Class VI Social Science New NCERT Textbook 2024-25 PDF

Exploring Society: India and Beyond Social Science Textbook for Grade 6 681 – Exploring SociEty: india and BEyond ISBN 978-93-5292-693-0 Social SciEncE tExtBook for claSS 6 First Edition...

Exploring Society: India and Beyond Social Science Textbook for Grade 6 681 – Exploring SociEty: india and BEyond ISBN 978-93-5292-693-0 Social SciEncE tExtBook for claSS 6 First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED July 2024 Ashadha 1946  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. PD 700T BS  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of without the publisher’s consent, in any form of binding or © National Council of Educational cover other than that in which it is published. Research and Training, 2024  The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this page, Any revised price indicated by a rubber stamp or by a sticker or by any other means is incorrect and should be unacceptable. OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION DIVISION, NCERT NCERT Campus Sri Aurobindo Marg New Delhi 110 016 Phone : 011-26562708 108, 100 Feet Road Hosdakere Halli Extension Banashankari III Stage Bengaluru 560 085 Phone : 080-26725740 Navjivan Trust Building P.O. Navjivan Ahmedabad 380 014 Phone : 079-27541446 CWC Campus Opp. Dhankal Bus Stop Panihati Kolkata 700 114 Phone : 033-25530454 65.00 CWC Complex Maligaon Guwahati 781 021 Phone : 0361-2674869 Publication Team Head, Publication : Anup Kumar Rajput Division Chief Production Of昀椀cer : Arun Chitkara Chief Editor (In charge) : Bijnan Sutar Printed on 80 GSM paper with NCERT Chief Business Manager : Amitabh Kumar watermark Production Of昀椀cer : Jahan Lal Published at the Publication Division Cover Design, Illustrations, and Layout by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and The Banyan Tree Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016 and printed at Cartographer Gita Offset Printers (P) Ltd., C-90, Satish Maurya Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi 110020  Foreword The National Education Policy 2020 envisages a system of education in the country that is rooted in Indian ethos and its civilisational accomplishments in all domains of human endeavour and knowledge while at the same time preparing the students to constructively engage with the prospects and challenges of the twenty-昀椀rst century. The basis for this aspirational vision has been well laid out by the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023 across curricular areas at all stages. Having nurtured the students’ inherent abilities touching upon all the 昀椀ve planes of human existence, the pañchakośhas, in the Foundational and the Preparatory Stages has paved the way for the progression of their learning further at the Middle Stage. Thus, the Middle Stage acts as a bridge between the Preparatory and the Secondary Stages, spanning three years from Grade 6 to Grade 8. This framework, at the Middle Stage, aims to equip students with the skills that are needed to grow, as they advance in their lives. It endeavours to enhance their analytical, descriptive, and narrative capabilities, and to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities that await them. A diverse curriculum, covering nine subjects ranging from three languages — including at least two languages native to India — to Science, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Art Education, Physical Education and Well-Being, and Vocational Education promotes their holistic development. Such a transformative learning culture requires certain essential conditions. One of them is to have appropriate textbooks in di昀昀erent curricular areas as these textbooks will play a central role in mediating between content and pedagogy — a role that will strike a judicious balance between direct instruction and opportunities for exploration and inquiry. Among the other conditions, classroom arrangement and teacher preparation are crucial to establish conceptual connections both within and across curricular areas. The National Council of Educational Research and Training, on its part, is committed to providing students with such high-quality iii textbooks. Various Curricular Area Groups, which were constituted for this purpose, comprising notable subject-experts, pedagogues, and practising teachers as their members, have made all possible e昀昀orts to develop such textbooks. This textbook of Social Science closely follows the vision of the NCFSE 2023. It innovates in minimizing the text by focusing on core concepts and major developments. These are also conveyed through abundant pictures, drawings, maps and other graphics, which are brought to life by a pleasant and attractive overall design. The textbook seeks to keep students engaged through a variety of exercises, occasions for re昀氀ection, activities and projects, all of which invite them to explore and discover by themselves. The selection of 昀椀ve themes takes care of the important requirement of maintaining a multidisciplinary perspective. Cultural rootedness, another requirement, is thus not limited to the theme ‘Our Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Traditions’, but pervades the other themes as well. It is hoped that students and teachers alike will 昀椀nd using this textbook an enjoyable and enriching experience. However, in addition to this textbook, students at this stage should also be encouraged to explore various other learning resources. School libraries play a crucial role in making such resources available. Besides, the role of parents and teachers will also be invaluable in guiding and encouraging students to do so. With this, I express my gratitude to all those who have been involved in the development of this textbook and hope that it will meet the expectations of all stakeholders. At the same time, I also invite suggestions and feedback from all its users for further improvement in the coming years. Dinesh Prasad Saklani Director, 31 May 2024 National Council of New Delhi Educational Research and Training iv  Letter to the Student Dear Student, You have now entered the Middle Stage, about to explore new subjects. One of them is Social Science. You had a brush with it earlier, but from this Grade 6 onward you will discover more of this world of ours, beginning with our country, India. We have done our best to make this textbook stimulating: ƒ Whenever possible, we have used your immediate environment — the world as you know it — as a starting point. ƒ We have tried to keep the text to a minimum by focusing on the ‘big ideas’ — ideas you will encounter in your life for sure. Ideas that will help you understand India and the world. ƒ We have encouraged you to re昀氀ect on these ideas or important facts — to explore, discover, think, create, ask questions and propose answers. Rote learning is not the goal of good education; understanding and re昀氀ection are. ƒ We have included more illustrations than ever before, as they often convey a message better than long explanations. They also make the textbook more lively and pleasant to browse through. ƒ We have selected 昀椀ve main themes — you will see them in the Table of Contents. This has enabled us to combine in a single theme inputs from several disciplines — whether history, geography, political science or economics. This brings us closer to real life. ƒ Finally, we have given some emphasis to understanding India’s foundations. India is a young nation but an old civilisation. The former would not exist without the latter. Preparing this textbook has been a labour of love. If you have felt attracted to a few pages here and there, to some picture v or map, if you have felt tickled by a question or a challenging quotation, we will feel rewarded. We hope you will enjoy this journey of discovery. It’s about all of us, yourself included!    We need to add an important detail. In this textbook, every part of it — text, side box, image or map — can be subject to evaluation and assessment. There are, however, 昀椀ve exceptions: ƒ The quotation or quotations on the 昀椀rst pages of chapters. Some are straightforward, others o昀昀er deep thought. Do not worry if you do not understand them at the 昀椀rst reading; they are meant to stimulate you or inspire you. ƒ Wherever we have mentioned in the text, “You need not remember this”. ƒ The diacritical signs on some Sanskrit words — do look at ‘Your journey through this book’ in the next few pages to understand what we mean. ƒ The Introduction (page 1). ƒ The Glossary (at the end of the textbook). No evaluation should bear on these 昀椀ve aspects.    vi  Your journey through this book This textbook has been written with care and love for you, our Grade 6 learners. This year you will be studying Social Science for the first time. This field helps us to understand ourselves, the land and the people around us. How did people live in the past? What does our country, India or Bharat, look like? What do her mountains, rivers, and plains look like? … and so many other such questions. This new textbook has many features, which we hope you will find interesting and fun too. As you flip through it, you will see colourful illustrations, including pictures, maps and drawings of many kinds. Let us give you a quick tour of the book and its features. Your Teacher will also guide you through it. Each chapter begins with an inspiring quotation from a renowned person or text. Read it and let it stay with you. Some of these quotations are profound thoughts. Don’t worry if you do not understand right away; you can return to them later, and they can also be discussed in the class. Here’s an example — vii  The main text is written in simple language. You will learn about people and places in India and beyond. Technical words are explained in the margin right next to the text. They are also listed in the glossary (or mini-dictionary) at the end of the textbook. In addition, we have included a few words you may not be familiar with. Do consult the glossary often. ‘The Big Questions’, just two or three, give you an idea of what you are going to explore in the chapter. As we move through the chapter you will 昀椀nd some sections called ‘Let’s explore’, viii ‘Think about it’ which propose activities, in-text exercises, or will invite further re昀氀ection. ‘Don’t miss out’ brings out intriguing or fun facts that will trigger your curiosity. At the end of every chapter, ‘Before we move on’ sums up some of the core ideas that the chapter tried to convey. A choice of exercises, questions or projects follow. Finally, on the 昀椀rst page of every chapter, you will 昀椀nd a QR code leading you to interesting videos, puzzles, games, stories, and so on, which are related to the content of the chapter and will lead you to further explorations. Do scan it, or take an adult’s help to scan it, and browse through the material. Your Teacher will be with you on this journey of exploring this textbook. We hope you will read parts of it with your ix parents or guardians too. Maybe you can try out some of the activities with them! We wish you an enjoyable journey through Social Science and its rich insights into human life and society.    A note on the pronunciation of Sanskrit words Since this textbook is in English, we use the Roman alphabet. But we will also encounter some words in Sanskrit and a few other Indian languages. The Roman alphabet cannot make their pronunciation clear without some additional marks or signs, such as dashes, dots or accents, called ‘diacritical signs’ or ‘diacritics’. You can ignore all these signs if you wish, and you don’t need to remember them. However, as we are using only a few simple signs, you will 昀椀nd it easy to get used to them. You will also 昀椀nd that they help you pronounce Sanskrit words fairly correctly. Here is how they work: ƒ A short dash (called ‘macron’) over a vowel makes it long. For instance, dāna is pronounced ‘daana’; līlā is pronounced ‘leelaa’; sūtra is sootra. ƒ śh and ṣh are pronounced similar to ‘sh’ in ‘shall’ (there is a slight di昀昀erence, since they correspond to श and ष in the Devanagari script; see next point). So śhāstra is pronounced ‘shaastra’; kṣhīra is ‘ksheera’. ƒ Consonants with a dot below them (ḍ ṭ ṣh and ṇ mainly) are pronounced by hitting the tongue on the roof of the mouth; without a dot, they are pronounced with the tongue on the teeth. Examples of consonants pronounced with the tongue hitting the roof of the mouth: Āryabhaṭa, gaṇa, paṭhana (studying), pīṭha, goṣhṭhī (association, assembly), dhanāḍhya (rich), aṇu (atom). ƒ Finally, ṛ is the Devanagari letter ऋ. We choose to write it as ṛi, although in some parts of India it is also pronounced as ṛu. So we write ‘Ṛig Veda’, for instance. x  For those who wish to know the precise correspondence between the Devanagari alphabet and the Roman script in our system, the tables of short and long vowels are as follows: Devanagari Roman script अ a इ i उ u ऋ ṛi ए e ओ o आ ā ई ī ऊ ū ॠ ṝi ऐ ai औ au And the table of consonants: Guttural क ka ख kha ग ga घ gha ङ ṅa ह ha Palatal च cha छ chha ज ja झ jha ञ ña य ya Cerebral ट ṭa ठ ṭha ड ḍa ढ ḍha ण ṇa र ra Dental त ta थ tha द da ध dha न na ल la Labial प pa फ pha ब ba भ bha म ma व va Sibilants श śha ष ṣha स sa Note: Our pronunciation guide is an adaptation of what is known as the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration or IAST system. xi  Constitution of India Part III (Articles 12 – 35) (Subject to certain conditions, some exceptions and reasonable restrictions) guarantees these Fundamental Rights Right to Equality before law and equal protection of laws; irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; of opportunity in public employment; by abolition of untouchability and titles. Right to Freedom of expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and profession; of certain protections in respect of conviction for offences; of protection of life and personal liberty; of free and compulsory education for children between the age of six and fourteen years; of protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. Right against Exploitation for prohibition of traf昀椀c in human beings and forced labour; for prohibition of employment of children in hazardous jobs. Right to Freedom of Religion freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion; freedom to manage religious affairs; freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion; freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in educational institutions wholly maintained by the State. Cultural and Educational Rights for protection of interests of minorities to conserve their language, script and culture; for minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Right to Constitutional Remedies by issuance of directions or orders or writs by the Supreme Court and High Courts for enforcement of these Fundamental Rights. xii  Constitution of India Part IV A (Article 51 A) Fundamental Duties It shall be the duty of every citizen of India — (a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; (b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; (d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; (e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; (f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; (g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures; (h) to develop the scienti昀椀c temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; (i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence; (j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement; * (k) who is a parent or guardian, to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years. Note: The Article 51A containing Fundamental Duties was inserted by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 (with effect from 3 January 1977). *(k) was inserted by the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002 (with effect from 1 April 2010). xiii  National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Materials Committee (NSTC) M. C. Pant, Chancellor, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), (Chairperson) Manjul Bhargava, Professor, Princeton University. (Co-Chairperson) Sudha Murty, Acclaimed Writer and Educationist Bibek Debroy, Chairperson, Economic Advisory Council – Prime Minister (EAC – PM) Shekhar Mande, Former DG, CSIR, Distinguished Professor, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune Sujatha Ramdorai, Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada Shankar Mahadevan, Music Maestro, Mumbai U. Vimal Kumar, Director, Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Bengaluru Michel Danino, Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar Surina Rajan, IAS (Retd.), Haryana, Former DG, HIPA Chamu Krishna Shastri, Chairperson, Bhartiya Bhasha Samiti, Ministry of Education Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, Economic Advisory Council – Prime Minister (EAC – PM) M.D. Srinivas, Chairperson, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai Gajanan Londhe, Head, Programme O昀케ce, NSTC Rabin Chhetri, Director, SCERT, Sikkim Pratyusha Kumar Mandal, Professor, Department of Education in Social Science, NCERT Dinesh Kumar, Professor and Head, Planning and Monitoring Division, NCERT Kirti Kapoor, Professor, Department of Education in Languages, NCERT Ranjana Arora, Professor and Head, Department of Curriculum Studies and Development, NCERT (Member-Secretary) xiv  Textbook Development Team Guidance Mahesh Chandra Pant, Chairperson, NSTC, and Chancellor, NIEPA Jagbir Singh, Professor, Chairperson, NOC, and Chancellor, Central University of Punjab Manjul Bhargava, Co-Chairperson, NSTC, and Professor, Princeton University Anurag Behar, Member, National Curriculum Frameworks Oversight Committee, and CEO, Azim Premji Foundation Gajanan Londhe, Head, Programme O昀케ce, NSTC; Member, NSTC; Founding Member, Samvit Research Foundation CAG Social Science (CAG-SS) Chairperson Michel Danino, Visiting Professor, IIT Gandhinagar CAG (Economics) Chairperson Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, EAC-PM Contributors Aasheerwad Dwivedi, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi; Member, CAG (Economics) Ankur Kakkar, Associate Professor, Centre for Indic Studies, Indus University, Ahmedabad; Member, CAG-SS Aziz Mahdi, Scholar of Persian, former Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; Member, CAG-SS Bhawna Paliwal, Educator and Consultant, Programme O昀케ce, NSTC Divya Indra Chatterjee, Chartered Accountant and Consultant, Programme O昀케ce, NSTC Fanindra Sharma, Consultant, Programme O昀케ce, NSTC Javaid Iqbal Bhat, Assistant Professor, Post Graduate Department of English, University of Kashmir; Member, CAG-SS Johnson Odakkal, Commodore, Indian Navy (Retd), former Director Maritime History Society & Faculty at Aditya Birla World Academy; Member, CAG SS xv K. Vasundhara, Vice-Principal, Chinmaya Vidyalaya Sr Sec School, Virugambakkam, Chennai Lopamudra Maitra, Anthropologist, Senior Researcher, Centre for Studies in Legal History, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata M.V. Srinivasan, Professor, Economics, Department of Education in Social Science, NCERT; Member, CAG (Economics) Nabajyoti Deka, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, Shri Ram College of Commerce; Member, CAG (Economics) Prachi Lahiri, Teacher, History, National Public School, Bengaluru; Member, CAG-SS Priyadarsini Samantaray, Assistant Professor in Sociology, DESS, NCERT Radha Narayanan, Researcher and Author, history textbooks, Chinmaya Mission, Chennai; Member, CAG-SS Riddhi Garg, Research Writer and Editor, Delhi Ruchika Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Allahabad; Coordinator, IKS Division, Ministry of Education Sandeep Kamra, Educator, Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram; Member, CAG (Economics) Sandeepa Madan, Educator, Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram; Member, CAG (Economics) Saumya Dey, Professor, Rishihood University; Member, CAG-SS Srishti Chauhan, Young Professional (EAC-PM), NITI Aayog Sukhwinder Singh, Associate Professor, Educational Survey Division, NCERT Suparna Diwakar, Educator and Development Sector Professional, Chief Consultant, Programme O昀케ce, NSTC Surendra C. Thakurdesai, Professor and HOD, Geography and Rural Development, Gogate Joglekar College, Ratnagiri; Member, CAG-SS Tannu Malik, Professor of Geography, Department of Education in Social Science, NCERT Uday Kulkarni, Surgeon, Commander of the Indian Navy (Retd.), Historian; Member, CAG-SS xvi V. Selvakumar, Associate Professor, Department of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur; Member, CAG-SS Reviewers Aditi Mishra, Director Principal, Delhi Public School, Gurgaon; and Teachers: Kanu Chopra, Leeza Dutta, Avni Mehta, Mamta Kumar, Suparna Sharma Anuradha Choudry, Assistant Professor, IIT Kharagpur; Coordinator, IKS Division, AICTE Aparna Pandey, Professor of Geography, Department of Education in Social Science, NCERT Bhairu Lal Yadav, Associate Professor, Dept. of Education in Social Science, NCERT Ganti S. Murthy, National Coordinator, IKS Division, Ministry of Education M.D. Srinivas, Chairperson, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai; Member, NSTC P.K. Mandal, Professor, Dept. of Education in Social Science, NCERT; Member, NSTC Vinita Rikhi, Joint Director, La Mondiale Group, La Mondiale Academia CAG (Social Science) Member Convener Aparna Pandey, Professor of Geography, Department of Education in Social Science, NCERT CAG (Economics) Member Convener Shipra Vaidya, Professor of Commerce, Department of Education in Social Science, NCERT xvii  Acknowledgements The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) acknowledges the guidance and support of the Chairperson and members of the National Curriculum Frameworks Oversight Committee (NOC), Chairperson and members of the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Materials Committee (NSTC), Chairpersons and members of Curricular Area Groups (CAGs) for Social Science and for Economics, and other concerned CAGs on cross-cutting themes in developing this textbook. The participation and contributions from members of the Social Science and Economics CAGs have been indispensable. Additional thanks are due to the Chairpersons and members of other CAGs involved in integrating crosscutting themes into this textbook. The unstinted e昀昀orts and exemplary dedication of the Social Science team of Programme O昀케ce (NSTC) in assisting the making of this textbook at every stage are gratefully acknowledged. Dr. Shveta Uppal, former Chief Editor of the Publication Division, NCERT, and the dedicated editors from the division, have provided valuable assistance in the editing and proofreading process. Special recognition goes to Anjasi N.N. and Riddhi Garg for their professional editing e昀昀orts through multiple versions of the text. Shweta Rao’s outstanding contribution to the textbook’s appealing design and visual quality, and her steadfast work throughout the entire process, are acknowledged with gratitude. The illustrators Albert Shrivastava, Ashutosh Kambli, Attri Chetan, Chandrima Chatterjee, Nutan Kishor, Prachi Sahasrabudhe, and Prashant Singh—deserve commendation for their innovative designs, drawings, and sketches, which have signi昀椀cantly enriched the visual quality of the textbook. The contribution made by the cartographer Satish Maurya is appreciated. The generosity of Prof. V.N. Prabhakar in sharing his maps is acknowledged with gratitude. xviii  Contents Foreword iii Letter to the Student v Your journey through this book vii Introduction: Why Social Science? 1 Theme A — India and the World: Land and the People 1. Locating Places on the Earth 7 2. Oceans and Continents 27 3. Landforms and Life 41 Theme B — Tapestry of the Past 4. Timeline and Sources of History 59 5. India, That Is Bharat 75 6. The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation 85 Theme C — Our Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Traditions 7. India's Cultural Roots 105 8. Unity in Diversity, or 'Many in the One' 125 Theme D — Governance and Democracy 9. Family and Community 137 10. Grassroots Democracy — Part 1: Governance 149 11. Grassroots Democracy — Part 2: Local Government 163 in Rural Areas 12. Grassroots Democracy — Part 3: Local Government 173 in Urban Areas Theme E — Economic Life Around Us 13. The Value of Work 183 14. Economic Activities Around Us 195 Glossary 209 Image Credits 218 xix Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: The whole world is a family xx  Introduction Why Social Science? Landforms Timeline and Life and Sources Oceans and of History Continents India, That Is Bharat THEME A India and the THEME B Locating World – Land Places on the Tapestry and the of the Past Earth The Beginnings of People Indian Civilisation Social The Value India’s of Work THEME E Science THEME C Cultural Economic Our Cultural Roots Life Around Heritage and Us Knowledge Traditions Theme D Economic Unity in Governance Activities and Diversity, Around Us Democracy or ‘Many in the One’ Introduction – Why Social Science? Local Government Family in Urban Areas and Community Local Government in Rural Areas Governance 1  LET’S EXPLORE Æ Observe the picture above. What do you notice? ƒ Where does the water in the lake come from? ƒ Who made the road and why? ƒ What could be the activities of people living in the small house? What could be their history? Their future? Æ Write down your answers and discuss them with your classmates. Æ Now, looking at the picture on the facing page, what Exploring Society: India and Beyond questions come to your mind? Write them down. Æ How do you propose to 昀椀nd answers to the questions related to these two images? How are our questions above relevant to Social Science? We live in the 21st century (if you do not know what this 昀椀gure really means, you will soon learn about it). Everyone agrees that it is a particularly challenging time for humanity. On 2 the one hand, there is rapid progress in technology, which is changing our lives in many ways. On the other hand, the world is witnessing multiple wars, armed con昀氀icts and rising social tensions, and our planet’s natural environment is under great stress. We live in an age of great possibilities but also great challenges. The world over, more and more people wonder, “How do we solve the problems facing humanity? How can our societies learn to live in peace and harmony? How can we protect this beautiful Earth which we all share — and protect it not only for ourselves but also for all the species that live on it?” Introduction – Why Social Science? These fundamental questions are simple, but the answers are not. They cannot be simple, because human societies are very diverse and complex. If we wish to 昀椀nd answers to such questions and help build a better future, we 昀椀rst need to understand our world, and human societies in particular. That is what Social Science is all about. You may wonder whether this is a ‘science’ like, say, physics or chemistry. It is not. The discipline does use scienti昀椀c 3  methods wherever possible (you will see a few examples in this textbook), but its focus — human society — is, again, too diverse to allow the kind of set procedures and 昀椀xed results the sciences come up with. Social Science has many subdisciplines: geography, history, political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, psychology and a few more. You need not feel intimidated by all these terms! While you will study some of these subdisciplines in the Secondary Stage, in the Middle Stage we have avoided this classi昀椀cation. Instead, we have opted for 昀椀ve broad themes. Let us brie昀氀y look at them. (Note that the mind map at the start of this Introduction includes chapters of both parts of this textbook.) Theme A – India and the World: Land and the People This 昀椀rst theme includes the basics of the geographical world around us — some of the main features of our planet and the way to represent them on a map. Why is this theme important, when today we can get excellent maps on a mobile phone? Because it deals with much more than maps. It also asks how geographical features — oceans, mountains, rivers, etc. — have shaped entire civilisations throughout their histories. It is also, in India’s case, about how its natural setting has contributed to giving this ancient civilisation a unique identity. Exploring Society: India and Beyond Theme B – Tapestry of the Past A tapestry is a large piece of canvas-like cloth usually kept as a wall hanging, with pictures and designs on it — sometimes a historical narrative. Our tapestry is where we will be painting scenes from the past, beginning with India’s past. But why should we be at all concerned with the past? Because it is the key to understanding the present, and the chapters in this theme will often make this connection 4 clear. The past is a major source for our identities — it helps us understand who we are and where we come from. The past is still with us, in other words. And since history is unfortunately not all about happy developments, it is useful to understand where people, governments or rulers went wrong, and why. Only then can we hope to avoid repeating those errors. Theme C – Our Cultural Heritage and Knowledge Traditions It has often been said that India has a rich and ancient culture. True, but what are its main characteristics? Its guiding principles? How has it manifested itself in India’s history? And how can it help us to deal with issues of our times? These are some of the questions that this theme is exploring, with the objective that every student should understand some of the cultural foundations of our civilization and learn to appreciate their value. Theme D – Governance and Democracy Citizens of any country should know how their political system functions. India, as the world’s largest democracy, has an elaborate system working at di昀昀erent levels. What are its chief characteristics and components? How do the citizens participate in the overall governance? What are their rights and also their duties or dharma? Are there di昀昀erent systems in other countries, and, if so, of what type? How are di昀昀erent countries supposed to interact? Introduction – Why Social Science? By studying this theme, we can become more responsible citizens, understand how the organs of the government function, and learn to have a say in the policies that a昀昀ect us all, whether locally or nationally. Theme E – Economic Life Around Us No family can be happy without the essentials of daily living — at least food, clothing, shelter, access to water in a 5  昀椀rst stage; in a second, livelihood for adults and access to education for the younger ones. Similarly, no country can develop harmoniously without a sound economy. But how does an economy work, especially in a huge country like India? What exactly is money? Where does it come from? How can it be increased? What economic activities can people engage themselves in? How are natural and human resources best managed? This theme will lay down some of the important concepts and practices that will enable us to answer these questions.    You will notice that there are many questions in the preceding paragraphs. This is as it should be — Social Science is also about the art of asking the right questions. Only then can we start looking for the right answers. This also explains the presence of ‘Big Questions’ at the start of each chapter in this book. You may also be intrigued to 昀椀nd a game of chess and some ancient Tamil poetry in chapters that apparently deal with geography; a discussion on the uses of the sari in a chapter on cultural heritage; the concept of sevā and the mention of festivals in chapters focusing on economics. This is deliberate. We believe in bringing elements from diverse 昀椀elds together (you will learn later that this is called ‘multidisciplinarity’). This enriches our perspective. Indeed, life constantly mixes numerous elements together, Exploring Society: India and Beyond so why should we not? By now, it should be clear that although Social Science makes constant use of the past, it seeks to make sense of the present so as to help us prepare a better future. It is an exploration and an adventure. 6  1 CHAPTER Locating Places on the Earth The globe of the Earth stands in space, made up of water, earth, fire and air and is spherical.... It is surrounded by all creatures, terrestrial as well as aquatic. — Āryabhaṭa (about 500 CE) 1 – Locating Places on the Earth 1. What is a map and how do The Big we use it? What are its main Questions components? 2. What are coordinates? How can latitude and longitude be used to mark any location on the Earth? 3. How are local time and standard time related to longitude? 7  Imagine that you are visiting a city for the 昀椀rst time. How would you 昀椀nd the places you want to visit? You might ask a local person for help, or you might look at a map of the city. In previous grades, you learnt a little about maps, and in this chapter, we will study them in more detail. Let us play a game. Examine the map of this small city (Fig. 1.1). Imagine that you just got o昀昀 a train at the railway station, and you want to visit the bank marked on the map. Which way would you go? Are there other possible ways? Can you locate the public garden, the school and the museum? If you want to proceed from the bank to the market, which way will you go? This is where a map comes in handy! India and the World: Land and the People Exploring Society: India and Beyond Fig. 1.1. A map of an imaginary small city. A map is like a treasure guide; it shows you where things are and how to get to them. Notice the four arrows in the top right corner of the map; we will soon see how they point to 8 some speci昀椀c directions and make maps even more helpful.  LET’S EXPLORE Æ On the map in Fig. 1.1 given on page 8 — 1. Mark the hospital. 2. What is the meaning of the blue-coloured areas? 3. Which is farther away from the railway station — the school, the Nagar Panchayat or the public garden? Æ As a class activity, form groups of three or four students each. Let each group try to draw a map of your school and some of the streets or roads that lead to it, and a few neighbouring buildings. At the end, compare all the maps and discuss. A Map and Its Components From this simple example, we understand that a map is a representation, or a drawing, of some area — it may be a small area (a village, a town, etc.), a bigger area (say, your district or state), or a very large area like India or even the whole world. In a map, you look at the surface as if you are viewing it from the top. An atlas is a book or collection of maps. As you will discover, there are several kinds of maps — ƒ physical maps, which mainly show some natural features such as mountains, oceans and rivers (see an example in Fig. 5.2 in this textbook) ƒ political maps, which show details of countries or 1 – Locating Places on the Earth states, boundaries, cities, etc. (for instance, a map of India with all its States, Union Territories and their capitals) ƒ thematic maps, with a speci昀椀c kind of information (examples include Fig. 6.3 and Fig. 8.1 in this textbook). In addition, there are three important components of maps—distance, direction and symbols. You have already 9  experienced the 昀椀rst two while navigating the map in Fig. 1.1. Let us now de昀椀ne them more precisely. Have you ever wondered how a huge place can 昀椀t on a small piece of paper? It is all thanks to the map’s scale. Let us go back to our map of a small city (Fig. 1.1). Each centimetre on the map, as printed here, represents a certain distance on the ground — let us suppose it is 500 metres; we say that the scale is 1 cm = 500 m. Now, turn to the map of India in Fig. 5.2 in Chapter 5 of this textbook. The scale is repre- sented in the bottom left corner by a ruler with ‘500’ written above its length and ‘km’ on the side. It simply means that this ruler, which measures 2.5 cm in the printed map, corresponds to 500 kilometres on the ground. So, the actual distance between two points represented on the map depends on the scale that the map is using. LET’S EXPLORE Æ Draw a simple map of a school’s playground. Let us assume it is a rectangle, 40 m in length and 30 m in width. Draw it precisely with your ruler on a scale of 1 cm = 10 m. Æ Now measure the diagonal of the rectangle. How many centimetres do you get? Using the scale, calculate the real length of the playground’s diagonal, in metres. Let us return to the four arrows at the top right India and the World: Land and the People of the small city’s map. They point to four Exploring Society: India and Beyond directions, which are north, at the top, and, North moving clockwise, east, south and west. Northwest Northeast These are called the cardinal directions, also cardinal points. Other than these, West East intermediate directions are also used — northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest Southwest Southeast (SW) and northwest (NW). Most maps South simply have an arrow marked with the 10 letter ‘N’, which points to the north direction.  LET’S EXPLORE Æ Consider the map of the small city again. Identify the correct and incorrect statements in the list below: 1. The market is north of the hospital. 2. The museum is southeast of the bank. 3. The railway station is northwest of the hospital. 4. The lake is northwest of the apartment blocks. Æ Taking your school as the starting point, do you know approximately in which cardinal direction your home is located? Discuss with your teacher and your parents. Symbols are another important component of maps. Our map has small drawings of actual buildings and a few other elements, but there would not be enough space on the map of a large city or a country to draw them all. Instead, a symbol is used to represent these features — symbols for di昀昀erent kinds of buildings (for instance a railway station, a school, a post o昀케ce), for roads and railway lines, and for natural elements such as a river, a pond or a forest. In that way, numerous details can be shown in the limited space available on a map. To make maps more easily understood by a variety of users, map makers use speci昀椀c symbols. Di昀昀erent countries use di昀昀erent sets of symbols. The Survey of India, a government body, has 昀椀xed a set of symbols for maps of India (or parts of India). A small selection of them is shown in Fig. 1.2 on 1 – Locating Places on the Earth page 12. LET’S EXPLORE Draw a rough map of your locality or your village, including your home, school and a few other important landmarks. Show the cardinal directions and use a few of the symbols shown in Fig. 1.2 on page 12 to mark some important features. 11  Railway Line: broad gauge, metre gauge, railway station RS Roads: metalled, unmetalled Boundary: international, state, district River, well, tank, canal, bridge Temple, church, mosque, chhatri Post O昀케ce, Post & Telegraph PO PTO PS O昀케ce, Police Station Settlement, graveyard Trees, grass Fig. 1.2. A selection of symbols commonly used in maps. Mapping the Earth Mapping the Earth is a little more di昀케cult because our planet is not a 昀氀at surface. It nearly has the shape of a sphere. (We say ‘nearly’ because it is not a perfect sphere, but is slightly 昀氀attened at the poles. However, in practice, we will consider it to be spherical.) Representing a sphere accurately on a 昀氀at sheet of paper is not possible. To India and the World: Land and the People understand why, peel an orange in such a way that you Exploring Society: India and Beyond have just three or four large pieces of the skin; then try and 昀氀atten them on a table — you will see that you cannot do it without tearing them at the edges. Now, consider a globe, which is a sphere on which a map is drawn. This may be a map of the Earth, the Moon, the planet Mars, the stars and constellations in the sky, etc. The physical object, like the one shown in the drawing on the next page, is a sphere that is generally made of metal, 12 plastic or cardboard. Here we will study the globe representing the Earth’s geography. Because the globe and the Earth have the same spherical shape, a globe will better represent the geography of the Earth than a 昀氀at map. Let us now explore some of its features. a) Understanding coordinates Imagine a big market in a city or town, with neat rows of shops, all the same size. You want to meet a friend at a stationery shop inside the market. But your friend does not know where the shop is. So you would give directions like, “Meet me at 6 pm at the 7th shop in the 5th row from the entrance.” This will allow your friend to precisely determine your location. Now, consider a chessboard. To record moves by advanced players, letters are placed alongside the main pieces (from ‘a’ to ‘h’, see the image) and numbers (from 1 to 8) in between the two sides. This simple system allows players to mark each square and record every move. Here, the white side has just opened the 1 – Locating Places on the Earth game by moving the queen’s pawn two squares forward (a very common opening). So, the pawn is said to have moved from d2 to d4. LET’S EXPLORE Using the same terms, write down your move if you play black and respond with the same move. 13  The system used in these two examples may be called a system of coordinates. Thanks to their two coordinates, the stationery shop as well as the chess square on the chessboard can be precisely determined. A similar system of coordinates is used in the world of maps to determine the location of any place on a map. Let us see how this system works. b) Latitudes Let us return to the globe. It is easy to identify the North Pole and the South Pole on it. Rotate the globe; while it rotates, the 昀椀xed points at the top and bottom are the two poles. Halfway between them is the Equator; note the circle marking it (see Fig. 1.3). Imagine that you stand on the Equator and travel towards one of the poles; your distance from the Equator increases. Latitude measures this distance from the Equator. At any point of this travel, you can draw an imaginary line that runs east and west, parallel to the Equator. Such a line is called a parallel of latitude and it draws a circle around the Earth. Again, it is easy to note on the globe that the largest circle is the Equator, while the circles marked by the parallels of latitude grow smaller as we move northward or southward (Fig. 1.3). Latitudes are expressed in degrees; by convention, the India and the World: Land and the People Equator is latitude 0° (zero degree), while the latitudes of Exploring Society: India and Beyond the two poles are 90° North and 90° South respectively; this is noted 90°N and 90°S. There is a connection between latitude and climate. Around the Equator, the climate is generally hot (it is also called ‘torrid’). As you travel away from the Equator towards one of the two poles (in other words, as your latitude increases), the climate becomes more moderate (or ‘temperate’). And closer to the North or South Pole, the climate grows colder 14 (or ‘frigid’). You will learn in Science why this is so, and also why we experience di昀昀erent seasons in the course of a year. Fig. 1.3. This globe shows both parallels of latitude and meridians of longitudes c) Longitudes Imagine now that you travel from the North Pole to the South Pole by the shortest possible line. Observe the globe: you will see that instead of passing through Europe and Africa, 1 – Locating Places on the Earth you could just as well pass through Asia — the distance would be the same. These lines are called meridians of longitude (Fig. 1.3). They are all half-circles running from one pole to the other. You will also learn in Science that the Earth spins on its axis. To put it simply, let’s place a desk lamp a little away from our globe, focused on it, and imagine that this is 15  the Sun illuminating the Earth. Slowly rotating the globe eastward, we can note that for some places on the Earth it is morning, while for others it is mid-day, evening or night — when it’s breakfast time in one country, it’s lunchtime in another and in a third country people are fast asleep! That is why by measuring the longitude of a place, we will also be measuring the time at that place. Let us see how. To measure longitudes, we need to de昀椀ne a reference point called the Prime Meridian (Fig. 1.3 on page 15). It is also called Greenwich Meridian because, in the year 1884, some nations decided that the meridian passing through Greenwich, an area of London in England, would become the international standard for the Prime Meridian. It is marked as 0° longitude. Just as latitude is a measure of the distance from the Equator if you travel towards one of the poles, longitude is a measure of the distance from the Prime Meridian if you travel along the Equator. Longitude, too, is measured in degrees. Westward or eastward, it increases in value from 0° to 180°, with the letter ‘W’ or ‘E’ added. For instance, using round 昀椀gures, New York’s longitude is 74°W, while Delhi’s is 77°E and Tokyo’s is 140°E. DON’T MISS OUT As you can see on the globe of meridians of longitudes, 180°W India and the World: Land and the People and 180°E are the same longitude; so this longitude is noted Exploring Society: India and Beyond 180°, omitting the letter W or E. Latitude and longitude together are the two coordinates of a place. With them, you are now able to locate any place on Earth! You can now understand a statement such as “Delhi lies at 29°N latitude and 77°E longitude” (these values are rounded o昀昀, not exact). Fig. 1.3 on page 15 shows the parallels of latitude and the 16 meridians of longitude together on the globe as blue lines. All these lines together constitute a grid for the globe; they are also called grid lines. LET’S EXPLORE If the globe or atlas in your class has well-marked latitudes and longitudes, try to note down approximate values for the latitude and longitude of (1) Mumbai, (2) Kolkata, (3) Singapore, (4) Paris. Greenwich Meridian Western Northern Hemisphere Hemisphere Equ ator Eastern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere Fig. 1.4. This sketch shows how the Prime Meridian divides the Earth into the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, while the Equator divides it into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. DON’T MISS OUT The Greenwich Meridian is not the 昀椀rst prime meridian. There were others in the past. In fact, many centuries before Europe, India had a prime meridian of its own! (Fig. 1.5) It 1 – Locating Places on the Earth was called madhya rekhā (or ‘middle line’) and passed through the city of Ujjayinī (today Ujjain), which was a reputed centre for astronomy over many centuries. Varāhamihira, a famous astronomer, lived and worked there some 1,500 years ago. Indian astronomers were aware of concepts of latitude and longitude, including the need for a zero or prime meridian. The Ujjayinī meridian became a reference for calculations in all Indian astronomical texts. 17  The map shows a few ancient Indian cities close to the Ujjayinī meridian. Some are very close to it, while others are a little away. That is because measuring longitude required accurate timekeeping, which was not as precise then as it is today. 75.8°E Kurukṣhetra Rohitaka / Rohtak Delhi Mālavangara / Nagar Ujjayinī / Ujjain Kolkata Māhiṣhmati / Maheshwar Mumbai India and the World: Land and the People Chennai Bengaluru Exploring Society: India and Beyond Ancient city Modern city Kumārī / Kanyakumari Fig. 1.5. The Ujjayinī prime meridian used in ancient Indian astronomy. Cities marked with a circle are mentioned in astronomical texts as being on this meridian (the modern name is given after the oblique bar). 18  1 – Locating Places on the Earth Fig. 1.6. This map, published by the Survey of India, shows the country’s outline along with a few parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude. India’s latitudes extend approximately from to 8°N to 37°N, and longitudes approximately from 68°E to 97°E. (The two colours have been added.) 19  Understanding Time Zones Let’s make the globe rotate again from west to east — that is how our planet spins around its axis, making a full turn every 24 hours. A full turn is 360°, so this means 15° per hour (15 x 24 = 360). Let us now mark the meridians of longitude every 15°. Moving eastward from the Prime Meridian, we get 0°, 15°E, 30°E, 45°E, and so on every 15° up to 180°E. It is the same as adding one hour of local time with each meridian — if it is 12 pm or noon at Greenwich, it is 1 pm local time at 15°E, 2 pm at 30°E, and so on. But going westward, it is the other way round — 11 am local time at 15°W, 10 am at 30°W, etc. 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 AM 1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 15° India and the World: Land and the People Exploring Society: India and Beyond 45° W 30° W 15° W 0° 15° E 30°E 45° E Fig. 1.7. This graph shows longitudes at the bottom and the local time at the top, with reference to the Prime Meridian at 0°. Each colour is a zone of 15° centred on a meridian. 20  LET’S EXPLORE Two friends, one sitting in Porbandar (Gujarat) and the other in Tinsukia (Assam), are speaking on the phone late afternoon. The latter remarks that the sun has set in Assam and it’s now dark. The former is surprised and says, “But it’s still full daylight here!” Explain why. And, as a class activity, calculate the di昀昀erence in local time between those two cities. (Hint: for now, consider the difference in longitude between Porbandar and Tinsukia to be 30°; later, you can find out the precise value.) The same method can be used to calculate the local time of any place on the Earth. But it would not be convenient for a country to use many local times! That is why most countries adopt a standard time based on a meridian passing through them. Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours 30 minutes (also noted 5.5 hours) ahead of the local time at Greenwich (called Greenwich Mean Time or GMT). LET’S EXPLORE Return to the two friends sitting in Gujarat and Assam. Use this example to explain the di昀昀erence between local time and standard time. All these standard times are organized in time zones, which broadly follow the zones of 15° in the graph (Fig. 1.7). But let us consider the world map below (Fig. 1.8). We can see that the lines dividing the time zones are not fully straight. This 1 – Locating Places on the Earth is because they have to respect each country’s standard time and, therefore, tend to follow international borders. The numbers written inside some countries are the numbers of hours to be added to GMT to get their standard times if they have a positive sign, or subtracted from GMT if they have a negative sign. 21  Fig. 1.8. A world map of the time zones, showing the standard times (with respect to GMT) for a few countries. (Note that international borders are approximate, not exact.) DON’T MISS OUT From the above explanation, it may seem as if every country has one standard time. That is not always the case. Some countries, like Russia, Canada or the USA, are too large to have a single time zone. The USA has six time zones and Russia has 11 — which means that travelling across Russia from east to west, you will need to readjust your watch 10 times to align India and the World: Land and the People with the local time! Exploring Society: India and Beyond Similarly, the globe in Fig. 1.9, centred on India, shows standard times with respect to GMT for a few countries. Finally, while the Prime Meridian was 昀椀xed at Greenwich, the opposite line — at approximately 180° longitude — is called the International Date Line. As you can see on the map, the +12 and the –12 time zones touch each other at this line. If you cross it by ship or plane, 22 you need to change the date in your watch. If you cross it  Fig. 1.9 A few time zones (with respect to GMT) in Africa and Eurasia. travelling eastward, you subtract a day (say, from Monday to Sunday); if you cross it travelling westward, you add a day (from Sunday to Monday). We said that the International Date Line is ‘approximately’ at 180° longitude, as it deviates in places to avoid dividing some countries into two di昀昀erent days! Before we move on... 1 – Locating Places on the Earth Æ Maps are a very useful tool to represent an area of the Earth, whether small or large. The main components of maps are distance, direction and symbols. Æ Every place on the Earth has a location which can be precisely de昀椀ned with the help of a grid of latitudes and longitudes — imaginary lines running from east to west (parallel to the Equator) and north to south (from pole to pole) respectively. 23  Æ Longitude also marks the time and de昀椀nes the time zones. Æ The International Date Line is located approximately at 180 degrees longitude, opposite the Prime Meridian. Crossing the International Date Line changes the date by one day. Questions, activities and projects 1. Returning to page 10 and to Fig. 5.2 in Chapter 5 of this Estuary: textbook, taking the scale to be 2.5 cm = 500 km, calculate The place where a the real distance from the estuary of the Narmada River river meets to the estuary of the Ganga river. (Hint: round off your the sea. measurement on the map to an easy number.) 2. Why is it 5:30 pm in India when it is 12 pm or noon in London? 3. Why do we need symbols and colours in the map? 4. Find out what you have in the eight directions from your home or school. 5. What is the di昀昀erence between local time and standard time? Discuss it in groups, with each group writing an answer in 100 to 150 words. Compare the answers. 6. Delhi’s and Bengaluru’s latitudes are 29°N and 13°N; their longitudes are almost the same, 77°E. How much will be the di昀昀erence in local time between the two cities? 7. Mark the following statements as true or false; explain your answers with a sentence or two. India and the World: Land and the People Æ All parallels of latitude have the same length. Exploring Society: India and Beyond Æ The length of a meridian of longitude is half of that of the Equator. Æ The South Pole has a latitude of 90°S. Æ In Assam, the local time and the IST are identical. Æ Lines separating the time zones are identical with meridians of longitude. Æ The Equator is also a parallel of latitude. Æ Solve the crossword below. 24  Locating places on Earth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Across Down 1. Lets you squeeze a huge 2. A measure of the distance area into your map from the Prime Meridian 4. A convenient sphere 3. These two together allow 5. The longest parallel of us to locate a place 1 – Locating Places on the Earth latitude 6. What latitudes and 6. The place the Prime longitudes together create Meridian is attached to 7. The time we all follow in 8. So convenient to 昀椀nd your India way 9. These two are poles apart 10. A measure of the distance 11. An abbreviation for a from the Equator line across which the day and date change 25  Exploring Society: India and Beyond 26 India and the World: Land and the People N漀漀dles *‘Noodles’ is our abbreviation for ‘Notes and Doodles’!  2 CHAPTER Oceans and Continents The ocean is everything. It covers seven-tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring all around.... The ocean is the vast reservoir of Nature. The globe began with the ocean, so to speak, and who knows if it will not end with it. … — Jules Verne (1870) The Big Questions 1. What are oceans and continents? What are their names and their distribution? 2. In what ways do oceans and continents impact life on Earth, including human life? 2 – Oceans and Continents Fig. 2.1 The Earth seen from space (photograph by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter). The view is centred on the Paci昀椀c Ocean, with Africa to the left, India and part of Asia at the top, Australia to the right, and Antarctica at the bottom. 27  Let us return to our globe and rotate it gently. Or look at the picture of the Earth seen from the Moon. What is the most widespread colour you see? Blue, obviously, but what does it represent? You must have guessed the answer — it is ‘water’. This means that most of the Earth’s surface is actually covered with water — almost three-fourths of the surface, in fact. That is why, when seen from outer space, the Earth appears mostly blue. Indeed, early astronauts lovingly called the Earth the ‘blue planet’. The largest water bodies we see on the globe are called ‘oceans’. But in the picture of the Earth (Fig. 2.1), you can see at least one other colour, brown. This colour is that of land, which covers a little over one-fourth of the globe. A large body of land is called a ‘landmass’, and a large continuous expanse of land is called a ‘continent’. Both oceans and continents play a vital role in shaping the climate of the Earth. They a昀昀ect all aspects of life, including all plants and animals, and therefore, human life too. We see their impact throughout our history and culture, and in our daily lives. DON’T MISS OUT India and the World: Land and the People The emblem of the Indian Navy Exploring Society: India and Beyond contains the motto Sam noh Varunah (pronounced ‘Śham no Varuṇah’), which means, “Be auspicious to us, O Varuna.” This is an invocation to Varuṇa, a Vedic deity associated with the oceans, the sky, and water in general. 28 The Distribution of Water and Land on the Earth As it happens, oceans and continents are not distributed equally between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Fig. 2.2. Maps of the Earth as seen from above the North Pole (left) and above the South Pole (right). De昀椀nitions Let us examine the two maps in Fig. 2.2. Here too, the blue for these areas consist of oceans, along with their smaller extensions, terms are in the Glossary which have various names — ‘sea’, ‘bay’, ‘gulf’, etc. at the end of this textbook. LET’S EXPLORE Æ What are the circular lines in each map called? And do you know what the lines radiating out of the two poles are called? (Hint: you studied them in the previous chapter, but here they are presented differently.) 2 – Oceans and Continents Æ Which hemisphere holds more water? Æ What do you think could be the approximate proportion of water to land in the Northern Hemisphere? And in the Southern Hemisphere? Discuss in groups. Æ Are all the oceans connected with one another, or are there separations between them? 29  Coral reef Ocean Life A star 昀椀sh on a sea anemone Shark Sperm whale, mother and baby Dolphins India and the World: Land and the People Exploring Society: India and Beyond Shallow coral reef with colourful tropical 昀椀sh Algae Emperor penguins Bonaire sea turtle 30 The oceans together hold most of the water available on the planet. But this seawater is salty and un昀椀t for consumption by most land animals, including humans. On the other hand, freshwater makes up a very small proportion of the planet’s water resources; it is found in glaciers, rivers, lakes, in the atmosphere and also underground (the last is called ‘groundwater’). THINK ABOUT IT “ If there is such abundance of water on the planet, why is there so much talk of ‘water scarcity’ or a ‘water crisis’? “ What ways of saving water are you aware of? Which ones have you seen practised at home, at your school, and in your village, town or city? Oceans On the world map in Fig. 2.3 on page 32, we can observe Marine: Related to 昀椀ve oceans — the Paci昀椀c Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the or found in Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Southern (or the oceans and seas. Antarctic) Ocean. Although we have listed 昀椀ve oceans, it is clear from the Flora: map that they are not really separate. The lines that divide The plant them on the map are no more than conventions — the life of a particular natural world does not follow such boundaries. Seawater, region or for example, constantly 昀氀ows across di昀昀erent oceans, period of time. sustaining a rich diversity of marine life. Many plant and animal species can be found across multiple oceans. Fauna: 2 – Oceans and Continents The animal The marine flora includes tiny plants called algae and all life of a kinds of seaweeds; the marine fauna consists of thousands particular region or of species of colourful 昀椀sh, dolphins, whales, and countless period of mysterious deep-sea creatures. Each part of the ocean, from time. the sun-lit surface to the dark depths, has its own diverse life forms. 31  Fig. 2.3. A world map showing the 昀椀ve oceans, their conventional boundaries, and the continents LET’S EXPLORE Locate the 昀椀ve oceans and, in the table below, mark the hemisphere or hemispheres they belong to. Northern Southern Hemisphere Hemisphere Paci昀椀c Ocean Atlantic Ocean India and the World: Land and the People Indian Ocean Exploring Society: India and Beyond Southern Ocean Arctic Ocean It is visible on the map that the Paci昀椀c Ocean is the largest of all, followed by the Atlantic Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the third largest, while the Southern Ocean is the fourth. The smallest one is the Arctic Ocean. 32  DON’T MISS OUT “ As the map of oceans makes clear, the main limits of the Indian Ocean are Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east, apart from the Southern Ocean in the south. “ On either side of India, we 昀椀nd two parts of the Indian Ocean — the Arabian Sea to the west and the Bay of Bengal to the east. Fig. 2.4 (on the right). This map of India is the same as Fig. 1.6, but with the addition of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Also marked are India’s two major groups of islands (see subsection on ‘Islands’ further below). Oceans and disasters Returning to the picture of the Earth at the start of this chapter, you may have noticed white shapes across the globe. Did you guess what they are? They are large masses of clouds. Such clouds bring rain to the continents; for instance, the monsoon rains we in India expect every summer originate in the ocean — without such rains, our agriculture and all life will su昀昀er. But oceans often also give rise to storms — violent events with extreme 2 – Oceans and Continents rainfall or very strong winds, such as cyclones, which can cause widespread damage to coastal regions of the world. A tsunami is another natural disaster that originates in the ocean. It is a huge and powerful wave generally caused by a strong earthquake or a volcanic eruption at the bottom of the ocean. Tsunamis can travel thousands of kilometres and submerge coastal areas, causing widespread damage. 33  DON’T MISS OUT “ On 26 December 2004, India and another 13 countries around the Indian Ocean were struck by a powerful tsunami caused by an earthquake in Indonesia. More than two lakh people lost their lives. In India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (see Fig. 2.4 above, and also the subsection ‘Islands’ further below) and the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala were severely a昀昀ected and su昀昀ered much damage and loss of life. “ Such tsunamis are rare but very destructive. Luckily, they can often be detected before they hit a coast. Many countries collaborate in such ‘early warning systems’. There is, in particular, an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System, to which many countries, including India, contribute. This helps to take measures to protect lives and property. “ Events that lead to loss of life and property are handled under disaster management. India has its own ‘National Disaster Management Authority’ to deal with all kinds of disasters (we will see more examples in the next chapter). Continents Continents are visible on the map of oceans (Fig. 2.3). How many can you count? The answer is not so simple, as they India and the World: Land and the People can be counted in several ways. Depending on our choice, Exploring Society: India and Beyond we may list any number of continents between four and seven! Here is why: ƒ North America and South America are generally considered to be two continents; but if seen as a single landmass, they can also be considered as one. ƒ Europe and Asia are generally considered as two continents, although the map makes it clear that they form a single landmass. For historical and cultural 34 reasons, Europe’s evolution has been very di昀昀erent  from Asia’s, which is why they can be seen as two continents. Geologists, however, often regard them as a single continent called ‘Eurasia’. ƒ Africa and Eurasia are generally regarded as two continents, but sometimes as one. Let us summarise the di昀昀erent counts in a table: Count of continents (in alphabetical order) Four continents Africa-Eurasia, America, Antarctica, Australia Five continents Africa, America, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia Six continents Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia, North America, South America (this is re昀氀ected in Fig. 2.3 on page 32) Seven continents Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Euro