Bhagya – Jharkhand Board Solution

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 3 Mineral and Power Resources

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 3 Mineral and Power Resources

→ A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that has a definite chemical composition.

Minerals are not evenly distributed over the areas. They are concentrated in a particular area or rock formations.
Some minerals are found in regions which are not easily accessible such as the Arctic ocean bed and Antarctica.
Minerals are created by natural processes without any human interference. On the basis of their physical properties such as colour, density, hardness and chemical property such as solubility, they are classified and identified.

→ Types of Minerals:

On earth, there are over three thousand different minerals.
On the basis of composition, minerals are categorised as:
- Metallic minerals
- non-metallic minerals.
Metals in raw form are present in metallic minerals.
The hard substances that conduct heat and electricity and have a characteristic lustre or shine are known as metals. Iron ore, bauxite, manganese ore are some examples.

→ Metallic minerals are of two types:

Ferrous minerals are such as iron ore, manganese and chromites contain iron.
A non-ferrous mineral does not contain iron but may contain some other metal such as gold, silver, copper or lead.

→ Non-metallic minerals do not contain metals.

Limestone, mica and gypsum are non- metallic minerals.
The mineral fuels like coal and petroleum are also non-metallic minerals.
Minerals can be extracted by mining, drilling or quarrying.
Mining is the process of taking out minerals from rocks buried under the earth’s surface.

→ Mining is categorised into two:

Open cast mining
Shaft mining

→ In open-cast mining, minerals that lie at shallow depths are taken out by removing the surface layer.

In shaft mining, deep bores known as shafts, have to be made to reach mineral deposits that lie at great depths.
Petroleum and natural gas occur deep below the earth’s surface. Drilling is done to take them out and deep wells are bored.
Quarrying is the method in which minerals that lie near the surface are simply dug out.

→ Distribution of Minerals:

Metallic minerals are found in igneous and metamorphic rock formations that form large plateaus.
Iron-ore in north Sweden, copper and nickel deposits in Ontario, Canada, iron, nickel, chromites and platinum in South Africa are some of the examples of minerals found in these rocks.
Non-metallic minerals are found in sedimentary rock formations of plains and young fold mountains contain such as limestone.
Limestone deposits of Caucasus region of France, manganese deposits of Georgia and Ukraine and phosphate beds of Algeria are some examples. Coal and petroleum, the mineral fuels are also found in the sedimentary strata.

→ Asia:

China and India have large iron ore deposits. The continent produces more than half of the world’s tin.
The world’s leading tin producers are China, Malaysia and Indonesia.
China is in the leading position in production of lead, antimony and tungsten.
Asia also has deposits of manganese, bauxite, nickel, zinc and copper.

→ Europe:

Europe is the leading producer of iron-ore in the world.
Russia, Ukraine, Sweden and France have the large deposits of iron ore.
In eastern Europe and European Russia, minerals found are copper, lead, zinc, manganese and nickel.

→ North America:

The mineral deposits are situated in three zones:
- the Canadian region north of the Great Lakes,
- the Appalachian region and
- the mountain ranges of the west.
In the Canadian Shield Region, iron ore, nickel, gold, uranium and copper are found.
In the Appalachians region, coal is found.
In Western Cordilleras, vast deposits of copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver are found.

→ South America:

The largest producer of high grade iron-ore in the world is Brazil.
The leading producers of copper are Chile and Peru.
Among the world’s largest producers of tin are Brazil and Bolivia.
In Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Columbia, mineral oil is found.

→ Africa:

The world’s largest producer of diamonds, gold and platinum is Africa.
A major portion of the world’s gold is produced by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zaire.
Copper, iron ore, chromium, uranium, cobalt and bauxite are found here.
In Nigeria, Libya and Angola, oil is found.

→ Australia:

The largest producer of bauxite in the world is Australia.
The largest deposits of gold is found in Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie areas of western Australia.
It is a leading producer of gold, diamond, iron ore, tin and nickel.

→ Antarctica:

Iron ore, gold, silver and oil are present in commercial quantities.
Sufficient and significant amount of deposits of coal in the Transantarctic Mountains and iron near the Prince Charles Mountains of East Antarctica is predicted.

→ Uses of Minerals:

Minerals are used in many industries in different forms.
Minerals which are used for gems and jewellery are usually hard. These are later processed.
Copper is used in almost everything from coins to pipes.
Silicon is used in the computer industry and is obtained from quartz.
Aluminum obtained from its ore.
In automobiles, airplanes, bottling industry, buildings and even in kitchen cookware, bauxite is used.

→ Conservation of Minerals:

Minerals are a non-renewable resource.
In the process of mining, it is necessary to reduce the wastage.
Another way in which the mineral resources can be conserved is recycling of metals.

→ Power Resources:

We need power or energy for industry, agriculture, transport, communication and defense.
Power resources may be broadly categorised as:
- conventional resources
- non-conventional resources.

→ Conventional Sources:

Those energy which have been in common use for a long time are known as the conventional energy.
The two main conventional energy sources are:
- Firewood
- Fossil fuels

→ Firewood:

More than fifty per cent of the energy used by villagers comes from firewood in our country.
It is mainly used for cooking and heating.

→ Fossil Fuel:

Fossil fuels are the fuel which are formed by the natural processes.
For millions of years, remains of plants and animals which were buried under the earth got converted by the heat and pressure into fossil fuels.
Fossil fuel such as coal, petroleum and natural gas are the main sources of conventional energy.

→ Coal:

Electricity from coal is known as thermal power.
Coal is also known as Buried Sunshine because the coal which we are using today was formed millions of years ago when giant ferns and swamps got buried under the layers of earth.
In India, the coal producing areas are Raniganj, Jharia, Dhanbad and Bokaro in Jharkhand.
The leading coal producers of the world are China, USA, Germany, Russia, South Africa and France.

→ Petroleum:

A thick black liquid is known as Petroleum. Since they are very valuable, petroleum and its derivatives are called Black Gold.
Petroleum is found between the layers of rocks and is drilled from oil fields which is located in off-shore and coastal areas. Then sent to refineries which process the crude oil and produce a variety of products such as diesel, petrol, kerosene, wax, plastics and lubricants.
The chief petroleum producing countries are Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The leading producers in India are Digboi in Assam, Bombay High in Mumbai and the deltas of Krishna and Godavari rivers.

→ Natural Gas:

Natural gas is found with petroleum deposits and is released when crude oil is brought to the surface. Very few countries in the world have sufficient amount of natural gas reserves of their own.
Russia, Norway, UK and the Netherlands are the major producers of natural gas. In India, Jaisalmer, Krishna Godavari delta, Tripura and some areas off shore in Mumbai have natural gas resources.
The consumption of fossil fuels has increased which led to their depletion at an alarming rate. The toxic and poisonous pollutants released from burning these fuels are major cause for concern.

→ Hydel Power:

Rainwater or river water stored in dams produce electricity by a specific method. This electricity is known as Hydro electricity.
The water discharged after the generation of electricity is used for irrigation. The world’s electricity is produced by hydel power is one fourth.
Paraguay, Norway, Brazil, and China are the leading producers of hydroelectricity.
In India, some important hydel power stations are Bhakra Nangal, Gandhi Sagar, Nagarjun Sagar and Damodar valley projects.

→ Non-Conventional Sources of Energy:
There is need for using non-conventional sources such as solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy which are renewable because the increasing use of fossil fuels is leading to its shortage.

→ Solar Energy:

Solar energy trapped from the sun can be used in solar cells to produce electricity. Many of these cells are joined into solar panels to generate power for heating and lighting purpose.
Solar energy is also used in solar heaters, solar cookers, solar dryers and traffic signals.

→ Wind Energy:

Wind mills have been used for grinding grain and lifting water since ancient times. In modem time, the wind mills with high speed winds rotate the wind mill which is connected to a generator to produce electricity.
Windfarms are found in Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, UK, USA and Spain which are known for their wind energy production.

→ Nuclear Power:

Nuclear power is obtained from energy stored in the nuclei of atoms of naturally occurring radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium.
Rajasthan and Jharkhand have large deposits of Uranium. Thorium is found in large quantities in the Monozite sands of Kerala.
In India, the nuclear power stations are situated in Kalpakkam in Tamilnadu, Tarapur in Maharashtra, Ranapratap Sagar near Kota in Rajasthan, Narora in Uttar Pradesh and Kaiga in Karnataka.

→ Geothermal Energy:

Geothermal energy is the heat energy which is obtained from the earth. This heat energy can be used to generate power.
USA has the world’s largest geothermal power plants followed by New Zealand, Iceland, Philippines and Central America. In India, geothermal plants are situated in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley in Ladakh.

→ Tidal Energy:

Tidal energy is the energy generated from tides.
Electricity is produced during high tide the energy of the tides is used to turn the turbine installed in the dam.
Russia, France and the Gulf of Kachchh in India have huge tidal mill farms.

→ Biogas:

Biogas is a gaseous fuel made of organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung and kitchen waste. These wastes are converted into the gaseous fuel.
The organic waste is decomposed by bacteria in biogas digesters to emit biogas which is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 4 Air

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 4 Air

→ Earth is surrounded by a huge layer of air known as atmosphere.

On the earth all the living creatures depend on the atmosphere for their survival.
With the absence of this layer of protection, we would have been baked by the scorching heat of the sun at daytime and frozen at night time. Hence, the temperature of the earth is liveable due to this layer of air.

→ Composition of the Atmosphere:

The two main gases which make the most of the atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen. Carbon dioxide, helium, ozone, argon and hydrogen are found in less quantities.
Tiny and minute dust particles are also present in the atmosphere apart from these gases.
We take some amount of nitrogen when we inhale into our lungs and exhale it.
Plants take nitrogen from soil and roots of the plant which is brought by the bacterias and change its form so that plants can use it as they cannot take nitrogen directly.
The second most abundant gas found is the oxygen. Green plants produces oxygen during photosynthesis and humans and animals use oxygen to breathe.
The balance gets disturbed if we cut down the forests in large numbers.
The other important gas is carbon dioxide. Plants use carbon dioxide to make their food and release oxygen. Humans and animals release carbon dioxide.
The balance gets disturbed by burning of fuels like oils, coal. Hence, the earth’s climate and weather gets affected by the increased volume of carbon dioxide.

→ Structure of the Atmosphere:

Starting from the earth’s surface, the atmosphere has been divided into five layers – Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere and Exosphere.
Troposphere – Themost important layer of the atmosphere is Troposphere and its average height is 13 km. The air we breathe exists here. Most of the weather incidences such as rainfall, fog and hailstorm occur in this layer.
Stratosphere – Stratosphere lies above the troposphere and it extends up to a height of 50 km. This layer is almost free from clouds and related weather incidences are making ideal conditions for flying aeroplanes. One of the important features is that it contains a layer of ozone gas.
Mesosphere – The third layer of the atmosphere is mesosphere. Above the stratosphere it is situated and extends up to the height of 80 km. On entering from the space, meteorites bum up in this layer.
Thermosphere – Temperature rises very rapidly and fast with increasing height in thermosphere.
Ionosphere is a part of this layer and it extends between 80^100 km. Radio transmission happens in this layer. In fact, radio waves transmitted from the earth are reflected back to the earth by this layer.
Exosphere- It is the upper most layer of the atmosphere. It has very thin air. Light gases are present such as helium and hydrogen float into the space from here.

→ Weather and Climate:
Weather is the hour-to-hour, day to day condition of the atmosphere. But, the average weather condition or phenomena of a place for a longer period of time is called as the climate of a place.

→ Temperature:

The degree or level of hotness and coldness of the air is called as the temperature.
The atmosphere’s temperature changes not only between day and night but also from season to season as well.
The incoming solar energy intercepted by the earth is called the insolation. It is one of the important factors that influence the distribution of temperature.
Towards the poles, the amount of insolation decreases from the equator hence the temperature also decreases.
Temperature in cities is much higher than that of villages because of the concrete and metals in buildings and the asphalt of roads get heated up during the day and this is released during the night.

→ Air Pressure

From all directions, the air presses us and our body exerts a counter pressure.
The pressure exerted by the weight of air on the earth’s surface is called the air pressure. It is highest at sea level and decreases with height.
Low pressure is related to cloudy skies and wet weather. A low-pressure is created in areas where temperature is high and the air gets heated and rises.
High pressure is related to clear and sunny skies. Heavy air sinks and creates a high pressure area and the air always moves from high pressure areas to low pressure areas.

→ Wind

Wind is the movement of air from high pressure area to low pressure areas.
It is divided into three parts:
- Permanent winds
- Seasonal winds
- Local winds
Permanent winds are the trade winds, westerlies and easterlies. They blow constantly throughout the year in a particular direction.
Seasonal winds are the winds which change their direction in different seasons such as monsoons in India.
Local winds are the winds which blow only during a particular period of the day or year in a small area such as land and sea breeze. The hot and dry local wind of northern planes of India is called loo.

→ Moisture

We know that when water evaporates from land and different water bodies, it becomes water vapour. Humidity is the moisture in the air at any time. When the air is full of water vapour then it is called as a humid day.
Clouds are just masses of water droplets. The water vapour condenses which cause the formation of these droplets of water.
Precipitation happens when these droplets of water become too heavy to float in air and then they come down.
Rain is the precipitation that comes down to the earth in liquid form.
The three types of rainfall are the convectional rainfall, the orographic rainfall and the cyclonic rainfall.
For the survival of plants and animals, rainfall is very important as it brings fresh water to the earth’s surface. If rainfall is less then water scarcity and drought occur and if it is more, then floods take place.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 6 Towns, Traders and Craftspersons

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 6 Towns, Traders and Craftspersons

→ In medieval period, many towns combined several functions such as there were temple towns, administrative centres, also centres for commercial activities and craft production.

→ Administrative Centres:

The capital of Cholas, Thanjavur, and near to it the river Kaveri flows emerged as a temple town as well as an administrative centre.
There were palaces with mandapas or pavilions where the kings hold court in these mandapas, issuing orders to their subordinates. There were also barracks for the army, besides the temple. Temples were built to show their devotion and power.
The towns were bustling with different markets. At Svamimalai, the sthapatis or sculptors were making exquisite bronze idols and tall, ornamental bell metal lamps. The Saliya weavers of Thanjavur and the nearby town of Uraiyur were busy producing cloth for king, masses and temples.

→ Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centres

Temple towns represent a major role in urbanisation, the process by which cities develop. Temples were often central part to the economy and society. Thanjavur is an example of temple.
Rulers gifted and provided temples with grants of land and money to carry out elaborate rituals, feed pilgrims and priests and celebrate festivals. Pilgrims also made donations.
It provides an excellent instance of religious coexistence. Ajmer was the capital of the Chauhan kings in the twelfth century and under the Mughals it became the suba headquarters.
Some of the temple towns are Bhillasvamin (Bhilsa or Vidisha) in Madhya Pradesh, Somnath in Gujarat, Kanchipuram and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Pilgrimage centres also slowly developed into townships such as Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu.

→ A Network of Small-Towns

Eighth century onwards, from large villages, small towns emerged. They had a mandapika (or mandi of later times) to which from nearby villagers brought their produce to sell. They also had hatta (haat of later times) means market streets lined with shops.
In later times, a samanta or a zamindar built a fortified palace in or near these towns. They levied taxes on traders, artisans and articles of trade.

→ Traders Big and Small

Many types of traders were there. They usually travelled in caravans and to protect their interests they formed guild.
Eighth century onwards, there were such type of guilds in south India, some of the famous were Manigramam and Nanadesi.
There were some communities who went on to become the principal trading groups of the country like the Chettiars and the Marwari Oswal. Gujarati traders include Hindu Baniyas and Muslim Bohras traded extensively with the ports of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Southeast Asia and China.
Spices grown in tropical climates such as pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried ginger, etc., became an important part of European cooking and cotton cloth was very attractive. These things eventually drew European traders to India.

→ Crafts in Towns:

The decorated and inlay work in copper and silver came to called as Bidri. Bidar’s craftspersons were famous for it.
The Panchalas or Vishwakarma community which consists of goldsmiths, bronzesmiths, blacksmiths, masons and carpenters were veiy important people. They played an important role in the construction of palaces, big buildings, tanks and reservoirs.
In the same manner, weavers such as the Saliyar or Kaikkolars emerged as prosperous and important communities making donations to temples.

→ A Closer Look: Hampi, Masulipatnam and Surat The Architectural Splendour of Hampi

In 1336, Hampi was founded by the Vijayanagara Empire. Hampi was located in the Krishna-Tungabhadra basin. The glorious detritus at Hampi reveal a well- fortified city. In the construction of the walls, no mortar or cementing agent was used and the technique followed was to wedge them together by interlocking.
The architecture of Hampi was extra-ordinary. The buildings in the royal areas had splendid arches, domes and pillared halls with niches for holding sculptures as well as they had well-planned orchards and pleasure gardens with sculptural motifs such as the lotus and corbels.
In the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, Hampi bustled with commercial and cultural activities.
Temples were the hub of cultural activities and devadasis (temple dancers) performed before the deity, royalty and masses in the many-pillared halls in the Virupaksha (a form of Shiva) temple. One of the most important festival of Hampi was Mahanavami.
In 1565, Hampi fell into ruin following the defeat of Vijayanagara by the Deccani Sultans — the rulers of Golconda, Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar and Bidar.

→ A Gateway to the West: Surat

Many pilgrim ships set sail from Surat, hence it was known as the Gate to Mecca. It was also the gateway for trade with West Asia via the Gulf of Ormuz.
People of all castes and creeds lived in Surat hence, it was a cosmopolitan city.
Surat was famous for its textiles with their gold lace borders (zari) and had a market in West Asia, Europe and Africa.
Surat hundis were honoured and recognised in the far-off markets of Cairo in Egypt, Basra in Iraq and Antwerp in Belgium.
Towards the end of the seventeenth century, the trade in Surat began to decline because of the loss of markets and productivity and other factors.

→ Fishingin Troubled Waters: Masulipatnam

In seventeenth century, the town Masulipatnam or Machlipatnam was a centre of intense activity. It lay on the delta of Krishna river.
It became the most important port on the Andhra coast as the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to control Masulipatnam.
The Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda enforced royal monopolies on the sale of textiles, spices and other items to prevent the trade passing completely into the hands of the various East India Companies. This led to fierce competition among various trading groups—the Golconda nobles, Persian merchants, Telugu Komati Chettis, and European traders which made the city prosperous and populous.
The European companies started to look for alternatives. They moved to other .cities such as Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and hence, Masulipatnam lost both its merchants and prosperity and declined in the course of the eighteenth century.

→ New Towns and Traders

In order to expand the commercial activities in the east, the English, Dutch and French formed East India Companies.
The English emerged as the most successful commercial and political power in the subcontinent, since the European Companies used their naval power to gain control of the sea trade and forced Indian traders to work as their agents.
This period also saw the decline of the independence of craftspersons because now they had to weave cloth which was already promised to European agents.
In eighteenth century, Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Madras (now Chennai) became the important cities.
The “blacks” or native traders and craftspersons were moved into the Black Towns established by the European companies within these new cities.
The “white” rulers occupied the superior residencies of Fort St George in Madras or Fort St William in Calcutta.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

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JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 5 Water

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 5 Water

→ The heat of sun causes evaporation of water vapour and when it cools down, it condenses and forms clouds. Then it may fall on the land or sea in the form of rain, snow or sleet.

Water cycle is the process by which water continually changes its form and circulates between oceans and seas, atmosphere and land.
Our earth is like a terrarium. The water which existed centuries ago still exists today.
The fresh water majorly comes from the rivers, ponds, springs and glaciers. The ocean bodies and the seas contains salty or saline water as it contains huge amount of dissolved salts. Most of the salt is of sodium chloride.

→ Distribution of Water bodies:
Three-fourth of the earth surface is covered by water. The following table gives the distribution of water in percentage:

Saline water	Oceans	97.3
Fresh water	Ground water	0.68
	Ice caps	2.0
	Fresh water lakes and Inland seas	0.009
	Salt lakes	0.009
	Atmosphere	0.0019
	Rivers	0.0001
	Total	100.00

→ Ocean Circulation:
In oceans, the movements that occur can be categorised as waves, tides and currents.

→ Waves:

Waves occurs when the water on the surface of the ocean rises and falls alternately.
The winds blows at a very high speed forms huge waves during a storm and causes destruction in an enormous way. An earthquake, a volcanic eruption or underwater landslides may shift large amounts of ocean water. The huge tidal wave is known as tsunami which may be as high as 15 m.
The largest tsunami ever measured was as high as 150 m. and travels at a speed of more than 700 km. per hour.

→ Tides:

A tide is the periodic, regular rise and fall of ocean water twice in a day.
When water covers much of the shore by rising to its highest level then it is high tide. When water falls to its lowest level and recedes from the shore then it is low tide.
On the earth’s surface, the strong gravitational pull exerted by the sun and the moon causes the tides.
When the sun, the moon and the earth are in the same line during the full moon and new moon days then the tides are highest. These type of tides are known as spring tides.
The ocean waters get drawn in diagonally opposite directions by the gravitational pull of sun and earth resulting in low tides when the moon is in its first and last quarter. These type of tides are known as neap tides.
High tides helps in navigation, fishing and to generate electricity in some areas.

→ Ocean Currents:

Streams of water which flows constantly on the ocean surface in definite directions is known as ocean currents. The ocean currents may be warm or cold.
The warm ocean currents emerge near the equator and move towards the poles. The cold ocean currents carry water from polar or higher latitudes to tropical or lower latitudes.
These currents influence the temperature conditions of the area. The Labrador Ocean current is cold current while the Gulf Stream is a warm current.
The areas where a warm and cold current is present, they experience the foggy weather which makes navigation difficult but provides the best fishing grounds.
Types of tides in sea or ocean are flood tide and ebb tide. Flood tide are the rise of sea level and the fall in sea level is called the ebb tide.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 6 Natural Vegetation and Wild Life

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 6 Natural Vegetation and Wild Life

→ As their is change in height, the climate also changes and that changes the natural vegetation. The growth of vegetation depends on temperature and moisture. It also depends on factors like slope and thickness of soil.

From place to place, the type and thickness of natural vegetation varies.
Natural vegetation is classified in to three broad categories:
Forests: Grows where temperature and rainfall are plentiful to support a tree cover. Depending upon all these factors, dense and open forests grown.
Grasslands: Grows in the region of moderate rain.
Shrubs: Thorny shrurbs and scrubs grows in the dry region.
Due to the changes of climatic condition occurs mainly because of the type of natural vegetation.

→ Forests:

Tropical Evergreen Forests
These forests are also known as tropical rainforests. These thick forests are found mainly in the regions- near the equator and close to the tropics. These regions are hot and receive heavy rainfall throughout the year and no particular dry season, thus the trees do not shed their leaves altogether. Hence, they are called evergreen.
Rosewood, ebony, mahogany are common trees are also known as hardwood trees.

→ Tropical Deciduous Forests

These are the monsoon forests which are found in the large part of India, northern Australia and in central America. These regions experience seasonal changes and trees shed their leaves in the dry season to conserve water.
The trees found in these forests are sal, teak, neem and s his ham. These are extremely useful for making furniture, transport and constructional materials.
The common animals of these regions are tigers, lions, elephants, langoors and monkeys.

→ Temperate Evergreen Forests

These forests are located in the mid latitudinal coastal region.
They are found along the eastern margin of the continents, e.g., in southeast USA, South China and in South East Brazil.
Trees found are oak, pine, eucalyptus, etc. which are both hard and soft wood trees.

→ Temperate Deciduous Forests

These are found in the north eastern part of USA, China, New Zealand, Chile and in the coastal regions of Western Europe,
They shed their leaves in the dry season.
The trees found are oak, ash, beech, etc.
The animals found are deer, foxes, wolves.
Birds like pheasants, monals are found here.

→ Mediterranean Vegetation

The west and south west margins of the continents are different. They have Mediterranean vegetation.
It is found in the areas around the Mediterranean sea in Europe, Africa and Asia.
This kind of vegetation is also found outside the actual Mediterranean region in California in the USA, south west Africa, South America and South west Australia.
These regions are having hot dry summers and mild rainy winters.
Oranges, figs, olives and grapes are citrus fruits which are cultivated here because people have removed the natural vegetation in order to cultivate what they wish to.
Wildlife is not present here that much.

→ Coniferous Forests

The important variety of trees in these forests are Chir, pine, cedar.
Trees are tall, softwood evergreen trees.
These woods are very useful for making pulp, which is used for manufacturing paper and newsprint.
Match boxes and packing boxes are also made from softwood.

→ Grasslands
Two types of grasslands:

Tropical and
Temperate Grasslands.

→ Tropical Grasslands

These grow on either side of the equator and extend till the tropics.
This vegetation grows in the areas of moderate to low amount of rainfall.
These can grow very tall, about 3 to 4 metres in height.
Savannah grasslands of Africa are of this type.
In tropical grasslands, animals found are elephants, zebras, giraffes, deer, leopards.

→ Temperate Grasslands

These are found in the midlatitudinal zones and in the interior part of the continents.
Grass is short and nutritious.
In the temperate region, the animals which are found are wild buffaloes, bisons, antilopes.

→ Thorny Bushes

These are found in the dry desert such as tropical deserts which are located in the western margins of the continents.
The vegetation cover is scarce here because of scanty rain and scorching heat.

→ Tundra Vegetation

The polar region is extremely cold.
The growth of natural vegetation is very limited here.
Only mosses, lichens and very small shrubs are found here.
It grows during the very short summer. These are known as Tundra type of vegetation.
They are found in the polar areas of Europe, Asia and North America.
The animals have thick fur and skin to protect themselves from the cold climatic conditions. Some of the animals are seal, walruses, musk-oxen, Arctic owl, Polar bear and snow foxes.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Devotional Paths to the Divine

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Devotional Paths to the Divine

→ From the eighth century, various kinds of Bhakti and Sufi movements have evolved.

→ The Idea of a Supreme God

There was a belief that social privileges came from birth in a ‘noble’ family or a ‘high’ caste was the subject of many learned texts.
Most of the people were not comfortable with such ideas and turned to the teachings of the Buddha or the Jainas.
Rest of others felt attracted to the idea of a Supreme God who could deliver humans from such bondage if approached with full devotion or bhakti. This idea was advocated in the Bhagavadgita, which grew in popularity in the early centuries of the Common Era.
Hence, Shiva, Vishnu and Durga were worshipped as supreme deities which came through elaborate rituals.
The Puranas also laid down the fact that it was possible for devotees to receive the grace of God regardless of their caste status.
The idea of bhakti became so popular that even Buddhists and Jainas adopted these beliefs.

→ A New Kind of Bhakti in South India – Nayanars and Alvars

From the seventh to ninth centuries, they saw the emergence of new religious movements
led by the Nayanars (those were the saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (those were the saints devoted to Vishnu) who came from all castes including those considered as ‘untouchable’ such as the Pulaiyar and the Panars.
They strongly criticized the Buddhists and Jainas and preached avid love of Shiva or Vishnu as the path to salvation.
In the Sangam literature, the ideals of love and heroism are found. It is the earliest example of Tamil literature, composed during the early centuries of the Common Era and blended them with the values of bhakti.
In between the tenth and twelfth centuries, the Chola and Pandya-kings built elaborate temples. This was also the time when their poems were compiled. Apart from this, hagiographies or religious biographies of the Alvars and Nayanars were also composed.

→ Philosophy and Bhakti

In the eighth century, Shankara, one of the most influential philosophers of India, was born in Kerala and was an advocate of Advaita or the doctrine of the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme God which is the Ultimate Reality. He preached renunciation of the world and adoption of the path of knowledge to understand the actual nature of Brahman and attain salvation.
In the eleventh century, Ramanuja was born in Tamil Nadu and deeply influenced by the Alvars. According to him, through intense devotion to Vishnu one can attain the salvation. He introduced the doctrine of Vishishtadvaita or qualified oneness in that the soul even when united with the Supreme God remained distinct.

→ Basavanna’s Virashaivism:

In the mid-twelfth century, the Virashaiva movement was initiated by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi. This movement began in Karnataka.
They were strongly supportive for the equality of all human beings and against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women and also against all forms of ritual and idol worship.

→ The Saints of Maharashtra

From the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries, Maharashtra saw many saint-poets. The most important amongst them were Dnyaneshwar (Gyaneshwar), Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram as well as women like Sakkubai and the family of Chokhamela, who belonged to the ‘untouchable’ Mahar caste.
These saint-poets rejected all forms of rituals. In fact, they even rejected the idea of renunciation and preferred to live with their families and earning their livelihood like any other person.
As the famous Gujarati saint Narsi Mehta said, “They are Vaishnavas who understand the pain of others.”
Hence, a new humanist idea emerged as they insisted that bhakti lay in sharing others’ pain.
Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis
The Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas and Yogis were from the religious groups that emerged
during this period and criticised the ritual and other aspects of conventional religion and the social order. They advocated renunciation of the world. For them meditation was the path to salvation.
They advocated intense training of the mind and body through practices likeyogasanas, breathing exercises and meditation. These groups became popular among the Tow’ castes.

→ Islam and Sufism:

Sufis rejected outward religiosity and emphasized on love and devotion to God and they were Muslim mystics.
Islam generated strict monotheism or submission to one God. It also rejected idol worship.
Shariat was a holy law developed by Muslim scholars. The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim religious scholars.
The Sufis too like saint poets composed poems expressing their feelings and a rich literature in prose, including anecdotes and fables, developed around them.
The great Sufis of Central Asia were Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi.
They developed a detailed method of training using zikr means chanting of a name or sacred formula, contemplation, sama means singing, raqs means dancing, discussion of parables, breath control, etc., under the guidance of a master or pir. Thus, they emerged the silsilas means a genealogy of Sufi teachers, each following a slightly different method (tariqa) of instruction and ritual practice.
The most influential orders were the Chishti silsila among them. Many teachers were there such as Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Bandanawa Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.
The assemblies of the Sufi masters held in their khanqahs or hospices.
The tomb or dargah of a Sufi saint became a place of pilgrimage to which thousands of people of all faiths thronged and worshipped.

→ New Religious Developments in North India

In north India, after the thirteenth century, there was a new swing in the bhakti movement. This was the period when Islam, Brahmanical Hinduism, Sufism, various strands of bhakti, and the Nathpanths, Siddhas and Yogis influenced and transformed each other.
Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak rejected all conservative and devout religions. Others like Tulsidas and Surdas accepted existing beliefs and practices but wanted to make these attainable to all. Tulsidas’s composition, the Ramcharitmanas is written in Awadhi (a language used in eastern Uttar Pradesh), is important both as an expression of his devotion for Rama and as a literary work.
Surdas was an avid devotee of Krishna. The Sursagara, Surasaravali and Sahitya Lahari are his composition which express his devotion.
In late fifteenth century, Shankaradeva of Assam focused on devotion to Vishnu and composed poems and plays in Assamese. He made namghars or houses of recitation and prayer, a practice which continues till date.
There were some more important saints like Dadu Dayal, Ravidas and Mirabai.
In the sixteenth century, Mirabai who was a Rajput princess married into the royal family of Mewar. She became a disciple of Ravidas, a saint from a caste considered ‘untouchable’.
Most of the saints works were composed in regional languages and could be sung. They became immensely popular and were handed down orally from generation to generation.

→ A Closer Look: Kabir

Kabir was one of the most influential saint in the fifteenth-sixteenth century. We get to know of Kabir’s ideas from a huge collection of verses called sakhis and pads said to have been composed by him and sung by wandering bhajan singers. They were later collected and preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib, Panch Vani and Bijak.
His teachings were based on the rejection of the major religious traditions. The language of his poetry was understood by ordinary people as it was a form of spoken Hindi.
He believed in a formless Supreme God and advised that the only path to salvation was through bhakti or devotion.

→ A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak (1469-1539) bom at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib in * Pakistan) and he travelled widely before establishing a centre at Kartarpur known as Dera Baba Nanak on the river Ravi.
Whatever the caste, creed or gender is, his followers ate together in the common kitchen known as langar. Thus, the sacred space created by Gum Nanak was known as Dharamsala. Now it is called as Gurdwara.
Gum Angad who was appointed by Gum Nanak as his successor, compiled the compositions of Gum Nanak, and he added his own composition in a new script known as Gurmukhi.
In 1605, Gum Arjan compiled all the compositions under the name of ‘Nanak’. Other people’s writings were added to the compilation such as Shaikh Farid, Sant Kabir, Bhagat Namdev and Guru Tegh Bahadur. In 1706, this compilation was authenticated and approved by his son and successor, Gum Gobind Singh. Now, its known as Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.
By the starting of the seventeenth century, the town of Ramdaspur now Amritsar had developed around the central Gurdwara called Harmandar Sahib which is known as Golden Temple.
The Khalsa Panth is the community of the Sikhs which became a political entity. It was started by Gum Gobind Singh in 1699.
The ideas of Gum Nanak had a huge impact on the development of the Sikh movement from the very beginning. He emphasized the importance of the worship of one God. He used the terms nam, dan and isnan for the essence of his teaching, which actually meant right worship, welfare of others and purity of conduct.
Now his teachings are remembered as nam- japna, kirt-karna and vand-chhakna, which also mention the importance of right belief and worship, honest living, and helping others.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 8 Confronting Marginalisation

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 8 Confronting Marginalisation

→ Religious solace, armed struggle, self improvement and education, economic uplift – there appears to be no one way of doing things. Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, women and other marginal groups argue that simply by being citizens of a democratic country, they possess equal rights that must be respected.

→ Invoking Fundamental Rights:

The marginalised have drawn on the rights in two ways: first, by insisting on their Fundamental Rights, they have forced the government to recognise the injustice done to them. Second, they have insisted that the government enforce these laws.
In some instances, the struggles of the marginalised have influenced the government to frame new laws in keeping with the spirit of the Fundamental Rights.
Article 17 of the Constitution states that untouchability has been abolished, this means that no one can henceforth prevent Dalits from educating themselves, entering temples, using public facilities, etc.
Untouchability is a punishable crime now.
Article 15 of the Constitution notes that no citizen of India shall be discriminated
against on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. This has been used by Dalits to seek equality where it has been denied to them.
Dalits can ‘invoke’ or ‘draw on’ a Fundamental Right (or Rights) in situations where they feel that they have been treated badly by some individual or community or even by the government.
By granting different forms of cultural rights, the Constitution tries to ensure cultural justice to such groups.
The Constitution does this so that the culture of these groups is not dominated nor wiped out by the culture of the majority community.

→ Laws for the Marginalised:

There are specific laws and policies for the marginalised in our country.
There are policies or schemes that emerge through other means like setting up a committee or by undertaking a survey, etc.

→ Promoting Social Justice:

As part of their effort to implement the Constitution, both state and central governments create specific schemes for implementation in tribal areas or in areas that have a high Dalit population.
One such law/policy is the reservation policy that today is both significant and highly contentious.
The laws which reserve seats in education and government employment for Dalits and Adivasis are based on an important argument.
Governments across India have their own list of Scheduled Castes (or Dalits), Scheduled Tribes and backward and most backward castes. The central government too has its list.
Students applying to educational institutions and those applying for posts in government are expected to furnish proof of their caste or tribe status, in the form of caste and tribe certificates.

→ Protecting the Rights of Dalits and Adivasis
In addition to policies our country also has specific law’s that guard against the discrimination and exploitation of marginalised communities.

→ The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

In order to indicate to the government that untouchability was still being practised and in the most hideous manner, Dalit groups demanded new laws that would list the various sorts of violence against dalits and prescribe stringent punishment for those who indulge in them.
The Act contains a very long list of crimes some of which are too horrible even to contemplate.
The Act does not only describe terrible crimes but also lets people know what dreadful deeds human beings are capable of.
The Act distinguishes several levels of crimes. Firstly, it lists modes of humiliation that are both physically horrific and morally reprehensible and seeks to punish.
Secondly, it lists actions that dispossess Dalits and Adivasis of their meagre resources or which force them into performing slave labour.
At another level, the Act recognises that crimes against Dalit and tribal women are of a specific kind and, therefore, seeks to penalise anyone who assaults or uses force on any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour her.

→ Adivasi Demands and the 1989 Act:

The 1989 Act is important for another reason – Adivasi activists refer to it to defend their right to occupy land that was traditionally theirs.
Activists have asked that those who have forcibly encroached upon tribal lands should be punished under this law.
C.K. Janu, an Adivasi activist, has also pointed out that one of the violators of Constitutional rights guaranteed to tribal people are governments in the various states of India.
She has also noted that in cases where tribals have already been evicted and cannot go back to their lands, they must be compensated.

→ Conclusion:

The existence of a right or a law or even a policy on paper does not mean that it exists in reality.
People have had to constantly work on or make efforts to translate these into principles that guide the actions of their fellow citizens or even their leaders.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

→ Society was divided according to the rules of varna in most parts of the subcontinent. These rules were prescribed by the Brahmanas and were accepted by the rulers of large kingdoms. The difference between the rich and poor increased.

→ Beyond Big Cities: Tribal Societies

There were other kinds of societies present as well in the subcontinent who did not follow the social rules and rituals dictated by the Brahmanas. Nor they were divided into numerous unequal classes. These types of societies are called tribes.
There was a distinctive bond of kinship among the members of each tribe. The main source of livelihood was agriculture but there were hunter-gatherers or herders as well. There were some tribes who were nomadic and moved from one place to another.
Many large tribes usually lived in forests, hills, deserts and places difficult to reach. The tribes retained their freedom and preserved their separate culture in various ways.

→ Who were Tribal People?

Tribal people did not keep written records but they preserved rich customs and oral traditions. And these were passed down to each new’ generation.
Some powerful tribes controlled large territories as people were found in almost every region of the subcontinent.
The Khokhar tribe in Punjab was very influential and powerful during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Later, the Gakkhars became more important. Kamal Khan Gakkhar, the chief was made mansabdar by Emperor Akbar.
The Langahs and Arghuns in Multan and Sind, dominated extensive regions before they were subdued by the Mughals.
The Balochis were another large and powerful tribe in the north-west.
The shepherd tribe of Gaddis lived in the western Himalaya.
The Nagas, Ahoms and many others too dominated the north-eastern part of the subcontinent.
Chero chiefdoms had emerged by the twelfth century in Bihar and Jharkhand. Akbar’s famous general Raja Man Singh attacked and defeated the Cheros in 1591.
The Mundas and Santals were among the other important tribes that lived in Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa (now Odisha) and Bengal.
The Kolis, Berads and numerous other tribes were found in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.
Far away south there were large tribal populations of Koragas, Vetars, Maravars and many others.
The tribe of Bhils were spread across western and central India.
Another tribe, the Gonds were found in good numbers across the present-day states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

→ How Nomads and Mobile People Lived?

Nomads who lived on milk and other pastoral products and moved over long distances with their animals are called nomadic pastoralists. They also exchanged wool, ghee, etc., with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.
The most important trader nomads were the Banjaras. Their caravan was called tanda.
To transport grain to the city markets, Sultan Alauddin Khalji used the Banjaras.

→ Changing Society: New Castes and Hierarchies

As the society grew, people with new skills were required hence, smaller castes, or jatis, emerged within varnas.
Artisans such as smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas. Jatis became the basis for organising society rather than varna.
New Rajput clans, the Kshatriyas became powerful by the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They belonged to different lineages such as Hunas, Chandelas, Chalukyas and some others. Among them, some had been tribes earlier. They moderately replaced the older rulers especially in agricultural areas.
The tribal people had to follow the Rajput clans to the position of rulers as they set an example for them.

→ A Closer Look The Gonds

The Gonds practised shifting cultivation as they lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana or “country inhabited by Gonds”.
The Akbar Nama reveals the Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga that had 70,000 villages.
The kingdom was divided into garbs and each was controlled by a particular Gond clan. It was further divided into units of 84 villages called chaurasi. The chaurasi was again subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each.
The Gond raja of Garha Katanga Aman Das, assumed the title of Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba.
She was very capable and brave and started ruling on behalf of her five-year old son, Bir Narain. In 1565, she was defeated by the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan and preferred to die than to surrender. Her son also died fighting after sometime.

→ The Ahoms

In the thirteenth century, the Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar. They created a new system of the bhuiyans means landlords.
They used firearms in 1530s and by that the Ahoms built a large state. They could even make high quality gunpowder and cannons by the 1660s.
In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom but they were defeated.
The state depended upon forced labour. Those who were forced to work for the state were called paiks.
The new methods of rice cultivation was also introduced by Ahoms.
The society was divided into clans or khels. A khel often controlled several villages.
The Ahoms worshipped their own tribal gods. During the reign of Sib Singh (1714-1744), Hinduism became the predominant religion. But they did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism.
The historical works known as buranjis were written first in the Ahom language and then in Assamese. It was a very sophisticated society. Theatre was encouraged a lot.

→ Conclusion:
This period saw more interaction between varna based society and the tribal groups. Few established extensive states with well- organised systems of administration hence, became politically powerful.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 7 Understanding Marginalisation

November 16, 2024November 15, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 7 Understanding Marginalisation

→ What Does it Mean to be Socially Marginalised?

To be marginalised is to be forced to occupy the sides or fringes and thus not be at the centre of things.
In the social environment too, groups ‘ of people or communities may have the experience of being excluded. Their marginalisation can be because they speak a different language, follow different customs or belong to a different religious group from the majority community.
They may also feel marginalised because they are poor, considered to be of ‘low’ social status and viewed as being less human than others.
They experience a sense of disadvantage and powerlessness vis-a-vis more powerful and dominant sections of society who own land, are wealthy, better educated and politically powerful.
Economic, social, cultural and political factors work together to make certain groups in society feel marginalised.

→ Who are Adivasis?
Adivasis, the term literally means ‘original inhabitants’ are communities who lived and often continue to live in close association with forests.

Around 8 per cent of India’s population is Adivasi and many of India’s most important mining and industrial centres are located in Adivasi areas – Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro and Bhilai among others.
• There are over 500 different Adivasi groups in India.
Adivasis are particularly numerous in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and in the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
Adivasi societies are also most distinctive because there is often very little hierarchy among them.
Adivasis practise a range of tribal religions that are different from Islam, Hinduism and Christianity.
It often involves the worship of ancestors, village and nature spirits, the last associated with and residing in various sites in the landscape – ‘mountain-spirits’, ‘river- spirits’, ‘animal-spirits’, etc.
Adivasis have always been influenced by different surrounding religions like Shakta, Buddhist, Vaishnav, Bhakti and Christianity.
Adivasis have their own languages (most of them radically different from and possibly as old as Sanskrit), which have often deeply influenced the formation of ‘mainstream’ Indian languages, like Bengali.
Santhali has the largest number of speakers and has a significant body of publications including magazines on the internet or in e-zines.

→ Adivasis and Stereotyping:

Often Adivasis are blamed for their lack of advancement as they are believed to be resistant to change or new ideas.
Adivasis are invariably portrayed in very stereotypical ways – in colourful costumes, headgear and through their dancing.
This often wrongly leads to people believing that they are exotic, primitive and backward.

→ Adivasis and Development:

Metal ores like iron and copper, and gold and silver, coal and diamonds, invaluable timber, most medicinal herbs and animal products (wax, lac, honey) and animals themselves (elephants, the mainstay of imperial armies), all came from the forests.
Forests covered the major part of our country till the nineteenth century and the Adivasis had a deep knowledge of, access to, as well as control over most of these vast tracts at least till the middle of the nineteenth century.
Often empires heavily depended on Adivasis for the crucial access to forest resources.
In the north-east, their lands remain highly militarised.
India has 104 national parks covering 40,501 sq km and 543 wildlife sanctuaries covering 1,18,918 sq km. These are areas where tribals originally lived but were evicted from.
When they continue to stay in these forests, they are termed encroachers.
Having gradually lost access to their traditional homelands, many Adivasis have migrated to cities in search of work where they are employed for very low wages in local industries or at building or construction sites.
45 per cent of tribal groups in rural areas and 35 per cent in urban areas live below the poverty line.
Many tribal children are malnourished. Literacy rates among tribals are also very low.
Destruction in one sphere naturally impacts the other. Often this process of dispossession and displacement can be painful and violent.

→ Minorities and Marginalisation

The term minority is most commonly used to refer to communities that are numerically small in relation to the rest of the population.
It encompasses issues of power, access to resources and has social and cultural dimensions.
Safeguards are needed to protect minority communities against the possibility of being culturally dominated by the majority. They also protect them against any discrimination and disadvantage that they may face.
The Constitution provides these safeguards because it is committed to protecting India’s
cultural diversity and promoting equality as well as justice.

→ Muslims and Marginalisation

Recognising that Muslims in India were lagging behind in terms of various development indicators, the government set up a high-level committee in 2005.
Chaired by Justice Rajindar Sachar, the committee examined the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India. The report discusses in detail the marginalisation of this community.
The social marginalisation of Muslims in some instances have led to them migrating from places where they have lived, often leading to the ghettoisation of the community. Sometimes, this prejudice leads to hatred and violence.
The experiences of all the groups point to the fact that marginalisation is a complex phenomenon requiring a variety of strategies, measures and safeguards to redress this situation.

→ Conclusion:

Marginalisation is linked to experiencing disadvantage, prejudice and powerlessness.
Marginalisation results in having a low social status and not having equal access to education and other resources.
Marginalised communities want to maintain their cultural distinctiveness while having access to rights, development and other opportunities.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 Understanding Laws

November 15, 2024November 14, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 Understanding Laws

→ Do Laws Apply to All?

Members instituted several provisions in the Constitution that would establish the rule of law.
The most important of these was that all persons in independent India are equal before the law.
The law cannot discriminate between persons on the basis of their religion, caste or gender.
What the rule of law means is that all laws apply equally to all citizens of the country and no one can be above the law7.
Any crime or violation of law has a specific punishment as well as a process through which the guilt of the person has to be established.
In ancient India, there were innumerable and often overlapping local laws.
Different communities enjoyed different degrees of autonomy in administering these laws among their own.
The British colonialists introduced the rule of law in India.

→ Historians have disputed this claim on several grounds, two of which include:

first that colonial law was arbitrary, and
second that the Indian nationalists played a prominent role in the development of the legal sphere in British India.

→ The Sedition Act of 1870 – The idea of sedition was very broadly understood within this Act. Any person protesting or criticising the British government could be arrested without due trial.

Indian nationalists also began fighting for greater equality and wanted to change the idea of law from a set of rules that they were forced to obey, to law as including ideas of justice.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the Indian legal profession also began emerging and demanded respect in colonial courts.
There w7ere several ways in which Indians played a major role in the evolution of the rule of law during the colonial period.
Every year our representatives pass several new laws as well as amend existing ones.

→ How Do New Laws Come About?

The Parliament has an important role in making laws.
An important role of Parliament is to be sensitive to the problems faced by people.
The role of citizens is crucial in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people might have into laws.
The voice of citizen can be heard through TV reports, newspaper editorials, radio broadcasts, local meetings, all of which help in making the work that Parliament does more accessible and transparent to the people.

→ Unpopular and Controversial Laws:

Sometimes a law can be constitutionally valid and hence legal, but it can continue to be unpopular and unacceptable to people because they feel that the intention behind it is unfair and harmful.
In a democracy like ours, citizens can express their unwillingness to accept repressive laws framed by the Parliament.
When a large number of people begin to feel that a wrong law has been passed, then there is pressure on the Parliament to change this.
If the law favours one group and disregards the other it will be controversial and lead to conflict.
People who think that the law is not fair can approach the court to decide on the issue.
The court has the power to modify or cancel laws if it finds that they don’t adhere to the Constitution.
We should bear in mind that it is the extent, involvement and enthusiasm of the people that helps Parliament perform its representative functions properly.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 Judiciary

November 15, 2024November 14, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 Judiciary

→ As an organ of government, the judiciary plays a crucial role in the functioning of India’s democracy. It can play this role only because it is independent.

→ What is the Role of the Judiciary?

Courts take decisions on a very large number of issues.
The work that the judiciary does can be divided into the following:
Dispute Resolution: The judicial system provides a mechanism for resolving disputes between citizens, etc.
Judicial Review: As the final interpreter of the Constitution, the judiciary also has the power to strike down particular laws passed by the Parliament if it believes that these are a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution. This is called judicial review.
Upholding the Law and Enforcing Fundamental Rights: Every citizen of India can approach the Supreme Court or the High Court if they believe that their Fundamental Rights have been violated.

→ What is an Independent Judiciary?

Rich and powerful people in India sometimes try to influence the judicial
process, the Indian Constitution protects against this kind of situation by providing for the independence of the judiciary.
One aspect of this independence is the ‘separation of powers’.
The other branches of government, the legislature and the executive cannot interfere in the work of the judiciaiy. The courts are not under the government and do not act on their behalf.
It is the independence of the judiciary that allows the courts to play a central role in ensuring that there is no misuse of power by the legislature and the executive.
It also plays a crucial role in protecting the Fundamental Rights of citizens because anyone can approach the courts if they believe that their rights have been violated.

→ What is the structure of Court in India?

There are three different levels of courts in our country.
The courts that most people interact with are called subordinate or district courts. These are usually at the district or Tehsil level or in towns and they hear many kinds of cases.
Each state is divided into districts that are presided over by a District Judge.
Each state has a High Court which is the highest court of that state.
At the top is the Supreme Court which is located in New Delhi and is presided over by the Chief Justice of India.
In India, we have an integrated judicial system, meaning that the decisions made by higher courts are binding on the lower courts.
A person can appeal to a higher court if they believe that the judgment passed by the lower court is not just.

→ What are the Different Branches of the Legal System?
In addition to criminal law, the legal system also deals with civil law cases.

→ Does Everyone Have Access to the Courts?

In principle, all citizens of India can access the courts in this country. This implies that every citizen has a right to justice through the courts.
While the courts are available for all, in reality access to courts has always been difficult for a vast majority of the poor in India.
Legal procedures involve a lot of money and paper work as well as take up a lot of time.
The Supreme Court in the early 1980s devised a mechanism of Public Interest Litigation or PIL to increase access to justice.
The legal process was greatly simplified and even a letter or telegram addressed to the Supreme Court or the High Court could be treated as a PIL.
For the common person, access to courts is access to justice.
The courts exercise a crucial role in interpreting the Fundamental Rights of citizens and the courts interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution on the Right to Life to include the Right to Food.
There are also court judgments that people believe work against the best interests of the common person.
Another issue that affects the common person’s access to justice is the inordinately long number of years that courts take to hear a case.
The members of the Constituent Assembly had quite correctly envisioned a system of courts with an independent judiciary as a key feature of our democracy.