What the Karnataka textbooks say on things that matter

Recently, I had the opportunity to do a quick study of the Karnataka State Social Studies textbooks to see how the idea of the modern nation is represented. Specifically, I looked at the construction of values and ideals of 'national progress,’ ‘democracy,’ and the 'ideal' citizen. Inclusions and exclusions in terms of gender, caste, class, religion, ethnicity and location (rural/urban) were also noted, along with the role the textbook content explicitly/implicitly assigns to education in national development. The study was an eye opener in many ways, and I ended up asking more questions than I have been able to answer!

Brief description of the textbooks studied
The books studied are the two Social Science textbooks of Class V used by the government schools in Karnataka. The books have been published by the Karnataka Textbook Society. The core curricular areas for Class V have been represented through the textbooks in the following manner – barring language, which has dedicated textbooks for each language (Kannada, English, Urdu, etc), the other subjects are all clubbed together in two textbooks, one for each semester (the academic year is divided into two semesters at the primary and middle school levels). Thus, semester 1 has a combined textbook for Social Science, General Science, Environmental Studies and Mathematics. The same is the case with the semester 2 textbook. The reason why this is so, is not clear. However, what is clear is that curricular or pedagogical concerns have not informed the production of these ‘all in one’ textbooks – for instance, there is no integration of content across disciplines. There are merely separate sections for each subject. It is quite possible that the effort has been to reduce the total number of textbooks that children need to carry (and hence reduce the load of the school bag)! Another reason would be to economize textbook printing.

The Social Science part/section of the composite textbooks is further divided into the areas of History, Civics and Geography. The topics dealt with each of these areas are described below.

Semester 1 topics (History) -- History of India – land and people; pre-historic India; Indus Valley Civilization; Vedic Age; Jainism and Buddhism
Semester 2 topics (History) -- Ancient North India; Mauryan Empire; The Kushans; The Gupta Empire; India after the Guptas; Ancient South India
Semester 1 topics (Civics) -- Civics and its importance; Public Property
Semester 2 topics (Civics) -- Rural Communities; Urban Communities; Panchayati Raj; Civic and District Administration
Semester 1 topics (Geography) -- The Solar system; Latitude and Longitude; Weather and Climate; Effect on daily life of weather and climate
Semester 2 topics (Geography) -- Physical features and climate of India; Agriculture and Industry; Population of India

Aspects of the ‘modern nation’, such as values and ideals of 'national progress', democracy, the notion of the 'ideal' citizen, inclusions and exclusions in terms of gender, caste, class, religion, ethnicity and location (rural/urban), and the role of education in national development, are all implicitly or explicitly addressed in both the Class V textbooks. They are not situated in any particular chapter, but are spread across the entire text. In particular, the strongest linkages/references are seen in the sections that deal with the subject of Civics. In the coming paragraphs, we will look at examples of how the textbooks approach the above mentioned aspects of the modern nation.

The ‘ideal’ or ‘good’ citizen
Lesson 6 of the semester 1 textbook (P.39) begins with a statement about citizenry. A citizen is referred to as somebody ‘who is a member of the country or nation and who abides by the rules and regulations of that country.’ Further, ‘A Good citizen loves and respects his country. Every citizen has certain rights and duties.’ Civics, it is stated, ‘tells us about the role of the citizen in society and in the government.’ Conducting oneself in a disciplined manner and respecting the needs of others is identified as one of the key aspects of a ‘good civic life’.

On page 40 of the above book, the ‘Characteristics of a good citizen’ along with those of the ‘good civic life’ are outlined thus:

• Keeping the school premises clean
• Keeping the house and street clean
• Helping children and old people
• Following a queue system
• To respect national flag and national anthem
• To protect public property etc
• To defend the country in times of need
• To pay taxes without fail
• To cast vote during elections
• Not to participate in anti-social activities
• Understand that giving or taking bribe is an offence

The second semester book also (on P.60, 61 in the chapter on urban communities, and further on P.96 in the chapter on Population of India) outlines certain duties of citizens (interestingly, these or any other duties do not feature in the chapter on rural communities):

• To keep surroundings clean
• Not to smoke in public places
• To dispose waste materials
• To reduce the use of plastic bags
• To use electricity and water sparingly
• To develop the habit of working hard and live by earning
• To obey the law and lead a peaceful life
• To control population explosion

From this description, one cannot help but get the impression that the good or ideal citizen is a passive person one who has to ‘obey’ or follow a range of rules set by/in his nation so as to preserve order (whose order?) in society. This almost sounds like a mechanical list of ‘things to do’ in order to qualify for the tag of a good or ideal citizen. While sensitivity to the needs of others is mentioned, the rest of the items listed above seem to require an almost blind belief in the following of rules set out by the powers that be. Neither the textbook content nor the questions that follow provide much space for exploration by the teacher and children. For instance, what could respect for the national flag and anthem mean? Why should standing up when the national anthem is played be construed as good citizenry, and not otherwise? In the same vein, what could ‘anti-social’ activities mean? Would participating in a meeting/dharna/procession that critiques government policy be considered anti-social?

It is interesting that the characteristics listed above of a good/ideal citizen do not seem to include a critical element or faculty, such as the ability to question a given phenomenon, or form a strong civil society to struggle for people’s rights, or engage political representatives in serious discussions about a range of issues that affect people’s lives. Further, there is absolutely no discussion about why the abovementioned list of characteristics are so often in short supply in everyday life, ranging from motorists who routinely break traffic rules, to the more complex phenomenon of how the state itself can perpetrate acts of violence against its own people (several examples can be given here). Perhaps it is too much to expect a state sponsored textbook to be critical of the state! But the point here is that the text does not problematize the notion of the good/ideal citizen, thus cutting out the possibility of critical engagement by the teacher and students. On the other hand, what comes across implicitly is that the country or the government is always right, and works in the interest of all people. Therefore, it is the duty of a good citizen to always obey the rules and laws of this country.

Descriptions of ‘rural’ and ‘urban’
Rural communities
There are interesting ways in which ‘Rural Communities’ and ‘Urban Communities’ have been described in two separate chapters of the semester 2 textbook. The competencies children are expected to pick up after the rural communities chapter are the following:

• Know the important occupations of the villagers
• Understand the problems of villages, measures taken by the government to improve their conditions and get themselves involved in development programs

After acknowledging the importance of the rural community in general and the farmer in particular for national progress, the textbook presents a rather idealized view of the village. It states that ‘Villagers fulfill their needs among themselves. They work together to form a village community.’ This is an oversimplified description of the village, perhaps even a distorted image! To this is added another idyllic image: ‘In villages there are rivulets, ponds, tanks, pastures and sacred groves. Villagers celebrate festivals and worship gods and goddesses.’ Almost immediately, as if to correct this description, the idealized pictures are replaced with a section on the ‘Problems of Rural Communities’ – these problems are either ‘Economic, Social’ or of illiteracy (due to lack of education). The few sentences under ‘Social Problems’ are vague and do no justice to the intricacies and complexities of rural life (italics mine): ‘Some rural communities still practice untouchability. People of some castes are not allowed to enter temples, use public wells and participate in public functions. Further, some people are superstitious.’

It is not clear why there is so much vagueness in this description. Who is referred by the word ‘some’? Why are the identities of people termed as ‘some’, hidden and why are they made faceless? Where do these people stay? Why are things like this? These questions beg for explanations in the book. It looks as if the textbook authors are hesitating to discuss upfront the real problems of Indian society, such as the divisive and discriminatory caste system that has existed for thousands of years. What is therefore clear is that there is a downplaying of the deeply hierarchical and divisive nature of Indian society, which has historically led to discrimination and exclusion of groups of people labeled/classified as the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes etc. By skirting this discussion altogether, the 2nd semester textbook of Class V in many ways actually excludes, from the learning experience of the child, the very existence of these marginalized communities. Thus, an opportunity to critically examine and understand important features of Indian society is lost. However, we may note that the terms SC/ST are freely used in a following chapter on Panchayat Raj, which is mainly a factual account the three tier system of local governance both in the rural and urban contexts.

If the issues such as caste find such casual and careless treatment, the aspect of gender, class and religion (again factors that contribute to Indian society’s stratification and division) do not find mention either, anywhere in the body of the text of the class V books. There is a passing mention that (P.52) ‘…farmers take up other occupations like rearing cattle, sheep, poultry farming and making baskets. There are blacksmiths, potters, barbers, stone cutters, weavers, cobblers, goldsmiths, tailors, oil millers and washer-men in our villages.’ This long list does not educate us about the structure of Indian society—it is just that there are different people doing different things.

Having identified the ‘problems’ of rural communities, the lesson goes on to state that the government provides, through development programs ‘…drinking water, education, employment and medical facilities’ to improve the standards of their lives.

There is one full page illustration (in the form of a collage) of ‘rural life’ in the chapter on rural communities with the caption ‘Development is the fruit of hard work’. One part of the illustration shows a village scene in which a woman walking away from the hand pump, carrying two or three pots of water on her head, while another is filling hers. Another part shows a big dam with the power grid in the background of a village with tiled houses (actually, the power grid leads away from the village, and we have no way of knowing if the village is supplied with electricity!). There is mechanized farming in this village, for we see a tractor in the foreground. Also is shown a woman serving a man with food. The third part of the illustration in the collage shows a train in the background passing by the village, while in the foreground, there is a postman delivering a letter to a woman. In the distance, a group of women are seated in a circle in front of their houses, doing some domestic work.

From the illustrations, one can make out that women manage the house while men seem to be the more mobile of the two (this is of course based on only two or three examples). The distinct aspect however concerns the technology – the big dam, the power grid, the tractor and the train, are the technologies that are expected to improve the living conditions of rural communities. Of course, the hand pump provides clean water. All of these are seen to be contributing to the development and modernization of rural communities. Again, this appears to be idealized and simple.

Urban communities
The rural/urban distinction is first established in terms of population (high in urban areas) and occupation of people (‘productive’ like agriculture in case of rural folk, and ‘services’ like offices, factories etc in case of urban folks). Another distinction is that urban areas have factories, which rural areas do not. Urban problems revolve around (a) Pressure of population, (b) Problem of housing, (c) Environmental pollution and (d) Social problems. Again, these are not problematized. Why, for instance, is there a population problem? The textbook answers this by stating that ‘people go from villages to cities and towns in search of jobs’, which in turn creates problems for housing. Further, this results in lakhs of people not even having basic facilities. Slums thus get created, and their ‘clearance’ becomes a ‘great problem in urban areas’.

The above description of the population problem directly contradicts what the earlier chapter on rural communities states (‘Villagers fulfill their needs among themselves…’)! Further, there is no hint regarding who these migrants are, and why they may be forced to migrate. There is not even one example to illustrate a point or argument in a deeper manner. Again, these people are faceless. In one sense, this is like using the word ‘some’ in the earlier chapter. Thus, voices and representations of those who are excluded (and who invariably become the migrants searching desperately for livelihood of any kind) do not find any expression again, as in the earlier chapter.

The text attempts to create or show other distinctions between rural and urban communities, but these distinctions are problematic and are not explored deeply enough. For instance, under ‘Social Problems’ (P.60), ‘poverty, unemployment, stealing, violence, exploitation of children and women’ find mention. Interestingly, unemployment, violence, and exploitation of children and women do not feature as problems of rural life. Also, environmental pollution and housing appear to be exclusive problems of urban communities.

One gets the sense from the rural and urban chapters that urban problems are numerous and are more complex than rural ones. This is why the authors perhaps felt that it was important to talk about the duties of citizens in the urban case, which they did not deem fit for the chapter on rural communities!

Values and ideals of national progress; democracy; role of education in national development

Moving on, the idea of ‘National Progress’ in the class V textbooks is linked to the notion of a ‘good citizen’ and his or her duties. In the chapter on urban communities (P.61, semester 2), it is stated that ‘If the citizens imbibe these qualities in their daily life, many problems that we are facing today will disappear. Our life will become golden. The country will progress.’ Thus, ‘good and obedient’ citizens are wanted and the authors seem to bemoan the fact that such citizens are in short supply! The fact that these long lists of qualities of a good citizen are included in the textbook suggests that school education is expected to play a critical role in the formation of good citizenry. Of course, this is implicit. Despite these safeguards, why is it that we continue to have so many civic problems? This is nowhere reflected upon. Has education failed then?

Another place where national progress finds mention is in relation with the farmer (P.51, 52, Semester 2) who is the ‘…backbone of our country. The country cannot progress unless the villages are developed.’ So, this is the second strand in the thinking on the values and ideals of national progress. There are some more observations in a later chapter (Lesson 12) titled ‘Agriculture and Industry’. In this chapter, it is acknowledged in the beginning that ‘India is a land of agriculture. Seventy percent of the population depends on agriculture for their living. India is self sufficient in food production.’ This, it is claimed, is as a result of the Green Revolution which adopted new agricultural technology for growth in production. Thus, the role of technology is central to national progress. It is also stated in this regard that: ‘By this (the green revolution) the country has achieved self-sufficiency in agricultural production and economic progress.’ This is a one sided view which completely ignores the ground realities (survey after survey shows alarming levels of malnutrition among more than half of India’s young children, women, for instance). It also contradicts what the same textbook says earlier in the rural communities’ chapter (P.52): ‘Most of the farmers have very small plots of land. The yield is not enough for the needs of the family.’ How can we then say that we have achieved self sufficiency in agricultural production and economic progress?

Technology is seen as an ideal force for national development. Industries, which use this technology (P.92, Semester 2) ‘…Play a great role in the development of the country’s economy.’
The word ‘democracy does not feature in the Class V textbooks on social science. Since I have not studied the Class VI and VII books, it is not possible to state if this topic has found treatment there or not. The topic could have been discussed in the chapter on Panchayati Raj, but the authors have chosen instead to present factual information on Panchayats without for a moment reflecting on the possible links between Panchayats and local democracy and governance. Perhaps the other place where democracy is implicit is the notion of good citizenry, which we have discussed in some detail earlier.

Summing up
This quick study/review of the fifth standard social science textbooks of the Karnataka government in connection with notions of national development, citizenry, democracy, inclusion/exclusion etc has thrown up some interesting observations, as I have already noted. One limitation of this review must be acknowledged upfront – that the review has confined itself only to Class V textbooks. It is possible that the missing pieces may find some treatment in books for Classes VI and VII. However, given the approach seen so far, it is likely that the treatment is going to be problematic from a pedagogical as well as curricular point of view. Issues such as the above, which might require an ‘open ended’ approach are instead presented factually and in an oversimplified manner, ignoring complexities and conflicts. In all cases, the government is seen as doing the right thing all the time. It is the citizens who have to buck up and play their constructive roles.

By presenting content in a factual manner and by not problematizing the study of Indian society, the opportunity for deeper, critical reflection has been greatly limited both for the teacher and the student. A word must be said about the questions and other exercises after each chapter – they merely promote memory recall. This effectively shuts out any possibility that may exist for developing a critical outlook. Only if the teacher rejects such content (or looks at it as open to debate and interpretation) will there be a possibility of rethinking fundamental assumptions that underlie the structures and processes in Indian society. This in turn can make the learning experience very enriching for every child. But how many teachers are likely to embark on this more difficult but rewarding journey?

One may argue that for children as young as ten years, it is not advisable to present the conflicts and contradictions of a society as complex as India. If this indeed is the case, we are undermining the intelligence and capability of children to grapple with complexity, diversity and conflict.

July 2009
Bengalooru