Caste and Reform

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

by

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

JAC Class 8th Geography Agriculture InText Questions and Answers

Page 43

Question 1.
Who discovered the coffee plant?
Answer:
In about AD 850, Kaldi, an Arab goat- herder, who was puzzled by the queer antics of his flock, tasted the berries of the evergreen bush on which the goats were feeding. On experiencing a sense of exhilaration, he proclaimed his discovery to the world.

JAC Class 8th Geography Agriculture Textbook Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Answer the following questions.
(i) What is agriculture?
Answer:
Agriculture is a primary activity which includes growing crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of livestock. It is also known as farming.

(ii) Name the factors influencing agriculture?
Answer:
The factors influencing agriculture are the climate and topography of soil.

(iii) What is shifting cultivation? What are its disadvantages?
Answer:
Shifting cultivation is also known as slash and bum agriculture. In this cultivation a plot of land is cleared by felling the trees and burning them. Then the ashes are mixed with the soil and crops are grown. The land is abandoned after the soil loses its fertility and the cultivator moves to a new plot. The disadvantages are deforestation occurs and trees are burnt which are not good for environment.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

(iv) What is plantation agriculture?
Answer:
Commercial farming where only a single type of crop is grown such as banana, coffee, tea, sugarcane is known as plantation agriculture. In this type of agriculture, large amount of capital and labour are required The produce is either processed in the farm itself or in i nearby factories.

(v) Name the fibre crops and name the climatic conditions required for their growth.
Answer:
The fibre crops are cotton and jute. The climatic conditions required for their growth are:
Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, 210 days and bright sunshine for its growth. Jute requires high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid climate.

Tick the correct answer.

Question 2.
(i) Horticulture means
(a) growing of fruits and vegetables
(b) primitive farming
(c) growing of wheat
Answer:
(a) growing of fruits and vegetables

(ii) Golden fibre refers to
(a) tea
(b) cotton
(c) jute
Answer:
(c) jute

(iii) Leading producers of coffee
(a) Brazil
(b) India
(c) Russia
Answer:
(a) Brazil

Question 3.
Give reasons.

  1. In India agriculture is a primary activity.
  2. Different crops are grown in different regions.

Answer:
1. In India agriculture is a primary activity because two third of the population depends on agriculture and it provides around 65% of work to labour force. It is also responsible for 25% of Gross Domestic Product and total value of nation’s export is 16%.

2. Since different crops require different climatic and geographical conditions hence different crops are grown in different regions. Certain human factors also play an important role such as labour, demand of yield and technology level.

Question 4.
Distinguish between the followings.

  1. Primary activities and tertiary activities.
  2. Subsistence farming and intensive farming.

Answer:
1.

Primary activities Tertiary Activities
It includes all those connected with extraction and production of natural resources. It provides support to the primary and secondary sectors through services.
Agriculture, fishing and gathering are examples of this activity. Transport, trade, banking, insurance and advertising are examples of this activities.

2.

Subsistence Farming Intensive Farming
It is practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family. The farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labour.
Low levels of technology and household labour are used to produce on vsmall output. In this type of farming, quality seeds, rich manure and fertilisers are used

Question 5.
Activity

  1. Collect seeds of wheat, rice, jowar, bajra, ragi, maize, oilseeds and pulses available in the market. Bring them to the class and find out in which type of soil they grow.
  2. Find out the difference between the life style of farmers in the USA and India on the basis of pictures collected from magazines, books, newspapers and the internet.

Answer:

  1. Type of soil in which the following grows:
    Rice – Alluvial clayey Wheat – Alluvial soil Jowar, bajra and ragi – Desert Maize, oilseeds – Alluvial, Black Pulses- Red, Alluvial
  2. Students need to do on their own.

Question 6.
For Fun.
Solve the crossword puzzle with the help of given ciues
JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture 1
Across:
1. Crop that needs well drained fertile soils, moderate temperatures and lots of sunshine (5)
2. Increasing production through use of HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides (5,10)
4. USA, Canada, Russia, Australia are major producers of this crop (5)
10. Type of farming to meet family needs (11)
13. Rearing of animals for sale (9)
14. Growing grapes for wines (11)

Down:
1. Coarse grains are also called (7)
3. Cultivation involving slash and bum (8)
5. Growing of crops, fruits and vegetables (11)
6. Tea, coffee, sugarcane and mbber are grown in (11)
7. Requires 210 frost-free days for growth (6)
8. Growing of flowers (12)
9. Also called ‘Golden Fibre’ (4)
11. Also known as paddy (4)
12. Activity concerned with extraction of natural resources (7)
Answer:
JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture 2

JAC Class 8th Geography  Agriculture Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions 

Question 1.
The process in which farmers use organic manure and natural pesticides instead of chemicals is called
(a) Mechanical farming
(b) Non-organic farming
(c) Organic farming
(d) All of these
Answer:
(c) Organic farming

Question 2.
Thescienceofcommercially cultivating grapes is called .
(a) Viticulture
(b) Horticulture
(c) Sericulture
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Viticulture

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

Question 3.
Tertiary activities are……
(a) provide support to only primary activities.
(b) provide support to only secondary activities.
(c) provide support to both primary and secondary activities.
(d) none of these
Answer:
(c) provide support to both primary and secondary activities.

Question 4.
Coarse grains are….. .
(a) rice
(b) millets
(c) wheat
(d) all of these
Answer:
(b) millets

Question 5.
The word ‘agriculture’ origins from
a. Latin term agri means soil.
(b) Latin term culture means cultivation.
(c) Neither a nor b
(d) Both a and b
Answer:
(d) Both a and b

Question 6.
The inputs of a farm system are…….
(a) seeds and fertiisers
(b) labour
(c) machinery
(d) all of these
Answer:
(d) all of these

Question 7.
Out of the following which is not a cropping season of India?
(a) Kaffir
(b) Rabi
(c) Kharif
(d) Zaid
Answer:
(a) Kaffir

Question 8.
Jhumming, Ladang, Milap, Roca & Ray are also known as:
(a) Shifting Farming
(b) Commercial Farming
(c) Nomadic Farming
(d) Intensive Farming
Answer:
(a) Shifting Farming

Question 9.
………. is……. grown in winter. It requires rainfall during growing season and bright sunshine at the time of harvest.
(a) Rice
(b) Watermelon
(c) Wheat
(d) Bajra
Answer:
(c) Wheat

Question 10.
The land on which crops are grown is known as:
(a) Wet Land
(b) Arable Land
(c) Dry Land
(d) None of these
Answer:
(b) Arable Land

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What do you mean by agricultural development?
Answer:
Agricultural development refers to efforts made to increase the production of farm in order to meet the growing demand of the increasing population.

Question 2.
What is the science of commercial silk worm rearing known as?
Answer:
The science of commercial silk worm rearing is known as Sericulture.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

Question 3.
What is the position of India in terms of rice production in the world?
Answer:
India is the second largest producer of rice in the world.

Question 4.
What percentage of world’s coffee production does India produce?
Answer:
The percentage of world’s coffee production does India produce is 3.2%.

Question 5.
Name the two most important staple food crops of the world.
Answer:
The two most important staple food crops of the world are rice and wheat.

Question 6.
What requires high temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine?
Answer:
Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine.

Question 7.
List some animals reared by nomadic herders.
Answer:
Sheep, camel, yak and goats are most commonly reared animals by nomadic . herders.

Question 8.
How many types of subsistence farming is present?
Answer:
Two types of subsistence farming are there. They are intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence farming.

Question 9.
What do you mean by mixed farming?
Answer:
n mixed farming the land is used for growing food and fodder crops and rearing livestock.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

Question 10.
Where is wheat grown extensively and substantially?
Answer:
Wheat is grown extensively and substantially in USA, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Australia and India.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. What are the activities under the secondary sector?
Answer:
All activities connected with the manufacturing of goods with natural resources comes under secondary activities. Steel manufacturing, weaving cloth are the examples of secondary activities.

Question 2.
There are different kinds of cultivation. What are they?
Answer:
The different kinds of cultivation are Agriculture, Horticulture, Viticulture, Sericulture and Pisciculture.

  1. Agriculture is cultivation on the soil.
  2. Horticulture is growing vegetables, fruits and flowers for commercial use.
  3. Viticulture is cultivation of grapes.
  4. Sericulture is rearing of silk worms to extract silk.
  5. Pisciculture is breeding of fish in specially constructed tanks and ponds.

Question 3
Shifting cultivation is known by different names in different regions of the world What are they?
Answer:
Shifting cultivation is known by different names in different parts of the world They are:

  1. Jhumming – North-East India
  2. Milpa -Mexico
  3. Roca – Brazil
  4. Ladang – Malaysia

Question 4.
When does food security exist?
Answer:
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Question 5.
What are the climatic conditions required for growing maize? In which countries they are grown?
Answer:
Maize requires moderate temperature, rainfall and lots of sunshine. It also needs well drained fertile soil. They are grown in North America, Brazil, China, Russia, India, Canada and Mexico.

Question 6.
What are the climatic conditions required for growing tea?
Answer:
Tea is a beverage crop grown on plantations. This requires cool climate and well distributed high rainfall throughout the year for the growth of its tender leaves. It needs well-drained loamy soils and gentle slopes. To pick the leaves, labour in large number is required.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

Question 7.
Can agricultural development be achieved? How?
Answer:
Yes, agricultural development can be achieved in many ways such as increasing the cropped area, the number of crops grown, improving irrigation facilities, use of fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds. Mechanisation of agriculture is also another aspect of agricultural development.

Question 8.
What type of agriculture is practiced in developing countries?
Answer:
Developing countries with large populations usually practise intensive agriculture where crops are grown on small holdings mostly for subsistence.

Long Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
What are the different types of subsistence farming?
Answer:
The different types of subsistence farming are intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence farming:
(i) Intensive subsistence agriculture:
In intensive subsistence agriculture the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labour. The main crop is rice. Other crops include wheat, maize, pulses and oilseeds. Intensive subsistence agriculture is prevalent in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions of south, south-east and east Asia.

(ii) Primitive subsistence agriculture:
It includes shifting cultivation and nomadic herding.Shifting cultivation is practised in the thickly forested areas of Amazon basin, tropical Africa, parts of south-east Asia and north-east India. A plot of land is cleared by felling the trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops like maize, yam, potatoes and cassava are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot.

Nomadic herding is practised in the semi-arid and arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India, like Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. In this type of farming, herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and water, along defined routes.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions

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

by

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

JAC Class 8th Geography Mineral and Power Resources InText Questions and Answers

Page 25

Question 1.
Identify the Canadian Shield, the Appalachians, Western Cordilleras and Lake Superior with the help of an atlas.
Answer:
Students need to do it on their own.

Page 26

Question 2.
List uses of any five minerals.
Answer:
Uses of five minerals:

  1. Granite:
    Used as a building stone such monuments, statues. Also used in highway construction and railway ballast.
  2. Lead:
    Used in television tubes and batteries.
  3. Aluminum:
    Used in manufacturing aeroplane and automobiles. It is also used in canning and bottling industries.
  4. Copper:
    Used in electric cables and wires, switches, coins and jewelry.
  5. Gold:
    Used for scientific and electronic instruments, computer circuitry, aerospace industry. Also used in jewelry, medicine and dentistry.

JAC Class 8th Geography Mineral and Power Resources Textbook Questions and Answers

Answer The Following Questions.

(i) Name any three common minerals used by you every day.
Answer:
Three common minerals used by us every day are iron, aluminum and copper.

(ii) What is an ore? Where are the ores of metallic minerals generally located?
Answer:
Ores are the minerals which are rich in a particular element and can be mined. The ores of metallic minerals are generally located in igneous and metamorphic rock formations.

(iii) Name two regions rich in natural gas resources.
Answer:
Two regions which are rich in natural gas resources are:
In the world Russia and Norway.
In India Krishna Godavari Delta and Jaisalmer.

(iv) Which sources of energy would you suggest for
Answer:
Sources of energy suggested for:

  • Rural areas – Biogas and solar energy are feasible options.
  • Coastal areas – Tidal energy and hydel energy are good options.
  • Arid regions – Solar energy and wind energy are suitable options.

(a) rural areas
(b) coastal areas
(c) Arid regions

(v) Give five ways in which you can save energy at home.
Answer:
Five ways in which we can save energy at home are:

  • For cooking fuel use of biogas would save energy.
  • Misuse of electricity should be avoided such as switch off the lights and fans when not required.
  • Solar energy must be used as much as we can.
  • Energy efficient devices should be used such as LED bulbs and tubes.
  • While cooking using energy efficiently such as covering with lid, pressure cook, etc.

Tick the correct answer.

Question 2.
(i) Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of minerals?
(a) They are created by natural processes.
(b) They have a definite chemical composition.
(c) They are inexhaustible.
(d) Their distribution is uneven.
Answer:
(c) They are inexhaustible.

(ii) Which one of the following is a leading producer of copper in the world?
(a) Bolivia
(b) Ghana
(c) Chile
(d) Zimbabwe
Answer:
(c) Chile

(iii) Which one of the following practices will NOT conserve LPG in your kitchen?
(a) Soaking the dal for some time before cooking it.
(b) Cooking food in a pressure cooker.
(c) Keeping the vegetables chopped before lighting the gas for cooking.
(d) Cooking food in an open pan kept on low flame.
Answer:
(d) Cooking food in an open pan kept on low flame.

Question 3.
Give reasons.

  1. Environmental aspects must be carefully looked into before building huge dams.
  2. Most industries are concentrated around coal mines.
  3. Petroleum is referred to as “black gold”.
  4. Quarrying can become a major environmental concern.

Answer:

  1. Environmental aspects must be carefully looked into before building huge dams because it can create imbalance and deforestation may happen. Humans, wild animals become displaced.
  2. Most industries are concentrated around coal mines because it ensures the availability of fuel and transportation costs get reduced.
  3. Petroleum is referred to as “black gold” because in the crude form it is in black colour and its derivatives are extremely valuable such as petroleum. Different products of petroleum are used in are day to day life such as petrol, diesel, kerosene.
  4. Quarrying can become a major environmental concern because pits are not covered so they may cause environmental threats after quarrying.

Question 4.

Distinguish between the followings.

  1. Conventional and
  2. Biogas and natural gas
  3. Ferrous and nonferrous minerals
  4. Metallic and nonmetallic minerals

1.

Conventional Sources of energy Non-conventional N Sources of energy
From long time they have been used. These sources have been identified in recent past.
These are mostly polluting. These are non-polluting
Firewood, coal are the examples. Wind energy, solar energy, tidal energy are the examples.

2.

Biogas Natural Gas
It is a non- conventional source of energy. It is a conventional source of energy.
It is a renewable source. It is a non-renewable source.
It is obtained from the decaying of the organic waste. It is a by-product which is obtained from the extraction of petroleum.

3.

Ferrous Minerals Non-ferrous N minerals
Minerals which contain iron are Ferrous minerals. Minerals which do not contain iron are Non- ferrous minerals.
Iron ore is a ferrous mineral. Limestone is a non- ferrous mineral.
These are magnetic in nature. These are non-magnetic in nature.
India has abundant of ferrous minerals. India is deficient of non-ferrous mineralsv

4.

Metallic Minerals Non-metallic Minerals
In raw form, metals are found. It does not contain metals.
New products can be obtained by melting them. On melting, they do not give new products.
These are associated with igneous rocks. These are associated with sedimentary rocks.
Bauxite is a metallic mineral. Gypsum is a non-metallic mineral.

 

Question 5.
Activity

  1. Use pictures from old magazines to show different kinds of fuels used by us in our lives and display them on your bulletin board.
  2. Design a poster highlighting energy conservation tips you would take for your school.
  3. Salma’s class took up an action campaign to do an energy audit of their school by surveying electricity consumption. They prepared survey sheets for the students of the school.

Answer:
Students need to do it on their own.

JAC Class 8th Geography Mineral and Power Resources Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions 

Question 1.
Minerals are
(a) naturally occurring substances that have definite chemical compositions.
(b) artificially made substances that have a definite chemical compositions.
(c) human made substances that have definite chemical compositions.
(d) liquids and gases that are found everywhere.
Answer:
(a) naturally occurring substances that have definite chemical compositions.

Question 2.
Physical properties of minerals are
(a) population and economy.
(b) pollution and political factors.
(c) colour, density, hardness, and chemical properties such as solubility.
(d) weather and plant action.
Answer:
(c) colour, density, hardness, and chemical properties such as solubility.

Question 3.
The process of simply digging out minerals such as lead and coal that lie near the surface of the earth is called.
(a) drilling
(b) quarrying
(c) open cast mining
(d) none of these
Answer:
(b) quarrying

Question 4.
The colour of a rock if it contains a large amount of copper is.
(a) green
(b) quarrying
(c) silver
(d) red
Answer:
(b) quarrying

Question 5.
The world’s leading tin producers are:
(a) India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
(b) India, China, and USA
(c) China, USA, and Austral
(d) China, Malaysia, and Indonesia
Answer:
(d) China, Malaysia, and Indonesia

Question 6.
Aluminum, obtained from its ore bauxite is used in.
(a) automobiles
(b) buildings
(c) airplanes
(d) all of these
Answer:
(d) all of these

Question 7.
The ways to conserve minerals so that they may also be available to future generations are
(a) reuse, reduce use, and recycle.
(b) reuse and recycle.
(c) reduce use and recycle.
(d) none of these
Answer:
(a) reuse, reduce use, and recycle.

Question 8.
The disadvantages of using firewood as a fuel are:
(a) It is polluting and promotes the greenhouse effect.
(b) It takes time to collect.
(c) It results in deforestation.
(d) All of these
Answer:
(a) It is polluting and promotes the greenhouse effect.

Question 9.
Natural gas is usually found with deposits of .
(a) firewood
(b) iron ore
(c) petroleum
(d) coal
Answer:
(c) petroleum

Question 10.
The main parts in a hydro-electric power station:
(a) a generator, a turbine, and a motor
(b) a water reservoir, a turbine, and a motor
(c) a generator, a rocket, and a turbine
(d) a water reservoir, a turbine, and a generator
Answer:
(d) a water reservoir, a turbine, and a generator

Very Short Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
How many types of minerals have been identified and how many are considered as ore minerals?
Answer:
There are around 2,800 types of minerals which have been identified and only about 100 are considered ore minerals.

Question 2.
Which country has no minerals?
Answer:
Switzerland has no known minerals.

Question 3.
Which country is the largest producer of bauxite in the world?
Answer:
Australia is the largest producer of bauxite in the world.

Question 4.
What are the two naturally occurring radioactive elements?
Answer:
Uranium and Thorium are the two naturally occurring radioactive elements.

Question 5.
Which is the most abundantly found fossil fuel?
Answer:
The most abundantly found fossil fuel is coal.

Question 6.
In which place of India has huge tidal mill farms?
Answer:
Gulf of Kachchh in India has huge tidal mill farms.

Question 7.
Name the first country to develop hydroelectricity in the world.
Answer:
Norway was the first country in the world to develop hydroelectricity in the world.

Question 8.
Name two areas in Australia which have large deposits of gold.
Answer:
Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie areas of western Australia have the largest deposits of gold.

Question 9.
Where is the site of the world’s first solar and wind powered bus shelter?
Answer:
The site of the world’s first solar and wind powered bus shelter is in Scotland.

Question 10.
Name the places where the geothermal power plants located in India.
Answer:
In India, geothermal plants are located in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley in Ladakh.

Short Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
CNG is considered an eco-friendly fuel. Why?
Answer:
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a popular eco-friendly fuel because it causes less pollution than petroleum and diesel.

Question 2.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of geothermal energy.
Answer:
Advantage – Clean, eco-friendly and always available. Disadvantages – Located far away from cities and so costly to transport the electricity.

Question 3.
What are the main types of power resources?
Answer:
The main types of power resources are conventional and non-conventional resources.

Question 4.
Explain in brief the mineral salt?
Answer:
The mineral salt is obtained from seas, lakes and rocks. India is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of salt.

Question 5.
Coal is known as “buried sunshine”. Why?
Answer:
Coal is 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.

Question 6.
“All minerals are rocks but all rocks are not minerals”. Justify in brief.
Answer:
All minerals are rocks but all rocks are not minerals because more than 2,800 types of minerals have been identified but only about 100 are considered ore minerals which can be used.

Question 7.
Minerals are considered non. renewable. Why?
Answer:
Minerals are a non-renewable resource because it takes thousands of years for the formation. The rate of formation is much smaller than the rate at which the humans consume these minerals.

Question 8.
How do we get nuclear energy?
Answer:
We get nuclear power from energy stored in the nuclei of atoms of naturally occurring radioactive elements like uranium and thorium. These fuels undergo nuclear fission in nuclear reactors and emit power.

Question 9.
What are the nuclear power stations in India.
Answer:
The nuclear power stations in India are located in Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, Tarapur in Maharastra, Ranapratap Sagar near Kota in Rajasthan, Narora in Uttar Pradesh and Kaiga in Karnataka.

Question 10.
Distinguish between a rock and an ore.
Answer:
Difference between a rock and an ore:

A rock Ail ore
A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals but without definite and fixed composition of constituent of mineral. Rocks from which minerals are mined are called ores.


Long Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of
(a) Coal
(b) Crude oil
Answer:
(a) Coal
Advantages

  • It is extensively available.
  • It is efficient to convert to electricity.
  • It offers a low capita investment.
  • It is a full time energy resource.

Disadvantages

  • It is a source of pollution.
  • It is bulky to transport.
  • It is not a renewable resource.
  • It creates high level of radiation.
  • Clean coal also has high level of methane.

(b) Crude oil Advantages

  • It is easier to transport such as tankers are used.
  • It is the basis of petro-chemical industry.
  • It can be extracted easily.
  • It is a powerful source of energy. Disadvantages
  • Depletion of oxygen due to oil spillage.
  • Pollutants released caused acid rain.
  • Exploration of new fuel is not easy.
  • It is a non-renewable source.

Question 2.
Briefly explain the method of extraction.
Answer:
The method of extraction consists of mining, drilling and quarrying.
(i) Mining:
The process of taking out minerals from rocks which are buried under the earth’s surface is called mining. Open-cast mining Minerals that lie at shallow depths are taken out by removing the surface layer, this is known as open-cast mining.

Shaft mining :
Deep bores called shafts have to be made to reach mineral deposits that lie at great depths. This is known as shaft mining.

(ii) Drilling:
Petroleum and natural gas occur far below the earth’s surface. Deep wells are bored to take them out. This process is known as drilling.

(iii) Question uarrying :
Minerals that lie near the surface are simply dug out, by the process known as quarrying.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

by

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter  2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

JAC Class 8th Geography Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources InText Questions and Answers

Page 7

Question 1.
Observe the land, type of soil and water availability in the region you live. Discuss in your class, how it has influenced the lifestyle of people there.
Answer:
Students need to answer on thier own according to the places they live.

Page 8

Question 2.
Talk to some elderly person in your family or neighbourhood and collect information about changes in the land use over the years, in the place where you live. Display your findings on a bulletin board in your classroom.
Answer:
Findings:
JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources 1

Page 12

Question 3.
In India soils could be alluvial, black, red, laterite, desertic and mountain soil. Collect a handful of different types of soil and observe. How are they different?
Answer:
Alluvial soil are the fine-grained soil which are formed by river and it is very fertile. The colour of the soil is grey. It is found from Punjab to Assam and West Bengal. Also found in deltas in the rivers such as Krishna, Mahanadi etc. Black soil is found in central, southern and western state in India. It is a black coloured soil, very fertile and suitable for the growth of cotton crops. It is formed by the volcanic eruptions.

Red soil is made of old crystalline rock. It is red in colour because the soil contains iron. It is found in states such as Tamil Nadu, southern Karnataka, north-eastern Andhra Pradesh and some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Laterite soil are found in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and the hilly areas of Orissa and Assam. This type of soil is less fertile.

It is formed in wet and hot tropical areas and soil is rich in aluminum and iron. Desert soil is formed from arid condition with very less rainfall hence also known as arid soil. The colour of the soil is red to brown. It is sandy and alkaline due to less moisture and found in Thar desert, Rajasthan. Mountain soil is the infertile soil and very thin. It is found on the hill slopes. The soils occupy about XA 0f the total land area of India.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

Page 13

Question 4.
Take two trays A and B of same size. Make six holes at one end of these trays and then fill them with the same amount of soil. Leave the soil in tray A bare while sow wheat or rice grains in tray B. When the grain in tray B has grown a few centimetres high, place both the trays in such a way that they are on a slope. Pour one mug of water from the same height into each tray. Collect the muddy water that trickles down the holes of both trays in two separate containers and compare how much soil is washed out of each tray?
JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources 2
Answer:
From tray A, more soil is washed out whereas from tray B less soil is washed out because the soil layer is covered with grass.

Page 14

Question 5.
An average urban Indian uses about 150 litres of water every day

Use Litres per person per day
Drinking 3
Cooking 4
Bathing 20
Flushing 40
Washing clothes 40
Washing utensils 20
Gardening 23
Total 150

Can you suggest some ways to bring down this amount?
Answer:
We should try not to waste water and use it judiciously. Some ways are:

  1. Water used for washing vegetables can be used in gardening.
  2. We should use bucket and mug while bathing instead of shower.
  3. Water used for washing utensils and clothes can be used in toilet.

Page 18

Question 6.
Read the news item and find out how fire started in California? Could it be avoided?
Answer:
The winds can push a fire the length of a football field in a minute, said Scott McLean, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Call Fire. And the hundreds of members pushed in front of the fires become small spot fires themselves, he said. High winds also dissipate fire retardant dropped by aircraft, McLean said. The Diablo winds caused the same problems in Northern California in October. California’s deadly wildfires have a straightforward solution, experts say: stop building homes in places that are likely to bum- and make homes that already exist in those areas a whole lot tougher.

JAC Class 8th Geography Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources Textbook Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Answer the following questions.

(i) Which are the two main climatic factors responsible for soil formation?
Answer:
The two main climatic factors which are responsible for soil formation are:

  1. Temperature – The fluctuations in temperature between hot and cold forms cracks in the rocks.
  2. Rainfall – By applying pressure it contributes in breaking the rocks.

(ii) Write any two reasons for land degradation today.
Answer:
Two reasons for land degradation today are:

  1. Deforestation – Destruction of forest region.
  2. Due to growing population, demands are growing rapidly. It leads to excess use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

(iii) Why is land considered an important resource?
Answer:
Land is considered as an important resource because most activities and works are done on land. It provides us to do farming, living, forestry, industries, etc.

(iv) Name any two steps that government has taken to conserve plants and animals.
Answer:
Two steps that government has taken to conserve plants and animals are:

  1. Awareness programs such as Vanamahotasava and social forestry are encouraged and endorsed at the community and regional level.
  2. Establishment of wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and national parks in different parts of the country to conserve the vegetation and wildlife.

(v) Suggest three ways to conserve water.
Answer:
Three ways to conserve water are:

  1. Drip or trickle irrigation should be used in dry regions. Also in irrigation process, canals should be built properly so that water is not wasted.
  2. Rainwater harvesting should be implemented. It is a process of collecting water and storing it when it rains and can used in future.
  3. Water wastage should be minimised. We can use the water used in washing vegetables for gardening and likewise.

Tick the correct answer.

Question 2:
(i) Which one of the following is NOT a factor of soil formation?
(a) time
(b) soil texture
(c) organic matter
Answer:
(b) soil texture

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

(ii) Which one of the following methods is most appropriate to check soil erosion on steep slopes?
(a) shelter belts
(b) mulching
(c) terrace cultivation
Answer:
(c) terrace cultivation

(iii) Which one of the following is NOT in favour of the conservation of nature?
(a) switch off the bulb when not in use
(b) close the tap immediately after using
(c) dispose polypacks after shopping
Answer:
(c) dispose polypacks after shopping

Match the followings:

Question 3.

(i) Land use (a) prevent soil erosion
(ii) Humus (b) narrow zone of contact between the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
(iii) Rock dams (c) productive use of land
(iv) Biosphere (d) organic matter deposited on top soil
(e) contour ploughing (a) prevent soil erosion

Answer:

(i) Land use (c) productive use of land
(ii) Humus (d) organic matter deposited on top soil
(iii) Rock dams (a) prevent soil erosion
(iv) Biosphere (b) narrow zone of contact between the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
(e) contour ploughing (c) productive use of land

Question 4.
State whether the given statement is true or false. If true, write the reasons.

  1. Ganga-Brahmaputra plain of India is an overpopulated region.
  2. Water availability per person in India is declining.
  3. Rows of trees planted in the coastal areas to check the wind movement is called intercropping.
  4. Human interference and changes of climate can maintain the ecosystem.

Answer:

  1. True. Land is very fertile and suitable for cultivation and habitat.
  2. True. There is lot of wastage and also drying up of water resources due to water pollution. Also due to growth in population, the demand of water also increased which reduces the fresh water reserves.
  3. False
  4. False

Question 5.
Activity
(i) Discuss some more reasons which are responsible for changes of land use pattern. Has your place undergone any change in the land use pattern in recent years?
Answer:
Land use pattern in recent years have changed which has been reflected in the changing activities of the people such as building up of industries and markets, housing complexes in urban areas and expanding agricultural lands in rural areas. The main factor responsible for such change in land use pattern is mainly due to the rising needs and demands of the people. Other factors are urbanisation, population increase and demand for food, changes in the living standard etc.

(ii) Find out from your parents and elderly people. You can conduct an interview by asking the following questions given in the book in the form of table. Why do you think that land use patterns change over the years?
Answer:
Students need to do it on their own.

JAC Class 8th Geography  Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
Which of the following sentence is true about land?
(a) Low-lying areas are susceptible to water logging.
(b) Thick forested areas are normally densely populated by humans.
(c) Plains and river valleys are sparsely populated as they offer land suitable for agriculture.
(d) About 70% of the area of the earth’s surface is covered with land.
Answer:
(d) About 70% of the area of the earth’s surface is covered with land.

Question 2.
The human factors that determine the patterns of land use are…….
(a) population and technology.
(b) geographic shapes and atmosphere.
(c) atmosphere and population.
(d) time and technology.
Answer:
(c) atmosphere and population.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

Question 3.
Community land also known as…….
(a) Common property resources.
(b) Personal property resources.
(c) Group property resources.
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Common property resources.

Question 4.
Which one of the following is not a method used to conserve land?
(a) Aforestation
(b) Land reclamation
(c) Regulated use of chemical pesticide and fertilisers
(d) Increased use of fossil fuels
Answer:
(d) Increased use of fossil fuels

Question 5.
The natural phenomena which triggers landslides are ……
(a) floods
(b) earthquakes
(c) volcanoes
(d) all of these
Answer:
(d) all of these

Question 6.
The breaking up and decay of exposed rocks, by temperature changes, frost action, plants, animals and man are called as .
(a) Articulating
(c) Weathering
(b) Recycling
(d) Feathering
Answer:
(c) Weathering

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

Question 7.
The following method/s are used to conserve soil is/are
(a) mulching and intercropping.
(b) terrace farming and contour ploughing.
(c) shelter belts and rock dams.
(d) all of these
Answer:
(d) all of these

Question 8.
The cause/s of the contamination of water is/are
(a) treatment of effluents before discharging them into bodies of water.
(b) discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage, agricultural chemicals, and industrial effluents in bodies of water.
(c) fall in the number of industrial effluents entering bodies of water.
(d) building of canals that dispose effluent waste deep into the oceans.
Answer:
(b) discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage, agricultural chemicals, and industrial effluents in bodies of water.

Question 9.
The growth of vegetation primarily depend on
(a) temperature and moisture.
(b) technology and temperature.
(c) technology and moisture.
(d) population and technology.
Answer:
(a) temperature and moisture.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

Question 10.
The hunting of these animals is banned in India:
(a) lions, tigers, deer, great Indian bustards, and peacocks
(b) lions, tigers, dogs, great Indian bustards, and cats
(c) lions, tigers, fish, horses, and peacocks
(d) lions, tigers, giraffe, great Indian bustards, and peacocks
Answer:
(a) lions, tigers, deer, great Indian bustards, and peacocks

Very Short Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
Name the major threats to soil as a resource.
Answer:
The major threats to soil as a resource are soil erosion and depletion.

Question 2.
Which process of soil conservation is used in coastal and dry regions?
Answer:
Shelter belts are used for conservation of the soil in coastal and dry regions.

Question 3.
What is the percentage of fresh water which is fit for human use?
Answer:
Only 1 per cent of freshwater is available and fit for human use.

Question 4.
List the major types of vegetation in the world.
Answer:
The major types of vegetation in the world are forests, grasslands, scrubs and tundra.

Question 5.
How the soil becomes fertile?
Answer:
The soil becomes fertile by the right mix of minerals and organic matter.

Question 6.
What do you mean by national parks?
Answer:
National park is a natural area designed and designated to protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations of animals and birds.

Question 7.
What do you mean by rainwater harvesting?
Answer:
Rainwater harvesting is the method of collecting rainwater from roof tops and directing or passing it to an appropriate location and storing if for future use.

Question 8.
What do you mean by intercropping?
Answer:
Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice or method in which different crops are grown in alternate rows and are sown at different times to protect the soil from rain wash.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

Question 9.
What do you understand by the term biosphere?
Answer:
Natural vegetation and wildlife exist only in the narrow zone of contact between the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere is known as biosphere.

Question 10.
What is ecosystem?
Answer:
In the biosphere, the life supporting system is known as the ecosystem where the living beings are interrelated and interdependent on each other for survival.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Land is considered as an important resource. Why?
Answer:
Land is used for different purposes such as agriculture, forestry, mining, building houses, roads and setting up of industries. Hence, the land is considered as an important resource.

Question 2.
Name the areas which are sparsely populated or uninhabited?
Answer:
The areas which are sparsely populated or uninhabited are the rugged topography, steep slopes of the mountains, low- lying areas susceptible to water logging, desert areas, and thick forested areas.

Question 3.
What are the possible reasons for water shortage?
Answer:
The possible reason for water shortage may be the outcome of variation in seasonal or annual precipitation or rainfall or can be caused by overexploitation and contamination of water sources.

Question 4.
List the major causes affecting soil formation.
Answer:
The major causes affecting soil formation are the nature of the parent rock and climatic factors. Other causes and factors are the topography, role of organic material and time taken for the composition of soil formation.

Question 5.
What do you mean by landslides and how do they occur?
Answer:
Landslides are defined as the mass movement of rock, debris or earth down a slope. They often take place in conjunction and concurrence with earthquakes, floods and volcanoes. A prolonged spell of rainfall can cause heavy landslide that can block the flow of river for quite some time. The formation of river blocks can cause havoc to the settlements downstream on its bursting.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Geography Chapter 2 Land, Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resources

Question 6.
In India, per person water availability is declining. Why is it happening?
Answer:
In India, per person water availability is declining due to increasing population, rising demands for food and cash crops, increasing urbanisation and rising standards of living. These are the major causes leading to scarcity in supply of fresh water either due to drying up of water sources or water pollution.

Question 7.
Distinguish between tropical forests and deciduous forests.
Answer:

Tropical Forests Deciduous Forests
Tropical forests do not shed their leaves simultaneously in any season of the year. Deciduous forests shed their leaves in a particular season to conserve loss of moisture through transpiration.
These are also known as evergreen forests. Conifers, Eucalyptus ytrees are found here. Maple, Aspen, elm are some of the trees found here.

Question 8.
Do you think rainfall affect vegetation? If yes, how?
Answer:
In areas of heavy rainfall, huge trees may thrive and grow. Thus, the forests are associated with areas having abundant water supply. As the amount of moisture decreases the size of trees and their density reduces. In the areas of moderate rainfall short stunted trees and grasses grow forming the grasslands of the world. In dry areas of low rainfall, thorny shrubs and scrubs grow. In such areas plants have deep roots and leaves have thorny and waxy surface to reduce loss of moisture by transpiration. So we can say that rainfall affect the vegetation.

Long Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
“Vegetation and wildlife are valuable resources.” Describe in brief.
Answer:
“Vegetation and wildlife are valuable resources.” The following points will describe it:

  1. Plants provide us with food for animals and insects, give shelter to animals.
  2. It produces oxygen we breathe, gives us timber.
  3. It protects soils so essential for growing crops, act as shelter belts.
  4. Help in storage of underground water, give us fruits, nuts, latex, turpentine oil, gum, medicinal plants and paper.
  5. Wildlife includes animals, birds, insects as well as the aquatic life forms. They provide us milk, meat, hides and wool.
  6. Insects like bees provide us honey, help in pollination of flowers and have an important role to play as decomposers in the ecosystem.
  7. The birds feed on insects and act as decomposers as well. Vulture due to its ability to feed on dead livestock is a scavenger and considered a vital cleanser of the environment.

Question 2.
Describe what are the threats exist in natural vegetation and wildlife?
Answer:
Threats that exist in natural vegetation and wildlife are:

  1. The loss of natural habitats for the plants and animals are due to changes of climate and human interferences.
  2. Many species have become vulnerable or endangered and some are on the verge of extinction.
  3. Some of the human made and natural factors which together accelerate the process of extinction of these great natural resources are deforestation, soil erosion, constructional activities, forest fires, tsunami and landslides.
  4. One of the major issues is the increasing incidents of poaching that result in a sharp decline in the number of particular species.
  5. For self-interest, human beings are cutting precious trees which is also one of the major threats.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

by

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

JAC Class 8th Civics Law and Social Justice InText Questions and Answers

Page 121

Question 1.
Why do we need a law on minimum wages?
Answer:
We need a law on minimum wages because the employers usually take advantage of the worker’s poverty and pay them low wages and make them work for extra hours. If there is a law then the workers may get a fair wage for their work.

Question 2.
Find out:
(a) What is the minimum wage for a construction worker in your state?
(b) Do you think the minimum wage for a construction worker is adequate, low or high?
(c) Who sets the minimum wages?
Answer:
Students need to do it on their own.
Hint:
(a) The minimum wage rate for unskilled worker in Delhi is ?14,468 per month.
(b) Not to low but not too high as well.
(c) The Ministry of Labour sets the minimum wages.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Page 127

Question 3.
Why do you think enforcement of safety laws is important in any factory?
Answer:
Enforcement of safety laws is important in any factory is important because serious disaster may happen if this law is not present or enforced. Many people work at high risk since they don’t have any other choice, they have to earn their livelihood. It is important in any factory for the security of the workers and people residing near the factory.

Question 4.
Can you point to a few other situations where laws (or rules) exist but people do not follow them because of poor enforcement? (For example, over-speeding by motorists, not wearing helmet/seat belt and use of mobile phone while driving). What are the problems in enforcement? Can you suggest some ways in which enforcement can be improved?
Answer:
Few other situations where laws (or rules) exist but people do not follow them because of poor enforcement are:

  1. Giving bribe to make their own work in illegal way.
  2. Employing children under 14 years of age in roadside dhabas or as domestic help.
  3. Boarding in a running bus.
  4. Giving and taking dowry at the time of marriage.

The problems in enforcement are as follows:

  1. Untrained staff
  2. Irresponsible citizen

Some ways in which enforcement can be improved are as follows:

  1. Deployment of trained and adequate staff for the enforcement of the law.
  2. Strict punishments for those who are not following the law.

Poge 128

Question 5.
A ‘clean environment is a public facility.’ Can you explain this statement?
Answer:
Clean environment is a public facility because it is a right for every citizen, to keep the environment neat and clean. So that the person himself and the surrounding people can take advantage and it will be safe for everyone’s welfare.

Question 6.
Why do we need new laws?
Answer:
For the welfare of people such as to check pollution, banning the use of plastic bags, clean river, etc., we need new laws.

Question 7.
Why are companies and contractors able to violate environmental laws?
Answer:
Companies and contractors are able to violate environmental laws because these laws are not strictly administered by the government.

Page 129

Question 8.
Do you think everyone got justice in the case cited above (See NCERT page 129)?
Answer:
No, everyone didn’t get justice in the case cited above.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 9.
Can you think of other ways in which the environment can be protected? Discuss in class.
Answer:
The other ways in which the environment can be protected are:

  1. Afforestation
  2. Banning the use of plastic bags
  3. Disposal of sewage properly
  4. Minimum use of private vehicle.

JAC Class 8th Civics Law and Social Justice Textbook Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Talk to two workers (For example, construction workers, farm workers, factory workers, workers at any shop) to find out if they are receiving the minimum wages laid down by law.
Answer:
Farm workers : These workers are receiving below the minimum wages.
Construction workers: These workers are also getting less wages.

Question 2.
What are the advantages to foreign companies in setting up production in India?

Answer:
The advantages to foreign companies in setting up production in India are as follows:

  1. Availability of very cheap labour.
  2. Longer hours of work at low wages.
  3. Minimum additional expenses such as for housing facilities for workers.
  4. Cost cutting by including lower working conditions that consist of lower safety measures.
  5. Foreign companies can save costs and earn higher profits in India in this way.

Question 3.
Do you think the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy got justice? Discuss.
Answer:
No, the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy didn’t get a complete justice. This tragedy was caused due to negligence of safety measures by the factory management. The Indian government represented the people to legally claim compensation for the affected people and demanded 3 billion dollar as a compensation but the company paid only 470 million dollars. Even today, after 36 years of disaster, people are still seeking justice. Financial aid was sufficient for the victim’s but many of them are still fighting for safe drinking water, healthcare facilities and jobs.

Question 4.
law enforcement? Who is responsible for enforcement? Why is enforcement so important?
Answer:
The implementation and execution of law is known as law enforcement. The government is responsible for the laws to be enforced so that the citizens can benefit from the same. The government is responsible for the enforcement of laws. For protecting the rights of the citizens, enforcement is important.

Enforcement is important when the law seeks to protect the weaker section from the stronger section. It is also necessary to control the activities of individuals or private companies so as to ensure a safe working environment and complete social justice.

Question 5.
How can laws ensure that markets work in a manner that is fair? Give two examples to support your answer.
Answer:
Laws can ensure that markets work in a manner that is fair in the following ways:

  1. Workers are not exploited and the government should keep a check on the worksites and punish those who violates the law.
  2. The government should also keep a check on the market price of the essential commodities.

Two examples are:

  1. Right against exploitation
  2. Child Labour Prevention Act

Question 6.
Imagine yourself to be a worker working in a chemical factory, which has received orders from the government to move to a different site 100 kms away from the present location. Write about how your life would change? Read out your responses in the classroom.
Answer:
Student need to do it on their own. (Hint: Due to the relocation of the factory, I have to shift to a place nearby the factory. The education of the kids will get affected. Look for a new house. Even if, I shift alone then I have to bear the expenses of two places.)

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 7.
Write a paragraph on the various roles of the government that you have read about in this unit.
Answer:
The various roles of the government that we have read in this unit are as follows:

  1. Enforcement of laws regarding safety at workplace.
  2. Fixing minimum wages for workers and revising it from time to time.
  3. Enforcement of laws against child labour.
  4. Enforcement of laws regarding safety of environment.
  5. Protecting the interests of consumers in the market.

Question 8.
What are the sources of environmental pollution in your area? Discuss with respect to (a) air; (b) water and (c) soil. What are the steps being taken to reduce the pollution? Can you suggest some other measures?
Answer:
The sources of environmental pollution in my area with respect to:

  1. Air: Factories, industries and transport emits more dangerous and unsafe gases.
  2. Water: Disposal of industrial waste in Yamuna river, immersion of idols, pouring garbage in river.
  3. Soil: There is no chance of soil pollution as cultivation land is not available.

Suggestions:

  1. Stop the misuse or overuse of resources.
  2. Strict action should be taken against the practices that cause environmental pollutions such as use of plastic bags, disposal of all type of wastes and harmful emissions from industries.
  3. Promoting the use of CNG as fuel in vehicles and banned old vehicles. Diesel vehicles should be prohibited
  4. Pollution checking norms should be followed strictly.
  5. Encourage recycling of used materials.

Question 9.
How was environment treated earlier? What has been the change in perception? Discuss.
Answer:
In the earlier days, the environment was treated as a ‘free entity’. There was no check on the factories and industries which caused the pollution. The government paid no attention to safeguard the environment. Very few laws were applied and executed to protect and conserve the environment. There has been a vast change in perception. Now a days, government is more alert and active towards conserving the nature.

It has implemented various laws and acts to protect the environment. New and amended laws have been imposed by the government according to which the tainted person will be accountable for the harm and destruction done to the environment and shall be liable to punishment.The recent one is Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Several judgements have been given to uphold the right to a healthy environment as intrinsic to the fundamental right to life.

Question 10.
What do you think the famous cartoonist R.K. Laxman is trying to convey in this cartoon? How does it relate to the 2016 law that you read about on page 123?
JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice 1
It’s really cruel burdening kids like this. I had to hire that boy to help my son!
Answer:
The famous cartoonist R.K. Laxman is trying to convey in this cartoon that how we treat children of the same age group. One child is from rich family and gets the sympathy of mother whereas, the other child is from poor family and earns for his family hence bearing the load of books, working hard to get paid.

This is injustice. The law says that it banned the employment of children below the age of 14 years in all occupations and of adolescents (14-18 years) in any occ upations and processes. It made employing these children or adolescents a cognizable offence.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 11.
You have read about the Bhopal gas tragedy and the on-going struggle. Students from countries across the world have come together to support this struggle for justice. From protest marches to awareness campaigns, you can read about their activities on the website www.studentsforbhopal.com.

The website also has resources such as photos, posters, documentaries, victims’ statements, etc. Use this and other sources to make a wallpaper/exhibition on the Bhopal gas tragedy for your classroom. Invite the whole school to see and talk about it.
Answer:
Students need to do it on their own.

JAC Class 8th Civics Law and Social Justice Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
Bhopal Gas Tragedy took place in the year……..
(a) December 1980
(b) December 1984
(c) January 1984
(d) March 1985
Answer:
(b) December 1984

Question 2.
……….incident brought the issue of environment to the forefront.
(a) Uttarakhand flood
(b) Bengal famine
(c) Latur earthquake
(d) Bhopal Gas tragedy
Answer:
(d) Bhopal Gas tragedy

Question 3.
The government amended the Child Prevention Act in……..banning children under 14 years of age from working in factories and as domestic help.
(a) October 2006
(b) October 2005
(c) July 2006
(d) June 2005
Answer:
(a) October 2006

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 4.
Union Carbide was a/an……
(a) English Company
(b) American Company
(c) Indian Private Company
(d) Government owned Company
Answer:
(b) American Company

Question 5.
The owner of Union Carbide plant at present is…….. .
(a) Indian Government
(b) United Chemical
(c) Dow Chemical
(d) None of these
Answer:
(c) Dow Chemical

Question 6.
Union Carbide Bhopal plant produced
(a) fertilisers
(b) pesticides
(c) both a and b
(d) none of these
Answer:
(c) both a and b

Question 7.
Pollution caused by the Bhopal gas tragedy was…….. .
(a) water pollution
(b) air pollution
(c) no pollution
(d) both a and b
Answer:
(d) both a and b

Question 8.
The following industry/ies are hazardous:
(a) Ship-breaking industry
(b) Textile industry
(c) Sugar industry
(d) Both a and c
Answer:
(a) Ship-breaking industry

Question 9.
The gas that leaked from Union Carbide plant was……… .
(a) Ethyl alcohol
(b) Methyl Iscocyanite
(c) Methyl Isocynide
(d) Ethyl Isocyanite
Answer:
(b) Methyl Iscocyanite

Question 10.
Right to a healthy and clean environment is an essential part of the Fundamental Rights of ……
(a) Right to Freedom
(b) Right to Equality
(c) Right to Life
(d) None of these
Answer:
(c) Right to Life

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Economically how are the people of working class exploited?
Answer:
Economically the people of working class exploited by making them to work for lower pay and for longer hours.

Question 2.
Why do the workers willingly work in unsafe conditions?
Answer:
The workers willingly work in unsafe conditions because there is so much unemployment and they know that in return they will get wages as they are very poor.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 3.
What does the Right Against Exploitation state?
Answer:
The Right Against Exploitation states that no one can be forced to work for low wages or under bondage.

Question 4.
What does Article 21 of the Constitution state?
Answer:
Article 21 of the Constitution is Right to Life which is a Fundamental Right and it states that the right to the life of pollution free air and water for full enjoyment of life.

Question 5.
Who are responsible to set the minimum wages?
Answer:
The Minimum Wages Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament concerning Indian Labour Law that sets the minimum wages must be paid to skilled and unskilled labours.

Question 6.
List the three basic rights of workers.
Answer:
Three basics rights of workers are:

  1. Right to work
  2. Right to a fair wage
  3. Decent work conditions

Question 7.
What is the full form of CNG?
Answer:
The full form of CNG is Compressed Natural Gas.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 8.
Which three states have published plans to rescue and rehabilitate children who are working as domestic helps.
Answer:
Three states who have published plans to rescue and rehabilitate children who are working as domestic servants are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Question 9.
List three South Asian countries which play hosts for industries producing pesticides, asbestos, etc.
Answer:
Three South Asian countries which play hosts for industries producing pesticides, asbestos, etc., are India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Question 10:
Why were the textile mills in Ahmedabad closed down during the 1980s and 1990s?
Answer:
The textile mills in Ahmedabad closed down during the 1980s and 1990s because they were facing stiff competition from power looms during the 1980s and 1990s.

Short Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
Why do you think enforcement of safety laws is important in any factory?
Answer:
Enforcement of safety laws is important in any factory for the safety of the workers and general public. As the lawmaker and enforcer, the government is supposed to ensure that safety laws are implemented. It is also the duty of the government to ensure that the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is not violated.

Question 2.
Why are dvanced countries relocating the toxic and hazardous industries to developing countries?
Answer:
Advanced countries are relocating the toxic and hazardous industries to developing countries to take advantage of the weaker laws in these countries and keep their own countries safe. South Asian countries – particularly India, Bangladesh and Pakistan – play hosts for industries producing pesticides, asbestos or processing zinc and lead.

Question 3.
How can the government meet the challenges where everyone can benefit from the clean environment?
Answer:
One way this can be done is to gradually move to cleaner technologies and processes in factories. The government has to encourage and support factories to do this. It will need to fine those who pollute. This will ensure that the workers livelihoods are protected and both workers and communities living around the factories enjoy a safe environment.

Question 4.
What is the role of government and citizens in establishing a state of law and social justice?
Answer:
A major role of the government is to control the activities of private companies by making, enforcing and upholding laws so as to prevent unfair practices and ensure social justice. While the government has a leading role in this respect, people can exert pressure so that both private companies and the government act in the interests of society.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 5.
What are the reasons for the sharp differences in safety standards between the two Union carbide factories in the USA and India?
Answer:
In India, one worker can easily replace another. Since there is so much unemployment, there are many workers who are willing to work in unsafe conditions in return for a wage. Making use of the workers’ vulnerability, employers ignore safety in workplaces. Thus, there were the sharp differences in safety standards between the two Union carbide factories in the USA and India.

Question 6.
In which ways the government certifications such as ISI certification help the consumer?
Answer:
The government certifications such as ISI certification, Hallmark certification help the consumer in following ways:
When the product has a certification mark, then the consumer can be certain that the product is of good quality and safe to use.

It assures the customer that a company has a good Question uality Management System. Consumers might be put to a risk by the poor quality of products such as medicines, electrical goods, etc., if the government has not setup the Bureau of Indian Standards. Hallmark certification assures the purity of the gold when the consumer buys it.

Long Answer Type Questions 

Question 1.
Explain in brief the Bhopal gas tragedy.
Answer:
An American Company started its factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India named Union Carbide which produced pesticides. In midnight, on 2nd December 1984, a poisonous gas, methyl isocyanides started leaking from the factory plant. Within three days, the dead people number reached to 8,000. Lakhs of people were maimed. Most of the poor people and working class people were exposed to the poisonous gas.

More than 50,000 people who are sick till date and are not able to perform any task. They are sick. Those who survived this tragedy are alive with many disabilities such as severe respiratory disorders, eye problems and other disorders. Children developed strange and weird abnormalities. Bhopal gas tragedy is considered as one of the worst disaster in the world.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 10 Law and Social Justice

Question 2.
Explain the causes for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
Answer:
For almost 4 years, The Union Carbide tank’s alarm did not work. Nothing was in order. The steam boi ler which intended to clean the pipes was not working properly and water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were very poorly designed. No action plans were made to cope with this type of incidents. Moreover, the local authorities were not informed of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at the factory. These were the major causes for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

by

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

JAC Class 8th Civics Public FacilitiesInText Questions and Answers

Page 108

Question 1.
You have seen the four situations illustrated above (See NCERT page 106-107). Based on these, what impression do you get of the water situation in Chennai?
Answer:
From these four situations, we get the impression of the water situation in Chennai is that the water supply is not same for all the areas. There is a shortage of supply and demand is very high. As a result of this, only those who can afford to pay for water have sufficient access and those who can’t faces many difficulties.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 2.
Pick out the various sources of water for household use from the description alongside (See NCERT page 108).
Answer:
The various sources of water for household use from the description alongside are municipal water, water tanker, private borewell.

Question 3.
What, in your view, is similar, and what is different in Subramanian’s and Padma’s experiences.
Answer:
Similarities in Subramanian’s and Padma’s experiences are as follow:

  1. Both use borewell water
  2. Water shortage problem both of them.
  3. Both get water from tankers.

The differences are:

  1. Subramanian gets municipal water once in two days whereas, Padma does not have a tap connection.
  2. Subramanian spends upto ? 500/- on buying water from the tankers.
  3. Subramanian uses borewell water for washing and sanitation purposes whereas, Padma uses borewell water drinking and washing.

Question 4.
Write a paragraph describing the water supply situation in your area.
Answer:
Students need to do it on their own.

Question 5.
Why does water flow in a trickle in summer in most places in India? Find out.
Answer:
Water flow in a trickle in summer in most places in India because the demand for water is higher and supply is limited. The underground water level also goes down in summer due to hot weather and yield less water.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 6.
Discuss: Is there a general shortage of water for everyone in Chennai? Can you think of two reasons why different people get varying amounts of water?
Answer:
Yes, there is a general shortage of water for everyone in Chennai. Two reasons why different people get varying amounts of water are as follows:

  1. Different financial status, some are rich, some are poor.
  2. More demand and less supply.

Page 111

Question 7.
As Amu and Kumar ride around Chennai…
Amu:
Did you notice that the roads in Saidapet were so bumpy and without streetlights? / wonder what the place is like at night.

Kumar:
What better can you expect in a slum!

Amu:
Why should slums be like that? Shouldn’t they have public facilities?

Kumar: I think public facilities are for all those who live in proper houses in colonies. They are the people who pay taxes.

Amu: Why do you say that! Slum dwellers are also citizens and they have rights too.

Kumar: Arrey! The government will go bankrupt this way!

Amu: Well, it has to find a way. Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a slum without proper roads, water, electricity?

Kumar: Err….

Amu: Our Constitution recognises many of the public facilities as being a part of the Right to Life. The government must see that these rights are protected so that everyone can lead a decent life. point of view do you agree Whose with?
Answer:
I agree with Amu’s point of view.

Page 114

Question 8.
Discuss:
Do you think this would be a right step? (See NCERT page 114) What do you think would happen if the government withdraws from the task of supplying water?
Answer:
I don’t think it would be a right step. If the government withdraws from the task of supplying water then it would fail to perform its duty and many people will face serious problems. If the private companies take over the task of supplying water then they would look for more profit rather than thinking about the poor people who cannot afford to buy water. Government’s task is to ensure public facilities to all.

Question 9.
Discuss the main ideas in the above section (See NCERT page 115). What do you think can be done to improve water supply?
Answer:
This section dealt with the successful example of public water supply in Brazil and unsuccessful example of water supply in Bolivia. It also gave details about the better conditions of water supply in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Chennai has also taken steps in rain harvesting process. To improve the water supply certain steps can be taken such as afforestation, rain harvesting, repairing of water pipes, etc.

Question 10.
Do you think it is also important to conserve resources like water and electricity, and to use more public transport?
Answer:
Yes, it is also important to conserve resources like water and electricity, and to use more public transport.

Page 116

Question 11.
Do you think that lack of access to proper sanitation facilities affects peoples’ lives? How?
Answer:
Yes, lack of access to proper sanitation facilities affects peoples’ lives. It directly affects the health of the people and will become victims of many diseases like dysentery, cholera, etc. They won’t be able to work efficiently due to poor health conditions.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 12.
Why do you think that this would impact women and girls more acutely?
Answer:
This would impact women and girls more acutely because they are given less attention most of the time.

JAC Class 8th Civics Public Facilities Textbook Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Why do you think there are so few cases of private water supply in the world?
Answer:
There are so few cases of private water supply in the world because water is a basic necessity of life and everyone should get access to safe drinking water either free or at affordable rates. It is the government’s responsibility to provide water to everyone. Private companies work towards the only goal of maximising profits. If the responsibility of water supply is handed over to private companies, there would be a steep rise in the price of water, making it unaffordable for many.

Question 2.
Do you think water in Chennai is available to and affordable by all? Discuss.
Answer:
Water in Chennai is not available to and affordable by all. There is an unequal distribution of water in different parts of the city. Certain areas like Anna Nagar receive abundant water while areas like Mylapore get very little water. Municipal supply fails to meet the demand of water in the city.

People from the upper class and middle class buy packaged drinking water or water from tankers. But the situation is different and worst for the poor people as they cannot afford the expense of tankers or packaged water. In the slum areas, water supply runs for barely an hour every day and that too from a single tap that serves over thirty families for all their water needs.

Question 3.
How is the sale of water by farmers to water dealers in Chennai affecting the local people? Do you think local people can object to such exploitation of ground water? Can the government do anything in this regard?
Answer:
Due to the water shortage in Chennai, many private companies have taken it as an opportunity to earn huge profits by selling water in the city. The water is taken from nearby towns and from villages to the north of the city using a fleet of over 13,000 water tankers.

Every month the water dealers pay farmers an advance for the rights to exploit water sources on their land.Due to this trade, the water levels have dropped drastically in all these towns and villages. The water that is taken away from the farms is creating a deficit not only for irrigation but also for drinking water for the villagers.

Yes, the local people can object to such exploitation of ground water because water is a necessity and everyone has equal right to access it. The government should take a strict action against such offensive activities and disallow private companies from buying and supplying water.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 4.
Why are most of the private hospitals and private schools located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas?
Answer:
Most of the private hospitals and private schools located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas because they offer their services at high prices to earn profits and these services are affordable only by the affluent dwellers in the city.

Question 5.
Do you think the distribution of public facilities in our country is adequate and fair? Give an example of your own to explain.
Answer:
No, I don’t think the distribution of public facilities in our country is adequate and fair. For example, people living in cities avail all facilities such as healthcare, electricity, public transport, etc., but these facilities are not available fully in smaller towns and villages. They face major crisis of certain things such as electricity, not have a well developed transport system.

Question 6.
Take some of the public facilities in your area, such as water, electricity, etc. Is there scope to improve these? What in your opinion should be done? Complete the table.
Answer:

Water Is it available? How can it be improved?
Electricity Yes By making its supply available for all the day long and improve the quality of water.
Roads Yes By providing its supply for whole day and keep a check on its theft.
Public Yes Repairing of worn-out roads.
Transport Yes Increasing the frequency of the buses by making more buses on roads available.

Question 7.
Are the above public facilities shared equally by all the people in your area? Elaborate.
Answer:
The above public facilities are not shared equally by all the people in my area. The people living in posh localities avail best facilities. But the people living in slum areas doesn’t have all the facilities. They have crisis of water and electricity. On the other hand, people living in posh areas hardly face any water or electricity crisis.

Question 8.
Data on some of the public facilities are collected as part of the Census. Discuss with your teacher when and how the Census is conducted.
Answer:
The census is conducted in every 10 years. It counts the population of the country means the detailed information are collected. This information is used to measure important things such as ratio of males and females, number of literate people, etc.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 9.
Private educational institutions:
schools, colleges, universities, technical and vocational training institutes are coming up in our country in a big way. On the other hand, educational institutes run by the government are becoming relatively less important. What do you think would be the impact of this? Discuss.
Answer:
The impact of this would be that the weaker sections of the society will be deprived of quality education and the end result of this disparity will be that only the rich will get good education from the private educational institutions while the poor would not be able to afford the same. Education is a basic need and necessity and there should be universal access to education.

The main motive of private education institutes is earning profits, they charge high fees which are affordable only by the affluent section of the society. Thus, the right to quality education is only fulfilled for the rich class. Similarly, if government education institutes are not up to the mark, then weaker sections are again deprived of quality education. This, in turn, results in the disparity of quality education between the rich and the poor.

JAC Class 8th Civics Public Facilities Important Questions and Answers

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
The following is are considered to be a public facilities:
(a) water, health, and education
(b) health, hospital, and gas
(c) water, house, and car
(d) both a and b
Answer:
(a) water, health, and education

Question 2.
The chief feature of the public facilities is:
(a) Once it is provided, its benefits cannot be shared with other people.
(b) Once it is provided, its benefits cannot be taken in the future.
(c) Once it is provided, its benefits can be shared by several people.
(d) None of these
Answer:
(c) Once it is provided, its benefits can be shared by several people.

Question 3.
The government gets money from the:
(a) loan from foreign banks.
(b) loan from Indian banks.
(c) tax collected from the people.
(d) all of these
Answer:
(c) tax collected from the people.

Question 4.
The Constitution of India recognises the right to water as being a part of the under Article 21.
(a) Right to Equality
(b) Right to Education
(c) Right to Health
(d) Right to Life
Answer:
(d) Right to Life

Question 5.
The basic needs of human beings is / are ……..
(a) Healthcare
(b) Water
(c) Food
(d) All of these
Answer:
(d) All of these

Question 6.
Which of the following is the main source of water for poor people?
(a) Borewell water
(b) Water tanker
(c) Muncipal water
(d) Bottled water
Answer:
(b) Water tanker

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 7.
The is a water borne disease.
(a) Dysentery
(b) Measles
(c) Flu
(d) Polio
Answer:
(a) Dysentery

Question 8.
……… is guaranteed for all children aged between 6-14 years.
(a) Right to Life
(b) Right to Education
(c) Right to Equality
(d) Cultural Right
Answer:
(b) Right to Education

Question 9.
……… is not a source of water in rural areas.
(a) Overhead tanks
(b) Wells
(c) Borewells
(d) Handpumps
Answer:
(a) Overhead tanks

Question 10.
According to the standard set by the urban water commission, the supply of water per person in an urban area should be about .
(a) 120 litres per day
(b) 140 litres per day
(c) 160 litres per day
(d) 135 litres per day
Answer:
(d) 135 litres per day

Very Short Answer Type Questions 

Question 1. Mention few public facilities that are also provided by private companies.
Answer:
Few public facilities that are also provided by private companies are school, colleges, healthcare and transportation.

Question 2.
What is the reason for the maximum death among children in India?
Answer:
The reason for maximum death among children in India is caused by the water¬borne diseases.

Question 3.
Name some public facilities that are provided by the government.
Answer:
Public facilities that are provided by the government are healthcare, sanitation, electricity, public transport, roads, schools and colleges.

Question 4.
Which age group of children should get compulsory education according to ‘Right to Education’?
Answer:
The age group of 6 – 14 years of children should get compulsory education according to ‘Right to Education’?

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 5.
Is right to safe drinking water a fundamental right?
Answer:
Yes. Right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.

Question 6.
What is the role of government in public facilities?
Answer:
One of the most important roles of the government is to ensure that these public facilities are made available to everyone.

Question 7.
What do you mean by government budget?
Answer:
Government budget is an account of the expenses the government has made on its programmes and projects in the past year and how much it plans to spend in the coming year.

Question 81.
What is universal access to water?
Answer:
Universal access to water is the right of every person, whether rich or poor to have sufficient amounts of water to fulfill his/her daily needs at a price that he/she can afford.

Question 9.
Which NGO has been working for three decades to address the problem sanitation?
Answer:
The NGO that has been working for three decades to address the problem of sanitisation is Sulabh.

Question 10.
What do you think is regarded as a sign of failure of the government?
Answer:
A shortage of basic public amenities such as water, healthcare, electricity is taken as a sign of failure of the government.

Short Answer Type Questions 

Question l.
What do you mean by sanitation?
Answer:
The provision of facilities for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces is known as sanitation. This is done by construction of toilets and pipes to carry the sewerage and treating the waste water. This is necessary so as to avoid contamination and diseases.

Question 2.
What is Right to Water?
Answer:
The right to water is recognised as being a part of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This implies that it is the right of every person whether rich or poor to have sufficient amounts of water to fulfill his/ her daily needs at a price that he/she can afford.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

Question 3.
What do you mean by company?
Answer:
A form of business set up by people or by the government is known as a company. Those that are promoted and owned by individuals or groups are called private companies. For example, Reliance is a private company whereas SAIL is a company run by the government.

Question 4.
From where does the government get money for the public facilities?
Answer:
The main source of revenue for the government is the taxes collected from the people and the government is empowered to collect these taxes and use them for such programmes and projects. Such as to supply water, the government has to incur costs in pumping water, carrying it over long distances, laying down pipes for distribution, treating the water for impurities and finally collecting and treating waste water. It meets these expenses partly from the various taxes that it collects and partly by charging a price for water. This price is set so that most people can afford a certain minimum amount of water for daily use.

Question 5.
Why does a lack of proper sanitation affect women and girls more acutely?
Answer:
Lack of proper sanitation affects women and girls more acutely because they often have to wait until dark to go to the toilet. To avoid the need for such frequent toilet use, women often drink less water which causes severe health impacts.

Question 6.
When there is a shortage of public facilities say water then what type of situation arise?
Answer:
When there is a shortage of public facilities say water then the situation which arises is burden for the poor since the shortfalls which occur falls mostly on the poor. Though the middle class people able to cope with it like buying bottled water from private companies or by digging borewells. People who can afford it have safe drinking water but poor people are left out. The poor people faces the crisis the most.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Write in brief the availability of water in different regions of Chennai.
Answer:
The availability of water in different regions of Chennai are:

(i) One of the posh area is Anna Nagar in Chennai. This area looks lush and full with greenery. Then lush greens are maintained by enough spraying of water. Bunglows of rich people have tap water for major part of the day. When the water supply is inadequate, these rich people speak to a senior official whom he knows in the municipal water board and a water tanker is easily arranged for their house.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities

(ii) Like most areas of the city, the middle class people, Subramanian’s apartments in Mylapore suffers from water shortage. Once in two days, this area gets municipal water. A private borewell meets some of the resident’s water needs but the water is brackish so the residents use it in their toilets and for washing. For other uses they purchase water from tankers. Water purifiers are installed at homes for drinking purposes.

(iii) Siva lives on a rented house in Madipakkam and gets water once in four days. There is acute shortage of water. For drinking, they buy bottled water.

(iv) Padma lives in the slum area in Saidapet and works as a domestic help. There is a cluster of hutment, which has neither a bathroom nor a tap connection. For 30 such hutments there is a common tap at one comer, in which water comes from a borewell for 20 minutes twice daily.

A family gets to fill a maximum of three buckets within this time. The same water is used for washing and drinking. In summer, the flow becomes a trickle, so that one family gets water only at the cost of another. People have to wait long hours for water tankers. There situation becomes more pathetic during summers.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Solutions

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 Women Change the World

by

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 Women Change the World

→ Still getting an education was one way in which new opportunities were created for women.

→ Fewer Opportunities and Rigid Expectations:

  • Many people believe that women make better nurses because they are more patient and gentle.
  • This is linked to women’s roles within the family. In the same way, it is believed that science requires a technical mind and girls and women are not capable of dealing with technical things.
  • Most of the people believe in these stereotypes, hence many girls do not get the same support that boys do to study and train to become doctors and engineers.
  • Once girls finish their school, they are encouraged by their families to see marriage as their main aim in life.
  • We live in a society in which all children face pressures from the world around them. Sometimes, these come in the form of demands from adults. At other times, they can just be because of unfair teasing by our own friends.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 Women Change the World

→ Learning for Change:

  • • An extremely important part of our life is going to school. As more and more children enter school every year, we begin to think that it is normal for all children to go to school.
  • In the past, the skill of reading and writing was known to only a few. Most children learnt the work their families or elders did. The situation was worse for the girls. In communities that taught sons to read and write, daughters were not allowed to learn the alphabet. Even in families where skills like pottery, weaving and craft were taught, the contribution of daughters and women was only seen as supportive.
  • In the nineteenth century, many new ideas about education and learning emerged. Schools became more common and communities that had never leamt reading and writing started sending their children to school but there was a lot of opposition to educating girls even then.
  • Around 200 years ago, Rashsundari Devi (1800-1890) was bom in West Bengal. At the age of 60, she wrote her autobiography in Bangla. Her book titled A mar Jiban is the first known autobiography written by an Indian woman.
  • During that time, it was believed that if a woman leamt to read and write, she would bring bad luck to her husband and become a widow.
  • She leamt the alphabets with great efforts and read the Chaitanya Bhagabat as well. There were days when she did not have a moment’s rest, no time even to sit down and eat.
  • Another example is about Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) who did a lot in the field of education for women. She herself knew how to read and write Urdu. Later, she also learnt to read and write English and Bangla. She wrote a phenomenal story named ‘Sultana’s Dream’.

→ Schooling and Education today:

  • Though today, both boys and girls attend school in large numbers. Yet, there are differences between the education of boys and girls.
  • India has a census every 10 years which counts the whole population of the country along with other details.
  • According to the 1961 census, about 40 per cent of all boys and men were literate compared to just 15 per cent of all girls and women. In the census of2001, these figures have grown upto 76 per cent for boys and men and 54 per cent for girls and women. But, then also there is a huge gap.
  • Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) girls leave school at a rate that is higher than the category of ‘All Girls’. It means that girls who are from Dalit and Adivasi backgrounds are less likely to remain in school. The 2001 census also found that Muslim girls are less likely than Dalit and Adivasi girls to complete primary school.
  • In many parts of the country, especially in rural and poor areas, there may not even be proper schools nor teachers who teach on a regular basis.
  • Most families are too poor and not able to bear the cost of educating all their children. Boys may get preference in this situation. Many children also leave school because they are discriminated against by their teacher and classmates.

→ Women’s Movement:

  • Now, women and girls have the right to study and go to school. There are other spheres .such as legal reform, violence and health where the situation of women and girls has improved.
  • Women individually as well as collectively have struggled to bring about these changes. This struggle is known as the Women’s Movement. Individual women and women’s organisations from different parts of the country are part of the movement.
  • The diversity, passion and efforts of those involved makes it a very vibrant and energetic movement. Different methods and strategies have been used to spread awareness, fight discrimination and seek justice. Many men also supported this movement.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 5 Women Change the World

→ Campaigning:

  • Campaigns are to fight discrimination and violence against women are an important part of the women’s movement.
  • Campaigns also led to new laws being passed. In 2006, a law was passed to give women who face physical and mental violence within their homes are known as domestic violence some legal protection.
  • In 1997, to protect women against sexual harassment at the workplace and within educational institutions, efforts made by the women’s movement led the Supreme Court to formulate guidelines.
  • In the 1980s, women’s groups across the country campainged against ‘dowry deaths’ means cases of young brides being murdered by their in-laws or husbands, greedy for more dowry.
  • Women did so by coming on to the streets, approaching the courts, and by sharing information. Hence, this became a public issue in the newspapers and society and the dowry laws were changed to punish families who seek dowry.

→ Showing Solidarity
The women’s movement is also about showing solidarity with other women and causes.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 1 On Equality

by

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 1 On Equality

→ Equality is the main characteristics of democracy and affects all aspects of its functioning.

→ Equal Right to Vote:

  • In India which is a democratic country, all adults irrespective of what religion they belong to, how much education they have had, what caste they are, or whether they are rich or poor are allowed to vote is called Universal Adult Franchise.
  • The idea of universal adult franchise is based on the idea of equality because it states that every adult in a country, irrespective of their wealth and the communities she/he belongs to, has one vote.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 1 On Equality

→ Other Kinds of Equality:

  • Many kinds of inequalities exist in our country till now. One of the most common form is the caste system which is alive from centuries in India which also creates division among human beings.
  • Another form of inequality exists is lower castes or Dalits.
  • Dalit means ‘broken’ and lower castes are pointing to how they were and continue to be seriously discriminated against and exploited most of the time.
  • Dalits belong to the unprivileged class.
  • Omprakash Valmiki is a famous Dalit writer who wrote his harsh experience and feelings in his autobiography, ‘Joothari. He mentioned that how he was tortured by the teachers. He had to clean and sweep the floors and playgrounds while the other children were in the class studying.
  • There is another form of inequality which exists. The religion is also a big factor. The Ansaris were not given apartments on rent by many landlords and landladies because of they were from different religion. So made different types of excuses.

→ Recognising Dignity:

  • The three things – the caste we are bom into, the religion we practice and the class background we come from whether we are male or female determines why some people are treated unequally.
  • The above things happened with Omprakash Valmiki and the Ansaris who were treated unequally on the basis of differences of caste and religion.
  • The dignity of a person is violated when the person is treated unequally.
  • In the case of Omprakash and the Ansaris, they do not deserve to be treated like this. They deserve the same respect and dignity as anyone else.

→ Equality in Indian Democracy:

  • The Indian Constitution recognizes and acknowledges every person as equal. This means that every individual in the country including male and female persons from all castes, religions, tribes, educational and economic backgrounds are recognised as equal. This is not to say that inequality ceases to exist. It doesn’t.
  • Earlier no law existed to protect people from discrimination, torture and ill-treatment but now there are many works to see that people are treated with dignity and as equals. This means that no one can be discriminated against on the basis of their caste, creed, place of birth, religion, race, etc.

→ The recognition of equality consists some of the following provisions in the Constitution:

  • First, that every person is equal before the law. This means that every person from the President of the country to a domestic worker has to obey the same laws. Everyone is equal in front of law.
  • Second, no person can be discriminated against on the basis of their religion, race, caste, place of birth or whether they are female or male.
  • Third, every person has access to all public places including playgrounds, hotels, shops and markets. All persons can use publicly available wells, roads and bathing ghats.
  • Fourth, untouchability has been abolished.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 1 On Equality

→ The government has tried to implement the equality that is guaranteed in the Constitution by two ways.

  • First through laws
  • Second through government programmes or schemes to help disadvantaged communities.
  • Apart from the laws, the government has also set up several schemes to improve the lives of communities and individuals who have been treated unequally for several centuries.
  • The midday meal scheme is one of the steps taken by the government. This scheme was introduced in all government elementary schools to provide children with cooked lunch. The first state in India was Tamil Nadu to introduce this scheme, and in 2001, the Supreme Court asked all state governments to begin this scheme.
  • This midday meal scheme has many positive results. This has helped to lessen the caste prejudices because both lower and upper caste children in the school eat this meal together. Apart from this, in few places, Dalit women have been employed to cook the meal.
  • The midday meal scheme also helped to reduce the hunger of poor students who often come to school and cannot concentrate because their stomachs are empty. Hence, there is increase in the enrollment and attendance of poor children in school.
  • Despite of all these efforts, there continues to be a huge differences in our country between schools that the. rich attend and those that the poor children attends.
  • One of the reasons for the discrimination is that the attitudes change is very slow.
  • Establishing equality in a democratic society is a continuous struggle and one in which individuals as well as various communities in India need to contribute.

→ Issues of Equality in Other Democracies:

  • There are many democratic countries in the world where the issue of inequality exists. India is not the only country where there is inequality.
  • In the United States of America, the African-Americans whose ancestors were brought over from Africa to work as slaves, continue to describe their lives today as largely unequal and discriminated.
  • A day came when a huge agitation against the unequal ways in which African- Americans were treated and which came to be known as the Civil Rights Movement. It was started by Rosa Parks, an African- American woman who changed the course of American history with one defiant act.
  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited and banned discrimination on the basis of race, religion or national origin. It also stated that all schools would be open to African- American children and that they would no longer have to attend separate schools specially set up for them. In spite of this, a majority of African-Americans continue to be among the poorest in the country.

→ Challenge of Democracy:
The struggle for the recognition of all persons as equal and for their dignity should be maintained so that we can think of an equal people society. This issue of equality affects various aspects of our daily lives in democratic India.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health

by

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health

→ People expect the government to work tor their welfare in a democratic country and along with the provision of education, health, employment, housing or the development of roads, electricity, etc.

→ What is Health?

  • Health means our ability to remain free from illness and injuries. But health isn’t only about diseases, there are other factors as well that affect our health.
  • if people get clean drinking water or a pollution free environment they are likely to be healthy. While if people do not get adequate food to eat or have to live in cramped conditions, they will be prone to illness or unhealthy.
  • The various aspects of our lives which are a part of health are active positive not very anxious and without mental strain and stress.
  • Good health consists of both sound mind andbody.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health

→ Healthcare in India:

  • Healthcare facilities consists of health centres, hospitals, laboratories for testing, ambulance services, blood banks, etc., which can provide the required care and services that patients need.
  • To run these facilities we need health workers, nurses, qualified doctors and other health professionals who can advice, diagnose and treat illnesses. Apart from these, we also need the medicines and equipment that are necessary and required for treating patients.
  • In India there are numerous experienced doctors and nurses present. Public healthcare system is a system of hospitals and health centres run by the government. It has the ability to look after the health of a large section of its population scattered over hundreds of thousands of villages.
  • Though we have most of the facilities and positive developments but then also we are not able to provide proper healthcare facilities to people.

→ Public and Private Healthcare Services:
Healthcare services .is divided into two services:

  • Public Health Services
  • Private Health Services

→ Public Health Services:

  • A series of health centres and hospitals run by the government is known as the public health service. They are linked together because they cover both rural and urban areas and can also provide treatment to all kinds of problems from common illnesses to special services.
  • Primary Health Care centres are available in villages which has a doctor and a nurse to assist and to deal with common illnesses. Such a centre covers many villages in a rural area. .
  • The District Hospital at the district level, supervises all the health centres. Large cities have many government hospitals.
  • For several reasons health service is called as ‘public’. To fulfil its promise and commitment of providing healthcare to all citizens, the government has established these hospitals and health centres. The resources needed to run these services are obtained from the money that we, the public, pay to the government as taxes.
  • The most important function of the public health system is that it is meant to provide quality healthcare services either free cfr at a low cost so that the poor can seek treatment.
  • Another important function of public health is to take action to prevent the spread of diseases such as TB, malaria, jaundice, cholera, diarrhoea, chikungunya, etc. This has to be organised by the government with the participation and support of people otherwise it is not effective.

→ Private Health Facilities:

  • There is a vast range of private health facilities that exist in our country. A large number of doctors run their own private clinics and hospitals. In the rural areas, Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) are available. Urban areas have large number of doctors, many of them providing specialised services.
  • There are many laboratories that do tests and offer special facilities such as X-ray, ultrasound, etc. There are shops as well from where we buy medicines.
  • In private facilities, patients have to pay a lot of money for every service that they use but this is not the case in public health facilities.
  • Now there are large companies that run hospitals and some are engaged in manufacturing and selling medicines.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Role of the Government in Health

→ Healthcare and Equality:

  • Is adequate healthcare available to all?
  • In India, we face a situation where private services are increasing but public services are not. These private services are very expensive and it is difficult for poor people to afford the expenses. Apart from this, private facilities are available in urban areas only.
  • In order to earn more money and profit, these private services encourage practices which are incorrect. At times cheaper methods are available but not used.
  • The fact is that approximately 20 per cent of the population can afford all the medicines that they require during an illness. Hence, even for middle class people as well, medical expenses cause hardship.
  • In a study it was reported that nearly 40% of the people who are admitted in hospital had to borrow money or sell some of their possessions for their illness.
  • Poor people are undernourished and tend to fall ill frequently.
  • These poor families are not eating as much as they should. They are not provided basic necessities such as drinking water, adequate housing, clean surroundings, etc., and hence, are more likely to fall ill. The expenses on illness make their situation even worse and to sustain.
  • Many tribal areas have few health centres and they do not run properly and even private hospitals are also not present.
  • It is not only the deficiency of money that prevents people from getting proper medical treatment, it is also there lack of concerns as women’s health concerns are considered to be far less important than the health of men in the family.

→ What Can Be Done?

  • It is the responsibility of the government to provide quality healthcare services to all its citizens, especially to the poor and the disadvantaged.
  • Health is as much dependent on basic amenities and social conditions of the people, as it is on healthcare services.

→ The Kerala Experience:

  • Kerala government gave 40% of the budget to the panchayats in 1996 to provide better environment in terms of healthcare, education, living standards, etc. to the rural peoples.
  • Water supply schemes were checked, the working of schools and anganwadis was ensured and specific problems of the village were taken up to solve. Health centres were also improved. All of this helped to improve the situation. But then also, some problems such as shortage of medicines, insufficient hospital beds, not enough doctors stayed.

→ The Costa Rican Approach:

  • Costa Rica is considered to be one of the healthiest countries in Central America.
  • The Costa Rican government spend the money that the army would have used, on health, education and other basic needs of the people. They believed that a country has to be healthy for its development and pays a lot of attention to the health of its people.
  • It provides safe drinking water, sanitation, nutrition and housing. Health education is also considered very important and knowledge about health is an essential and important part of education at all levels.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

by

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

→ Government works at three levels, they,are local, state and national.

→ Who is an MLA?

  • Members of the Legislative Assembly or MLAs are elected by the people. They then become members of the legislative assembly and also form the government. Hence, the MLAs represent people.
  • In India, every state has a Legislative Assembly. And, each state is divided into different areas or constituencies.
  • For example, Himachal Pradesh is divided into 68 assembly constituencies. From each constituency, the people elect one representative who then becomes a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). These people who stand for election are from different parties.
  • A political party whose MLAs have won mote than half the number of constituencies in a.state can be said to be in a majority. The political party that has the majority is known as the ruling party and all other members are known as opposition.
  • After the elections, the MLAs belonging to the ruling or of majority party will elect their leader as who will become the chief minister.
  • The chief minister then selects other ministers for his government. After the elections, the Governor of the state appoints the chief minister and other ministers.
  • A Legislative Assembly is a place where all the MLAs, whether from the ruling party or from the opposition meet to discuss various things about their state. Hence, some MLAs have dual responsibilitie-one as an MLA and the other as a minister.

→ A Debate in the Legislative Assembly:

  • In a democracy, the members of the Legislative Assembly can ask questions, debate on important issue, decide where money should be spent, etc. They have the main authority.
  • The MLAs are together responsible for the work of the government. Here, the word ‘government’ refers to government departments and various ministers who head them. The overall head is the chief minister.
  • This is known as the executive part of the government. All the MLAs who assemble together in the legislative assembly are known as the Legislature. They are the ones who authorize and supervise their work.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 How the State Government Works

→ Working of the Government:

  • In a democracy, there are many ways through which people express their views and also take action.
  • Sometimes after the discussion in the assembly, press conference are organised by the minister.
  • Ministers also visit the areas where there are problems and meet the suffered people.
    The government announces compensations as well as solves the problems faced by the suffered families.
  • Enquiry committees are made to look into different problems such as water problem, sanitation, etc.
  • The people who are in power means the chief minister and the minister need to take actions. They do so through different departments such as the Public Works Department, the Agriculture Department, the Health Department, the Education Department.
  • The chief minister and other ministers also have to answer questions that are asked in the Legislative Assembly and convince people asking the questions that what proper steps are being taken.
  • The government can also decide to make new laws for the state regarding sanitation and health facilities.
  • Laws for the entire country are made in the Parliament.
  • In a democracy, it is the people who elect their representatives as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Hence, it is the people who have the main authority.

→ A Wallpaper Project:
A wallpaper is an interesting activity through which research can be done on particular topics of interest.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 Growing Up as Boys and Girls

by

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 Growing Up as Boys and Girls

→ Being a boy or a girl is an important part of one’s identity. The roles women play and the work they do are usually valued less than the roles men play and the work they do.

→ Growing Up in Samoa in the 1920s:

  • In Samoan society, children did not go to school. Instead, they learnt many things such as how to take care of children or do household work from older children and from adults.
  • Young people learn fishing which was a very important activity on the islands. But they learnt these things at different points in their childhood.
  • Both boys and girls looked after their younger siblings.
  • The time when a boy was about nine years old, he joined the older boys in learning outdoor jobs such as fishing and planting coconuts.
  • Girls had to continue looking after small children or do tasks for adults till they were teenagers.
  • After attaining the age of fourteen or so, girls also went on fishing trips, worked in the plantations and learnt how to weave baskets.
  • In special cooking-houses, cooking was done. Boys were supposed to do most of the work while girls helped with the preparations.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 Growing Up as Boys and Girls

→ Growing Up Male in Madhya Pradesh in the 1960s:

  • The following points are taken from a small town scenario in Madhya Pradesh.
  • From Class VI onwards, boys and girls went to separate schools.
  • The girls’ school was designed very differently from the boys’ school. They had a central courtyard where they played in total seclusion and safety from the outside world. Whereas, the boys’ school had no such courtyard and the playground was just a big space attached, to the school.
  • The girls always went in groups because they also carried fears of being teased or attacked. But the boys who used the streets as a place to stand around idling, to play, to try out tricks with their bicycles.
  • We realise that societies make clear distinctions and differences between boys and girls. This begins from a very tender and young age. Boys are usually given cars to play with and girls dolls.
  • All the ways of telling children that they have specific roles to play when they grow up to be men and women. Hence, how girls must dress, what games boys should play, how girls need to talk softly or boys need to be tough, etc.
  • In most societies which includes our own as well, the roles men and women play or the work they do are not valued equally. Men and women do not have the same status.

→ Valuing Housework:
All over the world, the main responsibility for housework and care-giving tasks, such as looking after the family especially children, the elderly and sick members lies with women. Although, the work that women do within the home is not recognised as work and assumed that this is something that comes naturally to women. Hence, they does not have to be paid for and society devalues this work.

→ Lives of Domestic Workers:

  • The domestic workers are employed particularly in towns and cities. They do a lot of work such as sweeping and cleaning, washing clothes and dishes, cooking, looking after young children or the elderly people.
  • Most domestic workers are women and sometimes even young boys or girls are employed to do this work.
  • Wages are low as domestic work does not have much value. They work very hard as well from early morning till night but employers doesn’t give much respect to them.
  • In fact, housework actually involves many different tasks and works. Heavy physical work also required to do a number of these tasks. In both rural and urban areas women and girls have to fetch water. In rural areas women and girls carry heavy headloads of firewood as well.
  • The work women do is strenuous and physically demanding, these words are actually associate with men normally.
  • Another characteristics of housework and care-giving is that we do not recognise that it is very time consuming and have much less time for leisure.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 4 Growing Up as Boys and Girls

→ Women’s Work and Equality:

  • We all know equality is an important principle of our Constitution. The Constitution says that being male or female should not become a reason for discrimination. In reality, inequality between the sexes exists.
  • Hence, the Constitution recognises that burden of child-care and housework falls on women and girls and it has an impact on whether girls can attend school or not.
  • In many villages in the country, the government has set up anganwadis or child-care centres. The government has passed laws that make it mandatory for organisations that have more than 30 women employees to provide creche facilities. The provision of creches helps many women to take up employment outside the home. It also makes it possible for more girls to attend schools.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Women, Caste and Reform

by

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Women, Caste and Reform

→ Two hundred years ago things were very different. Most children were married off at an early age.

  • In some parts of the country, widows were praised if they chose death by burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands.
  • Women who died in this manner whether willingly or otherwise, were called ‘sati’ which means virtuous women.
  • In many parts of the country people believed that if a woman was educated, she would become a widow.
  • In most regions, people were divided along lines of caste. Brahmans and Kshatriyas considered themselves as ‘upper castes’.
  • Traders and moneylender were referred as ‘Vaishyas’ were placed after them.
  • Then came peasants and artisans such as weavers and potters who were referred as ‘Shudras’.
  • At the lowest rung were those who laboured to keep cities and villages clean or worked at jobs that upper castes considered polluting, that is, it could lead to the loss of caste status. They were untouchables.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Women, Caste and Reform

→ Working Towards Change

  • The development of new forms of communication started. For the first time, books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and pamphlets were printed.
  • All kinds of issues such as social, political, economic and religious could now be debated and discussed by men and sometimes by women as well in the new cities.
  • The discussions could reach out to a wider public and could become linked to movements for social change.
  • Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833) founded a reform association known as the Brahmo Sabha (later known as the Brahmo Samaj) in Calcutta.
  • People such as Rammohun Roy are described as reformers because they felt that changes were necessary in society, and unjust practices needed to be done away with.
  • Rammohun Roy was keen to spread the knowledge of Western education in the country and bring about greater freedom and equality for women.

→ Changing the lives of widows

  • Rammohun Roy began a campaign against the practice of sati.
  • Rammohun Roy was well versed in Sanskrit, Persian and several other Indian and Europeon languages.
  • He tried to show through his writings that the practice of widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts.
  • In 1829, sati was banned.
  • Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry.
  • A law was passed in 1856 permitting widow remarriage.
  • By the second half of the nineteenth century, the movement in favour of widow remarriage spread to other parts of the country.
  • In the Telugu-speaking areas of the Madras Presidency, Veerasalingam Pantulu fonned an association for widow remarriage.
  • In the north, Swami Dayanand Saraswati who founded the reform association called Arya Samaj also supported widow remarriage.

→ Girls begin going to school

  • Vidyasagar in Calcutta and many other reformers in Bombay set up schools for girls.
  • Throughout the nineteenth century, most educated women were taught at home by liberal fathers or husbands. Sometimes women taught themselves.
  • In the latter part of the century, schools for girls were established by the Arya Samaj in Punjab and Jyotirao Phule in Maharashtra.
  • In aristocratic Muslim households in North India, women leamt to read the Koran in Arabic.
  • Reformers such as Mumtaz Ali reinterpreted verses from the Koran to argue for women’s education.

→ Women write about women

  • From the early twentieth century, Muslim women like the Begums of Bhopal played a notable role in promoting education among women. They founded a primary school for girls at Aligarh.
  • Another remarkable woman, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain started schools for Muslim girls in Patna and Calcutta.
  • By the 1880s, Indian women began to enter universities.
  • Tarabai Shinde, a woman educated at home at Poona published a book Stripurushtulna (A Comparison between Women and Men) criticising the social differences between men and women.
  • Pandita Ramabai, a great scholar of Sanskrit felt that Hinduism was oppressive towards women and wrote a book about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women.
  • By the end of the nineteenth century, women themselves were actively working for reform.
  • From the early twentieth century, they formed political pressure groups to push through laws for female suffrage (the right to vote) and better health care and education for women.
  • In the twentieth century, leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose lent their support to demands for greater equality and freedom for women.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Women, Caste and Reform

→ Caste and Social Reform

  • In Bombay, the Paramhans Mandali was founded in 1840 to work for the abolition of caste.
    During the nineteenth century, Christian missionaries began setting up schools for tribal groups and lower caste children.
  • The poor from the villages and small towns many of them from low castes began moving to the cities where there was a new demand for labour.
  • Some also went to work in plantations in Assam, Mauritius, Trinidad and Indonesia.
  • The army also offered opportunities to lower caste people. A number of Mahar people who were regarded as untouchable, found jobs in the Mahar Regiment.
  • The father of B.R. Ambedkar, the leader of the Dalit movement taught at an army school.

→ Demands for equality and justice

  • By the second half of the nineteenth century, people from within the Non-Brahman castes began organising movements against caste discrimination and demanded social equality and justice.
  • The Satnami movement in Central India was founded by Ghasidas who worked among the leather workers and organised a movement to improve their social status.
  • In eastern Bengal, Haridas Thakur’s Matua sect worked among Chandala cultivators.
  • In what is present-day Kerala, a guru from Ezhava caste, Shri Narayana Guru, proclaimed the ideals of unity for his people.
  • According to him, all humankind belonged to the same caste. One of his famous statements was one caste, one religion, one god for humankind.

→ Gulamgiri

  • One of the most vocal amongst the low- caste leaders was Jyotirao Phule. He was bom in 1827 and studied in schools set up by Christian missionaries.
  • As the Aryans established their dominance, they began looking at the defeated population as inferior as low caste people.
  • According to Phule, the upper castes had no right to their land and power. In reality, the land belonged to indigenous people, the so- called low castes.
  • He proposed that Shudras means labouring castes and Ati Shudras means
    untouchables should unite to challenge caste discrimination.
  • The Satyashodhak Samaj which is an association Phule founded propagated caste equality.
  • In 1873, Phule wrote a book named Gulamgiri meaning slavery.
  • He was concerned about the plight of upper caste women, the miseries of the labourer, and the humiliation of the low castes.
  • This movement for caste reform was continued in the twentieth century by other great dalit leaders such as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in western India and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in the south.

→ Who could enter temples?

  • Ambedkar was bom into a Mahar family. In school he was forced to sit outside the classroom on the ground and was not allowed to drink water from taps that upper caste children used.
  • On his return to India from US in 1919, he wrote extensively about upper caste power in contemporary society.
  • In 1927, Ambedkar started a temple entry movement, in which his Mahar caste followers participated.
  • Ambedkar led three such movements for temple entry between 1927 and 1935.
  • His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within society.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes History Chapter 8 Women, Caste and Reform

→ The Non-Brahman movement

  • In the early twentieth century, the non-Brahman movement started.
  • The initiative came from those non-Brahman castes that had acquired access to education, wealth and influence.
  • E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker or Periyar as he was called came from a middle-class family.
  • He had been an ascetic in his early life and had studied Sanskrit scriptures carefully.
  • Convinced that untouchables had to fight for their dignity, Periyar founded the Self Respect Movement.
  • He became a member of the Congress but left it in disgust when he found that at a feast organised by nationalists, seating arrangements followed caste distinctions.
  • He argued that untouchables were the true upholders of an original Tamil and Dravidian culture which had been subjugated by Brahmans.
  • Periyar was an outspoken critic of Hindu scriptures especially the Codes of Manu, the ancient lawgiver and the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana.
  • Orthodox Hindu society also reacted by founding Sanatan Dharma Sabhas and the Bharat Dharma Mahamandal in the north and associations such as the Brahman Sabha in Bengal.
  • The object of these associations was to uphold caste distinctions as a cornerstone of Hinduism, and show how this was sanctified by scriptures.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes