Bharat Mata (Comprehension passages and question-answers)

 Very short answer type questions

1   According to Nehru, from where did India get its name Bharat?

2.     Why was Nehru hesitant to speak to the city audience about the issues that are highlighted in this essay?

3.     Where is Khyber Pass located?

4.     Where is Cape Comorin located

5.     How was Nehru greeted by the crowds as he went around the country?

6.     Nehru mentions a particular war in the essay. Which one is it?

 

Answers  

1.     1. According to Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, India got its name Bharat from the mythical founder of the Indian race.
2.     Nehru was hesitant to speak to the city audience about the issues that are highlighted in this essay because he felt that audiences in the city were more sophisticated and less concerned about these issues.
3.     The Khyber Pass is located in the region of the North-Western province on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
4.     The Cape Comorin is located in the distant South of India. Presently, it is known as Kanyakumari.
5.     During the period of the Indian Freedom struggle Pt Nehru travelled all over India. When Nehru went all around the country he was greeted with a great roar of welcome Bharat Mata ki Jai—‘Victory to Mother India.
6.     Nehru mentions World War I that took place between 28 July 1914 and 11 November 1918.
 

Short Answer type questions

 

 1, Why does Nehru say that he preferred to speak to the peasants about the idea of Bharata?

Ans.: In this essay titled Bharat Mata Nehru has described his interactions with people all around the country. But, Nehru preferred to speak to the peasants more about the idea of Bharata because he was impressed by the simplicity of Indian peasants, who had a limited outlook.

 

 2. Enumerate the various things that Nehru spoke to the peasants about.

Ans.: Nehru travelled all through the country and spoke to the peasants about the freedom struggle and how each part differed from the other and yet was India. He talked about the common problems of the peasants all over India from north to south and east to west and advocated for swaraj that could only be for each and every Indian.

 

3. What were the problems faced by the peasants all over India?

Ans.: Nehru travelled all through the country and spoke to the peasants. Everywhere the peasants put him identical questions because their troubles were the same. They were affected by poverty, debt, vested interests, landlords, moneylenders, heavy rents and taxes, police harassment, they were the victims of the structure that the foreign government had imposed upon them and yearned for relief.

 

4. How did Nehru explain the meaning of Bharat Mata?

Ans.: Nehru travelled all through the country and was widely greeted by a roar Bharat Mata Ki Jai. He would often ask them the meaning of Bharat Mata. The peasants did not give him the complete answer. Then he explained to them that the mountains and the rivers of India, the forests and the broad fields, which gave them food and all the dear people of India, spread out all over this vast land was Bharat Mata.

 

 5. Who according to Nehru is Bharat Mata?

Ans.: According to Nehru, the people who are spread all over India and live in villages and cities are in a real sense, Bharat Mata.

 

6. Explain the following statement: ‘You are parts of this Bharat Mata.’

Ans.: Nehru travelled all through the country and addressed the crowd every now and then. He wanted to tell the people true or real meaning of Bharat Mata. He said that apart from the mountains, rivers, forests and the broad fields, which gave us food, the people of India, spread out all over this vast land is Bharat Mata. Initially, the people did not understand him but slowly realized the meaning of Nehru’s words and felt happy as if they had made a great discovery.

 

Comprehension Passages:

                                                                 1.

 Often, as I wandered from meeting to meeting, I spoke to my audience of this India of ours, of Hindustan and of Bharata, the old Sanskrit name derived from the mythical founder of the race. I seldom did so in the cities, for there the audiences were more sophisticated and wanted stronger fare. But to the peasant, with his limited outlook, I spoke of this great country for whose freedom we were struggling, of how each part differed from the other and yet was India, of common problems of the peasants from north to south and east to west, of the swaraj that could only be for all and every part and not for some.

 

1.  To whom did the author speak during his travels/meetings?

 Ans: The author spoke to the Indian audience during his travels/meetings.

 2.  What did the author speak to the audience?

Ans: The author spoke about Hindustan and Bharata.  

3. From where the word Bharata has been derived?

Ans: The word Bharata has been derived from the mythical founder of the race.

 4. What are the opinions of the author regarding the city audience and the peasants?

Ans: The author felt that the city audience was more sophisticated but the peasants had a limited outlook.

 

                                                                   2.

I told them of my journeying from the Khyber Pass in the north-west to Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin in the distant south, and how everywhere the peasants put to me identical questions, for their troubles were the same— poverty, debt, vested interests, landlords, moneylenders, heavy rents and taxes, police harassment, and all these wrapped up in the structure that the foreign government had imposed upon us—and relief must also come for all. I tried to make them think of India as a whole, and even to some little extent of this wide world of which we were apart. I brought in the struggle of China, in Spain, in Abyssinia, in Central Europe, in Egypt and the countries of Western Asia. I told them of the wonderful changes in the Soviet Union and of the great progress made in America.  

 1.     Where is the Khyber Pass and Kanyakumari located?

 Ans: The Khyber Pass is located in the northwest and the Kanyakumari is located in the distant south.  

2.     What were the troubles of the peasants everywhere?

Ans: The peasants were troubled by poverty, debt, vested interests, landlords, moneylenders, heavy rents and taxes, police harassment.  

3.     What was the reason for the troubles of the peasants?

Ans: The reason for their troubles was the forced structure imposed by the Foreign Government.

4.     What did the author tell the peasants about the Soviet Union and America?

Ans: The author told them of the wonderful changes in the Soviet Union and of the great progress made in America.