Superpower India: Challenges of Urbanisation This programme is produced by Pumpkin Interactive and is about Bangalore. It focuses upon inequalities in the city and ways in which the city’s recent growth has affected these. Much of the programme is spent exploring the impacts of change, particularly upon employment and housing, but a substantial part is focused upon projects designed to improve the lot of the urban poor. Early in the programme, the effects of the caste system are explored in causing inequalities, set against the glitz and branded company headquarters. Teachers’ notes There are two Teachers’ Guidance Sheets. These provide guidance and background information for teachers in using the programme to learn about Bangalore, the reasons for its growth in population, the impacts of that growth, and how these can be managed. The programme can be used in teaching about inequalities in urban development in developing countries, and in applying sustainable principles to people’s living spaces Teachers will find it especially helpful to read the introductory information about Bangalore (Teacher Guidance Page 2), which provides: a geographical outline of India’s geography, its development, and its recent economic growth background information about the growth of the city, particularly in respect of SEZs an introduction to the caste system in India Each is critical to understanding how and why Bangalore has grown as it has. These will also assist teachers in handling some of the follow-up activities. The principles of the programme and these exercises are that students should: know about the growth of Bangalore – its nature and causes understand Bangalore’s growth in the context of India’s emergence as an economic superpower understand the impacts of Bangalore’s growth upon employment, housing and services develop their abilities to analyse be able to judge whether the growth of Bangalore and its inequalities has brought more benefits than problems Resource Sheets are numbered 1-6 according to whether they are intended for teachers or students. Contents Teachers’ Guidance 1 Using this DVD for active learning This consists of ideas to help students watch the programme Teachers’ Guidance 2 Background information for teachers This provides background information about India’s recent economic development as well as Bangalore’s growth and India’s caste system Teachers’ Resource Page 1 Preliminary work: finding out about Bangalore Guidance on setting up small group enquiries to guide students in getting to know Bangalore before they see the programme Student Resource Page 2 Notes from the programme A framework for student notes on the programme Student Resource Page 3 Understanding the programme Knowing key terms Understanding and interpreting key ideas Student Resource Page 4 Comparing unequal areas in Bangalore A summary table comparing housing in Bangalore’s wealthiest and poorest areas. Student Resource Page 5 What are the housing issues facing Bangalore? A student small group enquiry about traffic, water and energy issues in Bangalore Teachers’ Resource Page 6 Discussing the issues Guidance on discussing attitudes and values towards the growth of Bangalore and out-sourcing Teachers’ Guidance 1 Using this film for active learning Watching a television programme can often be interpreted by students as a passive experience. Jane Ferretti (2009) has followed Margaret Roberts’ work (1986) on the unequal attention given to the narration rather than the pictures on a video; asked to make notes, students will more often than not make notes on what is said rather than what they see. The strategies below are designed to engage students in different strategies to ensure that they learn in varied ways, and which help them in making sense of the programme. 1 Describing Select scenes and ask students to describe in detail – e.g. ’20 words to describe this place’ Ask students to compare scenes in the programme (e.g. comparing the company headquarters in Bangalore with slum conditions found across the city). This is especially effective if done without the sound Reverse the process; ask students to predict what pictures are being shown, and details about these, by listening to the narration but with the screen picture turned off 2 Understanding Before watching a clip, give students specific things to look and listen for. For instance, students could be guided towards the role of NGOs so that they can see how such organisations can work in urban communities Freeze-frame scenes and discuss students' understanding of what is being shown Give students comprehension questions, but beware that they may be listening to the narration, with eyes down, rather than watching the picture 3 Listening Give students a list of key words to listen out for, and then identify their meaning Ask students to identify key words or phrases, and define these, based on the narration 4 Creative follow-up Role-play Interviews. Here, students work in interview pairs. One student, acting as a journalist, devises questions for the second student, acting as the person being interviewed. A 5-minute interview follows which can either be done privately in pairs or by ‘hot seating’ pairs in front of the class. Students then feed back to the class about the interviews. Information Gap. You need two rooms for this to take place. Half the class watches part of the programme without sound, while the other half hears it without pictures. Each half then discusses what they think will a) be in the script, and b) shown as pictures respectively. Students then return to class, pair up, discuss the situation and characters, and put together sounds and pictures. The teacher then shows the complete part of the programme. Fractured scenes. Write parts of the dialogue on separate strips of paper, place these in random order in envelopes, and ask students to re-sequence them. Alternatively, distribute the strips randomly, one per pair of students, and ask students to recreate the scene in which the line of their script occurs. Further reading Ferretti, Jane (2009) ‘Effective use of visual resources in the classroom’ in ‘Teaching Geography’, Autumn 2009 Roberts, Margaret (1986) ‘Using video’ in ‘The Geography Teachers’ Handbook’, Geographical Association Teachers’ Guidance 2 Background information for teachers Background information about three aspects of India and Bangalore will help in watching this programme. 1 India’s geography and recent economic development A Population indicators In 2009, the population of India was nearly 1.2 billion. By 2025, it will probably be the world’s most populous country. Compared to its population of 400 million at the time of its independence from British colonial rule in 1947, this growth has been exceptionally rapid. With a median age of 25.3, India has a young population. Its population growth rate is still high, at over 1.5% in 2009. Birth rates are high at 21.76 births per 1000 population, even though the fertility rate had fallen to 2.72 children born per woman in 2009. Death rates have fallen dramatically, and are now only 6.23 deaths per 1000 population. Infant mortality rates remain high with 30.15 deaths per 1000 live births in 2009. This factor alone holds back India’s life expectancy at birth which in 2009 was estimated at 69.9 years. India is still a predominantly rural country; only 29% of its population is urban, even though the population of India’s cities is growing faster than the annual average, at 2.4%. B Health and social indicators India’s HDI is 0.612, placing it 134th out of 182 countries. It has improved by 50% since 1980. Literacy rates are low but improving. 61% of the total population could read and write in the 2001 census, though this masked a large difference between female (47.8%) and male (73.4%). This reflects differences in length of education; girls spend only 9 years in school compared to boys who average 11 years. The risk of major infectious disease in India is still very high. Food and waterborne diseases dominate the health of the population, with bacterial diarrhoea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever being rife. C India’s economic growth India has over half a billion people of working age. Wages are very low. Services have seen the greatest economic growth in recent years, and now produce 50% of India's GDP with about 30% of the labour force. Half its work force works in agriculture. The Indian government has encouraged investment in sectors such as telecommunications and support industries. The economy has averaged over 7% annual growth since 1997, creating employment and reducing poverty. Even in 2008, when western economies were close to recession, India’s GDP grew by 6.6%. It has a well-educated middle class, skilled in English, which has led to rapid growth in software development and support. GDP per capita (PPP) in 2008 was US$2,900, still in the lowest 25% in the world. It has risen sharply in the 21st century, but most income growth has gone to the highest income earners and the educated middle class. Unemployment in 2008 was 9.1% and 25% of the population lives below the poverty line. Inequality has fallen only slightly in spite of economic growth; the Gini Index fell from to 37.8 in 1997 to 36.8 in 2004. 2 Bangalore and its growth Bangalore is the capital of India’s state of Karnataka. It is a stereotype of Indian urban growth; its growth and development has been recent and rapid. Its population size is disputable; different sources cite different geographical coverage of its urban area. In 2009, the population of the city itself was just over 5 million, but that of its built-up area – beyond the current city boundaries – is probably closer to 10 million.