NCERT Solutions Class 6 Social Science Chapter 8: Unity in Diversity, or ‘Many in the One’

Answers to the Big Questions, the Let’s Explore activities and the “Questions, activities and projects” of Chapter 8, Unity in Diversity, or ‘Many in the One’, in Exploring Society: India and Beyond. Many of these are discussion questions, so the answers below are model answers and ideas: use them to prepare, then add your own examples. Short notes: Chapter 8 notes.

The Big Questions (page 125)

1. What is meant by ‘unity in diversity’ in the Indian scenario?

India has an enormous variety of landscapes, people, languages, scripts, foods, dresses, festivals and customs. Yet beneath this variety there is a common base that connects it. The same grains and spices are used across the country, the same sari is worn in many ways, the same harvest festival is celebrated with different names, and the same stories are retold in every language. This shared base taking many forms is unity in diversity, or the Many in the One.

2. What aspects of India’s diversity are the most striking?

The most striking are the number of languages and scripts (the People of India project counted 325 languages using 25 scripts among 4,635 communities), the variety of food, clothing and festivals, and the changing landscapes you see when you travel across the country.

3. How do we make out the unity underlying the diversity?

By looking for what is common beneath the differences:

• common staple grains and spices used in thousands of dishes;
• one garment, the sari, worn in hundreds of varieties and styles;
• one harvest festival around 14 January known by many names;
• the same stories, such as the Panchatantra, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, retold in every region, including in tribal and folk versions.

Let’s Explore activities

Birthplaces and languages of classmates (page 126)

Make a table with each classmate’s birthplace, their parents’ birthplaces, their mother tongue and other languages they know. In most classes you will find that several families have moved from other places and that many students know two or three languages. This shows diversity within one classroom, and it also shows unity: students from different places and languages study and play together.

Ingredients at home and one vegetable, many dishes (page 128)

List the grains, pulses and spices used at home; most homes will share items like rice or wheat, dal, turmeric and cumin. Then pick one vegetable. For example, potato can become aloo paratha, aloo gobi, dum aloo, aloo tikki, samosa filling and many more. One vegetable, many dishes: the Many in the One.

How does the sari reflect both unity and diversity? (page 129)

Model answer (about 120 words): The sari reflects unity because it is the same simple garment everywhere: a plain, unstitched length of cloth worn in most parts of India, with a history going back more than two thousand years, as a stone relief from Vaiśhali shows. It reflects diversity because it comes in hundreds of varieties. It is made from cotton, silk and synthetic fabrics; famous silk saris include Banarasi, Kanjivaram, Paithani, Patan Patola, Muga and Mysore; and it is woven, designed and coloured in many different ways. Each region and community also drapes it in its own style, and new styles are still being invented. So the sari is one dress with countless forms, a good example of unity in diversity.

What has the sari been used for in the pictures? (page 130)

In the pictures, the sari is used as a cradle for a baby, hung from a tree; held in a river like a net; and held open to collect and carry grain. Other uses you may know: carrying a baby on the back, making a pad for carrying loads on the head, as a curtain or partition, as a sheet or blanket, or as a towel.

Styles and uses of the dhoti (page 131)

The dhoti, like the sari, is an unstitched length of cloth. It is known by different names, such as veshti in Tamil Nadu, mundu in Kerala and dhotar in Maharashtra, and is made in plain cotton for daily wear and in silk with borders for special occasions. It can be tied in different ways, for example folded up for work in the fields. An old dhoti is also used as a towel or a sheet. Conclusion: one simple garment takes many forms and uses, another example of unity in diversity.

Your favourite festival (page 132)

Write about how your family celebrates your favourite festival, then find out its names in other regions. For example, Diwali is called Deepavali in many southern states, and in West Bengal Kali Puja is celebrated on the same night.

Major festivals in October–November and their names (page 133)

Depending on the year, several major festivals fall in these months:

• Dussehra (Vijayadashami): celebrated as Durga Puja and Bijoya Dashami in West Bengal and as Mysuru Dasara in Karnataka.
• Diwali: Deepavali in many southern states; Kali Puja in West Bengal on the same night.
• Bhai Dooj: Bhau Beej in Maharashtra and Bhai Phonta in West Bengal.
• Chhath: especially in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
• Guru Nanak Jayanti (Gurpurab).

Identify the episode in the painting (page 134)

The painting shows scenes from the Yuddha Kanda, the book of the Ramayana about the war in Lanka. You can see the ten-headed Ravana in his palace on the right, and Rama’s army of monkeys and bears on the left. Like many paintings of its time, it shows several moments of the story in one picture, so the same characters appear more than once. It was painted by Sahibdin in Mewar (in today’s Rajasthan) in 1652. Discuss with your teacher which events of the war you can recognise.

Questions, activities and projects (page 136)

1. Discuss the two quotations at the start of the chapter

Both quotations express the chapter’s idea. Rabindranath Tagore prays never to lose the joy of feeling the One within the play of the many. Sri Aurobindo says that the principle of unity in diversity, the Many in the One, has always been natural to India and gives it a firm foundation. In your discussion, connect the quotations to the examples in the chapter: food, the sari, festivals and stories.

2. Panchatantra stories whose message is still valid today

• The Monkey and the Crocodile: keep your presence of mind in danger, and choose your friends wisely.
• The Lion and the Hare: intelligence can defeat brute strength.
• The Tortoise and the Geese: think before you speak; talking at the wrong moment can be costly.
• The Loyal Mongoose: do not act in anger before you know the full truth.

Similar stories from Indian regions include the Jataka tales, the tales of Tenali Raman and the stories of Akbar and Birbal.

3. Collect folk tales from your region

Ask grandparents, parents or neighbours for a story they heard as children. Write down the story in a few lines, its message, and the language it was told in. Compare with classmates: you may find the same story told in different ways, which is the Many in the One again.

4. An ancient story shown through art

Ancient stories appear in many art forms: the Ramleela performances of the Ramayana in many parts of north India, Kathakali dance-dramas from Kerala, Yakshagana in Karnataka, Madhubani paintings from Bihar, temple sculptures, puppet shows, television series and animated films. Discuss which one you have seen and which part of the story it showed.

5. Discuss Jawaharlal Nehru’s quotation

While travelling across India before Independence, Nehru found that the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other old books were known to ordinary people everywhere. Even villagers who could not read knew many verses by heart and used stories with morals in daily conversation. This shows a shared cultural background across regions and languages, a strong thread of unity in India’s diversity.