Overview
Every one of us belongs to a family, and every family belongs to larger groups of people around it. This chapter looks at both. It begins with the family, the most basic and ancient unit of society, and compares joint families, where several generations live together, with nuclear families of a couple and their children. You will discover how rich Indian languages are in words for relatives, and why most of them have no word for 'cousin'. You will learn how families run on love, care, cooperation and interdependence, how each member has duties, and how the family acts as a school for values such as ahimsa, dana, seva and tyaga. Two stories, of Shalini in Kerala and Tenzing in Meghalaya, show these values in daily life. The chapter then widens to the community: groups of families who share festivals, work and natural resources, and who also share duties. Real examples include the Bhil halma tradition of saving water around Jhabua, help during the Chennai floods and Kamal Parmar's free classes for poor children in Ahmedabad. Finally you will see that community is a flexible idea, from RWAs in cities to school clubs, and that all communities depend on one another.
हिंदी में पढ़ें
एक्सप्लोरिंग सोसाइटी: इंडिया एंड बियॉन्ड का यह अध्याय परिवार को समाज की मूल इकाई के रूप में, घर में सीखे गए मूल्यों को, और गाँवों व शहरों के उन समुदायों को देखता है जो एक-दूसरे का साथ देते और एक-दूसरे पर निर्भर रहते हैं।
Learning Objectives
- Explain why the family is the basic unit of society
- Compare joint and nuclear families, with their strengths
- Explain what India's many kinship terms show about family bonds
- Describe roles, responsibilities and values such as ahimsa, dana, seva and tyaga in the family
- Identify family values in the stories of Shalini and Tenzing
- Define a community and explain how communities share resources and duties
- Describe examples of community action such as halma and help during disasters
- Explain interdependence and the different meanings of community
Topics in this chapter
6 topics · tap a topic title to jump straight to it.
The family: the oldest unit of society
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
When you come home tired from school, someone asks whether you have eaten. When you are ill, someone sits beside you. When there is good news, the first people you want to tell are at home. That circle of people is your family.
The basic unit. Almost all of us live in a family. The family is the most basic and the most ancient unit of any society. Before villages, towns or countries existed, people lived in families. A society is built up from many families joined together.
Types of families in India today. Families come in different sizes and shapes. Two common types are:
| Type | Who lives together | Example |
| Joint family | Several generations: grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, brothers, sisters and cousins | Grandparents, two sons, their wives and children in one home |
| Nuclear family | A couple and their children, or sometimes one parent and children | Parents and two children in a city flat |
Between these two there are many in-between arrangements, for example a couple living with one grandparent.
Why do families differ? Many couples today choose a nuclear family. Jobs may take people to cities far from their parents, homes in cities may be small, and some people prefer more privacy. Other families stay joint because they share a farm or a business, want to care for elders, or simply enjoy living together.
Each type has strengths. A joint family has many hands to share work, elders to guide children, and support in hard times, but it can be crowded and decisions may take longer. A nuclear family may be more flexible and private, but it has fewer people to help when someone is ill or busy.
Survey your neighbourhood. Count the households near your home and note whether each is joint or nuclear. Which type is more common? Compare with your classmates and discuss why. You may find that the answer differs between a village and a city.
- Joint family = several generations together; Nuclear family = a couple (or one parent) and children
3Worked example
- Grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins under one roof: a joint family.
- A couple and their child living in a flat: a nuclear family.
- A single parent with two children: also a nuclear family.
4Your turn
Which of these is a nuclear family?
5Remember this
Many words for relatives
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
In English you call your father's brother 'uncle', your mother's brother 'uncle', your father's sister's husband 'uncle' and your mother's sister's husband 'uncle' too. Four quite different people, one word. Try that in Hindi and you need chacha or tau, mama, phupha and mausa.
English has few kinship words. Kinship words are the names we use for relatives. English has only a handful: uncle, aunt, cousin, grandfather, grandmother and so on. Many of them do not tell you whether the person is on your mother's or your father's side, or whether they are older or younger.
Indian languages have many more. Hindi, for example, has bua (father's sister), tau (father's elder brother), tai (his wife), chacha (father's younger brother), mausi (mother's sister), nana and nani (mother's father and mother), and many more. Some languages, such as Tamil, even have separate words for an elder brother and a younger brother, and for an elder sister and a younger sister.
| Hindi word | Meaning in English |
| Chacha | father's younger brother |
| Tau | father's elder brother |
| Bua | father's sister |
| Mama | mother's brother |
| Mausi | mother's sister |
| Nana / Nani | mother's father / mother's mother |
| Dada / Dadi | father's father / father's mother |
Where is the word for 'cousin'? Here is a surprise. Most Indian languages have no separate word for cousin. Cousins are simply called brothers and sisters, sometimes with a small extra word. Your mother's brother's daughter is your 'behen'. This shows how close the bonds among all the children in a family are meant to be.
One word, many English words. Very often a single word in an Indian language needs a whole phrase in English. 'Mausi' needs 'mother's sister'; 'tau' needs 'father's elder brother'.
Activity. Make a list of your relatives, including a few distant ones. Write the word for each in your mother tongue and then its exact meaning in English. Compare lists with friends who speak other languages: you will find different words, but the same close web of relationships.
- One Indian kinship word = often several English words
3Worked example
- Chacha means father's younger brother.
- Tamil has separate words for elder and younger brother.
- A cousin is usually called brother or sister in Indian languages.
4Your turn
In Hindi, who is your 'mausi'?
5Remember this
Roles, responsibilities and values in the family
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Who buys the vegetables in your home? Who cooks? Who washes the dishes, sweeps the floor, or helps you with homework? If you write down the answers, you will find that many people share the work, and that each person's job helps everyone else.
What holds a family together. Relationships in a family rest on love, care, cooperation and interdependence. Cooperation means working together. Interdependence means that members depend on one another: the parent who earns, the grandparent who cooks or tells stories, the child who sets the table, all rely on each other.
Roles and responsibilities. Every member has a role and duties towards the others.
- Parents raise their children to become happy people and responsible members of society.
- Children, as they grow, take on more tasks at home and help parents, brothers and sisters.
- Grandparents often pass on family traditions, stories and practices followed for generations.
Through daily practice, children learn to take part in running the household.
Dharma: doing one's duty. Following one's dharma, or doing one's duty, has long been an important principle of Indian culture. In a family, this means each person does their part without being forced to.
The family as a school. The family is the first 'school' where children learn values. Four of them are:
| Value | Meaning | A home example |
| Ahimsa | not hurting others | settling a quarrel without hitting or insulting |
| Dana | giving | sharing your sweets with a younger sibling |
| Seva | service | looking after a sick grandparent |
| Tyaga | sacrifice, giving something up | parents saving for your education instead of buying for themselves |
Family members often put the family's needs before their own wishes. That willingness is what makes a family strong.
Fair sharing. When you list who does which chore, notice whether the work is shared fairly or whether one person does most of it. Discussing this openly is part of growing up as a responsible family member.
- Family bonds = love + care + cooperation + interdependence
3Worked example
- A child laying the table before dinner.
- A grandmother teaching a family recipe.
- Parents saving money for a child's school fees.
4Your turn
What does 'cooperation' mean?
5Remember this
Families in action: Shalini and Tenzing
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Values are easiest to understand when we see them in real life. The textbook tells two short stories from opposite corners of India. Here they are in brief.
Shalini's family in Kerala. Shalini lives in a Kerala town with her father, who runs a small business, her mother, a teacher, and her younger brother. Her grandmother (Acchamma, father's mother), her uncle (Chittappa, father's brother), her aunt (Chitti) and their daughter Chinni live with them. Before Onam, the uncle lost his job and could not buy new clothes. So when Shalini's parents went shopping, they bought new clothes for the uncle's family too. Shalini had hoped for a silk dress but got a simpler cotton one. Her grandmother explained that this is how families support each other and share what they have. Shalini did not mind; she was happy that everyone had something new.
Tenzing's family in Meghalaya. Tenzing lives in the hills of Meghalaya. His father runs a grocery store. When his mother became busy with a local handicraft cooperative, making traditional fabrics and wood carvings, his father took on more housework: cleaning, tending the vegetable garden and helping the grandmother cook. The grandmother tells stories full of humour and wisdom. The grandfather helps Tenzing with homework, takes him to the bus stop, and helps neighbours: he reports power cuts at the office and once collected money from the neighbourhood to repair a storm-damaged house. Tenzing's parents discuss special expenses together, and his mother believes in saving for unexpected needs.
| Value | In Shalini's story | In Tenzing's story |
| Sharing | new clothes bought for the uncle's family | grandfather collects money for a neighbour |
| Sharing work | everyone prepares for Onam | father does chores when mother works |
| Respect for elders | grandmother guides the family | grandparents teach and help |
| Planning together | parents decide to help the uncle | parents discuss expenses and save money |
What we learn. Both are joint families. In both, people adjust their own wishes for others, share chores without fuss and make decisions together. Notice too that Tenzing's father happily does housework: chores are not 'women's work' but everyone's work.
3Worked example
- Shalini accepts a cotton dress so that her cousin also gets new clothes.
- Tenzing's father cooks and cleans while his mother works at the cooperative.
- Tenzing's parents save money for emergencies.
4Your turn
Why does Tenzing's father do more housework?
5Remember this
What is a community? Village communities and shared resources
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
When a wedding takes place in a village, neighbours lend utensils, cook together and welcome the guests. When the monsoon arrives, families help one another plough and sow. No one family could manage everything alone.
Meaning of community. Families are linked not only within themselves but with other families and the people around them. Such a group of connected people may be called a community. Members come together to celebrate festivals, organise feasts and weddings and, in many villages, to help each other with farm work such as preparing land, sowing and harvesting.
Sharing nature's wealth. Over time, communities agreed on ways to use resources that belong to everyone: water, grazing land and forest produce. This is true of many tribal communities and, to some extent, of village communities in rural India today. These 'rules' were rarely written down, but everyone knew them. They gave every family secure access to resources. In return each family and person had duties to perform; otherwise the community could not run smoothly.
Halma: the Bhil tradition. The area around Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh suffered water shortages year after year. The Bhil community follows a tradition called halma, in which people come together to help any person or family in a crisis. Through halma they planted thousands of trees in hundreds of villages, dug trenches to save rainwater and built other water-harvesting structures. Nobody was paid; they saw it as a duty to their community and to Mother Earth. In 2019, Mahesh Sharma of the Shivganga movement, who worked with the Bhil communities, received the Padma Shri.
Help in a disaster. During the Chennai floods of 2015, roads turned into rivers, shops shut and services stopped. Many groups, especially spiritual and religious organisations, cooked large amounts of food and gave it to people in need.
- Both examples show people working for the community without expecting anything in return.
- Both show that a community is strongest when everyone accepts duties as well as benefits.
Can you think of a similar example from your own area?
- Community = connected families and people who share both resources and duties
3Worked example
- Villagers helping one another at sowing and harvest time.
- The Bhil halma tradition of planting trees and saving rainwater around Jhabua.
- Free meals cooked by groups during the 2015 Chennai floods.
4Your turn
What is halma?
5Remember this
Communities in cities and the meaning of interdependence
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Cities can feel crowded and busy, and neighbours may not know each other well. Yet community life exists in cities too; it simply works a little differently from a village.
Kamal Parmar's evening classes. More than twenty years ago, in a part of Ahmedabad, Kamal Parmar, who owned a small workshop, noticed some poor children on the street. Some had dropped out of school; some had never been. He began teaching them every evening from 5:30 to 9:30, after his own work, and gave them a free dinner. Soon about 150 children were attending regularly and eagerly. Teachers from a nearby school joined in for a while; one was moved that the children paid full attention despite having no proper benches, no quiet room and traffic noise all around. Older students from regular schools volunteered too, and said they ended up learning more than they taught.
- This story shows care for others, generosity of time and a belief that every child deserves education.
- It also raises a question: what should society do so that all children can go to school?
New kinds of community. In the last 30 or 40 years, Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) have formed in many cities. Residents of a colony or housing society make their own rules, for example on waste management, keeping common areas clean or looking after pets, and everyone who lives there can take part in making them.
Everyone depends on everyone. Communities are interdependent. An RWA depends on shopkeepers and traders for supplies and on municipal workers to take away waste. Think of all the people outside your family whose work supports you: the milk seller, the bus driver, the sweeper, the doctor, the teacher. In a complex society, no group can manage alone.
Community is a flexible idea. The word is used in many ways:
- A jati, or a part of one, is often called a community.
- People of the same religion, region, work or interest, for example a city's Parsi community, the scientific community of a state or a village's farming community.
- At school: your class, a sports team, the NSS, the NCC, a science or drama club.
- Interdependence: every community relies on the work of other people and communities
3Worked example
- Kamal Parmar's free evening classes for 150 children in Ahmedabad.
- An RWA making rules about waste segregation.
- A school drama club as a community of shared interest.
4Your turn
Which is an example of a community?
5Remember this
Key Concepts
- Family
- The basic and most ancient unit of society, bound by love, care, cooperation and interdependence.
- Joint family
- A family in which several generations, such as grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins, live together.
- Nuclear family
- A family of a couple and their children, or one parent and children.
- Kinship terms
- Words for relatives, such as chacha, mausi or nani.
- Cooperation
- Working together.
- Interdependence
- Depending on one another for needs and support.
- Dharma
- Doing one's duty; an important principle of Indian culture.
- Ahimsa
- Not hurting others.
- Dana
- Giving.
- Seva
- Selfless service.
- Tyaga
- Sacrifice; giving up something for others.
- Community
- A group of connected families and people who come together and support one another.
- Shared resources
- Natural wealth such as water, grazing land and forest produce used by a whole community.
- Halma
- A Bhil tradition of coming together, without pay, to help anyone in a crisis.
- Residents' Welfare Association (RWA)
- An urban community group that makes rules for a colony or housing society.
- Jati
- A traditional social group in India, often also called a community.
End-of-Chapter Trial Paper & Test Questions
Topic-wise questions to test your understanding of every concept in this chapter.
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Why is the family called the basic unit of society? / परिवार को समाज की मूल इकाई क्यों कहा जाता है?
Show answer
Because almost everyone lives in a family, it is the oldest form of human group, and society is built up from many families joined together. / क्योंकि लगभग हर व्यक्ति परिवार में रहता है, यह मानव समूह का सबसे पुराना रूप है, और समाज अनेक परिवारों के जुड़ने से बनता है।
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What is the difference between a joint family and a nuclear family? / संयुक्त परिवार और एकल परिवार में क्या अंतर है?
Show answer
A joint family has several generations living together, such as grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins, while a nuclear family has only a couple and their children, or one parent and children. / संयुक्त परिवार में कई पीढ़ियाँ साथ रहती हैं जैसे दादा-दादी, माता-पिता, चाचा-चाची और चचेरे भाई-बहन, जबकि एकल परिवार में केवल पति-पत्नी और उनके बच्चे, या एक अभिभावक और बच्चे रहते हैं।
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Why do most Indian languages have no word for 'cousin'? / अधिकांश भारतीय भाषाओं में 'कज़िन' के लिए शब्द क्यों नहीं है?
Show answer
Because cousins are treated simply as brothers and sisters, which shows the deep bonds among all the children of a family. / क्योंकि चचेरे-ममेरे भाई-बहनों को भी भाई और बहन ही माना जाता है, जो परिवार के सभी बच्चों के बीच गहरे संबंध को दिखाता है।
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Name four values children learn in the family. / चार मूल्य बताइए जो बच्चे परिवार में सीखते हैं।
Show answer
Children learn ahimsa or not hurting others, dana or giving, seva or service, and tyaga or sacrifice for the sake of others. / बच्चे अहिंसा यानी दूसरों को चोट न पहुँचाना, दान यानी देना, सेवा, और त्याग यानी दूसरों के लिए कुछ छोड़ देना सीखते हैं।
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What lesson does Shalini's story teach? / शालिनी की कहानी क्या सीख देती है?
Show answer
It teaches that family members support each other and share what they have; Shalini accepted a simpler dress so that her uncle's family could also get new clothes for Onam. / यह सिखाती है कि परिवार के सदस्य एक-दूसरे का साथ देते हैं और जो है उसे बाँटते हैं; शालिनी ने सादी पोशाक स्वीकार की ताकि चाचा के परिवार को भी ओणम पर नए कपड़े मिल सकें।
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What roles do the grandparents play in Tenzing's family? / तेनज़िंग के परिवार में दादा-दादी की क्या भूमिका है?
Show answer
The grandmother cooks and tells wise and funny stories, while the grandfather helps with homework, takes Tenzing to the bus stop and helps neighbours, for example by reporting power cuts and collecting money for repairs. / दादी खाना बनाती हैं और समझदारी भरी, मज़ेदार कहानियाँ सुनाती हैं, जबकि दादा गृहकार्य में मदद करते हैं, तेनज़िंग को बस स्टॉप ले जाते हैं और पड़ोसियों की सहायता करते हैं, जैसे बिजली कटने की शिकायत करना और मरम्मत के लिए पैसे जुटाना।
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What is a community? / समुदाय क्या है?
Show answer
A community is a group of connected families and people who come together for festivals, events and work and who support one another while sharing resources and duties. / समुदाय आपस में जुड़े परिवारों और लोगों का समूह है जो त्योहारों, आयोजनों और काम के लिए एक साथ आते हैं और संसाधनों व कर्तव्यों को बाँटते हुए एक-दूसरे का साथ देते हैं।
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How did the Bhil community fight the water crisis around Jhabua? / भील समुदाय ने झाबुआ के आसपास जल संकट से कैसे निपटा?
Show answer
Following their halma tradition, the Bhils planted thousands of trees in hundreds of villages and dug trenches and other structures to save rainwater, without any payment. / अपनी हलमा परंपरा के अनुसार भीलों ने सैकड़ों गाँवों में हज़ारों पेड़ लगाए और वर्षा जल बचाने के लिए खाइयाँ व अन्य ढाँचे बनाए, वह भी बिना किसी भुगतान के।
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What values does Kamal Parmar's initiative show? / कमल परमार की पहल कौन-से मूल्य दिखाती है?
Show answer
It shows care for others, generosity and selfless service, because he taught poor children every evening and fed them for free after his own work. / यह दूसरों की परवाह, उदारता और निःस्वार्थ सेवा दिखाती है, क्योंकि वे अपने काम के बाद हर शाम गरीब बच्चों को मुफ़्त पढ़ाते और खाना खिलाते थे।
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Why are communities said to be interdependent? / समुदायों को परस्पर निर्भर क्यों कहा जाता है?
Show answer
Because no community can manage alone; for example, a Residents' Welfare Association depends on traders for supplies and on municipal workers to remove waste. / क्योंकि कोई भी समुदाय अकेले काम नहीं चला सकता; जैसे, रेज़िडेंट्स वेलफ़ेयर एसोसिएशन सामान के लिए व्यापारियों पर और कचरा हटाने के लिए नगर निगम कर्मचारियों पर निर्भर रहती है।
Related Laws & Principles
Explore allFoundational laws & principles behind this chapter. Each one opens a full page — what it says, why it matters, five practice questions and the mistakes to avoid.