Social Science - Mizoram

Social Science

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE

TEXTBOOK FOR CLASS VI

Prepared byNational Council of Educational Research and Training

Published byState Council of Educational Research and Training

Mizoram

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CONTENTS

UNIT I DIVERSITY

Chapter 1 Understanding Diversity 3Chapter 2 Diversity and Discrimination 13

Foreword

UNIT II GOVERNMENT

Chapter 3 What is Government? 27Chapter 4 Key Elements of a Democratic Government 35

UNIT III LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

Chapter 5 The Village Council 43Chapter 6 Rural Administration 49Chapter 7 Urban Administration 57

UNIT IV LIVELIHOODS

Chapter 8 Rural Livelihoods 67Chapter 9 Urban Livelihoods 76

References 86

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UNIT - I

Div

ersi

ty

Diver

DiversityDiversity

Diversity

Diversity

Diversity

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National Anthem of India

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka jaya heBharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Punjaba-Sindhu-Gujarata-MarathaDravida-Utkala-Banga

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Gangauchchala-jaladhi-taranga.

Tava shubha name jage, tava shubha asisa mage,gahe tava jaya-gatha.

Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya heBharata-bhagya-vidhata.

Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,jaya jaya jaya jaya he!

Translation of the National Anthem

Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,dispenser of India’s destiny.Thy name rouses the hearts ofthe Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Maratha,of the Dravida and Odisha and Bengal.It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.The saving of all people waits in thy hand,thou dispenser of India’s destiny.Victory, Victory, Victory to thee!

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Look around you in the classroom: do you seeanyone who looks exactly like you do? In thischapter you will learn that people are different fromeach other in many ways. Not only do they lookdifferent but they might also belong to differentregional, cultural or religious backgrounds. Thesedifferences enrich our lives in many ways and alsomake them more fun!

All these different people, who come from all kinds ofbackgrounds, and belong to all kinds of religions andcultures help to make India so interesting and sodiverse. What does diversity add to our lives? Howdid India become like this? Are all kinds of differencea part of diversity? Can diversity also be a part ofunity? Read this chapter to find some answers.

Chapter 1

UnderstandingDiversity

hree children around your age have drawnthe figures above. Use the empty box to

draw your human figure. Is your drawingsimilar to any of the others? The chances arethat your drawing is quite different from theother three, which you can see are quitedifferent from each other. This is because eachone of us has a unique drawing style. We notonly don't look exactly like each other but alsodiffer in terms of the language we speak, ourcultural backgrounds, the religious rituals weobserve and, of course the way we draw!

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4 / Social and Political Life

Now ask your teacher to help youcheck how many of you have similaranswers. Is there anyone whose listmatches yours exactly? Probably not.But many of you may have similaranswers. How many like reading thesame kind of books? How manydifferent languages are spoken by thestudents in your class?

By now you must have recognisedthe many ways in which you are quitelike some of your classmates andother ways in which you are differentfrom them.

Making friends

Do you think it would be easy for youto make friends with someone whowas very different from you? Read thefollowing story and think about this.

I had meant it as a joke. A jokemade up for a small ragged boy whosold newspapers at the Janpatcrossing at the busy intersection.Every time I cycled past he would runafter me, holding out the English paper

and screaming out the evening'sheadlines in a mixture of Hindi andEnglish words. This time, I stopped bythe pavement and asked for the Hindipaper. His mouth fell open.

"You mean you know Hindi?" heasked.

"Of course," I said as I paid for thepaper.

"Why? What did you think?"

He paused. "But you look so…soangrez," he said. "You mean you caneven read Hindi?"

"Of course I can," I said, this time alittle impatiently. "I can speak, read

and write Hindi. Hindi is one of thesubjects I study in school."

"Subjects?" he asked. How could Iexplain what a subject was to someonewho had never been to school? "Well, itis something…" I began, but the lightschanged, and the honking behind me grew a hundredfold and I let myselfbe pushed along with the rest of thetraffic.

Fill out the following informationabout yourselfWhen I go out I like wearing

At home I speak in

My favourite sport is

I like reading books about

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Understanding Diversity / 5

The next day he was there again,smiling at me and holding out a Hindipaper. "Bhaiyya," he said, "aap kaakhbaar. Ab Bathaaiye yeh subjectkya cheez hai?" the English wordsounded strange on his tongue. It sounded like its other meaning in English – to be ruled by someoneelse.

"Oh, it's just something to study," Isaid. And then because the red lighthad come on, I asked him, "Have youever been to school?" "Never," heanswered. And he added proudly, "Ibegan working when I was so high."He measured himself against mycycle-seat. "First my mother used tocome with me but I can do it all alone."

"Where is your mother now?" Iasked, but then the lights changed andI was off. I heard him yell fromsomewhere behind me, "She's inMeerut with…" The rest was drownedout.

"My name is Samir," he said thenext day. And very shyly he asked,"What's yours?" It was incredible. Mybicycle wobbled. "My name is Samirtoo," I said. "What?" His eyes lit up."Yes," I grinned at him. "It's anothername for Hanuman's father, youknow." "So now you are Samir-I andI'm Samir-II," he said triumphantly."Something like that," I answered andthen I held out my hand. "Haath milao,Samir-II!" His hand nestled in mine likea little bird. I could still feel its warmthas I cycled away.

The next day, he did not have hisusual smile for me. "There is trouble inMeerut," he said. "Many people arebeing killed there in the riots." I lookedat the headlines. Communal Riots, itblazed. "But Samir…" I began. "I'm aMuslim Samir," he said in answer."And all my people are in Meerut." Hiseyes filled with tears and when Itouched his shoulder, he would notlook up.

He was not at the crossing the dayafter. Neither the day after nor everagain. And no newspaper, in English orHindi, can tell me where my Samir-IIhas gone.

(The Lights Changed by Poile Sengupta)

While Samir-I is more familiar withEnglish, Samir-II speaks Hindi.Although they both are more at homein different languages they stillcommunicated with each other. Theymade the effort to do so because thiswas what was important to them.

Samir-I and Samir-II also comefrom different religious and culturalbackgrounds. While Samir-I is aHindu, Samir-II is a Muslim. Differentreligious and cultural backgroundssuch as these are an aspect ofdiversity.

Name three ways in whichSamir-I and Samir -II weredifferent?

Did these differences preventthem from becoming friends?

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In addition to theirdiverse religious andcultural backgrounds,there are other waysin which Samir-I andSamir-II are differentfrom each other.For example, whileSamir-I goes toschool, Samir-II sellsnewspapers.

Samir-II did not have theopportunity to attend school. Perhapsyou've noticed that there are severalpeople in the area where you live whoare poor and who don't have enoughto eat or wear and sometimes not evena place to live. This difference is notthe same as the one we have seen

earlier. Here, we're talking not ofdifference but of inequality. Inequalitycomes about when a person does nothave the resources and opportunititesthat are available to other persons.

The caste system is anotherexample of inequality. According tothis, society was divided into differentgroups depending upon the work thatpeople did and they were supposed toremain in those groups. So if yourparents were potters you could onlybecome a potter and nothing else. Thissystem was considered irreversible.And because you were not supposedto change your profession, it was notconsidered necessary for you to knowanything more than what you neededin your profession. This created asituation of inequality. You will readmore about this and other inequalitiesin the following chapters.

What does diversity add to ourlives?

Just like Samir-I and Samir-II becamefriends, you might have friends whoare very different from you. You haveprobably eaten different kinds of foodin their homes, celebrated differentfestivals with them, tried out theclothes they wear, and learnt some oftheir languages as well.

DiscussWhy do you think Samir-II didnot attend school? Do you thinkit would have been easy for himto attend school if he wanted to?In your opinion is it a fairsituation that some children getto go to school and others don't?

Assignment

Make a list of the festivals that mighthave been celebrated by the two boys.

Samir-I:

Samir-II:

Can you think of a situation in whichyou made friends with someone whowas very different from you? Write astory that describes this.

Project Work

Make a list of the food that you haveeaten from different parts of India.Draw or paste a picture.

Make a list of the languages besidesyour mother tongue that you canspeak at least one or two words of.

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You probably like reading andhearing stories and adventures aboutdifferent animals, people and evenghosts. Perhaps you even enjoymaking up stories yourself ! Manyyoung people feel happy when theyread a good story because it givesthem lots of ideas to make up morestories. People who write stories gettheir ideas from all sorts of differentplaces – from books, real life and fromtheir imagination.

Some may have lived in forestsclose to animals and chosen to writeof their fights and friendships. Othersread real accounts of kings andqueens and wrote stories about loveand honour. Some dipped into theirown childhood memories of schooland friends and wrote stories ofadventure.

Imagine,if all thestorytellersand writersthat youhave heardand read so

far were forced to live in aplace where all people worethe same two colours red andwhite, ate the same food(maybe potatoes!), took careof the same two animals, for example, the deer and the cat, and to entertainthemselves played snakesand ladders. What kind ofstories do you think theywould write?

DIVERSITY IN INDIA

India is a country of many diversities.We speak different languages, havevarious types of food, celebratedifferent festivals, practise differentreligions. But actually, if you thinkabout it, we do many things that aresimilar except that we do them indifferent ways.

How do we explain Diversity?

A little more than two hundred yearsago or long before the train,aeroplane, bus or car became a part ofour lives, people travelled from onepart of the world to another in ships,on horses, on camels or on foot.

Project Work

Imagine that you are a writer or anartist who lives in the placedescribed above. Either write a storyor draw a picture of your life here.

Do you think you would enjoy livingin a place like this? List five differentthings that you would miss the mostif you lived here.

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Through singing ahymn

Through signing aregister in the court

In Manipur womenwear a phanek

Different ways inwhich people greet

each other

Different ways inwhich people dress

Different ways inwhich people get

married

Different ways inwhich people pray

List at least three different ways in which people in India do the following.One of the possible answers has been provided for you already.

Different ways inwhich people cook

rice

By making Biriyaniwith meat orvegetables

In Jharkhand manyadivasis say "johar"to greet each other

Often, they went in search of newlands, or new places to settle in, or forpeople to trade with. And because ittook so long to travel, once they got toa place, people stayed there, often fora long time. Many others left theirhomes because there were faminesand drought and they could not getenough to eat. Some went in search ofwork while others left because therewas a war.

Sometimes, as they began to maketheir homes in new places, peoplebegan to change a little and at othertimes they managed to do things inthe old ways. So their languages, food,

music, religions became a mix of theold and the new, and out of this inter-mixing of cultures, came somethingnew and different.

The history of many places showsus how many different culturalinfluences have helped to shape lifeand culture there. Thus regionsbecame very diverse because of theirunique histories.

Similarly diversity also comesabout when people adapt their lives tothe geographical area in which theylive. For example living near the sea isquite different from living in amountainous area.

Group Assignment

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Ladakh is a desert in themountains in the eastern part ofJammu and Kashmir. Very littleagriculture is possible here sincethis region does not receive anyrain and is covered in snow for alarge part of the year. There arevery few trees that can grow in theregion. For drinking water, peopledepend on the melting snowduring the summer months.

People here keep sheep andgoats. The goats in this region arespecial because they producepashmina wool. This wool isprized and pashmina shawls costa lot of money. The people inLadakh carefully collect the woolof the goats and sell this totraders from Kashmir. Pashminashawls are chiefly woven inKashmir.

The people eat meat and milkproducts like cheese and butter.Each family owns some goats,cows and dzos (yak-cows).

Being a desert didnot mean thatLadakh did notattract its share oftraders. It wasconsidered a goodtrade route as ithad many passesthrough whichcaravans travelledto what is todaycalled Tibet. Thesecaravans carriedtextiles and spices,raw silk andcarpets.

Not only do people have differentclothing and eating habits, but even thekinds of work they do are different. Incities it is often easy to forget how closelypeople's lives are tied to their physicalsurroundings. This is because in the citypeople seldom grow their own vegetablesand grain. Instead they depend on themarket to buy all the food and othergoods that they need.

Let us try to understand what wemean when we say that historical andgeographical factors influence thediversity of a region. We can do this byreading about life in two different parts ofthe country, Kerala and Ladakh.

Assignment

Look at the map of India in an Atlas and locateKerala and Ladakh. Can you list three ways inwhich the different geographical location of thesetwo regions would influence the following?

1. The food people eat.2. The clothes they wear.3. The work they do.

The dry barren landscape of the mountainousdesert of Ladakh.

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Buddhism reached Tibet via Ladakh. Ladakh isalso called Little Tibet. Islam was introduced inthis region more than four hundred years agoand there is a significant Muslim populationhere. Ladakh has a very rich oral tradition ofsongs and poems. Local versions of the Tibetannational epic the Kesar Saga are performed andsung by both Muslims and Buddhists.

Woman weaving a pashmina shawl


Kerala is a state in the south-west corner of India. It issurrounded by the sea on oneside and hills on the other. Anumber of spices like pepper,

cloves and cardamoms are grown on thehills. It is spices that made this region

an attractive place for traders. Jewishand Arab traders were the first to comehere. The Apostle of Christ, St. Thomasis believed to have come here nearly

2000 years ago and he is credited withbringing Christianity to India.

Many Arab traders also came andsettled down here. Ibn Battuta, whotravelled here a little less than sevenhundred years ago, wrote a travelogue inwhich he describes the lives of Muslims

and says that they were a highly respected community. ThePortuguese discovered the searoute to India from Europe whenVasco da Gama landed with hisship here.

Because of all these varioushistorical influences, people inKerala practise different religionssuch as Judaism, Islam, Chris-tianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.

The fishing nets used here lookexactly like the Chinese fishingnets and are called cheena-vala.

Even the utensil used for frying is calledthe cheenachatti, and it is believed thatthe word cheen could have come fromChina. The fertile land and climate aresuited to growing rice and a majority of

people here eat rice, fish andvegetables.

Chinese Fishing Nets

The boat race is an important part ofthe Onam festival celebrated in Kerala.

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Understanding Diversity / 11While Kerala and Ladakh are quite

different in terms of theirgeographical features, the history ofboth regions has seen similar culturalinfluences. Both regions wereinfluenced by Chinese and Arabtraders. It was the geography ofKerala which allowed for thecultivation of spices and the specialgeographical location of Ladakh andits wool that drew traders to theseregions. Thus history and geographyare often tied in the cultural life of aregion.

The influence of diverse cultures isnot merely a thing of the past. Ourpresent lives are all about movingfrom place to place for work and witheach move our cultural traditions andway of life slowly become part of thenew place we are in. Similarly in ourown neighbourhoods we live close topeople from several communities. Ourdaily lives are about the ways inwhich we do things together and hearstories about each other's lives,customs and traditions.

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

India's diversity has always beenrecognised as a source of its strength.When the British ruled India, womenand men from different cultural,religious and regional backgroundscame together to oppose them. India'sfreedom movement had thousands ofpeople of different backgrounds in it.They worked together to decide jointactions, they went to jail together, andthey found different ways to opposethe British. Interestingly the British

thought they could divide Indiansbecause they were so different, andthen continue to rule them. But thepeople showed how they could bedifferent and yet be united in theirbattle against the British.

Don't forget the days of blood, O friend

In the midst of your happiness rememberto shed a tear for us

The hunter has torn away every singleflower

Do plant a flower in the desert gardendear friend

Having fallen to bullets we slept inJallianwala Bagh

Do light a lamp on this lonely grave

O friend

The blood of Hindus and Muslims flowstogether today

Do soak your robe in this river of blooddear friend

Some rot in jails while others lie in theirgraves

Do shed a few tears for them O friend.

Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA)

This song was sung after theJallianwala Bagh massacre inAmritsar in which a British generalopened fire on a large group ofunarmed, peaceful people killingmany and wounding even more. Menand women, Hindus, Sikhs andMuslims, rich and poor had gatheredto protest against the British. Thissong was composed and sung to honour the memory of those brave people.

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QUESTIONS

1. Draw up a list of the different festivals celebrated in your locality.Which of these celebrations are shared by members of differentregional and religious communities?

2. What do you think living in India with its rich heritage of diversityadds to your life?

3. Do you think the term "unity in diversity" is an appropriate term todescribe India? What do you think Nehru is trying to say aboutIndian unity in the sentence quoted above from his book TheDiscovery of India?

4. Underline the line in the poem sung after the Jallianwala Baghmassacre, which according to you, reflects India's essential unity.

5. Choose another region in India and do a similar study of thehistorical and geographical factors that influence the diversity foundthere. Are these historical and geographical factors connected toeach other? How?

Songs and symbols that emergedduring the freedom struggle serve as aconstant reminder of our country'srich tradition of respect for diversity.Do you know the story of the Indianflag? It was used as a symbol ofprotest against the British by peopleeverywhere.

In his book TheDiscovery of IndiaJawaharlal Nehru saysthat Indian unity is notsomething imposedfrom the outside butrather, "It wassomething deeper andwithin its fold, thewidest tolerance ofbelief and custom waspractised and everyvariety acknowledgedand even encouraged."It was Nehru, who

coined the phrase, "unity in diversity"to describe the country.

India's national anthem,composed by RabindranathTagore, is another expressionof the unity of India. In whatway does the nationalanthem describe this unity?

Pt. Nehru delivering an Independence Day speech

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Chapter 2

Difference and Prejudice

here are many things that makeus what we are – how we live, the

languages we speak, what we eat,wear, the games we play and thethings we celebrate. All of these areinfluenced both by the geography andhistory of the place where we live.

You will get an idea of how diverseIndia is if you look even briefly at thefollowing statement:

There are eight major religions in theworld. Every single one of them ispractised in India. We have more than

1600 languages that are people'smother tongues, and there are morethan a hundred dance forms.

Yet this diversity is not alwayscelebrated. This is because we feelsafe and secure with people who look,talk, dress and think like us.

Sometimes when we meet peoplewho are very different from us we mayfind them strange and unfamiliar. Attimes we may not understand or knowthe reasons why they are differentfrom us. People also form certainattitudes and opinions about otherswho are not like them.

T

In the previous chapter you have discussed themeanings of diversity. Sometimes people who are'different' from others are teased, laughed at or notincluded in a certain activity or group. We feelhurt, angry, helpless or sad when friends or otherstreat us in such ways. Have you ever wonderedwhy this happens?

In this chapter we will try and explore how suchexperiences are related to the society we live in.We will look at how they are connected to theinequalities that exist around us.

Diversity and Discrimination

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Some of these statements seevillagers as ignorant andsuperstitious, and see people in citiesas money-minded, lazy and cunning.When our opinions about certainpeople are always negative – seeingthem as lazy, cunning, stingy – assome of these statements, then thesebecome prejudices that we carryabout them.

Prejudice means to judge otherpeople negatively or see them asinferior. When we think that only oneparticular way is the best and rightway to do things we often end up notrespecting others, who may prefer todo things differently. For example, ifwe think English is the best languageand other languages are notimportant, we are judging these otherlanguages negatively. As a result, wemight not respect people who speaklanguages other than English.

We can be prejudiced aboutmany things: people's religiousbeliefs, the colour of their skin,the region they come from, theaccent they speak in, the clothesthey wear, etc. Often, ourprejudices about others are sostrong that we don't want to formfriendships with them. At times,we may even act in ways that hurtthem.

Look at the statements below that youbelieved to be true about rural andurban life in India. Tick mark thosethat you agree with.

Do you have a prejudice against ruralor urban people? Find out if this isshared by others and discuss thereasons why people have theseprejudices.

Can you list some of the prejudicesthat you have noticed around you.How do they affect the ways in whichpeople treat each other?

On Rural People

More than 50% of all Indians live invillages.Villagers do not care about theirhealth. They are full ofsuperstition.People in villages are backwardand do not like to use modernagricultural technology.In peak harvesting and plantationseason, families spend 12 to 14hours working in the fields.Villagers are forced to migrate tocities in search of work.

On Urban PeopleLife in the city is easy. People hereare spoilt and lazy.In cities families spend very littletime with each other.People in cities only care aboutmoney, not about people.Living in a city is expensive. A largepart of people's earnings is spenton rent and transport.City people cannot be trusted, theyare cunning and corrupt.

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Creating Stereotypes

All of us are familiar with genderdifferences. What does it mean to be aboy or a girl? Many of you would say,"We are born as boys and girls. It is agiven. What is there to think about?"Let's see if this is the case.

If we take the statement ''Theydon't cry", you'll see that this is aquality that is generally associatedwith boys and men. As babies orchildren when boys fall and hurtthemselves, their parents and otherfamily members often console them bysaying "Don't cry. You are a boy. Boys

are brave, they don't cry." As childrengrow up they start believing that boysdo not cry so that even if a boy feelslike crying he stops himself fromdoing so. He also believes that cryingis a sign of weakness. So, even thoughboth boys and girls sometimes want tocry, especially if they are angry or in

Arrange the statements given below inthese two sections, according to whatyou think is appropriate for the section.

They are well behaved.They are soft spoken and gentle.They are physically strong .They are naughty.They are good at dance and painting.They don't cry.They are rowdy.They are good at sport.They are good at cooking.They are emotional.

Girls Boys1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5

Now check, with your teacher's help, who has put which statementwhere. Find out and discuss people's reasons for doing this. Are thequalities you put in for boys something that boys are born with?

Diversity and Discrimination / 15

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Discussion

The children you see in theillustrations here were seen as'disabled'. This term has beenchanged and now the termused is 'children with specialneeds'. Common stereotypesabout them are given in largeletters. Their own feelings andthoughts too are given.

Discuss what these childrenare saying about stereotypesregarding them and why.

Do you think children withspecial needs should be a partof regular schools or study in aseparate school? Give reasonsfor your answer.

Source: Why are you afraid to holdmy hand, by Sheila Dhir


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pain, as they grow older boys learn orteach themselves not to cry. If agrown boy cries, then he feels thatothers will either tease him or laughat him, and so he stops himself fromdoing so in front of others.

This is the way boys are and this ishow girls are: these are statements wehear constantly and accept withouteven thinking, and we start believingthat each one of us must behaveaccordingly. We fit all boys and allgirls into an image that society createsaround us.

When we fix people into one imagewe create a stereotype. When peoplesay that those who belong to aparticular country, religion, sex, raceor economic background are "stingy,""lazy," "criminal" or "dumb," they areusing stereotypes. There are stingyand generous people everywhere, inevery country, in every religion, inevery group whether rich or poor, maleor female. And just because somepeople are like that it is not fair tothink that everyone will be the same.

Stereotypes stop us from looking ateach person as a unique individualwith his or her own special qualitiesand skills that are different from

others. They fit large numbers ofpeople into only one pattern or type.Stereotypes affect all of us as theyprevent us from doing certain things,that we might otherwise be good at.

Inequality and Discrimination

Discrimination happens when peopleact on their prejudices or stereotypes.If you do something to put otherpeople down, if you stop them fromtaking part in certain activities andtaking up jobs, or stop them fromliving in certain neighbourhoods,prevent them from taking water fromthe same well or hand pump, or notallow them to drink tea in the samecups or glasses as others, you arediscriminating against them.

Discrimination can take placebecause of several reasons. Youprobably recall from the previouschapter that Samir I and Samir IIwere different from each other inmany ways. For example, theybelonged to different religions. This isan aspect of diversity. However, thisdiversity can also be a source ofdiscrimination. Groups of people whomay speak a certain language, followa particular religion, live in specificregions, etc., may be discriminatedagainst as their customs or practicesmay be seen as inferior.

Another difference between the twoSamirs was in their economicbackgrounds. Samir II was poor. Thisdifference, as you have read earlier, isnot a form of diversity but ofinequality. People who are poor donot have the resources or the money

Discussion

You can take other statements such asThey are soft and gentle or They arewell behaved and discuss how theseare applied to girls. Do girls possessthese qualities at birth or do they learnsuch behaviour from others? What doyou think about girls who are not softand gentle and those who are naughty?

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to meet their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. They experiencediscrimination in offices, inhospitals, schools, etc.,where they are treatedbadly because they arepoor.

Some people mayexperience both kinds of dis-crimination. They are poorand they belong to groupswhose culture is not valued.Tribals, some religiousgroups and even particularregions, are discriminated

against for one or more of thesereasons. In the following section we willlook at how a famous Indian wasdiscriminated against. This will help usunderstand the ways in which castewas used to discriminate against largenumbers of people.

On being discriminated againstPeople are engaged in different kindsof work like teaching, carpentry,pottery, weaving, fishing, farming, etc.to earn a livelihood. However, certainkinds of work are valued more thanothers. Activities like cleaning, wash-ing, cutting hair, picking garbage areseen as tasks that are of less valueand people who do this work are seenas dirty or impure. This belief is animportant aspect of the caste system.In the caste system, communities/groups of people were placed in a sortof ladder where each caste was eitherabove or below the other. Those whoplaced themselves at the top of this ladder called themselves upper

A common stereotype about Muslims isthat they are not interested ineducating girls and therefore do notsend girls to school. However, studieshave now shown that poverty amongstMuslims is an important reason whyMuslim girls do not attend school ordrop out from school after a few years.

Wherever effort has been made toreach education to the poor, there theMuslim community has shown aninterest in sending their girls to school.

For example in the state of Kerala thedistance between the school and thehome is not much. There is a goodgovernment bus service that helpsteachers reach schools in rural areasand over sixty per cent of the teachersare women. These factors have helpedchildren from poorer families, includingMuslim girls, attend school in muchlarger numbers.

In other states, where such efforts havenot been made children from poorerfamilies whether Muslim, tribal or so-called lower castes find it difficult toattend school. Therefore, poverty, notreligion, is the cause for non-attendanceof Muslim girls in school.


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Dalit is a term thatpeople belonging to so-called lower castes useto address themselves.They prefer this wordto 'untouchable'. Dalitmeans those who havebeen 'broken'. Thisword according toDalits shows howsocial prejudices anddiscrimination have'broken' the Dalitpeople. The govern-ment refers to thisgroup of people asScheduled Castes (SC).

Being made to sit seperately in the classroombecause of one's background is a form ofdiscrimination.

What is the difference betweendiscrimination and stereotypes?

How do you think a person who isdiscriminated against might feel?

caste and sawthemselves assuperior. Thegroups whowere placed at the bottomof the ladderwere seen asunworthy andcalled "untou-chables".

Caste ruleswere set whichdid not allowthe so-called"untouchables"

to take on work, other than whatthey were meant to do. For example,some groups were forced to pickgarbage and remove dead animalsfrom the village. But they were notallowed to enter the homes of theupper castes or take water from thevillage well, or even enter temples.Their children could not sit next tochildren of other castes in school.

Thus upper castes acted in ways,which did not give the so-called"untouchables" the same rights asthey enjoyed.

Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, one of thegreatest leaders of India, shares his firstexperience of caste-based discrimi-nation, which took place in 1901 whenhe was just nine years old. He had gonewith his brothers and cousins to meethis father in Koregaon which is now inMaharashtra.

Long did we wait, but no one turnedup. An hour elapsed and the station-master came to enquire. He asked usfor our tickets. We showed them to him.He asked us why we tarried. We toldhim that we were bound for Koregaonand that we were waiting for father orhis servant to come, but that neitherhad turned up and that we did notknow how to reach Koregaon.

We were well-dressed children.From our dress or talk no one couldmake out that we were children of theuntouchables. Indeed the station-master was quite sure we wereBrahmin children and was extremelytouched at the plight in which he foundus. As is usual among the Hindus, thestationmaster asked us who we were.Without a moment's thought I blurtedout that we were Mahars. (Mahar isone of the communities which weretreated as untouchables in the Bombay

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Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar (1891-1956)is considered the father of the Indian Constitution and is also the best known leader of the Dalits. Dr Ambedkar fought for the rights of the Dalit community. He was born into the Mahar caste, whichwas considered untouchable. TheMahars were poor, owned no landand children born to them also hadto do the work their parents did.They lived in spaces outside themain village and were not allowedinto the village.

Dr Ambedkar was the first personfrom his caste who completed hiscollege education and went toEngland to become a lawyer. Heencouraged Dalits to send theirchildren to school and college. Healso urged Dalits to take on differentkinds of government jobs in order tomove out of the caste system. He ledmany efforts of Dalits to gain entryinto temples. Later in life heconverted to Buddhism in his searchfor a religion that treated all members equally. Dr Ambedkar believedthat Dalits mustfight the castesystem and worktowards a societybased on respectnot just for a few butfor all persons.

Presidency.) He was stunned. His faceunderwent a sudden change. We couldsee that he was overpowered by astrange feeling of repulsion. As soon ashe heard my reply, he went away to hisroom and we stood where we were.Fifteen to twenty minutes elapsed; thesun was almost setting. Our father hadnot turned up nor had he sent hisservant, and now the stationmaster hadalso left us. We were quite bewildered,and the joy and happiness, which we feltat the beginning of the journey, gave wayto a feeling of extreme sadness.

After half an hour the stationmasterreturned and asked us what we proposedto do. We said that if we could get abullock-cart on hire we would go toKoregaon, and if it was not very far wewould like to start straightway. Therewere many bullock-carts plying for hire.But my reply to the station master that wewere Mahars had gone round among thecart men and not one of them wasprepared to suffer being polluted and todemean himself carrying passengers of the untouchable classes. We wereprepared to pay double the fare but wefound that money did not work. The

stationmaster, who was negotiatingon our behalf, stood silent, notknowing what to do.Source: Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Writings andSpeeches, Volume 12, Edited Vasant Moon,Bombay Education Department, Govt. ofMaharashtra.

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Imagine how difficult it would be ifpeople could not move easily from oneplace to the other, how insulting andhurtful it is to have people move away,refuse to touch you or allow you todrink water from the same source asthey do.

This small incident shows how asimple task of going from one place toanother in a cart was not available tothe children – even though they couldpay the money. All the cart men at thestation refused to take the children.They acted in a discriminatorymanner.

So, clearly, as this story shows us,caste based discrimination is not onlylimited to preventing Dalits fromundertaking certain economicactivities but it also denies them therespect and dignity given to others.

Striving for Equality

The struggle for freedom from Britishrule also included within it thestruggle of large groups of people whonot only fought against the British butalso fought to be treated more equally.Dalits, women, tribals and peasantsfought against the inequalities theyexperienced in their lives.

As pointed out earlier, many Dalitsorganised themselves to gain entryinto temples. Women demanded thatthey should have as much a right toeducation as men did. Peasants andtribals fought to release themselvesfrom the grasp of the moneylenderand the high interest they werecharged.

When India became a nation in1947 our leaders too were concernedabout the different kinds ofinequalities that existed. Those whowrote the Constitution of India, adocument that laid out the rules bywhich the nation would function, were aware of the ways in which


Assignment

Despite the childrenoffering money the cartmenrefused them. Why?

How did people at the station discriminateagainst Dr Ambedkar andhis brothers?

How do you think Dr Ambedkar felt as a child, when he saw thestationmaster's reaction tohis statement that theywere Mahars?

Have you ever experiencedprejudice or witnessed anincident of discrimination?How did this make you feel?

DiscussIn addition to the lower castesbeing discriminated against, thereare also various other communitiesthat are subject to discrimination.

Can you think of a few otherexamples of discrimination.

Discuss the ways in which personswith special needs might besubject to discrimination.

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discrimination had been practised in our society and how people had struggled against this. Manyleaders of these struggles such as Dr Ambedkar had also fought for therights of the Dalits.

So these leaders set out a visionand goals in the Constitution toensure that all the people of Indiawere considered equal. This equalityof all persons is seen as a key valuethat unites us all as Indians.Everyone has equal rights andopportunities. Untouchability is seen

as a crime and has been legallyabolished by law. People are freeto choose the kind of work theywish to do. Government jobs are open to all people. In addition,the Constitution also placedresponsibility on the governmentto take specific steps to realise thisright to equality for poor and othersuch marginal communities.

The writers of the Constitutionalso said that respect for diversitywas a significant element inensuring equality. They felt thatpeople must have the freedom tofollow their religion, speak theirlanguage, celebrate their festivalsand express themselves freely.They said that no one language,religion or festival should becomecompulsory for all to follow. Theysaid that the government musttreat all religions equally.

Therefore, India became asecular country where people ofdifferent religions and faiths have

Some of the members who wrote theConstitution of India.

Women at a rally demanding their rights


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the freedom to practise and followtheir religion without any fear ofdiscrimination. This is seen as animportant element of our unity – thatwe all live together and respect oneother.

Though these ideals are enshrinedin our Constitution, this chapterpoints out that inequalities exist eventoday. Equality is a value that wehave to keep striving for and notsomething which will happenautomatically. People's struggles andpositive actions by the governmentare necessary to make this a realityfor all Indians.

QUESTIONS

1. Match the following statements in a way that challenges stereotypes.

a. Two surgeons were sitting down tolunch when one of them made a call onthe mobile phone

b. The boy who won the drawingcompetition went to the dias

c. One of the fastest athletes in theworld

d. She was not that well-off but had adream

1. suffers from chronic asthma.

2. to become an astronaut which shedid.

3. to speak with her daughter who hadjust returned from school.

4. on a wheelchair to collect his prize.

The first page of the Constitution that clearlystates that all Indians are entitled to equality ofstatus and opportunity.

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2. How can the stereotype that girls are a burden on their parents affectthe life of a daughter? Imagine this situation and list at least fivedifferent effects that this stereotype can have on the way daughtersget treated in the house.

3. What does the Constitution say with regard to equality? Why do youthink it is important for all people to be equal?

4. Sometimes people make prejudiced comments in our presence. We areoften not in a position to do anything about this because it is difficultto say something right then and there. Divide the class into groupsand each group discuss what they could do in one of the followingsituations:

a. A friend begins to tease a classmate because he is poor.

b. You are watching TV with your family and one of themmakes a prejudicial comment about a particularreligious community.

c. Children in your class refuse to share their food with aparticular person because they think she is dirty.

d. Someone tells you a joke that makes fun of a communitybecause of their accent.

e. Some boys make remarks about girls not being able toplay games as well as them.

Discuss in class what the different groups have suggested for theabove situations, and also talk about the problems that can come upwhen raising the issue.

Project Work

5. Write the Preamble (first page of the constitution) neatly in chart paperand make a wall hanging.

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I told him to make thegarland smaller... He is afrail old man and wouldn'tbe able to stand the weightof such a huge garland!

Gover

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Government

GovernmentGovernment

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Government

UNIT - II

A cartoonist's business in a democracyis to exercise his right to criticise,ridicule, find fault with... politicalleaders, through cartoons...

- R.K.Laxman

Not bad! One of the taps inthe nearby village must begetting water!

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Chapter 3

What isGovernment?

very country needs a governmentto make decisions and get things

done. These can be decisions aboutwhere to build roads and schools, orhow to reduce the price of onionswhen they get too expensive or waysto increase the supply of electricity.The government also takes action onmany social issues, for example it hasseveral programmes to help the poor.It does other important things such asrunning postal and railway services.

You must have heard the word 'government'mentioned several times. In this chapter youwill learn about what a government is and theimportant role it plays in our lives. What dogovernments do? How do they decide what todo? What is the difference between differenttypes of governments such as monarchies anddemocracies? Read more and find out….

Activity

Look at the newspaper headlines aboveand list the different kinds of activitiesthat the government is reported to bedoing in these newspaper headlines.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Isn't this a wide range of activities?

What do you think government is?Discuss in class.

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The government also has the job ofprotecting the boundaries of thecountry and maintaining peacefulrelations with other countries. It isresponsible for ensuring that all itscitizens have enough to eat and havegood health facilities. When there arenatural disasters like the tsunami oran earthquake it is the governmentthat mainly organises aid andassistance for the affected people. Ifthere is a dispute or if someone hascommitted a crime you find people ina court. Courts are also part of thegovernment.

Perhaps you are wondering howgovernments manage to do all this.And why it is necessary for them to doso. When human beings live and worktogether, there needs to be someamount of organisation so thatdecisions can be made.

Some rules have to be made thatapply to everyone. For example, thereis a need to control resources andprotect the territory of a country, sopeople can feel secure. Governmentsdo this on behalf of their people byexercising leadership, takingdecisions and implementing theseamong all the people living in theirterritory.

Levels of Government

Now that you know that thegovernment is responsible for so

Activity

Can you list three things that thegovernment does which have notbeen mentioned.

1.

2.

3.

Some examples ofinstitutions that arepart of the government:The Supreme Court,The Indian Railwaysand Bharat Petroleum.


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many different things, can you thinkof how it manages to do all these? Thegovernment works at different levels:at the local level, at the level of thestate and at the national level. Thelocal level means in your village, townor locality, the state level would meanthat which covers an entire state like

Haryana or Assam and the nationallevel relates to the entire country (seethe maps). Later in this book, you willread about how local level governmentfunctions, and when you go into thenext few classes you will learn abouthow governments function at the stateand central levels.

What is Government? / 29

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Source: http://www.surveyofindia.gov.in/files/Political%20Map%20of%20India.jpg

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Laws and the Government

The government makes laws andeveryone who lives in the country hasto follow these. This is the only waygovernments can function. Just likethe government has the power tomake decisions, similarly it has thepower to enforce its decisions. Forexample, there is a law that says thatall persons driving a motor vehiclemust have a licence. Any personcaught driving a vehicle without alicence can either be jailed or fined alarge sum of money. Without theselaws the government's power to makedecisions is not of much use.

In addition to any actions thatgovernments can take, there are alsosteps that people can take if they feelthat a particular law is not beingfollowed. If a person feels, forexample, that they were not hired fora job because of their religion or caste,he or she may approach the court andclaim that the law is not beingfollowed. The court can then giveorders about what should be done.

Types of Government

Who gives the government this powerto make decisions and enforce laws?

The answer to this questiondepends on the type of governmentthere is in a country. In a democracy

it is the people who give thegovernment this power. They do thisthrough elections in which they votefor particular persons and elect them.Once elected, these persons form thegovernment. In a democracy thegovernment has to explain its actionsand defend its decisions to the people.

Another form of government ismonarchy. The monarch (king orqueen) has the power to makedecisions and run the government.The monarch may have a small groupof people to discuss matters with, butthe final decision-making powerremains with the monarch. Unlike ina democracy, kings and queens do nothave to explain their actions or defendthe decisions they take.

Discuss

Think of an example of anotherlaw. Why do you think it isimportant that people abide bythis law?

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Democratic Governments

India is a democracy. Thisachievement is the result of a longand eventful struggle of the Indianpeople. There are other places in theworld where people have alsostruggled to have democracies. Younow know that the main feature of ademocracy is that the people have thepower to elect their leaders. So in asense a democracy is rule by thepeople. The basic idea is that peoplerule themselves by participating in themaking of these rules.

Democratic governments in ourtimes are usually referred to asrepresentative democracies. Inrepresentative democracies people do not participate directly but,instead, choose their representatives through an election process. Theserepresentatives meet and make

Discuss1. Do you think it is important for peopleto be involved in decisions that affectthem? Give two reasons for your answer.2. Which type of government wouldyou prefer to have in the place you livein? Why?3. Which of the statements below iscorrect? Correct those sentences thatyou think need correction.

a. In a monarchy the country'scitizens are allowed to elect whomeverthey want.

b. In a democracy a king hasabsolute powers to rule the country.

c. In a monarchy people can raisequestions about the decisions themonarch takes.

Nowhere in theworld have gover-

nments willinglyshared power.All over Europeand USA,women andthe poor havehad to fight forparticipationin government.

Women'sstruggle to vote

got strengthenedduring the First World

War. This movement is called thewomen's suffrage movement asthe term suffrage usually meansright to vote.

During the War, many men wereaway fighting, and because of thiswomen were called upon to dowork that was earlier consideredmen's work. Many women beganorganising and managingdifferent kinds of work. Whenpeople saw this they began towonder why they had created somany unfair stereotypes aboutwomen and what they werecapable of doing. So womenbegan to be seen as being equallycapable of making decisions.

The suffragettes demanded theright to vote for all women and toget their demands heard theychained themselves to railings inpublic places. Many suffragetteswere imprisoned and went onhunger strikes,and they had to befed by force. American women gotthe right to vote in 1920 whilewomen in the UK got to vote onthe same terms as men someyears later, in 1928.

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decisions for the entire population.These days a government cannot callitself democratic unless it allows whatis known as universal adult franchise.This means that all adults in thecountry are allowed to vote.

But it was not always like this.Can you believe that there was a timewhen governments did not allowwomen and the poor to participate inelections? In their earliest formsgovernments allowed only men whoowned property and were educated, tovote. This meant that women, thepoor, the property-less and theuneducated were not allowed to vote.The country was governed by therules and regulations that these fewmen made!

In India, before Independence, onlya small minority was allowed to voteand they therefore came together todetermine the fate of the majority.Several people including Gandhijiwere shocked at the unfairness of thispractice and demanded that all adultshave the right to vote. This is knownas universal adult franchise.

Writing in the journal Young India in1931, Gandhiji said, "I cannot possiblybear the idea that a man who has gotwealth should have the vote, but that aman who has got character but nowealth or literacy should have no vote, orthat a man who works honestly by thesweat of his brow day in and day outshould not have the vote for the crime ofbeing a poor man…".

Voting in a rural area: A mark is put on the finger tomake sure that a person casts only one vote.

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QUESTIONS

1. What do you understand by the word 'government'? List five ways in which youthink the government affects your daily life.

2. Why do you think the government needs to make rules for everyone in the formof laws?

3. Name two essential features of a democratic government.4. What was the suffrage movement? What did it accomplish?5. 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 illiteratepeople, who are mainly poor, should not be given the right to vote. What do youthink? Do you think this would be a form of discrimination? Give five points tosupport your view and share these with the class.

Look at the maps on Pages 29 and 30. They show the States, Union Territoriesand Districts of India. Find out the following information from these maps andvarious other resources. l Names of the neighbours of Indial Names of your State or Union Territory and its neighbours l Names of your District and its neighboursl Routes from your District to the National Capital

r The decision of the Government of India tomaintain peaceful relations with Russia.

r The decision of the Government of West Bengal onwhether to have Board exam in Class 8 for allgovernment schools.

r Introduction of two new trains between Dibrugarhand Kanyakumari.

r The decision to locate a common well in aparticular area of the village.

r Decision to construct a big children's park inPatna.

r The decision of the Government of Haryana toprovide free electricity for all farmers.

r Introduction of a new 1000 rupee note.

Exercise: Look at the statements in the column on the left. Canyou identify which level they belong to? Place tick marks againstthe level you consider most appropriate.

Local State Central

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Chapter 4

In this chapter you will read about some ofthe key elements that influence the workingof a democratic government. These includepeople's participation, the resolution ofconflict and equality and justice.

outh Africa is a country that haspeople of several races. There are

black people who belong to SouthAfrica, whites who came there to settle,and Indians who came as labourersand traders.

Maya Naidoo, an eleven-year oldSouth African girl living in the town ofJohannesburg, was helping her motherclear up her old boxes. She found ascrapbook full of pictures andnewspaper articles. There were manypictures of a young schoolboy of aroundfifteen years of age. When she askedher mother who the boy was, she wastold that he was called, Hector Pieterson.

He had been shot by the police. Mayawas shocked. "Why?" she asked.

Her mother explained that SouthAfrica was earlier governed byapartheid laws. Apartheid meansseparation on the basis of race. SouthAfrican people were divided into white,black, Indian and coloured races.According to the law, these races werenot allowed to mingle with each other, tolive near each other or even to usecommon facilities.

Maya could not believe her ears.Maya's mother sounded angry whenshe spoke about life under apartheid.She told Maya that in those days

South Africa

India

S

Key Elements ofa DemocraticGovernment

Map not to scale

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hospitals were separate and so wereambulances. An ambulance meant forwhite people would always be wellequipped while one meant for blackpeople was not. There were separatetrains and buses. Even the bus stopswere different for black and whitepeople.

Non-whites were not allowed tovote. The best land in the country wasreserved for the white people, and non-whites had to live on the worstavailable land. Thus blacks andcoloured people were not considered tobe equal to whites.

One black township was the SouthWestern Township (Soweto). HectorPiete rson lived here and he and hisclassmates joined the protest againstlearning the Afrikaans language inschool. This was the language that the

whites spoke. Hector and other schoolstudents were being forced to learnthis language but they wanted to learntheir own language, Zulu. The SouthAfrican police beat up the protestorsmercilessly and shot at the crowd.One of their bullets killed Hector. Thiswas on 16 June 1976.

The African National Congress, agroup of people who led the struggleagainst apartheid, and their most wellknown leader, Nelson Mandela foughtthe apartheid system for severalyears. Finally, they succeeded and in1994 South Africa became ademocratic country in which people ofall races were considered equal.

Let us now try to understand whata democratic government means to allof us.

PARTICIPATION

Why do we have regular elections?You've already read in the previouschapter that people make the decisionsin a democracy. Through voting inelections people elect leaders torepresent them. These representativestake decisions on behalf of the people.

What were Hector and his classmatesprotesting about?List five ways in which the non-whiteswere discriminated against:

1.

2.

3.

4.

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In doing so it is assumed that they willkeep in mind the voices and interestsof the people.

All governments are elected for fixedperiods. In India this period is five years.Once elected, governments can stay inpower only for that period. If they wantto continue to be in power then theyhave to be re-elected by the people. Thisis a moment when people can sensetheir power in a democracy. In this waythe power of the government getslimited by regular elections.

Other ways of participating

Elections are usually held once in fiveyears. Besides voting there are otherways of participating in the process ofgovernment. People participate bytaking an interest in the working ofthe government and by criticising itwhen required. In August 2005, whena particular government increased themoney people had to pay forelectricity, people expressed theirdisapproval very sharply. They tookout rallies and also organised asignature campaign. The governmenttried to explain and defend itsdecision but finally listened to thepeople's opinion and withdrew theincrease. The government had tochange its decision because it isresponsible to the people.

Key Elements of a Democratic Government / 37

What approval or disapproval isbeing expressed here?

DiscussLook at some newspapers anddiscuss some elections that youmay have read about. Why doyou think elections are requiredafter a fixed period?

Not bad! One of the taps in the nearbyvillage must be getting water!

Take Action

It is worrying to know that

the tiger population in India is

falling. Tigers are being

hunted and killed by poachers

for their skins. The

government has not taken the

issue of poaching seriously

enough. It must take action

immediately, arrest the

poachers and implement the

laws protecting the tiger. If

this does not happen the tiger

will become an extinct animal

in the next ten years.

Sohan Pal

Guwahati, Assam

'Government must

give compensation

to flood victims'

Letters to the editor

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There are many ways in whichpeople express their views and makegovernments understand whatactions they should take. Theseinclude dharnas, rallies, strikes,signature campaigns, etc. Things thatare unfair and unjust are alsobrought forward. Newspapers,magazines and TV also play a role indiscussing government issues andresponsibilities.

While it is true that a democracyallows people to participate, it is alsotrue that not all sections of people areactually able to do so. Another way forpeople to participate is by organisingthemselves into social movementsthat seek to challenge the governmentand its functioning. Members of theminority community, dalits, adivasis,women and others are often able toparticipate in this manner.

If a country's people are alert andinterested in how the country is run,the democratic character of thegovernment of that country will bestronger.

So the next time we see a rallywinding through the streets of ourcities and towns or villages we shouldpause to find out what the rally isabout, who is participating in it, andwhat they are protesting about. Thiswill help to give us a sense of how ourgovernment works.

NEED TO RESOLVE CONFLICT

In Maya's story you read about howconflicts can often lead to violence anddeath because one group decides thatit is all right to use force to prevent theother group from protesting.

Conflicts occur when people ofdifferent cultures, religions, regions oreconomic backgrounds do not getalong with each other, or when someamong them feel they are beingdiscriminated against. People may useviolent means to settle theirdifferences. This leads to fear andtension among others living in anarea. The government is responsiblefor helping to resolve conflicts.

Let's read about some of theconflicts in our society and the role ofthe government in resolving them.

Discussion

Read the story again: Do youthink the police shooting of Hectorcould have been avoided? How?

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Religious processions andcelebrations can sometimes lead toconflicts. For example, the route aprocession takes may lead to a conflict.The government, particularly the police, play an important role in getting representatives of concernedcommunities to meet and try andarrive at a solution. At times there isfear that violence may erupt, withpeople throwing stones or trying todisrupt the procession. The police isresponsible for ensuring that violencedoes not take place.

Rivers too can become a source ofconflict between states. A river maybegin in one state, flow through

another and end in a third. Thesharing of river water betweendifferent states that the river goesthrough is becoming an issue ofconflict. For example, you may haveheard about the Cauvery waterdispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The water stored inKrishna Raja Sagara dam inKarnataka is used for irrigating anumber of districts and for meetingthe needs of the city of Bengaluru. Thewater stored in Mettur dam in TamilNadu is used for crops grown in thedelta region of that state.

A conflict arises because both damsare on the same river. The downstreamdam in Tamil Nadu can only be filledup if water is released from theupstream one located in Karnataka.Therefore, both states can't get asmuch water as they need for people intheir states. This leads to conflict. Thecentral government has to step in andsee that a fair distribution is workedout for both states.

Key Elements of a Democratic Government / 39

The Indian Constitution laysdown the basic rules or laws thathave to be followed by everyone.These laws are for both thegovernment and the people.Conflicts and differences have tobe resolved according to theselaws. We will read more aboutthis in later classes.

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EQUALITY AND JUSTICE

One of the key ideas of a democraticgovernment is its commitment toequality and justice. Equality andjustice are inseparable.

The earlier practice of untouch-ability is now banned by law. Thisgroup of people were denied education,transport or medical facilities and even the chance to offer prayers. Dr Ambedkar, whom you have readabout earlier in this book, and manyothers like him, realised that suchpractices must not continue and thatjustice can only be achieved whenpeople are treated equally.

The government also recognisesthis and makes special provisions forgroups within society that are unequal.For instance, in our society there is ageneral tendency to value and care forthe boy child more than the girl child.

This means that society does notvalue the girl and boy child equally andthis is unjust. In this context thegovernment steps in to promote justiceby providing special provisions thatcan enable girls to overcome theinjustice that they are subjected to.Thus it is possible that fees for girlsmight be waived or lowered ingovernment schools or colleges.

QUESTIONS

1. How would Maya's life be different in South Africa today?

2. What are the various ways in which people participate in the processof government?

3. Why do you think we need the government to find solutions to manydisputes or conflicts?

4. What actions does the government take to ensure that all people aretreated equally?

5. Read through the chapter and discuss some of the key ideas of ademocratic government. Make a list. For example, all people areequal.

How do you think lowering the schoolfees would help girls attend school?

Can you think of any experience fromyour life in which you have helpedsomeone out of a situation which youthought was unfair? Did everyone elsesee it the same way? What did youhave to say to convince others thatwhat you did was fair?

DiscussIn Maya's story did the governmentsupport the idea that people areequal?

In Dr Ambedkar's story did thepractice of untouchability supportthe idea that people are equal?

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inistratio

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Local Governmentand

Administration

UNIT - III

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Chapter 5

The VillageCouncil

t's a special day today! All adultsare rushing to our Primary School.

Do you know why? Because they aregoing to cast their votes to elect thenew Village Council Members. The

people of the village are keen to findout what their new village councilmembers would plan for the village.

The Village Council

Pu Rama asked his son, “Do you knowhow the village council members areelected?” His son, Rina answered, “Nodaddy, please tell me about theelection of the village council.” Pu Ramasaid, “The members of the villagecouncil are directly elected by thepeople of the locality. Any member ofthe locality who is 18 years or more

The Gram Sabha is a meeting of alladults who live in the area coveredby a Panchayat. This could be onlyone village or a few villages. In somestates, a village meeting is held foreach village. Anyone who is 18years old or more and who has theright to vote is a member of theGram Sabha.

What happens after people elect their representatives?How are decisions made? Let's look at how this takesplace in rural areas. Here, we look at the Village Council,which is a committee where the members plan anddecide the development of its village. In other state, thereis a Panchayati Raj System. The working of aPanchayati Raj System are represented in the boxes.

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can elect the village council members.You can also cast your vote once youreach 18 years.” “Do all the villageshave the same number of villagecouncil members?” Rina asked. Hisfather said, “No, the number of villagecouncil members depends upon thenumber of households. For villageswith less than 200 households, therecan be 3 members and for householdsbetween 500 to 1000, there can be 9members.” He further said, “Anyperson belonging to that village who is25 years or more can contest for aseat in the village council election.The term of office is for five years. Theelected members choose the Presidentand Vice President from amongthemselves and a Secretary who is notan elected member is appointed bythe State Government on therecommendation of the President.”

While Pu Rama was dressingup, Rina asked, “Daddy, why are youwearing your suit? Is there anyimportant function today?” Pu Ramareplied, “Rina, I am going to hold avillage council meeting as I am thepresident and today is the firstmeeting after the election.” Pu Ramathen went out to the village councilhouse.

Village Council Meeting:

The Village Council meeting beganwith the village council President (alsocalled the VCP) and the members ofthe village council presenting a planon repairing the road that connectsthe jhum. After this, the discussionmoved to the subject of water andwater shortages.

1. Who can elect members ofthe village council?

2. Who appoints the Secretaryof the village council?

Three levels of Panchayat:

1. Gram Panchayat (Villagelevel)

2. Mandal Parishad or BlockSamity or Panchayat Samiti(Block level)

3. Zila Parishad (District level)

Every village Panchayat is dividedinto Wards, i.e. smaller areas. Eachward elects a representative who isknown as the Ward Member (Panch).All the members of the Gram Sabhaalso elect a Sarpanch who is thePanchayat President. The WardPanchs and the sarpanch form theGram Panchayat. The Panchayat iselected for five years.

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Pu Thanga, one of the membersbegan by saying, “The water problemin the village has become very acute.The handpump water has gone wellbelow the point up to which theground has been drilled. Women haveto go to Tuikhur which is two kmsaway to get water.”

One of the members suggestedpiping water from the river andmaking an overhead tank at the hill-top of the village to increase watersupply. Another member suggestedthat instead of overhead tanky wecould construct a concrete water tankto pipe the river water, we could also

use it to collect rain water. But theother members thought that thiswould be too expensive. But anothermember Pu Liana said, “We need to dosomething more permanent as

ground water levels seem to be goingdown every year.” Pu Kunga stood upand said, “Due to rapid loss of forestby cutting down trees ground waterlevel has gone down. Many watersources like our tuikhur have beensubsiding every winter, we must dosomething about this.” After a longdiscussion, they decided to find ways

of piping water from the river aswell as harvesting rain water.The VCP suggested that sincethe village council had receivedsome money for maintainanceof handpumps and distributingwater storage to households forrain water harvesting, thiscould be used for completingthis work. The members alsodecided to take action for the

The Village Council / 45

The Gram Panchayat has aSecretary who is also the Secretaryof the Gram Sabha. He is not anelected person but is appointed bythe government. The Secretary isresponsible for calling the meetingof the Gram Sabha and GramPanchayat and keeping a record ofthe proceedings.

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protection of forests by organising a‘hnatlang’ to plant trees during therainy season. Decision was also madeto control forest fire during thepreparation of jhum by making widerfire lanes around the jhum. They alsodecided that the hills around thevillage be declared as protected areaso that no one is allowed to cut woodfor logging. The members agreed andthe Secretary recorded their decision.

The next item on the agendafor the village council meeting wasthe finalization of the list of peoplebelow the poverty line (BPL) whichhad to be approved by the villagecouncil. As soon as the list was readout, the members began to whisper.“Pu Mawia has just bought a colourTV and his son had sent him a newscooty, how can he be below thepoverty line?” One of the members

said, “This list is for only poorpeople and Pu Siama is a landlesslabourer who can barely make endsmeet, yet his name is not on the list,So we should put Pu Siama’s nameon the list.” Then the VCP gaveinstruction that Pu Siama’s familyincome be looked at and if it wasless than what has been decided bythe government, his name should beincluded in the list.

The village council meetsregularly and one of its main tasks isto implement development programmesfor its village. It is also theduty of the village council to plan

The work of a Gram Panchayatincludes

1. The construction andmaintenance of water sources,roads, drainage, school buildingsand other common propertyresources.

2. Levying and collecting local taxes. 3. Executing government schemes

related to generating employmentin the village.

Sources of funds for the Panchayatq Collection of taxes on houses,

market places etc.q Government scheme funds

received through variousdepartments of the government –through the Janpad and ZilaPanchayats.

q Donations for community worksetc.


The Gram Sabha is a key factor inmaking the Gram Panchayat play itsrole and responsibilities. It is theplace where plans for the work of theGram Panchayat are placed beforethe people.

The Gram Sabha prevents thePanchayat from doing wrong thingslike misusing money or favouringcertain people. It plays an importantrole in keeping an eye on the electedrepresentatives and in making themresponsible to the persons whoelected them.

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village development schemes andto supervise development worksreceived from the State Governmentand to help various governmentagencies in carrying out developmentworks in the village. Village Councilis also a village court where theysettle disputes that arises in thelocalities. They are also responsiblefor cleanliness of the village,education, levying and collectinglocal taxes, etc.

The Village Council / 47

Group Work

How are the functions of the villagecouncil or local council differentfrom that of Gram Panchayat?

Ask your teacher to invite any of theelected persons such as the VillageCouncil President or member of theVillage Council or Local Counciland interview them on their workand the projects undertaken bythem. Write the interview report.

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QUESTIONS

1. What are the two problems discussed in the meeting of the Village Council?

2. What, in your opinion, is the importance of the Village Council? Do youthink all V.C. members should attend the meeting? Why?

3. Who is eligible to contest for a seat in the village council election?

4. What decisions were taken by the village council members on the watershortage?

5. You have read about the Panchayat system, which system do you prefer –Village Council or Panchayat. State your reason.

Project work

Take any one task done by a village council in your area and find out thefollowing:a) Why it was taken up?b) Where the money came from?c) Whether or not the work has been completed.

Survey

Make a survey of your village/veng/town and list out the development worksthat you think the village council should be doing.

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Chapter 6

RuralAdministration

A Quarrel in the Village

ohan is a farmer. His familyowns a small agricultural field,

which they have been farming formany years. Next to his field is Raghu'sland which is separated from his by asmall boundary called a bund.

One morning Mohan noticed thatRaghu had shifted the bund by a fewfeet. By doing so, he had managed to

take over some of Mohan's land, andincreased the size of his own field.Mohan was angry but also a littlefrightened. Raghu's family ownedmany fields and besides, his unclewas also the Sarpanch of the village.But even so, he plucked up courageand went to Raghu's house.

A heated argument followed.Raghu refused to accept that he hadmoved the bund. He called one of hishelpers and they began shouting atMohan and beating him up. Theneighbours heard the commotionand rushed to the spot where Mohanwas being beaten up. They took himaway.

He was badly hurt on his headand hand. He was given first aid byone of his neighbours. His friend,who also ran the village post-office,suggested that they go to the localpolice station and file a report.

Others were doubtful if this was a goodidea because they felt they wouldwaste a lot of money and nothingwould come out of it. Some people saidthat Raghu's family would havealready contacted the police station.

After much discussion it wasdecided that Mohan would go to thepolice station along with some of theneighbours who had seen the incident.

There are more than six lakh villages in India.Taking care of their needs for water, electricity,road connections, is not a small task. In additionto this, land records have to be maintained andconflicts too need to be dealt with. A largemachinery is in place to deal with all this. In thischapter we will look at the work of two ruraladministrative officers in some detail.

M

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Area of the Police Station

On the way to the police station one ofthe neighbours asked, “Why don't wespend some more money and go to themain police station in the town?"

"It is not a question of money. Wecan register the case only in this policestation because our village comes in itsarea of work," explained Mohan.

Every police station has an areathat comes under its control. Allpersons in that area can report cases orinform the police about any theft,accident, injury, fight, etc. It is theresponsibility of the police of thatstation to enquire, to investigate andtake action on the cases within its area.

The work at the Police Station

When they reached the police stationMohan went to the person in charge(Station House Officer or Officer-in-charge) and told him what hadhappened. He also said that he wantedto give the complaint in writing. TheS.H.O/O.C rudely brushed him asidesaying that he couldn't be bothered towaste his time writing down minor

complaints and then investigatingthem. Mohan showed him his injuriesbut the S.H.O did not believe him.

Mohan was puzzled and did notknow what to do. He was not sure whyhis complaint was not being recorded.He went and called his neighbours intothe office. They argued strongly thatMohan had been beaten up in front ofthem and had they not rescued him he

would have been injured very seriously.They insisted that the case be registered.Finally the officer agreed. He asked Mohanto write down his complaint and also toldthe people that he would send a constablethe next day to investigate the incident.

1. If there is a theft in your housewhich police station would you goto register your complaint?

2. What was the dispute betweenMohan and Raghu?

3. Why was Mohan worried aboutpicking a quarrel with Raghu?

4. Some people said Mohan shouldreport the matter to the police andothers said he should not. Whatwere the arguments they gave?

Role Play

Show the above situation in thepolice station through a skit.

Then talk about how you felt playingMohan's role or that of the S.H.O orthe neighbours. Could the S.H.O havehandled the situation differently?


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Maintenance of Land RecordsYou saw that Mohan and Raghu werearguing heatedly whether the commonboundary of their fields had beenshifted. Isn't there a way by which theycould have settled this dispute in apeaceful manner? Are there recordsthat show who owns what land in thevillage? Let's find out how this is done.

Measuring land and keeping landrecords is the main work of the Patwari.(Measuring and Recording of land is thework of Surveyor in Mizoram). ThePatwari is known by different names indifferent states - in some villages suchofficers are called Surveyor/Lekhpal, in

others Kanungo or Karamchari or VillageOfficer, etc. We will refer to this officer asPatwari. Each Patwari is responsible for agroup of villages. The Patwari maintainsand updates the records of the village.

The map and the correspondingdetails from the register on the nextpage are a small part of the recordskept by the Patwari.

The Patwari usually has ways ofmeasuring agricultural fields. In someplaces a long chain is used. In the aboveinstance the Patwari would havemeasured both Mohan's and Raghu'sfields and compared them with themeasurements on the map. If they didnot match then it would be clear that theboundary of the fields has been changed.

The Patwari is also responsible fororganising the collection of land revenuefrom the farmers and providing informationto the government about the cropsgrown in this area. This is done from therecords that are kept, and this is why it'simportant for the Patwari to regularlyupdate these. Farmers may change thecrops grown on their fields or someone

Project Work

Find out the term used for the Patwariin your state.

If you live in a rural area find out:

How many villages does the Patwari ofyour area maintain land records of?

How do people in the village contacthim/her?

How are the works of Surveyor inMizoram different from the work ofPatwari?

Rural Administration / 51

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The Khasra record of the Patwari gives you information regarding the map given

below. It identifies which plot of land is owned by whom. Look at both the records and

the map and answer the questions given below regarding Mohan and Raghu's land.

1 4

5

6

2

3

8

7


Group work

1. Who owns the land south ofMohan's field?

2. Mark the common boundarybetween Mohan's and Raghu's lands.

3. Who can use field no 3?

4. What information can one get forfield no 2 and field no 3?

Sketch map – not to scale

NORTH

Boundary

Well

Grassland

Kachcha Road

Pakka road

Tree

Legend

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

| | | | | | |

No. Area in

hectareName of owner,

Father or

husband's name,

address

If it is rented

to some other

farmer,

their name

and rent

received

Area cultivated

this year

Crop

grownArea Sec-

ond

crop

grown

Khasra 5

FacilitiesArea

not

culti-

vated

fallow

land

0.75 Mohan, Son of Raja No Soya- 0.75

Ram, Village bean Hectare

Amrapura owner

3.00 Raghu Ram, Son of No Soya- 2.75 0.25

Ratan Lall, Village bean, Hectare

Amrapura owner Wheat, 1.75 Well -1

irriga- working

ted

6.00 Madhya Pradesh No – Well -1

Government working

Grassland Grazing

VILLAGE - AMRAPURA

PATWARI RECORD - 16

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may dig a well somewhere, and keepingtrack of all this is the work of therevenue department of the government.Senior people in this departmentsupervise the Patwari's work.

All states in India are dividedinto districts. For managing mattersrelating to land these districts arefurther sub-divided. These sub-divisions of a district are known bydifferent names such as tehsil,taluka, etc. At the head is theDistrict Collector and under her arethe revenue officers, also known astehsildars. They have to heardisputes. They also supervise thework of the Patwaris and ensurethat records are properly kept andland revenue is collected. Theymake sure that the farmers caneasily obtain a copy of their record,students can obtain their castecertificates, etc. The Tehsildar'soffice is where land disputes arealso heard.

A daughter's wish

Father inherited our housefrom his father

And everyone says he'llleave it to brother

But what about me and mymother?

To expect a share in myfather's home,

Is not very womanly, I amtold.

But I really want a place ofmy own,

Not dowry of silk and gold.

(Source: Reflections on MY FAMILY, Anjali Monteiro,TISS)

Farmers often require a copy of their landrecord together with a map, as shown inthe previous illustration. They have a rightto this information. They may have to paya small fee for this.

However, this information is not easilymade available and farmers sometimeshave to face many problems to get it. Insome states, records are now beingcomputerised and also kept at thePanchayat office so that they are moreeasily available and regularly updated.

When do you think farmers may require acopy of this record? Study the followingsituations and identify the cases in whichthese records would be necessary and why.

* A farmer wants to buy a plot of land fromanother.* A farmer wants to sell her produce toanother.* A farmer wants a loan from the bank todig a well in her land.* A farmer wants to purchase fertilizers forhis field.* A farmer wants to divide his propertyamong his children.

Rural Administration / 53

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A New Law(Hindu Succession Amendment Act,2005)

Often when we think of farmers whoown land, we think of men. Womenare seen as people who work on thefields, but not as people who ownagricultural land. Till recently in somestates Hindu women did not get ashare in the family's agricultural land.After the death of the father hisproperty was divided equally onlyamong his sons.

Recently, the law was changed. Inthe new law sons, daughters and theirmothers can get an equal share in theland. The same law will apply to allstates and union territories of thecountry.

This law will benefit a large numberof women. For example Sudha is theeldest daughter of an agriculturalfamily. She is married and lives in aneighbouring village. After her father'sdeath Sudha often comes to help hermother with the farming work.

Her mother has asked the Patwarito transfer the land and enter hername along with the names of all thechildren in his record.

Sudha's mother confidentlyorganises the farming with the help ofthe younger brother and sister.Similarly Sudha also lives with theassurance that if she ever has aproblem she can always depend uponher share of the land.

Survey

Other Public Services - A survey

This chapter has looked at some of the administrative work of thegovernment, especially for rural areas. The first example related tomaintaining law and order and the second to maintaining land records. Inthe first case we examined the role of the police and in the second that ofthe Patwari. This work is supervised by other people in the department,such as the Tehsildar or the Superintendent of Police. We have also seenhow people use these services, and some of the problems that they face.These services have to be used and made to function according to the lawsthat have been framed for them. You have probably seen many other publicservices and facilities provided by various departments of the government.

Do the following exercise for your village/by visiting a nearby village orlooking at your own area.

List the public services in the village/area such as: the milk society, thefair price shop, the bank, the police station, the agricultural society forseeds and fertiliser, the post office or sub post office, the anganwadi,crèche, government school/s, health centre or government hospital, etc.Collect information on three public services and discuss with your teacherhow improvements can be made in their functioning. One example hasbeen worked out.

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Rural Administration / 55Pu

blic

serv

ice

Wh

at

did

you

not

ice

abou

tth

eir

wor

k?

Are

a c

over

ed

Wh

at

do

they

nee

d t

o do

inor

der

to

use

the

faci

lity

?

Impro

vem

ents

that

can

be

made

Pro

ble

ms

face

d b

yth

ose

man

agi

ng

the

serv

ice

Pro

ble

ms

face

d b

ypeo

ple

Fair

-pri

cesh

op(r

ati

onsh

op)

Th

e sh

op w

as

open

. Th

ree

peo

ple

cam

e.Th

ey a

ll h

ad

yellow

card

s.Th

ey b

ough

tsu

gar

an

dri

ce.

Ker

osen

ew

as

not

ava

ilable

.

Th

is s

hop

cove

rs t

wo

village

s.

Th

ey n

eed a

rati

on c

ard

.Th

is h

as

to b

em

ade

at

the

teh

sil

office

.

Th

ere

isn

oten

ough

supply

of

ker

osen

e.

Ric

e is

of

very

bad

qu

ality

.We

nev

er g

etker

osen

e.

Impro

vequ

ality

of

rice

. M

ake

ker

osen

eava

ilable

. Th

e fa

ir p

rice

shop

sh

ould

be

kep

t op

enev

ery

day.

Hea

lth

cen

tre

Milk

soci

ety

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QUESTIONS

1. What is the work of the police?

2. List two things that the work of a Patwari includes.

3. What is the work of a tehsildar?

4. What issue is the poem trying to raise? Do you think this is animportant issue? Why?

5. In what ways are the work of the Panchayat, that you read about inthe previous chapter, and the work of the Patwari related to eachother?

6. Visit a police station and find out the work that the police have to doto prevent crime and maintain law and order in their area especiallyduring festivals, public meetings, etc.

7. Who is in charge of all the police stations in a district? Find out.

8. How do women benefit under the new law?

9. In your neighbourhood are there women who own property? How didthey acquire it?

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Chapter 7

UrbanAdministration

ne lazy Sunday afternoon Maliand her friends Siama, Johana

and Remi were playing a game of cricketin the street.

Siama had bowled a good over andalthough he nearly managed to get Remiout, she was still batting. Frustrated, hebowled a short ball and hoped shewould hit it for an easy catch. Instead,Remi hit the ball so hard and so highthat the street light broke. Remi screamed,"Oh no, look what I've done!" Siamasaid, "Yes! We forgot to make a rule thatif you break the street light you areautomatically out." But Mali, Johana

and Remi were more worried aboutwhat had happened and they toldSiama he'd better stop thinking aboutthe wicket.

Last week they had broken Pi Mawii’swindow and had spent their pocketmoney to have it replaced. Would theyhave to dish out money again from theirpockets? But who would they pay thisto? To whom did the lights on the streetsbelong? Who changed them?

Remi’s house was the closest andthey ran and told her mother what hadhappened. Remi’s mother said, "I don'treally know these things in great detail

A city is much bigger than a village and more spreadout. A city has crowded markets, many buses andcars, water and electricity facilities, traffic controland hospitals. Have you ever wondered who isresponsible for running all this? Do you know howdecisions are made? How the planning is done?Who are the people who do all the work? Read thischapter and find some answers.

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but I do know that it is the MunicipalCorporation of the city that takes care ofreplacing lights. The best person to askwould be Pi Kawli. She just retired fromthe Municipal Corporation. Go and askher, and Remi come back home soon."

Pi Kawli lived in the same lane andshe and Remi’s mother were goodfriends. The children ran to Pi Kawli’shouse and when she opened the doorthey began to tell her what had happenedall at once! When they asked about thestreet light, Pi Kawli laughed and said,"There is no one person that you can paythe money to. There is a big organisationcalled the Municipal Corporation thattakes care of street lights, garbagecollection, water supply, keeping thestreets and the market clean."

"I've heard about the MunicipalCorporation. They've put up signsaround the city to inform people aboutmalaria," said Mali.

"Yes, you are quite right. TheMunicipal Corporation is also responsiblefor ensuring that diseases do not breakout in the city. It also runs schools,hospitals and dispensaries. And makesgardens and maintains them," said Pi Kawli. Then she added, "Our cityAizawl is a big city and so here it is

called a Municipal Corporation. Insmaller towns it is called a MunicipalCouncil."

The Ward Councillor andAdministrative Staff

"Pi Kawl, I'm curious. Who decideswhere a park should go? Did you haveto make interesting decisions like thiswhen you worked in the MunicipalCorporation?" asked Remi.

"No Remi, I was working in theaccounts office of the Corporation so Ijust worked on pay slips. Cities areusually quite large so the MunicipalCorporation has to make a lot ofdecisions as well as do a lot of work tokeep the city clean. The decisions likewhere a park or a new hospital shouldgo are usually made by the WardCouncillors."

Assignment

List at least four different tasksthat the Municipality does:1.

2.

3.

4.


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The city is divided into differentwards and ward councillors get elected.The complicated decisions that affectthe entire city are taken by groups ofcouncillors who form committees todecide and debate issues. For example,if bus stands need to be improved, or acrowded market-place needs to have itsgarbage cleared more regularly, or thereis a ‘kawr' or drain that cuts through thecity that needs cleaning, etc. It is thesecommittees for water, garbage collection,street lighting, etc. that decide on thework to be done.

When the problems are within award then the people who live in theward can contact their councillors. Forexample, if there are dangerouselectrical wires hanging down then thelocal Councillor can help them get intouch with the electricity authority.

While the Councillor's Committeesand the councillors decide on issues,the Commissioner and the adminis-trative staff implement these. TheCommissioner and the administrativestaff are appointed. Councillors areelected.

"So how are these decisions made?"asked Remi who never gave up on hertrain of thought.

"Well, all of the Ward Councillorsmeet and they make a budget and themoney is spent according to this. TheWard Councillors try and ensure thatthe particular demands of their wardsare placed before the entire council.These decisions are then implementedby the administrative staff," said Pi Kawli, enjoying the questions that

Fill in the blanks in the sentencesbelow:

1. In a village council the electedmembers are called ___________.

2. The city is divided into several___________.

3. In a municipal corporation the electedmembers are called ___________.

4. Groups of councillors deal withissues that affect the ___________ .

5. Elections are held once every_________ years for the panchayat aswell as for the municipality.

6. While the councillors makedecisions the administrative staff led by the Commissioner______________ these.

How does the MunicipalCorporation get its money?Providing and running so manyservices requires a lot of money. TheMunicipal Corporation collects this indifferent ways. A tax is a sum ofmoney that people pay to thegovernment for the services thegovernment provides. People who ownhomes have to pay a property tax aswell as taxes for water and otherservices. The larger the house themore the tax. Property taxes howeverform only 25-30 per cent of the moneythat a Municipal Corporation earns.

There are also taxes for education andother amenities. If you own a hotel orshop then you have to pay a tax forthis as well. Also the next time you goto see a movie look carefully at yourticket because you pay a tax for this aswell. Thus while rich people accountfor property taxes, a much widerpopulation pays more general taxes.

Urban Administration / 59

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the children asked. Noadults asked her abouther job and the children'squestions provided her anopportunity to relive someof her experiences.

"But the city is solarge. It must take a lot ofpeople to look after it.Does the MunicipalCorporation have a lot ofworkers?" asked Siamacuriously. He had by nowluckily forgotten about thecricket match and hisincomplete over.

"Yes, the work in thecity is divided intodifferent departments. Sothere is the waterdepartment, the garbagecollection department, a department tolook after gardens, another to look afterroads. I worked on accounts in thesanitation department," said Pi Kawliand then went on to offer the childrensome sweets to eat.

Johana ate his sweet at top speedand as he wolfed them down he askedloudly from the kitchen, “Pi Kawl,where does the garbage that theMunicipal Corporation collects go to?".The others were still eating when Pi Kawli began to answer, "Thisquestion has an interesting answer. Asyou know you can usually find garbagelying all over the street. Earlier even ourneighbourhood used to have garbagelying all over, and if this remains

uncollected it attracts dogs, rats andflies. Also, people get ill from the smell.At one point things became so bad thatchildren even stopped playing cricket inthe street because their parents wereafraid that they'd get sick from stayingon the streets too long."

A Community Protest

Pi Kawli continued, "The women werevery unhappy about the situation andeven came to me for advice. I said Icould try and speak with some officersin the department but I wasn't surehow long it would take. Then it was Pi Zari who said that it is the WardCouncillor who we should go to andprotest since we are the ones who


Recycling is not a new thing. People like the man in the photoabove have been recycling paper, metal, glass and plastic for along time. The kabadi wallah plays a major role in recyclinghousehold plastic and paper, including your note books.

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elected him. She gathered a smallgroup of women and went to his house.They began shouting slogans in front ofhis house and he came out and askedthem what was wrong.

Pi Zari described the situation in thelocality to him. He promised to go withthem the next day to meet theCommissioner. He asked Pi Zari to get apetition signed by all of the adults inthe locality saying that garbage wasnot being collected. He suggested thattaking the local sanitation engineerwith them the next day might be a goodidea. The sanitation engineer couldalso speak with the Commissioner andtell him how bad the situation was.That evening children ran from house to

house making sure that as manyfamilies as possible signed the petition.

The next morning a large group ofwomen and the Ward Councillor andthe sanitation engineer went to theMunicipal Corporation office. TheCommissioner met with this large groupand began giving excuses saying thatthe Corporation did not have enoughtrucks. But Pi Zari smartly replied, "Butyou seem to have enough trucks tocollect garbage from the rich localities".

"That must have left him lost forwords," quipped Johana.

"Yes, he said that he would takecare of it immediately and Pi Zarithreatened that if it was not done intwo days a larger group of womenwould protest in front of theCorporation," said Pi Kawli. "So did thestreets get cleaned?" asked Remi whonever let things remain unfinished.

"Well not within two days and thenafter another larger and more noisyprotest the sanitation service in thislocality became more regular."

"Wow this sounds just like aBollywood film with a happy ending,"


What has changed since Pi Kawliretired?

What Pi Kawli did not mention tothe children was that in recenttimes, in order to save money theCommissioners of severalmunicipalities across the countryhad hired private contractors tocollect and process garbage. This iscalled Sub-Contracting. This meansthat the work that was earlier beingdone by government workers is nowbeing done by a private company.

These contract workers get paid lessand their jobs are temporary.Collecting garbage is also quite adangerous job and often thesecontract workers do not have anyaccess to safety measures and arenot taken care of if they are injuredwhile working.

Assignment

What was Pi Zari protestingabout?Why do you think Pi Zaridecided to approach the WardCouncillor? What did Pi Zari say when theCommissioner said that therewere not enough trucks in thecity?

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Discussion

The city of Surat had a plague scare in 1994. Surat was one of the dirtiestcities in India. Houses, hotels and restaurants would dump their garbageinto the nearest drain or street which made it very difficult for sweepersto collect and transfer the garbage into selected dumps. In addition to this,the Municipal Corporation did not collect the garbage as often as it shouldhave and this led to the situation getting worse. Plague spreads throughthe air and people who have the disease have to be isolated. In Surat,several people lost their lives, and over 300,000 deserted the city. Thescare of the plague ensured that the Municipal Corporation completelycleaned up the city. Surat continues to remain one of the cleanest citiesin India.

Do you know when and how often garbage gets collected in yourneighbourhood? Do you think it is the same for all neighbourhoods of thecity? Why not? Discuss.

Project Work

Did you know that your taxes enable the government to provide roads,bridges, parks, and street lights? List three more benefits that the taxeshelp in funding, after discussing with your family:1.2.3.


said Mali who already began imaginingherself in the lead role of Pi Zari.

The children enjoyed hearing Pi Zari’s story immensely. They hadsensed that Pi Zari was much lovedand respected and now theyunderstood why. They got up andthanked Pi Kawli for answering theirquestions and then, before they left,Remi said, "Oh, I have one last questionPi Kawl. The two dustbins that wehave at home now, are they also Pi Zari’s idea?"

Pi Kawli began laughing. “No, notreally. The Municipal Corporation wasthe one who suggested that we do thisto help keep our streets clean. When wesort our own garbage it reduces theirwork."

The children thanked Pi Kawliand walked back down the streettogether. It had become quite lateand they needed to get back home.For some reason the street seemeddarker than usual. They looked upand then looked at each othersmiling and ran right back to Pi Kawli’s house…

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QUESTIONS

1. Why did the children go to Pi Kawli’s house?

2. List four ways in which the work of the Municipal Corporationaffects the life of a city-dweller.

3. Who is a Municipal Councillor?

4. What did Pi Zari do and why?

5. How does the Municipal Corporation earn the money to do itswork?

Photo 1 (Venghlui Local Council SanitationDuty)

6. Discuss

In the two photographs you see different ways of collecting anddisposing garbage.

i) Which way do you think provides safety to the person disposinggarbage?

ii) What are the dangers of collecting garbage in the manner shown inthe first photograph?

iii) Why do you think that proper ways of disposing garbage are notavailable to those who work in municipalities?

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7. Several poor people in the city work as domestic servants as well aswork for the Corporation, keeping the city clean. Yet the slums inwhich they live are quite filthy. This is because these slums seldomhave any water and sanitation facilities. The reason often given bythe Municipal Corporation is that the land in which the poor haveset up their homes does not belong to them and that slum-dwellersdo not pay taxes. However people living in middle classneighbourhoods pay very little in taxes compared to the amount ofmoney the corporation spends on them in setting up parks, streetlighting facilities, regular garbage collection, etc. Also as you read inthis chapter, the property taxes collected by the Municipality makesup only 25-30 per cent of its money. Why do you think it isimportant that the Corporation should spend more money on slumlocalities? Why is it important that the Municipal Corporationprovide the poor in the city with the same facilities that the rich get?

8. Look at the image below.

The Government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on2 October 2014 to promote cleanliness in both rural and urbanareas all over the nation. Under the “Swachh Bharat, SwachhVidyalaya” campaign, many activities are also being carried out inschools to generate awareness on sanitation and hygiene amongststudents. Observe the ways in which “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” isbeing implemented by the municipality/panchayat in your locality.Prepare a poster and display it in your school.

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Live

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Livelihoods

LivelihoodsLivelihoods

Livelihoods

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LivelihoodsL

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Livelihoods

UNIT - IV

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Chapter 8

RuralLivelihoods

In the first chapter we looked at the many kinds ofdiversity in our lives. We also explored how living indifferent regions has an effect on the work people do,the kinds of plants, trees, crops or things that becomeimportant to them. In this chapter we will look at thedifferent ways in which people earn their living invillages. And here too, as in the first two chapters,we will examine whether people have equalopportunities to earn a living. We will look at thesimilarities in their life situations and the problemsthat they face.

Project Work

1. Describe the work that you see people doing in the above pictures.

2. Identify the different types of work that are related to farming and thosethat are not. List these in a table.

3. In your notebook draw some pictures of work that you have seen peopledo in rural areas and write a few sentences that describe the work.

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Kalpattu village

alpattu is a village that's close tothe sea coast in Tamil Nadu.

People here do many kinds of work.As in other villages, here too there isnon-farm work such as makingbaskets, utensils, pots, bricks,bullock-carts, etc.

There are people who provideservices such as blacksmiths, nurses,teachers, washermen, weavers,barbers, cycle repair mechanics andso on. There are also someshopkeepers and traders. In the mainstreet, which looks like a bazaar, you

will find a variety of small shops suchas tea shops, grocery shops, barbershops, a cloth shop, a tailor and twofertiliser and seed shops. There arefour tea shops, which sell tiffin – suchas idli, dosai and upama in the

morning and snacks like vadai, bondaand mysorepak in the evening. Nearthe teashops in a corner lives ablacksmith family whose home servesas their workshop. Next to their homeis a cycle hire and repair shop. Twofamilies earn a living by washingclothes. There are some people who goto the nearby town to work asconstruction workers and lorrydrivers.

The village is surrounded by lowhills. Paddy is the main crop that isgrown in irrigated lands. Most of thefamilies earn a living throughagriculture.

There are somecoconut groves around.Cotton, sugar cane andplantain are alsogrown, and there aremango orchards. Letus now meet somepeople who work in thefields in Kalpattu andsee what we can learnabout farming fromthem.

Thulasi

All of us here work onRamalingam's land. He has twenty acres of paddy fields in

Kalpattu. Even before I was married Iused to work on paddy fields in myparental village. I work from 8.30 a.min the morning till 4.30 p.m in theevening and Karuthamma, Ramalingam'swife, supervises us.


K

Transplanting paddy is back-breaking work.

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Rural Livelihoods / 69

Based on the above diagram wouldyou say that Thulasi earns moneythroughout the year?

This is one of the few times in theyear that I find regular work. Now Iam transplanting the paddy, when theplants have grown a bit Ramalingamwill call us again for weeding and thenfinally once again for the harvesting.

When I was young I could do thiswork with no difficulty. But now as Igrow older I find bending for longhours with my feet in water verypainful. Ramalingam pays Rs 40 perday. This is a little less than whatlabourers get in my home village, but Icome here because I can depend onhim to call me whenever there is work.Unlike others, he does not go lookingfor cheaper labour from other villages.

My husband, Raman is also alabourer. We don't own any land.During this time of the year he sprayspesticides. When there is no work on

the farm he finds work outside, eitherloading sand from the river or stonefrom the quarry nearby. This is sent bytruck to be used in nearby towns tomake houses.

Apart from working on the land, I doall the tasks at home. I cook food for myfamily, clean the house and washclothes. I go with other women to thenearby forest to collect firewood. Aboutone kilometre away we have a villageborewell from where I fetch water. Myhusband helps in getting materialssuch as groceries for the house.

Our school-going daughters are thejoy of our lives. Last year, one of themfell ill and had to be taken to thehospital in town. We had to sell ourcow to pay back the money weborrowed from Ramalingam for hertreatment.

Assignment

1. Describe the work thatThulasi does. How is itdifferent from the workRaman does?

2. Thulasi gets paid very littlemoney for the work she does.Why do you thinkagricultural labourers likeher are forced to accept lowwages?

3. In what ways would her wayof earning a living have beendifferent if Thulasi ownedsome farm land? Discuss.

4. What are the crops grown inyour region or nearby rural area? What kinds of work do agriculturallabourers do?

Janu

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February

March

April

May

Ju

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August

September

October

November

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Sekar

We have to carry this paddy to ourhouse. My family has just finished

harvesting our field. We don't ownmuch land, only two acres. We manageto do all the work on our own. Attimes, especially during the harvest Itake the help of other small farmersand in turn help them harvest theirfield.

The trader gave me seeds andfertilisers as a loan. To pay back thisloan I have to sell my paddy to him ata somewhat lower price than what Iwould get in the market. He has senthis agent to remind farmers who havetaken loans that they will sell thepaddy only to him.

I will probably get 60 bags of paddyfrom my field. Some of this I will sell tosettle the loan. The rest will be used inmy home. But whatever I have will lastonly eight months. So I need to earnsome money. I work in Ramalingam'srice mill. Here I help him collect paddyfrom other farmers in the neighbouringvillages.

We also have a hybrid cow, whosemilk we sell in the local milkcooperative. This way we get a littleextra money for our everyday needs.

On being in Debt

As you've read above, very often farmerslike Sekar need to borrow money topurchase basic things like seeds,fertilisers and pesticides. Often theyborrow this money from moneylenders.If the seeds are not of good quality,pests will attack their crops and therecan be a major crop failure.


As you saw in Thulasi's story poorfamilies in rural areas often spend alot of time every day collectingfirewood, getting water and grazingtheir cattle.

Even though they do not earn anymoney from these activities they haveto do them for the household. Thefamily needs to spend time doing thisas they are not able to survive on thelittle money they earn.

Nearly two-fifth of all rural familiesare agricultural labourers in ourcountry. There are some who havesmall plots of land while others likeThulasi are landless.

Not being able to earn moneythroughout the year forces people inmany rural areas to travel longdistances in search of work. Thistravel, or migration, takes placeduring particular seasons.

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The crops can also be ruinedif the monsoon does not bringenough rain. When thishappens farmers sometimes areunable to pay back their loans.And, for the family to survive,they may even have to borrowmore money. Soon the loanbecomes so large that no matterwhat they earn, they are unable to repay.

This is when we can say theyare caught in debt. In recentyears this has become a majorcause of distress among farmers.In some areas this has alsoresulted in many farmerscommitting suicide. Ramalingam and Karuthamma

In addition to land, Ramalingam’s familyowns a rice mill and a shop sellingseeds, pesticides, etc. For the rice millthey used some of their own money andalso borrowed from the governmentbank. They buy paddy from within thevillage and from surrounding villages.The rice that is produced in the mill issold to traders in nearby towns. Thisgives them a substantial income.

1. What work does Sekar’s familydo? Why do you think Sekar doesnot usually employ labourers fordoing farming work?

2. Why does Sekar not go to thetown market to get a better price forhis paddy?

3. Sekar’s sister Mina had alsotaken a loan from the trader. Shedoes not want to sell her paddy tohim but she will pay back her loan.Write an imaginary conversationbetween Mina and the trader'sagent and the arguments given byeach person.

4. What are the similarities anddifferences between Sekar’s andThulasi’s lives? Your answer couldbe based on the land that theyhave, their need to work on the landthat belongs to others, or loans thatthey need and their earnings.

Assignment

Read again Sekar’s and Thulasi’saccounts. What do they say aboutRamalingam, the large farmer?Together with what you have read fillin the details below:

1. How much land does he have?

2. What does Ramalingam do with thepaddy grown on his land?

3. Apart from farming how else doeshe earn?

Transplanted paddy growing in a few ofRamalingam’s 20 acres. A result of hard labourperformed by agricultural workers like Thulasi.

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Agricultural Labourers and Farmersin India

In Kalpattu village there areagricultural labourers like Thulasi,and many small farmers like Sekar,and a few big farmers likeRamalingam. In India nearly two outof every five rural families areagricultural labourer families. All ofthem depend on the work they do onother people's fields to earn a living.Many of them are landless and othersmay own very small plots of land.

In the case of small farmers likeSekar their land is barely enough tomeet their needs. In India 80 per centof farmers belong to this group. Only20 per cent of India's farmers are likeRamalingam. These large farmerscultivate most of the land in thevillages. A large part of their produce issold in the market. Many of them havestarted other businesses such asshops, moneylending, trading, smallfactories, etc.

We have looked at farming inKalpattu. Apart from farming, manypeople in rural areas depend uponcollection from the forest, animalhusbandry, dairy produce, fishing,etc. For example, in some villages in

Discuss

From the figures given above wouldyou say that a majority of thecountry's farmers are quite poor?What do you think can be done tochange this situation?

Terrace Farming in Nagaland

This is a village called Chizamiwhich is in Phek district inNagaland. The people of thisvillage belong to the Chakhesangcommunity. They do 'terrace'cultivation.

This means that the land on a hillslope is made into flat plots andcarved out in steps. The sides ofeach plot are raised in order toretain water. This allows water tostand in the field, which is bestfor rice cultivation.

The people of Chizami have theirown individual fields. But, theyalso work collectively in eachother's fields. They form groupsof six or eight and take an entiremountainside to clean the weedson it.

Each group eats together oncetheir work for the day is over. Thisgoes on for several days until thework is completed.


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central India, both farmingand collection from theforest are importantsources of livelihood.Collecting mahua, tenduleaves, honey, to be sold totraders, is an importantsource of additionalincome.

Similarly selling milk tothe village cooperativesociety or taking milk to thenearby town may be themain source of livelihood forsome families. In thecoastal areas, we find fishing villages.Let us find out more about the lives ofa fishing family by reading about Arunaand Paarivelan who live in Pudupet, avillage close to Kalpattu.

Aruna and Paarivelan

Not very far from Kalpattu is thevillage of Pudupet. People here earntheir living by fishing. Their housesare close to the sea and one finds rows

of catamarans and nets lyingaround. At about 7 o’clockin the morning there is alot of activity on the beach.This is the time when thecatamarans return withtheir catch and womengather to buy and sell fish.

My husband Paarivelan,my brother and my brother-in-law returned late today.I was very worried. Theygo to the sea together inour catamaran. They saidthey were caught in astorm. I have kept asidesome fish for the family. I

Fisher-woman selling the catch at the local market.


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will auction the rest. The money I getfrom the auction will be divided intofour shares. One each for each personwho went fishing and the fourth one isfor the equipment. Since we own thecatamaran, engine and nets, we getthat share too. We have taken a loanfrom a bank and purchased an engine,which is fixed on to the catamaran.Now they can go far into the sea sothat they can get a better catch.

The women who buy fish here willcarry them in baskets to be sold innearby villages. Then there are otherslike traders who buy for the shops inthe town. I'll only finish this auction bynoon. In the evening my husband andour relatives will untangle and repairour nets. Early tomorrow morningaround 2 a.m. they will set out to seaagain. Every year, for at least aboutfour months during the monsoon, theycannot go to the sea because this iswhen the fish breed. During thesemonths we survive by borrowing fromthe trader. Because of this, later on weare forced to sell the fish to that trader,and cannot do our auction. Those leanmonths are the most difficult. Last yearwe suffered a lot because of thetsunami.

Rural Livelihoods

People in rural areas earn their livingin various ways. Some work on farmswhile others earn their living on non-farm activities. Working on farmsinvolves operations such as preparingthe land, sowing, weeding and

harvesting of crops. We depend onnature for the growth of these crops.Hence life revolves around certainseasons. People are busy duringsowing and harvesting and less so atother times. Rural people in differentregions of the country grow differentcrops. However, we do find similaritiesin their life situations and in theproblems that they face.

How people are able to survive orearn will depend upon the land thatthey cultivate. Many depend on theselands for work as labourers. Mostfarmers grow crops both for their ownrequirements and also to sell in themarket. Some have to sell to tradersfrom whom they have borrowedmoney. For their survival, manyfamilies need to borrow money fortheir work or when no work isavailable. There are some families inrural areas which thrive on large acresof lands, business and other activities.However, most small farmers,agricultural labourers, fishingfamilies, crafts persons in the villagesdo not find enough work to keep thememployed throughout the year.


Discuss

1. Why do both Sekar's and Aruna'sfamilies have to borrow? Whatsimilarities and differences do youfind?

2. Have you heard of the tsunami?What is this and what damage do youthink it might have done to the life offishing families like Aruna's?

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QUESTIONS

1. You have probably noticed that people in Kalpattu are engaged in avariety of non-farm work. List five of these.

2. List the different types of people you read about in Kalpattu whodepend on farming. Who is the poorest among them and why?

3. Imagine you are a member of a fishing family and you are discussingwhether to take a loan from the bank for an engine. What would yousay?

4. Poor rural labourers like Thulasi often do not have access to goodmedical facilities, good schools, and other resources. You have readabout inequality in the first unit of this text. The difference betweenher and Ramalingam is one of inequality. Do you think this is a fairsituation? What do you think can be done? Discuss in class.

5. What do you think the government can do to help farmers like Sekarwhen they get into debt? Discuss.

6. Compare the situation of Sekar and Ramalingam by filling out thefollowing table:

SEKAR RAMALINGAM

Landcultivated

Labourrequired

Loansrequired

Selling ofharvest

Other workdone by them

Project: Interview any one of the farmers/elders in your locality. Writea report on it.

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Chapter 9

1. What do you see inthis illustration?

2. You have alreadyread about the workthat people do in ruralareas. Now comparethe work that people inthis illustration aredoing with the workthat people do in ruralareas.

3. Some parts of thecity are different fromothers. What differencesdo you notice in thisillustration?

UrbanLivelihoods

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Urban Livelihoods / 77

Working on the Street

his is the city where my cousinlives. I've been here only a few

times. It is very big. Once, when I camehere, my cousin took me around. Weleft the house early in the morning. As

we turned the corner onto the mainstreet we saw that it was alreadybuzzing with activity. The vegetablevendor was busy arranging tomatoes,carrots and cucumbers in baskets ather stall so that people could see what

T

There are more than five thousand towns and twenty seven big cities inIndia. Big cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, etc. have morethan a million people living and working here. They say that 'the citynever sleeps!' Let's visit one and find out about the work people do inthe city. Are they employed by someone or are they self-employed? Howdo they organise themselves? And do they have similar employmentand earning opportunities?

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Bachchu Manjhi – A Cycle-RickshawPuller

I come from a village in Bihar where Iworked as a mason. My wife and threechildren live in the village. We don't ownland. In the village I did not get masonrywork regularly. The income that I earnedwas not enough for our family.

After I reached this city, I bought an oldcycle rickshaw and paid for it ininstalments. This was many years ago.

I come to the bus stop every morning andtake the customers wherever they want togo. I work till 8.30 p.m in the evening.

I take rides of up to 6 kilometres in thesurrounding area. Each customer givesme Rs. 5-10 per trip depending on thedistance. When I'm ill I can't do this work,so on those days I don't earn anything.

I stay with my friends in a rented room.They work in a nearby factory. I earnbetween Rs. 80-100 every day, out ofwhich I spend Rs. 50-60 on food and rent.The rest I save for my family. I visit myvillage two or three times a year to see myfamily. Though my family survives on themoney I send, my wife also earns fromagricultural work that she gets once ina while.

she had to sell. Next to her stall was alovely, colourful one that sold all kindsof flowers.

We bought a red rose and a yellowrose. On the pavement opposite wesaw a person selling newspapers witha small crowd of people around him.Everyone wanted to read the news!Buses whizzed past and therewere auto-rickshaws filledwith school-children. Nearby,under a tree, a cobbler sattaking his tools and materialsout of a small tin box. Next tohim the roadside barber hadbegun his work. He alreadyhad a customer who wantedan early-morning shave!

A little way down theroad, a woman was pushingalong a cart with all kinds ofplastic bottles, boxes, hairpins,clips, etc. in it while another

person on a cycle trolley was carryingvegetables to sell to people in theirhouses.

We came to a place whererickshaws were standing in a rowwaiting for customers. We decided totake one to the market, which wasabout two kilometres down the road.

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Like Bachchu Manjhi a largenumber of people in the city work onthe streets. In a survey of Ahmedabadcity it was found that 12 percent of allthe workers in thecity were peopleworking on the street.They sometimes sellthings or repair themor provide a service.

They work on theirown. They are notemployed by anyoneand therefore have toorganise their ownwork. They have toplan how much topurchase, as well aswhere and how to setup their shops. Theirshops are usuallytemporary structures:sometimes just someboards or papersspread over discardedboxes or maybe acanvas sheet hung up

on a few poles. They may also usetheir own carts or simply a plasticsheet spread on the pavement. Theycan be asked to dismantle their shopsat any time by the police. They have nosecurity. There are certain parts of thecity where these hawkers are notallowed to enter.

Vendors sell things that are oftenprepared at home by their familieswho purchase, clean, sort and makethem ready to sell. For example, thosewho sell food or snacks on the street,prepare most of these at home.

Field visit

1. Why did Bachchu Manjhi come tothe city? 2. Why can't Bachchu Manjhi live withhis family?3. Talk to a vegetable vendor or hawkerand find out how do they organise theirwork, their way of preparing,purchasing, selling, etc.4. Bachchu Manjhi has to think twicebefore taking a day off from work. Why?

Often workers who make a living in the city are forced to set up theirhomes on the street as well. Below is a space where several workersleave their belongings during the day and cook their meals at night.

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There are almost one crore 'streetvendors' in the country working inurban areas. Street vending was tillrecently looked upon only as anobstruction to traffic and to peoplewalking. However with the effort of manyorganisations it is now recognised as ageneral benefit and as a right of people toearn their livelihood. The government isthinking about modifying the law thatbanned street vendors, so that they havea place to work and that there is also afree flow of traffic and people. Hawkingzones have been suggested for townsand cities. It has also been suggestedthat mobile vendors should be allowed tomove around freely. Hawkers need to bepart of committees that are set up totake these and other decisions relatingto them.

In the Market

When we reached the market the shopswere just beginning to open. But theplace was already crowded because ofthe festival season. There were rowsand rows of shops selling sweets, toys,clothes, footwear, utensils, electronicgoods, etc. There was a dentist's clinicalso at one end.

My cousin had an appointment withthe dentist. We went there first so thatwe would not miss our turn. We had towait for a while in a room before shewas called inside. The dentistexamined her and asked her to comeback the following day to get a cavity inher tooth filled. My cousin was scaredbecause she thought the process wouldbe painful and was upset that she hadallowed her teeth to go bad.

From the dental clinic she took me toa new garment showroom because Iwanted to buy some readymadeclothes. The showroom had three-floors. Each floor had different types ofclothes. We went to the third floorwhere clothes for girls were kept.

Harpreet and Vandana:Businesspersons

My father and uncle worked in a smallshop. During festival times and onSundays my mother and I helped themin the shop. I started working thereonly after I completed my college.(Harpreet)

We opened this showroom someyears ago. I'm a dress designer. Ourbusiness has changed. These dayspeople prefer to buy readymadeclothes, rather than have them stitched.The trend these days is for readymadegarments. You also need an attractivedisplay for them. (Vandana)

For our showroom, we buy thingsfrom different places. We buy most of


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the materials from Mumbai, Ahmeda-bad, Ludhiana and Tripura. Somematerials also come from Noida andGurgaon, towns near Delhi. We getsome dress items from foreigncountries, too.

There are several things we need todo to run this showroom properly. Weadvertise in various newspapers,cinema theatres, television and radiochannels. Currently, this building isrented but soon, we plan to buy it. Eversince this market has become the mainmarket for people living in thesurrounding apartments our businesshas grown. We've been able to buy acar and book a flat in an apartmentcomplex nearby.

Like Harpreet and Vandana thereare many people who own shops invarious markets of the city. Theseshops may be small or large and theysell different things. Most business-persons manage their own shops orbusiness. They are not employed byanyone. But, they do employ anumber of other workers assupervisors and helpers. These arepermanent shops that are given a

licence to do business by themunicipal corporation. The MunicipalCorporation also decides on which dayof the week the market has to remainclosed. For example the shops in theabove market are closed onWednesdays. This market also hassmall offices and shops that provideservices, such as banks, courierservices and others.

In the Factory-Workshop Area

I wanted to have zari work done on oneof my dresses which I needed for aspecial occasion. My cousin said thatshe knew Nirmala who works in agarment factory. Nirmala's neighboursdo zari work and embroidery. So wecaught a bus and headed towards thefactory area. The bus was reallycrowded. At every stop more and morepeople got on and hardly anyoneseemed to get off. People were pushingothers to make more space forthemselves. My cousin guided me to acorner so that we wouldn't getsquashed. I wondered how peopletravel like this every day. As the busentered the factory area people startedgetting off. We also got off soon at acrossing. What a relief that was!

There were a large number of peoplesitting on railings or in groups at thecrossing. They seemed to be waiting forsomeone. Some groups had people onscooters standing by and talking withthem. My cousin explained that thisplace was called "labour chowk". Thesewere daily wage labourers who workas helpers to masons. They dig atconstruction sites, lift loads or unload

Project work

Why did Harpreet and Vandana start ashowroom? What do they have to do torun the showroom?

Talk to a shop owner in a market andfind out how he plans his work. Havethere been any changes in his businessin the past twenty years?

What are the differences between those whosell on the street and those in the market?


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trucks in the market, dig pipelines andtelephone cables and also build roads.There are thousands of such casualworkers in the city.

We entered the factory area to find itfull of small workshops. There seemedto be endless rows of them. In onesection we saw people working in asmall room on sewingmachines where cloth wasbeing stitched. One personoperated one sewingmachine. Clothes that hadbeen stitched were stackedon one side of the room.

We located Nirmala inthe stitching unit. She washappy to meet my cousinand promised to get zariwork done on my dress.

Nirmala works as atailor in an export garmentunit. The factory whereshe works makes summer

clothes for people in foreigncountries like U.S.A., U.K.,Germany and the Netherlands.Workers like Nirmala have towork very long hours in themonths from December toApril. A normal working daybegins at 9 a.m. and finishesonly by 10 p.m., sometimeseven later. She works for sixdays a week. At times whenthe work needs to be doneurgently, she works onSundays, too. Nirmala is paidRs 80 a day for eight hours

and Rs 40 extra for workinglate. By June the work is over

and the factory reduces its staff.Nirmala will also be asked to leave. Forabout three or four months in the year,there is no work for her.

Most workers, like Nirmala, areemployed on what is known as casualbasis, i.e. they are required to

At labour chowk, daily wage workers wait with their toolsfor people to come and take them for work.

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come as and when theemployer needs them.They are employed whenthe employer gets largeorders or during certainseasons. At other timesof the year they have tofind some other work.

Jobs like Nirmala's arenot permanent. If workerscomplain about their payor working conditionsthey are asked to leave.There is no job security orprotection if there is illtreatment. They are alsoexpected to work very long hours.For example in the cloth mill unitsthe workers work on day and nightshifts, with each shift lasting 12hours. One worker works on onemachine for 12 hours and then isreplaced by another on the samemachine for the next 12 hours.

Working in Call Centres is a new form of employment inthe big cities. A Call Centre is a centralised office thatdeals with problems and questions that consumers/customers have regarding goods purchased and serviceslike banking, ticket booking, etc. Call Centres aregenerally set up as large rooms with work stations thatinclude a computer, a telephone set and supervisor'sstations. India has become a major centre not only forIndian companies but also foreign companies. They setup Call Centres here as they can get people who canspeak English and will work for lower wages.

Assignment

1. Why do you think smallworkshops and factories employcasual workers?

2. Describe the workingconditions of people like Nirmalakeeping in mind the following:working hours, conditions in theworkplace, earnings, and thedays of work available.

3. Would you say that domesticworkers like housemaids are alsocasual workers? Why? Describethe workday of one such womandetailing the work she does inother peoples' houses.

In the office area

My aunt, Sudha works as a MarketingManager. She had asked us to reach her officebefore 5.30 p.m. We thought we'd get late sowe took an autorickshaw that managed to getus there just in time. Her office was in an areasurrounded by tall buildings. There werehundreds of people coming out. Some headedfor the car park while others went towardsthe row of buses.

My aunt is a marketing manager in acompany which manufactures biscuits. Thefactory where the biscuits are made isoutside the city. She supervises the work of50 salespersons who travel to different parts

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of the city. They get orders fromshopkeepers and collect payments fromthem. She has divided the city into sixregions and once a week she meets thesalespersons of each region. Shechecks their progress report anddiscusses problems they face. She hasto plan the sales in the entire city andoften has to work late and travel todifferent places.

She gets a regular salary everymonth and is a permanent worker withthe company. She can expect her job tocontinue for a long period of time. Beinga permanent worker she also getsother benefits such as the following:

Savings for old age: A part of hersalary is kept in a fund with thegovernment. She will earn interest onthese savings. When she retires fromthis job she will get this money andshe can then live on that.

Holidays: She gets off on Sundaysand national holidays. She also getssome days as annual leave.

Medical facilities for her family: Hercompany pays the medical expenses upto a certain amount for her and herfamily members. She gets medicalleave if she falls ill and her salary isnot cut if she takes this leave.

There are many workers in the citywho work in offices, factories, andgovernment departments where theyare employed as regular andpermanent workers.

They attend the same office orfactory regularly. Their work is clearlyidentified. They get a regular salary.Unlike casual workers they will not beasked to leave if the factory does nothave much work.

At the end of the day we got into myaunt's car, exhausted. But it had beenso much fun! And I thought, howinteresting that so many people do somany different things in the city.They've probably never met each otherbut it is their work that ties themtogether and helps to make up city life.

QUESTIONS

1. Read and discuss the following description of the living conditions ofworkers who come to the labour chowk.

Most workers that we find at the labour chowk cannot afford permanentaccommodation and so sleep on pavements near the chowk, or they payRs 6 a night for a bed at a nearby night shelter run by the MunicipalCorporation. To compensate for the lack of security, local tea andcigarette shops function as banks, moneylenders and safety lockers, allrolled into one. Most workers leave their tools at these shops for the nightfor safekeeping, and pass on any extra money to them. The shopkeeperskeep the money safely and also offer loans to labourers in need.

Source: Aman Sethi, Hindu On-line

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3. In what ways is a permanent and regular job different from a casualjob? Discuss.

4. What benefits does Sudha get along with her salary?

5. SurveyFill in the following table to show the services provided by people inthe markets which you visit frequently.

2. Complete the following table and discuss how their work is different:

Nature of the service providedName of the shop or office

Name Place of

workEarnings

Security ofwork

Benefitsreceived

Work ontheir own or

employed

BachchuManjhi

Rs 100 a day

Harpreet,Vandana

Work on theirown

Nirmala No security

Sudha Company Rs 30,000 p.m.

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Social Science - Mizoram

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Transcript of Social Science - Mizoram