's development.

   1 mark

Answer: The RBI issues currency, supervises banks (cash reserves, lending to small borrowers, interest rates) and ensures affordable credit for all.

1. Each person has different aspirations and desires, because development means different things to different people.

   1 mark

2. For example, a landless rural labourer wants more days of work and better wages, good education for his children in a local school, no social discrimination, and a chance to become a leader in the village. Prosperous farmers of Punjab want high support prices for their crops and cheap labour so that they can earn high family incomes and settle their children abroad.

   1 mark

3. A girl from a rich urban family wants freedom and opportunities equal to her brother's, and may study abroad. Goals can even conflict: industrialists want more dams for electricity, but tribals who would be displaced may oppose them and prefer small check dams. What is development for one may be destruction for another.

   1 mark

Answer: Development goals differ because people's aspirations differ, as the examples of the landless labourer, the Punjab farmer, the urban girl and the dam conflict show.

1. Tertiary sector activities help in the development of the primary and secondary sectors. They do not produce goods themselves but support the production process. It is also called the service sector.

   1 mark

2. For example, goods produced by the primary and secondary sectors need to be transported by trucks and trains to wholesale and retail traders, and sometimes stored in godowns. Production and trade also need telephone communication and loans from banks.

   1 mark

3. Transport, storage, communication, banking and trade are examples of tertiary activities. These create services rather than goods.

   1 mark

4. Some services are essential: teachers, doctors, washermen, barbers, cobblers, lawyers, and administrative and accounting workers. New IT-based services such as internet cafes, ATM booths, call centres and software companies have also become important.

   1 mark

5. This sector creates employment, contributes the largest share to India's GDP in recent years, generates revenue and improves the quality of life.

   1 mark

Answer: The tertiary sector supports the primary and secondary sectors, provides essential and IT-based services, creates jobs, contributes most to GDP and improves the quality of life.

1. The organised sector covers enterprises or workplaces where terms of employment are regular, so people have assured work.

   1 mark

2. These units are registered by the government and must follow its rules and regulations, laid down in laws such as the Factories Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Gratuity Act and Shops and Establishments Act. Even self-employed persons register and follow the rules.

   1 mark

3. It is called organised because it has formal processes and procedures. Employees enjoy job security and are expected to work only a fixed number of hours; if they work more, the employer pays overtime.

   1 mark

4. They also get other benefits from the employer, such as paid leave, payment during holidays, provident fund and gratuity.

   1 mark

5. They are entitled to medical benefits, and the factory owner must ensure facilities like drinking water and a safe working environment. After retirement they receive a pension.

   1 mark

Answer: The organised sector has regular employment, government registration and rules, job security, fixed hours with overtime pay, benefits like paid leave, PF, gratuity and medical facilities, and a pension.