History

Chapter 1 - The Nationalist Movement in Indo-China

1. Indo-China: The region in South East Asia comprising three countries –Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
2. Civilizing Mission: Mission or aim of civilizing the colonial people by introducing modern education and ideas in the colonies. On the pretext of civilizing, the imperial powers extended their control over colonies.
3. White-Collar jobs: Descriptive of workers mostly clerks who wear starched white collar.
4. Domino Effect: US believed that if Vietnam becomes a communist country it would have same effect on other neighbouring countries too and they would all become communist. The policy of Domino effect grew out of US fear for the spread of communism.

Q.1Why only one third of the students in Vietnam would pass the school leaving examination?

Or

Why most of students in the French schools failed to pass school-leaving examination?

Ans.Most of the students failed because the French followed a deliberate policy of failing the students particularly in the final year so that they could not qualify for the better paid jobs.

Q.2.Describe the influence of China on Vietnam’s culture and life.

Ans.Vietnamese rulers continued to follow the Chinese system of government as well as Chinese culture. In Vietnamese, Chinese was the language of the elite. Confucianism, the religion of China, was followed by large number of people in Vietnam. Vietnamese scholar Phan Boi Chau was educated in Confucian tradition. The French found it difficult to dislodge Chinese influence on Vietnamese culture.

Q.3.Why did the government made the Saigon Native Girls School to take back the students it had expelled?

Ans.In 1926, a major protest movement erupted when the principal of Saigon Native Girls School expelled a Vietnamese girl for sitting on the front bench of the class and for refusing to go to the back bench when asked. When other students protested they too were expelled. When the situation went out of control the government compelled the school authorities to take back the students.

Q.4.Rats were most common in the modern, newly built areas of Hanoi.” Explain.

Or

Why was newly built Hanoi infested with rats?

Ans.The French part of Hanoi was beautiful and clean while the Native Quarter lacked modern facilities of health and hygiene. The refuse and filth from the old city drained straight into the river, which overflowed during heavy rain. The large sewers used in modern Hanoi became the ideal breeding ground for rats. The rats began to enter the well-cared for French homes through the sewage pipes.

Q.5.Describe the ideas behind the Tonkin Free School. To what extent was it a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam?

Ans. The Tonkin Free School was started in Vietnam in 1907 to provide western style of education. The school’s approach was that to be modern it was not enough to learn science and have western ideas but the Vietnamese also had to look modern. For this the school encouraged the students to adopt western styles such as short-hair cut.