Search
Subjects and activities

General Knowledge · Class 12 · History and people

World wars and the United Nations

The first line of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights once said "All men are born free". An Indian woman got it changed. To what?

Small test at the end: scroll down to the end of this page for five short questions that check what you have learnt. Tap an answer, then press Check answer. Go to the questions ↓

Jump to: Read first · Try it away from the screen · Check it yourself · Check yourself · For teachers

Read first

6 facts. The questions below make you use them, not just remember them.

  1. In the First World War (1914 to 1918), more than a million Indian soldiers served overseas. India Gate in New Delhi remembers the Indian soldiers who died.
  2. In the Second World War (1939 to 1945), about 2.5 million Indians served: the largest volunteer army in history.
  3. In the Bengal famine of 1943, about 3 million people died. Wartime policies and the failure to send food and relief turned a shortage into a disaster.
  4. The UN Security Council has five permanent members with a veto: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China. India has long asked for a permanent seat.
  5. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948. Hansa Mehta of India argued for changing "All men are born free and equal" to "All human beings are born free and equal".
  6. India is one of the largest contributors of soldiers and police to UN peacekeeping missions.

Offline

Try it away from the screen

Read the first three articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (a printed copy or the UN website). Write each one in your own words in one sentence. Which matters most to you, and why?

Make it on paper. Keep it with you. Nothing to upload.

Check it yourself

War history is told differently in different countries. Compare one event, such as the Bengal famine, in an Indian source and a British source, and note what each includes or leaves out.

Check yourself

Five questions about what this page teaches. Choose an answer and press Check answer, or open "See the answer and why". Nothing is saved or sent: your choices stay on this screen and disappear when you leave or reload the page.

  1. Question 1 of 5What did Hansa Mehta change in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

    See the answer and why
    • A. She translated it into Hindi Not this one. Her lasting contribution was changing the opening words.
    • B. She wrote the UN Charter Not this one. The UN Charter was signed in 1945 by many countries.
    • C. "All men" to "All human beings" Correct. Yes. So the Declaration clearly included women.
    • D. She added a rule that every country must have elections every five years Not this one. The Declaration does not set election timetables.
  2. Question 2 of 5Which of these is NOT a permanent member of the UN Security Council?

    See the answer and why
    • A. India Correct. Yes. India has asked for a permanent seat but does not have one.
    • B. China Not this one. China is a permanent member with a veto.
    • C. Russia Not this one. Russia took the Soviet Union's permanent seat in 1991.
    • D. France, one of the countries that fought in both world wars Not this one. France is a permanent member with a veto.
  3. Question 3 of 5The First World War ended in 1918, and the Second began in 1939. How many years apart were they?

    See the answer and why
    • A. 25 Not this one. Check: 1918 + 25 is 1943.
    • B. 11 Not this one. Check: 1918 + 11 is 1929.
    • C. 31 Not this one. Check: 1918 + 31 is 1949.
    • D. 21 Correct. Yes. 1939 − 1918 = 21 years.
  4. Question 4 of 5What turned the 1943 food shortage in Bengal into a famine in which about 3 million died?

    See the answer and why
    • A. No rice was grown anywhere in India Not this one. Rice was grown, but it did not reach the hungry.
    • B. A cyclone alone Not this one. A cyclone in 1942 damaged crops, but policy failures made it a catastrophe.
    • C. A plague of locusts across the whole country Not this one. Locusts were not the cause.
    • D. Wartime policies and the failure to send relief Correct. Yes. Historians point to how food was moved and relief delayed.
  5. Question 5 of 5Whom does India Gate in New Delhi remember?

    See the answer and why
    • A. The kings of Delhi Not this one. It is a war memorial, not a memorial to kings.
    • B. The builders of New Delhi, who planned the city in the 1910s and 1920s Not this one. It remembers soldiers, not builders.
    • C. The leaders of the 1857 revolt Not this one. India Gate remembers soldiers of the First World War.
    • D. Indian soldiers who died in the First World War Correct. Yes. Thousands of their names are carved on it.

For teachers and grown-upsWhere the facts come from, and how to use this round.

Sources and notes
  • Hansa Mehta: Indian delegate to the UN Commission on Human Rights, 1947 to 1948. UDHR adopted 10 December 1948.
  • Bengal famine: see Amartya Sen, Poverty and Famines (1981). The topic needs sensitivity; focus on causes and lessons.
ProLearners Assist