Articles

The 18th century witnessed the decline of the Mughal Empire, which had been a dominant political power in India for several centuries. Weak successors, administrative corruption, and invasions by foreign powers weakened the Mughal rule.

1. How important are dates? 

Dates tell about the events, kings and their policies and battles which occurred at a particular time.

1. What attracted European trading companies to India?

The European trading companies were attracted to India because of fine quality of cotton and silk produced in India and Indian spices such as pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.

1. Describe how company became the Diwan.

On 12 August 1765, Robert Clive was granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Mughal ruler.

1. Who was Birsa Munda?

Birsa belonged to a family of Mundas, a tribal group that lived in Chhotanagpur.

1. Who were affected by the policies of the East India Company?

Kings, queens, peasants, landlords, tribals and soldiers were all affected in different ways by the policies of the East India Company.

1. Who did the Indian National Congress wish to speak for?

The Indian National Congress wished to speak for the people of India belonging to different communities.

1. What was role of the planning commission?

The role of the Planning Commission was to design and execute suitable policies for economic development of India.

1. Name two essential features of a democratic government.

The two essential features of a democratic government are: (i) People have power to elect their leaders. (ii) Universal Adult franchise (UAF). All the adult citizens of the country have the fight to participate in elections.

1. Define Urbanisation

Urbanisation means the increase in the proportion of population of a country who live in the urban areas.

1. Where is Kalpattu village situated?

Kalpattu is a village close to the sea coast of Tamil Nadu.

1. The art of Zari work is centered in which state of India?

The art zari work is centred in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh which is known for its rich heritage of art and craft. This art has been predominant here for the last 300 years. Apart from Bhopal, it is practiced extensively in Gwalior and Indore.

1. Where are Samoan Islands?

The Samoan Islands are a part of a large group of small islands in the southern part of the Pacific ocean.

1. What are stereotypes?

When it is believed that people belonging to certain groups based on religion, wealth, language, sex etc. would behave in a particular manner, we create a stereotype. For example, people believe that girls or boys will behave in a certain manner.

1. What do you mean by mass media?

Media that reaches large number of people or the masses, across the country and the world is called mass media. For example Television, radio, newspaper etc.

1. What makes the consumer confused?

Sometimes there are two or more advertisements of a similar product of different brands. This makes the consumer confused, because it becomes difficult for him to differentiate between the same product of different brands.

1. What are the benefits of neighbourhood shops?

Shops in the neighbourhood are useful in many ways: (i) They are near our home and we can go there on any day of the week. (ii) These shops also provide goods on credit.

Patrick always disliked doing his homework. He finds it boring and instead of doing his homework, he used to play basketball and football. His teachers were fed up with him.

The sun is in the centre of the solar system. There are eight planets in our solar system. In order of their distance from the sun, they are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

All parallel circles from the equator up to the poles are called parallels of latitudes. The equator represents the zero degree latitude.

The earth has two types of motions, namely rotation and revolution. Rotation is the movement of the earth on its axis. The movement of the earth around the sun in a fixed path or orbit is called Revolution.

A map is a representation or a drawing of the earth’s surface or a part of it drawn on a flat surface according to a scale. There are three Components of Maps - distance, direction and symbol.

The surface of the earth is a complex zone in which three main components of the environment meet, overlap and interact. The solid portion of the earth on which we live is called the Lithosphere.

The surface of the earth is not the same everywhere. The earth has an infinite variety of landforms. Some parts of the lithosphere may be rugged and some flat.

India is a country of vast geographical expanse. In the north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas. The Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south.

The weather is about day to day changes in the atmosphere. The climate is about the average weather condition, which have been measured over many years. The climate of India has broadly been described as Monsoon type.

1. What is environment?

The place, people, thing and nature that surround any living organism is called environment.

1. What is the crust?

The uppermost layer over the earth’s surface is called the crust. It is the thinnest of all the layers. It is about 35 km on the continental masses and only 5 km on the ocean floors.

1. What are lithosphere plates?

The earth's crust consists of several large and several small rigid, irregularly shaped plates which carry continents and the ocean floor. The lithosphere is broken into a number of plates called lithosphere plates.

1. Which gas creates greenhouse effect in the atmosphere?

Carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect by trapping the heat radiated from the earth. This is greenhouse gas. Without it the earth would have been too cold to live in.

1. What do you mean by terrarium?

Terrarium is an artificial enclosure for keeping small house plants.

1. Name the animals found in tropical grasslands.

Elephants, Zebra, Giraffes, Deer and Leopards are commonly found in tropical grasslands.

1. Define the term transhumance.

Transhumance is a seasonal movement of people who rear animals in search of new pastures according to changes in seasons.

1. What do you mean by Tributaries?

Tributaries are small rivers that join the main river. For example Son, Yamuna are the tributaries of Ganga.

1. Which are the two main climatic factors responsible for soil formation?

Temperature and rainfall are the two main climatic factors responsible for soil formation.

1. Name any three common minerals used by you everyday.

Copper, iron and salt are three common minerals used by everyday.

1. What is meant by the term ‘industry’? 

Industry refers to an economic activity that is concerned with production of goods, extraction of minerals and provision of services.

1. What position does India occupy in the world with regards to plant diversity?

Tenth place.

1. What would happen if there were no restrictions on the power of elected representatives?

If there were no restrictions on the power of elected representative then there would be chaos, confusion anarchy.

1. What is secularism?

Secularism is freedom to live by an individual's religious beliefs and practice It separates power of religion and the power of the state. The state is neutral and impartial in dealing with religions.

1. What is Universal Adult Franchise?

Universal Adult Franchise means all adult citizens of the country enjoy the right to vote.

1. What do you mean by rule of law?

Rule of law means that all laws apply equally to all citizens of the country and no one can be above the law.

1. What is Judiciary?

Judiciary is the organ of the government which settles disputes through interpretation of laws.

1. Mention the names of people who play a key role in our criminal justice system.

The Police, the Public Prosecutor, the Defence Lawyer and the Judge play key role in our criminal justice system.

1. Write in your own words in two or more sentences of what you understand by the word ‘marginalisation’?

The word ‘marginalisation’ refers to a situation in which an individual or a group of individual is deprived of certain privileges or treated as different from others.

1. List two Fundamental Rights in the Constitution that Dalits can draw upon to insist that they be treated with dignity and equals.

The two Fundamental rights are (i) Right to equality (ii) Right against exploitation

1. Why do you think there are so few cases of private water supply in the world?

When the responsibility for water supply was handed over to private companies, there was a steep rise in the price of water, making it unaffordable by many people.

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?

1. Construction worker : They get below the minimum wages set down.
2. Factory worker : They receive below the minimum wages.

Beauty gives pleasure to everyone and can be seen, heard and felt. Beauty can be noticed in the sunlight, the trees and the birds. It can also be seen in the people who work hard, cultivated their land and grow crops. The scene looks beautiful when people dance for their harvest.