Compare the situation of Sekar and Ramalingam by filling out the following table:
Sekar | Ramlingam | |
Land cultivated | 2 acres | 20 acres |
Labour required | He do not requires | He requires |
Loans required | He requires | He also requires the loan for rice mills |
Selling of harvest | He pays paddy to back the loan | Sell to the traders |
Other work done by them | He has | He owns |
Sekar owns only 2 acres of land whereas Ramlingam owns 20 acres of land. Sekar is poor and he has to work on other’s land and in addition he has to do other works also; as he is poor and that’s why he does not requires any labour. Ramlingam is a rich person and he has a big land so, he cannot work on that land alone i.e. he requires labours to work on his land. They both requires loans because Sekar has to buy seeds, pesticides and fertilizers whereas Ramlingam requires loans for the rice mill. Sekar has not enough money to pay loan back to the bank so, he has to give some amount of his harvest to the bank as loan on the other hand Ramlingam sell his harvest to the traders and he earns a lot of money for his harvest. Sekar is poor so one work is not enough for him so, he has to do some other works also and Ramlingam has a rice mill as well as 20 acres of land.
What do you think the government can do to help farmers like Sekar when they get into debt? Discuss.
Imagine you are a member of a fishing family and you are discussing whether to take a loan from the bank for an engine. What would you say?
You have probably noticed that people in Kalpattu are engaged in a variety of non-farm work. List five of these.
Poor rural labourers like Thulasi often do not have access to good medical facilities, good schools, and other resources. You have read about inequality in the first unit of this text. The difference between her and Ramalingam is one of inequality. Do you think this is a fair situation? What do you think can be done? Discuss in class.
List the different types of people you read about in Kalpattu who depend on farming. Who is the poorest among them and why?
How would Maya's life be different in South Africa today?
What problem did the villagers in Hardas village face? What did they do to solve this problem?
Draw up a list of the different festivals celebrated in your locality. Which of these celebrations are shared by members of different regional and religious communities?
What is the work of the police?
Match the following statements in a way that challenges stereotypes.
a. Two surgeons were sitting down to lunch when one of them made a call on the mobile phone |
1. suffers from chronic asthma. |
b. The boy who won the drawing competition went to the dias |
2. to become an astronaut which she did. |
c. One of the fastest athletes in the world |
3. to speak with her daughter who had just returned from school. |
d. She was not that well-off but had a dream |
4. on a wheelchair to collect his prize. |
Look at the statements in the column on the left. Can you identify which level they belong to? Place tick marks against the level you consider most appropriate.
Why did the children go to Yasmin Khala's house?
Read and discuss the following description of the living conditions of workers who come to the labour chowk.
Most workers that we find at the labour chowk cannot afford permanent accommodation and so sleep on pavements near the chowk, or they pay Rs 6 a night for a bed at a nearby night shelter run by the Municipal Corporation. To compensate for the lack of security, local tea and cigarette shops function as banks, moneylenders and safety lockers, all rolled into one. Most workers leave their tools at these shops for the night for safekeeping, and pass on any extra money to them. The shopkeepers keep the money safely and also offer loans to labourers in need.
Source: Aman Sethi, Hindu On-line
What are the various ways in which people participate in the process of government?
What, in your opinion, is the importance of the Gram Sabha? Do you think all members should attend Gram Sabha meetings? Why?
Several poor people in the city work as domestic servants as well as work for the Corporation, keeping the city clean. Yet the slums in which they live are quite filthy. This is because these slums seldom have any water and sanitation facilities. The reason often given by the Municipal Corporation is that the land in which the poor have set up their homes does not belong to them and that slum-dwellers do not pay taxes. However people living in middle class neighbourhoods pay very little in taxes compared to the amount of money the corporation spends on them in setting up parks, street lighting facilities, regular garbage collection etc. Also as you read in this chapter, the property taxes collected by the Municipality makes up only 25-30 per cent of its money. Why do you think it is important that the Corporation should spend more money on slum localities? Why is it important that the Municipal Corporation provide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get?
What was the suffrage movement? What did it accomplish?
Why did the children go to Yasmin Khala's house?
Look at the statements in the column on the left. Can you identify which level they belong to? Place tick marks against the level you consider most appropriate.
In your neighbourhood are there women who own property? How did they acquire it?
What issue is the poem trying to raise? Do you think this is an important issue? Why?
What does the Constitution say with regard to equality? Why do you think it is important for all people to be equal?
What is the difference between a Gram Sabha and a Gram Panchayat?
Why do you think the government needs to make rules for everyone in the form of laws?
Gandhiji strongly believed that every adult in India should be given the right to vote. However, a few people don't share his views. They feel that illiterate people, who are mainly poor, should not be given the right to vote. What do you think? Do you think this would be a form of discrimination? Give five points to support your view and share these with the class.