Chapter 9 Section 4 Changing Patterns of Life

1. Chapter 9 Section 4Changing Patterns of Life Chloe Smith Andrew Simonson Josh Robertson

2. Village Life • Most Indian villages have changed little. •  Only a few have running water and about half have electricity.  •  Clothing is still traditional • Most villages have also kept their traditional economies. • Crops are planted by hand and people make handmade goods  in cottage industries which are small businesses run from the home.  

3. Technology and Change • A growing number of villages have electricity, clinics, schools and telephones. • Some villagers buy factory made goods, and a few can even afford tractors. • Roads, buses, and television are bringing the village people closer to the outside world that used to be unfamiliar to them. • Recently, more and more television radar discs are sprouting up, and families will all crowd around one TV set. • As travel becomes easier, there is more and more urbanization.

4. Improved Health Care • The government has taken to improving health care. • The government is also encouraging villagers to dig deeper wells which provide cleaner water.

5. Modernization and the Caste System • The Indian government is passing laws trying to eliminate the caste system • The laws do not affect the attitudes and traditions of the people however, so the caste system is still in effect • The Indians that are higher in the caste system can afford to have their kids educated, allowing them to hold the higher paying jobs

6. Changes in the Caste Sytem • People form different castes are starting to mix. • The untouchables are now occasionally aloud to get water from the village well and pray at the village temple, and their children are allowed to attend public schools • With urbanization, more people are living in cities, and it is less likely to know information about your neighbors in cities so lower caste Indians can get jobs easier

7. Improving Education • After India’s independence, India’s population had a literacy rate of about 10% and less than half the children attended school • India’s government realized that education was an issue so they worked hard to improve education • Now, 80% of elementary kids get some schooling and 52% of India is literate • School is now required until kids are 14 years of age • Students that are in higher castes are more likely to go to college, however, there are a lot of people who have a college education, but no job which is causing a problem for the Indian government

8. Family Life • Marriage customs are changing in India, for example, people are marrying at a later age than they used to • Most marriages are still arranged, though the bride and groom will sometimes meet before the wedding, sometimes refusing the parents’ proposal • More and more city-dwellers are living in nuclear families and the educated young couples are setting up their own houses instead of living with the husband’s family

9. The Role of Women • Even though women are subordinate to men, the have a few legal rights • They have the right to vote, own property and to get a divorce and widows can re-marry • In most villages, women stick to tradition that expect them to be modest and remain silent • However a few, like Saroj, have become village leaders

10. Saroj • She married at nine • Had 14 children • “My first children did not live long,” she recalled. “ Later, seven more were born. And they are still alive. So again I became happy.” • She had to secretly help her husband build their new brick home because Brahman women were only aloud to work inside the house • When her husband died, she had to educate her two youngest children

11. Traditional veiws • Being a Brahman, Saroj had to accept Hindu beliefs about her family’s superiority • She also held traditional views on women

12. Modern Actions • Regardless of her views, Saroj’s actions echoed modern goals • She was determined to ensure that her four daughters completed school • The government set up programs to educate women, and at that time, Saroj was chosen to head that group in her village • Neighbors called her “village Indira” which was supposed to suggest that she had no honor or modesty

13. Fin • Thank you for watching our Power Point. • We hope you learned a lot.