Chapter 22: On the Move Again
फिर चला काफ़िला (मुकादम, गन्ने की खेती एवं मौसमी विस्थापन)
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- Dhanu's Family & Farming Cycle: Small farmers in rural Maharashtra farm during the monsoon months (June to Dussehra/October); during the remaining 6 dry months, there is no farm work or rain.
- The 'Mukadam' (Loan Agent & Labor Contractor): Lends money to poor families during dry months for food and weddings. In return, families are contracted to migrate to distant sugar factory districts to harvest sugarcane.
- Sugarcane Harvest Caravan (Kafila): From Dussehra to spring, entire families load bullock carts with pots and blankets and migrate near sugarcane mills. Men cut tall canes with sharp sickles while women and children tie bundles.
- Temporary Huts ('Kopra'): Families live in makeshift conical huts constructed from dry sugarcane leaves and stalks beside factory fields.
- Schooling Disruption: Dhanu and other migrant village children miss school for 6 consecutive months every year, trapping successive generations in uneducated manual labor.
- The Maternal Aunt's (Mami) Vision: Dhanu's Mami insists Dhanu must stay back in the village with his grandparents to attend school regularly and complete Class 10: 'He should not remain a migrant laborer like us.'
- Trap: CBSE states Mukadam is a government welfare officer. Correct: Mukadam is a private money-lender and corporate sugarcane labor contractor.
- Trap: CBSE states migration occurs during rainy season. Correct: Migration occurs during the DRY months AFTER Dussehra.
NCERT Core Facts: Seasonal Agrarian Migration, Sugar Mills & Education Gaps
Class 5 Chapter 22 concludes the Class 5 textbook by highlighting the socio-economic realities of migrant agricultural laborers.
1. The Seasonal Debt & Labor Cycle
- In rural dryland farming, families only have work from monsoon planting (June) until Dussehra (October).
- For the next six rainless months, families have no harvest or wages.
- They borrow cash from the Mukadam to buy groceries.
2. Who is the Mukadam?
- The Mukadam is a middleman:
- a.Acts as a money-lender giving emergency loans at steep rates.
- b.Acts as a labor contractor supplying cheap labor to industrial sugarcane factories.
- Because families owe him debt, they are obligated to load their bullock carts (Kafila) and relocate wherever the Mukadam directs them.
- Men cut tall sugarcane in the fields while women and children tie bundles; families live in makeshift Kopra huts made from dry sugarcane leaves and stalks beside the mills.
3. The Impact on Children's Education
- Dhanu loves school, but every October, his education halts abruptly for half a year.
- NCERT emphasizes the pedagogical issue of seasonal migration causing dropout rates.
- Dhanu's aunt (Mami) embodies maternal hope: she advocates for Dhanu to study with his grandmother so he can break the cycle of hereditary seasonal migration.
Test Your Mastery: On the Move Again
Authentic CBSE exam questions tested directly from this NCERT chapter.
In NCERT Class 5 EVS Chapter 'On the Move Again', who is a 'Mukadam'?
NCERT कक्षा 5 EVS के पाठ 'फिर चला काफ़िला' में 'मुकादम' कौन होता है?
Why do Dhanu and other children in his village drop out of school for six months every year?
धनु और उसके गाँव के अन्य बच्चे हर साल छह महीने के लिए स्कूल क्यों छोड़ देते हैं?
Who is a 'Mukadam' in NCERT Class 5 EVS?
A private money-lender and labor contractor who lends cash to dryland farmers and contracts them to work in sugarcane factories during rainless months.
During which period do sugarcane farming families migrate in NCERT Chapter 22?
After Dussehra, during the dry winter and summer months when there is no farm work in their native village.
What are 'Kopra' huts made of?
Dry sugarcane leaves and stalks, erected temporarily near sugar factories.