Indian history

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• Leerjaar 6

The Indian Part of the novel is set in
Tollygunge, an area in Calcutta (Kolkata),

West Bengal (see map), India

The novel describes how the brothers Subhash and Udayan grow up in Tollygunge.  

The next slide contains three quotes from this part of the novel. Match each quote to the corresponding picture by dragging it to the correct yellow box.

They’d never set foot in the Tolly Club. Like most people in the vicinity, they’d passed by its wooden gate, its brick walls, hundreds of times. that closer to the clubhouse there was a swimming pool, stables, a tennis court. Restaurants where tea was poured from silver pots, special rooms for billiards and bridge. Gramophones playing music.

Though Partition had turned Muslims again into a minority, the names of so many streets were the legacy of Tipu’s displaced dynasty [...]

Still the mosque on the corner, a place of worship for those of a separate faith, oriented their daily comings and goings.

These days it was stagnant, lined with the settlements of Hindus who’d fled from Dhaka, from Rajshahi, from Chittagong. A displaced population that Calcutta accommodated but ignored. Since Partition, a decade ago, they had overwhelmed parts of Tollygunge, the way monsoon rain obscured the lowland.

• Watch the video on the next slide.
  Answer the questions while watching.
• Also think about the following: how do the pictures and quotes from the novel fit in with the history of India?
  
• Return to the main lesson after watching.
  

01:06

What itensifies Indian protests against colonial rule?

01:39

What does the Muslim League want?

02:27

How many people died in the 1943 Bengal famine, which also struck in Calcutta?

03:25

Remember this quote?
Since PARTITION, a decade ago, they had overwhelmed parts of Tollygunge, the way monsoon rain obscured the lowland.
What is meant by "Partition"?