Are Dams the Temples of Modern India? ( Comprehension Passages, Questions and Answers)

                          

Passages for Reference to the Context

1. Big dams started well, but have ended badly. There was a time when everybody loved them; everybody had them- the Communists, Capitalists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. There was a time when big dams moved men to poetry. Not any longer. All over the world, there is a movement growing against Big Dams.

Reference: These lines have been taken from Roy’s ‘Are Dams the Temples of Modern India?’ Roy in this essay unfolds the harms that dams have done. She argues that it is due to the construction of these dams that old systems of irrigation have become dysfunctional.

Explanation: This vogue of setting dams started efficiently but ended badly. Today there are many movements against the construction of these dams. There was a time when everyone admired them and had them – the Communists, Capitalists, Christians and Hindus. In the First World, they are being de-commissioned and blown up. The fact that they do more harm than good is being realized by the common people.

 

2. Their reservoirs displace huge populations of people leaving them homeless and destitute. Ecologically, they’re in the doghouse. They lay the earth to waste. They cause floods, water-logging, salinity, they spread disease. There is mounting evidence that links big dams to earthquakes.

 Reference: These lines have been taken from Roy’s ‘Are Dams the Temples of Modern India?’ Roy in this essay unfolds the harm that dams have done. She argues that dams have failed the purpose for which they were constructed.

Explanation: In these lines, Roy lists the havoc caused by dams and calls them ‘obsolete’ and ‘uncool’. They are the brazen means of taking water, land and irrigation away from the poor. Their reservoirs displace huge populations of people leaving them homeless and destitute. They cause floods and earthquakes.

                                                          Comprehension Passages

1 In the 50 years since Independence, after Nehru’s famous ‘Dams, are the temples of Modern India’s speech’, his foot soldiers threw themselves into the business of building dams with unnatural fervour. Dam building grew to be equated with nation-building. Their enthusiasm alone should have been reason enough to make one suspicious.

Questions: A. What did Nehru call dams in his famous speech?

                  B. What did his followers do?

                  C. What did grow to be equated with nation-building?

 

Answers: A. Nehru called dams ‘the temples of modern India’ in his famous speech.

                B. His followers threw themselves in building dams with unnatural fervour.

                C. Dam building grew to be equated with nation-building.

 

2 To compensate for the loss, the government built more and more dams. Big ones, little ones, tall ones, short ones. The result of its exertions is that India now boasts of being the world’s third-largest dam-builder. According to the Central Water Commission, we have 3,600 dams that qualify as big dams, 3,300 of them built after Independence. Some 1,000 more are under construction. Yet one-fifth of our population-200 million people-does not have safe drinking water and two thirds-600 million lack basic sanitation.

Questions: A. What did the governments do to compensate for the loss?

                  B. What can India now boast of?

                  C. How many big dams were built after independence?

                  D. What are the results of dam-building in India?

                  E. Find a word in the passage that means “Cleanliness”

 

Answers: A. To compensate for the loss, the government built more and more dams.

                B. Now India can boast of being the world’s third-largest dam-builder.

                C. 3300 big dams were built after the independence.

                D. The result of dam-building in India is that one-fifth of our population does not have safe drinking water and two-thirds lack basic sanitation.

                E. ‘Sanitation’.

Short Answer-type Qs. (Word-limit: 25-30) 

Q1. Which speech of Jawahar Lal Nehru is referred to in this essay?

Ans:  At the time of the dedication of a big dam to nation Pt. Nehru called dams ‘the temples of modern India’. But, later on, he understood the disadvantages of building dams. So he felt regret on his statement.

Q2. Why did Nehru regret his statement about dams later on in his life?

Ans.  He understood the disadvantages of building dams. So he felt regret on his statement.

Q3. How did the Government compensate for the loss caused by the dam-building?

Ans. The government built more dams to compensate for the loss caused by the building of dams. But building dams caused a great loss to the common people. It could not be compensated by building more and more dams.

Q4. Why have dams become obsolete?

Ans. In the beginning, the building of dams attracted people across the country. But, after some years, dams lost their attraction due to their disadvantages. They became obsolete (outdated). Even the advanced countries stopped building them due to their long-term disadvantages.

Q5. Why are big dams undemocratic?

Ans.  Building big dams by Government is totally undemocratic. These do benefit the rich only. The smallholdings of the poor are snatched forcibly from them. They are also not paid much money. They are not rehabilitated by the government.

Q6.How did big dams affect ecology?

Ans. Big dams cause a great loss to the ecology of that area. They make the land useless. Floods, water-logging and salinity are also caused by them. Sometimes, a large amount of water is released from the dams. It causes a sudden flood on the plain areas,

Q7. How does the author present a contrast between monuments and big dams?

Ans. The author says that big dams and monuments cannot be equated. Dams are short-lived. After a few years, nature starts damaging them. Silt is filled in them by a slow process. Monuments lived for long. Their maintenance is easy.

 

Long Answer-type Qs. (Word limit: 75 to 100)

Q1. Discuss the tone used in the first paragraph of the essay.

Ans. The tone in the first paragraph of this essay is of doubt and criticism. The author is not ready to believe that dams are temples of modern India. She also clarifies that Pt. Nehru himself had to regret his statement later on in his life. In addition to it, the author expresses her doubt on the way Nehru’s follower showed their enthusiasm for building big dams in India. It was all unnatural. The people who were engaged in building business were highly benefited. The poor people lost their smallholding, the only means of earning their livelihood. Their culture, their livelihood, their traditional way of irrigation, etc. __ all were forcibly snatched from them.

Q2.’There was a time when big dams moved men to poetry’, explain this statement.

Ans. In the beginning, people were full of extraordinary enthusiasm about dams. Water was stopped at one place by building big dams. It looked like a vast lake. It presented a very attractive sight. So the people from far and near places started visiting dams. Some people with a romantic bent of mind also came there to compose poems there. They found the place very inspiring to write poems. So the author says that there was a time when big dams moved men to poetry. But now, no one goes there because big dams have become obsolete.

Q3. What are the dangers associated with the construction of big dams?

Ans. There are certain dangers associated with the building of big dams. First, dams need a large area to reserve a large quantity of water. So many villages have to be evacuated. People have to abandon their homes. Once they leave the place, they lose their smallholdings. They lose their means of earning a livelihood. They lose their culture. They are displaced. In addition, dams cause floods, waterlogging, salinity and even earthquakes as it is said. They affect the ecology of that area. They are totally undemocratic and in favour of the rich only.  Nowadays, dams have become obsolete in developed countries. These are being destroyed there.