Under apartheid, which condition directly resulted in intense and widespread starvation and suffering?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Most Blacks being crowded into homelands with a small share of land
Option (1) Most Blacks being crowded into homelands with a small share of land — Correct. Under apartheid, millions of Blacks were forced into homelands, dirt-poor districts with no industry or jobs. These homelands made up only 14 per cent of the land for close to 80 per cent of the people, and this caused intense and widespread starvation.
Option (2) Black protestors being routinely jailed, tortured and killed by the state — Incorrect. Jailing, torture and killing of protestors was the military repression the White minority used to keep its power. It explains how protest was crushed; the mass starvation came from crowding Blacks into small homelands.
Option (3) The White minority viewing the Black majority as social inferiors — Incorrect. Viewing Blacks as social inferiors was the attitude the White minority used to defend its privileges. It is a belief that justified the system; the hunger came from the land shortage in the homelands.
Option (4) Economic capital staying in White hands after the new Constitution — Incorrect. Economic capital staying with Whites is a problem of post-apartheid South Africa, after the new Constitution banned racial discrimination. It belongs to a later period, so it cannot explain the starvation under apartheid.
NCERT (2026-27): “Untouchability … “only 14 per cent of South Africa’s land, while Blacks made up close to 80 per cent of the country’s population. The resulting starvation and suffering was intense and widespread. In short, in a land with extensive natural resources, including diamonds and precious minerals, the majority of people lived in abject poverty. The prosperous White minority defended its privileges by viewing Blacks as social inferiors. However, they also relied on a powerful system of military repression to maintain their power. Black protestors were routinely jailed, tortured and killed. …” |