CLASS - VI CIVICS CHAPTER - 01

Understanding Diversity VIDEO LINK


Understanding Diversity (Notes) 

Diversity in India: India is a country of vast diversity. People speak different languages, celebrate different festivals and eat various types of food. Diversity is a reality created by individuals and groups from a broad spectrum of demographic and philosophical differences.

Factors Influencing Diversity: Historical and geographical factors are the two factors that influence the diversity of a region. Life of people near the sea is different from the people in a mountainous area.

Ladakh: Ladakh is a land with awesome physical features and is set in an enormous and spectacular environment. It is surrounded by the world’s mightiest mountain ranges, the Karakoram in the North and the Great Himalayas in the South.

Kerala: Kerala is located in the South-Western part of India. It is surrounded by sea on one side and hills on the other.

Unity in Diversity: India is a land of different religions and communities. There is a great diversity in our habits and customs and yet we all live together as Indians. “Unity in Diversity” has been the distinctive feature of our country.

Everyone on earth differs from each other with respect to aspects like looks, behaviour, culture, religion, language, talent etc. This means that there is diversity among people in these aspects. Diversity means the lack of uniformity and the sense of variety.

Inequality comes about among people when they have different access to resources and opportunities. The caste system, religion, financial well-being, education, etc. are various forms of inequality in the society.

India is a country of several diversities. Since it is a very big country, people in different parts differ in their customs, language, habits, etc. These diversities arise from the fact that different regions have different histories and environments.


Exercise

Question 1: Draw up a list of the different festivals celebrated in your locality. Which of these celebrations are shared by members of different regional and religious communities?
Answer: Different festivals celebrated in our locality are:
Holi - Hindus, Sikhs, Jain
Diwali - Hindus, Sikhs, Jain
Id-ul-Fitr - Muslims
Christmas - Christians
Lohri - Hindus, Sikhs
Raksha Bandhan - Hindus, Sikhs, Jain
Good Friday - Christians
But some festivals are celebrated by all the members of different regional and religious communities. These festivals are national festivals- e.g. Independence Day, Republic Day, Gandhi Jayanti, etc. These national festivals are celebrated by every Indian irrespective of region and religion.

2.What do you think living in India with its rich heritage of diversity adds to your life?
Ans: Yes, living in India with its rich heritage of diversity adds to our life in the following ways:

  • We know different people, their culture, customs, traditions, backgrounds. These diverse things add to our life.
  • Geographical diversities decide our way of life, our food, our occupations and many other things.
  • We relish our customs and traditions.

3. Do you think the term “unity in diversity” is an appropriate term to describe India? What do you think Nehru is trying to say about Indian unity in the sentence quoted above from his book “The Discovery of India”?
Ans:
Yes, we think that the term ‘unity in diversity’ is an appropriate term to describe India.
Diversities:

  1. Geographical diversities like different physical features, climates, vegetations, rivers and lakes.
  2. Cultural diversities like different languages, religions, communities, customs, traditions, festivals, rituals, etc.
    Despite all these diversities there is unity among the people.

    • They are one.
    • They stood against the British and threw the mighty empire by adopting Ahimsa and peaceful means.
    • All the people belonging to various regions are one when the country’s interests are involved.
    • In natural disasters they whole-heartedly contribute for mitigating the sufferings of the people.

4. Underline the line in the poem sung after the Jallianwalla massacre, which according to you, reflects India’s essential unity.
Ans: Don’t forget the days of blood, O friend
In the midst of your happiness remember to shed a tear for us
The hunter has tom away every single flower
Do plant a flower in the desert garden dear friend
Having fallen to bullets we slept in Jallianwalla Bagh
Do light a lamp on this lonely grave O friend
The blood of Hindus and Muslims flows together today
Do soak your robe in this river of blood dear friend
Some rot in jails while others lie in their graves
Do shed a few tears for them O friend.
The underlined line reflects India’s unity.
When it came to struggling for freedom of the country, the Hindus and Muslims came together to fight and ‘their blood flows together’.