(Download) CBSE Class-12 2016-17 Sample Paper And Marking Scheme (English Elective NCERT)
 

Time Allowed: 3 hours

Marks: 100

General instructions:

1. Question nos. 1-4 are compulsory
2. Attempt either Question 5 or 6
3. Your answer should be to the point. Adhere to the word limit given.

SECTION – A

READING – 20 MARKS

Q.1 a) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

1. The most spectacular and in many ways the most fundamental social change that the Gandhian movement effected in India is in respect of the position of women. Undoubtedly, women in ancient India enjoyed a much higher status than their descendents in the 18th and 19th century. From the earliest days, there have been many notable women in India – poets, scholars, administrators, social reformers and leaders of various movements. In fact, the 18th century produced women like Ahalyabai Holkar whose administration of Indore state was considered a model for all of India.

2. Today’s woman is a highly self directed person, a life to the sense of her dignity and the importance of her functions in the private domestic domain and the public domain of the world of work. It has been brought to light across the globe that no enduring solution of society’s most threatening social, economic, environmental and political problems could be found without the participation and empowerment of women. The 1995 World Summit for Social Development had also emphasized the pivotal role of women in eradicating poverty and mending the social fabric. The Constitution of India had conferred on women equal rights and opportunities – political, social, educational and of employment. However, oppressive traditions, superstitions, exploitations and stereo typed mind sets keep them away from enjoying the rights and opportunities bestowed on them. One of the major reasons is the lack of literacy and awareness among women. Education is the main instrument through which we can narrow down the prevailing inequality and accelerate the process of economic and political change in the status of women.

3. The role of women in a society is very important. Women’s education is the key to a better life in the future. A World Bank study says that educating girls is not a charity; it is good economics. The report also goes on to state that the economic and social returns on investments in education for the girls are substantial and probably greater than those for boys. As the female population forms nearly half of the national population, the poor performance on the front of female literacy considerably affects the human development index of the nation. Society would progress only if the status of women is respected and the presence of an educated woman in the family would ensure education of the family itself. Hence, education and empowerment of women are closely related.

4. Swami Vivekananda rightly said, “It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing.” Women are not born, but made. It would  only be apt to analyze the position and space Indian women occupy today, and comparing it to the times sixty years ago when the country had just gained independence. With the women participating in nationalist movements to being pushed into the domestic household space, to their resurgence as the super-woman today, women in our country have seen it all.

5. Women of India have started recognizing their true potential by breaking traditional barriers and earning a respectable position in the society. There is no arena which remains unconquered by them, be political, sport, technology, entertainment or even innovators. The modern Indian woman does not let social constraints to keep her behind, but prioritizes her education, her home and her career before anything else. Today, she is so deft and self sufficient that she can be easily called a super-woman juggling many fronts single handedly. They are proving their metal not only on the home front but also in their respective professions. They are joining universities and colleges in large numbers and entering specialized professional fields like engineering, medicine, space, research and development and the defense forces.

6. Thus, the path towards total gender empowerment may be full of potholes but over the years women have made great strides in many areas with notable progress in reducing the gender gap.

Questions:-

(a) What keeps women away from enjoying the rights and opportunities due to them?
(b) How does the education of women contribute to a nation’s economics?
(c) In what ways can today’s Indian women be called ‘super-women’?
(d) How has the modern Indian woman been able to bridge the gender gap?
(e) Identify words from the passage which mean the following –

(i) Amazing (para 1)
(ii) Hasten (para 2)
(iii) Revival (para 4)
(f) What does ‘proving their metal’ phrase mean?
(g) In what way is education and empowerment of women closely related?
(h) Justify this statement in its contextual terms – ‘It is impossible for a bird to fly only on one wing’.

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