What do you think living in India with its rich heritage of diversity adds to your life?
India is a democratic country. Living in India with its rich heritage of diversity adds to our life in following ways:
1. We know different people of different religions, cultures, customs and tradition. Every person of every religion follows as well as perform their own rituals and participates in their own religious and cultural activities.
2. Geographical diversities besides our way of life, the food we eat different in other regions, the occupation is different of every person, the festivals are different in every religion, the languages are different, songs are different in different cultures etc.
Underline the line in the poem sung after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which according to you, reflects India's essential unity.
Choose another region in India and do a similar study of the historical and geographical factors that influence the diversity found there. Are these historical and geographical factors connected to each other? How?
Do you think the term "unity in diversity" is an appropriate term to describe India? What do you think Nehru is trying to say about Indian unity in the sentence quoted above from his book The Discovery of India?
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?
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?
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?
You have probably noticed that people in Kalpattu are engaged in a variety of non-farm work. List five of these.
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?
List two things that the work of a Patwari includes.
What is the difference between a Gram Sabha and a Gram Panchayat?
What problem did the villagers in Hardas village face? What did they do to solve this problem?
Compare the situation of Sekar and Ramalingam by filling out the following table:
List the different types of people you read about in Kalpattu who depend on farming. Who is the poorest among them and why?
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
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.
Discuss
In the two photographs you see different ways of collecting and disposing garbage.
i) Which way do you think provides safety to the person disposing garbage?
ii) What are the dangers of collecting garbage in the manner shown in the first photograph?
iii) Why do you think that proper ways of disposing garbage are not available to those who work in municipalities?
Name two essential features of a democratic government.
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.