What, Where, How and When? — Social Studies STD 6 — Question

Comment on the geographical understanding of ancient Indians.

An Event Box :
The city of Surat had a plague scare in 1994. Surat was one of the dirtiest cities in India. Houses, hotels and restaurants would dump their garbage into the nearest drain or street which made it very difficult for sweepers to collect and transfer the garbage into selected dumps. In addition to this, the Municipal Council did not collect the garbage as often as it should have and this led to the situation getting worse. The plague spreads through the air and people who have the disease have to he isolated. In Surat, several people lost their lives, and over 300,000 deserted the town. The scare of the plague ensured that the municipal council completely cleaned up the city. To this date, Surat continues to remain the second cleanest city in India after Chandigarh.
1. Do you know when and how often garbage gets collected in your neighbourhood ?
2. Do you think it is the same for all neighbourhoods in the city ? Why not ? Discuss.

Analyse the challenges faced by early humans in adapting to changing environmental conditions and the strategies they employed to ensure their survival. How did these adaptations contribute to the development of more complex societies over time?

Answer the following questions based on the text :
1. Was there a problem with the BPL list that the Gram Sabha was finalising ? What was this problem ?
2. Why do you think Soorajmal kept quiet even though Saroj asked him to speak ?
3. Have you seen any similar incidents when people are unable to speak for themselves ? Why do you think that happened and what prevented the person from speaking ?
4. How can the Gram Sabha prevent the Panchayat from doing what it likes ?

Do you know the term for a society where people select their leaders? How do you think people can benefit from such a situation? What could happen if they live under leaders that they did not choose? Write your thoughts in a paragraph of 100-150 words.(Hint: Think back to what you're learning in the theme 'Governance and Democracy'!)

Find following places in map.
(a) Sarnath
(b) Mathura
(c) Mahabalipuram
(d) Aihole

“The Panchayati Raj system works at three levels – the village, the block, and the district. This system allows for local governance and ensures that development plans and resources are managed efficiently. The Gram Panchayat, being the base level, directly interacts with the villagers, addressing their immediate needs and concerns. Above the Gram Panchayat is the Panchayat Samiti, which coordinates between multiple Gram Panchayats, and at the top is the Zila Parishad, which oversees district-level administration.”

1. What are the three levels of the Panchayati Raj system ?
2. What role does the Panchayat Samiti play in the Panchayati Raj system ?
3. How does the Zila Parishad contribute to local governance ?
4. Why is the Gram Panchayat considered the base level of the Panchayati Raj system ?

What are the Vedas? What is their message?

Sometimes people make prejudiced comments in our presence. We are often not in a position to do anything about this because it is difficult to say something right then and there. Divide the class into groups and each group discuss what they could do in one of the following situations :
1. A friend begins to tease a classmate because he is poor.
2. You are watching TV with your family and one of them makes a prejudicial comment about a particular religious community.
3. Children in your class refuse to share their food with a particular person because they think she is dirty.
4. Someone tells you a joke that makes fun of a community because of their accent.
5. Some boys make remarks about girls not being able to play games as well as them.

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

What is the contribution of folk and tribal traditions to Indian culture?