NCERT Explained: Class VI History, Chapter 1 - What, Where, How and When?

Introduction to the Topic

Welcome to the fascinating world of history! If you have ever wondered how we know what happened thousands of years ago, you are in the right place. In the NCERT Class VI History curriculum, Chapter 1 is titled 'What, Where, How and When?'. This chapter acts as a gateway to understanding the entire historical journey of humankind. History is not just a collection of boring dates and long-forgotten battles; it is a thrilling detective story about our ancestors, how they lived, what they ate, the clothes they wore, and the languages they spoke. By studying this chapter, students learn the very foundation of historical inquiry, discovering how clues left behind in the dirt, written on palm leaves, or carved into stone help piece together the grand puzzle of human civilization.

Key Concepts Explained

To truly understand how history is constructed, we must examine several key concepts introduced in this chapter. Let us break them down into simple, easy-to-understand points with real-life connections.

1. What Can We Know About the Past?

History tells us about a multitude of things. Unlike what many might think, history studies the lives of ordinary people as well as kings and queens. We can know about:

• What people ate, the kinds of grains, fruits, and vegetables they cultivated.
• The clothes they wore, ranging from animal skins in prehistoric times to woven cotton and silk later on.
• The houses they lived in, from simple mud huts to grand palaces.
• The games children played, the songs people sang, and the stories they told.
• The lives of hunters, herders, farmers, rulers, merchants, priests, crafts persons, artists, and musicians.

2. Where Did People Live?

Geography plays a massive role in shaping history. If you look at a physical map of the Indian subcontinent, you will notice certain regions where human settlements first flourished:

• The Narmada River Valley: People have lived along the banks of this river for several hundred thousand years. Early people here were skilled gatherers who knew about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding forests and hunted animals for food.
• Sulaiman and Kirthar Hills: Located to the northwest, this is where women and men first began to grow crops such as wheat and barley about 8,000 years ago. People also began rearing animals like sheep, goats, and cattle, and living in villages.
• Garo Hills and Vindhyas: Agriculture developed in these regions as well. The Vindhyas were particularly important because rice was first grown to the north of these mountains.
• The Indus and its Tributaries: About 4,700 years ago, some of the earliest flourishing cities grew on the banks of these rivers. Later, about 2,500 years ago, cities also developed on the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, and along the sea coasts.

3. Names of the Land

Our country has many names, each with a historical story attached to it:

• India and Bharat: The word 'India' comes from the Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit. The Iranians and Greeks who came through the northwest about 2,500 years ago called the river the Hindos or the Indos, and the land to the east of the river was called India. The name 'Bharat' was used for a group of people living in the northwest, who are mentioned in the Rigveda, the earliest composition in Sanskrit dated to about 3,500 years ago. Later, it was used for the country.

4. Finding Out About the Past: Sources of History

How do historians figure out what happened so long ago? They use various sources of information, broadly divided into archaeological sources and literary sources.

• Manuscripts: These were hand-written books in the distant past. They were usually written on palm leaves or on the specially prepared bark of a birch tree known as the bhurja, which grows in the Himalayas. Over the years, many manuscripts were eaten away by insects, or destroyed, but some survived, preserved in temples and monasteries. These books dealt with all kinds of subjects: religious beliefs and practices, the lives of kings, medicine, and science.
• Inscriptions: These are writings engraved on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal. Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed so that people could see, read, and obey them. There are other kinds of inscriptions where kings and queens recorded what they did, victories in battles, and grand events.
• Archaeology: Archaeologists are detectives of the past. They study the remains of buildings made of stone and brick, paintings, and sculpture. They also explore and dig under the earth to find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments, and coins. Some of these objects may be made of stone, bone, baked clay, or metal. Objects that last for a long time do not easily decay, helping historians reconstruct everyday life.

5. One Past or Many Pasts?

Notice the title of our history textbook: Our Pasts (plural). Why is 'past' plural? Because the past was different for different groups of people. For example, the lives of kings and queens were vastly different from those of farmers and herders. The lives of merchants were different from those of hunters and gatherers. Even today, people in different parts of our country follow different practices and customs. This was true in the past as well.

6. What Do Dates Mean?

If someone asks you the date, you might say today's date based on a calendar. In history, time is usually counted with reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.

• Dates before the birth of Christ are counted backwards and are usually referred to with the letters BCE (Before Common Era) or sometimes BC (Before Christ).
• Dates after the birth of Christ are referred to with the letters CE (Common Era) or AD (Anno Domini, meaning 'in the year of the Lord').

Summary & Key Takeaways

To wrap up our journey through Class VI History Chapter 1, here are the most important points to remember:

• History is the study of our collective past, covering ordinary people, kings, social customs, and economic lives.
• Geographical landmarks like the Narmada valley, Sulaiman hills, Indus river, and Ganga valley determined where early humans settled and practiced agriculture.
• The names 'India' and 'Bharat' are deeply rooted in the geographical features and ancient texts of the subcontinent.
• Historians rely on primary clues like manuscripts (written on palm leaves), inscriptions (carved on stone/metal), and archaeological finds (artifacts, coins, ruins).
• History is plural—there were multiple 'pasts' for different communities, classes, and regions.
• Dates are measured using BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) to maintain a universal timeline of human events.