The Mughals (16th to 17th Century) | Social Science

THE MUGHALS (16th TO 17th CENTURY) R uling as large a territory as the Indian subcontinent with such a diversity of people and cultures was an the Middle Ages. Quite in contrast to their predecessors, the Mughals created an empire and accomplished what had hitherto seemed possib...

THE MUGHALS (16th TO 17th CENTURY) R uling as large a territory as the Indian subcontinent with such a diversity of people and cultures was an the Middle Ages. Quite in contrast to their predecessors, the Mughals created an empire and accomplished what had hitherto seemed possible for only short periods of time. From the latter half of the sixteenth century, they expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi, until in the seventeenth century they controlled nearly all of the subcontinent. They imposed structures of administration and ideas of governance that outlasted their rule, leaving a political legacy that succeeding rulers of the subcontinent could not ignore. Today the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, the residence of the Mughal emperors. Fig. 1 The Red Fort. 39 THE MUGHALS  Who were the Mughals? The Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers. From their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan (died 1227), the Mongol ruler who ruled over parts of China and Central Asia. From their father’s side, they were the successors of Timur (died 1404), the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern-day Turkey. However, the Mughals did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol. This was because Genghis Khan’s memory Fig. 2 was associated with the massacre Mughal army on campaign. of innumerable people. It was also linked with the Uzbegs, their Mongol competitors. On the other hand, the Mughals were proud of their Timurid ancestry, not least of all because their great ancestor had captured They celebrated their genealogy pictorially, each ruler getting a picture made of Timur and himself. Mughal Military Campaigns he was only 12 years old. H e was forced to leave his ancestral th rone due to the invasion of Fig. 3 another Mongol group, the Uzbegs. Cannons were an A f t e r y e ar s o f w a n d e r i n g , h e important addition seized Kabul in 1504. In 1526 he in sixteenth-century warfare. Babur used them effectively in the and Agra. 40  Map 1 Military campaigns under Akbar and Aurangzeb. Mughal Traditions of Succession The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate. Instead they followed the Mughal and Timurid Mughal marriages custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a division of with the Rajputs the inheritance amongst all the sons. Which do you The mother of think is a fairer division of inheritance: primogeniture Jahangir was or coparcenary? a Kachhwaha princess, daughter of the Rajput Mughal Relations with Other Rulers ruler of Amber (modern- day The Mughal rulers campaigned constantly against Jaipur). The rulers who refused to accept their authority. But as mother of Shah the Mughals became powerful many other rulers Jahan was a Rathor also joined them voluntarily. The Rajputs are a good princess, daughter example of this. Many of them married their daughters of the Rajput ruler of Marwar into Mughal families and received high positions. But (Jodhpur). many resisted as well. 41 THE MUGHALS  Mughal authority for a long time. Once defeated, however, they were honourably treated by the Mughals, given their lands back as assignments. The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled the the time. Mansabdars and Jagirdars As the empire expanded to encompass different regions, the Mughals recruited diverse bodies of people. From a small nucleus of Turkish nobles (Turanis) they expanded to include Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups. Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as. The term refers to an individual who holds a , meaning a position or rank. It was Zat ranking and salary were determined by a numerical value Nobles with a called. The higher the , the more prestigious zat of 5,000 was the noble’s position in court and the larger were ranked his salary. higher than Th e m i li ta r y r esp onsi bi li ti es those of 1,000. required him to maintain a specified number of In Akbar’s reign there were 29 or cavalrymen. The brought his mansabdars cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their with a rank of horses branded and then received money to pay them 5,000 zat; by as salary. Aurangzeb’s received their salaries as revenue reign the number assignments called which were somewhat like of mansabdars. But unlike , most did not had increased to actually reside in or administer their. They only 79. Would this had rights to the revenue of their assignments which have meant more was collected for them by their servants while the expenditure for themselves served in some other part of the state? the country. 42  In Akbar’s reign, these were carefully assessed so that their revenues were roughly equal to the salary of the. By Aurangzeb’s reign, this was no longer the case and the actual revenue collected was often less than the granted sum. There was also a huge increase in the number of which meant a Fig. 4 long wait before they received a. These and other A mansabdar on march with his factors created a shortage in the number of. sawars. As a result, many tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a. Aurangzeb was unable to control these developments in the Fig. 5 Details from a last years of his reign and the peasantry therefore miniature from suffered tremendously. Shah Jahan’s reign depicting corruption in his father’s Zabt and Zamindars administration: The main source of income available to Mughal receiving a bribe and rulers was tax on the produce of the peasantry. In (2) a tax-collector punishing poor most places, peasants paid taxes through the rural peasants. elites, that is, the headman or the local chieftain. The Mughals used one term – zamindars – to describe all intermediaries, whether they were local headmen of villages or powerful chieftains. Akbar’s revenue minister, Todar Mal, carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated for a 10-year period, was divided into revenue circles with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops. This revenue system was known as. It was prevalent in those areas where Mughal administrators could survey the land and keep very careful accounts. This was not possible in provinces, such as Gujarat and Bengal. 43 THE MUGHALS  In some areas, the zamindars exercised a great deal of power. The exploitation by Mughal administrators and peasants of the same caste allied in rebelling against Mughal authority. These peasant revolts challenged the stability of the Mughal Empire from the end of the seventeenth century. Akbar Nama and Ain-i Akbari Akbar ordered one of his close friends and courtiers, Abul Fazl, to write a history of his reign. Abul Fazl wrote a three-volume history of Akbar’s reign, titled Akbar Nama. The first volume dealt with Akbar’s ancestors and the second volume recorded the events of Akbar’s reign. The third volume is the Ain-i Akbari. It deals with Akbar’s administration, household, army, the revenues and the geography of his empire. It also provides rich details about the traditions and culture of the people living in India. The most interesting aspect about the Ain-i Akbari is its rich statistical Fig. 6 details about things as diverse as crops, Akbar recieving the Akbar Nama yields, prices, wages and revenues. from Abul Fazl. Nur Jahan’s influence in Jahangir’s court Mehrunnisa married the Emperor Jahangir in 1611 and received the title Nur Jahan. She remained extremely loyal and supportive to the monarch. As a mark of honour, Jahangir struck silver coins bearing his own titles on one side and on the other the inscription “struck in the name of the Queen Begum, Nur Jahan”. The adjoining document is an order (farman) of Nur Jahan. The square seal states, “Command of her most Sublime and Elevated Majesty Nur Jahan Padshah Begum”. Fig. 7 The round seal states, “by the sun of Shah Nur Jahan’s farman. Jahangir she became as brilliant as the moon; may Nur Jahan Padshah be the lady of the age”. 44  Sulh-i kul Jahangir, Akbar’s son, described his father’s policy of sulh-i kul in the following words: As in the wide expanse of the divine compassion there is room for all classes and the followers of all creeds, so … in his Imperial dominions, which on all sides were limited only by the sea, there was room for the professors of opposite religions, and for beliefs, good and bad, and the road to intolerance was closed. Sunnis and Shias met in one mosque and Christians and Jews in one church to pray. He consistently followed the principle of “universal peace” (sulh-i kul). The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After The administrative and military efficiency of the Mughal Empire led to great economic and commercial prosperity. International travellers described it as the fabled land of wealth. But these same visitors were also appalled at the state of poverty that existed side by side with the greatest opulence. The inequalities were glaring. Documents from the twentieth year of were only 445 in number out of a total the total number of – received 61.5 per cent of the total estimated revenue of the empire as salaries for themselves and their troopers. The Mughal emperors and their spent a great deal of their income on salaries and goods. who supplied them with goods and produce. But the scale of revenue collection left very little for investment in the hands of the primary producers – the peasant and the artisan. The poorest amongst them lived from hand to mouth and they could hardly consider investing in additional resources – tools and supplies – 45 THE MUGHALS to increase productivity. The wealthier peasantry and in this economic world. The enormous wealth and resources commanded by the Mughal elite made them an extremely powerful group of people in the late seventeenth century. As the authority of the Mughal emperor slowly declined, his servants emerged as powerful centres of power in the regions. They constituted new dynasties and held the command of provinces like Hyderabad and Awadh. Although they continued to recognise the Mughal emperor in Delhi as their master, by the eighteenth century the provinces of the empire had consolidated their independent political identities. Imagine You have inherited a kingdom. (Remember Babur and Akbar were about your age when they became rulers). How would you make your kingdom stable and prosperous? Let’s recall 1. Match the following: Marwar Mongol Uzbeg Sisodiya Rajput Mewar Rathor Rajput rank Nur Jahan Jahangir 2. Fill in the blanks: Ahmadnagar, and _________________. 46  8 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS I f you look at Maps 1 and 2 closely, you will see something significant happening in the subcontinent during the first half of the eighteenth century. Notice how the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent Map 1 State formations in the eighteenth century. our pasts – ii 94 Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 94 8/25/2022 12:22:13 PM  kingdoms. By 1765, notice how another power, the British, had successfully grabbed major chunks of territory in eastern India. What these maps tell us is that political conditions in eighteenth-century India changed quite dramatically and within a relatively short span of time. In this chapter, we will read about the emergence of new political groups in the subcontinent during the first half of the eighteenth century – roughly from 1707, when Aurangzeb died, till the third battle of Panipat in 1761. Map 2 British territories in the mid-eighteenth The Crisis of the Empire and century. the Later Mughals In Chapter 4, you saw how the Mughal Empire reached the height of its success and started facing a variety of crises towards the closing years of the seventeenth ? century. These were caused by a number of factors. See Chapter 4, Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and Table 1. Which financial resources of his empire by fighting a long group of people war in the Deccan. challenged Mughal authority for the Under his successors, the efficiency of the imperial longest time in administration broke down. It became increasingly Aurangzeb’s reign? difficult for the later Mughal emperors to keep a check on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed as governors (subadars) often controlled the offices eighteenth-century 95 political formations Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 95 17-05-2022 12:40:39  of revenue and military administration (diwani and faujdari) as well. This gave them extraordinary political, economic and military powers over vast regions of the Mughal Empire. As the governors consolidated their control over the provinces, the periodic remission of revenue to the capital declined. Peasant and zamindari rebellions in many parts of northern and western India added to these problems. These revolts were sometimes caused by the pressures of mounting taxes. At other times they were attempts by powerful chieftains to consolidate their own positions. Mughal authority had been challenged by rebellious groups in the past as well. But these groups were now able to seize the economic resources of the region to consolidate their positions. The Mughal emperors after Aurangzeb were unable to arrest the gradual shifting of political and economic authority into the hands of provincial governors, local chieftains and other groups. Rich harvests and empty coffers The following is a contemporary writer’s account of the financial bankruptcy of the empire: The great lords are helpless and impoverished. Their peasants raise two crops a year, but their lords see nothing of either, and their agents on the spot are virtual prisoners in the peasants’ hands, like a peasant kept in his creditor’s house until he can pay his debt. So complete is the collapse of all order and administration that though the peasant reaps a harvest of gold, his lord does not see so much as a wisp of straw. How then can the lord keep the armed force he should? How can he pay the soldiers who should go before him when he goes out, or the horsemen who should ride behind him? our pasts – ii 96 Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 96 17-05-2022 12:40:40  In the midst of this economic and political crisis, the ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, sacked and plundered the city of Delhi in 1739 and took away immense amounts of wealth. This invasion was followed by a series of plundering raids by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, who invaded north India five times between 1748 and 1761. Nadir Shah attacks Delhi The devastation of Delhi after Nadir Shah’s invasion was described by contemporary observers. One described the wealth looted from the Mughal treasury as follows: sixty lakhs of rupees and some thousand gold coins, nearly one crore worth of gold-ware, nearly fifty crores worth of jewels, most of them unrivalled in the world, and the above included the Peacock throne. Another account described the invasion’s impact upon Delhi: (those) … who had been masters were now in dire straits; and those who had been revered couldn’t even (get water Fig. 1 A 1779 portrait of Nadir to) quench their thirst. The recluses were pulled out of their Shah. corners. The wealthy were turned into beggars. Those who once set the style in clothes now went naked; and those who owned property were now homeless … The New City (Shahjahanabad) was turned into rubble. (Nadir Shah) then attacked the Old quarters of the city and destroyed a whole world that existed there … Already under severe pressure from all sides, the empire was further weakened by competition amongst different groups of nobles. They were divided into two major groups or factions, the Iranis and Turanis (nobles of Turkish descent). For a long time, the later Mughal emperors were puppets in the hands of either eighteenth-century 97 political formations Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 97 17-05-2022 12:40:40  one or the other of these two powerful groups. The worst possible humiliation came when two Mughal emperors, Farrukh Siyar (1713 –1719) and Alamgir II (1754 –1759) were assassinated, and two others, Ahmad Shah (1748 –1754) and Shah Alam II (1759 –1816) were blinded by their nobles. With the decline in the authority of the Mughal emperors, the governors of large provinces, subadars, and the great zamindars consolidated their authority in different parts of the subcontinent, such as Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad. Fig. 2 Farrukh Siyar receiving The Rajputs a noble in court. Many Rajput kings, particularly those belonging to Amber and Jodhpur, had served under the Mughals Many Rajput with distinction. In exchange, they were permitted to rulers had enjoy considerable autonomy in their watan jagirs. In accepted the the eighteenth century, these rulers now attempted to suzerainty of extend their control over adjacent regions. Ajit Singh, the Mughals but the ruler of Jodhpur, was also involved in the factional Mewar was the politics at the Mughal court. only Rajput state which defied These influential Rajput families claimed the Mughal authority. subadari of the rich provinces of Gujarat and Malwa. Rana Pratap Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur held the governorship of ascended the Gujarat and Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber was the throne at Mewar governor of Malwa. These offices were renewed by in 1572, with Emperor Jahandar Shah in 1713. They also tried to Udaipur and large extend their territories by seizing portions of imperial part of Mewar under his control. territories neighbouring their watans. Nagaur was A series of envoys conquered and annexed to the house of Jodhpur, were sent to the while Amber seized large portions of Bundi. Sawai Rana to persuade Raja Jai Singh founded his new capital at Jaipur him to accept and was given the subadari of Agra in 1722. Maratha Mughal suzerainty, campaigns into Rajasthan from the 1740s put severe but he stood his pressure on these principalities and checked their ground. further expansion. our pasts – ii 98 Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 98 17-05-2022 12:40:41  Many Rajput chieftains built a number of forts on hill tops which became the centres of power. With extensive fortifications, t h e s e m a j e s t i c s t r u c t u re s housed urban centres, palaces, temples, trading centres, water Fig. 3 harvesting structures and other Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan buildings. The Chittorgarh fort contained many water bodies varying from talabs (ponds) Fig. 4 Jantar Mantar in to kundis (wells), baolis (stepwells), etc. Jaipur Raja Jai Singh of Jaipur A description of Raja Jai Singh in a Persian account of 1732: Raja Jai Singh was at the height of his power. He was the governor of Agra for 12 years and of Malwa for 5 or 6 years. He possessed a large army, artillery and great wealth. His sway extended from Delhi to the banks of the Narmada. Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber constructed five astronomical observatories, one each in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi. Commonly known as Jantar Mantar, these observatories had various instruments to study heavenly bodies. Fig. 5 Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur eighteenth-century 99 political formations Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 99 17-05-2022 12:40:43  Seizing Independence ? The Sikhs The organisation of the Sikhs into a political community What is the Khalsa? Do you recall during the seventeenth century (see Chapter 6) helped reading about in regional state-building in the Punjab. Several battles it in Chapter 6? were fought by Guru Gobind Singh against the Rajput and Mughal rulers, both before and after the institution of the Khalsa in 1699. After his death in 1708, the Khalsa rose in revolt against the Mughal authority under Banda Bahadur’s leadership, declared their sovereign rule by striking coins in the name of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, and established their own administration between the Sutlej and the Jamuna. Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716. Fig. 6 Sword of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. our pasts – ii 100 Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 100 17-05-2022 12:40:44  century, the Sikhs organised themselves into a number of bands called jathas, and later on misls. Their combined forces were known as the grand army (dal khalsa). The entire body used to meet at Amritsar at the time of Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective decisions known as “resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas)”. A system called rakhi was introduced, offering protection to cultivators on the Fig. 7 payment of a tax of 20 per cent of the produce. Portrait of Shivaji Guru Gobind Singh had inspired the Khalsa with Towards the end of the the belief that their destiny was to rule (raj karega 17th century, khalsa). Their well-knit organisation enabled them a powerful state started emerging in to put up a successful resistance to the Mughal the Deccan under the governors first and then to Ahmad Shah Abdali who leadership of Shivaji had seized the rich province of the Punjab and the which finally led to the Sarkar of Sirhind from the Mughals. The Khalsa establishment of the declared their sovereign rule by striking their own Maratha state. Shivaji coin again in 1765. Significantly, this coin bore the was born to Shahji and Jija Bai at Shivneri same inscription as the one on the orders issued by in 1630. Under the the Khalsa in the time of Banda Bahadur. guidance of his mother and his guardian The Sikh territories in the late eighteenth century Dada Konddev, Shivaji extended from the Indus to the Jamuna but they embarked on a career were divided under different rulers. One of them, of conquest at a young Maharaja Ranjit Singh, reunited these groups and age. The occupation of Javli made him the established his capital at Lahore in 1799. undisputed leader of the Mavala highlands The Marathas which paved the way for further expansion. The Maratha kingdom was established by Chhatrapati His exploits against Shivaji Maharaj (1630). The Maratha kingdom was the forces of Bijapur another powerful regional kingdom to arise out and the Mughals of a sustained opposition to Mughal rule. Shivaji made him a legendary figure. He often (1630–1680) carved out a stable kingdom with the resorted to guerrilla support of powerful warrior families (deshmukhs). warfare against Groups of highly mobile, peasant-pastoralists his opponents. By (kunbis) provided the backbone of the Maratha introducing an efficient administrative system army. Shivaji used these forces to challenge the supported by a revenue Mughals in the peninsula. After Shivaji’s death, collection method effective power in the Maratha state was wielded by a based on chauth and family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivaji’s sardeshmukhi, he laid the foundations of a successors as Peshwa (or principal minister). Poona strong Maratha state. became the capital of the Maratha kingdom. eighteenth-century 101 political formations Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 101 15-03-2024 11:40:48  Chhatrapati Shivaji Under the Peshwas, the Marathas developed a very Maharaj (1630- successful military organisation. Their success lay 1680) in bypassing the fortified areas of the Mughals, by Chhatrapati raiding cities and by engaging Mughal armies in areas Sambhaji (1681- where their supply lines and reinforcements could be 1689) easily disturbed. Chhatrapati Between 1720 and 1761, the Maratha empire Rajaram (1689- expanded. It gradually chipped away at the authority 1700) of the Mughal Empire. Malwa and Gujarat were seized Maharani Tarabai from the Mughals by the 1720s. By the 1730s, the (1700-1761) Maratha king was recognised as the overlord of the Shahu Maharaj entire Deccan peninsula. He possessed the right to (Son of Sambhaji) levy chauth and sardeshmukhi in the entire region. (1682-1749) Source: After raiding Delhi in 1737, the frontiers of Maratha R. C. Majumdar, domination expanded rapidly: into Rajasthan and the 2007. The Mughal Punjab in the north; into Bengal and Orissa in the Empire, Mumbai. east; and into Karnataka and the Tamil and Telugu countries in the South (see Map 1). These were not formally included in the Maratha empire, but were Baji Rao I, also made to pay tribute as a way of accepting Maratha known as Baji sovereignty. Expansion brought enormous resources, Rao Ballal was but it came at a price. These military campaigns also the son of Peshwa made other rulers hostile towards the Marathas. As a Balaji Vishwanath. result, they were not inclined to support the Marathas He was a great Maratha general during the third battle of Panipat in 1761. who is credited to have expanded Alongside endless military campaigns, the Marathas the Maratha developed an effective administrative system as well. kingdom beyond Once conquest had been completed and Maratha rule the Vindhyas and was secure, revenue demands were gradually introduced is known for his taking local conditions into account. Agriculture was military campaigns against Malwa, encouraged and trade revived. This allowed Maratha Bundelkhand, chiefs (sardars) like Sindhia of Gwalior, Gaekwad of Gujarat and the Baroda and Bhonsle of Nagpur the resources to raise Portugese. powerful armies. Maratha campaigns into Malwa in the 1720s did not challenge the growth and prosperity Chauth of the cities in the region. Ujjain expanded under 25 per cent of Sindhia’s patronage and Indore under Holkar’s. By the land revenue claimed by all accounts, these cities were large and prosperous zamindars. In the and functioned as important commercial and cultural Deccan, this was centres. New trade routes emerged within the areas collected by the controlled by the Marathas. The silk produced in the Marathas. Chanderi region now found a new outlet in Poona, the Maratha capital. Burhanpur which had earlier our pasts – ii 102 Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 102 28-03-2024 15:51:47  participated in the trade between Agra and Surat now expanded its hinterland to include Poona and Nagpur Sardeshmukhi in the South and Lucknow and Allahabad in the East. 9 –10 per cent of the land revenue The Jats paid to the head revenue collector Like the other states, the Jats consolidated their power in the Deccan. during the late seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries. Under their leader, Churaman, they acquired control The power of the Jats reached over territories situated to the west of the city of Delhi, its zenith under and by the 1680s, they had begun dominating the Suraj Mal who region between the two imperial cities of Delhi and consolidated the Jat Agra. For a while, they became the virtual custodians state at Bharatpur of the city of Agra. (in present day Rajasthan) during The Jats were prosperous agriculturists, and towns 1756 –1763. The like Panipat and Ballabhgarh became important areas under the trading centres in the areas dominated by them. Under political control of Suraj Mal the kingdom of Bharatpur emerged as a Suraj Mal broadly strong state. When Nadir Shah sacked Delhi in 1739, included parts of many of the city’s notables took refuge there. His son modern eastern Jawahir Shah had 30,000 troops of his own and hired Rajasthan, southern another 20,000 Maratha and 15,000 Sikh troops to Haryana, western fight the Mughals. Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Suraj Mal While the Bharatpur fort was built in a fairly built a number of traditional style, at Dig the Jats built an elaborate forts and palaces garden palace combining styles seen at Amber and Agra. and the famous Lohagarh fort Its buildings were modelled on architectural forms first in Bharatpur is associated with royalty under Shah Jahan. regarded as one of the strongest forts built in this region. Fig. 8 Eighteenth-century palace complex at Dig. Note the “Bangla dome” on the assembly hall on the roof of the building. eighteenth-century 103 political formations Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 103 15-03-2024 11:47:51  Imagine You are a ruler of an eighteenth-century kingdom. Tell us about the steps you would take to make your position strong in your province, and what opposition or problems you might face while doing so. Let’s recall 1. State whether true or false: Keywords (a) Nadir Shah invaded Bengal.  (b) Sawai Raja Jai Singh was the ruler of Indore. subadari (c) Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. dal khalsa (d) Poona became the capital of the Marathas in misl the eighteenth century. faujdari Let’s discuss ijaradari 2. How were the Sikhs organised in the eighteenth century? chauth 3. Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the sardeshmukhi Deccan?  4. Do you think merchants and bankers today have the kind of influence they had in the eighteenth century? 5. Did any of the kingdoms mentioned in this chapter develop in your state? If so, in what ways do you think life in the state would have been different in the eighteenth century from what it is in the twenty- first century? Let’s do 6. Collect popular tales about-rulers from any one of the following groups of people: the Rajputs, Jats, Sikhs or Marathas. our pasts – ii 104 Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 104 17-05-2022 12:40:46  Notes Reprint 2024-25 Unit 8.indd 106 17-05-2022 12:40:46 Renuka was excited. Shrikant Uncle was home after a gap of nearly four months. He was a wildlife photographer and travelled widely. Renuka’s interest in wildlife and forests began at an early age, when her uncle introduced her to books on nature. Pictures of distant lands and people, who lived there, always fascinated her. Fig. 6.1: People from various parts of the world “In these pictures Renuka, you can see people from different parts of the world – some from dry deserts, some from frozen lands and some from hot wet rainforests.” “They look so different from me”, observed Renuka. “They may look different, but they share the same basic needs of life – food, clothing and shelter”, explained Shrikant Uncle. “Their children do the same things as you probably do, play games, quarrel sometimes and then make-up, sing, dance and help the families with various things that need to be done. They live closer to nature and very early in their lives have learnt to care for nature. They learn how to catch fish and how to collect material from the forests.” Reprint 2024-25  LIFE IN THE AMAZON BASIN Before learning about the Amazon basin, let us look at the Do you know? map (Fig. 6.2). Notice that the tropical region lies very close to the equator; between 10°N and 10°S. So, it is referred When Spanish to as the equatorial region. The river Amazon flows through explorers discovered this region. Notice how it flows from the mountains to the the Amazon river, west and reaches the Atlantic Ocean to the east. they were attacked by a group of local tribes The place where a river flows into another body of wearing headgears water is called the river’s mouth. Numerous tributaries and grass skirts. join the Amazon River to form the Amazon basin. The These people river basin drains portions of Brazil, parts of Peru, Bolivia, reminded them of the Ecuador, Columbia and a small part of Venezuela. fierce tribes of women Name the countries of the basin through which the warriors known in ancient Roman equator passes. Empire as the Amazons. Hence the name Amazon. Glossary Tributaries: These are small rivers that join the main river. The main river along with all its tributaries that drain an area forms a river basin or the catchment area. The Amazon Basin is the largest river basin in the world. Fig. 6.2: The Amazon Basin in South America 40 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25 CLIMATE As you now know, the Amazon Basin stretches directly on the equator and is characterized by hot and wet climate throughout the year. Both day and nights are almost equally hot and humid. The skin feels sticky. It rains almost everyday, that too without much warning. The day temperatures are high with very high humidity. At night the temperature goes down but the humidity remains high. RAINFORESTS As it rains heavily in this region, thick forests grow (Fig. 6.3). The forests are in fact so thick that the dense “roof” created by leaves and branches does not allow the sunlight to reach the ground. The ground remains dark and damp. Only shade tolerant vegetation may grow here. Orchids, bromeliads grow as plant parasites. Fig. 6.3 : The Amazon Forest The rainforest is rich in fauna. Birds such as toucans (Fig. 6.4), humming birds, macaw with their brilliantly coloured plumage, oversized Do you know? bills for eating make them different from birds we commonly see in India. Bromeliads are These birds also make loud sounds in special plants that the forests. Animals like monkeys, store water in their Fig. 6.4 : Toucans sloth and ant-eating tapirs are found leaves. Animals like here (Fig. 6.5). Various species of reptiles and snakes frogs use these also thrive in these jungles. Crocodiles, snakes, pythons pockets of water for abound. Anaconda and boa constrictor are some of the laying their eggs. species. Besides, the basin is home to thousands of species of insects. Several species of fishes including the flesh-eating Piranha fish is Let’s do also found in the river. This basin is thus extraordinarily Some TV channels rich in the variety of life found broadcast there. Fig. 6.5 : Tapir documentaries on the wildlife of the world. PEOPLE OF THE RAINFORESTS Try to watch some of the films and share People grow most of their food in small areas after clearing your experience with some trees in the forest. While men hunt and fish along the class. the rivers, women take care of the crops. They mainly grow HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: THE TROPICAL AND THE SUBTROPICAL REGION 41 Reprint 2024-25  Do you know? tapioca, pineapple and sweet potato. As hunting and fishing are uncertain it is the women who keep their families alive Slash and Burn is a by feeding them the vegetables they grow. They practice way of cultivating land “slash and burn agriculture”. The staple food is manioc, where farmers clear a also known as cassava that grows under the ground like piece of land by the potato. They also eat queen ants and egg sacs. Cash slashing or cutting crops like coffee, maize and cocoa are also grown. down trees and bushes. These are then burnt, The rainforests provide a lot of wood for the houses. which releases the Some families live in thatched houses shaped like nutrients into the soil. beehives. There are other large apartment-like houses Now crops are grown in called “Maloca” with a steeply slanting roof. this cleared field for a Life of the people of the Amazon basin is slowly few years. changing. In the older days the heart of the forest, could After repeatedly be reached only by navigating the river. In 1970 the Trans using the patch of Amazon highway made all parts of the rainforest land, the soil looses accessible. Aircrafts and helicopters are also used for its nutrients. So it is reaching various places. The indigenous population was abandoned. Then they pushed out from the area and forced to settle in new clear another plot of land to plant. In the areas where they continued to practice their distinctive mean time young way of farming. trees grow in the old The developmental activities are leading to the gradual field. In this way soil destruction of the biologically diverse rainforests. It is fertility is restored. estimated that a large area of the People can then rainforest has been disappearing return to it and start annually in the Amazon basin. cultivating it again. You can see that this destruction of forests has a much wider implication (Fig. 6.6). The topsoil is washed away as the rains fall and the lush forest turns into a barren landscape. Fig. 6.6: Gradual Destruction of Forests 42 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25 LIFE IN THE GANGA-BRAHMAPUTRA BASIN The tributaries of rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra together form the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin in the Indian subcontinent (Fig. 6.8). The basin lies in the sub-tropical region that is situated between 10°N to 30°N latitudes. The tributaries of the River Ganga like the Ghaghra, the Son, the Chambal, the Gandak, the Kosi and the tributaries of Brahmaputra drain it. Look at the atlas and find names of some tributaries of the River Brahmaputra. Fig. 6.7 Brahmaputra river The plains of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, the mountains and the foothills of the Fig. 6.8: Ganga-Brahmputra Basin HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: THE TROPICAL AND THE SUBTROPICAL REGION 43 Reprint 2024-25  Let’s do Himalayas and the Sundarbans delta are the main features of this basin. Ox-bow lakes dot the plain area. River Brahmaputra is The area is dominated by monsoon climate. The known by different names in difference monsoon brings rains from mid-June to mid-September. places. Find the other The summers are hot and the winters cool. names of the river. Look at the map of India (Fig. 6.8). Find out the states in which the Ganga-Brahmputra basin lies. The basin area has varied topography. The environment plays a dominant role in the distribution of the population. The mountain areas with steep slopes Glossary have inhospitable terrain. Therefore less number of people live in the mountain area of the Ganga- Population density: Brahmaputra basin. The plain area provides the most It means the number suitable land for human habitation. The soil is fertile. of persons that live in Agriculture is the main occupation of the people where one sq. km. of area flat land is available to grow crops. The density of e.g. the population population of the plains is very high. The main crop is density of Uttarakhand is 189 while the paddy (Fig. 6.9). Since cultivation of paddy requires density of West sufficient water, it is grown in the areas where the amount Bengal is 1029 and of rainfall is high. that of Bihar is 1102. Wheat, maize, sorghum, gram and millets are the other crops that are grown. Cash crops like sugarcane and jute are also grown. Banana plantations are seen in some areas of the plain. In West Bengal and Assam tea is grown in plantations (Fig. 6.10). Silk is produced through Activity the cultivation of silk worms in parts of Bihar and Assam. Collect some In the mountains and hills, where the slopes are gentle, handicrafts made crops are grown on terraces. from jute, bamboo and The vegetation cover of the area varies according to silk. Display them in the type of landforms. In the Ganga and Brahmaputra the class. Find out in plain tropical deciduous trees grow, along with teak, sal which area they were and peepal. Thick bamboo groves are common in the made? Brahmaputra plain. The delta area is covered with the Fig. 6.9 : Paddy Cultivation Fig. 6.10 : Tea Garden in Assam 44 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25 mangrove forests. In parts of Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Do you know? Arunachal Pradesh, coniferous trees like pine, deodar and fir can be seen because the climate is cool and the Terraces are built on slopes are steep. steep slopes to create There is a variety of wildlife in the basin. Elephants, flat surfaces on which tigers, deer and monkeys are common. The one-horned crops are grown. The slope is removed so rhinoceros is found in the Brahmaputra plain. In the that water does not delta area, Bengal tiger and crocodiles are found. Aquatic run off rapidly. life abounds in the fresh river waters, the lakes and the Bay of Bengal Sea. The most popular varieties of the fish are the rohu, catla and hilsa. Fish and rice is the staple diet of the people living in the area. Terrace Farming Fig. 6.11 : One horned rhinoceros Fig. 6.12 : Crocodiles Do you know? Lake: A source of livelihood In the fresh waters of (A case study) River Ganga and River Brahmaputra, a Binod is a fisherman variety of dolphin living in the Matwali locally called Susu Maun village of Bihar. (also called blind He is a happy man dolphin) is found. The today. With the efforts presence of Susu is an of the fellow indication of the health of the river. The fishermen – Ravindar, untreated industrial Kishore, Rajiv and and urban wastes with others, he cleaned the high amount of maun or the ox-bow chemicals are killing A clean lake lake to cultivate this species. different varieties of fish. The local weed (vallineria, hydrilla) that grows in the lake is the food of the fish. The land around the lake is fertile. He sows crops such as paddy, maize and pulses in these fields. The buffalo is used to plough the land. The community is satisfied. There is enough fish catch from the river – enough fish to eat and enough fish Blind Dolphin HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: THE TROPICAL AND THE SUBTROPICAL REGION 45 Reprint 2024-25  to sell in the market. They have even begun supply to the neighbouring Do you know? town. The community is living in harmony To acceletrate the efforts to achieve with nature. As long universal sanitation as the pollutants from coverage and to put nearby towns do not fours on sanitation, find their way into the the Prime Minister of lake waters, the fish India launched the “Swachh Bharat cultivation will not Mission” on 02nd face any threat. A Polluted Lake October 2014. The Ganga-Brahmaputra plain has several big towns and cities. The cities of Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Patna and Kolkata all with the population of more than ten lakhs are located along the River Ganga (Fig. 6.13). The Fig. 6.13: Varanasi along the River Ganga wastewater from these towns and industries is discharged into the rivers. This leads to the pollution of the rivers. Do you know? All the four ways of transport are well developed in To conserve the river the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. In the plain areas the ganga, ‘Namami’ roadways and railways transport the people from one ganga Programme has place to another. The waterways, is an effective means of been initiated. transport particularly along the rivers. Kolkata is an important port on the River Hooghly. The plain area also has a large number of airports. Tourism is another important activity of the basin. Taj Mahal on the banks of River Yamuna in Agra, Allahabad on the confluence of the Rivers Ganga and Yamuna, Buddhists stupas in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Lucknow with its Imambara, Assam with Kaziranga and Manas with wild life sanctuaries and Arunachal Pradesh with a distinct tribal culture are some of the places Fig. 6.14: Tiger in Manas Wildlife sanctuary worth a visit (Fig. 6.14). 46 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25  Exercises 1. Answer the following questions. (i) Name the continent in which the Amazon Basin is located. (ii) What are the crops grown by the people of the Amazon Basin. (iii) Name the birds that you are likely to find in the rainforests of the Amazon. (iv) What are the major cities located on the River Ganga. (v) Where is the one-horned rhinoceros found? 2. Tick the correct answer. (i) Toucans are a type of (a) birds (b) animals (c) crops (ii) Manioc is the staple food of (a) Ganga Basin (b) Africa (c) Amazon (iii) Kolkata is located on the river (a) Orange (b) Hooghly (c) Bhagirathi (iv) Deodars and firs are a type of (a) Coniferous trees (b) Deciduous trees (c) shrubs (v) Bengal tiger is found in (a) mountains (b) delta area (c) Amazon 3. Match the following. (i) Cotton textile (a) Assam (ii) Maloca (b) Terrace farming (iii) Piranha (c) Sericulture (iv) Silk worm (d) Slanting roof (v) Kaziranga (e) Ganga plain (f) Varanasi (g) Fish 4. Give reasons. (i) The rainforests are depleting. (ii) Paddy is grown in the Ganga-Brahmaputra plains. 5. Map skills. (i) On an outline map of the Indian Sub-continent, draw the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra from the source to the mouth. Also show the important tributaries of both the rivers. (ii) On the political map of South America, draw the equator. Mark the countries through which the equator passes. 6. For fun. Make a collage to show places of attractions in India. You can divide the class in different groups to show attractions based on mountain landscapes, coastal beaches, wildlife sanctuaries and places of historical importance. HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: THE TROPICAL AND THE SUBTROPICAL REGION 47 Reprint 2024-25 In Chapter 5, you have seen that water means life to plants, animals and people. It is difficult for anyone to live in places where there is no water to drink, where Glossary there is no grass for their cattle to feed on and where there is no water to help the crops to grow. Desert: It is an arid We will now learn about the places in the world where region characteriesed by extremely high or people have learned to cope with extreme harsh low temperatures and temperatures; in some places as hot as fire and some as has scarce vegetation. cold as ice. These are the desert areas of the world. These are characterised by low rainfall, scanty vegetation and extreme temperatures. Depending on the temperatures there can be hot deserts or cold deserts. The people inhabit these lands wherever little water is available to practise agriculture. THE HOT DESERT – SAHARA Look at the map of the world and the continent of Africa. Locate the Sahara desert covering a large part of North Africa. It is the world’s largest desert. It has an area of around 8.54 million sq. km. Do you recall that India has an area of 3.28 million sq. km? The Sahara desert touches eleven countries. These are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara. Fig. 7.1: The Sahara Desert When you think of a desert the picture that immediately comes to your mind is that of sand. But besides the vast stretches of sands, that Sahara desert is covered with, there are also gravel plains and elevated plateaus with bare rocky surface. These rocky surfaces may be more than 2500m high at some places. Reprint 2024-25  Do you know? You will be surprised to know that present day Sahara once used to be a lush green plain. Cave paintings in Sahara desert show that there used to be rivers with crocodiles. Elephants, lions, giraffes, ostriches, sheep, cattle and goats were common animals. But the change in climate has changed it to a very hot and dry region. Fig. 7.2: Sahara in Africa Climate Do you know? The climate of the Sahara desert is scorching hot and parch dry. It has a short rainy season. The sky is Al Azizia in the Sahara cloudless and clear. Here, the moisture evaporates desert, south of Tripoli, faster than it accumulates. Days are unbelievably hot. Libya recorded the The temperatures during the day may soar as high as highest temperature of 50°C, heating up the sand and the bare rocks, which 57.7°C in 1922. in turn radiates heat making everything around hot. The nights may be freezing cold with temperatures nearing zero degrees. Flora and Fauna Vegetation in the Sahara desert includes cactus, date palms and acacia. In some places there are oasis – green islands with date palms surrounding them. Camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions, many varieties of 50 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25 snakes and lizards are the prominent animal species living there. Do you know? Scientists have actually found skeletons of fish in this desert. What could have happened? Fig. 7.3: Oasis in the Sahara Desert People The Sahara desert despite its harsh climate has been inhabited by various groups of people, who pursue different activities. Among them are the Bedouins and Tuaregs. These groups are nomadic tribes rearing livestock such as goats, sheep, camels and horses. These animals provide them with milk, hides from which they make leather for belts, slippers, water bottles; hair is used for mats, carpets, clothes and blankets. They wear heavy robes as protection against Do you know? dust storms and hot winds. The oasis in the Sahara and the Nile Valley in Egypt Depressions are formed supports settled population. Since water is available, the when the wind blows people grow date palms. Crops such as rice, wheat, barley away the sands. In the depressions where and beans are also grown. Egyptian cotton, famous underground water worldwide is grown in Egypt. reaches the surface, The discovery of oil – a product in great demand an oasis is formed. throughout the world, in Algeria, Libya and Egypt is These areas are fertile. constantly transforming the Sahara desert. Other People may settle minerals of importance that are found in the area include around these water iron, phosphorus, manganese and uranium. bodies and grow date The cultural landscape of the Sahara is undergoing palms and other change. Gleaming glass cased office buildings tower over crops. Sometimes the oasis may be mosques and superhighways crisscross the ancient camel abnormally large. paths. Trucks are replacing camels in the salt trade. Tafilalet Oasis in Tuaregs are seen acting as guides to foreign tourists. Morocco is a large More and more nomadic herdsmen are taking to city life oasis with an area of finding jobs in oil and gas operations. about 13,000 sq.km. LIFE IN THE DESERTS 51 Reprint 2024-25  Word Origin THE COLD DESERT - LADAKH Ladakh is a cold desert lying in the Great Himalayas, Ladakh is made up of on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir (Fig. 7.4). two words – “La” The Karakoram Range in the north and the Zanskar meaning ‘mountain mountains in the south enclose it. Several rivers flow pass’ and “Dak” meaning ‘country’ through Ladakh, Indus being the most important among them. The rivers form deep valleys and gorges. Several glaciers are found in Ladakh, for example the Gangri glacier. The altitude in Ladakh varies from about 3000m Do you know? in Kargil to more than 8,000m in the Karakoram. Due to its high altitude, the climate is extremely cold Drass, one of the and dry. The air at this altitude is so thin that the coldest inhabited places on earth is heat of the sun can be felt intensely. The day located in Ladakh. temperatures in summer are just above zero degree and the night temperatures well below –30°C. It is freezing cold in the winters when the temperatures may remain below –40°C for most of the time. As it lies Fig. 7.4: Ladakh 52 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25 in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, there is little Do you know? rainfall, as low as 10 cm every year. The area experiences freezing winds and burning hot sunlight. Ladakh is also known You will be surprised to know that if you sit in the as Khapa-chan which sun with your feet in the shade, you may suffer from means snow land. both sunstroke and frost bite at the same time. Flora and Fauna Due to high aridity, the vegetation is sparse. There are scanty patches of grasses and shrubs for animals to Do you know? graze. Groves of willows and poplars are seen in the valleys. During the summers, fruit trees such as apples, The Chiru or the apricots and walnuts bloom. Several species of birds are Tibetan antelope is an endangered species. It sighted in Ladakh. Robins, redstarts, Tibetan snowcock, is hunted for its wool raven and hoopoe are common. Some of these are known as shahtoosh, migratory birds. The animals of Ladakh are wild goats, which is light in wild sheep, yak and special kinds of dogs. The animals weight and extremely are reared to provide for the milk, meat and hides. Yak’s warm. milk is used to make cheese and butter. The hair of the sheep and goat is used to make woollens. People Do you find any resemblance between the people of Do you know? Ladakh and the inhabitants of Tibet and Central Asia? The people here are either Muslims or Buddhists. In The finest cricket bats fact several Buddhists monasteries dot the Ladakhi are made from the landscape with their traditional ‘gompas’. Some wood of the willow famous monasteries are Hemis, Thiksey, Shey and trees. Lamayuru (Fig. 7.5). In the summer season the people are busy cultivating barley, potatoes, peas, beans and turnip. The climate in winter months is so harsh that people keep themselves engaged in festivities and ceremonies. The women are very hard working. They work not only in the house and fields, but also manage small business and shops. Leh, the capital of Ladakh is well connected both by road and air. The National Highway 1 connects Leh to Kashmir Valley through the Zoji La Pass. Can you name some more passes in the Himalayas? Fig. 7.5: Thiksey Monastery LIFE IN THE DESERTS 53 Reprint 2024-25  Do you know? Tourism is a major activity with several Manali - Leh highway tourists streaming in from crosses four passes, within India and abroad. Rohtang la, Visits to the gompas, Baralacha la treks to see the meadows Lungalacha la and and glaciers, witnessing Tanglang la. The highway opens only ceremonies and festivities between July and are important activities. September when snow Life of people is is cleared from the road. undergoing change due Fig. 7.6: Ladakhi Women in to modernisation. But Traditional Dress the people of Ladakh have over the centuries learned to live in balance and harmony with nature. Due to scarcity of resources like water and fuel, they are used with reverence and care. Nothing is discarded or wasted. Baralacha la Exercises 1. Answer the following questions. (a) What are the two types of deserts found in the world? (b) In which continent is the Sahara desert located? (c) What are the climatic conditions of the Ladakh desert? (d) What mainly attracts tourists to Ladakh? (e) What type of clothes the people of the Sahara desert wear? (f) Name the trees that grow in Ladakh. 2. Tick the correct answer. (i) Sahara is located in which part of Africa (a) eastern (b) northern (c) western (ii) Sahara is what type of desert (a) cold (b) hot (c) mild (iii) The Ladakh desert is mainly inhabited by (a) Christians and Muslims (b) Buddhists and Muslims (c) Christians and Buddhists (iv) Deserts are characterised by (a) scanty vegetation (b) heavy precipitation (c) low evaporation 54 OUR ENVIRONMENT Reprint 2024-25  6 CHAPTER Understanding Media What is your favourite TV programme? What do you like listening to on the radio? Which newspaper or magazine do you usually read? Do you surf the internet and what have you found most useful about it? Did you know that there is one word that is often used to collectively refer to the radio, TV, newspapers, Internet and several other forms of communication. This word is ‘media’. In this chapter, you will read more about the media. You will find out what is required to make it work, as well as the ways in which the media affects our daily lives. Can you think of one thing that you have learnt from the media this week? 64 Social and Political Life Everything ranging from the stall at the local fair to the programme that you see on TV can be called media. Media is the plural form of the word ‘medium’ and it describes the various ways through which we Look at the collage on the left and communicate in society. Because media refers to all list six various kinds of media that means of communication, everything ranging from you see. a phone call to the evening news on TV can be called media. TV, radio and newspapers are a form of media that reaches millions of people, or the masses, across the country and the world and, thus, they are called mass media. Media and technology It would probably be difficult for you to imagine your life without the media. But cable television and the widespread use of the Internet is a recent phenomenon. These have been around for less than twenty years. The technology that mass media uses keeps changing. Newspapers, television and radio can reach millions of people because they use certain technologies. We also tend to discuss newspapers An artist’s impression of Gutenberg and magazines as the print media; and TV and radio printing the first sheet of the Bible. as the electronic media. Why do you think newspapers are called print media? As you read further, you will find that this naming is related to the different technologies that these media use. The Ask older members of your family following photographs will give you a sense of the about what they used to listen to ways in which technology that mass media uses has on the radio when there was no changed over the years and continues to change. TV around. Find out from them when the first TV came to your Changing technology, or machines, and making area. When was cable TV technology more modern, helps media to reach more introduced? people. It also improves the quality of sound and the images that you see. But technology does more than How many people in your this. It also changes the ways in which we think about neighbourhood use the Internet? our lives. For example, today it is quite difficult for us to think of our lives without television. Television List three things that you know has enabled us to think of ourselves as members of about some other part of the a larger global world. Television images travel huge world from watching television? Chapter 6: Understanding Media 65  distances through satellites and cables. This allows us to view news and entertainment channels from other parts of the world. Most of the cartoons that you see on television are mostly from Japan or the United States. We can now be sitting in Chennai or Jammu and can see images of a storm that has hit the coast of Florida in the United States. Television has brought the world closer to us. With electronic typerwriters, journalism underwent a sea-change in the 1940s. Media and money The different technologies that mass media use are expensive. Just think about the TV studio in which the newsreader sits – it has lights, cameras, sound recorders, transmission satellites, etc., all of which cost a lot of money. In a news studio, it is not only the newsreader who needs to be paid but also a number of other people who help put the broadcast together. This includes those who look after the cameras and lights. Also, as you read earlier the technologies that mass media use keep changing and so a lot of money is spent on getting the latest technology. Due to these costs, the mass media needs a great deal of money to do its work. As a result, most television channels and newspapers are part of big business houses. John L. Baird sits in front of the apparatus with which he demonstrated to Mass media is constantly thinking of ways to make the Royal Institute, his invention, the money. One way in which the mass media earns ‘televisor’, an early television. money is by advertising different things like cars, chocolates, clothes, mobile phones, etc. You must Can you list three different have noticed the number of advertisements that you products that are advertised have to see while watching your favourite television during your favourite TV show. While watching a cricket match on TV, the programme? same advertisements are shown repeatedly between each over and so you are often watching the same Take a newspaper and count the image over and over again. As you will read in the number of advertisements in it. following chapter, advertisements are repeated in the Some people say that newspapers hope that you will go out and buy what is advertised. have too many advertisements. Do you think this is true and why? 66 Social and Political Life  The cost to advertise on a TV channel Media and democracy varies from 1,000 to 1,00,000 per 10 seconds depending on the popularity In a democracy, the media plays a very important of the channel and time. role in providing news and discussing events taking place in the country and the world. It is on the basis of this information that citizens can, for example, learn how government works. And often, if they wish to, they can take action on the basis of these news stories. Some of the ways in which they can do this is by writing letters to the concerned minister, organising a public protest, starting a signature campaign, asking the government to rethink its programme, etc. Given the role that the media plays in providing information, it is important that the information be The print media offers a large variety of balanced. Let us understand what we mean by a information to suit the tastes of different balanced media report by reading two versions of readers. the same news event given on the next page. Chapter 6: Understanding Media 67  India Daily Report Closure of factories caus News of India Report Daily News Service es unrest T he clo su re of on e lak city’s residential areas a serious issue. On Monda h factories in the is likely to become Radhika Malik | INN Mo reo ver the lev els of owners and workers too y, thousands of factory Violent protests by owners pollution in the city will be pr ote st th is clo su re. k to the streets to strongly and workers brought the gre atly redu ced by this livelihoods would be los Th ey sa id th at the ir city to a standstill today. closure. Mr. Jain a well- lies with the municipal t. They say that the fault Peo ple get ting to wor k known figure in the city continued to issue licen corporation because it said , “W ith our city ses for new factories to could not do so on time be set up in residential grad ual ly bec om ing areas.They also say tha bec aus e of hug e traf fic there were no adequate relocation efforts. The t jam s. The own ers and Indias’s new business hub, owners and workers pla workers are protesting the it is important that it be a to protest against this clo n a one-day city bandh government’s decision to clea n and gree n city. of the factory owners sai sure. Mr. Sharma, one clos e dow n pol luti ng Polluting factories should d, “The government say that it has done a lot to rel s be mov ed. The fac tory ocate us. But the areas factory units. Although the they have sent us to have government did take this own ers and wor ker s not been developed for no facilities and have sho uld acc ept the the last five years.” decision rather hastily, the protestors have known for relocation being offered by quite some time that their the government instead of uni ts are not leg al. protesting.” The fact is that if you had read either newspaper Are the above stories in the two you would only know one side of the story. If you newspapers similar? And if not, had read the News of India, you would most likely why not? What, in your view, are think of the protestors as a nuisance. Their the similarities and the disrupting traffic and continually polluting the city differences? with their factories leaves you with a bad impression about them. But on the other hand, if you had read If you read the story in the News the story in the India Daily, you would know that of India, what would you think the protests are because a lot of livelihoods will be about the issue? lost if the factories close because the relocation efforts have not been adequate. Neither of these stories is a balanced report. A balanced report is one that discusses all points of view of a particular story and then leaves it to the readers to make up their minds. Writing a balanced report, however, dep