Which among the following statements about Cold War is wrong?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The US and the USSR were engaged in direct wars
Option (1) It was a competition between the US and the Soviet Union and their respective allies — True (Incorrect). The Cold War referred to the competition, the tensions and a series of confrontations between the US and the Soviet Union, backed by their respective allies.
Option (2) It was an ideological war between the superpowers — True (Incorrect). It was also a real ideological conflict: the western alliance led by the US stood for liberal democracy and capitalism, and the eastern alliance led by the Soviet Union for socialism and communism.
Option (3) It triggered off an arms race — True (Incorrect). Mutual suspicions led the two sides to arm themselves to the teeth; huge stocks of arms were considered necessary to prevent wars.
Option (4) The US and the USSR were engaged in direct wars — Wrong (Correct). The Cold War never escalated into a ‘hot war’, that is, a full-scale war between the two powers. There were wars in various regions, with the two powers and their allies involved, but not a direct war between them.
Note: This question is taken from the chapter ‘The Cold War Era’ which was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT and has been deleted from subsequent editions of NCERT, including the NCERT book (2026-27).
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Cuban Missile Crisis … The Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point of what came to be known as the Cold War. The Cold War referred to the competition, the tensions and a series of confrontations between the United States and Soviet Union, backed by their respective allies. Fortunately, however, it never escalated into a ‘hot war’, that is, a full-scale war between these two powers. There were wars in various regions, with the two powers and their allies involved in warfare and in supporting regional allies, but at least the world avoided another global war. The Cold War was not simply a matter of power rivalries, of military alliances, and of the balance of power. These were accompanied by a real ideological conflict as well, a difference over the best and the most appropriate way of organising political, economic, and social life all over the world. The western alliance, headed by the US, represented the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism while the eastern alliance, headed by the Soviet Union, was committed to the ideology of socialism and communism.… ARENAS OF THE COLD WAR … However, since the Cold War did not eliminate rivalries between the two alliances, mutual suspicions led them to arm themselves to the teeth and to constantly prepare for war. Huge stocks of arms were considered necessary to prevent wars from taking place.…” |