6.Chapter21.Civics.Our Community Life.

Chapter 21

Our Community Life : 

Unity in Diversity Man is called a social animal.  Man cannot live without a society or a community.  The society it is due to human nature and our necessity that we provides security and support to everyo enjoy living in a community, as a result of the advancement in science and technology, human needs have multiplied many fold.  The people living in the villages comparatively lead a simple life than those who reside in cities as a result, their requirements are different from one another.  In short, needs, requirements and necessities of human beings compel them to live together and extend mutual co-operation.  This is called community life.  COMMUNITY AND INTERDEPENDENCE The community in which we live comprises of the family, the school and the neighborhood.  The families living close to one another in a particular area, form a neighborhood.  Living together helps in solving various kinds of problems by mutual give and take.  A group of neighborhoods comprises a village or a city.  Many villages and cities together form a country.  No country in the world can meet the demands of its people independently.  Hence, every family, neighborhood, village, city or country has to depend on one another.  In our daily life, we require the services of farmers, tailors, electricians, plumbers, shopkeepers, teachers, doctors and many more experts and skilled workers.  The interdependence in every sphere of life promotes a feeling of togetherness, belongingness and social well - being.  This paves the way for continuous development of community life.

Community: The Family All of us live in a family.  The family is the first and the smallest unit of the community.  It meets our needs and helps us to adapt ourselves to surroundings.  The family is also called our first school.  It is here that the child observes, imitates and learns various skills like walking, talking and interacting with others.  The use of mother tongue enables the child to express his / her feelings Inculcation of civic values, like discipline, dedication, honesty, patriotism, obedience, truthfulness, sacrifice and are called Sanskaars.  co-operation, help the child in the development of his / her personality.  These civic and moral values ​​Try to recall the contribution of your family in bringing you up and helping in developing your personality.  Undoubtedly, we owe a lot to our family.  In return, we have many duties towards our family.  We must respect and obey our parents and elders.  We must be co-operative, helpful and loyal to the family.  We should take keen interest in our studies and carry on other responsibilities.  Let us remember that our parents are not only our well - wishers but also our friend, philosopher and guide.  Community: The School Another integral part of our community life is school.  It not only imparts education, but also trains us in the art of community living.  In fact, it is education that makes us good human beings, capable of making positive contribution for the betterment school of the community.  Community: The Neighborhood Everything that surrounds us whether living and non - living is a part and parcel of our neighborhood.  Every individual as well as community, whether at the village level, city or state level, national or international level, needs a friendly neighborhood.  A good neighborhood helps to develop strong ties among the individuals.  Community: Economic Development Early man used to do all his jobs himself because he lived alone.  When he started leading a settled life, different people started doing different jobs.  Their dependence do you know?  on one another gave rise to the village community and also to the concept of division of labor makes our life easy as it increases production, lowers its cost and leads to specialization division of labor

Earlier the village activities were limited to hunting, fishing, cattle - rearing and farming.  The gradual increase in needs gave rise to different occupations like masonary, carpentry, weaving, tailoring, trading etc.  But agriculture continues to be the major occupation in rural areas till today.  At first, people worked for one another in return of goods or services.  Later on, they worked in exchange for money.  This became the basis of all economic activities and also the source of livelihood for the people.  It was the beginning of economic interdependence.  On the other hand, with the coming up of towns and cities, economic activities in urban areas Binecuno were different in nature.  The towns and cities became the major centers of trade and industry.  A chain of economic activities like construction of roads and buildings, trading, manufacturing of goods, etc.  , started.  The services, like health and medical care, education, supply of water and electricity banking and insurance, have also become essential requirements not only of the urban life but also of the rural living 22 Community: Cultural Development in the early stages of settled life,  man had a lot of spare time which he used for roaming around, singing, playing, dancing, painting and other means of entertainment.  The expression and feelings of the people living in different environments took the form of hobbies - art and craft, painting sculpture, architecture, music, dance and literature.  These activities kept on changing with time and place.  The food habits, dresses, dance forms, paintings, martial arts, games and sports varied from region to region.  They were influenced by geographical and climatic conditions.  The interaction among the various communities influenced the customs, beliefs and traditions.  DIVERSITY IN INDIA India is a large country extending from Kashmirto Kanyakumari and from Arunachal to Ankaleshwar.  Variety of climatic conditions, soils, irrigation methods, cultural and religious backgrounds symbolize diversity in various fields.  If you try to observe the food habits of people, the clothes they wear and

work they do in different parts of the country, you will clearly notice the variety and diversity of different regions.  Even within a region, the lifestyle is very much different in rural and urban areas, it is so because the lifestyle of the people is directly related to their physical surroundings Influenced by various historical, geographical, social and economic factors, the diversity in India has  provided us a glorious past and a rich cultural heritage.  This has paved the way for unity in diversity, unity in diversity The Indian unity is not something imposed from outside.  It is the outcome of our appreciation and tolerance for different beliefs and customs of India.  Infact, India's unity in diversity is a unique feature which has always been our source of strength.  For example, the harvest festivals are celebrated all over the country at the time of harvesting the crops.  The happiness of farmers is expressed through festivals like Baisakhi in Punjab, Onam in Kerala and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.  Like, Garba Nritya of Gujarat, Behu dance of Assam and Ghoomer of Rajasthan vividly reflect the culture and tradition of the communities of these regions.  The richness of Indian traditions lies in the belief that all cultures are equal.  We Indians feel proud of our rich cultural heritage.  Our respect and faith in this cultural diversity has kept India united and integrated Behu Dance (Assam) Baishakhi (Punjab) Garba (Gujarat) Onam (Kerala)

Inequalities and Constitutional Provisions to Safeguard Them Unfortunately, increasing social and economic inequalities, both in rural and urban areas, have led to more discrimination in society.  There are various reasons for it.  In our day to day life, we find that the poor and the downtrodden are being exploited and ill - treated by the rich;  the followers of one religion look down upon others;  people speaking different languages ​​have issues;  the men folk are exploiting the women.  These types of differences cannot be called a form of diversity, but they are inequalities, prejudices and discriminations.  Do you know?  Prejudice means prejudgment, preconceived notions one might have against any region religion, color of the skin of an individual, their accent, even the kind of language they speak.  or clothes they wear.  Discrimination occurs when people act on their prejudices or act in a blased manner, for example, the Britishers discriminated against the Indians, largely because of their prejudices and a feeling of superiority, many social reformers, like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar,  Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak and many more, have already done a lot to get rid of these inequalities and other social evils, like untouchability, gender bias, unemployment, illiteracy, etc.  Even then, many evils are still widespread in India.  Raja Ram Mohan Roy Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Swami Dayanand Saraswati Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak ES When the Constitution of India was being framed, our national leaders, kept this in mind.  Therefore, they included many such provisions in the Constitution which aim at bringing social, economic and political equality.  The Fundamental Rights, like Right to Freedom, Right to Equality, Right against Exploitation, etc.  , have been integrated into the Constitution.  Similarly, the Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines to the government at different levels to plan and act upon these Directive Principles have gone a long way in achieving the national goals of economic and social justice.  You will read about this in Class - VII.

Do you know?  Swami Dayanand Saraswati, a great social reformer, travelled widely across the country.  His main mission was to enlighten the people, arouse the spirit of nationalism and bring awareness about equality and dignity of individuals.  He was totally against the caste system, the root cause of social inequality and discrimination in Indian society.  According to him, all are born equal.  So there should be no discrimination on any basis.  He strongly advocated the cause of education for all, especially for the upliftment of the women and the downtrodden.  OUR RURAL COMMUNITY India is mainly a land of villages.  TWO thirds of the population of our country Do You Know?  lives in villages.  These villages represent our rural community.  Most of the rural Green Revolution grains population depends upon agriculture as White Revolution milk is related to Blue Revolution fish their means of livelihood.  Yellow Revoluton oil seeds after independence, India has made tremendous progress in the field of agriculture, industry, power generation and other resources.  The impact of this development can be seen in the villages also.  Most of the villages are now linked to the cities by roads or railways.  mil Modern Village

(The use of electricity has revolutionized the rural life. Television, radio, telephone and different types of home appliances are common in rural areas also. New agricultural implements, fertilizers and finances are easily available. These have helped the farmers to usher green revolution in  the country. It has changed the lifestyle of the rural population The construction of dams, bridges, schools and community centers have improved the standard of living of people in rural areas. However, the rapid rise in population has diluted the positive impact of this progress  . Inspite of the continuous efforts since independence many problems still persist. Many of our villages are still under-developed, unhygienic and without even the basic amenities of life. The villagers also face the problems of inequality, illiteracy, ignorance, rural indebtedness, unemployment.  and bonded labor, for this, we must stand together and try to solve these problems on warfooting. If ou  r villages prosper, India will definitely become economically and socially strong, 12 Do You Know?  The Green Revolution began in India in the mid 1960's to increase production of crops like wheat, rice.  M.S.  Swaminathan is known as "The Father of Green Revolution in India '. Punjab was the first state to try the new crops. The second Green Revolution started in 2009 in Eastern states of India. OUR URBAN COMMUNITY omedy life in towns and cities is comparatively smooth  And comfortable. Due to the industrialization, job opportunities in cities have increased considerably. The basic amenities like drinking water, electricity, dispensaries and hospitals, schools and colleges, availability of goods of daily requirements food, textiles, hardware, etc., are available  in abundance. This has attracted the people from rural areas to come and settle in cities. But, with more and more people from the rural areas, towns and cities have become over-populated and scarce in basic amenities. Inspite of tremendous development in the  field of transport, the roads are over - crowded. Disposal of city waste, lack of proper sanitation and drainage, scarcity of clean drinking water, etc.  .  , are making the city life difficult.  Unfortunately, the economic and social inequalities are increasing which cause unrest and social tension.  How can we meet such challenges?  Every community needs a system of governance.  In ancient India, it was easily managed through Village Panchayats.  After independence also, we have similar type of institutions, i.e.  Gram Panchayats in villages and municipal bodies in cities.  In the subsequent chapters, we shall study about the importance of working together to solve our problems.

then labor at low wages to pay off the debt.  agricultural society into one based on the manulacturing of goods and services interdependence: depending on one another for fulfillment of one's needs.  PS WA MA 180 An Urban City Do You Know?  There are about 377 million people living in 7935 towns / cites in India, 31.2% of total population.  Every third Indian lives in a city, Nearly two out of every five people in the cities have no tap water.  There are more than 1600 languages ​​spoken in India.  There are more than 100 dance forms in India.  .  Keywords basic amenities: simple facilities like drinking water, pollution free environment banded labor: a practice in which employers give huge interest loans to workers whose entire family industrilisation: the process in which a society or country (or world) transfor os itself from a primarily  untouchability: an evil practice of considering or treating some people in the society as untouchables or outcaste.