Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about India - Our Pride from Class 6 Social_Science.
Introduction to the Chapter. One of the necessary dimensions of education is to develop an awareness in the student. Such awareness creates a sense of pride and respect for one’s country and promotes emotional integration. This chapter reinforces in the child the values that Indians stood for, their contribution in various fields and also their achievements. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the message of timeless values that Indians have given to the world.
Let us review the competencies for this lesson. Competency one: Understanding how the modern European scholars helped the world to comprehend the glory of oriental India. Competency two: Understanding and taking pride in knowing about the achievements of Indians in the field of knowledge and science. Competency three: Comprehending the eternal values that Indians gifted to mankind and how they are relevant in modern times. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, into the chapter. Madam, why should we be proud of our country? This was a natural question of Satish, and the teacher answered it in detail. The teacher shared a timeless Sanskrit verse: Mother and Motherland are greater than heavens above. Jananee Janmabhumischa Swargadapi Gariyasi. India’s respect for motherland is universal. People of different countries imagine in different ways. The worship of Mother Goddess existed in India and in many ancient civilizations. Man, who was a nomad in the early days of his life, gradually began to settle at convenient places. This was the beginning of village life. As time passed, villages came together to form a kingdom, big or small, and kingdoms combined to create empires, and this led to the spirit of patriotism assuming a concrete shape. It is also considered as an evolutionary development of Janapada, where people settled, into Mahajanapada, meaning great kingdom. [CHECKPOINT]
Bharata Khanda, Hindustan, India, Jambudweepa. As the title suggests, India is known by different names since ancient times. Bharata is the name that is widely used, and our constitution has support to this. Do you know how our country got the name Bharata? According to the Purana, there was a king named Bharata, the eldest son of Vrishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara. The land ruled by Bharata is known as Bharata Kanda, Bharata Varsha, or Bharata Desha. About 3000 years ago, the Persians came in contact with the people of the Sindhu river valley. The Persians called the people Hindu. Later when the Greeks came in contact with the Indians, in their spoken usage they used the word Hindu as Sindus and later on as Indu. When Persians arrived to India, the word Hindu began to be used again. They called our country Hindusthan and the people Hindus and their religion Hinduism. Under the influence of the British this country was called India and Hindu religion was called Hinduism in Western countries. [CHECKPOINT]
Europeans who Introduced the uniqueness of India, also known as Orientalists. Some English scholars were responsible for making the world know of India’s glory. Prominent among them was William Jones, a supreme court judge, who was also a brilliant Sanskrit scholar. Jones remarked that the vocabulary of Sanskrit language is wonderful. In 1784 C.E. he established Asiatic Society. In 1832 C.E. the organisation was renamed as Asiatic Society of Bengal. This organisation published the English translation of Bhagavad Gita. It is the first translated work from Sanskrit to English. William Jones also translated other works like Shakuntala. Later, the French and the German scholars continued to study Indian languages and culture. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, observe the names of ancient places on the map. These are found in the inscriptions of those days. Most of the place names have changed, for example, Magadha changed to Bihar, Kalinga changed to Odisha, Chera changed to Kerala, Indraprastha changed to Delhi, and Prayagraj changed to Allahabad. But some of the names have remained the same even to this day, for example, Kashmir, Nepal, Kailasa, Kurukshetra, Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura. The names of the places change periodically, for example, Madras changed to Chennai, Prayagraj changed to Allahabad, Baroda changed to Vadodara, and Bombay changed to Mumbai. The map is given in the beginning itself. This introduces and helps to create an awareness of the change of names. [CHECKPOINT]
Great Contributions of Indians to the field of Mathematics. In the edicts of Ashoka, numbers are used abundantly. These are 2300 years old. European nations did not know numerals even 1000 years later. Numerals, decimals, fractions, and algebra are the contributions of ancient India. The credit of using zero as a numeral for the first time goes to the Indians. Calculations became easy after zero was invented. The Indian scientist Aryabhata stated that the Earth is round and the Earth goes round the Sun. In these times of modern science, the credit of discovering the truth that the earth is round is given to Copernicus, who is ten centuries later than Aryabhata. Indians had also prepared longitudinal maps for sailors at Ujjain. [CHECKPOINT]
Views of Indian Contributions. The famous Pythagoras Theorem was already known to Bodhayana, the great Indian scientist, two centuries earlier. The indivisible unit of matter is called Atom or Anu. This was stated by an Indian sage Kanaada, who propounded this theory 27 centuries ago. Indians knew the manufacture of steel since ancient times. Indians were the foremost in building ships. Surat in Gujarat was a well known place for ship building. After Indians identified the monsoon winds, the progress in the field of navigation picked up speed in the world. Yoga and Sanskrit are also Indian contributions. [CHECKPOINT]
Influences of Indian culture Abroad. Indians were experts in seafaring activities and cultural exchanges took place between countries. Buddhism spread beyond India’s borders to Afghanistan, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan. Srilanka adopted Buddhism. The tallest Buddha statue in the world was located in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Isn’t it surprising? Buddhism and Hindu cultures spread to different countries of South Asia. The magnificent Cambodian Angkor Wat is one of the world’s greatest architectures. In Java, at Borobudur, there is a huge Buddhist temple. Both the Hindu temple Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Buddhist temple Borobudur are world heritage sites. In South Asia, for nearly 9 centuries, Indian culture has influenced the people in the field of dance and songs. The stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata continue to make an impact in their lives even today. [CHECKPOINT]
Some Eternal Values Of India. First is Aacharya Devo Bhava. Education was not a matter of business in ancient Indian culture. The values taught by the teachers to the pupils 3000 years ago are relevant for all the ages. These five values are: tell the truth; be righteous; do not be satisfied with your learning; do not be arrogant; and treat mother, father, teacher and the guest as equal to Gods. These values are still relevant today and should be practiced. Second is Non-violence. Indians are the foremost advocates of non-violence in the world. Buddhism and Jainism also advocate non-violence. It can be observed that Mahatma Gandhiji made this philosophy of non-violence a powerful weapon which gave us Independence. Third is Sarve Janah Sukhino Bhavantu, meaning let all people be happy. This is a noble value of our ancients. Let all people be happy was the purpose of life. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the thought that the whole world is one family, is unique to Indians. Fourth is the Equality of all religions. Another value India believes is the equality of all religions. Light is light wherever it comes from. It has the power to eliminate darkness. Similarly, no matter what the religion may be, God is one, names are many, is the Vedic saying. All the values mentioned above are the grandeur of Indian cultural thought. [CHECKPOINT]
Now, dear students, it is time to practice what we have learned. We will go through the exercises together. Section one: Fill in the blanks with suitable words. Question one: Unique contribution of Indians to Mathematics is. Question two: The Shakuntala Sanskrit work was translated into English by. Question three: There is a grand Hindu temple in Cambodia. Section two: Answer the following questions in one sentence. Question four: How India is called in the Puranas? Question five: What are the valuable Contributions to Mathematics from Indians? Question six: What was the great achievement of Aryabhata? Question seven: Where in the world the famous gigantic Buddha temple located? Question eight: Mention the three countries of South East Asian continent which spread Indian culture? Question nine: Mention any two Indian values. [CHECKPOINT]
Section three: Discuss. Question ten: The Value of equality of religion is practiced in our country. Please reflect on this topic and share your thoughts in class. The textbook also includes a separate discussion section. Question one: Equality of all religions is practiced in India. Use this prompt to discuss how religious equality is valued and practiced in our society. Finally, let us complete the activity. The activity asks you to locate on the map the countries of the Asian continent that are influenced by Indian culture. Look at your map and identify these regions to see the spread of our cultural heritage. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]