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School Social Studies Gap Book (Classes VI-X themes) · Chapter 9

Culture and Communication: Post, Mass Media and Tourist Places

What to remember

  • Communication moved from messengers and runners to the postal service, the telegraph, radio, television and the internet. Each stage made news and ideas travel faster and reach more people.
  • India Post has one of the largest postal networks in the world, and the six-digit PIN code, introduced in 1972, helps sort mail. The Post Office Act of 1854 brought uniform rates and a countrywide system.
  • Tourist places are of three main kinds: heritage and cultural, pilgrim, and natural. Tourism gives jobs and income, but places must be protected from damage.

1. Early communication and the postal system

Early methods: drum beats, smoke signals, trained pigeons, foot runners and horse riders. Kings kept spies and messengers. Rulers such as Sher Shah Suri built roads with rest houses (*sarais*) and a horse-post (*dak chowki*) system, which carried news quickly.

British period. The postal service became public and organised.

  • The first postage stamp in India was issued in 1852 in Sindh. The first all-India stamps came in 1854.
  • The Post Office Act of 1854 (under Governor-General Dalhousie) created a countrywide Post Office with a uniform rate for letters, and anyone could use it.
  • Railways, which began in 1853, helped carry the mail.
  • The first telegraph line was tested in 1851 near Calcutta, and the service opened to the public in 1854. The telephone arrived in the 1880s.

After independence.

  • The PIN (Postal Index Number) code of six digits was introduced in 1972. The first digit shows the region and the last three digits show the delivery post office.
  • Services include speed post, money orders, registered post, savings schemes, and in recent years, postal banking and e-services.
  • Types of post offices: Head Post Office, Sub Post Office and Branch Post Office. The post office reaches remote villages, which is why it is called the link between the government and the people.
  • Postal stamps are a record of history, leaders and culture. Philately is the hobby of collecting stamps.
StageMeansMain benefit
AncientRunners, pigeons, drumsCarried short messages
MedievalHorse relay posts, saraisFaster news for the state
ColonialPost Office, telegraph, railwaysPublic service across the country
ModernTelephone, mobile, internetInstant two-way contact

2. Mass communication

Mass communication means passing the same message to a large number of people at once through the media. The main kinds are:

MediumExamplesKey points
PrintNewspapers, magazines, booksNeeds literacy; gives detailed news
RadioAll India Radio (AIR), FM channelsReaches remote areas; good for farmers and the blind
TelevisionDoordarshan, private channelsSight and sound; strong effect
CinemaFeature films, documentariesEntertains and educates
New mediaInternet, social media, mobile appsFast, two-way, global
  • Print: *Hicky's Bengal Gazette* (1780) was the first newspaper in India. Many Indian newspapers and reformers' journals later spread nationalist and reform ideas. Telugu newspapers and magazines also grew in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
  • Radio: broadcasting began in the 1920s, and the name All India Radio (AIR) was adopted in 1936. It is also called Akashvani.
  • Television: Doordarshan began in Delhi in 1959 as an experiment. Colour broadcasting started in the early 1980s.
  • Cinema: *Raja Harishchandra* (1913) by Dadasaheb Phalke was the first full-length Indian feature film. The first Telugu talkie, *Bhakta Prahlada*, came out in 1931.
  • Internet: widely available in India from the mid-1990s. It supports email, online learning and digital services.

Uses of the media: news, education, entertainment, advertising, awareness of health and rights, and keeping the government accountable.

Freedom of the press is a part of the freedom of speech and expression in Article 19(1)(a). The press is often called the fourth pillar of democracy, along with the legislature, executive and judiciary. Freedom has reasonable limits, such as laws against hate speech and defamation.

Media literacy. Children should learn to check whether news is true, find the source, notice advertising and avoid sharing false messages. Too much screen time and the spread of rumours are problems linked to mass media.

2A. Satellites, mobile phones and culture

  • India's first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched in 1975. The INSAT series of communication satellites, started in the 1980s, supports telephone, television, radio and weather services.
  • Satellites are launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, India's main space launch centre, run by ISRO.
  • Mobile phones and the internet now carry voice, messages, money transfers and government services to villages. The gap between those who have access and those who do not is called the digital divide, and schemes try to reduce it.
  • Culture is the way of life of a people: language, dress, food, art, music, dance, festivals and values. Communication spreads culture. A film, a folk song on radio or a post-card from a distant place all carry culture from one group to another.
  • Folk arts of Andhra, such as Burrakatha, Tolu Bommalata (leather puppetry), Kuchipudi dance and Kalamkari painting, were once spread by performers who travelled from village to village. Today radio, television and the internet help to share them widely.
  • Cultural exchange can enrich life, but traditions must be protected so that local languages and arts do not fade.

3. Tourist places

Tourism is travel for pleasure, learning, pilgrimage or rest. It brings jobs for guides, hotel workers, craftspersons and transport. It also earns foreign exchange. India has many World Heritage sites recognised by UNESCO.

Kinds of tourist places:

  • Heritage and cultural: forts, palaces, temples, stupas and museums.
  • Pilgrim: places of religious importance.
  • Natural and eco: hills, beaches, forests, waterfalls and wildlife parks.
PlaceWhy famous
Taj Mahal, AgraMarble tomb built by Shah Jahan
Red Fort, DelhiMughal fort; the Prime Minister hoists the flag here on Independence Day
Qutub Minar, DelhiTall tower of the Delhi Sultanate
Ajanta and ElloraRock-cut caves with paintings and sculpture
SanchiBuddhist stupa
KonarkSun Temple of Odisha
HampiRuins of the Vijayanagara Empire
MahabalipuramRock-cut shore temples of the Pallavas
KhajurahoTemples with fine sculpture
KazirangaPark known for the one-horned rhinoceros

Tourist places of Andhra Pradesh:

  • Tirumala: the temple of Lord Venkateswara, one of the most visited pilgrim places in the world.
  • Srisailam: a Jyotirlinga and a Shakti Peetha, on the Krishna river in the Nallamala hills.
  • Amaravati: a Buddhist stupa site of the Satavahana and Ikshvaku period, and the capital region of the state.
  • Nagarjunakonda: Buddhist remains on an island in the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir.
  • Lepakshi: a Vijayanagara-period temple with famous murals and a large monolithic Nandi.
  • Undavalli and Belum: rock-cut cave temples and a long natural limestone cave.
  • Araku Valley and Borra Caves: hill scenery, coffee estates and stalactite caves in the Eastern Ghats.
  • Visakhapatnam beaches (such as Ramakrishna Beach) and Rushikonda: coastal tourism.
  • Gandikota: a gorge cut by the Penna river, called the "Grand Canyon of India".
  • Kondapalli: wooden toys, a GI-tagged craft.
  • Papikondalu: boat rides through the Godavari gorge.
  • Rajahmundry (Rajamahendravaram): the Godavari ghats and the Godavari Pushkaralu festival.
  • Simhachalam, Kanaka Durga temple (Vijayawada), Srikalahasti, Ahobilam and Annavaram: important temples.

Responsible tourism. Tourists should not litter, damage monuments or disturb wildlife. Governments protect monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India.

Classroom angle. Teachers can ask learners to design a postcard, write a letter, make a poster of local tourist places, mark places on a map and take an educational trip. Link the lesson to local culture so that children feel proud and responsible for their heritage.

Exam traps

  • Post Office Act 1854 vs first stamp 1852: the first stamp was issued in Sindh in 1852; the Act is 1854.
  • PIN code: six digits, introduced in 1972, first digit is the region.
  • AIR vs Doordarshan: radio vs television.
  • Hicky's Gazette vs Raja Harishchandra: first newspaper (1780) vs first full-length film (1913).
  • Bhakta Prahlada: first Telugu talkie, not a silent film.
  • Konark vs Khajuraho: Sun Temple vs sculpted temples.
  • Lepakshi vs Hampi: Lepakshi is in Andhra; Hampi is in Karnataka.
  • Gandikota vs Papikondalu: Penna gorge vs Godavari gorge.

One-liners

  • 1. India's postal PIN code has six digits.
  • 2. The PIN code system started in 1972.
  • 3. The Post Office Act was passed in 1854.
  • 4. All India Radio is also called Akashvani.
  • 5. Doordarshan began in 1959.
  • 6. Dadasaheb Phalke made Raja Harishchandra.
  • 7. Freedom of the press comes under Article 19(1)(a).
  • 8. Lepakshi is known for the Veerabhadra temple and its murals.
  • 9. Gandikota is called the Grand Canyon of India.
  • 10. Tirumala is the temple of Lord Venkateswara.
  • 11. Borra Caves are in the Araku region of the Eastern Ghats.
  • 12. UNESCO recognises World Heritage Sites.

Practice questions

  1. The PIN code used in the Indian postal system has how many digits?

    1. Four
    2. Eight
    3. Five
    4. Six
    Answer

    D. Six

    The Postal Index Number has six digits.

  2. The PIN code system was introduced in

    1. 1947
    2. 1986
    3. 1854
    4. 1972
    Answer

    D. 1972

    The first digit shows the region.

  3. The Post Office Act that created a countrywide postal service was passed in

    1. 1905
    2. 1854
    3. 1857
    4. 1780
    Answer

    B. 1854

    It was passed in Dalhousie's time with uniform rates.

  4. The first postage stamp in India was issued in Sindh in

    1. 1872
    2. 1911
    3. 1854
    4. 1852
    Answer

    D. 1852

    All-India stamps followed in 1854.

  5. Which ruler is known for building roads, sarais and a horse-post system?

    1. Shah Jahan
    2. Sher Shah Suri
    3. Akbar the Great
    4. Ashoka
    Answer

    B. Sher Shah Suri

    His dak chowki system carried news quickly.

  6. The hobby of collecting postage stamps is called

    1. philately
    2. numismatics
    3. calligraphy
    4. archaeology
    Answer

    A. philately

    Numismatics is the study of coins.

  7. Which medium needs the reader to be literate?

    1. Radio
    2. Folk song
    3. Newspaper
    4. Television
    Answer

    C. Newspaper

    Print media depends on reading skills.

  8. Which medium is best suited to reach remote villages without electricity or literacy?

    1. Magazine
    2. Radio
    3. Newspaper
    4. Internet
    Answer

    B. Radio

    Battery radios and spoken words reach everyone.

  9. All India Radio is also known as

    1. Doordarshan
    2. Vividh Bharati only
    3. Akashvani
    4. Prasar
    Answer

    C. Akashvani

    Akashvani means voice from the sky.

  10. Doordarshan began its television broadcasts in India in

    1. 1995
    2. 1936
    3. 1975
    4. 1959
    Answer

    D. 1959

    It began as an experiment in Delhi.

  11. India's first newspaper, Hicky's Bengal Gazette, was started in

    1. 1780
    2. 1913
    3. 1857
    4. 1931
    Answer

    A. 1780

    It was published from Calcutta.

  12. The first full-length Indian feature film was

    1. Alam Ara
    2. Bhakta Prahlada
    3. Mother India
    4. Raja Harishchandra
    Answer

    D. Raja Harishchandra

    It was made by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1913.

  13. The first Telugu talkie film was

    1. Maya Bazaar
    2. Bhakta Prahlada
    3. Raja Harishchandra
    4. Mallisvari
    Answer

    B. Bhakta Prahlada

    It was released in 1931.

  14. Freedom of the press in India is based on

    1. Article 19(1)(a)
    2. Article 14
    3. Article 32
    4. Article 21A
    Answer

    A. Article 19(1)(a)

    It protects freedom of speech and expression.

  15. The press is called the fourth pillar of democracy because it

    1. makes laws
    2. appoints judges
    3. informs people and watches over the government
    4. commands the army
    Answer

    C. informs people and watches over the government

    A free press helps citizens stay informed.

  16. Which of the following is an example of mass communication?

    1. A letter to a friend
    2. A phone call
    3. A talk in a classroom
    4. A television news bulletin
    Answer

    D. A television news bulletin

    Mass media reach a large audience at once.

  17. The widening gap between people who have access to the internet and those who do not is called the

    1. digital divide
    2. digital literacy
    3. media freedom
    4. cyber audit
    Answer

    A. digital divide

    Schemes aim to reduce the divide.

  18. India's main satellite launch centre is at

    1. Hyderabad
    2. Sriharikota
    3. Bengaluru
    4. Thiruvananthapuram
    Answer

    B. Sriharikota

    It is in Andhra Pradesh and run by ISRO.

  19. India's first satellite was

    1. Rohini
    2. Aryabhata
    3. INSAT-1B
    4. Bhaskara
    Answer

    B. Aryabhata

    It was launched in 1975.

  20. The temple of Lord Venkateswara is at

    1. Tirumala
    2. Srisailam
    3. Simhachalam
    4. Annavaram
    Answer

    A. Tirumala

    Tirumala is one of the most visited temples in the world.

  21. Which of the following is a Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh?

    1. Hampi
    2. Khajuraho
    3. Amaravati
    4. Konark
    Answer

    C. Amaravati

    Amaravati has a famous stupa site.

  22. Lepakshi is famous for

    1. marble tombs
    2. Buddhist stupas
    3. a sun temple
    4. a Vijayanagara-period temple with murals and a large Nandi
    Answer

    D. a Vijayanagara-period temple with murals and a large Nandi

    The Veerabhadra temple has fine murals.

  23. Gandikota is called the 'Grand Canyon of India' because of a gorge made by the river

    1. Krishna
    2. Godavari
    3. Tungabhadra
    4. Penna
    Answer

    D. Penna

    The Penna cut a deep gorge there.

  24. Borra Caves are known for

    1. rock paintings of the Mauryas
    2. stalactites and stalagmites
    3. Buddhist monks' cells
    4. sea views
    Answer

    B. stalactites and stalagmites

    They are limestone caves in the Eastern Ghats near Araku.

  25. Kondapalli is famous for

    1. bell metal
    2. marble carving
    3. wooden toys
    4. silk sarees
    Answer

    C. wooden toys

    Kondapalli toys are a traditional craft.

  26. Papikondalu is known for

    1. boat rides through a Godavari gorge
    2. a Krishna river dam
    3. a coastal fort
    4. a Penna river gorge
    Answer

    A. boat rides through a Godavari gorge

    The Godavari flows through the hill gorge there.

  27. Which of the following is a natural tourist attraction?

    1. Qutub Minar
    2. Red Fort
    3. Araku Valley
    4. Taj Mahal
    Answer

    C. Araku Valley

    Hills and forests make Araku a natural destination.

  28. The Sun Temple is at

    1. Konark
    2. Sanchi
    3. Hampi
    4. Mahabalipuram
    Answer

    A. Konark

    Konark is in Odisha.

  29. Hampi was the capital of the

    1. Maurya Empire
    2. Mughal Empire
    3. Gupta Empire
    4. Vijayanagara Empire
    Answer

    D. Vijayanagara Empire

    Its ruins are a World Heritage site.

  30. Mahabalipuram is known for rock-cut temples built by the

    1. Satavahanas
    2. Pallavas
    3. Mughals
    4. Cholas
    Answer

    B. Pallavas

    The shore temples are Pallava work.

  31. Which body recognises World Heritage Sites?

    1. UNICEF
    2. ILO
    3. WHO
    4. UNESCO
    Answer

    D. UNESCO

    UNESCO lists sites of world importance.

  32. A teacher wants children to understand the role of the post office. Which activity is best?

    1. Writing and posting a letter to a friend
    2. Memorising stamps' prices
    3. Copying the answer
    4. Watching only a film
    Answer

    A. Writing and posting a letter to a friend

    Learning by doing makes the process clear.

  33. Which is a responsible action of a tourist?

    1. Feeding wild animals
    2. Not littering at monuments
    3. Writing names on walls
    4. Taking old stones as souvenirs
    Answer

    B. Not littering at monuments

    Heritage should be protected for the future.

  34. Which pair is correctly matched?

    1. Burrakatha - sculpture
    2. Kuchipudi - wooden toys
    3. Tolu Bommalata - leather puppetry
    4. Kalamkari - radio
    Answer

    C. Tolu Bommalata - leather puppetry

    Tolu Bommalata uses leather puppets.

  35. Which of the following is a pilgrim centre?

    1. Kaziranga
    2. Rushikonda
    3. Srisailam
    4. Gandikota
    Answer

    C. Srisailam

    Srisailam is a Jyotirlinga and Shakti Peetha site.

  36. Which of the following is heritage tourism?

    1. Trekking in a forest only
    2. Visiting forts and temples
    3. Relaxing on a beach only
    4. Skiing
    Answer

    B. Visiting forts and temples

    Heritage tourism focuses on historical places.

  37. Consider the statements: 1. The PIN code has six digits. 2. The first digit of the PIN code shows the region. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both statements are correct.

  38. Consider the statements: 1. All India Radio is also called Akashvani. 2. Doordarshan is a radio service. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Doordarshan is a television service.

  39. Consider the statements: 1. Hicky's Bengal Gazette was the first Indian newspaper. 2. Dadasaheb Phalke made Raja Harishchandra. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both statements are correct.

  40. Consider the statements: 1. Lepakshi is in Karnataka. 2. Hampi is in Andhra Pradesh. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    D. Neither 1 nor 2

    Lepakshi is in Andhra Pradesh and Hampi is in Karnataka.

  41. Consider the statements: 1. Satellites are launched from Sriharikota. 2. INSAT satellites support telecommunication and weather services. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both statements are correct.

  42. Consider the statements: 1. Freedom of the press has no limits. 2. Freedom of the press is part of the right to freedom of speech. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    The right is subject to reasonable restrictions.

  43. Consider the statements: 1. Borra Caves are in the Eastern Ghats. 2. Gandikota is a gorge of the Godavari. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Gandikota is a gorge of the Penna.

  44. Consider the statements: 1. The Post Office Act of 1854 gave a uniform rate of postage. 2. The first telegraph service for the public was opened in 1854. Which of the statements is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  45. The Archaeological Survey of India is responsible for

    1. regulating television
    2. running airlines
    3. issuing postage stamps
    4. protecting monuments of national importance
    Answer

    D. protecting monuments of national importance

    It conserves ancient monuments and sites.

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