Chapter 9: Changing Life – 1 Class 9 • Maharashtra Board
⚖️ Constitution • 🏥 Health • 🏙️ Urbanisation • 🏡 Rural Development • 👨👩👧 Family • 🧪 Medical advances
📚 Overview
From 1961–2000 and beyond, India saw rapid social change: constitutional equality weakened caste barriers, citizens asserted freedom of expression, families shifted from joint to nuclear, and the State expanded welfare, public health, and rural development. Medical breakthroughs—from open-heart surgery to the Jaipur Foot—transformed lives. Urbanisation accelerated, while targeted schemes strengthened village infrastructure and services.
📝 Key spirit: The Constitution guarantees equality and fundamental freedoms, catalysing change across society.
⚖️ Constitution & Social Change
- Equality before law and no discrimination by religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth.
- Freedoms: speech & expression, peaceful assembly, association, movement, residence, and occupation.
- Cultural rights: citizens can preserve language, script, culture anywhere in India.
- Impact: shook caste-system foundations; family vocations became less binding; spaces (e.g., restaurants) opened to all.
- Right to dissent: citizens can criticise policies via newspapers, speeches, other media.
🚆 Do you know? In the British era trains had four classes. In 1978, Railway Minister Madhu Dandavate abolished the demeaning third class. Sinhagad Express and Gitanjali Express ran without class divisions.
👨👩👧 Families & Welfare State
Family Patterns
- India was known for joint families; globalisation boosted nuclear families.
Social Welfare (1964→)
- Ministry of Social Welfare (14 June 1964) at the Centre; similar state setups.
- Focus: nutrition & child development, social security, women’s welfare, development of SC/ST, minorities, differently abled.
📊 SC/ST measures: In 1971, ~22% population belonged to SC/ST; laws provided scholarships, reserved seats in legislatures, and reservations in services.
🏥 Public Health & Medical Advances
- Directive: Raise living standards, ensure nutrition, improve public health; Centre’s Health & Social Welfare Ministry supports States.
- Sixth Plan goal: Primary health & medical care for rural, tribal, poor populations.
- Recognition of Ayurveda, Unani, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy alongside Allopathy.
Major Breakthroughs
- 1962: First successful open-heart surgery (Dr N. Gopinath, CMC Vellore, TN).
- 1968→: Jaipur Foot (Dr Pramod Sethi & craftsman Ramchandra Sharma) – affordable prosthetics enabling walking, running, field work, even climbing; usable barefoot & in water.
- 1971: Kidney transplant at CMC Vellore by Dr Johny & Dr Mohan Rao (living donor).
- 1978: First Indian test-tube baby (Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyaya, Kolkata) – “Durga”.
- Immunisation: Expanded programme vs. polio, measles, tetanus, TB, diphtheria, whooping cough; Pulse Polio began in 1995.
Why it matters
- Reduced infant/child mortality and disease burden.
- Accessible advanced surgeries in India; medical tourism from underdeveloped countries.
- Affordable assistive tech restored mobility & dignity to lakhs of differently abled citizens.
🏙️ Urbanisation: Causes & Responses
- What: Population concentration in cities/urban areas.
- Drivers: rising population & lower mortality, industrialisation, rural livelihood stress, city jobs and migration.
- Responses needed: create village jobs, balanced regional growth, manage metro expansion, and provide services in both urban & rural areas.
🏡 Rural India: Life & Development
Village Profile
- Village = settled near fields; dense house clusters ringed by farmlands; hamlets are smaller units.
- Small, close-knit communities; diversity by region & geography.
Post-Independence Plans
- Community/collective development schemes: modern farming tech, irrigation expansion, education facilities, land reforms, transport & health.
- Empowered Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads for local governance.
📈 Shift in economic life: Earlier villages were self-sufficient with produce-for-service exchange for artisans; now rural areas focus on agri & allied activities, urban areas on industry & services.
📊 Rural vs Urban (Pre-globalisation Snapshot)
| Rural Community | Urban Community |
|---|---|
| Priority to farming & allied vocations | Priority to non-agricultural production & services |
| Small, more homogeneous (language/culture/tradition) | Large, more heterogeneous (languages/cultures/traditions) |
| Elementary vocations; send villagers to cities rather than absorb outsiders | Large industries; produce for global markets; absorb outsiders |
| More vocations run in the family | Fewer vocations run in the family |
| Family-centric; joint families common | Individual-centric; trend towards nuclear families |
🚜 Rural Development: Data, Needs & Achievements
- Population share: 1961 → 82% rural; 1971 → 80.01% rural.
- Rural roles: supply food & raw materials, labour to cities, care for natural resources.
- Key challenges: (1) economic development, (2) social facilities, (3) reform of social/cultural attitudes; expedite irrigation & land reforms.
Essential Facilities
- Public hygiene, drinking water year-round, toilets, drainage, wider roads, electrification, medical services.
- Quality education (primary→higher), recreation centres, libraries.
Notable Achievements (Maharashtra)
- Zilla Parishads set up (1962).
- Nutritious Diet Scheme (1970–71).
- Rural Water Supply Scheme (wells & piped water).
- By 1971, built 1677 small dams.
⚡ Electrification & 🧵 Rural Industry
Rural Electrification
- 1st Plan: power to ~3000 villages; by 1973: 1,38,646 villages.
- 1966: priority supply for pumps & borewells.
- REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) formed in 1969; co-op societies in AP, GJ, KA, MH, UP.
- Use: irrigation pumps, cold-chains, fertiliser projects, household needs (fans, TV, study lights).
Village Industries & Education
- Village Industries Planning Committee: by 1972, employment to ~1,06,000 persons.
- Residential high schools (Vidya Niketan): Satara, Aurangabad, Nasik, Chikhaldara.
- Agriculture Universities (Kothari Commission): Rahuri, Akola, Parbhani, Dapoli.
- UNESCO prize (1972) for spread of literacy to Maharashtra.
🧠 Quick Revision (Exam-Ready)
- Constitutional equality & freedoms → weakened caste barriers; rights to culture & dissent.
- Families: joint → nuclear (globalisation). Welfare: Ministry (1964) + focus on SC/ST, women, children, differently abled, minorities.
- Health milestones: 1962 heart surgery (CMC Vellore), Jaipur Foot, 1971 kidney transplant, 1978 test-tube baby, 1995 Pulse Polio.
- Urbanisation: population, industry, migration; balance by rural jobs & services.
- Rural dev: empowered PRIs, irrigation, land reforms, electrification (REC 1969), village industries (~1.06 lakh jobs by 1972).
- Maharashtra: ZPs (1962), nutrition scheme (1970–71), water supply & 1677 small dams by 1971; UNESCO literacy prize (1972).
✅ Conclusion
India’s post-independence decades reshaped daily life—through constitutional rights, welfare, healthcare breakthroughs, urbanisation, and focused rural uplift. Together, these shifts nurtured a more inclusive, healthy, and connected society.
Chapter 9: Changing Life – Part 1 (Exercises with Answers)
📘 Class 9 • Maharashtra Board • Answer Key + Explanations
1) Choose the correct option and complete the statements.
| Question | Options |
|---|---|
| (1) The first open-heart surgery under the leadership of Dr N. Gopinath(an) was successfully performed in the city of … | (a) Chennai (b) Vellore ✅ (c) Hyderabad (d) Mumbai |
| (2) … is known as the father of the Jaipur Foot. | (a) Dr N. Gopinathan (b) Dr Pramod Sethi ✅ (c) Dr Mohan Rao (d) None of the above |
Answer Key: (1) Vellore • (2) Dr Pramod Sethi
📝 Why? CMC Hospital, Vellore (TN) achieved India’s first successful open-heart surgery (1962). The affordable, durable Jaipur Foot prosthesis was pioneered by Dr Pramod Sethi with artisan Ramchandra Sharma.
2) Identify and write the wrong pair.
- (1) Dr N. Gopinathan – open heart surgery
- (2) Ramchandra Sharma – a skilled craftsman
- (3) Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyaya – test-tube baby
- (4) Dr Mohan Rao – polio
Wrong pair: (4) Dr Mohan Rao – polio ❌
Correction: Dr Mohan Rao (with Dr Johny) performed a kidney transplant at CMC Vellore (1971).
Correction: Dr Mohan Rao (with Dr Johny) performed a kidney transplant at CMC Vellore (1971).
3) Write short notes on—
(1) The Institution of Family
Traditionally, India was identified with the joint family system—shared resources, collective decisions, and strong kinship bonds. With globalisation and urban migration, there has been a visible shift to nuclear families. This change reflects new work patterns, mobility, privacy needs, and rising individualism, though family support networks still remain culturally significant.
(2) Jaipur Foot Technology
The Jaipur Foot, developed by Dr Pramod Sethi with craftsman Ramchandra Sharma, is a low-cost, durable prosthetic. It enables users to walk barefoot on uneven terrain, sit cross-legged, squat, work in fields, and even wade through water—matching Indian lifestyles. Its affordability and adaptability restored mobility and dignity to lakhs of differently abled people.
(3) Urbanisation
Urbanisation is the concentration of population in towns and cities. Key drivers include population growth, industrialisation, lower mortality, and rural-to-urban migration for jobs. Balanced development needs rural job creation, managing metro expansion, and ensuring basic services (water, sanitation, health, education) in both urban and rural areas.
(4) Changing Economic Life
Earlier, villages were largely self-sufficient, exchanging farm produce for artisanal services. Over time, rural areas specialised in agriculture and allied activities, while urban areas expanded industry and services. This shift altered employment patterns, increased mobility, and integrated markets across regions.
4) Explain the following statements with reasons.
(1) The campaign for Pulse Polio immunisation was taken up.
Reason: Before universal immunisation, many infants suffered vaccine-preventable diseases. To eradicate polio, protect child health, and reduce disability and mortality, India launched the Pulse Polio campaign (1995), delivering oral polio vaccine to all children through mass drives.
(2) The Rural Water Supply scheme was started.
Reason: Rural areas faced inadequate, unsafe, and seasonal drinking water. Ensuring year-round safe water improves public health, reduces disease, and supports livelihoods. Hence wells, piped supply, and local infrastructure (e.g., in Maharashtra from 1970–71) were prioritised under rural development.
5) Answer the following questions in detail.
(1) Which kinds of discrimination does the Constitution prohibit?
The Constitution ensures equality before the law and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex (gender), and place of birth. It guarantees freedoms (speech, assembly, association, movement, residence, occupation) and cultural rights to preserve language, script, and culture—promoting an inclusive society.
(2) What is the aim of the social welfare programme?
To realise the idea of a welfare state by ensuring access to full-time employment, healthcare, education, and overall development for all—especially women, children, the differently abled, Scheduled Castes/Tribes, and minorities. It seeks to reduce economic, social, educational, and cultural inequalities.
(3) What are the challenges facing rural development?
Major challenges include:
- Economic development: productivity, irrigation expansion, land reforms, non-farm jobs.
- Social facilities: safe drinking water, sanitation, roads, electrification, healthcare, quality education, libraries & recreation.
- Attitudinal change: reform of social/cultural practices, inclusive governance via Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads.
6) Write a brief review of the significant events in the field of public health in India.
- 1962: First successful open-heart surgery at CMC Vellore (TN) under Dr N. Gopinath—advanced cardiac care available in India.
- 1968→: Jaipur Foot (Dr Pramod Sethi & Ramchandra Sharma)—affordable prosthetics restoring mobility and livelihoods.
- 1971: Kidney transplant at CMC Vellore (Dr Johny & Dr Mohan Rao)—organ transplant capacity built domestically.
- 1978: India’s first test-tube baby “Durga” (Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyaya, Kolkata)—assisted reproduction support to childless couples.
- Immunisation expansion against polio, measles, tetanus, TB, diphtheria, whooping cough; Pulse Polio mass drives (from 1995) to eradicate polio.
- Plural medical systems (Ayurveda, Unani, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy) recognised alongside allopathy to widen access.
🌟 Impact: Lower child mortality, improved life quality, affordable assistive tech, and access to advanced treatments within India.