What is financial infrastructure?

The network of banks, payment systems and stock markets that helps manage money

What are the main things a bank does?

Holds deposits and lends money as loans

How do banks make money?

They pay lower interest on deposits and charge higher interest on loans

Earning interest on previous interest as well as on the original amount

Who were the Bene Israel?

They were a Jewish community that settled on the Konkan coast south of Mumbai and over time grew to become the largest Jewish community in India.

How were the Cochin Jews welcomed in India?

The Raja of Kochi granted them land free of cost 'as long as the world, sun and moon endure', and they built a synagogue, becoming part of Indian society while practising their faith.

Why did the Syriac Christians come to India?

Some Syriac Christians faced persecution in West Asia under the Roman and Persian empires, so they travelled eastward along trade routes to the Malabar coast where they could worship freely.

Why did the Parsis leave Persia?

After the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century, Zoroastrians faced forced conversions, religious taxes and destruction of their fire temples, so groups of them sailed to India's western coast.

What does the legend of milk and sugar mean?

When Raja Jadi Rana showed a jug full of milk to mean his kingdom was full, a Parsi wise man dissolved sugar into it without spilling, showing the Parsis would blend into and sweeten Indian society without disruption.

Who were the Siddis, and how did they come to India?

The Siddis are of African origin who were brought to India as slaves of Arab, Portuguese and British traders between the 7th and 19th centuries, and whose culture fuses African and Indian traditions.

What is the story of the 'Good Maharaja'?

Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, rescued and cared for around a thousand Polish orphans between 1942 and 1946 during the Second World War, and a monument in Warsaw honours him.

Why did Tibetan refugees come to India?

After China overran Tibet and a 1959 uprising in Lhasa, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, where the government granted asylum and rehabilitated Tibetan refugees, who built monasteries and preserved their culture.

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CBSE Class 7 — Notes, Chapters & Practice Quizzes

Q: Why did many communities come to settle in India?

Many came fleeing religious or political persecution in their homelands, while others came seeking new opportunities for prosperity and a good life, adding to India's diversity.

Q: What Indian values made the country a haven for the persecuted?

Values such as vasudhaiva kutumbakam ('the whole world is family'), atithi devo bhava ('a guest is like God') and compassion fostered a culture of acceptance and inclusion over millennia.

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Chapter 5: India, a Home to Many — Class 7 Social Science

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Chapter 5: India, a Home to Many

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Why did many communities come to settle in India?

Summary

This chapter explores how India became a home for people from many parts of the world, especially those fleeing persecution or seeking new opportunities, adding to the country's diversity. It tells the stories of several migrant communities. Jewish communities arrived in waves: the Bene Israel settled on the Konkan coast, and others near Cochin, where the Raja of Kochi granted them land and they built a synagogue. Syriac (Syrian) Christians fled persecution in West Asia and reached the Malabar coast. The Parsis, followers of Zoroastrianism, fled Persia after the 7th-century Islamic conquest; the legend of the wise man dissolving sugar in milk shows how they blended into Indian society without spilling over. The chapter also describes Arab merchants who settled on the west coast and helped build India's oldest mosque, the Siddis of African origin, the Armenians who settled in cities like Agra and Kolkata, the Baha'i community, the 'Good Maharaja' who sheltered Polish children during the Second World War, and Tibetan refugees who arrived from 1959. The big idea is that India's culture of acceptance, expressed in values like vasudhaiva kutumbakam ('the whole world is family'), atithi devo bhava ('a guest is like God') and compassion, made it a haven that allowed even small communities to keep their traditions over centuries.

India as a home for migrantsJews and Syriac ChristiansParsis and the legend of milk and sugarSiddis, Armenians and othersTibetan refugees and Indian values

Key terms

Persecution

Hostility arising from religious, ethnic, social or political motives, often with harassment or violence, which drove many communities to seek refuge in India.

Bene Israel

A Jewish community that settled on the Konkan coast and grew to become the largest Jewish community in India.

Zoroastrianism

One of the world's oldest religions, founded by the prophet Zarathushtra and based on the worship of one God, Ahura Mazda; its followers in India are the Parsis.

Synagogue

A place of worship for Jews where religious services and ceremonies are held.

Siddis

A community of African origin brought to India between the 7th and 19th centuries, whose culture fuses African and Indian traditions.

Vasudhaiva kutumbakam

The idea that 'the whole world is family', a core Indian value underlying its culture of acceptance and inclusion.

Important questions

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Hostility arising from religious, ethnic, social or political motives, often with harassment or violence, which drove many communities to seek refuge in India.

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Practice quiz · India, a Home to Many

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India, a Home to Many

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