India's Heroes, Comprehension Level Questions and Answers

India's Heroes

Extract I.

“ Wonderful” Mrs Baruah said……a person and wish to emulate.”

(i)             Who is Mrs Baruah? Give her full name. Why does she exclaim ‘Wonderful’?

 Mrs. Baruah is a teacher, teaching the students of Class Eight. Her full name is Mrs. Reeta Baruah. She exclaims ‘wonderful’ when, in response to her question about the number of students who have completed their assignment, all the forty students raise their hand in affirmation.

(ii) What assignment did Mrs. Baruah give and to whom? What is the strength of the class? How do we know that the children had done the assignment?

Mrs. Baruah gave an assignment to the students of Class Eight to write what they would like to be when they grew up. There were forty students in the class. All the forty student raised their hands in affirmation when Mrs. Baruah asked them if they had completed their assignment.

(ii)           What else does the author write at the start of the story, which tells us that the students were eager to speak in front of the classmates? What does their eagerness indicate?

 According to the author, the students fidgeted and shifted in their seats before Mrs. Baruah entered. This shows their eagerness to speak in front of their classmates. Their eagerness indicated that they had completed their assignment and were interested in sharing it with their classmates.

(iv) Who was the first speaker? What did he speak of? Who was his idol?

Ajit Basu was the first speaker. He spoke about his desire of becoming the best cricketer in the world. Sachin Tendulkar was his idol.

(v) Name the next two speakers. What did they want to be when they grew up?

The next two speakers were Gayatri Chhabra and Sanjay Damle. Gayatri wanted to become a social worker, whereas Sanjay Damle wanted to become a pilot.

(vi) What is your opinion of Mrs. Baruah with regard to her profession? Give reasons for your answer.

 Mrs. Baruah was an accomplished teacher, who had a student-centred approach of teaching.

(a) She gave the students an assignment with which they could relate themselves, i.e., to write what they would like to be when they grew up. Consequently, all the students brought their completed assignments.

(b) She was a strict disciplinarian. That is why the students maintained strict discipline in her class and spoke only when their turn came.

Extract II.

Clearing his throat, he began…..who laid down his life fighting the terrorists in Mumbai in November, 2008.

 (i) Whom does ‘he’ refer to in the extract? How would you describe him as a student?

‘He’ refers to Kabeer. Kabeer seems to be a hard working and intelligent student. Though he was shy at making speeches before the entire class, he put in extra efforts to complete his assignment. He not only wrote something different from his classmates but also presented it with such confidence that he drew everybody’s attention and evoked the emotions of both his classmates and his teacher.

 (ii) Was ‘he’ very confident as ‘he’ stoop up to speak before the entire class? What tells you so?

No, he was not confident when he stood up to speak before the entire class. This is evident from the fact that his hands shook slightly and beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead, both being signs of nervousness.

(iii) What did the other children speak about? How was this speaker’s speech different from that of the other students?

The other children spoke about becoming social workers, pilots, movie stars, sportsmen and politicians. The speaker, unlike his classmates who spoke about the famous and successful personalities, spoke about the unsung heroes of India who laid down their lives to save the lives of their fellow countrymen, during the 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

(iii)         When did Major Sandeep Unnikrishanan become a part of the NSG? How had he served in the army before he joined the NSG?

 Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan joined NSG in January 2007. Before joining the NSG, he served two tenures with his battalion in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations.

(v) Write, in your own words, the reaction of the students as the speaker spoke about the life of Major Unnikrishnan. What do you think could be the reason for such a reaction?

When the speaker spoke about the life of Major Unnikrishnan, there was complete silence in the class and everybody listened attentively. This was because the students were listening about the extraordinary sacrifice of a braveheart, who laid down his life, fighting the terrorists. It was different from the accounts of people about whom they had listened from their other classmates.

Extract III.

“ He guessed that something was wrong………Vishnu Zende’s cabin, but it missed him.”

(i)             Who was Vishnu Zende? What made him guess that something was wrong?

 Vishnu Zende was an announcer with the Mumbai railways for ten years. When he heard a loud explosion at one end of the railway platform and saw bloodstains on the clothes of some people, he guessed that something was wrong.

(ii)  What does Vishnu Zende’s staying at his position, in the face of danger, tell us about him? How did his announcements help the people?

Vishnu Zende’s act of staying in his position, in the face of danger speaks volumes of his courage, his selfless devotion to his duty and his presence of mind in the face of calamity. Vishnu Zende’s announcements from the public address system at the railway plaform helped hundred of passengers to move out of the platform from a different exit and thus saved their lives.

(ii)           What is the scene outside the classroom as Kabeer speaks about Mr Zende? Are the students affected by it?

The scene outside the classroom was noisy with the chirping of the birds, honking of cars and the younger childen enjoying their recess. No, the students were not affected by it. They remained unconcerned with what was happening outside and focussed their attention on Kabeer’s speech.

(iv) Who is the next hero that Kabeer speaks about? What role did he play during the terrorist attacks on Mumbai?

The next hero Kabeer spoke about was Karambir Singh Kang, the General Manager of the Taj Hotel, Mumbai. He helped in evacuating the guests and his staff from the hotel. He continued his duty even on being informed that his own wife and children had died of suffocation in the same hotel.7

(iv)         What loss did this hero suffer in the terrorist attacks? How? What was his  reaction  to that irreparable loss?

 This hero lost his wife and his children, as they died of suffocation on being trapped in a room in the Taj Hotel, which was attacked by the terrorists. Despite suffering an irreparable loss of losing his entire family, Karambir Kang did not give up his duty and continued to evacuate the guests safely from the hotel.

(v)           What qualities of this hero does Kabeer mention in his speech? Why does he attribute these qualities to him?

 Kabeer mentioned Karambir Kang’s loyalty and devotion to his duty. He attributed these qualities to him because even after suffering an irreparable loss of losing his entire family, he did not quit his job and remained at the Taj hotel and helped to restore the heritage structure of the hotel.

Extract IV.

Hemant Karkare was a brave office……………to make our tomorrow terror-free.

(i)             What was Hemant Karkare’s designation during the Mumabi terrorist attacks? How did he do his duty during the attacks?

 Hemant Karkare was the Chief of the Anti-Terrorism Squad. He pursued the terrorists in a jeep, without caring for his own life.

(ii) Who were Hemant Karkare’s other two companions? How did the three lose their lives?

Hemant Karkare’s companions included DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar. The three lost their lives, when they were gunned down by terrorists, whom they were pursuing in a jeep.

(iii) What does the role of Hemant Karkare and his comrades during the Mumbai terrorist attacks tell us about them?

Hemant Karkare and his two comrades DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, were true patriots, who considered their duty before self and sacrificed their lives while fighting the terrorists.

(iv) What is the reaction of the speaker, the students and the teacher at this point in the story?

 The speaker had goose bumps on his arms whereas the students in his class became emotional. Their teacher, Mrs. Baruah became so emotional that tears welled up in her eyes.

(vi)         Who does Kabeer speak about next? What role did he play during the Mumbai terrorist attacks?

 Kabeer next spoke about Mohammed Taufeeq Sheikh, popularly known as Chottu Chaiwala, who ran a tea stall outside CST station, Mumbai. He helped to transport the victims of the terrorist attack to the nearby St. George Hospital and thus, saved their lives.

Extract V.

Sandra saved Moshe……..terrorists to be buried there.

(i)             Who was Sandra? How was she associated with Moshe?

 Sandra Samuel was an Indian nanny to two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, who neither belonged to her nationality nor her religion. She saved Moshe’s life during the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, in which Moshe’s parents were killed.

(ii)  What does the action of the caretakers of Kabristans tell us about these people? What did they prove by their action?

The action of the caretakers of the Kabristans in refusing to allow the dead terrorists to be buried there tells us that they were above all social barriers. They proved by their action that man’s supreme duty is to love and respect other human beings and that no religion is above humanity.

(iii)  What, according to Kabeer, is the only true religion in this world? What do you think of him from his speech?

According to Kabeer, the only true religion in the world is love and respect for all human beings. From his speech, Kabeer comes out to be a person, who not only values courage, fearlessness, selflessness and caring for other but also practises it.

(iv)  What was the reaction of the class when Kabeer’s speech ended? What effect did his speech have on Mrs Baruah?

The whole class was touched by Kabeer’s speech. It stirred up their emotions and tears welled up in their eyes. Mrs. Baruah was on the verge of crying but she hid her tears from her students by dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

(v) What was Mrs. Baruah’s opinion of the students as she stood watching them at the end of Kabeer’s speech?

Mrs. Baruah felt proud to see her students cherish the virtues of peace, tolerance, sense of duty and selflessness. She was of the opinion that her students would act as pillars to uphold the virtues of peace, tolerance and selflessness in an India that would one day be terror free and lead the world.