NCERT Solutions · Class 7 SST · Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 2 · Chapter 5
Chapter 5: India, a Home to Many (Culture)
Answers to all "Questions and activities" of Part 2, Chapter 5, India, a Home to Many (NCERT Class 7 Social Science, Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 2, 2026-27): communities who made India their home (Jews, Syrian Christians, Parsis, Armenians, Tibetans and others), their routes, the values of Indian culture, and their contributions. All 4 questions are answered, with the key answer highlighted.
On an outline world map, trace the routes the communities mentioned in this chapter may have used to reach India. What types of physical geographies did they have to negotiate?
Solution
Community
From
Likely route
Geography crossed
Jews (Kochi, Bene Israel)
West Asia (Israel/Judea, later Iraq)
By sea across the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea to the Konkan and Malabar coasts
Seas and ocean (monsoon winds), coasts
Syrian Christians
West Asia (Syria, Mesopotamia)
By sea to the Malabar coast (Kerala)
Arabian Sea
Parsis (Zoroastrians)
Persia (Iran)
By sea from the Persian Gulf to Sanjan on the Gujarat coast
Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea
Armenians
Armenia (Caucasus)
Overland through Persia and Afghanistan, via mountain passes (e.g. the Khyber), to Agra; later by sea to Surat, Kolkata, Chennai
Mountains, deserts, plateaus, passes
Tibetans
Tibet
Across the Himalayan passes into Ladakh, Himachal (Dharamshala), Sikkim
High mountains, snow, glaciers
Draw arrows on the map from each homeland to the place in India where they settled.
Jews, Syrian Christians and Parsis came by sea across the Arabian Sea to India's west coast; Armenians came overland across Persia and mountain passes; Tibetans crossed the Himalayas. They faced seas, deserts, high mountains and passes.
What are the key values intrinsic to Indian culture that enable it to welcome people of different backgrounds?
Solution
Atithi Devo Bhava: "the guest is like God"; hospitality towards strangers.
Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam: "the whole world is one family".
Respect for diversity and the belief that truth can be reached in many ways (ekam sat viprā bahudhā vadanti).
Tolerance of different faiths, customs, languages and foods, and freedom to practise one's own religion.
Compassion and protection for those fleeing persecution (as with the Jews, Parsis and Tibetans).
Pluralism: many communities living side by side and sharing festivals, while keeping their own identity.
Hospitality (Atithi Devo Bhava), the idea of the world as one family (Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam), respect for many paths to truth, religious tolerance, compassion for refugees and pluralism.
Homi Bhabha, Sam Manekshaw, Ratan Tata, Fali Nariman, Nani Palkhivala and Cornelia Sorabji are a few Parsis who excelled in their fields. Find out more about people from other communities that made India their home and their contributions.
Solution
Person
Community
Contribution
Lt Gen J.F.R. Jacob
Jewish (Baghdadi)
Key army commander in the 1971 war
Nissim Ezekiel
Jewish (Bene Israel)
Pioneering Indian poet in English
Vice Admiral Benjamin Samson
Jewish (Bene Israel)
Senior Indian Navy officer
Verghese Kurien
Syrian Christian (Kerala)
Father of the White Revolution (Amul, Operation Flood)
E. Sreedharan
Kerala (Malayali)
"Metro Man", built the Delhi Metro and Konkan Railway
The Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)
Tibetan
Spiritual leader living in Dharamshala; promotes peace and compassion
Armenian community of Kolkata
Armenian
Built the Armenian College and churches; traders and philanthropists
(Also: Homi Bhabha — father of India's nuclear programme; Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw; Ratan Tata — industrialist and philanthropist; Cornelia Sorabji — India's first woman lawyer.)
E.g. Verghese Kurien (Syrian Christian, White Revolution), Lt Gen J.F.R. Jacob and poet Nissim Ezekiel (Jewish), the Dalai Lama (Tibetan), and the Armenians of Kolkata who founded schools and churches.
Take up a class project: each group studies a little more about the communities listed and shares what it has gathered through drama, posters, song or painting.
Solution
Suggested group topics and presentations:
Group 1 – Jews of Kochi and the Bene Israel: a poster on the Paradesi Synagogue (Kochi), the copper plates granted by the local Raja, and Jewish festivals; a short drama of their arrival.
Group 2 – Parsis: act out the legend of the Parsis at Sanjan (the "milk and sugar" story: like sugar in milk, they would sweeten India without changing it); a poster on Navroz and fire temples.
Group 3 – Syrian Christians: a painting of a Kerala church and the tradition of St Thomas; their festivals and food.
Group 4 – Armenians: a poster on Armenian churches in Agra, Kolkata and Chennai.
Group 5 – Tibetans: a song or painting about Dharamshala, monasteries and Losar (Tibetan New Year).
End with a discussion on how each community kept its identity while becoming part of India.
Divide groups among the Jews, Parsis, Syrian Christians, Armenians and Tibetans and present their arrival, places, festivals and contributions through posters, drama, songs or paintings.
