KSEAB SSLC Social Science key terms

A method of non-violent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi, in which people refuse to cooperate with unjust laws and accept suffering willingly instead of using force.

The 1920-22 campaign launched by Gandhi asking Indians to withdraw cooperation from British institutions by boycotting schools, courts, titles and foreign cloth.

The 1930 campaign begun with the Dandi March, in which Indians deliberately broke salt and other colonial laws to challenge British authority peacefully.

Gandhi's 1930 walk of about 385 km from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on the Gujarat coast, where he made salt in defiance of the British salt law.

An Indian Muslim movement of 1919-24 to protect the Ottoman Caliph's position after World War I, which Gandhi supported to build Hindu-Muslim unity against the British.

A policy applied by Lord Dalhousie under which the British annexed any princely state whose ruler died without a natural male heir, refusing to recognise adopted sons.

A system introduced by Lord Wellesley in which an Indian ruler kept a British army in his territory, paid for it, and surrendered control of foreign affairs to the Company.

The widespread uprising of 1857 against British rule, sparked by sepoys at Meerut and led in places by rulers such as Rani Lakshmibai and Nana Saheb.

A political organisation founded in 1885 in Bombay, which gradually became the main vehicle of the Indian national movement for self-rule and independence.

The 1905 division of Bengal by Lord Curzon, which provoked mass protests and the Swadeshi movement and was reversed in 1911.

A campaign to boycott British goods and encourage Indian-made products and industries, strongest after the 1905 partition of Bengal.

A seasonal reversal of wind direction, especially over South Asia, bringing heavy rainfall in summer from the south-west and dry conditions in winter.

The summer wind system from June to September that blows from the Indian Ocean towards the land and gives most of India its annual rainfall.

The dry leeward side of a mountain range, which receives little rain because moisture-bearing winds have already shed their rainfall on the windward slopes.

A long mountain range running parallel to India's west coast, whose windward slopes get very heavy monsoon rain while the eastern side lies in rain shadow.

A reddish, leached soil formed in hot, wet tropical areas by heavy rainfall washing away bases; it is acidic, low in fertility and used for cashew and tea.

A dark, clay-rich soil also called regur, formed from lava, which holds moisture well and is especially suited to cotton and other crops of the Deccan region.

A triangular area of fertile sediment deposited where a river slows down and splits into distributaries before entering the sea, such as the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.

A smaller river or stream that flows into a larger river, adding water to it rather than joining the sea directly.

A system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and constituent states, each with its own defined sphere of law-making.

A part of the Indian Constitution that lists subjects under the Union List, State List and Concurrent List, showing how powers are divided between the centre and states.

A list of subjects in the Seventh Schedule on which both Parliament and state legislatures can make laws, with central law prevailing in case of conflict.

The transfer of power and responsibilities from central and state governments to local bodies such as panchayats and municipal councils, strengthened by the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

The elected local government body at the village level, responsible for civic services and development work within a group of villages.

Basic freedoms guaranteed to every citizen by Part III of the Constitution, such as equality, freedom of speech and protection from exploitation, enforceable through the courts.

Eleven moral obligations listed in Article 51A, added by the 42nd Amendment, asking citizens to respect the Constitution, the flag and national unity.

Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution that direct governments to promote welfare, equality and social justice, but are not directly enforceable in courts.

The total money value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders during a given year, used to measure economic size and growth.

The average income of each person in a country, found by dividing national income by population; it hides differences between rich and poor.

The part of the economy that produces goods directly from nature, such as farming, fishing, forestry and mining.

The part of the economy that turns natural materials into manufactured goods, including factories, construction and processing industries.

The service part of the economy, covering activities such as transport, trade, banking, education and health that support production and consumption.

A minimum level of income or consumption used to identify people as poor, based on the cost of a basic food and non-food basket.

The ranking of people in a society into unequal layers or groups based on factors such as caste, class, gender or occupation, giving different access to resources.

A hereditary social order in India that places people into ranked groups by birth, traditionally linked to occupation and rules about marriage and contact.

The movement of individuals or families from one social position or class to another, either upward or downward, within a lifetime or across generations.

Unequal treatment of people because of their sex, seen in lower wages, unequal education, restricted choices and violence against women.

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

A line on a topographic map joining points of equal height above sea level; closely spaced contours show steep slopes and widely spaced ones show gentle slopes.

A grid of imaginary lines used to fix location: latitude measures distance north or south of the equator, and longitude measures distance east or west of the prime meridian.