1) Here are some words from the text and their meanings. Test your understanding by matching the words on the left with their meanings on the right.

a) Institution – manner of governing or ruling

b) Elections – angry dispute, unfriendly relations with someone

c) Sincerity – organisation or society

d) Differently abled – the exercise through which we vote for new leaders

e) Schemes – the money citizens of a country have to pay the government to help it do different kinds of work

f) Substantial – plans

g) Rural – large in size or amount

h) Tax – relating to a village or the countryside

i) Quarrel – having a physical or mental condition that makes it difficult for a person to do all the work that other people do
j) Governance – devotion to a purpose

Ans: a) Institution – organisation or society.

b) Elections – the exercise through which we vote for new leaders.

c) Sincerity – devotion to a purpose.

d) Differently abled – having a physical or mental condition that makes it difficult for a person to do all the work that other people do.

e) Schemes – plans.

f) Substantial – large in size or amount.

g) Rural – relating to a village or the countryside.

h) Tax – the money citizens of a country have to pay the government to help it do different kinds of work.

i) Quarrel – angry dispute, unfriendly relations with someone.

j) Governance – manner of governing or ruling.

2) Complete the following sentences with information from the text :

a) Dokchory studies in Class ___________.

Ans: Dokchory studies in class Eight VIII.

b) The name of her school is _____________.

Ans: The name of her school is Disangmukh Janajati High School.

c) Her father’s name is ____________.

Ans: Her father’s name is Konke Mili.

d) He works in the _____________.

Ans: He works in the Panchayat Office.

e) Dokchory goes to school by _____________.

Ans: Dokhcory goes to school by bicycle.

f) She loves the ride because she ______________.

Ans: She loves the ride because she gets to knows new things everyday. 

g) To contest the Panchayat elections, one has to be _____________ years old.

Ans: To contest the Panchayat elections, one has to be done above twenty one years old.

3) Answer the following questions to understand the text better :

a) What was the meaning of Panchayat long ago ?

Ans: The meaning of Panchayat is a system of governance by five elderly men called Panch Gramin Pramukh.

b) What is the meaning of Panchayat now ?

Ans: Nowadays, anyone who is above 21 can contest Panchayat elections. A Panchayat is the body that is responsible for the development of villages. The Panchayat is a very important institution for social change, you know. The Constitution of India grants power to the Panchayat to raise taxes, plan development schemes and work for local development.

c) What kind of work is done by the Panchayat ?

Ans: Panchayat works for the development of the village, builds and repairs rural roads, houses for the poor, and so on.

d) From where does the Panchayat get money to perform all its work ?

Ans: To perform all its work The panchayat raises money from taxes on vehicles, river ghats, bazaars, and beels, etc. Panchayat also gets an annual grant from the Panchayat and Rural Development of the Government.

e) How did the Panchayat help Dhaniram ?

Ans: The Panchayat helped Dhaniram by building a house for him.

f) How did Dhaniram spend the cold December nights ?

Ans: Dhaniram spends bitter cold December nights on the open verandah of the school.

4) You have just read about the Panchayat. Using information from the lesson, fill in the table below : The Panchayat

The Panchayat
Meaning: Minimum age to contest: Powers of a panchayat: Kinds of work a panchayat does: Sources of money:

Ans: Meaning: Panchayat is a system of governance by five elderly men called Panch Gramin Pramukh

Minimum age to contest: 21 years

Powers of a Panchayat: The Indian Constitution grants power the Panchayat to raise taxes, plan development schemes and work for local development.

Kinds of work a Panchayat does:  Panchayat builds and repairs rural roads, bridges, houses for the poor and so on.

Sources of money: The Panchayat raises a little money from taxes on vehicles, river ghats, bazaars and beels, etc. They also get an annual grant from the Panchayat and Rural Development Department of the Government.

5) The morning assembly of Disangmukh Janajati High School begins at  8. 45 every day. Each student of the school has to deliver a speech according to a roster prepared by the school authorities. When Dokchory’s turn came, she gave the following speech:

Good morning ! Respected Principal, teachers, parents and my dear friends. I am Dokchory. Today I am going to talk about the Father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who is also known as Bapu. His full name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhiji was born on 2 October, 1869 Porbandar, Gujarat in India. He was a great freedom fighter who led India in its fight against the British rule. Gandhiji died on 30 January,  1948. His life story is a source of inspiration for all of us.

Imagine that your turn to deliver a speech for the morning assembly is tomorrow. Prepare your own speech using Dokchory’s example, and present it in the class.You teacher will ask each student to deliver the speech one by one.

6) Discuss in small groups :

a) If you want to help the needy, would it be fine to do it immediately ? Why or why not ?

b) How would you like to help a person with special needs ? Share your ideas in your group.

(c) Did Konke Mili plan the right thing to help Dhaniram ? Give more suggestions.

7) Dokchory will work for the Panchayat when she finishes school. Write a paragraph on what you will do for your village or town when you grow up.

8) In class VII you learnt about Reported Speech and Reporting Verbs. In this lesson, we see more of such sentences. Look at this sentence from the lesson : She said to her father, “What is a Panchayat ?”

The reported clause starts with a ‘wh’ question. Wh words are who, when, whom, whose, what, where, which, why and how. A wh-question is changed into the indirect from by using the question word at the beginning of the reported clause. e.g. She asked her father What a Panchayat was. Let’s practise changing other questions into the reported from :

a) She said to her father, “What kind of work do you do ?”

b) She said to her father, “Where do you get all the money from ?”

c) She said to her father, “Is that enough to do so much work ?”

d) She asked him, “Why don’t you build a house for poor Dhaniram ?” 

e) She said to him, “What is a Panchayat ?”