First of all, you are to be congratulated that you are a teacher and also a student
of History. This year, using this textbook, we have to teach the period of years from
1961 to 2000. You will especially enjoy dealing with this textbook because you have
been a witness to several of the events mentioned here. This book includes the very events
that have taken place around you. You will, in a way, re-live those times.
This is the history of the whole of India. In view of the limited number of pages
in the textbook, it is a difficult task to present the entire account of these years with
any continuity. We have tried to include those events which would most appeal to students
of Std IX at their age. Taking some important events as a framework, it will be possible
to help students to learn about the intervening events using the Internet.
The central theme of this book is ‘How a newly independent State sets itself on the
road towards development’. This is a country which has the largest democratic system in
the world. An attempt has been made to highlight the role played in the progress of such
a country by the political and the administrative leadership, as well as by scientists,
educationists and artists. Complementing this, is the other important part of this book,
namely, the faith of the citizens of India in democracy and the fight put up by the general
public in its defence. That every individual has a social responsibility and that the nation
is bigger than the political leadership is the message that the public has always sent out
in the post-independence period. To acquaint students with the meaning underlying the
bare events is a big challenge before us. However, we believe that teachers will be able
to shoulder this responsibility with ease with the help of the modern technology we have
at our disposal today.
This is the first time that teachers will be teaching about the very period that they
have themselves experienced. Hence, this itself is a historic task. This book will be of
use to impress upon the students the important principle that every citizen can make a
contribution to shaping post-independence India. Features of the textbook like maps,
pictures, boxes with additional information and the suggested activities are to be used for
this purpose. Our ultimate aim is to communicate effectively to the students the unique
greatness of our country.
In the subject of Political Science in this class, we will review the interactions between
‘India and the World’. In these times, events occurring at the global and international
level have consequences for all countries. Due to the advances in information technology,
interaction and exchanges of many kinds between nations have increased greatly. We
need to make the students aware of these complex international relationships from an
India-centric viewpoint. Naturally, it will be best to make a beginning through building
an understanding of the important international events and currents from recent history.
The content of the present book is new. However, it has been presented with a constructivist
point of view so that it will be easily understood. To arouse interest in the subject, the
content has been presented in a different way. As it will be the first time that students
will be attempting to understand international relations, teachers too should take care to
support their teaching with a variety of non-conventional sources. There is ample scope
in the textbook for the effective application of such methods. It is expected that teachers
will try to strengthen the faith of the students in values such as the preservation of global
peace and security, respect for human rights, peace and mutual trust and the actions that
are taken in accordance with them.
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