Fill in the blanks :

“Before 1947, ______ was a Princely State . Its ruler was______.”

One of Hazarika’s songs ....... dwells on the unity theme; the seven states of north-eastern India become seven sisters born of the same mother .... ‘Meghalaya went own way ...... Arunachal too separated and Mizoram appeared in Assam’s gateway as a groom to marry another daughter,’ ......... The song ends with a determination to keep the unity of the Assamese with other smaller nationalities that are left in the present-day Assam– ‘the Karbis and the Missing brothers and sisters are our dear ones.’ —Sanjib Baruah

(a) Which unity is the poet talking about ?

(b) Why were the States of North-East created separately out of the erstwhile State of Assam ?

(c) Do you think that the same theme of unity could apply to all the regions of India ? Why ?

“Before 1947, Jammu and Kashmir was a Muslim State. Its Sikh ruler, Hari Singh, wanted to merge with Pakistan.”