AHSEC CLASS 12 ENGLISH question paper 2020

AHSEC Class 12 English Question Paper 2012

by

H.S 2ND YEAR

2012

ENGLISH

QUESTION PAPER

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (10 Marks)

  1. In 1889, the fifth session of the Indian National Congress was held in Mumbai. Leaders from all over the country were in the packed hall.
  2. A bright-eyed pretty young lady with a glowing, intelligent face rose to address the gathering. It was unprecedented.
  3. There were no loud speakers and people at the back could not hear her. They started surging forward. “Brothers, excuse me, my voice cannot reach you. But I am not surprised. For centuries, did you ever try to listen to the voice of a woman? Did you give her the strength to make her voice audible to you?”
  4. The delegates had no answer.
  5. There was more to come from the courageous young lady known as Pandita Ramabai. Till that day women hardly ever attended Congress sessions. It was Pandita Ramabai’s effort that resulted in nine women delegates attending the 1889 session of the Congress.
  6. She was not content to be a dumb delegate. She made a forceful speech on the resolution about the practice of cutting off the hair of widowed women. “You men are demanding the right of representation in the British Parliament so that you can voice the opinion of Indians. You have been crying hoarse in this very pandal for freedom of expression. Then why don’t you give the same freedom to women in your families? Why do you force a woman to become ugly and dependent as soon as she becomes a widow? Does a widower ever do that? He has the freedom to do whatever he wants. Then why not the woman?”
  7. One can say that Pandita Ramabai laid the foundation of the movement of women’s liberation in India.
  8. Ramabai never minced words. She had the courage of her conviction and stood by it. She had inherited this courage to defy social injustice from her parents, Pandit Anantshastri Dongre and Laxmibai Dongre.
  9. Anantshastri was a great scholar. He defied society and taught Sanskrit to his wife and two daughters. “There is noting in Shastras which prohibits women from learning Sanskrit”, he maintained and proved his contention by giving more than 300 references. But the orthodox scholars were not convinced. They ostracized him. Anantshastri did not care. He established his Ashram in the wilderness of Gangamul in Andhra Pradesh. His generosity and the unscrupulous behaviour of his elder son-in-law deprived him of all his assets. He was forced to live the life of a nomad, reciting and interpreting Puranas, Bhagwat and other holy books to people. The family survived on whatever little cash or grain offered by the audience.
  10. Ramabai wrote: “Two-third of the audience consisted of women who never go empty-handed to a discourse. They always offer something to the diety as well as to the kirtankar or kathakar. Men just ring the bell and do Namaskar. Thus, half of the expenditure of these temples is met by the generosity of women. Even then these priests and so-called scholars consider women as obstacles in pursuit of knowledge. They deny women the right to learn. How ungrateful: what injustice!”.
  11. The family travelled around for sixteen years, and that helped to broaden Ramabai’s outlook.
  12. Right from childhood, she could not stand injustice. One day she tried to save a little girl of nine from being burnt with the dead body of her husband. “If a woman has to burn and become sati, does a man become sata after his wife’s death?” She asked indignantly, the young girl’s mother has no answer and simply said. “It is a man’s world, they make laws: women have to obey.” “Why do women tolerate such laws?” countered Ramabai. “When I grow up, I will fight against these laws” And fight she did against every type of exploitation of women by men.
  13. Perhaps it was to make her strong enough for her future mission that Providence made her go through one disaster after another.
  14. Her father died when she was sixteen. They could not give sugar and water which he asked for on his deathbed. They were then travelling through the famine-affected area of Venkatgiri. With tears in their eyes and loved in their heart, Ramabai’s family could only give some water to the dying man. Nobody helped them in his burial. After great persuasion one Brahmin got a pit dug. Srinivas, Ramabai’s brother, wrapped the dead body in a sheet and carried it to the pit. And the great scholarly sanyasi was buried.

Answer the following questions:

  1. Which session of the Indian National Congress was held in Mumbai in 1889? 1
  2. How many women delegates attended the 1889 session of the Indian National Congress? 1
  3. Who, according to the passage, laid the foundation of the women liberation movement? 1
  4. How did Anantshastri defy the society? 2
  5. “They ostracized him” (para 9) 2
  6. Who are ‘they’ referred to here?
  7. Explain the meaning of the sentence
  8. Which incident made her fight against every type of exploitation of women by men? 2

3. Water is precious and we should stop wastage. Prepare a poster in not more than 50 words urging people to employ various methods of rainwater harvesting in their locality.

Or

You are Pramila/Priyam, the sports secretary of Kokrajhar Senior Secondary School, Kokrajhar. Write a notice suitable for your school notice board giving the details for participation of students in a football tournament to be organized by your school. (Word Limit: 50 words) 5

 

4. You attended the Edufair, 2011, organized by The Assam Tribune Pvt. Ltd. In Guwahati in which some top colleges and universities of India participated and gave information about their Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Write detailed account of the fair in 100-125 words. You are Parveen/Pravin. 10

Or

You are eyewitness to a road accident in which a school going boy was killed and many passengers were injured. As a press reporter of The Assam Tribune, write a report about the accident in 100-125 words. You are Ayesha/Sanjoy.

 

5. Write a letter to the editor of The Sentinel drawing the attention of the authorities concerned regarding the poor condition of the roads in your locality. You are Rashmi/Manab living in Changsari, Kamrup. 10

Or

You are Arunava. You have seen the advertisement for the post of English teacher in Model Public School, Jorhat. Write an application for the post in response to the advertisement. Give your bio-date also. 10

6. You are Nandini/Nabin. Write an article in 150-200 words for a newspaper on “the role of Youth in combating corruption in the society.” 10

Or

Write a short speech in about 200 words on the preservation of bio-diversity in the Northeast of India. 10

***

 

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