KSEAB SSLC Social Science flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Vasco da Gama's arrival

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498, opening direct sea trade between Europe and India and beginning European commercial and colonial presence.

Battle of Plassey

Fought in 1757, Robert Clive defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal with Mir Jafar's help, establishing British political dominance in Bengal.

Permanent Settlement

Introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 in Bengal, it fixed land revenue permanently with zamindars, who became hereditary owners responsible for collecting revenue from peasants.

Revolt of 1857

A major uprising beginning at Meerut on 10 May 1857 against British rule, led by figures such as Rani Lakshmibai and Nana Saheb; it led to the end of Company rule.

Dandi March

Gandhi's 1930 march from Sabarmati to Dandi to make salt defied the British salt law and launched the Civil Disobedience Movement across India.

Partition of Bengal

Lord Curzon divided Bengal in 1905, provoking the Swadeshi movement; the partition was annulled in 1911 after widespread protest.

Lines of longitude

Imaginary north-south lines measured east or west from the Prime Meridian at 0° up to 180°; they converge at the poles and determine local time.

Indian Standard Time

IST is based on the longitude 82°30'E and is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time; it is uniform across India.

Southwest monsoon

Rain-bearing winds from June to September that blow from the Indian Ocean toward land, causing most of India's annual rainfall and supporting agriculture.

Black soil

Also called regur soil, it is dark, clayey and moisture-retentive, found in the Deccan plateau, and is especially suited to cotton cultivation.

Rotation and revolution

Rotation is Earth spinning west to east in about 24 hours, causing day and night; revolution is its orbit around the Sun in 365¼ days, causing seasons.

Delta

A triangular landform built where a river slows and deposits sediment at its mouth, often branching into distributaries, as with the Godavari and Krishna.

Preamble

The opening statement of the Indian Constitution declaring India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic committed to justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.

Fundamental Rights

Basic rights guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution, including equality, freedom, protection from exploitation, religious freedom and constitutional remedies, enforceable in courts.

Directive Principles

Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution directing state policy toward social and economic welfare; they are not directly enforceable in courts.

Money bill

A bill dealing with taxation or government spending that can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and requires the President's recommendation before introduction.

Rajya Sabha

The upper house of Parliament, with a maximum of 250 members; the Vice-President of India serves as its ex-officio Chairman.

Judicial review

The power of courts to examine laws and government actions and declare them invalid if they violate the Constitution, protecting constitutional supremacy.

Panchayati Raj

A three-tier system of local self-government in rural areas, established by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment of 1992, at village, block and district levels.

GDP

Gross Domestic Product is the money value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders during a given year.

Inflation

A sustained rise in the general price level, reducing the purchasing power of money; it is measured by indices such as the CPI and WPI.

Disguised unemployment

A situation where more workers are engaged in a job than needed, so removing some would not reduce output; common in Indian family farming.

Functions of money

Money acts as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, a store of value and a standard of deferred payment in an economy.

Human Development Index

A composite measure of development combining life expectancy, education levels and per capita income, used to compare countries' well-being.

NITI Aayog

The National Institution for Transforming India, established in 2015, replaced the Planning Commission as the government's policy think tank for development strategy.

Primary group

A small, close-knit group with face-to-face, intimate relationships, such as family or close friends, where members share personal bonds and lasting ties.

Social stratification

The ranking of people into hierarchical layers such as caste, class and gender, producing unequal access to resources, power and status in society.

Sanskritization

A concept of M. N. Srinivas describing lower castes adopting customs, rituals and lifestyles of higher castes to improve their social status.

Nuclear family

A household consisting of a married couple and their dependent children, as distinct from a joint family that includes several generations and relatives.

Sex ratio

The number of females per 1,000 males in a population, used as an indicator of gender balance and social development.

Contour lines

Lines on a map joining points of equal elevation above sea level; close spacing indicates steep slopes and wide spacing indicates gentle slopes.

Map scale

The ratio between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground, expressed as a statement, representative fraction or graphic bar.