Part 2

Government has to announce
areas demarcated for different

purposes. The constructions in
that area are expected to follow
such an order. However, it is clear
that such plans have not been
followed.
On one hand there is
growing population in the cities
and on the other hand there is
Fig 7. 3 : A middle class housing colony. Compare this with
a low income housing colony in Delhi (on page 98) long delay in planning and
announcing how the areas are to
be used. People who migrate to the city looking for work occupy land without
necessary permission and build on it in the way they can afford with no help or
facility from anyone. They remain unauthorised for long periods. When the plan
is finally announced these areas may be demarked for a different purpose.
This leads to a difficult conflict situation. People face constant threat of
eviction. They seek political patronage from being evicted from their homes. These
colonies are not likely to be recognised because the master plan ignored their
existence. Thus these colonies also do not receive many public amenities. People
here are poor but provide essential services to the city. All this leads to corruption.
Some areas of Delhi, which had been villages in the past, have been taken
over by either large builders or farmers who invested money to build houses on
their farms. This may not be along the approved lines of the master plan.
Sometimes villages themselves transformed their houses to accommodate large
number of migrant population. Over the years some such colonies have got
approval. The city continues to have people who depend on traditional livelihoods
such as rearing buffaloes for milk, or making earthen pots since these goods are
required by the city.
Many parts of the city, which have traditionally been common lands, are now
occupied as bastis or slums. These could be areas on the river banks or earlier
grazing lands. They are owned by local bodies. The people living in such areas are
often the poor. These areas may not have proper streets or drainage, and are
overcrowded. Some of them have legally been notified as slums while others are
not. On many occasions there were conflicts on land rights. Often big builders or
Delhi Development Authority (DDA) itself would evict people from the land that
they have been living on for a long time. The compensation given under such
circumstances may not be sufficient for them either to re-locate back to their
Free distribution by A.P. Government 91

native places or afford a residence in planned Find out what factors have
areas of the city. Thus it often ends up that influenced the settlement of your
people move from one area to another and place in the past ten years.
they occupy a new location that is not
notified. Over time the process repeats itself. Thus settlements have been growing
in an unplanned manner.
What kinds of places attracted settlements?
To understand this, we need to look at these basic concepts: (1)
site (2) situation (3) the history of the place.
Site refers to the characteristics of the place – its topography,
altitude, water characteristics (The place with lakes, rivers,
underground water, etc.), types of soils, security, shelter from
natural forces, and so on.
In early settlement periods, places which had favourable water supply and good
protection from invasions were preferred. For example, Chhatrapati Shivaji built a
fort in Pratapgad, Maharashtra. This
site was chosen because of its altitude
from where all the surrounding areas
could be seen. This provided military
security.
Places do not exist in isolation.
They are in some way connected to
other places. Situation describes the
connections with other places. For
example: Visakhapatnam is located
on the coast and connects Andhra
Pradesh to many places in and
outside of India.
Visakhapatnam has a long history. Fig 7.4 : Fort in Pratapgad
It was ruled by different dynasties
during pre-colonial times. During the
19th century, the British and French fought a naval battle over this city. Coastal
places were of immense significance for colonial powers because they could build
ports there. These ports would enable export of raw materials to the colonising
country.
In fact, cities such as Mumbai and Chennai were further developed by the colonial
powers to better exploit the natural resources of India. The fight for Visakapatnam
was for similar reasons. Visakhapatnam as we now know it, is made up of several
other places. After the British took it over, its boundaries were redrawn several
times and have been constantly expanding.
92 Social Studies People and Settlement

Population change in Visakapatnam
Table 2
Population of Visakapatnam 1. In the population data given beside, are the
Year Population %change numbers reported for every decade? If not, which
decade’s data is not reported here?
1901 40,892
1911 43,414 +6.2% 2. From which decade to which decade has the
1921 44,711 +3.0% population increase been the highest (in
1931 57,303 +28.2% percentage)?
1941 70,243 +22.6%
1951 1,08,042 +53.8% 3. From which decade to which decade has the
1961 2,11,190 +95.5% population increase been the least (in
1971 3,63,467` +72.1% percentage)?
1981 6,03,630 +66.1%
4. Plot the absolute population of Visakapatnam on
1991 7,52,031 +24.6%
a line graph covering 1901-2011. What
2001 13,45,938 +78.97%
2011 20,35,690 +51.2%
observations can you make about the changes in
the absolute population size?
Over the decades, Visakapatnam’s
population has grown significantly (see
Table above). This growth is a result of the
importance of Visakapatnam as a port city.
This population increase also indicates
growth in economic and social
opportunities.
It is not just huge port cities that are
connected to other places. All places are
connected to each other. It is only a
question of whether the connection is
Fig 7. 5 : Visakhapatnam direct or indirect.
The weekly village market in a village is a very important way through which
places connect. The bigger the weekly market is, the more important that village is.
At these weekly markets, people from several neighbouring villages converge and
conduct trade.
Some villages also host an annual fair which is a larger market along with many
cultural elements. Many events are held including music, dance, theatre, etc. Both
the weekly markets and such fairs are also important to plant and animal genetics
in the area because local seeds and livestock breeds are traded here. These fairs
also often result in intermarriage among people from different villages.
The villages that are best connected (most often by road, but river and other
connections are also important in some places) have the most vibrant markets and
fairs.
Review site and situation
Column A contains features of a place. In column B, write site, if it is a site
feature or situation, if it is a situation feature. In column C, write the ways in which
this feature could impact.
A B C
1. Soil type is clay.
2. Rainfall is heavy.
3. Its main market is 45 kms by
road from the coast.
4. It has gently sloping land.
5. It is on the main railway line.
6. It does not have a hospital.
7. It has many agricultural fields.
8. It is connected by mobile towers
to all other places
9. It is within 10 minutes’ walking
distance from the river.
10. It has one rice mill.
Field work Understanding the settlement of your place

Go to some of the production locations you have noted (farms, factories, offices,
shops, quarries etc.) in the sketch map you drew and find out where they get raw
materials/ inputs from and where they send their goods. Which raw materials come
from within your settlement? Similarly, find out whether the finished goods are
sold only in your own settlement or sent to other places (if other places, find out
where). Why did production begin here?
Give some example of site features that has influenced production in the area.
Give examples of situation features that influenced production in your area.
How was production influenced by the history of the place?
How are settlements organised?

As settlements become more and more diversified in their characteristics, they
also became more and more complex. Gradually, a network of places in a hierarchy
has been formed (i.e., different levels of complexity).
Thus, for more complex needs, you have to go to a bigger place. For example: a
big village or small town may have a Primary Health Centre (PHC). A PHC may be
able to treat people for minor problems such as cold, cough, flu, small injuries, etc.

However, if you need some simple surgery, you will need to go to a bigger town. If
you need heart surgery, brain surgery, or MRI scan (a method of taking a picture of
the internal parts of your body), you will have to go to a big city where such a high-
technology hospital is located. A high-technology hospital is usually not located in
an isolated village.
Consider your own place …
The bigger a place is, the more variety of services you can find there. Take
educational facilities as an example. This exercise can help illustrate how more
specialised services are found in bigger places (i.e., places that are higher in the
hierarchy).
1. What are the levels of schooling you can get in your place? E.g.: primary,
high school, higher secondary (“+2”), college (undergraduate, postgraduate).
2. If you want to study beyond the highest level offered in your place, where
would you have to go?
3. What kind of professional courses can you join in your place? E.g.:
engineering, medicine, commerce, technical diploma, etc.
4. If you want some other professional course, where will you have to go?
Atlas work …
In your atlas look at a map of India. Notice how different places are shown
using different sizes of symbols: national capital, state capital, other cities, etc.
How many levels are shown using different symbols? Are tiny villages shown?
Create your own table and arrange the places in decreasing order (i.e., most
prominent place at the top, less prominent places as you go down). Here is an
example table for you. Two examples are shown, fill in details for other places.
Level in the hierarchy Type of place Name Symbol used
1 National capital New Delhi Star
2 State capital Amaravati Large, dark black dot
3
Repeat this kind of study for any other country of your choice.
Urbanisation in India
In India, nearly 350 million i.e. one-third of population lives in cities
and towns. People have been increasingly taking up non agriculture work
and living in cities and towns; this is called urbanisation. A considerable
section of population in the 1950s lived in 5.6 lakh villages and there
were only 5 cities that had a population of more than 1 million each and
the number of cities with 1 lakh population was about 40. Today the
number of villages has increased to 6.4 lakhs and about 850 million
people live in these villages. Three cities – Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata -
accommodate more than 10 million people each. There are more than 50 cities that
have a population of 1 million.
Most of the population increase in cities and towns took place as a consequence
of natural growth within the urban areas. The population of these urban areas
increased over time. Some of the growth in urban settlements took place by
expansion, with the inclusion of rural areas surrounding older cities and towns.
Only one-fifth of the growth is due to rural - to - urban migration.
Though there has been an increase in urbanisation, the necessity of providing
basic infrastructure that can support this growth is missing. You require roads,
drainage, electricity, water and other public facilities. Government intervention is
making some headway in improving the urban infrastructure particularly those
associated with road transport. However, the provision of electricity, water and
health infrastructure is not sufficient. For poorer people in the cities and towns,
this situation is even worse.
How does urban India contribute to India’s economic development? Service
sector activities such as finance, insurance, real estate and business related service
activities such as transport, storage and communication contribute more than
industrial activities. There is no major growth of industrial output over the last few
decades.
Living in or moving into cities and towns is a boon only for a few. Although the
level of poverty in urban areas is relatively lower than what is noticed in rural areas,
there is a huge gap between the average income of a low income family and a high
income family. This gap has also been increasing in cities and towns. Incomes earned
in urban areas by the SC/ STs are far lower than other caste groups. In 2009-10,
only about one-sixth of urbanites belonging to castes other than SC/ STs were poor
whereas in the case of SC/ ST urbanites the poverty level is double. Most of these
poor live in non metropolitan towns and work in the unorganised sector.
Indian settlements in hierarchy

The Census of India, organises settlements in India using certain criteria. In the
Table 7.3 the Census department’s definitions of various settlement
types are given. Read them carefully and complete the exercise.
Given on page 97 is a pyramid. The bottom-most part of the
pyramid shows the lowest level of the settlement hierarchy
according to the Indian census. The top-most shows highest level.
Fill in the details that are left blank:
1. The name given to the particular level of settlement (Two examples are shown).
2. Give one example of a settlement from Andhra Pradesh
(except in Mega cities. Why?).

Table 3 : Indian settlements in hierarchy
Settlement type Criteria used Examples

Mega Cities Cities having more than 10 * Greater Mumbai UA (population 18.4 million)
million people * Delhi UA (population16.3 million)
* Kolkata UA (population 14.1 million).
Metropolitan Cities having population * Chennai (8.6 million)

Cities / between one million to * Hyderabad (7.8 million)
Million Plus cities 10 million * Ahmedabad (6.2 million)
Cities/ Class Urban areas having With the help of your teacher identify 3 cities
1 cities population between and give the details of population within
1 lakh to one million Andhra Pradesh
Towns All the urban areas having With the help of your teacher identify 3 towns
population between 5000 in / nearby your area and give the details of
to 1 lakh population
Revenue / A village with defined With the help of your teacher identify 3 revenue
Census Village borders villages in / nearby your area and give the
details of population
Hamlets A group of houses within With the help of your teacher identify one or
the revenue village two in a revenue villages in / nearby your area
3. Try to place the town where you live (if you live in a village show the town in
which your school is located) at the correct level, in the space below, give 1 or 2 reasons
for your choice.
Mega Cities
4. Do you think
Higher level
settlements should be (bigger places)
classified only on the basis
of population? Can you
think of any other way?
Discuss with your teacher
and identify the criteria for
such classification.
Into the future, India is
poised to follow the trend
of many ‘economically
developed’ nations in
becoming predominantly Lower level
(smaller places) Hamlets
urban. Very small rural settlements without notified governing body

Aerotropolis jet-age city
A new kind of settlement is
What is at the centre of an aerotropolis?
occurring in many countries, including
India. These settlements are centered Name any two facilities located at or near
around large airports. Hence the name the centre of an aerotropolis.
aerotropolis (or airport city). On an outline map of the world, locate and
In an aerotropolis the airport label the cities here in the examples. Name
functions as a city in its own right. Many the country and the airport also on the map.
facilities (hotels, shopping, Remember to use different types of text
entertainment, food, business to identify the names of the country and
conferencing, etc.) are provided right the names of the cities and airports. Thus,
there. People can fly in, conduct their it will be very easy to see which words are
business with their counterparts right names of countries, and which are for
there, and fly out – with all the comfort
cities and their airports.
of a city, without the traffic and other
problems. Suppose the place you have studied for this
chapter gets an aerotropolis near it.
Some form of aerotropolises are
emerging in these places in India: Mention 3 ways in which the site features
Bengaluru International Airport, Indira of your place may change. Similarly,
Gandhi International Airport (Delhi), and mention 3 ways in which the situation
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport features of your place may change.
(Hyderabad).
Elsewhere, examples of emerging aerotropolises include: Suvarnabhoomi
International Airport (Bangkok, Thailand), Dubai International Airport (Dubai, UAE),
Cairo International Airport (Cairo, Egypt), and London Heathrow Airport (London,
UK).
Urbanisation problems Fig 7.6 : Low income residential area of Delhi

Increasing urbani-
sation is not just about
greater opportunities
for people, more
economic productivity,
etc. It also results in
many problems. The
growing urban
population has to be
housed. It needs water
supply, sewage and
other waste disposal,

transportation, and many other things. All these result in environmental stress. As
vehicle use increases urban air pollution increases causing health problems and
localised climatic change. Improper sewage disposal can also lead to greater threat
of infectious diseases.
One of the impacts of increased urbanisation is the use of materials that either
do not degrade or take a long time to do so. This produces waste that has to be
disposed off. Where do we put such waste? As urban areas expand, the waste is
increasingly pushed to rural areas where they are either just dumped or taken to
waste treatment plants. Look at the case study below.
Villagers up in arms against solid waste management plant

Staff Reporter The Hindu BERHAMPUR, December 11, 2012
The proposed solid waste Earlier, this solid waste But from the very
treatment plant of the treatment plant was beginning the proposal has
Berhampur Municipal proposed to be established received opposition from
Corporation (BMC) has at Chandania hill on the peasants and villagers of
faced another stumbling outskirts of the city. Twenty the area.
block. acres of land had also been As per a survey made in
Villagers of Mohuda area earmarked for the purpose. 2009, Berhampur was
have started to protest Boundary wall producing over 150 tons of
against establishment of As per Berhampur solid waste every day.
this waste treatment plant Municipal Corporation In three years it must have
near their village. sources, a boundary wall increased, say Berhampur
According to them, if this had been built up around Municipal Corporation
solid waste treatment the land patch at a cost of authorities. Nature of solid
plant was established near over 50 lakh rupees. waste also changes every
Mohuda pollution caused But it was found that the day as per change in
by it may affect a land at Chandania hill was lifestyle of inhabitants.
population of around forest land and unless it Survey
30,000 people as well as was transferred to revenue In February a survey was
around 10,000 domestic department and conducted in the city to
animals of the area. consequently to the assess the nature of solid
They also sent a Berhampur Municipal waste generated in the
memorandum to the Corporation, the waste area.
administration in this treatment plant cannot be International Financial
regard. Sarpanch of established on the land. Corporation (IFC) is
Mohuda panchayat So, an alternative site was providing technological
Sadhana Mohanty and searched for the proposed and tactical support for the
some educational solid waste treatment solid waste management
institutes of the area also plant on the outskirts of the project to be established
expressed concern over city. Government land of by the Berhampur
this proposed waste over 30 acres located near Municipal Corporation.
management project of the Mohuda village was
BMC. chosen for the purpose.

Using your atlas, locate Berhampur.
What is the issue about which the
people of Mohuda village are upset?
How many people and animals are
expected to be adversely affected by
the facility?
What was the alternative location for
the facility and why was it not used?
What data does the report give about
the quantity of solid waste produced
by Berhampur?
Berhampur Municipal Corporation
authorities say that the amount of
solid waste produced by the city
“must have increased in three years.”
Do you agree or disagree with their
statement? Why or why not?
Fig 7. 7 : Slum residences in Mumbai Photograph from
1940. The city continues to have; large slums
Key words
Settlement Site Situation Urban
Rural Aggolomeration Hierarchy Megacities
Aerotropolis Urbanisation Metropolitan city
Improve your learning

1. What is a settlement? AS1
2. How did human life styles change with settlement? AS1
3. Define site features and situation features. Give one example for each from the place
you live in. AS1
4. How does the Census of India define various kinds of places? How does it organize
them in order of size and other characteristics? AS1
5. What is an aerotropolis? How is it structured? AS1

CHAPTER
People and Migration

8
Ramaiah - A migrant teacher in Hyderabad
My parents and grandparents lived for many years in Sunkesula
village, Mandal Owk, Kurnool District. They depended on borewells
for irrigating their land to cultivate mainly mirch, paddy and cotton.
Sunkesula is 79 kms away from Kurnool, with more than 400
houses and a population of 1800. Most households here depend on
agriculture. In my childhood days, there was no transport or road
facility to come from Sunkesula to Kurnool or even Nandyala which is about 57
kilometers away.
During 1970s, our village had a Government Primary School with students
studying classes 1 to 3 (now the school has been upgraded upto 5th class).
I studied up to class 3 in Sunkesula. Later I studied classes 4-7 in Ramapuram, a
nearby village.
For classes 8-10, I went to Government High School in Owk which is about
20 kilometers from Sunkesula. During this time, I stayed in a government run
hostel. I came to Kurnool for my Intermediate and then completed the Teacher
Training Certificate Course in Government institutions. A friend helped me to
apply for the course and also advised where to stay in Kurnool.
I got a job as a Government school teacher in 1983 and was posted at
Chennampalli in Kurnool district, which is 25 kilometers away from Sunkesula.
After two years I was posted in another village school where I worked for 5½
years. During all these years, we - my wife and children resided in Banaganapalle,
from where I commuted to school. In the year 2004 we again moved to Kurnool.
For the last 10 years we are not doing any farming. The well we used earlier is
dried now. Land has been given on
lease to another person residing
in Sunkesula. He pays some
money to us and cultivates cot-
ton. Most families who own land
during my childhood have mi-
grated to cities, and many erst-
while agricultural labour families
now lease the land.

Draw a sketch map showing
Kurnool district along with
Nandyala town. Mark arrow
lines linking the names listed
in the case study.
Not just this teacher, but also

hundreds and thousands of people
move to urban locations for
education, employment and better
opportunities. You require some
support for migration to take
place. But over time people go to
new places, develop relationships
with new people, understand and
live in a diversified culture.
Measure and classify migration patterns

Migration arises out of various social, economic or political reasons. For
identifying a person as a migrant, two criteria are used by the census:
“birth place” – place where the person was born
“last usual place of residence” – a place where the person had stayed
continuously for a period of six months or more
Here is a list of few people. Categorise them as migrant or non-migrant. Indicate

the pattern and guess the probable reasons for migration.
Name Present address Place of birth Migrant or Pattern of migration,
for the last non-migrant rural to urban; urban to
six months urban etc and
possible reason
Sindhu Rajahmundry Village in
town East Godavari Dt.
Grace Oviya Hyderabad Vijayawada
Ali (an NRI) New Delhi London
Ramaiah Hyderabad Sunkesula
Lakshmi Thimmapuram Kodandaramapuram
(for only two months) in Nellore dt.
Swathi Gatlanarsingapur Vijayawada Passed Service
Karimnagar Dt. Commission Examination
102 Social Studies People and Migration
In India, according to census 2001, about 307 million people have been reported
as migrants. Migrations can happen due to many reasons. While females report
marriage as the most common reason for migration, employment or seeking
employment is the most common reason for males to migrate. Dissatisfaction with
employment opportunities in the native place, better opportunity for studies, loss
in business, family feuds etc are also some of the other reasons that people have
stated as reasons for migration in the census surveys.
Most migrants move only for short distance. Out of the 307 million migrants,
about 259 million (84.2%), migrated from one part of the state to another, i.e.,
from one village or town to another village or town. Around 13% migrated from
one state to another (See Table below).
Table 1: Migrations in India (Census 2001)
Category Number of Percentage Calculating Remarks
persons the percentage
values
Total Population a.1,028,610,328
Total Migrants b.307,149,736 29.9 (b÷a) × 100 This is the total percentage
of migrants (people who
moved from their place
of birth).
Migrants within c. 258,641,103 84.2 (c÷b) × 100 Of the total migrants
the state of (b), these migrated within
enumeration the state of birth.
Migrants from d.? 13.8 (d÷b) × 100 ?
outside the state
but within the country
Migrants from e. 6,166,930 2.0 (e÷b) × 100 ?
other countries
Adapted from: Table D1 India, Census of India 2001.
Read the table again and complete the required information.
Three maps given here depict the migration of people across states in north, east, west
and southern part of India. During the last decade (2001-2011), people moved from states
such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu to states such as Delhi,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Karnataka. Mark the recent migration with arrow
marks on an India Political Map. Discuss in the class about the differences and
commonalities of people moving from one state to another.

In map 1 what are the states from which migrant come to Delhi?
In map 2 from which states do the people migrate to Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka?
In map 3 Look at Tamil Nadu, what could be reasons out
migration and in migration?
Map 3 : Estimated Major Inter - State Migration Streams : 2001- 2011
- InLakhcrores
Note : These maps do not show three States and we

retained as given

Rural - Urban migration
People migrate from rural areas mainly due to insufficient
employment opportunities and inadequate income available in rural
employment. People also migrate with the expectation of higher
incomes and more opportunities for family members and may be
better services. Ramaiah was able to find work in the organised
sector. However, most urban migrants have to work as labourers
and find employment in the unorganised sector. They could be working as hawkers,
painters, repair persons,
rickshaw pullers, construction Interview a person who has come to a town to
labour etc. work in the unorganised sector as a labourer or
For some people from rural domestic servant and write her story (see the case
areas moving to cities and towns study of Ramaiah above).
to work in industry and other If you live in a rural area, interview a person who
service activities has been has come on a vacation from working in a town
recognised as a natural response in the unorganised sector, write his story (see
to increase their income and for the case study of Ramaiah above).
better family prospects. In this Compare and contrast these two situations.
process, they have opportunities
for education, take up new jobs and acquire new skills. Towns also appear to offer
greater freedom and somewhat less discrimination based on caste and gender.
However, many move to urban areas more out of desperation and not having adequate
employment opportunities in the rural areas. For these people, living conditions in
slums in towns and cities are worse because space is cramped and basic facilities
such as drinking water and sanitation aren’t available. These people are not able to
find jobs in the ‘organised sector’ and therefore there’s no job security and decent
income that they were aspiring for. They continue to live as daily workers.
Many families have residences both at their origin (native place) and at the
destination. They shift between the two places depending on work and seasons.
Migration does not necessarily involve movement of all members of the family,
and often the wife remains in the rural area.
Remittances - money sent by migrants from their destination - are an important
means of supplementing, or generating additional incomes for the rural family. The
amount of remittances and the pressure to remain in the urban areas depends upon
the needs of rural family members. Migrants retain the economic ties in rural areas
because they want to safeguard their rights over land and homestead. Families back
in rural areas are important for most urban migrants. In fact, it is the family which
decides whether their family member should migrate or not.
Urban migrants use different job searching mechanisms depending upon their
skills and educational qualifications. Contacts and networks are crucial for getting

urban jobs. In fact villagers pre-arrange their jobs from rural areas and come to
urban areas through their contacts or networks. They keep close ties with their
rural areas for a variety of reasons. Migrants also pass on the urban opportunities to
the rural areas so that potential migrants can engage in rural-based job search. In
most cases, migration is the survival strategy for many families.
Why are contacts and networks essential Graph 1 shows how the number of
for getting jobs in urban areas? persons increased in urban areas – cities
and towns during the last five decades,
1961-2011, in India. During 1961-71,
population living in urban areas increased by 30 million. Out of this increase, only
6 million, or about one-fifth increase is due to people coming from rural areas to
cities and towns. The larger increase is due to natural growth of the urban population
already living in the urban areas. The third reason for increase in urban areas is the
expansion effect, when some rural areas become small towns.
Graph 1 : Expansion of Urban

Population in India, 1961-2011
(million)
Natural increase
40
Due to declaration of rural
areas as urban areas and
40
35 expansion of urban areas
26 29
20 13
14 8
5
10 13 14 22
Due to migration of people
6 from Rural to Urban area
Calculate the total number of persons added to urban population for each period
and percentage of each group. Write sentences for each bullet point. One example
is given here:
During 2001-2011, there were 91million (40+29+22) people added in the

urban population. In terms of percentage, 44% increase was due to natural
increase, 32% was due to expansion of urban areas and 24% was due to
migration.

How would you construct a table to show the effect of migration for the entire
period 1961-2011?
When people move out of rural areas which sector of the economy in the rural area
loses the most number of people? Why?
In urban areas, what are the common sector(s) of the economy in which migrants
from the rural areas find employment? What are some reasons for this?
Seasonal and Temporary Migration

According to national census surveys, every fourth person in India is a migrant.
During 2001-2011, migration increased but not as large as in the 1980s. This may
be within a state or outside. You have read the story of Ramiah, a rural to urban
migrant. You have also interviewed someone who has come into a town as a labourer.
We have examined the statistics of rural – urban migration and the multiple reasons
for migration. However, it is significant that rural to rural migration has increased.
Some of this may not be captured by census data because the period of stay is often
less than six months. The number of seasonal migrants is underestimated in India
due to limitations in the definition of the term ‘migrant’ used in national surveys.
The sugarcane cutters of Maharashtra
Maharashtra is one of the popular states of India which produce sugar. It has
186 cooperative sugar factories. Large scale sugarcane cultivation began here in
the early 1970s after the Koina dam was built. A study estimates that about
6,50,000 labourers migrate from central to western Maharashtra for sugarcane
cutting each year. Of these around 2,00,000 are children in the elementary school
age group of 6-14 years. They come with their family members.
The sugarcane cutters camp for the season in clearings earmarked by facto-
ries. These are in the vicinity of the fields. Each family is provided with a bamboo
mat and poles, which are converted into a small conical hut or kopi. Tyre centre
settlements have 200-500 kopis and Gadi centres have 50-100 kopis. The kopis
are cramped together, and bullocks are parked in front. Animals and humans live
together in congested conditions.
The work units move to the fields in the early hours of the morning where
they cut cane throughout the day, about 1.5 ton per person. The payment rate
per ton varies between Rs.80 and 100. The field is divided into strips, and each
strip is assigned to one work unit. The man and woman cut the cane, remove the
leaves, and throw it on the ground, the child takes the cane and puts it on a pile.
The piles thus made are then tied into bundles, carried on the head by men and
women and put on to carts.

Why is there a shortage of sugarcane cutters The men drive the carts to the fac-
in western Maharashtra? tory where they might have to wait
What would happen to children who come in queue for several hours before they
with their parents? Is it possible to bring get to offload the cane. The women,
these children to schools? Are there any meanwhile, walk several kilometers
provisions in the government laws for back to the settlement. They have to
educating these children? fight exhaustion all the time.
Why are sugarcane cutters employed only A large section of rural workers
for six months? What work might they do migrate for a short duration and
during the other six months of the year? particularly due to distress caused in
How could the living conditions of these rural areas. They are mainly
workers be improved? agricultural labourers or marginal
farmers in their place of origin and
The seven districts in western Maharashtra
mostly belong to low income
– Nasik, Ahmadnagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli,
households, dalits and adivasis.
Kolhapur and Sholapur – comprise the
We have seen how sugarcane
“sugar belt” which extends into Surat
cutters in Maharashtra move from one
(Gujarat) in the north and Belgaum
rural area to another. Rural seasonal
(Karnataka) in the south. Five districts of
migrants work in agriculture and
the arid Marathwada region – Beed, Jalgaon,
plantations, brick kilns, quarries,
Ahmadnagar, Nasik and Jalna – send out
construction sites and fish processing.
labour to this sugar belt for six months every
Some examples for these are given
year for sugarcane harvesting.
below.
Draw arrow lines on a map showing districts A study of the rice producing belt
of origin and destination of migrants. of West Bengal in the late 1990s
suggests that more than 5 lakh migrants,
mostly tribals and other low castes move to Bardhaman district during harvest season.
Their number is increasing over the years. While males from Saora tribals have a
long history of migrating to work in Assam plantations, Munda and Santhal men
migrate to work in mining sites in Odisha. Nearly 50,000 women from Kerala
migrate annually to work in fish processing industries of Maharashtra.
Construction sites in most urban areas depend on migrant workers. It is also
common to see migrants selling plastic goods, vegetables, and engage in other
petty businesses and casual labour. A large section of such migrants are from tribal
communities & from drought-prone areas of the state. Seasonal migrants are not
only poor but have little or no land at their native place. The Graph 2 gives the
details of short term migrants – those who stayed away from their native places for
not more than 6 months during the year prior to survey.

The National Commission of Rural Graph 2 : Social Background of short term
Labour in its report in 1990s found that migrants in India, 2007-08
uneven development and regional
disparity triggered and accelerated
seasonal migration. In some tribal areas 18% SC
19%
intrusion of outsiders and displacement
of people for construction of dams and ST
mining have increased distress seasonal
OBC
migration. 23%
In agriculture sector, employers go 40% Others
to the native place of migrants and
recruit them. Contractors (also called
agents), traders who belong to the same
caste, community or source area are
used by employers of quarries in Delhi, coffee plantations of Karnataka, and farming
in Punjab. Such workers come with workers who are already migrated. Contractors
retain part of the migrants earnings apart
from payments they receive from Describe an example of seasonal
employers. Sometimes, the contractors migration of your region.
also work as supervisors.
What happens when people migrate?

Migrant labourers spend more on food as they cannot get food grains from fair
price shops at their workplaces. As they live in harsh circumstances and in unhygienic
conditions, they suffer from health problems and are prone to disease. Those working
in quarries, brick kilns, construction sites and mines suffer from body ache, sun
stroke, skin irritation and lung diseases. When employers do not follow safety
measures, accidents in industrial areas and construction sites are also common.
Migrants are not able to access various health and family care programmes as they
do not belong to the organised sector. In the case of women migrant workers, there
is no maternity leave. This means they have to go back to work very soon after
childbirth.
When families migrate, children accompanying their parents do not have crèche
facilities. Grown up children are not able to continue their studies at their parents’
new workplaces. Schools in their native place refuse to take them again when they
come back. They finally become dropouts. When males leave their families this is
also a major challenge for women who have to take care of all the responsibilities
of the family and elderly people who need care. Young girls in such families are
required to take care of siblings and many of them become dropouts.

Migration leaves a considerable mark on the migrants also. Exposure to different
environment, stress associated with it, food available and social atmosphere leave
a deep impact on migrants. This also depends on the length of migration. They have
greater exposure to ideas and try to challenge older notions.
Most migrants and particularly those going for long term send remittances. In
some regions of India, nearly one-third of households depend on the remittances
sent by their migrant members. Majority of seasonal migrants either remit or bring
back savings. Migration allows households
What can be done so that migrants are
to meet debt and other obligations without
able to get food, health and family
having to sell assets. It is also common to
care programmes?
find migrant families buying house, land,
There are some initiatives taken by agricultural machinery and consumer
government and voluntary agencies. durables. Some migrants might take up jobs
Find out if there is any such initiative in the destination, acquire skills required in
in your area. Invite some persons the destination area, become aware of how
from such agencies for a talk in the to get regular jobs and migrate regularly or
school. permanently.
a
Fig 8.1 : National boundaries are protected
against migrants. Here are examples of a)USA on
Mexican border b) South Korea on North Korean
border c) India on Bangladesh border. What do
you think of migrants across the border?
International migration
One-third of the world’s 200 million international migrants,
less than 70 million people, according to the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), moved from one developing
country to another. International migration from India is of two
types:
People with technical skills and professional expertise have
migrated to countries such as USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and other
developed countries. IT professionals, doctors and management professionals are
an example of this type. Indians migrating to countries such as UK and Canada in
1950s and 1960s were unskilled where as in the later years, mostly professionals
went to these countries. In recent times, Indian professionals also go to countries
such as Germany, Norway, Japan and Malaysia. In the 1950s about 10,000 persons
a year went to developed countries and in 1990s this has increased to more than
60,000 a year.
The second type of international migration is unskilled and semi-skilled workers
migrating to oil exporting countries of the West Asia on temporary contracts. Almost
all these workers come back after a specific period depending on the employment
situation in the destination countries. During the last few decades Saudi Arabia and
UAE (United Arab Emirates) have been the major destination for most of the 3
million Indian workers in the West Asia. Every year, more than 3 lakh workers
migrate to West Asia. Nearly three-fifths of workers going to the West Asia are
from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. A considerable section of these
workers are engaged in construction projects, maintenance, services, transport and
telecommunications.
Also important is the impact that international migration has on regions of the
migrants. For the families of migrants the impact is visible as they are able to pay
back loans, buy assets and the standard of life improves. A study has shown that
nearly one-fifth of total income of Kerala is accounted for by the remittances sent
by its workers from the West Asia. In 1970s, the average per capita consumption in
Kerala was less than national average, but after after 30 years, it has increased above
the national average by 40% (see Box).
Draw arrow
lines on a World
Map depicting
people from India
going to different
countries
mentioned in the
above passages.
Weak rupee a boon as remittance inflows to Kerala top Rs. 75,000 crore
At a time when the according to data remittances contributed
country is reeling under provided by the State to a third of the state
the pressure of a weak Level Bankers Committee GDP. If the inflows
rupee, non-resident (SLBC), which has 32.8% continue, this fiscal year
Keralites are laughing of the total bank it could well be about
their way to the banks deposits in the state. 40% of the state's GDP
with remittance inflows The over 2.5 million According to a report by
crossing the year-end Keralites living outside the Migration Unit of the
target of Rs. 75,000 crore the country contribute Centre for Development
in just six months of over 35% of the GDP of Studies, Thiruvanantha-
2013. Kerala, where companies puram, remittances
Kerala has set a new hawking premium today account for 1.6
record in remittances products and luxury cars times the revenue
this year by already are reporting brisk sales receipt of the Kerala
reporting a whopping during the ongoing Onam government, 6.2 times
36% year-on-year season, the largest what the state gets from
increase in inflows as of festival of the state, while the Centre as revenue
June-end at Rs. 75,883 elsewhere in the country, transfer, and is more than
crore. barring Punjab, which is twice the government's
This is a net incremental another NRI bastion, annual expenditure.
addition of Rs. 20,220 they are down in dumps. Source: The Hindustan
crore over Rs. 55,663 In the last fiscal year, at Times, September 15,
crore in June 2012, Rs. 60,000 crore, the 2013, Mumbai
The Emigration Act, 1983 is the Indian law governing migration and employment
of Indians abroad. It also lays out conditions to safeguard the interests of workers
emigrating for employment. Embassies set up by the Indian Government in different
countries are expected to follow the legal procedures and protect the welfare of
the international migrants as given in the Emigration Act. At times, migrant workers
are not paid their salaries, recruitment agents cheat prospective workers or collect
more than the prescribed fees for their role in getting work for workers abroad.
Employers also terminate the job contract before its expiry, change the employment
contract to the disadvantage of migrant workers, pay less than the agreed salary and
freeze fringe benefits and other perks. They often force workers to do overtime
without making additional payments, and deny permission to keep one’s own passport.
Indian migrant workers seldom lodge any complaint against their foreign employers
for the fear of losing their jobs.

Key words
Migration Immigration Emigration Seasonal
Border Boundary

1. Draw a table with following items and summarise various examples in the context of
migrant labourers: (1) migrant labour; ( 2) reasons for the migration (3) living standards
of the migrants (4) economic impact in their lives (5) economic impact on the lives
of people from where they migrated. AS3
2. Compare and contrast the migration from rural to urban areas and rural to rural areas. AS1
3. Which of the following could be considered as seasonal migration? Why? AS1
a. Women moving from their parents’ house to husband’s house due to marriage
b. Turmeric harvesters moving from one district to another district in Tamil
Nadu for three months in a year
c. Cycle rickshaw pullers in Delhi coming from rural parts of Bihar for six
months a year
d. Women from Nalgonda district come to work as domestic maids in
Hyderabad
4. Do you think migrants are trouble makers/ trouble shooters in their destinations?
Justify your answer. AS4
5. The following are migrants of different types. Classify them into internal and
international migrants. AS1
a. People going from India to Saudi Arabia to work as technicians.
b. Agricultural labourers going from Bihar to Punjab
c. Brick workers going from Odisha to Andhra Pradesh
d. Teachers coming from China to India to teach Chinese to Indian Children
6. ‘Most children of migrant families become drop-outs.’ Do you agree with this
statement? Justify your answer. AS2
7. How does rural to urban migration increase the purchasing power of people in rural
areas? AS1
8. Why only professionals are able to go to developed countries? Why cannot unskilled
workers migrate to these countries? AS1
9. Why are only unskilled workers from India wanted in West Asian countries? AS1
10. Why are workers from three states able to go to a considerable extent to work in the
West Asia? AS1
11. Describe the similarities and differences between the impacts of internal and
international migration. AS1

CHAPTER
Rampur : A Village Economy
9
The story of Rampur village
This story of a village will take us through different types of
production activities in a village. In villages across India, farming is the
main production activity. The other production activities, referred to
as non-farm activities include small manufacturing, transport, shop-
keeping, etc. Let us look at both these types of activities in this chapter.
The production systems - whether at a farm or a factory can be analysed
using some ideas of the essential elements in any production process. How the
production is organised in turn has an important bearing on people’s lives.
The story of the Rampur village (name changed) is based on a detailed case
study where the writer went and stayed in the area and observed closely various
aspects. The study of the village was followed by subsequent visits. The writer could
therefore note many changes in the village across time. As you read the story, you
may like to think and enquire whether the phenomenon observed for Rampur is also
present in your area. Or is the situation different? If so, in what ways?
In this chapter you will at times come across occasional reference to your own
situation or the all-India situation. For instance, when we discuss distribution of
land in Rampur, we also examine what has occurred to India as a whole. Interestingly,
we find there are strong parallels.
What do you know about agriculture? How
This helps us understand that while
do crops change in various seasons? Do most
Rampur has some specific
people depending on agriculture belong to
features, many of its features are
prevalent across India with some land owning groups or are labourers?
variation. These could also be
compared with your region.
Farming in Rampur
Rampur lies in the fertile alluvial plains of the Gangetic basin
in the western part of Uttar Pradesh. Along with Punjab and
Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh forms a contiguous belt of
agriculturally prosperous region. The village is well-connected
with the neighbouring villages and cities. Raiganj, a big village, is
3 kms from Rampur. An all weather road connects Raiganj to the
nearest small town Jahangirabad (12 kms away). Many kinds of
transport are visible on this road starting from bullock carts,
tongas, bogeys (wooden cart drawn by buffalos) loaded with
jaggery and other commodities to motor vehicles like motorcycles, jeeps, tractors
and trucks.
Farming is the main production activity in Rampur. Majority of the working
people are dependent on farming for their livelihood. They could be farmers or
farm labourers. The well-being of these people is closely related to the production
on the farms.
Land and other natural resources
Land is the most crucial factor necessary for farm production. Land area under
cultivation, however, is practically fixed. In Rampur, since 1921 there has been no
expansion in land area under cultivation. By then, the nearby forests had been
cleared and some of the wastelands in the village
were converted to cultivable land. There is no further Measuring Land
scope to increase agriculture production by bringing The standard unit of measuring
new land under cultivation. land is hectare, though in the
There is no land that is left idle in Rampur. villages you may find land being
During the rainy season (kharif) farmers grow measured in local units such as acre
jowar and bajra. These are grown as cattle feed and cents or gunta. One hectare is
also. It is followed by cultivation of potato between 10000 square meters. Compare
October and December. In the winter season (rabi), the area of 1 hectare field with the
fields are sown with wheat. From the produce, area of your school ground. Discuss
farmers keep enough wheat for the family’s with your teacher.
consumption and sell the surplus at the market-yard
at Raiganj. A part of the land is under sugarcane which is harvested once every
year. Sugarcane, in raw form, or as jaggery, is sold to traders in Jahangirabad, the
nearby town.
To grow more than one crop on the same piece of land during the year is known
as multiple cropping. It is the most common way of increasing production from
land. All farmers in Rampur grow at least two main crops; many are growing potato
as the third crop.
Farmers in Rampur are able to grow three different crops in a year due to the
well-developed irrigation system. Electricity came early to Rampur. It transformed
the system of irrigation. Till then, Persian wheels were used by farmers to draw
water from the wells and irrigate small area. People saw that the electric-run
tubewells could irrigate much larger areas of land easily. The first few tubewells
were installed by the government, almost fifty years ago. Soon, however, farmers
started setting up their own tube wells. As a result, by mid-1970s the whole of the
cultivated area of 264 hectares (ha.) was irrigated.
Not all villages in India have such high levels of irrigation. Apart from the
riverine plains, coastal regions in our country are well-irrigated. In contrast, plateau
regions such as the Deccan plateau have low levels of irrigation. Even today, a
little less than 40 percent of the total cultivated area in the country is irrigated. In
116 Social Studies Rampur : A Village Economy
the remaining areas, farming is largely Looking at your state or district
dependent on rainfall. See chapter 1 on physical map and identify areas
regions in India. that are well irrigated. Does your
While intensive use of natural region fall under this category?
resources like land and water has led to
increased production and yields, the use of the natural resources has not always
been judicious. Experience shows fertility of land is declining due to overuse,
excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The situation of water is
equally alarming. Like in village Rampur, most of irrigation in India is based on
tapping underground water. As a result underground water tables have fallen rapidly
across the country. Even in regions with bountiful rains and favourable natural
systems of recharge the water tables have reached dangerously low levels. As the
water tables decline, farmers have to drill
The following table shows the
deeper tube wells than before. The use of
land under cultivation in India
diesel/ electricity for irrigation rises
accordingly. We shall understand these issues in units of million hectares.
further in chapters on Sustainability and Plot this on the graph
Water Resource. provided. What does the graph
Graph : 1 show? Discuss in class.
Year Cultivated
Area (in million hec)
1950 120
1960 130
1970 140
1980 140
1990 140
2000 140
2010 140
You have read about the crops grown in Rampur. Fill the following table based on
information on the crops grown in your region.
Name of crop Month sown Month harvested Source of water/ irrigation
(Rain, tanks, tube wells, canals, etc.)
What are the reasons for multiple cropping in cultivation.

Land distribution in Rampur
You must have realised how important land is for farming.
Unfortunately, not all the people engaged in agriculture have
sufficient land for cultivation. The population of Rampur is about
2,660; there are about 450 families belonging to different castes.
The upper caste families own majority of the land in the village.
Their houses, some of them quite large, are made of brick with
cement plastering. The SCs (dalits) comprise 1/3rd of the
population and live in more modest houses, some portions of which may be
thatched and are located in one corner, outside the main village area.
In Rampur, about 1/3rd, i.e. 150 families are landless. Most of the landless are
dalits. There are 60 families of medium and large farmers who cultivate more than
2 hectares of land. A few of the large farmers have land extending over 10 hectares
or more. 240 families cultivate small plots of land less than 2 hectares in size.
Cultivation of such plots doesn’t bring adequate income to the farmer family.
In 1960, Gobind was a farmer with 2.25 hectares of largely unirrigated land.
With the help of his three sons
Gobind cultivated the land.
Though they didnt live very com-
fortably, the family managed to
feed itself with a little bit of extra
income from one buffalo that the
family possessed. Some years af-
ter Gobinds death, this land was
divided among his three sons.
Each one now has a plot of land
that is only 0.75 hectare in size.
Even with improved irrigation and
modern farming methods,
Gobinds sons are not able to make
a living from their land. They have
to look for additional work during
part of the year.
Map 9.1 is a map of land
holdings in an A.P. Village. You can
see the different sizes of plots and
the relatively large number of small
plots. You can see a draft sketch of
crops in a village on back cover of
the book. Map 1 : Distribution of land in an A.P. Village.

In map 1 shade the small plots of land.
Why do so many families of farmers cultivate such small plots of land?
The distribution of farmers in India and the amount of land they cultivate are in
the following table and pie-charts.
Type of Farmers Size of Plots
Percentage of Farmers Percentage of
Cultivated Area
Small farmers Less than 2 ha. 87% 48%
Medium and Large More than 2 ha. 13% 52%
farmers
Note: The data here refers to the land cultivated by farmers. It could be owned or taken on rent
What do the arrows indicate? Would you agree that the distribution of cultivated
land is unequal in India? Explain.
Graph : 2 Distribution of land cultivated by
Type of farmers (%)
farmers
13%
52%
48% Medium &
Small farmers Large farmers
87%
Small farmers
Organisation of Production
Let us try to understand the overall process of production in Rampur.
The aim of production is to produce goods and services that people need.
Further, the producer requires a number of items to produce a good or service.
These can be classified as follows.
The first requirement is land and other natural resources such as water, forests,
minerals. We have read above how land and water are used for farming in Rampur.
The second requirement is labour, i.e. people who will do the work. Some
production activities require highly trained and educated workers to perform the
necessary tasks. Other activities require workers who can do manual work. Each
worker is providing the necessary labour for production. Unlike common usage,
labour refers to all human effort in production, not just manual labour. Hence, for
example, whether one is an engineer, manager, accountant, supervisor, machine
operator, sales representative or causal labour - all are providing labour for a factory
to produce and sell its product.
The third requirement is capital, i.e. the variety of inputs required at every stage
during production. What are the items that come under capital?
(a) Tools, machines, buildings: Tools and machines range from very simple
tools such as a farmer's plough to sophisticated machines such as generators,
turbines, computer automated machines, etc. They are not used up or consumed
immediately in production process. They help to produce these goods over many
years. They require some repair and maintenance so that they remain useful and
can be used year after year. These are called fixed capital or physical capital.
However, all machines etc have to be replaced after many years of being used by
new and often better tools and machines.
(b) Raw materials and money required: The various raw materials such as
the yarn used by the weaver and the clay used by the potter are used up in production.
Also some money is required to buy other necessary materials for production and
make payments for completing the production. It takes time to complete the
production and then sell these goods or services in the market. Only then does
money flow back into the production process. This requirement for raw material
and money is therefore called working capital. This is different from physical
capital because unlike tools, machines or buildings these are used up in the
production cycle.
The fourth requirement is knowledge and enterprise: To be able to use
land, labour and physical capital in a meaningful way to produce some goods or
services, knowledge of the process of production and confidence is essential.
Owners of the physical capital or managers hired by them provide this knowledge.
The owners also have to take the risks of the market i.e. whether the goods or
services produced would find sufficient buyers. In our society most goods and
services are produced for sale in the market, hence the entrepreneurs who produce
for the market have to plan, organise and manage. These entrepreneurs could be
farmers, shopkeepers, small scale manufacturers, service providers such as doctors,
lawyers, etc or large Fig 9.1 : Small farmer, Big farmer. After
companies. Their goods or reading next section write a caption that
services are bought by Seeds would describe their relation with the
Labour
people. They may earn a factors of production
profit or could suffer a
loss. Fertilizer
Every production is
organised by people or
entrepreneurs combining Money
the elements of land,
labour and physical capital.
These are known as factors
of production.

Labour for the Farm
After land, labour is the next necessary factor for production.
Farming requires a great deal of hard work. Small farmers along
with their families mostly cultivate their own fields. Generally,
they provide the labour required for farming themselves. Medium
and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields.
Farm labourers come either from landless families or families
cultivating small plots of land. Unlike farmers working on their
own fields, farm labourers do not have a right over
the crops grown on the land. Instead they are paid
wages by the farmer for whom they work. They
have been employed to do the work.
Wages can be in cash or in kind (crop).
Sometimes labourers get meals, too. Wages vary
widely from region to region, from crop to crop,
from one farm activity to another (like sowing and
harvesting). There is also wide variation in the
duration of employment. A farm labourer might
be employed on a daily basis, or on contract for
one particular farm activity like harvesting, or for Fig 9.2 Potato harvesting in the Himalayas
the whole year.
Dala is a landless farm labourer who works on daily wages in Rampur. This
means he must regularly look for work. Dalas wages are less than what the
Uttar Pradesh government has set as minimum wages for labourers. There is
heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Rampur, so people agree
to work for lower wages. With large farmers increasingly relying on machines
like tractors, threshers, harvesters, the number of days of work available to a
worker is very low in rural areas. In the whole of last year, Dala got less than five
months of work on the farm. In periods when no work is available, Dala and
many like him have applied to village Panchayat for work under MGNREGA.
Why are farm labourers like Dala poor?
What do the large and medium farmers in Rampur do to get labour for their
farms? Compare with your region.
Fill in the following table:
Labour in production process Give three different examples of
production activity for each
Where owner/ family also provides
the labour required
Where owners hire labourers to do the work
What are the ways of providing labour, in the production of goods or services
that you observe in your region?
Table 1 : Daily Wages for different farm activities in Andhra Pradesh in
December 2011 (in Rupees)
Workers Plough Sowing Weeding Trans- Harvesting Winnowing Threshing Picking
ing planting Cotton
Male
214 197 215 - 164 168 152 -
Table 2: Change in life expectancy, 1961-2011.
Female
Year of census
- Life expectancy
152 130 (years) 126
143 124 118 136
1961 43 wages that
The table gives average daily
Compare the figures for daily wages
are1971
paid for different farm 50 activities to
1981 in Andhra Pradesh. 56 However, given above with those prevailing in
workers
there’s your region for any of the
1991a lot of variation across
59 regions.
A woman worker gets operations.
2001 62Rs. 136 for
picking Find out the minimum wage and
2011cotton for a full day.66
You will notice
that certain tasks like ploughing are done compare with this.
primarily by men, so there is no wage Why do you think men receive a
recorded for women. Tasks such as higher wage than women for the
transplanting paddy and picking cotton are same job? Discuss.
primarily done by women. There are certain
production activities that are done by both men and women. The wages for men are
higher than women, even when they are doing the same job. The State governments fix a
common minimum wage to be paid by all employers (private and public) within the state.
Capital: Arranging physical and working capital

You have read in earlier classes how modern farming involves high yielding
variety seeds, assured irrigation, fertiliser and pesticides. This, in turn, means that
the farmers require a sufficient amount of capital for production, and therefore
money. Let’s see how farmers arrange for physical capital and working capital
required in farming.
Most small farmers have to borrow money to arrange for the working capital.
They borrow from large farmers or the village moneylenders or the traders who
supply various inputs for cultivation. The rate of interest on such loans is very high.
They are put to a great distress to repay the loan.
Savita is a small farmer. She plans to cultivate wheat on her 1 ha. of land.
Besides seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, she needs cash to buy water and repair
her farm instruments. She estimates that the working capital itself would cost a
minimum of Rs. 6000. She doesn't have the money, so she decides to borrow
from Tejpal, a large farmer. Tejpal agrees to give Savita the loan at 36% per annum
interest rate, which is a high rate, for four months. Savita also has to promise to

work on his field as a farm labourer during the harvest season at Rs 100/ day. As
you can tell, this wage is quite low. Savita knows that she will have to work very
hard to complete harvesting on her own field and then work as a farm labourer
for Tejpal. The harvest time is a very busy time. As a mother of three children she
has a lot of household responsibilities. Savita agrees to these tough conditions
as she knows getting a loan is difficult for a small farmer.
In contrast to the small farmers, the medium and large farmers generally have
their own savings from farming. They are thus able to arrange for seeds, fertiliser,
pesticide, payments to labourers etc - the working capital needed for farming. How
do these farmers have their own savings? You shall find the answer in the next section.
All large farmers in this village have tractors. They use this for ploughing and
sowing their farms and hire out these tractors to other small farmers. Most of them
also have threshers and some own harvesters. All such farmers have many tube
wells to irrigate their farms. These tools and machines are all part of physical capital
for farming.
Surplus or Loss for the farmer
Let us suppose that the farmers have produced wheat on their lands using the
three factors of production. They retain a part of the wheat for the family's
consumption and sell the surplus. Small farmers like Savita and Gobind's sons have
little surplus wheat because their total production is small and from this a substantial
share is kept for their own family needs. So generally it is the medium and large
farmers who supply wheat to the wholesale market yard. The traders at the market
yard buy the wheat and sell it further to shopkeepers in the towns and cities.
Tejpal, the large farmer, has a
surplus of 350 quintals of wheat
from all his lands. He sells the sur-
plus wheat at the Raiganj market
yard and has good earnings.
What does Tejpal do with his
earnings? Last year, Tejpal had put
most of the money in his bank ac-
count. Later he used the savings for
lending to farmers like Savita who
were in need of a loan. He also used
Fig 9.3 : Grain being taken to the market the savings to arrange for the work-
ing capital for farming in the next
season. This year Tejpal plans to use his earnings to buy another tractor. Theres
good business of hiring out tractors in the neighbouring villages. Another tractor
would increase his fixed capital.

Like Tejpal, other large and medium farmers sell the surplus farm produce. A
part of the earnings is saved and kept for buying capital for the next season. Some
farmers might also use the savings to buy cattle, trucks, or to set up shops. These
constitute the capital for non-farm activities. They may also buy more land.
There is often a loss in farm activities, espeically when crops are damaged
because of floods, pests, etc. The other risk is sudden fall in price of agriculture
produce. In such situations farmers find it difficult to recover the working capital
they have spent.
Surplus and Capital for Production
Consider three farmers. Each has grown wheat on his field though the production
is different as in Column 2. To analyse the situation faced by different farmers
we need to assume that some conditions are the same for all. To keep things simple,
let us suppose the following conditions:
1. The consumption of wheat by each farmer family is the same (Column 3).
2. The whole of surplus wheat this year is used as seeds for working capital for the
next year’s production by all the farmers. They also have land to do so.
3. Also suppose, production output is twice the working capital used in production in
all the farms. There is no sudden loss in production.
Complete the table.
Farmer 1
Year Production Consumption Surplus = Production - Capital for the next year
Consumption
Year 1 100 40 60 60
Year 2 120 40
Year 3 40
Farmer 2
Year Production Consumption Surplus Capital for the next year
Year 1 80 40
Year 2 40
Year 3 40
Farmer 3
Year Production Consumption Surplus Capital for the next year
Year 1 60 40
Year 2 40
Year 3 40
Compare the production of wheat by the three farmers over the years.
What happens to the Farmer 3 in Year 3? Can he continue production? What will
he have to do to continue production?
Fig 9.4 : Tea and Rubber. Farming sector also includes crops like Tea, Coffee, Rubber
plantations and fruit orchards
NON-FARM ACTIVITIES IN RAMPUR
Apart from farming, which is the main production activity, there are some non-
farm production activities. Only 25 percent of the people working in Rampur are
engaged in activities other than agriculture.
Dairy - the other common activity
Dairy is a common activity in many families of Rampur. People
feed their buffaloes on various kinds of grass and jowar and bajra
fodder cultivated during the rainy season. The milk is sold in Raiganj.
Two traders from Jahangirabad have set up collection cum chilling
centers at Raiganj from where the milk is transported to faraway
places such as Bulandshahr and Delhi. The production factors of
this activity are briefly described:
Land: Own shed in the village
Labour: Family labour, especially women to look after the buffaloes
Physical Capital: Buffaloes purchased at the cattle fair
Working capital: Feed from their land, some medicines are purchased
Small-scale manufacturing in Rampur
At present, less than fifty people are engaged in manufacturing in Rampur.
Unlike the manufacturing that takes place in the big factories in the towns and
cities, manufacturing in Rampur involves very simple production methods and are
done on a small scale. They are carried out mostly at home or in the fields with the
help of family labour. Labourers are rarely hired.
Mishrilal has purchased a mechanical sugarcane crushing machine run on
electricity and prepares jaggery. Earlier sugarcane was crushed by using bul-
locks, but these days people prefer to do it by machines. Apart from using the
sugarcane that Mishrilal has cultivated, What physical capital did Mishrilal need
he also buys sugarcane from other to set up this process?
farmers and processes it into jaggery. Who provides the labour in this case?
The jaggery is then sold to traders at
Why is Mishrilal unable to increase his
Jahangirabad. In the process, Mishrilal
profit? Think of reasons when he could
makes a small profit.
face a loss.
The shopkeepers of Rampur Why does Mishrilal sell jaggery to traders

in Jahangirabad and not in his village?
People involved in trade (exchange
of goods) are not many in Rampur. The traders of Rampur buy various goods from
wholesale markets in the cities and sell them in the village. Small general stores
in the village sell a wide range of items like rice, wheat, sugar, tea, oil, biscuits,
soap, toothpaste, batteries, candles, notebooks, pen, pencil, even some cloth.
A few of the families whose houses are close to the bus stand have used a part
of the space to open small shops. They
sell eatables like tea, samosa, kachori, On whose land is the shop located?
namkeen, some sweets, toffees, cold Who supplies labour to these small shops
drinks, etc. The women and the children selling eatables?
in the family all share the work. In our
Guess what working capital would such
country a large section of people are self
employed like farmers, shopkeepers, shops require.
hawkers etc. They are owners because List the physical capital items.
they have to plan and organise and take the From a hawker in your area find out the
risk of producing goods or services. At daily sales. How will you find if there is
the same time they also provide their own some savings? Discuss with your teacher.
labour to manage the process.
A few shopkeepers also buy goods that the villagers produce and supply it to
shops/ markets in the bigger villages and towns. For instance, the person running
the flour mill also buys wheat from the small farmers in the village and sells it at
the Raiganj market. Flour milling and trading are two different businesses.
Transport: a fast developing sector
A variety of vehicles on the road connect Rampur to Raiganj. Rickshawallahs,
tongawallahs, jeep- tractor- truck- drivers, and people driving the traditional
bullock cart and bogey are people in the transport services. They ferry people and
goods from one place to another, and in return get paid for it. The number of people
involved in transport has grown over the last several years.
Kishore is a farm labourer. Like other such labourers, Kishore found it diffi-
cult to meet his familys needs from the wages that he received. A few years
back Kishore took a loan from the bank. This was under a government programme

which was giving cheap loans to poor landless households. Kishore bought a
buffalo with this money. He now sells the buffalos milk. Further, he has at-
tached a wooden cart to his buffalo and
What is Kishore's fixed capital? uses it to transport various items. Once
What do you think would be his working a week, he goes to the Ganges to bring
capital? back clay for the potter. Or sometimes
In how many production activities is he goes to Jahangirabad with a load of
Kishore involved? jaggery or other commodities. Every
month he gets some work in transport.
Would you say that Kishore has been
As a result, Kishore is able to earn more
benefited from better roads in Rampur?
than what he used to do some years
back.
Summing up
Farming is the main production activity in the village. Over the years there
have been many important changes in the way farming is practiced. These have
allowed the farmers to produce more crops from the same amount of land. This
is an important achievement, since land is fixed and scarce. But in raising
production a great deal of pressure has been put on land and other natural resources.
There is urgent need to review the methods of production and ensure sustainable
use of the resources.
Farming now needs much more of capital. The medium and large farmers are
able to use their own savings from production to arrange for capital during the
next season. On the other hand, the small farmers who constitute about 87 percent
of total farmers in India find it difficult to obtain capital. Because of the small
size of their plots, their production is not enough. The lack of surplus means that
they are unable to obtain capital from their own savings, and have to borrow.
Besides the debt, many of the small farmers have to do additional work as farm
labourers because of the low income.
Labour being the most abundant factor of production, it would be ideal if the
new ways of farming used much more labour. Unfortunately, such a thing has not
happened. The use of labour on farms is limited. The labour, looking for
opportunities is thus migrating to neighbouring villages, towns and cities. Some
labour has entered the non-farm sector in the village.
At present, the non-farm sector in the village is not very large. Though there
is a variety of non-farm activities in the villages (we have only seen a few
examples), the number of people employed in each is quite small. In 2009-2010,
out of every 100 workers in the rural areas in India, 32 are engaged in non-farm
activities. This includes the workers who are employed as part of MGNREGA on
various projects. MGNREGA has provided some support to the incomes of rural
workers.
In the future, one would like to see more non-farm production activities in the village.
Unlike farming, non-farm activities require little land. People with some amount of capital
can set up non-farm activities. How does one obtain this capital? One can either use his
own savings, but more often has to take a loan. It is important that loan be available at low
rate of interest so that even people without savings can start some non-farm activity. Another
thing which is essential for expansion of non-farm activities is to have markets where the
goods and services produced can be sold. In Rampur, we saw the neighbouring villages,
towns and cities provide the markets for milk, jaggery, wheat, etc. As more villages get
connected to towns and cities through good roads, transport and telephone, it is possible
that the opportunities for non-farm production activities in the village would increase in
the coming years.
Key words
Factors of Production Land Labour Working capital
Fixed capital Surplus Farm activities Non-Farm activities

1. Every village in India is surveyed once in ten years during the Census and the details
are presented in the following format. Fill up the following based on information on
Rampur. AS3
a. Location:
b. Total area of the Village:
c. Land use (in hectares):
Cultivated Land Land not available for cultivation
Irrigated Unirrigated (Area covering dwellings, roads,
ponds, grazing ground)
26 hectares
d. FACILITIES
Educational
Medical
Market
Electricity Supply
Communication
Nearest Town

2. Why are the wages for farm labourers in Rampur less than minimum wages? AS1
3. Talk to two labourers from your region. Choose either farm labourers or labourers
working at construction sites. What wages do they get? Are they paid in cash or kind?
Do they get work regularly? Are they in debt? AS3
4. What are the different ways of increasing production on the same piece of land? Use
examples to explain. AS1
5. How do the medium and large farmers obtain capital for farming? How is it different
from the small farmers? AS1
6. On what terms did Savita get a loan from Tejpal ? Would Savita's condition be different
if she could get a loan from the bank at a low rate of interest? AS1
7. Talk to some elderly persons in your region and write a small report on the changes in
irrigation and changes in production methods during the last 30 years. AS3
8. What are the main non-farm production activities taking place in your region? Write
a brief report on any one such activity. AS3
9. Imagine a situation where labour is the scarce factor of production instead of land.
Would the story of Rampur be different? How? Discuss in class. AS1
10. Gosaipur and Majauli are two villages in North Bihar. Out of a total of 850 households
in the two villages, there are more than 250 men who are employed in rural Punjab
and Haryana or in Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Hyderabad or Nagpur. Such migration is
common in most villages across India. Why do people migrate? Can you describe
(based on your imagination and previous chapter) the work that the migrants of
Gosaipur and Majauli might do at the place of destination? AS4
11. Land is also required for production of goods in an urban area. In what ways is the
use of land different from a rural area? AS1
12. Read again the meaning of “land” in the production process. Give three examples,
other than agriculture, where this requirement is most significant in the process of
production. AS1
13. Water, a natural resource for production, particularly agricultural production, now
requires greater capital for its use. Can you explain the statement? AS2

CHAPTER
10 Globalisation
a b
c d
a & b) going to school, c) school entrance,

d) in classroom, e) teacher at board
If you have access to internet watch the
entire advertisement in following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHYtShXI510
What you see above is an
advertisement for a magazine
published from London. It is trying to
e get more subscribers in India. To woo
Indian readers it seems to be
suggesting that countries like China are turning to India and learning
Indian languages. This could be to communicate with Indian traders
and manufacturers or to train Chinese workers who want to go to
India to find work etc. Thus you can see several dimensions of
globalisation in this ad: a magazine published in English from
Britain looking for buyers in India; Chinese trying to learn Indian
languages; Chinese hoping to sell their products in India or sending
their workers to India or doing business with Indian partners.
Globalisation is a major change that occurred across the globe in the late
20th century. This has political, cultural as well as economic dimensions. Some
130 Social Studies Globalisation
of these aspects you have learned in the context of service sector during Class IX
and VIII where new job opportunities like call centres are emerging. You will also
recognise that there is large number of consumer products available in the market.
We identify three types of movement
Choose any one single item like Mobile
within international economic exchanges.
phones, or vehicles; identify the number
The first is the flow of trade in goods as
of Brands available in the market. Are
well as services. The second is the flow
they owned and manufactured in India or of labour – the migration of people in
abroad? Discuss with your parents or search of employment. The third is the
other adults and find out how many such movement of capital for short-term or
brands were available 30 years ago. long-term investments over long
distances. Besides, there are political and cultural dimensions of globalisation.
For instance last year several nations in Western Asia and Northern Africa like
Tunisia, Egypt were influenced by each other’s revolutions and uprooting of
dictators. This was called ‘Arab Spring’ in the media. In these countries media
played a crucial role. Television Channels that were owned and run by people from
other countries supported such mobilisation which resulted in regulating the powers
of local leaders. While events like civil war or natural disasters like Tsunami are
discussed within the national boundaries they also receive support and sympathy
from around the world. Globalisation is not merely about the market, ideas are
also being shared and expanded.
19th Century Labour Migration
Many think of globalisation as a late 20th century phenomenon. While it is true
that the present form of globalisation has emerged in the last thirty to forty years,
there have been important phases in the history of the world, when nations have been
inter-connected. The 19th century witnessed an accelerated pace of foreign trade,
foreign investment and labour migration. Though labour movement was not as free
as movements of goods and capital, it is estimated that nearly 50 million people
emigrated from Europe to America and Australia. All over the world some 150 million
are estimated to have left their homes. Hundreds of thousands of Indian and Chinese
labourers went to work on plantations, in mines and in road and railway construction
projects around the world as part of the colonial plan. Many of these were indentured
migrants. An indentured labourer is a bonded labourer under contract to work for an
employer for a specific amount of time, to pay off his passage to a new country or
home. The main destinations of Indian indentured migrants were the Caribbean islands,
Mauritius, Fiji, Malaya, Ceylon etc. Living and working conditions were often harsh,
and there were few legal rights. Many migrants settled permanently in the destination
countries and thus emerged new blends of cultural expressions.
It is noteworthy that such huge movement of labourers has not been observed in
the recent experience of globalisation. Today there is demand for migration from
professional people, but this is often restricted, leading to issues of conflict.

In this chapter our focus is mostly on the economic aspects of globalisation as
they have unfolded in the past thirty to forty years.
Production across Countries
Until the middle of the twentieth century, production was largely
organised within countries. Raw materials, food grains and finished
products only crossed the boundaries of these countries. Colonies
such as India exported raw materials and food grains and imported
finished goods. Trade was the main channel connecting distant
countries. This was before large multinational companies (MNCs)
emerged on the scene. An MNC is a company that owns or controls production in
more than one nation. MNCs set up offices and factories for production in regions
where they can get cheap labour and other resources. This is done so that the cost
of production is low and the MNCs can earn greater profits.
Consider the following example. A large MNC, producing industrial equipment,
designs its products in research centres in the United States, and then has the
components manufactured in China. These are then shipped to Mexico and Eastern
Europe where the products are assembled and the finished products are sold all
over the world. Meanwhile, the company’s customer care is carried out through
call centres located in India. (Identify these countries on a global map.)
In this example the MNC is not only selling its finished products globally, but
more important, the goods and services are produced globally. As a result, production
is organised in increasingly complex ways. The production process is divided into
small parts and spread out across the globe. In the above example, China provides
the advantage of being a cheap manufacturing location. Mexico and Eastern Europe
are useful for their closeness to the markets in the US and Europe. India has educated
English speaking youth who can provide customer care services. And all this probably
can mean 50-60 per cent cost-savings for the MNC! The advantage of spreading out
production across the borders to the multinationals can be truly immense.
Interlinking Production Across Countries
In general, the criteria for selecting a site for operations of MNCs are: proximity
to the markets; availability of skilled and unskilled labour at low costs; assured
availability of other factors of production, government policies that protect their
interests. The money that MNCs spend to buy assets such as land, building, machines
and other equipment is called foreign investment. Any investment is made with the
hope that these assets will earn profits.
At times, MNCs set up production jointly with the local companies of these
countries. The local company benefits by the additional investments and the latest
technology that the MNCs bring.
But the most common route for MNC investments is to buy up local companies
and then to expand production. MNCs with huge wealth can quite easily do so. For
example, Cargill Foods, a very large American MNC, has bought over smaller Indian

companies such as Parakh Foods.
‘WE WILL SHIFT THIS FACTORY TO
Parakh Foods had four oil refineries
ANOTHER COUNTRY. IT HAS
and a large marketing network in
BECOME EXPENSIVE HERE.’
various parts of India, where its brand
was well-reputed. With the takeovers,
Cargill is now the largest producer of
edible oil in India.
In fact, many of the top MNCs have
wealth exceeding the entire budgets of
the developing country governments.
With such enormous wealth, imagine
the power and influence of these
MNCs!
There’s another way in which
MNCs control production. Large
MNCs in developed countries place orders for production with small producers.
Garments, footwear, sports items are examples of industries where production is
carried out by a large number of small producers around the world. The products
are supplied to the MNCs, which then sell these under their own brand names to
the customers. These large MNCs have tremendous power to determine price,
quality, delivery, and labour conditions for these distant producers. As a result of
the MNCs, production in widely dispersed locations is getting interlinked.
Ford Motors, an American company, is one of the world’s largest automobile

manufacturers with production spread over 26 countries of the world. Ford Motors came
to India in 1995 and spent Rs. 1700 crore to set up a large plant near Chennai. This was
done in collaboration with Mahindra and Mahindra, a major Indian manufacturer of jeeps
and trucks. By the year 2004, Ford Motors was selling 27,000 cars in the Indian markets,
while 24,000 cars were exported from India to South Africa, Mexico and Brazil. The
company wants to develop Ford India as a component supplying base for its other plants
across the globe.
Would you say Ford

Motors is an MNC?
Why?
What is foreign
investment? How
much did Ford Motors
invest in India?

By setting up their production plants in India, MNCs such as Ford Motors tap the
advantage not only of the large markets that countries such as India provide, but
also the lower costs of production. Explain the statement.
Why do you think the company wants to develop India as a base for manufacturing
car components for its global operations? Discuss the following factors:
(a) cost of labour and other resources in India
(b) the presence of several local manufacturers who supply auto parts to Ford
Motors
(c) closeness to a large number of buyers in India and China
In what ways will the production of cars by Ford Motors in India lead to
interlinking of production?
In what ways is an MNC different from other companies?
Nearly all major multinationals are American, Japanese or European, such as
Nike, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Honda, Nokia. Can you guess why?
Foreign Trade and Integration of Market

For a long time trade has been the main channel of connecting countries. In
history you would have read about the trade routes connecting India and South Asia
to markets both in the East and West and the extensive trade that took place along
these routes. Also, you would remember that it was trading interests which attracted
various trading companies such as the East India Company to India. What then is
the basic function of foreign trade?
To put it simply, foreign trade creates an opportunity for the producers to reach
beyond the domestic markets. Similarly, for the buyers, trade expands the choice
of goods beyond what is domestically produced. Foreign trade thus results in
connecting the markets or integration of markets in different countries.
What was the main channel connecting countries in the past? How is it different
now?
Distinguish between foreign trade and foreign investment.
In recent years China has been importing steel from India. Explain how the import
of steel by China will affect:
(a) steel companies in China.
(b) steel companies in India.
(c) industries buying steel for production of other industrial goods in China.
How will the import of steel from India into the Chinese markets lead to
integration of markets for steel in the two countries?

Chinese manufacturers started exporting plastic toys to India. Buyers in India now
have the option of choosing between Indian and the Chinese toys. Because of the
cheaper prices and new designs, Chinese toys became popular in the Indian markets.
Within a year, 70 to 80 per cent of the toy shops have replaced Indian toys with Chinese
toys. Toys are now cheaper in the Indian markets than earlier.
For the Chinese toy makers, this trade provided an opportunity to expand their
business. The opposite is true for Indian toy makers. Competition has forced some of
the Indian producers to innovate, whereas others have perished.
MNCs and Globalisation

In the past three or four decades, more and more MNCs have been looking for
locations around the world which would be cheap for their production. Foreign
investment by MNCs in these countries has been rising. At the same time, foreign
trade between countries has been rising rapidly. A large part of the foreign trade is
also controlled by MNCs. For instance, the car manufacturing plant of Ford Motors
in India not only produces cars for the Indian markets, it also exports cars to other
developing countries and exports car components for its many factories around
the world. Likewise, activities of most MNCs involve substantial trade in goods
and also services.
The result of greater foreign investment and
GLOBALISATION IS greater foreign trade has been greater integration of
FUN, MADE THE production and markets across countries.
WORLD FLAT . Globalisation is this process of rapid integration or
interconnection between countries. MNCs are playing
a major role in the globalisation process. More and
YES. YOU HAVE TAKEN more goods and services, investments
AWAY OUR HILLS AND and technology are moving between
TREES. BE CAREFUL, YOU countries. Most regions of the world
ARE PLAYING WITH MY are in closer contact with each other
WORLD. IT’S OURS TOO. than a few decades back.
The flow of capital, people, technology is supposed to have

created a borderless world. As a result, states lose power to
determine many aspects of life even within their borders. For
instance, the most important decisions regarding the value of a
currency which were at the high point of the nation state made
by sovereign governments are today, made outside government
corridors and more often by market players and forces over
which governments have very little control.

What is the role of MNCs in the globalisation process?
What are the various ways in which countries can be linked?
Choose the correct option: Globalisation, by connecting countries, results in
(a) lesser competition among producers.
(b) greater competition among producers.
(c) no change in competition among producers.
Factors that have enabled Globalisation

Technology
Rapid improvement in technology has been one major factor
that has stimulated the globalisation process. For instance, the past
fifty years have seen several improvements in transportation
technology. As a result goods are delivered faster across long
distances at lower costs.
The developments in information and communication
technology have been even more remarkable and rapid.
Telecommunication facilities (telegraph, telephone including mobile phones, fax)
are used to contact one another around the world, to access information instantly,
and to communicate from remote areas. This has been facilitated by satellite
communication devices. Computers have now entered almost every field of activity.
You might have also ventured into the amazing world of internet, where you can
obtain and share information on almost anything you want to know. Internet also
allows us to send instant electronic mail (e-mail) and talk (voice-mail) across the
world at negligible costs.
Urban India Rural India
Some 20 years ago:

Urban India “We got fast connections for computers.” Rural India “still has power cuts.”
Currently :
Urban India “We got internet on mobiles too.” Rural India “What is 3G and 4G ?
still struggling for stable connections.”
In this example, underline the words
A news magazine published for London describing the use of technology
readers is to be designed and printed in in production.
Delhi. The text of the magazine is sent How is information technology
through Internet to the Delhi office. The connected with globalisation?
designers in the Delhi office get instructions Would globalisation have been
on how to design the magazine from the possible without expansion of IT?
office in London using telecommunication
facilities. The designing is done on a
computer. After printing, the magazines are sent by air to London. Even the payment
of money for designing and printing from a bank in London to a bank in Delhi is done
instantly through the Internet (e-banking)!
Liberalisation of foreign trade and foreign investment policy

Let us return to the example of imports of Chinese toys in India. Suppose the
Indian government puts a tax on import of toys. And because of the tax, buyers will
have to pay a higher price on imported toys. Chinese toys will no longer be as
cheap in the Indian markets and imports from China will automatically reduce.
Indian toy-makers will prosper.
Tax on imports is an example of trade barrier. It is called a barrier because
some restriction has been set up. Governments can use trade barriers to increase
or decrease (regulate) foreign trade and to decide what kinds of goods and how
much of each, should come into the country.
The Indian government, after Independence, had put barriers to foreign trade
and foreign investment. This was considered necessary to protect the producers
within the country from foreign competition. Industries were just coming up in the
1950s and 1960s, and competition from imports at that stage would not have allowed
these industries to survive. Thus, India allowed imports of only essential items
such as machinery, fertilisers, petroleum etc. Note that all developed countries,
during the early stages of development, have given protection to domestic producers
through a variety of means.
However, starting around 1991, some far reaching changes in policy were made
in India. The government decided that the time had come for Indian producers to
compete with producers around the globe. It felt that competition would improve
the performance of producers within the country since they would have to improve
their quality. This decision was supported by powerful international organisations.
Thus, barriers on foreign trade and foreign investment were removed to a large
extent. This meant that goods could be imported and exported easily and also foreign
companies could set up factories and offices here.

Removing barriers or restrictions set by the government is known as
liberalisation. With liberalisation of trade, businesses are allowed to make decisions
freely about what they wish to import or export. The government imposes much
less restrictions than before and is therefore said to be more liberal.
We must now ask ourselves what actually
drives globalisation. Is it a political decision What do you understand by
or is it an economic and technological liberalisation of foreign trade?
revolution? Economic proponents of Tax on imports is one type of trade
globalisation argue that it is economic forces barrier. The government could also
that are responsible for globalisation and place a limit on the number of goods
control its contours and borders. Those
that can be imported. This is known
holding the political line argue it is the
government decisions that allow movement as quotas. Can you explain, using the
in the first place. Governments place example of Chinese toys, how quotas
restrictions or ease regulations. The can be used as trade barriers? Do you
attractiveness or unattractiveness of places think this should be used? Discuss.
has to do with the political climate and not
necessarily the market conditions and therefore territory still matters. In reality,
both are connected. We must remember that political decisions are taken in a
particular context, which accounts for the economic and technological change that
has already taken place.
Institutions of Global Governance
Today, many decisions on key issues that affect large parts of the world are
taken by institutions of global governance. A good example is the issue of climate
change. Initially the issue of reducing carbon emissions were left to individual
countries. However, it was soon found that if one country were to attempt to reduce
carbon emissions, industry could just shift to another location, where there are
lower regulations. Consequently, the issue of emissions and climate change have
to be tackled by countries coming together.
Let us look at another institution of global governance, the WTO in slightly
more detail.
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
We have seen that the liberalisation of foreign trade and investment in India
was supported by some very powerful international organisations.
These organisations say that barriers to foreign trade and investment
are harmful. Trade between countries should be ‘free’ without any
barriers. World Trade Organisation (WTO) is one such organisation
whose aim is to liberalise international trade. Started at the initiative
of the developed countries, WTO establishes rules regarding
international trade, and sees that these rules are obeyed. Nearly 150 countries of
the world are currently members of the WTO.

Though WTO is supposed to allow free trade for all, in practice, it is seen that
the developed countries have unfairly retained trade barriers. On the other hand,
WTO rules have forced the developing countries to remove trade barriers. An
example of this is the current debate on trade in agricultural products.
Fill in the blanks.

The agriculture sector provides the bulk of
employment in India. Compare this to a WTO was started at the initiative of
developed country such as the US with the ________ countries. The aim of the
share of agriculture in GDP at 1% and its WTO is to _____. WTO establishes
share in total employment a tiny 0.5%! And rules regarding _________ for all
yet this very small percentage of people who countries, and sees that _____. In
are engaged in agriculture in the US receive practice, trade between countries is
massive sums of money from the US not ______. Developing countries
government for production and for exports like India have _________, whereas
to other countries. Due to this massive developed countries, in many cases,
money that they receive, US farmers can sell have continued to provide protection
the farm products at abnormally low prices.
to their producers.
The surplus farm products are sold in other
country markets at low prices, adversely What do you think can be done so that
affecting farmers in these countries. trade between countries is fairer?
Developing countries are, therefore, asking In the example on the left, we saw
the developed country governments, We that the US government gives massive
have reduced trade barriers as per WTO sums of money to farmers for
rules. But you have ignored the rules of WTO production. At times, governments
and have continued to pay your farmers vast also give support to promote
sums of money. You have asked our production of certain types of goods,
governments to stop supporting our such as those which are
farmers, but you are doing so yourselves. Is environmentally friendly. Discuss
this free and fair trade?
whether these are fair or not.
Impact of Globalisation in India

What has been the effect of globalisation on the lives of people?
Globalisation has been of advantage to consumers, particularly the
well-off sections in the urban areas. There is greater choice before
these consumers who now enjoy improved quality and lower prices
for several products. As a result, these people today enjoy much
higher standards of living than was possible earlier. Among producers
and workers, the impact of globalisation has not been uniform.
Firstly, MNCs have increased their investments in India, which means investing
in India has been beneficial for them. MNCs have been interested in industries
such as cell phones, automobiles, electronics, soft drinks, fast food or services
such as banking in urban areas. These products have a large number of well-off
buyers. In these industries and services, new jobs have been created. Also, local
companies supplying raw materials, etc. to these industries have prospered.
Secondly, several of the top Indian companies have been able to benefit from
the increased competition. They have invested in newer technology and production
methods and raised their production
standards. Some have gained from In recent years, the central and state
successful collaborations with foreign governments in India are taking special steps
companies. to attract foreign companies to invest in
Moreover, globalisation has enabled India. Industrial zones, called Special
some large Indian companies to emerge as Economic Zones (SEZs), are being set up.
multinationals themselves! Tata Motors SEZs are to have world class facilities:
(automobiles), Infosys (IT), Ranbaxy electricity, water, roads, transport, storage,
(medicines), Asian Paints (paints), Sundram recreational and educational facilities.
Fasteners (nuts and bolts) are some Indian Companies who set up production units in
companies which are spreading their the SEZs do not have to pay taxes for an
operations worldwide. initial period of five years.
Globalisation has also created new Government has also allowed flexibility in
opportunities for companies providing the labour laws to attract foreign
services, particularly those involving IT. The investment. Instead of hiring workers on a
Indian company producing a magazine for regular basis, companies hire workers
the London based company and call centres flexibly for short periods when there is
are some examples. Besides, a host of intense pressure of work. This is done to
services such as data entry, accounting, reduce the cost of labour for the company.
administrative tasks, engineering are now However, foreign companies are demanding
being done cheaply in countries such as further flexibility in labour laws.
India and are exported to the developed
countries.
How has competition benefited people Write an imaginary caption for
in India? the image here. What does it tell
about the globalisation
Should more Indian companies emerge
as MNCs? How would it benefit the
people in the country?
Why do governments try to attract more
foreign investment?
Elsewhere we read what may be
development for one may be destructive
for others. The setting of SEZs has been
opposed by some people in India. Find
out who are these people and why are
they opposing it.
Small producers: Compete or perish
For a large number of small producers and workers
globalisation has posed major challenges.
Ravi did not ex-
pect that he would
have to face a crisis in What are the ways in which
such a short period of Ravi’s small production unit
his life as an industri-
was affected by rising
alist. Ravi took a loan
competition?
from the bank to start
Should producers such as Ravi
his own company producing capacitors in
stop production because their
1992 in Hosur, an industrial town in Tamil
cost of production is higher
Nadu. Capacitors are used in many elec-
compared to producers in
tronic home appliances including tube
other countries? What do you
lights, television etc. Within three years, he
think?
was able to expand production and had 20
workers under him. Recent studies point out that
small producers in India need
His struggle to run his company started
three things to compete better
when the government removed restrictions
in the market: (a) better roads,
on imports of capacitors as per its agree-
power, water, raw materials,
ment at WTO in 2001. His main clients, the
marketing and information
television companies, used to buy differ-
network, (b) improvements and
ent components including capacitors in
modernisation of technology,
bulk for the manufacture of television sets.
and (c) timely availability of
However, competition from the MNC
credit at reasonable interest
brands forced the Indian television compa-
rates. Explain how these three
nies to move into assembling activities for
things would help Indian
MNCs. Even when some of them bought
producers.
capacitors, they would prefer to import as
the price of the imported item was half the Do you think MNCs will be
price charged by people like Ravi. interested in investing in these?
Why?
Ravi now produces less than half the
capacitors that he produced in the year Do you think the government
2000 and has only seven workers working has a role in making these
for him. Many of Ravis friends in the same facilities available? Why?
business in Hyderabad and Chennai have Think of any other steps that
closed their units. the government could take.
Discuss.

The struggle for a fair Globalisation
The above evidence indicates that not everyone has benefited from globalisation.
People with education, skill and wealth have made the best use of the new
opportunities. On the other hand, there are many people who have not shared the
benefits. Since globalisation is now a reality, the question is how to make
globalisation more ‘fair’? Fair globalisation would create opportunities for all,
and also ensure that the benefits of globalisation are shared better.
The government can play a major role in making this possible. Its policies
must protect the interests, not only of the rich and the powerful, but all the people
in the country. You have read about some of the possible steps that the government
can take. For instance, the government can ensure that labour laws are properly
implemented and the workers get their rights. It can support small producers to
improve their performance till the time they become strong enough to compete. If
necessary, the government can use trade and investment barriers. It can negotiate
at the WTO for ‘fairer rules’. It can also align with other developing countries with
similar interests to fight against the domination of developed countries in the WTO.
In the past few years, massive campaigns and representation by people’s
organisations have influenced important decisions relating to trade and investments
at the WTO. This has demonstrated that people also can play an important role in
the struggle for fair globalisation.
Other issues
An important question that has been debated is whether globalisation has seen
the demise of nation state or not. For most part of the time, the nation state with
people organised on territorial
WB & IMF and their power grounds was the main form of
The International Bank for Reconstruction and political organisation when it
Development (IBRD) and the International
Development Association (IDA) are referred as came to demarcating
World Bank. Both these Institutions have more countries. This territorial
than 170 members each. Countries like United division created divisions of us
States of America control the functioning of
these institutions. Even today USAs voting is and them, of outside and inside
valued at 16%. Few other countries like Japan, and laid the psychological
Germany, United Kingdom, France have more foundations for creating a
than 3 to 6 % voting powers. Value of voting
by the poorer countries is lower. Today India or feeling for one’s own country,
China too have much more the feeling of nationalism. The
voting powers than poorer single most important impact
countries. World Bank is able to
advice and impact the way of globalisation is the gradual
governments frame their polices dilution of this feeling.
and guide them. Another issue that
received attention is about
whether globalisation leads to cultural homogenisation or increases cultural
diversity? While some argue that the impact of modern communication and
technology has led to the spread of certain cultures and ideas which have marginalised
local and small cultures, others argue that globalisation has also given space to and
allowed the spread of distinctive and often marginalised cultural practices. It has
been pointed out that while some languages have become widely used and are the
languages of international communication, others have been neglected and some
are on the verge of extinction.
Conclusion
Globalisation is the process of rapid integration of countries. It is a major change
that occurred across the globe in the late 20th century. This has economic, political
as well as cultural dimensions. Integration of markets and production through trade
and investments controlled by the multinational corporations with huge wealth and
power is one hallmark of the present phase of globalisation. Liberalisation by
removing barriers to trade and investment has opened the economies to the forces
of globalisation.
The benefits of globalisation have been unevenly distributed. It has benefited
well-off consumers and also producers with skill, education and huge wealth. Certain
services, enabled with technology, have expanded. On the other hand, thousands of
small producers and workers have seen their employment and workers’ rights erode.
It is important to understand the two-sided nature of globalisation.
The other dimension of inequality, which we saw, is in the dominating influence
of the rich countries on matters of policy. Be it policies on international economic
exchange – trade, investment, migration - or domestic matters, rich western
countries have an undue influence over the rest of the world. International
organisations like WTO, WB and the IMF represent the interests of the developed
countries far more than that of the developing world. Thus, while the supporters of
globalisation speak of the advantages of global integration and see globalisation as
an opportunity for growth and prosperity, its critics point out that it is another attempt
by some countries - read the west - to dominate the world. They argue that it harms
democracy, workers’ rights, and the environment in many of the poorer countries.
Key words
MNCs Nation state Technology
Foreign investment Foreign trade Liberalisation

1. What were the reasons for putting barriers to foreign trade and foreign investment
by the Indian government? Why did it wish to remove these barriers? AS1
2. How would flexibility in labour laws help companies? AS1
3. What are the various ways in which MNCs set up, or control, production in other
countries? AS1
4. Why do developed countries want developing countries to liberalise their trade and
investment? What do you think should the developing countries demand in return? AS4
5. “The impact of globalisation has not been uniform.” Explain this statement. AS1
6. How has liberalisation of trade and investment policies helped the globalisation
process? AS1
7. How does foreign trade lead to integration of markets across countries? Explain
with an example other than those given here. AS1
8. Globalisation will continue in the future. Can you imagine what the world would be
like twenty years from now? Give reasons for your answer. AS4
9. Supposing you find two people arguing: One is saying globalisation has hurt our
country’s development. The other is telling, globalisation is helping India develop.
How would you respond to these arguments? AS2
10. Fill in the blanks. AS1

Indian buyers have a greater choice of goods than they did two decades back. This is
closely associated with the process of ______________. Markets in India are selling
goods produced in many other countries. This means there is increasing
______________ with other countries. Moreover, the rising number of brands that
we see in the markets might be produced by MNCs in India. MNCs are investing in
India because ____________ ___________________________________ .
While consumers have more choices in the market, the effect of rising
_______________ and ______________has meant greater
_________________among the producers.
11.Match the following. AS1

(i) MNCs buy at cheap rates from small (a) Automobiles
producers
(ii) Quotas and taxes on imports are used to (b) Garments, footwear, sports
regulate trade items
(iii) Indian companies who have (c) Call centres
invested abroad
(iv) IT has helped in spreading of (d) Tata Motors, Infosys, Ranbaxy
production of services
(v) Several MNCs have invested in setting (e) Trade barriers
up factories in India for production

CHAPTER
11
Food Security
In the pre-independent India, famines -

situations of extreme scarcity of food, were
common cause of large scale starvation
deaths. The Bengal famine in 1943-45, for
instance, took away about 3 to 5 million
people’s lives in and around Bengal, Assam
and Odisha. Read the following:
I was the oldest among my siblings. I
used to work to survive. I worked as a day
labourer. At that time I left my father in
the village and took my brothers and
sisters to Kolkata. They only had some flour a
available as food. We went wherever food
was distributed. I saw many people
suffering in the streets of Kolkata. I saw
mothers carrying their sons in their arms
who were actually dead. But the mothers
were still sprinkling them with water, trying
to revive the children. I saw many things.
People ate grass, snakes. I lost two sisters
and a brother.
b
These are the people who are farmers,
agriculturists. Theyre not beggars so they
did not even know how to beg. They have
huge self respect. When they came, they
just sat on the pavements and they died
there. And when that picture hit the people
Fig 11.1 Photographs from LIFE Magazine:
of Kolkata, at that point suddenly
(a) children trying to collect grain from goods
everyone understood the scale of the train (b) woman sweeping grain fallen on the
disaster. ground.
There have been instances in Indian history where famines happened
because foodgrains supply was not organised by the rulers. This could
have been arranged from stocks or bringing supplies from other regions.
By the time of India’s Independence, governments started evolving

various systems to ensure foodgrains for its people. Ration shops where people go
and buy food grains at subsidised prices, mid-day meals that many of you have been
eating, anganwadis where young children are taken care of, including meals during
the day are some ways through which government today ensures food security. In
this chapter we will look at some issues associated with food security.
The first section will focus on the issues of overall food security: the issue of
production and availability of food for the country as a whole. The second section
would discuss the access people have – how does one ensure that the available food
reaches people. Finally, we need to look at the nutrition levels among families to
know whether these schemes and methods are effective.
Food Security for the Country

Increasing foodgrain production
Producing sufficient amount of foodgrains is an important requirement of food
security. In India, for example, it means, the government creates conditions so that
farmers are able to produce increasing amount
Graph 1 : Production of select
of foodgrains. Foodgrains (in million tonnes)
Examine Graph 1 and fill in the blanks (for 100 Y
knowing the value at each point, you can use a
scale to know the exact amount on the y-axis). 90
80
The foodgrains production has grown
over the period 1970-71 to _____. 70
Paddy production increased from 60
about 40 million tonnes in 1970-71
50
to about _____tonnes in 2010-11.
Another important food crop that 40
witnessed rapid increase in 30
production during this 40 year period
was_____. Compared to paddy and 20
wheat the production of _____ did not 10

increase during 1970-2011. This 0 X
1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2010-11
could be due to _____.
Read again the section on “Land and Paddy Wheat Jowar Oilseeds
other natural resources” in chapter 9. What are the possible ways of increasing
production of crops from land?
We know that the area under cultivation has been roughly unchanging since the
last few decades. Yield then becomes a crucial variable. Look at Graph 2.
In order to increase the per hectare yield of a crop, necessary inputs have to be
146 Social Studies Food Securty

Graph 2 : Yield of select Foodgrains provided in a judicious manner. One way is to
(in kilograms per hectare) expand irrigation but use water in a manner so
Y that this vital resource is shared and made
3500
available to all.
The crops with low yields indicated in
3000
Graph 2 mostly grow in dry lands, where the
present and even future possibility of irrigation
2500
is minimal. Planting drought-resistant crops as
per the local conditions, water-harvesting and
2000 crop rotation are therefore used to raise
production on a given piece of land.
1500 It is also important to ensure that soil and
other natural resources are not damaged or
1000 depleted in the process. Some scientists and
people, working in the field of agriculture,
report that the way rice and wheat are cultivated
500 in India – by intensive and unscientific
application of chemical fertilisers and
0
X
insecticides – have led to continuous but
1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2010-11
unsustainable increase in the yield levels. In
Paddy Wheat Jowar Oilseeds fact, these methods have led to soil degradation,
and depletion of ground water resources. If this continues, we may soon come to a
situation that yields start falling rather than going up.
Describe the per hectare yield of paddy and wheat by filling the following passage.
Two crops ________ and _______ always had low yield when compared with paddy
and wheat. Yet both these crops have shown slow increase in yield in recent years.
Why should attention be given to increase the yield of jowar? Discuss.
What factors have contributed to the high growth of paddy and wheat yields
over the long period?
Availability of Foodgrains
If a country is able to produce foodgrains, for the whole of its
population, this would be considered as the first requirement. How
do we measure if there is food for all? Whether this food reaches
families would be examined later. We are at first estimating what
is available. This means that per person (or per capita) availability of foodgrains in
the country should be sufficient and also increasing over the years. Is the increase
in foodgrain availability really happening?

There is a difference between production and availability of foodgrains. This is
estimated as:
Availability of foodgrains for the year = Production of foodgrains during
the year (production – seed, feed and wastage) + net imports (imports – exports) -
change in stocks with the government (closing stock at the year end- opening stock
at the beginning)
Availability of foodgrains per person per day = (Availability of foodgrains
for the year ÷ population)/ 365
Information relating to production, imports and change in government stocks
are given in the following table for three years – 1971, 1991 and 2011. Besides
production, imports are a way of increasing availability of foodgrains in any particular
year. Another important source of foodgrain availability is the change in government
stocks. The government can, for instance, increase the availability of rice for the
people by selling from its existing stocks. While the stocks of rice with the
government falls, the amount of rice available for consumption in that year increases.
(You will read more about government stocks in the next section.)
As shown for 1971, calculate per person availability of foodgrains for 1991
and 2011.
Table 1: Per Person availability of foodgrains

Year Population Net Production Net Change in Net availibility Per person availability
(millions) of foodgrains # imports government of foodgrains # per day (grams)
# stocks #
col (1) col (2) col (3) col (4) col (5) col (6) col (7)
1971 551 94.9 2 2.6 ={col (6)/col (2)}/365}

col (3) + = (94.3/551)/365
col (4) – col (5) = 0.000469 tonnes *
= 94.3 = 0.000469 X 1000
= 0.469 Kilograms *
= 0.469 X 1000
= 469 Grams
1991 852 154.3 –0.1 –4.4
2011 1202 214.2 –2.9 8.2
* Note: 1 tonne =1000 kilograms; 1 kilogram = 1000 grams

# Million tonnes
Based on your calculations, fill in the blanks: The per person availability of
foodgrains ______ (increased/decreased) between 1971 and 1991 but was______
(lower/higher) in 2011. This happened despite slowdown in population growth in
the recent decades. In future, the government must ensure higher availability
through_________
What falls under food grains
FOOD
GRAINS
EDIBLE OIL CEREALS PULSES
“Coarse” Cereals
Fine Cereals
(Eg.: jowar, ragi, bajra
and other millets) (Eg: rice and wheat)
Many believe `coarse cereals to be inferior grains. Because these are called coarse
grains, we think these are rough and unhealthy. On the contrary, these are highly
nutritious and wholesome grains. They are a staple diet of millions of people living
in the dry land regions of the country. Once very familiar in Indian households, the
label `coarse cereals came with colonial rulers who preferred the white colour of
rice and wheat and looked down upon local food and cultural practices. Today,
many prefer to call these cereals nutri-cereals.
Availability of Other Food Items

It is said that there is a change in consumption pattern with people demanding
more fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, poultry and fisheries. This is a good sign for
the consumers as well as producers. Consumers need a diverse food basket and a
balanced diet. Farmers producing foodgrains can go in for crop diversification in
order to increase their incomes. You may recall in the earlier classes we read about
the conversion of foodgrain fields into cash crops such as cotton in AP during the
last two decades. This was one of the reasons for farmer’s distress and even suicides.
Farmers can instead pay attention on allied activities such as poultry, fishing and
dairying since it provides new opportunities for farmers.
Over the years, although there has been increase in production of other food
items, it is not sufficient to meet the minimum dietary requirements. Nutritionists
suggest that every person in India should eat 300 grams of vegetables and 100 grams
of fruits in a day whereas per person availability of these food materials is 180 and
58 grams respectively. Similarly per person requirement of eggs is 180 whereas
the availability of eggs is 30. The meat dietary requirements are 11 kilograms per
year whereas the per person availability is only 3.2 kilograms. We require 300
millilitres of milk whereas the per person availability is 210 millilitres a day.
Farmers thus require support in terms of inputs and market opportunities for
diversification to other food items. Farmers may have to be supported and guarded
against market risks that they face in the new situation.

Agricultural Diversification
Midnapore has red laterite soil. The village was Kaspal in the Borkollah gram
panchayat area. Almost all have tube wells. The bank gave credit to them for
water development... I talked to Hari Prasad Samantha, Chitto Maiti and Jhath
Lenka - nobody farms more than two acres. The technology is fairly good. The
original seeds came from the university although there is little replacement in
paddy. But they make more money from cash crops and it is vegetables all the
way. Potatoes are a craze. The seeds come from commercial companies and are
expensive.... A great thing that happened on the way was dairying. Almost all of
them have between three to five cows. The women folk look after them. This is
now spreading. Farmers know the best pulse seeds come from Maharashtra
and Madhya Pradesh. Their own mustard is good.
The land slopes up from the river. About two or three hundred meters up and a
distance away I check out another village. Around half of the population is poor.
It is a mono crop region with the second crop, if any, depending on the rains.
Yields are low. Many answers are possible, but without a plan and government
effort it would be cruel joke to talk about diversification to them.
Note that agricultural diversification Underline words and sentences that
may impact foodgrain production. This deal with agricultural diversification
might give rise to a policy dilemma that and explain why are these essential for
has to be handled through careful planning.
Indian farmers.
Since resources are diverted to non-
foodgrain uses, foodgrain production may Write a description about agricultural
come down. India’s per capita availability diversification for your own village or
is very low when we compare the same for any village that you know about.
countries in Europe (700 grams) and USA
(850 grams). The decline in the level of per capita availability of foodgrains is
something to be worried about for India’s food security. The poorer households
exert more energy and depend much more on foodgrains as their source of energy
intake. The policy should aim to increase production of food grains and other types
of food simultaneously.
Access to Food
The next important aspect of food security is the access to food.
It is not sufficient to produce foodgrains and other items. Everyone
should be able to buy them for consumption. Is everyone able to
access the minimum food requirement?
You may recall what you studied in Class VIII on poverty.
Food we eat gets burnt in our body and produces heat and
this is measured in terms of calories. This helps to do our work. If we
eat less or less nutritious food, the calorie intake of our body becomes
less and hence we may find it difficult to work or our health may get

Graph 3 : Calorie intake per deteriorated. A standard of 2100
person in rural India Kilocalories per day in urban areas and
2521 2400 Kilocalories in rural areas is the
2143 recommended food intake per day. The
1900 marginalised communities of rural regions
1624 are able to consume food that can get 1624
kilo calories only. Observe the given graph.
The national average calorie levels in
both rural and urban areas are below the
needed calorie requirements. Also, the
consumption of calories has gone down
Expenditure
High
between 1983 and 2004. This is shocking
marginalised lower upper
communities middle middle income
since as we have seen our economy is
25% class 25% class 25% group 25% growing at a rapid rate. Production of goods
and services has increased many times.
This is not all. Averages hide disparities in distribution. Whereas the very well-
off consume food that goes beyond the recommended calorie requirements, for a
large proportion of the population the food intake is inadequate to provide the
calories required. 80 percent of people in rural areas in India consume food that is
below the calorie standard. In the Graph 3 you can see the lowest calorie intake is
for the people who are the poorest in the rural areas. And it is way below the
recommended standard of 2400! Whereas these are the people involved in the most
difficult and heavy manual labour.
The major reason for low calorie intake is the lack of purchasing power of the
people. People don’t have adequate incomes to buy food. There are various reasons
for this as you have read in the discussion on poverty, unemployment, public facilities,
etc. Can you recall some of these, before you proceed?
Public Distribution System (PDS)
Ration shops are important means for people to access foodgrains in India.
One survey was conducted in 2004-05 to know whether families in different states
procure foodgrains from public distribution system fair price shops and how much
they are part of the total foodgrain
Recall the discussion on Public consumption. Look at the Graph 4. This
Distribution System in Class VIII. How shows people’s dependency on PDS for
purchase of their staple foodgrains in
is PDS related to food security of the
different states of India.
people in the country?
Studies indicate that
Southern states of India have a good record in public distribution
system. Notably, these are the states that have followed a universal
PDS system which means that low cost foodgrains would be available
to all. This is in contrast to other states where poor families have
been identified and foodgrains are sold to at different prices to poor and non-poor.
Even among the poor, the very poor have different entitlements, or
guarantees for access. For example, the Antyodaya cardholders are entitled to get
35 kgs of foodgrains (rice and wheat) per month per family.
Graph 4 : Percentage Share of Purchases from PDS, rice and
wheat, 2009-10
Fill in the blanks
All India (wheat) 28
For all India, ____
All India (rice) 39
Tamil Nadu (rice) 91 percent of peoples’
Andhra Pradesh (rice) 84 total consumption of
Assom (rice) 30 rice and ____ percent
West Bengal (rice) 26 of peoples’ total
Bihar (wheat) 13 consumption of
Gujarat (wheat) 35
wheat are purchased
Maharashtra (rice) 47
Rajasthan (wheat)
from the ration
18
Punjab (wheat) 24 shops. This shows
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 that people have to
buy most of their
foodgrain requirements from ____. However, there are several well-performing states
like____and ____. And some states like ____, ____ ,____ where PDS hardly seems to
be fulfilling peoples’ needs for foodgrains.
PDS and Buffer Stock

The stock of foodgrains mainly wheat and rice procured and maintained by the
government through Food Corporation of India (FCI) is called buffer stock. The FCI
purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in states where there is surplus production.
The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops. This price is called Minimum
Support Price (MSP). The MSP is declared by a government agency every year.
The state and Central Governments procure nearly one-third of foodgrains from
farmers. These foodgrains are distributed to people through various mechanisms. In
recent times, the government agencies are procuring more foodgrains than what is
required to meet the public distribution system. If government stocks keep increasing
year after year, less is available (see year 2011 in Table on foodgrain
availability). The government has been criticised that it is not distributing
these foodgrains to the needy people. Sometimes, governments also
exported these foodgrains to other countries. Do you think it is good
idea to export foodgrains and earn a small income whereas a large section
of people within the country are not able to access foodgrains?
The Indian government came out with a new law in 2013 called the National
Food Security Act to legalise peoples’ Right to Food. It applies to approximately 2/
3rd of the population of India. As per this law, every person of low income families
is entitled to 5 kilograms of foodgrains per month at subsidised rates. Among poor

families, the poorest ones are entitled to 35 kilograms of foodgrains. For a few
years, the central government will supply rice, wheat and millets for Rs.3, Rs.2 and
Rs.1 respectively. Under this law, if required, a maximum of 75 per cent of people
living in rural areas and 50 per cent of urban population have the right to buy
foodgrains from public distribution system. If the government is not able to arrange
foodgrains, it will give cash for the people to buy foodgrains. This law also envisages
providing free cooked meals for pregnant women, lactating mothers, children aged
1-6 coming to anganwadis and mid-day meals for children aged 6-14 in schools.
While Indian Parliament enacts various laws such as National Food Security
Act and implements schemes such as Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS),
in recent times, the Indian judiciary also has become pro-active in ensuring food
security. Through judicial verdict on court cases filed by non-governmental
organisations, the Supreme Court directed all the state governments and central
government to provide mid-day meals to all the young children studying in schools.
Though such schemes existed in a small scale in a few states like Tamil Nadu, this
scheme is now being implemented in all the states. About 14 crore children studying
in schools eat mid-day meal today. When state governments refuse to implement
this scheme, the court also set up monitoring mechanisms and provided suggestions
for better implementation such as school mid-day meals should be locally produced,
hot and cooked (and not dry snacks or grain which many governments distributed
until then), hygienic, nutritious (of a prescribed minimum caloric level) and with
varied menus for every day of the week. The court also ruled that preference be
given to dalit cooks, widows and destitute women. This is the largest school feeding
programme in the world. In order to generate revenue for this scheme, the court
directed the Indian government to impose taxes. The hot cooked meal is also now
provided in anganwadis for children.
Nutrition status
Lastly, we look at the nutrition status of children and adults to
judge whether the food actually consumed is adequate. This also
informs us if the above discussed systems are working effectively
and also about the problem areas.
Food is required by the body for all its functions- for energy,
growth and the capacity to remain healthy and fight illness. The food
that we consume is normally classified as:
Carbohydrates: that provide energy, through wheat, rice, ragi, jowar, oils, sugar,
fats etc.
Proteins: that help growth and regeneration of body tissues, through beans,
dals, meat, eggs, rice, wheat etc.
Vitamins: that provide protection and ensure the working of many vital systems
of the body, through foods such as fruits, leafy vegetables, sprouts, unpolished rice
etc.

Minerals : That are required in small quantities for many important functions
such as iron for blood formation. This is provided through green leafy vegetables,
ragi etc.
If we conduct a survey, as you have done in some previous chapters, we can find
out about the food people eat by asking them to describe their meals for the day.
Through this we can get a rough idea of whether all the food groups above are being
covered. However it is difficult to measure precise amounts of carbohydrates,
vitamins, proteins, minerals being consumed by each individual in the family.
Nutritionists have devised indicators using height and weight that can inform us
whether individuals are well nourished. Through various measurements of large
population and using statistical knowledge nutritionists have been able to arrive at
reliable standard ranges. A comparison for individual persons is therefore possible.
This gives us the most reliable source of information about nutritional status of
people.
A survey conducted by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad (NIN)
across many states in the country confirms the overall alarming status of nutrition
in the country. While we have looked at case studies that depict real family situations
of under nutrition and poverty in previous classes it is also important to examine
some of these faceless statistics. They help us examine whether these situations
are exceptions or an indication of a general trend. They also help us to look at
issues that may be hidden and not so obvious to commonsense.
As discussed above, to examine the nutritional status of children, simple but
accurate measurements of height and weight are used. You could visit an anganwadi
center and observe how this is carried out. Since children grow fast, their weight
changes significantly with age, unlike in adults. For this indicator to be reliable,
weight is to be accurately measured and have the correct age. These readings are
then plotted against charts that
have been developed by Girl: Weight as per age - birth to 5 years
(As per WHO norms) line showing
nutritionists to examine if they growth of child
fall within a normal range or

below. Earlier
printed
For example when we plot growth
lines
weights of a child against age
it tells us whether the child is
Identified
underweight. This is for one dot
child.
White
Fig 11.2 : Weight chart used in rectangular
box
Anganwadi to measure the
X axis / age, week,
weight of children in A.P. month, year

What does the NIN survey indicate? Out of the seven thousand children, in the
age group 1-5 years, examined in the survey from many states in the country, 45%
of children are underweight. Their weight was less than what is expected by normal
standards. These children are in fact hungry and not getting adequate food. Unless
they are severely underweight it may not be easily visible or identifiable. Going
just by common sense we fail to realise that enormous number of children in the
country are underweight. We are so used to seeing such children that we take this
as “normal”. The survey jolts our common sense and makes us realise that this
situation would seriously affect their growth and capacities of nearly half the children
of the country.
The report says:
The overall prevalence of underweight was about 45% and it was significantly
higher among 3-5 year, compared to 1-3 year children. The prevalence was more
than 50% in the States of Gujarat (58%), Madhya Pradesh (56.9%) and Uttar
Pradesh (53.2%) and observed lowest in Kerala (24%).
The overall prevalence of severe underweight was about 16%.
How can an effective anganwadi Nutritionists compare three different charts

center deal with such a situation for pre-school children. This is given below.
for a locality? Discuss. These three different indicators give us an overall
picture of the nutritional status of these children.
Indicator What does this show Explain in your own % of children in

for those children words the country
below the normal range
Weight is plotted Underweight 45%
against age
Height is plotted Stunting When children are 41%
against age undernourished for a long
time, their bone growth
is affected. Such children
would remain short for their
age. It is difficult to cover this.
Weight is plotted Wasting This indicates a child who has
against height lost weight recently. If given
sufficient food she can cover
this up, quickly. 21%
The nutrition status among adult men and

What overall conclusions can women is measured using Body Mass
you draw from these statistics? Index(BMI). You have read about this in earlier
Write a paragraph . classes.[BMI=(weight in kgs/ height in metres
squared).]

This index is compared with a range to show if the individual is underweight,
within normal range or overweight. A high value shows excess fat and a low value a
fat level that is less than what is required. According to NIN report the situation for
adult men and women are as follows:
The prevalence of chronic energy deficiency ( BMI<18.5) among men was
about 35% , while overweight/obesity (BMI >25) was 10%.
About 35% of adult women had chronic energy deficiency and14% were
overweight/ obese. The prevalence of chronic energy deficiency was highest in
the States of Odisha,Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, followed by 33-38% in Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal .
How is this related to food security? A
doctor who is working in a rural area of
Chhattisgarh running a community health
programme where streams of underweight
patients come every day explains this link.
From a study of the patients he found that
the PDS grain of 35kg/ per month for a
family of five lasted only 11 days. For the
rest of the month they have to depend on
the market or their own produce.
For example a rickshaw puller in
Bilaspur who earns 70-80 rupees a day
would try to survive on the PDS grain,
Fig 11.3 : Ration Shop
spending Rs 400 on rent and Rs 100 on
electricity. It was not surprising that he lost weight and caught tuberculosis.
These measures are thus indicators of food security. The doctor from Chattisgarh
says :
No one would have a lower weight or height if he/ she had access to adequate
food. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We can judge all processes like
efficacy of the PDS, the importance given to growing food crops, and the
purchasing power of people by looking at body parameters like weight and height.
Besides, a persons height can also tell us whether food was available during his/
her childhood. We can still choose to describe underweight and stunted people
as malnourished if we like. But I suggest the correct term would be hunger .
Summing up
The first section examined the issue of food security from the point of view of
overall production of food in the country. What can be done to increase the food
production remains an important question. Next we discussed how availability is
measured. A worrying fact is that per person availability of foodgrains has actually
not risen but declined in the recent years.

Whatever is produced and is available has to reach the people. This could be
through what they purchase in the market or in the ration shop or through schemes
such as school meals etc. Here we find that most people are in fact consuming
fewer calories than required. This gap is severe for the poorest. Though there’s a
shift towards other foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs and this is welcome,
deficiency in calorie intake is alarming. PDS is not effective in places where they
are most needed. This serious situation is revealed through nutrition surveys that
show children and adults as being underweight in a chronic way. Over a long period
of time, 35% to 45% of people are consuming less food than they should. A large
section of people are malnourished (or hungry), even when we have adequate food
in the country. This is not acceptable. The issue of food security needs careful
thinking and effort in all of the above directions.
Key words
Production Availability Access Nutrition
Buffer stock Hunger PDS

1. Correct the false statements AS1
Increase in food production alone ensure food security
It is important to encourage mono-crop cultivation to ensure food security
Low calorie intake is higher among people with low income
Legislations have an important role to play in ensuring food security
PDS system could be used to address the issue of child nutrition
2. The consumption of calories has consistently ___________ in rural areas. The
average per capita calorie consumption in 2004-05 is _________ than the required
calories. The minimum calorie consumption for persons living in urban areas is
2100 calories. The difference between actual calorie consumption in 2004-05 and
the required calorie consumption in urban areas is _________. AS1
3. Supposing the foodgrain production has been affected in a particular year, because
of a natural calamity. In what ways can the government ensure higher availability of
foodgrains for the year? AS4
4. Use an imaginary example from your context to describe the relationship between
underweight and access to food. AS4
5. Analyse a week’s food habit of your family. Create a table to explain nutrition
elements included in it. AS3
6. Describe the relationship between increase in food production and food security.AS1
7. Give reasons to argue for the following statements “Public Distribution System
can ensure better food security for people”. AS1
8. Above poster what indicates about food security. AS1
9. Make similar posters about food security. AS6
Project
Read the following poem, Aai. Can you write a poem relating to any aspect of food
security?
Aai (Mother)
I have seen you to make coarse bread and a little
turning back the tide of tears something
trying to ignore your stomachs growl to feed everybody, but half-feed yourself
Suffering parched throat and lips so thered be a bit in the morning
Building a dam on a lake
I have seen you
I have seen you washing clothes and cleaning pots
sitting in front of the stove in different households
burning your very bones rejecting the scraps of food offered
with pride

CHAPTER
Sustainable Development with Equity

12
Looking at development again
As a measure of development, Human Development Index
(HDI) is an improvement over GDP and per capita income (refer
to Chapter 2). Whereas GDP is an indicator of the value of goods
and services produced in the country, the idea of progress can hardly
be limited to production of goods and services. This is more so
when rapid expansion of production and incomes, can coexist with
malnutrition and lack of education and health for a large proportion of the people,
as is the case in India. HDI expands the meaning of development to include social
indicators of education and health.
There are, however, many other considerations that even this expanded measure
of development does not capture. In India, more than 90% of the workforce is in
the unorganised sector, where the conditions of work are not encouraging at all.
Incomes of both self-employed and wage workers in the unorganised sector are
generally low, at times pitiably so (refer to Chapter 3). With such a high percentage
of workforce in low-paid employment, increase in GDP and the enormous variety
of goods and services being produced can benefit only select groups. People with
high income and wealth are the ones who have all the choices in the world to buy
and consume (refer to Chapter 10). While some enjoy world-class living comforts,
the vast majority, without proper
Income (in Rs.)
employment and adequate
incomes, are still deprived of Rich (income above Rs17 lakh ) 3 million households
minimum necessities for decent Middle class (income
31 million households
living. Such wide inequalities in between Rs3.4 to Rs17 lakh)
incomes and opportunities across

people cannot be the basis for a Aspirers ( income between
71 million
just society. Rs 1.5 to Rs3.4 lakh)
households
Write a brief note on the

inequality in India based
on the graphs and figures.
Deprived (income below
135 million
Graph 1 : Distribution Rs1.5 lakhs)
households
of households in India
based on annual income
(2010 survey)

Graph 2 : Total Wealth held Graph 3 : Increase in the Number
by Billionaires of
(in Billion Rupees) Billionaires
12000 60
11,000 55
10000 50
8000 40
6000 30
4000 20
2000 10 9
1,157
3
212
0 0
1996 2004 2011 1996 2004 2011
Fig 12.1: Dharavi slum in

Mumbai. One of the
largest colonies in which
the urban poor of India lives
Fig 12.2 : A View of

Banjara hills
from a hotel room in
Hyderabad, an area
where the rich in
Hyderabad lives
160 Social Studies Sustainable Development with Equity

Another major criticism of economic development focused narrowly on GDP
springs from its neglect of environment. In various contexts, we have seen how the
environmental resources have been used up and damaged to an unprecedented extent
in the course of economic growth. Deforestation, soil erosion, lowering groundwater
tables, increasing pollution, pressure on grazing land, rising dependence on fossil
fuels, industrial emissions, use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture,
climate change are some of the important and urgent environmental issues before
us. While industrialisation has brought a lot of material comforts at least to some,
it has resulted in a world where natural resources are threatened and now even the
climate is being disrupted. This pattern of growth clearly cannot continue.
In this chapter, we will explore the relationship between development,
environment and people. How has expansion of economic activities affected
different aspects of environment? What has development meant for peoples’ access
and rights to natural resources and their lives? Can there be different models of
development? We will seek answers to these questions through live issues and
peoples’ lived experiences. We find that there is need to broaden the focus of
development from material goods and services to all people (present & future
generations) and the environment with all its living and non-living resources.
Environment and Development
Let us start by
recalling the role of Revisit the class IX chapters on Indian
environment in Agriculture & Industry.
development. Many . How have they discussed issues of disparity
naturally existing
and distribution and access to resources in these
substances like land,
water, minerals and two contexts?
ores, products from Identify how the idea of development has been
trees and animals are contested through problems of Environment.
central to the What kind of environmental problems did the
production process. In
spread of “green revolution” create? What
primary sector
activities - agriculture, lessons does this have for the future?
mining, quarrying - and
in the manufacturing and energy sector, production is hugely dependent on natural
resources. The other sectors of the economy too are dependent on natural resources
in various degrees. The potential of an environment to provide these resources is
referred to as an "environment's source function". This function is depleted as
resources are consumed or pollution contaminates the resources.
There is another function that the environment provides.
It is to absorb and render harmless the waste and pollution
from various activities. Unwanted by-products of production
and consumption say exhaust gases from combustion, water

used to clean products, discarded packaging and goods no longer wanted are absorbed
by the environment. This is as important as the source function. The "sink function"
describes an environment's ability to absorb and render harmless waste and pollution.
When waste output exceeds the limit of the sink function, long-term damage to
environment occurs.
In the past fifty years of economic development, both these functions of the
environment have been overused. This has been said to affect the carrying capacity
of the environment, i.e., the capacity of the environment to support economic
production and consumption in the future. Let’s look at few examples.
Example 1: As per the traditional practices,
the lifting of water was limited to supplemen-
tal irrigation or for a small area. For example,
with mota baavi only 2 to 3 acres can be irri-
gated. Agriculture was limited to rainy season
and large areas were rain fed drylands. Over
time, with new energy resources pumpsets
that work with petrol/diesel and electricity
came into picture. The impact has to be seen
in two phases: initially there was relief from
drudgery; lifting of water became very easy with Fig 12.3 : A UN photo from 1957
pumps. Also water was plenty. Open wells had Farming and irrigation in Rajastan
water at 10 to 15 feet deep; utmost 100 feet
deep. However, with lifting of groundwater by electric and motor pumps, water
table started going down. So much so that in some areas groundwater is being
drawn from few hundred feet deep. After all, the water has to go down to the
ground for it to be lifted up. This is called recharge. The path of water below
ground is through the medium of soil and rocks. If the water drawn up is more
than that is being recharged, then it is obvious that after sometime you have no
more groundwater left.
Recent data on the status of groundwater resources in India suggest that the
groundwater is under serious threat of over use in many parts of the country.
Nearly one-third of the country is pumping out more groundwater than what
goes in as recharge. About 300 districts have reported a water level decline of
over 4 metres during the past 20 years, which points to an alarming rate of
extraction. Groundwater overuse is particularly found in the agriculturally pros-
perous regions of Punjab and Western U.P., Why do you think modern method
hard rock plateau areas of central and of lifting water has proved to be
south India, some coastal areas and the unsustainable?
rapidly growing urban settlements.

Overuse of groundwater implies that the stock of groundwater is being depleted.
Very rapidly the groundwater has been falling to lower and lower levels.
The quality of groundwater is deteriorating, along with the quantity. In 59% of
districts of India, water from hand pumps and wells are unsafe for drinking. This is
because of contamination of groundwater from chemical industrial waste from
agriculture and industry. Water has been used as a sink to dump all kinds of waste
and toxic substances. This is not easily reversible. We will see the consequences
of this in next example.
This pattern of development is in direct contrast to what
sustainable development stands for. Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs. In other words, a better quality of life for everyone - now
and for generations to come.
However, the extent of our current resource use is such that the chances of
future generations to have access to their fair share of scarce resources are
endangered. Moreover, the consequences of our resource use in terms of impacts
on the environment may induce serious damages that go beyond the carrying capacity
of the environment.
Example 2: Pesticides are an important component of the modern agricul-
tural practice and are used to protect the crops from pests so that the yield is
high. Environmentalists, however, realized long time ago that the use of pesti-
cides has adverse impact on the environment. The environ-
ment is simply unable to absorb the toxic substances be-
yond a point.
In the year 1962, Rachel Carson wrote in the book Silent
Spring about the impact on birds and human beings of
spraying DDT for mosquito control. Substances like heavy
metals contained in pesticides do not disappear from the
environment but instead accumulate inside living organisms.
Thus, the poison in DDT gets deposited in the body of the
fishes living in lakes into which the water containing DDT
flows. The poison is in too small quantity to kill the fishes.
But if one bird eats several fishes, the combined dose of
the chemical inside the fishes is lethal enough for the bird. Rachel Carson also
showed that insects like mosquitoes quickly develop resistance to DDT sprays.
Her findings are a clear example of how human action irreversibly destroys nature
and human beings themselves.
In India, the lethal impact of pesticides was seen for pesticide Endosulfan. In
1976, to protect the cashew crop from pests, the government carried out treat-

ment of 15,000 acres of land with Endosulfan, sprayed by helicopter. This hap-
pened in Kasargod in the Northern part of Kerala. The air, water and entire envi-
ronment was suffused with the pesticide, as treatment continued for some 25
years. As a result of the spraying, very serious health problems were seen in the
local people, particularly agricultural work-
ers. As at least 5,000 people have died and Environment is also called `natural
for countless others, life has become capital’. Recall the definition of capital
worse than death as cancer and deformi- from Chapter 9. Why do you think
ties became prevalent. environment is called natural capital?
In the recent years, spraying of en- Why should water be considered as
dosulfan was banned by a court order.
common property?
Gradually, there has been a fall in disease
and a general increase in well-being. Why was it considered necessary to go
to court to stop the use of endosulfan?
This is not an isolated incident particu-
lar to that area. Numerous studies point The court order banning the use of
to the overuse of pesticides in modern ag- endosulfan argued that the pesticide
riculture and its impact on environment violated the Right to Life (Article 21
and people. Ironically, only one percent of of the Constitution). Can you describe
the pesticide actually acts on the pest how use of endosulfan had violated
the rest goes into our system through people’s Right to Life?
food, water and the environment.
Peoples Rights over the Environment
Today, there are countless cases where attempts at modern
development have caused large scale environmental problems. The
case of big dams is a classic case and one that has had very painful
consequences.
The Narmada Valley Development Project is the single largest
river development scheme in India. It is one of the largest
hydroelectric projects in the world and is supposed to generate power, provide
irrigation and help with flood control. The environmental costs of such a project,
which involves the construction of more than 3,000 large and small dams, are
immense. The largest of the dams constructed is the Sardar Sarovar, which floods
more than 37,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land, displacing more than
half a million people and destroying some of India’s most fertile land. The project
has devastated human lives and biodiversity by inundating thousands of acres of
forests and agricultural land. A disproportionate number of those being displaced
are Adivasis and Dalits.
The following letter was written by Bava Mahaliya of Jalsindhi village in Jhabua
district to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 1994. It was recorded in bhilala
and translated into Hindi and a part of it is reproduced below. It questions the very
idea of development.

Dear Digvijay Singhji,
We, the people of Jalsindhi village... district Jhabua, are writing this letter to you,
the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
We are people of the river bank; we live on the banks of the great Narmada. This
year (1994), our village Jalsindhi will be the first village in Madhya Pradesh to be sub-
merged by the Sardar Sarovar dam. Along with us, four or five other villages - Sakarja,
Kakarsila, Akadia and others - will also be drowned.... When the water comes into our
village, when our homes and fields are flooded, we will also drown - this is our firm
resolve.
We are writing this letter to let you know why the adivasi (tribal) peasants of
Jalsindhi who are coming under submergence, are preparing to drown themselves.
You, and all those who live in cities, think that we who live in the hills are poor and
backward, like apes. Go to the plains of Gujarat. Your condition will improve. You will
develop - this is what you advise us. But we have been fighting for eight years - we
have borne lathi blows, been to jail several times, in Anjanvara village the police even
came and fired on us and destroyed our homes.... If it is true that our situation will
improve in Gujarat, then why aren't all of us even now ready to go there?
To you officials and people of the town, our land looks hilly and inhospitable, but
we are very satisfied with living in this area on the bank of the Narmada with our lands
and forests. We have lived here for generations. On this land our ancestors cleared the
forest, worshipped gods, improved the soil, domesticated animals and settled villages.
It is that very land that we till. You think we are poor. We are not poor. We have con-
structed our own houses where we live. We are farmers. Our agriculture prospers here.
We earn by tilling the earth. Even with only the rains, we live by what we grow. Mother
corn feeds us. We have some tilled land in the village and some in the forest area. On
that we grow bajra, jowar, maize, boadi, bate, saunvi, kadri, chana, moth, urdi, sesame
and groundnut. We have many different kinds of crops. We keep varying them and
eating.
What grows in Gujarat? Wheat, jowar,
tuvar, red gram and some cotton. Less to
eat, more to sell. We cultivate in order to
eat; we sell only the excess for buying
clothes etc. Whether the price in the mar-
ket be high or low, we get food to eat.
We grow so many different kinds of
food, but all from our own effort. We have
no use for money. We use our own seeds,

manure from our own livestock - from that we get good crops. Where will we get so
much money? Who will know us there? Which moneylender will give us money? If we
don't get a good crop and don't have any money, then we will have to mortgage our
land.
Here we bring water to our fields by making channels from streams .... If we had
electricity, then we could also pump up water from the Narmada and get a winter
crop. But even though forty-fifty years have passed since independence, there is no
electricity in the villages along the river, nor is there river irrigation.
.... We have flowing water and good fodder in the forest. We don't live as much by
farming as we do by our livestock. We keep hens, goats, cows and buffaloes. Some
have 2-4 buffaloes, some have 8-10. Almost everyone has ten -twenty-forty goats....
From Gujarat people come to our hills to graze their cattle. Our fodder and water is so
plentiful.
.... The forest is our moneylender and banker. In hard times we go to the forest.
We build our houses from its wood - from teak and bamboo. From ningodi and hiyali
(types of bamboo) splints we weave screens. From the forests we make baskets and
cots, ploughs and hoes.... We also eat leaves from the forest, hegva, mahia, amli,
goindi, bhanjan - all these leaves we eat. If there is a famine we survive by eating
roots and tubers. When we fall sick, our medicine men bring us back to health by
giving us leaves, roots, bark from the forest.... We know the name of each and every
tree, shrub and herb; we know its uses. If we were made to live in a land without
forests, then all this learning that we have cherished over the generations will be
useless and slowly we will forget it all.
.... We worship our gods by singing the gayana - the song of the river. We sing the
gayana during the naval and divasa festivals, describing how the world was made,
how humans were born, from where the great river came.... We eat fish often. Fish is
our stand by when we have unexpected guests. The river brings us silt from upstream
which is deposited on the banks... Our children play on the river's banks, swim and
bathe there. Our cattle drink there all through the year for the big river never dries
up. In the belly of the river, we live contented lives. We have lived here for generation
after generation; do we have a right to the mighty river Narmada and to our forests
or don't we? Do you government people recognise that right or not?
You city people live in separate houses. You ignore each others' joys and sadness.
We live with our clan, our relatives, our kin. All of us pool together our labour and
construct a house in a single day, weed our fields, and perform any small or big task
as it comes along. In Gujarat who will come to lend us a hand and make our work
lighter? Will the big farmers come to weed our fields or to construct our houses?

Here in our villages, from our villagers, why do we get so much support? It is because
we are all alike here; we share a common understanding. Only a few are tenants;
everybody owns land. No one has a lot of land, but everyone has a little bit. When we
go to Gujarat, the big landowners will crush us. As early as forty-fifty years ago, they
took away the land of the adivasis who used to live there. Even now they are doing
this. And we strangers - we don't know the language or the customs; it is their rule.
If we can't do the kind of farming that needs a lot of money, then we'd have to
mortgage our land to them, and slowly they would take it over. If they took away the
land of the adivasis who lived there, then why won't they take away ours? Then who
will give us other land? This is the land of our forefathers. We have a right to it. If this
is lost, then we will only get spades and pickaxes, nothing else....
Our village gods are all here. Our ancestors' memorial stones are all here. We
worship Kalo Rano, Raja Panto, Indi Raja. We also worship Aai Khada and Khedu Bai.
Our great devi is Rani Kajol. Hers and Kumbai and Kundu Rano's mountain is in
Mathvad. If we leave all of them, then where will we get new gods from? People
come from all over to celebrate our festivals - indal, divasa and divali. For bhangoria,
all of us go to the market where our youth choose their own spouses. Who will come
to us in Gujarat?
The land in Gujarat is not acceptable to us. Your compensation is not acceptable
to us. We were born from the belly of the Narmada, we are not afraid to die in her
lap.
We will drown but we will not move!
Bava Mahaliya
In the Chapter Ideas on Development, we read that what is development for
one might not be development for another. Use Bava Mahaliya’s letter to
explain this statement.
Create a table identifying the current aspects of living and changes that will
occur if the tribal people are re-settled in a different state on following
aspects: Food habits; Farming; Finance; Relation with Forest; Religious
practices; House making; Social relations.
How is loss of bio-diversity being expressed in the letter?
For the tribal people livelihood, cultural practices and social relations are
deeply connected to the local environment. Can you explain?
Do you think the people of Jalsindhi village are food secure in their present
location?
If you lived in the above situation how would you have responded to the demand
for re-settlement?
Development projects like the Sardar Sarovar dam have disrupted the lives and
livelihood of thousands of people. It is true that irrigation and power have been
produced and both are central to modern development. But for people who have
been displaced – and there are millions of them – modern development has been
unjust and destructive. Because of modern development projects, they have lost
access to their greatest resource, the local environment. This is a point that Bava
Mahaliya makes over and over again. Without the local environment their lives
would be reduced to nothing. From a state of self-sufficiency they would be flung
into scarcity. Now they can atleast take one crop, hope that, in future, irrigation
would enable them to gradually move to multiple cropping. But with displacement,
their lives would become dependent on external forces and they would fall into
poverty.
For most rural communities, the link between the environment and the lives of
the people is very strong. Access to the environment serves a large number of their
needs (like food, firewood, fodder, economically valuable articles etc.) which
otherwise they would have to pay for. As they lose access to environment either
because of displacement, or the environment is destroyed and polluted, the poor
are the greatest losers. The question of environment and sustainability is intimately
connected to the issue of equity.
It is also important to realise that not only do people lose out as they are
removed from their local environments. Equally, the environment is denuded of its
rich bio-diversity as the traditional knowledge is lost along with the people. The
stock of knowledge has been built and enriched over generations. People like
Bava Mahaliya are the repositories of traditional knowledge. “We know the name
of each and every tree, shrub and herb; we know its uses. If we were made to live in
a land without forests, then all this learning that we have cherished over the
generations will be useless and slowly we will forget it all.” Today when the
environment is endangered in
multiple ways, it is important to
understand the contributions that
these caring communities can make.
The resistance to Sardar Sarovar
and other dams with similar
consequences in the Narmada valley
has taken the form of a social
movement. It is called Narmada
Bachao Andolan (NBA). You will
read more about the issue of
displacement and the environmental
movement that has built up around
Fig 12.5 : Write your caption in the
this and similar issues in the Chapter
context of environment
on Social Movements.

Chipko Andolan
Another important environmental movement is the
Fig : 12.6
Chipko Andolan which started in the early 1970s in the
Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. Like the tribal people
of Narmada valley, the forests are a critical resource for the
subsistence of people in hilly and mountainous areas. This
is both because of their direct provision of food, fuel and
fodder and because of their role in stabilising soil and wa-
ter resources. As these forests were being increasingly felled
for commerce and industry, villagers sought to protect their
livelihoods through non-violent resistance. The name of the
movement comes from the word `chipko meaning 'em-
brace': the villagers hugged the trees, sav-
ing them by interposing their bodies be-
tween them and the contractors' axes. Vil-
lage women were the main force of this
movement. It inspired many people to
look closely at the issue of environment
sustainability.
While each of these movements has slightly different contexts, they are
essentially demanding the rights of the local communities over the environment.
Chipko movement acted to prevent the cutting of trees and reclaim their traditional
forest rights that were threatened by contractors. Narmada Bachao Andolan has
stood for the rights of the people over land, forests and river.
You have read about the protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in
the Chapter on Ideas on Development. Can you interpret the protest in view of
what you have read here?
“Environment protection is not just crucial for those communities directly
affected but for all of us.” Explain with few examples.
Revisit the class VIII chapters on Mines & Minerals in the context of Andhra
Pradesh. What issues of conflict emerge between industrialists and people living
in regions of minerals?
There has been rapid increase in the
extraction of minerals for domestic Growth in Extraction of Some key
Minerals in India
use and for exports to other (in thousand tonnes)
countries since liberalisation and 1997-8 2008-9
globalisation of Indian economy. Bauxite 6108 15250
Using figures from the table on the Coal 297000 493000
right substantiate the observation. Iron Ore 75723 225544
What do you think would be the Chromite 1515 3976

environmental and human costs of such rapid growth in mining?
Towards Sustainable Development with Equity
For long, policymakers have ignored the environmental issues.
The argument has been that since developing countries like India
are poor, developing economies need to grow. Development has
to be achieved at any cost. Growth in GDP and modern industrial
development are necessary, it is argued, for raising the living
standards of people and reducing poverty. Since modern industrial
and agricultural development are intensive in use of natural resources including
energy, depletion of resources and pollution of the environment is to be expected.
It is a sacrifice that has to be borne for higher growth. Once high economic growth
and prosperity is achieved, pollution and environmental degradation can be handled.
One can spend money and clean up the air and rivers, drink bottled water and build
cars that are fuel efficient. After all this is the route the developed countries have
taken.
This logic is wrong for various reasons. By now you would have realised that
the environment is already in a disastrous state on various fronts. India is a big
country with a huge population. If we continue to grow and consume energy and
other resources and also pollute the environment as the developed countries have
done, it would be catastrophic for earth. The damage to the environment will simply
not be reversible. Hence, the idea that environmental damage is self-correcting is
wrong. Besides, we certainly do not want the environment to be destroyed before
it is reclaimed. Future generations, even if they restore the damage, they would
have to spend crores of rupees to clean up the mess created today. For example to
clean up our rivers and drains we need to spend money today besides ensuring that
they are not polluted again. Do you think we should follow a path that destroys the
natural resources and leaves them worse for future generations? Can we not perceive
the contradiction: we first encourage and
celebrate a life style that invites the disease
and then spend thousands on its cure?
We are already experiencing on several
fronts the negative consequences of rapid
economic growth – the problem of
groundwater and pesticides being two stark
examples. We have several thousands of
communities living off the environment. To
destroy the environment means to destroy
these communities. It is unjust to ask the
poor people to bear the cost of development.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we don’t
progress. But we should be able to integrate
environmental concerns with the idea of
progress, along with issues of equity and
Fig 12.7 : Write your caption in
the context of development justice. We have to find an environmentally
sustainable pathway out of poverty. It is not an easy task. And yet the beginnings
have already been made.
1. Different groups have championed the rights of local people over the
environment (chapter 21). They have been a major force in raising the environmental
consciousness among people and shift towards sustainable development.
2. The courts have given a number of judgments upholding the right to a healthy
environment as intrinsic to the Fundamental Right to Life. In 1991, the Supreme
Court held that the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the
right to the enjoyment of pollution-free water and air for full enjoyment of life.
The government is responsible for setting up laws and procedures that can check
pollution and introduce heavy fines for those who pollute. A variety of government
Fig 12.8 Fig 12.8 : Emissions from vehicles are a major cause of
environmental pollution. In a series of rulings (1998 onwards),
the Supreme Court had ordered all public transport vehicles
using diesel were to switch to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
This is a cleaner fuel compared to diesel. As a result of this
move, air pollution in cities like Delhi came down considerably.
However, in the recent years the pollution levels have gone up
again, because of the huge rise in the number of private cars
run on diesel. Car manufacturers have started producing and
selling cars run on diesel! The challenge of sustainable
development is not an easy one.
institutions have been started to play the regulatory role.
3. On issues like climate change countries have tried to reach collective
decisions. Climate change affects all countries and people, some may be more
than the others. Many of these effects we do not even understand, and cannot
anticipate. Individually a country may take initiative to reduce emissions of green
house gases. Its environment would however continue to deteriorate if other
countries do not regulate their emissions. Thus, solutions at the global level with
countries coming together become necessary.
4. At the community level, many community organisations have innovated
and re-discovered sustainable and equitable ways of doing things. There are
numerous instances of such initiatives in diverse fields: fisheries, mining,
transportation, energy, agriculture, industry, etc. Let’s consider a few initiatives
that have a direct bearing on society’s most basic need, i.e, food.
In the area of agricultural production, you might have heard about organic
products and organic farming. Organic farmers forego the use of chemical
fertilisers and pesticides. Instead they rely mainly on natural techniques such as
crop rotation, compost and biological pest control in farming. One of the main
characteristics of organic agriculture is the use of local resources including on-
farm biological processes such as availability of pest predators (birds, spiders,
insects) or soil micro-organisms (Rhizobium and Azotobacter) which make nutrients
more accessible to the plant. The use of synthetic chemical inputs is minimised
and farms can be bio-diverse as they produce a number of crops rather than only
one or two crops. Furthermore, production levels can be maintained similar to
modern agricultural methods.
Now many states have realised the need and potential of organic farming. Local
level initiatives have influenced state policy. The Sikkim government has taken the
bold step to ban chemical fertilisers and pesticides. It is the first state in India that
is planning to shift completely to organic farming by 2015. Uttarakhand too is
following the same path of being 100% organic state.
Another very interesting intervention on sustainable food production and its
equitable distribution is the alternate PDS initiated by community groups in
Zaheerabad area of Telangana.
c
a
Fig 12.9 : In the year 2013 a new photography

book called “Before They Pass Away” was
published. We do not have access to the book. The
author identified nomadic communities that are on
b the verge of disappearing. (Our images are from
a. Massai warrior in Kenya different sources.) As you look at them think of
b. Yurta Kazakhastan how and why the question of sustainable
c. Qiang tribes in Tibet development will be important – and why did the
d. Gaucho in South America author identify them as disappearing.

An Alternative Public Distribution System
Of the total cultivatable land in India, 92 million hectares is
rainfed area and 51 million is irrigated area. This means nearly 2/
3rd of cultivable land in India is rain-fed and may not be fit for
irrigated agriculture. Traditionally, a mix of crops suited to the
dryland conditions were grown in these areas. For example the
dryland agriculture of the Deccan plateau had a mixture of 16 crops
sown at the same time. These have varying maturity period which results in extended
period of work and continuous supply of incomes and/ or food gave. This also
minimised the risk factor, where at least one crop will give yield even in adverse
climatic conditions. Mixed cropping also reduced the chance of any insect becoming
a major pest. The crops were so chosen to provide balanced and nutritious food to
the land (soil fertility), human population and the livestock.
However, with the green revolution emphasis shifted to rice and wheat. These
were the crops that were also available through the ration shops under the PDS. The
main cereal cooked at home changed to rice and wheat. As the demand for local
foodgrains fell, over time many of the patches of dryland were left uncultivated.
You may recall that under the Green Revolution rice and wheat agriculture was
encouraged for food self-sufficiency through various government policies.
Cultivation of millets on the other hand was neither encouraged, nor supported.
There was not enough research on how to increase the yields of coarse cereals.
This is the main reason why the production of dryland crops like millets and oil
seeds suffered.
In Zaheerabad mandal of Medak district of Telangana, villagers have reversed
the dependence on purchased wheat and rice. It all began around the year 2000
as the women began to reflect on the loss of local food cultures.
Millets were the traditional staple of the region, which had been lost to rice. Rice
is nutritionally inferior compared to millets. Besides poor nutrition, people also
realised that they had lost control on what grew on their land. Many fields were
now fallow. Led by a voluntary organisation, Deccan Development Society, the
villagers collectively decided to cultivate the fallow land and the commons.
Millets were the obvious crop choice because of their suitability to the local
environment. Millets are hardy crops and nutritious.
Cultivation of dryland gave people work. Further, instead of selling the
produce outside, the community started community grain bank. This operated
on the principle of the PDS system (like people hold different ration cards and are
assigned fixed quotas depending on the type of ration card). Only it was locally
managed, and the grain was the local grain. Instead of the grain travelling
hundreds of kilometers, locally produced food was now available to ensure food
security in the village.

To sum up
We noted that that modern development has accentuated the problems of
environmental destruction. This is today felt in many ways and quite starkly. From
development centered on growth of goods and services, the goal has to shift towards
sustainable development with equity. Everyone has a role to play in this transformation
– individuals, companies, farmers, governments, courts, voluntary and community
organisations and international organisations.
Key words
Sustainable development Environment Source
People’s rights Equity Sink

1. Identify at least ten food items that you consume and find out how far they
have travelled from their place of production to reach your plate. AS3
S. No Food item Distance traveled
a Rice
b Cooking oil
c Bananas
Many people have argued for localisation of food production rather than food
travelling long distances. How is localisation of food connected to the
environment? Find out more about the localisation movement in food and
organise a discussion and debate in the classroom. (If you have access to internet
you may like to listen to following talk by Helena Norberg-Hodge available in
youtube website:
https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=4r06_F2FIKM.)
2. Why did the people of Jalsindhi village refuse to move out of the village? AS1
3. “This is the land of our forefathers. We have a right to it. If this is lost, then we
will only get spades and pickaxes, nothing else...” says Bava Mahaliya. Can
you explain the statement? AS1
4. “Last, but not the least, the key to environmental problem lies in changing
lifestyles that will minimise waste and pollution.” AS1
• What are the various ways in which our lifestyles affect the environment?
Use examples from your own context to explain.

• Find out about the various ways in which the problems of garbage and
emissions are being dealt with around the world.
5. Rapid extraction of minerals and other natural resources would adversely impact the
future development prospects. Do you agree? AS4
6. Why do you think the effects of climate change may be felt by all countries? AS1
7. Should the average temperature of the earth be treated as a natural resource for all
people? AS1
8. What are the lessons to be drawn from the alternate PDS initiative at Zaheerabad
mandal in Telangana? AS4
9. “Environment is crucially important for the lives and livelihoods of the local
communities and the lifestyles of local communities are harmonious with the
environment.” Explain. AS6
Project
You have read about composting in the context of organic farming. Here is a simple
method that you can try out in your school and home.
• Take a large size container and make several holes for water drainage.
• Layer it with coconut fibres for drainage.
• Cover it with a thin layer of soil.
• Add vegetable wastes in a layer.
• Add another layer of soil.
• Again add vegetable wastes in a layer.
• Cover with soil.
• After one week, introduce earthworms in it.
• After decomposition, use the soil to make a small garden with plants of your choice.

CHAPTER
The World Between Wars
13 1900-1950 Part - I
At the beginning of the 20th century, the world had a population

of 1.6 billion people. Industrial capitalism had changed the way
many people earned their livelihood but only in the Western
countries. Some of these countries, especially Britain, were the
leading industrial powers and also held vast colonial empires,
spread all over the world. The world was divided into the West
which was experiencing economic growth and ‘the Rest’ whose acute backwardness
was worsened by colonial exploitation by the West.
Eric Hobsbawm, a historian, called the 20th century ‘The Age of Extremes’.
Politically, the world saw shoots of democratic aspirations grow amidst the rise
of Fascist domination which fostered ideologies of unquestioned power and hatred
for other people. Literacy levels and average life expectancy grew immensely for
all. New forms of art like movies emerged. Scientific knowledge rose to new
heights unlocking the secrets of atom and life. Women, who constitute half the
world’s population, got their right to vote in this period, starting with the West.
Literally more than a hundred nations walked to independence and freedom across
the world. This was also an age of great experimentation as people strove to build
socialist societies based on the principles of equality and fraternity or alternatively
a liberal democracy based on political liberty and capitalist economy. But the
same period saw the “Great Depression” causing massive unemployment and
economic breakdown and two World Wars in which millions died and the lives of
many more millions were dislocated. Hence, the 20th
century was a period of great expectations, experiments
and dangerous developments.
We shall, in this chapter, introduce you to some of
these things. We would talk about the making and
consequences of the two World Wars, the three
responses to the Great Depression of 1929 and the
creation of an institution, like the United Nations, to
ensure World peace and development.
Look at some of the pictures in the next page, connect

Eric Hobsbawm them with one or the other point mentioned above
and write a short note on each of them.
176 Social Studies The World Between Wars 1900-1950 Part - I

a b
c d
Fig 13.2 :
a) 1934 rally of Hitlers Nazi party at Nürnberg. Compare it
with the political party rallies you have seen. e
b) Famous photograph of Polish immigrant Florence Owens
during Depression by Dorothea Lange. It depicts destitute
pea pickers in California, March 1936. What would she be
thinking?
c) Atom Bomb in Nagasaki, also look at the picture at the end of
the chapter which shows the effect of this bomb.
d) A painting by Kustodiev in 1920 on The Bolshevik Revolution
in Russia. What is the artist trying to say? Who the giant leader
could be?
e) A cartoon in German with caption “Buy from the Jews, betray
your people”1929. What bias does it show?
World Wars: Ominous Facts
At the beginning of the century, the world was divided into developed
industrialised countries of the West (including Britain, USA, Germany, France,
Italy, Japan, etc) and colonial countries of Asia, and Africa. While the colonial
countries were just beginning their struggles for independence, the industrialised
countries were at loggerheads with each other. They were divided into rival blocks
(Germany-Austria-Hungary Vs Britain-France-Russia), each vying for world
domination which would give it control over the colonies and markets. The First
World War broke out in 1914 – it was truly a World War as virtually no country
was left untouched by it from Japan and China in the East to the US in the West. It
ended in the defeat of Germany and its allies and in the victory of Britain and
France in 1918. The conditions of peace that followed only created the seeds of
another and more deadly war from 1939 to 1945. This war too was fought between
Germany and its allies like Italy and Japan on the one side and Britain, France,
China, USSR and US on the other side. It ended in the defeat of Germany and its
allies but before it ended it had
ravaged all the warring countries. Graph 1 : War related deaths 1500 - 1999
Death and destruction
The two World Wars were
different from other wars that the
world had seen till then. The death
and destruction caused by them
was unprecedented. World War I
had claimed 10 million men in
battle. (This included about
75,000 Indian soldiers who
fought in Africa and Europe on
behalf of Britain.) The
consequences of World War II
were even more terrible. It Source: Lesser RB et al State of the World 1999 A World
resulted in about 22–25 million Watch report on Progress towards a Sustainable Society
military casualties and the deaths (London Earthscan publication, 1999).
of approximately 40–52 million
civilians, including nearly 6 The last column tells us the proportionate
million Jews, the victims of the death due to wars number of war deaths for
Holocaust and the US attack on every thousand people who lived during those
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan centuries. Thus about less than four people out
with atom bombs which killed of thousand died in the 16th century while it
between 150,000 to 246,000 rose to more than 44 persons in the last cen-
people immediately. The after- tury nearly 4.5% people!

effects of these bombings, like leukaemia and cancer, lingered on for decades.
The previous wars between nations may
Find out: How long did the India
have lasted longer but those wars were not
Pakistan war last in 1971? How
geographically as widespread nor their effects
many people were killed?
as lethal as the ones in the 20th century.
Power Blocks
The second fact about the world during this period is the division of the world
into nation states and grouping of these nations of the world into power blocks and
the degeneration of these alliances into war camps. You have read in the earlier
class about the emergence of nationalism and movements for nation states in the
19th century. But the process of nation formation also accelerated the scramble
among the industrialised nations for control over the world, greater say in world
diplomacy and armies to back up national interests. By the end of the 19th century
different nations of Europe entered into alliances with each other against other
blocks. Two main blocks emerged – the Centre and the Entente or Allies. They
were a manifestation of that process of scramble for power and control over territory.
The insecurity caused by this scramble led to the formation of alliances, mostly
secret ones, between known enemies of the past like Austria and Italy or Britain
and France.
Similar blocks continued into the Second World War – the Axis powers led by
Germany and the Allies led by Britain, US and USSR.
Causes of the two World Wars compared
Timeline No one can say that any two events
are similar. The two World Wars of the
20th century were also dis-similar
separated as they were by 21 years and
changes in economic conditions,
diplomatic alliances, military hardware
etc. However, for purposes of understanding the
differences, comparing the two World Wars of the 20th
century will be a good method. We will first compare
the immediate provocations and, then, the main causes
of these two World Wars.
Every war is triggered by some immediate
provocations built upon some long term causes. The
immediate provocation for World War I was the murder
on 28th June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria by a Serbian fanatic. Austria declared war on
Serbia. As Serbia was with Allied Powers (like UK,
France and Russia) the Austrian attack on it led these
powers to come to Serbia’s defence. Then, the Central

Powers (like Germany and Italy), allied to Austria, also joined the War and this
marked the beginning of World War I.
Similarly, the immediate provocation for World War II was the German tanks
driving into Poland on September 1, 1939. Hitler invaded Poland as punishment
for refusing to handover the port of Danzig to Germany. Polish territory lay between
two parts of Germany. Hitler thought the takeover of Poland will also be a small
military operation. But Poland had a defence pact with Britain which jumped on to
the Polish side and France joined them a day later. This marked the beginning of
World War II.
Now, let us turn to the long term causes of the two World Wars. The build-up
for World War I started in the 19th century. Aggressive nationalism, Imperialism,
Secret alliances and Militarism were the main long term factors which led to World
War I. These causes continued to push the world to war but some new long term
causes were also added to the origins of World War II. One of these was the
dissatisfaction of Germany with the legacy of World War I. We can list these long
term causes one by one.
Aggressive nationalism
The ideology of nationalism was a positive impulse. It was the foundation of
modern nation states and the force behind the unification of Germany and Italy.
But this ideology could also be used to create pride in one self and hatred against
neighbours. This hatred was slowly building up in the 19th century between the
states of Europe.
Italian Fascism from 1923 and National Socialism of German Nazis were the
other forms of aggressive Nazism in
destructive mode. Fascists played up the
spirit of aggressive nationalism and tried to
build images of victorious Germans ruling
over the world and mobilised the Germans
against other nations of Europe.
Imperialism
As industrial capital developed in the
European countries like Britain, Germany and
US, they needed markets for their products
and access to raw materials. As capital further
accumulated in Banks and financial
institutions, they looked for safe investment
opportunities in colonies. Thus by the end
of the 19th century there was a race for
Fig 13.3 : For the first time in history
colonies between the European powers. The planes were used to drop bombs in WW I.

Graph 2 : The Armaments Race governments of these countries acted on
450 behalf of their capitalists to increase their
areas of influence and reduce the areas
400
397 under their competitors. As new
industrial powers (like Japan, Germany
350 and Italy) emerged they wanted to re-
divide the colonies but the old powers
were not ready for this. This created much
300 288
stress often leading to wars.
250 Secret alliances
205 After defeating France in 1870,
200
Bismarck, the German Chancellor,
158 decided to isolate it. To achieve this end,
150 132 he entered into a secret alliance with
Austria in 1879 and with Italy in 1882.
100
This defensive alliance was meant to
partly save Austria from Russia and Italy
50
from France. The French broke their
isolation by striking a mutual alliance
0
1880 1890 1900 1910 1914 with Russia in 1891 and, after resolving
Military expenditure by great powers (Germany, In what ways do you think
Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Russia, Italy and
France 1880-1914 (source The Times Atlas of World industrialisation has created the
History, London 1978) conditions for modern wars?
irritants, with Britain in 1904. Do you think the love for one’s
Russia, France and Britain formed country among people of different
their Triple Entente in 1907. The countries leads to wars?
Triple Alliance led by Germany and If one country takes an aggressive
the Triple Entente made the stance against another country, should
European powers jealous and the other country also respond
suspicious of one another. Instead of aggressively? Can there be other ways
real peace, these alliances created of handling the problem?
an atmosphere of fear and ‘armed Do you find the presence of
peace’ in Europe. aggressive nationalism, imperialism,
power blocks and militarism around
Militarism us today too? Give examples and
Militarism is the belief that discuss in the class.
military might is the best way to Find out about some of the wars
ensure security and war is good way fought during the last ten years and
to solve problems. From 1880 to see to what extent these four factors
1914, the military expenditure of the caused them.
six big powers (viz. Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, France and Britain) increased
by over 300%, i.e. from £ 132 million to £ 397 million. Three things are noteworthy
in the context of militarism. Each of these countries built massive standing armies,
competed with each other in increasing their armaments and built a mindset among
the people to support wars. A large industrial complex producing arms emerged
which constantly promoted the idea of using war as a solution to diplomatic
problems. Wars usually increased their profits manifold.
The special context of the Second World War
The Treaty of Versailles
World War I ended with the Conference on Peace at Versailles
in 1919. This was the biggest conference as it was attended by 32
national delegations and they covered three-fourths of the
population of the world. The five big victorious powers of the
time, viz. USA, UK, France, Italy and Japan, participated in this
conference. But Socialist Russia and the vanquished powers, for
example Germany, Austria and Turkey, were not invited to the Conference. Hence,
those deliberating the future of the world did not have the wise counsel or deeply
felt wishes of these powers. It is not surprising, therefore, that Germans thought
the Treaty at Versailles was a diktat imposed on them and they had no respect or
responsibility for it. To weaken Germany, the Treaty of Versailles imposed some
territorial penalties and military cuts on it. Firstly, Germans were asked to return
their colonies in Africa occupied in the 1880s and European areas like Alsace and
Lorraine which they occupied from France in 1871. Secondly, Germany was asked
to pull down its army strength to 100,000 from 900,000 during World War I. It
was also asked not to have submarines and restrict its naval strength to six battleships
of less than 10,000 tonnes and a dozen torpedo boats and destroyers each.
The League of Nations
The Treaty of Versailles also set up the League of Nations
to prevent wars in the future. Russia or Germany was not
invited to become members of the League and USA could
not become a member as the US Congress (parliament)
refused to sanction the proposal of the President Woodrow
Wilson even though he was very active in the formation of
the League. Hence, even at its peak in 1934, the League had
58 members only. It was hoped that it will help eliminate
wars through ‘collective security’ and settle disputes
between countries through arbitration or negotiation. It also
set up several international agencies for conducting welfare
Fig 13.4 : A cartoon depicting
activities like health, labour welfare and also an International
Hitler as man of peace as well
Court of Justice for legal disputes between nations. Even as man of war.

though it showed a lot of promise and much was expected of it, it failed eventually
to prevent Germany and Italy from violating international agreements and attacking
other countries.
German Challenge to vengeful domination
After the defeat of Germany at the end of the First World War in 1919, the
victorious Allies wanted to punish Germany for starting the war and also cripple it
so that it cannot rise again. For the
Some organs of the League of Nations Germans, the provisions enforced on them
like the International Labour by the Treaty of Versailles were slavish.
Organisation (ILO) and World Health This created a reaction in Germany which
Organisation (WHO) continue to led to the rise of Hitler and his Nazi party.
function to this day. Find out about their They wanted to recover the territories lost
activities and prepare a project report by them in the Treaty of Versailles, restore
on one such organ. German dominance over Central Europe
Do you think the Second World War and end the restrictions on German
could have been avoided if the armaments. Germany reindustrialised itself
furiously under the Nazis and developed a
victorious powers had been more
massive army and armament industry which
considerate towards Germany in 1919?
could only be served by a war.
The fear of Socialism and the USSR
The disastrous results of First World War caused
great social upheavals all over Europe and the
workers turned to ideologies of Socialism and
Communism. All over Europe Peace Movements
gained great popularity. In Russia a revolution took
place in 1917 which resulted in the establishment
of a Communist state there. One of the first acts of
the new government was to end Russia’s participation
in the War and begin peace negotiations. (It became
the Union of Soviet Socialist States - USSR in 1924.)
The western capitalist countries like Britain were
afraid of a similar revolution in other countries of
Europe and initially encouraged Hitler and the Nazis
to consolidate themselves to act as a buffer against
Soviet Socialism. This was the policy of
‘appeasement’ of Hitler.
Fig 13.5 : A Dutch poster from the However, in 1939 Germany and USSR entered
1940s: caption ”Civilisation or into a non aggression pact and Hitler turned against
Barbarism” “Don't you still Britain and France alliance. This started the II World
understand?” War. Hitler was able to establish complete mastery
over most of West European continent. He then decided to attack USSR in 1942.
In the same year Japan an ally of Germany attacked USA and with this USA and
USSR joined the fight against Germany.
Map : 1 The German Empire during World War II The German Empire,
confederated and occupied
Hungary (November 1940 confederated) territories.
Hungary (November 1940

confederated) Romania
(November 1940 confedera-
ted) Bulgaria (March 1941
confederated)
Yugoslavia (April 1941
German) Greece (April 1941
Italian) Crete (May 1941
German)
Finland (June 1941

confederated)
Soviet Union
Allied
Consequences of the World Wars

The World Wars had a long lasting impact on the politics, society and economy
of the world. These can be enumerated as follows.
Enormous human cost
The first consequence of the Wars was widespread deaths and injuries. As stated
earlier, almost 10 million people were killed in the First and 20 to 25 million in
the Second World War. Most of those who died were men and almost all of them
were under forty years of age. The two wars also established a regime of lethal
arms race, particularly of nuclear and chemical weapons. The world is still living
constantly under the threat of total destruction of all life through even accidental
use of such weapons.

Democratic principles asserted
The two wars also brought home the dangers of having
undemocratic governments and greatly strengthened the case for
democratisation of power. With the First World War several empires
also ended (The Austro Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire, the
Ottoman Empire, the German Empire etc). Countries like Russia saw a socialist
revolution while others like Germany, grew out of their monarchy and became a
Weimar Republic. The Ottoman empire was replaced by a democratic and secular
state in Turkey. Similarly, during the First World War, on the demand of their subjects
the colonialists accepted the principle that self-government is desirable in colonies.
With the process of decolonisation, after World War II, the colonies rose to
independence and several of new countries were born across Asia and Africa.
Change in balance of power
With World War I the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Turkish empires
came to an end. The map of eastern and central Europe was redrawn on the basis of
nationality, economic viability and military security. When World War II came to
an end, the map of the world changed yet again as ex-colonies rose to become
independent nations.
New International organisations
After World War I, the League of Nations was formed to resolve disputes
peacefully and the United Nations Organisation (UNO) was formed after World
War II. UN is a kind of world government based on four principles, viz. preserve
peace, uphold human rights, respect international law and promote social progress.
It works through
organs like
U N I C E F,
UNESCO,
WHO, ILO, etc.
You may have
heard of some of
them or even
seen their work.
The UNO
despite being
accused of
becoming a tool
of the great
powers like
Fig 13.6 : The city of Nagasaki before and after Atom bomb
USA, and Russia (USSR) has managed to prevent
wars on the scale of the Second World War.
Enfranchisement of women
After a long struggle for political right like
right to vote - British women got these rights in
1918. In the long protracted wars like the World
Wars, industrial production and other services are
necessary. With men away in the battle fields,
more women had to work in factories, shops,
offices, voluntary services, hospitals and schools. Fig 13.1 : Logo of International Women’s
Beginning with the confidence of being bread- suffragist movement an organisation
established in 1914
winners, women began raising their voice for
equality in all walks of life. Getting the right to vote was a big step in that direction.
Keywords
Industrial capitalism Alliances Aggressive nationalism
Militarism Fascism Imperialism

1. Correct the false statements AS1
• At the beginning of 20th century disparity across the world was marked
by west and the rest
• 20th century saw the rise of democracy and instances of dictatorship as
well as making of new kingdoms
• Socialist societies wanted to build on the idea of equality and fraternity
• Army members of countries fighting belonged to many different
countries and not just those which directly participated in the war.
• After or during the First World War many countries changed over from
monarchy rule to democracies
2. Make a table to show allies, axis and central powers, participated with
following countries on different sides of the world wars: Austria, USSR
(Russia), Germany, Britain, Japan, France, Italy, USA .AS3
3. How did the idea of nation states and nationalism influence desire for war
during World Wars? AS1
4. Write a short note on various causes of two World Wars. Do you think any
of these features are prevalent even today in countries around the world?
How? AS4
5. What are the different impacts of wars during the first half of 20th century? AS1

CHAPTER
The World Between Wars
1900-1950 Part II 14
Russian Socialist revolution
Tsarist Russia was a vast land mass spread over two continents
and making it a Euro-Asian power. It had the third largest population
in the world, viz. 156 million, after China and India. It comprised
of several nations like the Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkomania, etc. The livelihood of most
Russians was derived from agriculture and control over land was
the basic cause for struggle between peasants and feudal lords.
The feudal lords owned most of the lands and most peasants paid rent for the land
they tilled.
Tsar Nicholas II ruled over his vast Russian empire like any autocrat with the
help of the army and bureaucracy. But the Russian economy was bled in the extreme
by the World War. The Russian army was the largest in the world before World
War I. Yet, by 1917, the Russia had lost two million soldiers and civilians and
became the biggest loser of human lives in World War I. The diversion of food to
the War front led to shortages in the cities. On March 8th 1917, around 10,000
women of the capital, St Petersburg, took out a procession demanding ‘Peace and
Bread’. Workers joined them in this protest. Unnerved at the protest in the capital,
Tsar Nicholas II ordered the army to suppress the demonstrators, even by firing at
them. Instead, the soldiers joined the demonstrators. In just two days, the situation
went so much out of hand that
the Tsar abdicated and non-
aristocratic Russians made a
Provisional government. This
was the first Russian revolution
of 1917 and it was called the
March Revolution.
A bigger revolution was
made later in October 1917 and
it was not spontaneous. The
liberals and aristocrats, who
ruled Russia after the
abdication of the Tsar, decided
Fig 14.1 : Bolshevickhs marching on red square, to continue the War to preserve
Russian Revolution of 1917 the honour of the fatherland.
Fatigued by military reverses and Date of the Russian Revolution
upset at economic shortages, the
Russia followed the Julian calendar until 1 February
common people did not want the
1918. The country then changed to the Gregorian
War. They began organising
calendar, which is followed everywhere today. The
themselves in councils which were
Gregorian dates are 13 days ahead of the Julian
called Soviets. Such Soviets of
dates. So by our calendar, the February
soldiers, industrial workers and
Revolution took place on 12th March and the
also people in rural areas were the
October Revolution took place on 7th November.
expression of common people’s
power which was channelised by a group of Russian Communist party called
Bolsheviks.
The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924). Bolsheviks were
able to win the confidence of the Soviets (councils of peasants, workers and
soldiers) because they took up the demand for immediate and unconditional peace,
nationalisation of all land and its redistribution to the peasants and control over
prices and nationalisation of all factories and banks. The Soviets under the Bolshevik
leadership seized power from the Provisional Government in October-November
1917 and immediately took steps to end the war and redistribute land. Full peace
could not return to Russia because there started a civil war led by White armies of
Russian monarchists and anti-communist
soldiers with help from Britain, France, Timeline
USA and Japan. These were all defeated by
1920. The Bolsheviks also announced the
ending of the Russian empire and permitted
the various nations under it to become
independent. However, gradually most of
the former Tsarist empire’s nations agreed
to join the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) which was set up in
1924 by the Soviet government of Russia.
With this began a great experiment of
building a country without exploiters like
feudal lords, Kings or capitalists. The
USSR tried to build a society that was
industrialised and modern and yet did not
have inequality or exclusion of people on
basis of birth, gender, language, etc.
Rise of Stalin
After the death of Lenin in 1924 Stalin
emerged as the leader of the Communist
188 Social Studies The

TheWorld
WorldBetween
BetweenWars
Wars 1900-1950
1900-1950 Part
Part - II
I
Women in the February Revolution party. Over the next decades he
established his absolute control
Women workers, often inspired their male co-
and put an end to all opposition.
workers At the Lorenz telephone factory, Marfa He used his undisputed power to
Vasileva almost single handedly called a successful build the economy of USSR.
strike. Already that morning, in celebration of USSR began a programme of
Womens Day, women workers had presented red planned economic development
bows to the men Then Marfa Vasileva, a milling with its Five Year Plans in 1928.
machine operator stopped work and declared an im- This pursued a twin policy of
promptu strike. The workers on the floor were ready rapid industrialisation and
to support her The foreman informed the man- collectivisation of agriculture.
agement and sent her a loaf of bread. She took the USSR under the leadership of
bread but refused to go back to work. The adminis- Joseph Stalin tried to end small
trator asked her why she refused to work and she peasant production by forcing all
replied, I cannot be the only one who is satiated small and large farmers to
when others are hungry. Women workers from an- surrender their lands and join
other section of the factory gathered around Marfa ‘Collective Farms’. These farms
in support and gradually all the other women ceased pooled in all the land in the
village along with tools and
working. Soon the men downed their tools as well
machines and animals. Farmers
and the entire crowd rushed onto the street.
worked together and the produce
From: Choi Chatterji, Celebrating Women (2002)
was divided among the members
of the farms. The idea was to shift from small holding farming to large scale farming
so that new techniques and machines could be used. Thousands of peasants
especially the large farmers resisted this and had to face imprisonment, deportation
and even death. This caused a severe famine in 1929-30 leading to the death of a
very large number of people. After an initial
period of decline, agricultural production
soon rose and helped USSR to also build its
industries on an unprecedented scale. All
industries were owned by the state which did
not allow free market and sold the industrial
products to the consumers directly.
However, rapid construction led to poor
working conditions. In the city of
Magnitogorsk, the construction of a steel
plant was achieved in three years. Workers
lived hard lives and the result was 550
stoppages of work in the first year alone. In
living quarters, ‘in the wintertime, at 40
Fig 14.2 : Lenin addressing workers degrees below, people had to climb down

from the fourth floor and dash The October Revolution and the Russian
across the street in order to go Countryside: Two Views
to the toilet’.
1) News of the revolutionary uprising of Octo-
An extended schooling
ber 25, 1917, reached the village the following day
system developed, and
arrangements were made for and was greeted with enthusiasm; to the peasants
factory workers and peasants to it meant free land and an end to the war. ...The day
enter universities. Crèches the news arrived, the landowners manor house was
were established in factories looted, his stock farms were requisitioned and his
for the children of working vast orchard was cut down and sold to the peas-
women. Cheap public health ants for wood; all his far buildings were torn down
care was provided. Model living and left in ruins while the land was distributed
quarters were set up for among the peasants who were prepared to live the
workers. The effect of all this new Soviet life. From: Fedor Belov, The History of a
was uneven, though, since Soviet Collective Farm
Government resources were 2) A member of a landowning family wrote to a
limited. relative about what happened at the estate:
USSR achieved full The coup happened quite painlessly, quietly
employment for all its citizens
and peacefully. The first days were unbearable..
and was able to improve their
Mikhail Mikhailovich [the estate owner] was
standard of living substantially.
calm...The girls also I must say the chairman be-
It also managed to universalise
literacy and primary education. haves correctly and even politely. We were left two
Precisely during this period, the cows and two horses. The servants tell them all the
western world began to face the time not to bother us. Let them live. We vouch for
‘Great Depression’ in which their safety and property. We want them treated as
factories closed down and humanely as possible .
millions of workers lost their There are rumours that several villages are try-
jobs, thousands of peasants ing to evict the committees and return the estate
found the prices of their goods to Mikhail Mikhailovich. I dont know if this will hap-
crashing down as demand for pen, or if its good for us. But we rejoice that there
them collapsed due to the is a conscience in our people...
shutting down of factories. The
From: Serge Schmemann, Echoes of a Native Land. Two Centuries
USSR prided itself in escaping of a Russian Village (1997).
the impact of the Great
Depression. USSR was able to Read the two views on the revolution in the
escape the effect of the countryside. Imagine yourself to be a witness
Depression because it was not
to the events. Write a short account from the
integrated with the international
standpoint of: 1) an owner of an estate 2) a
market. Secondly, it had a
small peasant 3) a journalist.
planned economy in which the
190 Social Studies The

TheWorld
WorldBetween
BetweenWars
Wars 1900-1950
1900-1950 Part
Part - II
I

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Government has to announce

areas demarcated for different

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92 Social Studies People and Settlement

Field work Understanding the settlement of your place

How are settlements organised?

94 Social Studies People and Settlement

Indian settlements in hierarchy

96 Social Studies People and Settlement

Settlement type Criteria used Examples

Metropolitan Cities having population * Chennai (8.6 million)

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Urbanisation problems Fig 7.6 : Low income residential area of Delhi

98 Social Studies People and Settlement

Villagers up in arms against solid waste management plant

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Improve your learning

100 Social Studies People and Settlement

People and Migration

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Not just this teacher, but also

Measure and classify migration patterns

Here is a list of few people. Categorise them as migrant or non-migrant. Indicate

Read the table again and complete the required information.

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Map 3 : Estimated Major Inter - State Migration Streams : 2001- 2011

Note : These maps do not show three States and we

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106 Social Studies People and Migration

Graph 1 : Expansion of Urban

During 2001-2011, there were 91million (40+29+22) people added in the

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Seasonal and Temporary Migration

108 Social Studies People and Migration

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What happens when people migrate?

110 Social Studies People and Migration

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Improve your learning

114 Social Studies People and Migration

What are the reasons for multiple cropping in cultivation.

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118 Social Studies Rampur : A Village Economy

120 Social Studies Rampur : A Village Economy

Capital: Arranging physical and working capital

122 Social Studies Rampur : A Village Economy

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The shopkeepers of Rampur Why does Mishrilal sell jaggery to traders

126 Social Studies Rampur : A Village Economy

Improve your learning

128 Social Studies Rampur : A Village Economy

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a & b) going to school, c) school entrance,

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132 Social Studies Globalisation

Ford Motors, an American company, is one of the world’s largest automobile

Would you say Ford

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Foreign Trade and Integration of Market