Short answer type questions
Question 1 : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
“All forty hands went up in unison. Mrs Baruah beamed. Clearly, this assignment had not been a drudge.”
i) Which forty hands have been mentioned here? Why did they go up in unison?
Answer : The forty hands that have been mentioned here are the hands of the students of Mrs Reeta Baruah’s class of 8-A. They all went up in unison when Mrs Baruah asked the class about the assignment that she had given them. All of them were ready with their speeches.
ii) Why was Mrs Baruah happy?
Answer : Mrs Baruah was class 8-A’s teacher. She had given them an assignment. She had asked the class to write speeches on what they would like to become when they grow up. When she asked about the assignment, she found that the whole class was eager to present their views. Therefore she was happy at the response.
iii) How can you say that the assignment had not been a drudge?
Answer : Mrs Baruah had asked the class to write speeches about what the students would like to become when they grow up. When she enquired about the same, she found that all the students had prepared something. They were eager to present their speeches. This proved that the assignment had not been a drudge.
iv) What was the assignment about?
Answer : The assignment that Mrs Reeta Baruah gave the students of class 8-A was that the students were required to write speeches on what they would like to become when they grow up.
v) What had Mrs Baruah realised at the end of her class?
Answer : Mrs Baruah had heard her student’s speech and especially the speech of Kabeer which touched everybody’s heart to the core. She realised that the students of her class would become pillars that would uphold the virtues of peace, tolerance and selflessness in India and one day it would be terror free and lead the world.
Question 2 : Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.
“Kabeer paused. By now, every eye was focused on him. They wondered what would follow. Everyone had been allotted three minutes, and Kabeer had only spoken for a minute yet. Outside, birds chirped, cars honked and the younger children were enjoying their recess.”
i) Who was the first one to present the speech? What did the speaker want to become.
Answer : The first person to present his speech was Ajit Basu. The speaker wanted to become the best cricketer in the world. He spoke that Sachin Tendulkar was his idol cricketer and he wanted to grow up to be like the latter.
ii) Who were the second and third and speakers? What was their respective choice of profession?
Answer : The second speaker was Gayatri Chhabra. She wanted to be a social worker like her mother. The third speaker was Sanjay Damle who wanted to be a pilot and described how the thought of flying an airplane thrilled him.
iii) How can you say that Kabeer was a bit nervous when his turn came to speak?
Answer : When Kabeer’s turn came, his hands shook slightly and beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead. He was not used to facing the whole class and speaking out loudly. This shows that Kabeer was a bit nervous before he presented his speech.
iv) Who was the first person Kabeer talked about in his speech?
Answer : The first person about whom Kabeer spoke was Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the thirty-one year old National Security Guard (NSG) commando, who laid down his life fighting the terrorists in Mumbai, in November 2008.
v) What had that person done which prompted Kabeer to emulate him?
Answer : Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was a brave man. He, along with his team, was deployed to clear the Taj Hotel of terrorists. There was a fierce gunfight. Although his life was in danger, he kept chasing the terrorists. He told his team that he would fight alone. Major Sandeep was killed while fighting for his country.
Long answer type questions
Question 3 : The world chases them who are in the limelight. However, the acts of true heroism are never forgotten. Justify with reference to the story, India’s Heroes.
Answer : Mrs Reeta Baruah had asked her class to write speeches on what they would like to become when they grow up. When the assignment began , students started speaking about being sports stars, actors, politicians, social workers and so on. These were the people they had seen or heard about in their day-to-day life.
However, when Kabeer’s turn came, he spoke about the people who had showed true heroism and whose acts have made them immortal. He talked about Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a brave NSG commando who laid down his life for his country. He tried to save the life of his fellow soldiers and was hit by bullets in the fierce gunfight.
He wanted to be like Vishnu Dattaram Zende who was an announcer with the Mumbai railways. When terrorists attacked the CST platform on 26 November, he did not leave his duties. He kept announcing to the public the way to a safer exit. He was also fired at but the bullet missed him.
He talked about the General Manager of the Taj Hotel, Karambir Singh Kang, who did not even bother about his own safety or that of his family but helped the guests and staff to get out of the hotel. He lost his wife and children when their room got engulfed in fire. However, he kept performing his duty.
Kabeer then told the class that he wanted to be like Hemant Karkare, the Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief, who pursued the terrorists in a jeep. He was gunned down by terrorists near the Cama Hospital, along with his valiant comrades DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar. He also talked of Taufeeq Sheikh, popularly known as Chottu Chaiwala. He helped transport the injured to the nearby hospitals. He also wanted to be like Sandra Samuel, an Indian nanny who saved the life of two-year old Moshe Holtzberg during the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
All these people may never find their mention in history books nor would their stories be run on the news channels like of those who stay in the limelight. Nevertheless, whenever people will talk about true heroism and patriotism, their names would always feature. They will keep inspiring the nation till eternity and people would emulate their qualities.