Maharashtra Board Class 9 History Chapter 10 Changing Life 2 PDF Download

Changing Life: 2

In this chapter we shall look at the changes that have taken place in the fields of language, sports, theatre and films, newspapers and television.

Language

Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannad, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali and Sindhi are the official languages in India. These Indian languages also have dialects, but their number is now on the decline. Timely steps should be taken to nurture them, otherwise we will lose an important part of our heritage. Nevertheless, Hindi, which has reached everywhere through the medium of Hindi movies, has served to unite the country by language.

Do You Know?

Given below is a list of the languages of Nagaland in 1961 and the numbers of people using them.

Angami-33766

Lotha-26565

Rengma-5786

Kheza-7295

Sangtam-15508

Chang-11329

Yimchunger-10187

Zeliang Semi-6472

Kuki-Chiru-1175

Tikhir-2468

Sema-47439

Eo-55904

Chakhesang-339

Sangtam Pochuri-2736

Konyak-46653

Phom-13385

Khiamniungan-12434

Liangmai-2969

Makuri-769

The consequence of this variety was that Kohima radio station had to make its broadcasts in 25 languages which included English, Hindi, Naga dialects and 16 Naga languages.

Let Us Search!

Let us gather some information about dialects of Maharashtra with the help of various tools. (Encyclopedia, Google, Wikipedia, research articles)

The English language has been gaining ground in India due to the process of globalisation which began after 1990. English is becoming the language of livelihood, as it opens the doors to multiple job opportunities. Moreover, Indians are at the forefront in learning English. However, it is necessary to ensure that this process does not endanger the very existence of regional languages.

Teacher's Note

Many languages in India are losing speakers. We should try to keep our local languages alive like we keep our family traditions alive.

Exam Trick

Remember: India has 22 official languages. Hindi movies helped unite India through language. This is an important point for exams.

Points to Remember

India has 22 official languages and many dialects.
Hindi movies helped spread Hindi across the whole country.
English is becoming more important because of globalisation.
We must protect and keep our local dialects alive.
Each state and region in India has its own special languages.

Sports

During the pre-independence period, only a few selected games were known to people in general. Some sportspersons changed this situation. This enhanced the status of both - the sports, and the sportspersons. For example, Geet Sethi achieved global excellence in snooker, a variation of billiards. He won the national championship of billiards for teenagers at the age of 15. Later, he went on to win national and international championships. At the global level, he won the amateur billiards competition thrice, and the professional one five times. His success made the game popular, and newspapers began to report news about billiards. Thus he made a new field available to rising sportspersons in India.

It was in 1983, that the Indian team won the World Cup for cricket, under the captainship of Kapil Dev. It was a historic victory. Cricket instantly won great popularity across the country. In the same year, Sunil Gavaskar broke the earlier record of maximum centuries in test cricket. In 1985, India won the 'Benson and Hedges' World Championship of cricket. As a result, cricket came to be played in all States to a lesser or greater extent, but at the cost of indigenous Indian games. A few movies were also produced around the theme of cricket. Live telecasts of the full five days or one day of the matches also became available.

India had been participating in Asiad and Olympic games. At the Olympics of year 2000, Karnam Malleshwari won a medal for weightlifting. She was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. India's representation began to rise in various Olympic games such as hockey, badminton, tennis, swimming, weightlifting and archery.

Teacher's Note

Sports changed India. Kapil Dev's World Cup victory in 1983 made cricket the most popular game in our country. Many children now play cricket because of this.

Exam Trick

Remember: 1983 = Kapil Dev won World Cup. Karnam Malleshwari = first Indian woman Olympic medal winner. These dates and names come in exams often.

Points to Remember

Geet Sethi made snooker popular in India.
Kapil Dev won the cricket World Cup in 1983.
Sunil Gavaskar broke the test cricket century record.
Karnam Malleshwari was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
Cricket became popular and spread to all states of India.

Theatre And Films

Theatre and films are important aspects of Indian life. Early plays were very long, sometimes running through an entire night. Now, the form, technique, duration of plays have all changed. People from different walks of life take part in the dramas. But 'musicals' have now declined in importance and political and social subjects have replaced the earlier mythological and historical themes.

The age of black and white movies has been succeeded by the age of coloured movies. In the field of entertainment, the place of Hindi movies is incomparable. Now movies reflect contemporary themes. Film shooting locales have moved abroad. So, viewers can now see many different places in foreign countries. Movies in foreign languages are now translated. During the screening of English movies, a short Hindi translation now appears on the screen as sub-titles. Hindi movies now compete with 'global' movies as they have reached every nook and corner of the world. We see a reflection of politics, social events, industry and technology in the movies. Movies which were 3-4 hours long are now of only one or one and a half hours. Moreover, the concept of one screen and one cinema hall has given way to multiplexes. The days of a movie running for 100 weeks in one cinema hall are over. Now one movie runs in thousands of cinema halls in India and abroad simultaneously. This development has changed the economy of movies. Production of movies has attained the status of industry. The industry now employs crores of people. The movie industry in regional languages is also thriving.

Teacher's Note

Movies in India have changed a lot. Before, movies were 3-4 hours long. Now they are only 1-1.5 hours long, just like movies in America.

Exam Trick

Remember: Multiplex came to India. This means many screens in one building. One movie now runs in thousands of halls at the same time, not just one hall.

Points to Remember

Early plays were very long and sometimes ran all night.
Movies changed from black and white to coloured pictures.
Hindi movies now have subtitles in English and other languages.
Movies are now shorter - only 1 to 1.5 hours instead of 3-4 hours.
Multiplexes replaced single cinema halls where movies run for many weeks.

Newspapers

The changing lifestyle has had its effect on newspapers and other mass-media, and they in turn have influenced individual as well as community life. During early post-independence period, newspapers had multiple objectives. In this period, the newspapers were expected to not only give the news of daily events, but also give impetus to industry and commerce by printing advertisements. Newspapers functioned with the following objectives: shape public opinion, direct it towards constructive work, at times lead the latter, carry on the task of public education, keep a watch over the government machinery, etc. Earlier, newspapers were black and white. With the changing times, colour printing became common.

Earlier, newspapers were thought to be the mouthpieces of the taluka or district. Now they have to face tough competition from the State level newspaper chains. But on the whole, newspapers are now becoming more active. Their scope has enlarged to include raising funds for drought affected and flood affected people, helping meritorious students from lower income groups to go for higher education and organizing or sponsoring cultural programmes. This is how newspapers have now become an inseparable part of our lives.

Teacher's Note

Newspapers in India help people and do many good things. They now help poor students get education and help people when there are floods and droughts.

Exam Trick

Remember: Early newspapers were only black and white. Now they have colours. Newspapers were small (taluka level), but now they are big and compete at state level.

Points to Remember

Newspapers changed from black and white to coloured printing.
Early newspapers only gave news of daily events.
Now newspapers help poor students get education and help people in floods and droughts.
Small local newspapers now face competition from big state level newspaper chains.
Newspapers today shape public opinion and keep watch over the government.

Television

Television came to India during the post-independence period. Earlier it was black and white. Now it is coloured. Earlier it was limited to some selected programmes and fixed time-slots. Gradually its scope was enlarged to include educational programmes, news bulletins, detailed reporting of the tours of the President and the Prime Minister. During the telecast of Ramayana and Mahabharat, a majority of the people used to sit glued to the television set. These serials proved the popularity of this medium. Then in 1991, CNN channel showed to the entire world a live visual reporting of the Iraq war. At this stage the world of Indian news channels changed completely. In 1998, STAR (Satellite Television Asia Region) a private media house entered India, and the uninteresting, monotonous and propagandist news telecasts of the early period underwent a sea change.

The language, the technique of presentation, studios equipped with the latest technology and the use of OB (outdoor broadcasting) vans have expanded the scope of Indian T.V. channels still further, and brought in transparency and variety. Now, every nook and corner of the country is connected. This has had a great impact on politics. In short, the whole country started changing.

So far we have studied the history of modern India. Next year, we will study how to make use of this subject in the practical world. We shall see how history can be a part of daily life, and not just a thing of the past.

Teacher's Note

Television brought big changes to India. The Ramayana and Mahabharat serials made everyone watch TV together. CNN and STAR channels made news more interesting and fast.

Exam Trick

Remember: 1991 = CNN showed Iraq war live. 1998 = STAR channel came to India. These dates and events are very important for exams.

Points to Remember

Television came to India after independence and was first black and white, now coloured.
Early TV had only some programmes at fixed times.
Ramayana and Mahabharat serials made TV very popular in India.
CNN's live coverage of Iraq war in 1991 changed Indian TV completely.
STAR channel in 1998 made news more interesting and brought new technology to Indian channels.

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