NCERT Textbook: Family and Community | Indian Polity for UPSC CSE PDF Download

 Page 1


137
9 ? Family and Community
Family and  
Community
CHAPTER
9
 
1. Why is the family unit 
important?
2. What is a community and what 
is its role?
The Big 
Questions
Family
Almost all of us live in a family. The family is the fundamental 
and most ancient unit of any society. In Indian society today, 
there are several types of families — from joint families 
to nuclear families. A joint family has several generations 
living together — grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, 
Love and dharma are the flower and fruit of family life.
— Tiruvalluvar
Examples of joint families
9_100724_v4.indd   137 9_100724_v4.indd   137 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM
Page 2


137
9 ? Family and Community
Family and  
Community
CHAPTER
9
 
1. Why is the family unit 
important?
2. What is a community and what 
is its role?
The Big 
Questions
Family
Almost all of us live in a family. The family is the fundamental 
and most ancient unit of any society. In Indian society today, 
there are several types of families — from joint families 
to nuclear families. A joint family has several generations 
living together — grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, 
Love and dharma are the flower and fruit of family life.
— Tiruvalluvar
Examples of joint families
9_100724_v4.indd   137 9_100724_v4.indd   137 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM
138
Exploring Society: India and Beyond  
Governance and Democracy
brothers, sisters and cousins. A nuclear family, on the 
other hand, is limited to a couple and their children, and 
sometimes one parent and children.
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ What types of families do you see in your neighbourhood? 
List the type with the number of households for each type. 
 Æ What types are more frequent? Why do you think this is so?
 Æ As a class activity, compare with your classmates’ findings 
and discuss.
In English, there are not many terms to describe family 
relationships; we saw some of them in the first paragraph. 
Indian languages have many more terms. For example, 
in Hindi there is bua, tau, tai, chacha, mausi, nana, nani, 
and many more. Some languages, such as Tamil, also have 
different terms for elder brother / sister or younger brother 
/ sister. But what is the word for ‘cousin’ in an Indian 
language? In most Indian languages, you will find that there 
is no such word! That is because cousins are only ‘brothers’ 
and ‘sisters’. This emphasises the deep bonds among all the 
children in the family.
Examples of nuclear families
9_100724_v4.indd   138 9_100724_v4.indd   138 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
Page 3


137
9 ? Family and Community
Family and  
Community
CHAPTER
9
 
1. Why is the family unit 
important?
2. What is a community and what 
is its role?
The Big 
Questions
Family
Almost all of us live in a family. The family is the fundamental 
and most ancient unit of any society. In Indian society today, 
there are several types of families — from joint families 
to nuclear families. A joint family has several generations 
living together — grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, 
Love and dharma are the flower and fruit of family life.
— Tiruvalluvar
Examples of joint families
9_100724_v4.indd   137 9_100724_v4.indd   137 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM
138
Exploring Society: India and Beyond  
Governance and Democracy
brothers, sisters and cousins. A nuclear family, on the 
other hand, is limited to a couple and their children, and 
sometimes one parent and children.
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ What types of families do you see in your neighbourhood? 
List the type with the number of households for each type. 
 Æ What types are more frequent? Why do you think this is so?
 Æ As a class activity, compare with your classmates’ findings 
and discuss.
In English, there are not many terms to describe family 
relationships; we saw some of them in the first paragraph. 
Indian languages have many more terms. For example, 
in Hindi there is bua, tau, tai, chacha, mausi, nana, nani, 
and many more. Some languages, such as Tamil, also have 
different terms for elder brother / sister or younger brother 
/ sister. But what is the word for ‘cousin’ in an Indian 
language? In most Indian languages, you will find that there 
is no such word! That is because cousins are only ‘brothers’ 
and ‘sisters’. This emphasises the deep bonds among all the 
children in the family.
Examples of nuclear families
9_100724_v4.indd   138 9_100724_v4.indd   138 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
139
9 ? Family and Community
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ Make a list of all the members of your family you can think 
of, including a few distant relatives. List their terms in your 
mother tongue or regional language and try to find the 
equivalent in English. Two examples are below for Hindi:
Name
Term in 
Hindi
Description / term in English
Rani
? ??
mother's brother’s daughter 
(cousin) (among other possible 
meanings)
Sameer
????
father's younger brother (uncle)
 Æ Notice how, quite often, a single word in your mother 
tongue or regional language requires several words in 
English to give a precise definition.
Roles and Responsibilities 
Relationships among family members are based on love, 
care, cooperation and interdependence. ‘Cooperation’ 
means ‘working together’. Each member of the family 
has a role and responsibility towards other members. For 
instance, parents are responsible for raising their children 
to become happy individuals and responsible members of 
the society. But also, as children grow up, they take on more 
responsibilities in the home to help other family members 
— whether parents or a sister or a brother, etc. Through 
daily practice, children learn to participate in the life of the 
household. In many homes, children also learn some of the 
traditions and practices their family has been following for 
generations.
9_100724_v4.indd   139 9_100724_v4.indd   139 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
Page 4


137
9 ? Family and Community
Family and  
Community
CHAPTER
9
 
1. Why is the family unit 
important?
2. What is a community and what 
is its role?
The Big 
Questions
Family
Almost all of us live in a family. The family is the fundamental 
and most ancient unit of any society. In Indian society today, 
there are several types of families — from joint families 
to nuclear families. A joint family has several generations 
living together — grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, 
Love and dharma are the flower and fruit of family life.
— Tiruvalluvar
Examples of joint families
9_100724_v4.indd   137 9_100724_v4.indd   137 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM
138
Exploring Society: India and Beyond  
Governance and Democracy
brothers, sisters and cousins. A nuclear family, on the 
other hand, is limited to a couple and their children, and 
sometimes one parent and children.
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ What types of families do you see in your neighbourhood? 
List the type with the number of households for each type. 
 Æ What types are more frequent? Why do you think this is so?
 Æ As a class activity, compare with your classmates’ findings 
and discuss.
In English, there are not many terms to describe family 
relationships; we saw some of them in the first paragraph. 
Indian languages have many more terms. For example, 
in Hindi there is bua, tau, tai, chacha, mausi, nana, nani, 
and many more. Some languages, such as Tamil, also have 
different terms for elder brother / sister or younger brother 
/ sister. But what is the word for ‘cousin’ in an Indian 
language? In most Indian languages, you will find that there 
is no such word! That is because cousins are only ‘brothers’ 
and ‘sisters’. This emphasises the deep bonds among all the 
children in the family.
Examples of nuclear families
9_100724_v4.indd   138 9_100724_v4.indd   138 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
139
9 ? Family and Community
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ Make a list of all the members of your family you can think 
of, including a few distant relatives. List their terms in your 
mother tongue or regional language and try to find the 
equivalent in English. Two examples are below for Hindi:
Name
Term in 
Hindi
Description / term in English
Rani
? ??
mother's brother’s daughter 
(cousin) (among other possible 
meanings)
Sameer
????
father's younger brother (uncle)
 Æ Notice how, quite often, a single word in your mother 
tongue or regional language requires several words in 
English to give a precise definition.
Roles and Responsibilities 
Relationships among family members are based on love, 
care, cooperation and interdependence. ‘Cooperation’ 
means ‘working together’. Each member of the family 
has a role and responsibility towards other members. For 
instance, parents are responsible for raising their children 
to become happy individuals and responsible members of 
the society. But also, as children grow up, they take on more 
responsibilities in the home to help other family members 
— whether parents or a sister or a brother, etc. Through 
daily practice, children learn to participate in the life of the 
household. In many homes, children also learn some of the 
traditions and practices their family has been following for 
generations.
9_100724_v4.indd   139 9_100724_v4.indd   139 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
140
Exploring Society: India and Beyond  
Governance and Democracy
LET’S EXPLORE
Answer these questions and compare your answers with a  
few classmates:
 Æ Who in your family decides what is to be bought from  
the market?
 Æ Who cooks food in your home?
 Æ Who is the oldest person in your family?
 Æ Who cleans the floor in your home? 
 Æ Who washes utensils in your house?
 Æ Who helps you to do your homework?
Following our dharma, or doing our duty, has been an 
important principle of Indian culture. The family is also 
a ‘school’, where children learn important values such as 
ahimsa, dana (giving), seva (service) and tyaga (sacrifice) . 
Individuals in the family often give up their own needs to 
take care of the family’s needs. 
Let us see one such story.
Shalini lives with her family in a town in Kerala. Her father runs 
a small business and her mother is a teacher in a nearby school. 
Shalini has a younger brother. Her grandmother, Acchamma 
9_100724_v4.indd   140 9_100724_v4.indd   140 11-Jul-24   5:04:19 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:19 PM
Page 5


137
9 ? Family and Community
Family and  
Community
CHAPTER
9
 
1. Why is the family unit 
important?
2. What is a community and what 
is its role?
The Big 
Questions
Family
Almost all of us live in a family. The family is the fundamental 
and most ancient unit of any society. In Indian society today, 
there are several types of families — from joint families 
to nuclear families. A joint family has several generations 
living together — grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, 
Love and dharma are the flower and fruit of family life.
— Tiruvalluvar
Examples of joint families
9_100724_v4.indd   137 9_100724_v4.indd   137 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:17 PM
138
Exploring Society: India and Beyond  
Governance and Democracy
brothers, sisters and cousins. A nuclear family, on the 
other hand, is limited to a couple and their children, and 
sometimes one parent and children.
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ What types of families do you see in your neighbourhood? 
List the type with the number of households for each type. 
 Æ What types are more frequent? Why do you think this is so?
 Æ As a class activity, compare with your classmates’ findings 
and discuss.
In English, there are not many terms to describe family 
relationships; we saw some of them in the first paragraph. 
Indian languages have many more terms. For example, 
in Hindi there is bua, tau, tai, chacha, mausi, nana, nani, 
and many more. Some languages, such as Tamil, also have 
different terms for elder brother / sister or younger brother 
/ sister. But what is the word for ‘cousin’ in an Indian 
language? In most Indian languages, you will find that there 
is no such word! That is because cousins are only ‘brothers’ 
and ‘sisters’. This emphasises the deep bonds among all the 
children in the family.
Examples of nuclear families
9_100724_v4.indd   138 9_100724_v4.indd   138 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
139
9 ? Family and Community
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ Make a list of all the members of your family you can think 
of, including a few distant relatives. List their terms in your 
mother tongue or regional language and try to find the 
equivalent in English. Two examples are below for Hindi:
Name
Term in 
Hindi
Description / term in English
Rani
? ??
mother's brother’s daughter 
(cousin) (among other possible 
meanings)
Sameer
????
father's younger brother (uncle)
 Æ Notice how, quite often, a single word in your mother 
tongue or regional language requires several words in 
English to give a precise definition.
Roles and Responsibilities 
Relationships among family members are based on love, 
care, cooperation and interdependence. ‘Cooperation’ 
means ‘working together’. Each member of the family 
has a role and responsibility towards other members. For 
instance, parents are responsible for raising their children 
to become happy individuals and responsible members of 
the society. But also, as children grow up, they take on more 
responsibilities in the home to help other family members 
— whether parents or a sister or a brother, etc. Through 
daily practice, children learn to participate in the life of the 
household. In many homes, children also learn some of the 
traditions and practices their family has been following for 
generations.
9_100724_v4.indd   139 9_100724_v4.indd   139 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:18 PM
140
Exploring Society: India and Beyond  
Governance and Democracy
LET’S EXPLORE
Answer these questions and compare your answers with a  
few classmates:
 Æ Who in your family decides what is to be bought from  
the market?
 Æ Who cooks food in your home?
 Æ Who is the oldest person in your family?
 Æ Who cleans the floor in your home? 
 Æ Who washes utensils in your house?
 Æ Who helps you to do your homework?
Following our dharma, or doing our duty, has been an 
important principle of Indian culture. The family is also 
a ‘school’, where children learn important values such as 
ahimsa, dana (giving), seva (service) and tyaga (sacrifice) . 
Individuals in the family often give up their own needs to 
take care of the family’s needs. 
Let us see one such story.
Shalini lives with her family in a town in Kerala. Her father runs 
a small business and her mother is a teacher in a nearby school. 
Shalini has a younger brother. Her grandmother, Acchamma 
9_100724_v4.indd   140 9_100724_v4.indd   140 11-Jul-24   5:04:19 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:19 PM
141
9 ? Family and Community
(father’s mother), Chittappa (father’s brother or paternal uncle) 
and her Chitti (aunt or uncle’s wife) live with them. They have a 
daughter, Shalini’s cousin, who she calls Chinni. Shalini’s uncle 
has just lost his job and her aunt is a homemaker. The whole 
family was preparing for the festival of Onam. Acchamma told 
Shalini’s father that his brother was having financial difficulties, 
so they were not able to buy new 
clothes for the festival. When Shalini’s 
parents took her and her brother 
shopping, they bought new clothes 
not only for themselves, but also for 
Chittappa, Chitti and Chinni. As a 
result, Shalini did not get the silk dress 
she had expected; she had to settle 
for a simple cotton one. Acchamma 
explained to Shalini that this is how 
families support each other and share 
what they have. Shalini did not mind 
her simpler dress. She was happy that 
everyone could get some new clothes.
LET’S EXPLORE
 Æ Draw a simple tree of this family of seven members.
 Æ Why do you think Shalini’s parents bought clothes  
for everyone?
 Æ What would you have done if you were in Shalini’s place?
That story was set in Kerala. Let us now travel northeast, to 
a village in Meghalaya.
My name is Tenzing. I love the mountains we live in, though 
life is sometimes hard. My father runs a small grocery 
store. After my mother became busy in a local handicraft 
cooperative, making our beautiful traditional fabrics,  
wood carvings and other items for sale to tourists, my father joined 
in cleaning the house, taking care of our small vegetable garden 
9_100724_v4.indd   141 9_100724_v4.indd   141 11-Jul-24   5:04:20 PM 11-Jul-24   5:04:20 PM