Understanding Social Science
Understanding Society: India and Beyond – Part I
NCERT Social Science Textbook • 2026–27
1 What is Social Science?
Let us begin with the most basic question:
What does “Social Science” mean?
The word social is related to society.
A society is a group of people living together and interacting with one another. People in a society do not live independently. Their lives are connected with:
- other people
- families
- communities
- institutions
- government
- economy
- culture
- environment
- technology
- history
- geographical conditions
Therefore, Social Science is the systematic study of human society and the different relationships and systems that shape human life.
“Science does not only mean studying plants, animals, chemicals or planets. We can also study human beings and the society in which they live in a systematic way. That systematic study of society is called Social Science.”
2 Why Do We Need to Study Society?
Ask students:
“Can you live completely alone?”
They will probably say No.
Then ask:
- Who grows the food you eat?
- Who transports it?
- Who sells it?
- Who makes your clothes?
- Who constructs your house?
- Who provides electricity?
- Who makes the roads?
- Who runs schools?
- Who makes laws?
- Who protects citizens?
- Who provides hospitals?
- Who manages transport?
Students will realise that even an apparently simple activity depends on hundreds of people and systems.
That is one of the central ideas of the chapter.
Suppose you wake up and come to school. It looks like a simple activity. But think about everything involved:
Home → electricity / water → food → transport / road → school → teachers → government → economy → society → environment
So Social Science helps us understand the connections behind ordinary activities.
The chapter specifically uses everyday life to show that apparently simple activities are connected with wider social, economic, environmental and institutional systems.
3 Social Science is All Around Us
Students sometimes think:
“Social Science means memorising History dates.”
That is not correct.
Social Science asks questions about real life. For example:
Geography asks:
- Why are some places densely populated?
- Why do people settle near rivers?
- Why are some areas hot while others are cold?
- How does climate influence people’s lives?
History asks:
- How did societies change?
- How did people live in the past?
- How did cities and states develop?
- What happened in earlier periods and why?
Political Science asks:
- Who makes laws?
- How does government work?
- What is democracy?
- What rights do citizens have?
- How are decisions made?
Economics asks:
- Why do people have to make choices?
- How are goods produced?
- Why do prices change?
- How do people earn and spend money?
- How does a market work?
Social Science is not four unrelated subjects. It is different ways of understanding society.
4 The Big Idea: Society is Interconnected
This is one of the most important concepts in the chapter.
Imagine a farmer. The farmer depends on:
Land + soil + water + climate + seeds + labour + technology + money + transport + markets + government policies
Now imagine that rainfall decreases. What happens?
So one change can affect many parts of society. This is why Social Science studies connections.
A social scientist does not simply ask:
“What happened?”
They also ask:
- Why did it happen?
- How did it happen?
- Who was affected?
- What were the consequences?
- How is it connected to other aspects of society?
This is why Social Science involves observation, questioning, evidence and reasoning.
5 Social Science and Natural Science
Students often ask:
“Sir / Ma’am, why is Social Science called Science?”
Good question. The word science here refers to a systematic way of studying and understanding something.
Natural Sciences
Study the natural world.
Examples: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth science.
They investigate matter, energy, organisms, forces, chemical reactions, natural processes, etc.
Social Science
Studies human beings, society, institutions, relationships, economic activities, political systems, cultures and social change.
The difference is not simply:
- Science = laboratory
- Social Science = memorisation
❌ That is wrong. Social Science also involves systematic investigation.
If we want to understand why a city has grown rapidly, we do not simply guess. We may examine:
- population data
- maps
- historical records
- employment
- transport
- government policies
- migration
- economic activity
Then we analyse the evidence.
6 The Four Major Disciplines
The chapter introduces Social Science through four major disciplines:
- Geography
- History
- Political Science
- Economics
Think of them as four different lenses through which we look at society.
7 Geography — The “Where and Environment” Lens
Geography studies places, space, environment and the relationship between human beings and their surroundings.
Suppose we ask:
“Why do many settlements develop near rivers?”
Geography helps us investigate:
- availability of water
- agriculture
- transport
- fertile land
- physical environment
But geography isn’t simply about memorising maps. It also studies human–environment relationships.
Why is life in Rajasthan different from life in Kerala?
We can consider: climate, rainfall, landforms, water availability, vegetation, occupations, settlements and agriculture.
Where things happen and how place and environment influence human life.
8 History — The “Time and Change” Lens
History studies the human past. But history isn’t simply a list of dates.
Suppose we ask:
“Why is Delhi an important city?”
To answer properly, we need to look at its past. We need to understand:
- earlier settlements
- political powers
- rulers
- trade
- architecture
- conflicts
- migrations
- institutions
- changes over time
History helps us understand:
- What happened?
- When did it happen?
- Why did it happen?
- What changed?
- What remained?
- How did those changes affect later generations?
History gives us the dimension of time.
9 Political Science — The “Power and Governance” Lens
Human beings live together. Whenever people live together, they need ways to make collective decisions.
For example:
- A school has rules.
- A classroom has rules.
- A country has laws.
Who makes those rules? Who implements them? Who has authority? What rights do people have? How can citizens participate? These are questions of Political Science.
Political Science therefore helps us understand:
- government
- political institutions
- democracy
- citizenship
- power
- rights
- laws
- decision-making
- participation
Ask: “If our class has 40 students and everyone wants a different activity, how will we decide?”
Students may say: teacher decides, vote, majority, discussion.
Excellent. That tiny classroom situation can introduce the idea of collective decision-making.
10 Economics — The “Choices and Resources” Lens
Human wants are many. But resources are limited. Therefore, people have to make choices.
Imagine a student has ₹500. They want:
- a book
- a cricket bat
- snacks
- headphones
- a movie ticket
Can they necessarily buy everything? Probably not.
So they must decide:
“What should I buy first?”
This is an economic question.
Economics therefore studies activities such as:
- production
- consumption
- exchange
- markets
- resources
- choices
- prices
- employment
- income
The new textbook later develops these ideas in Chapters 8 and 9, beginning with the problem of choice and then moving to markets and prices.
11 These Four Subjects Are Not Separate Worlds
This is very important for teaching.
Take the example of a city.
Geography
Where is the city located? What is its climate? What natural resources are available?
History
How did the city develop? What happened there in the past?
Political Science
How is the city governed? What institutions make decisions?
Economics
What jobs and businesses exist? How do people earn their livelihoods?
One society → four perspectives
12 An Example: A Market
Imagine a vegetable market.
Geography asks:
- Where is the market located?
- Where do the vegetables come from?
- How does the physical environment affect production?
History asks:
- How has this market developed over time?
- How did trade happen in the past?
Political Science asks:
- What rules regulate the market?
- Which authorities govern it?
Economics asks:
- Why does the price of tomatoes increase?
- How are goods produced and sold?
- Who buys them? Who sells them?
This is why Social Science is interdisciplinary.
13 How Does Social Science Find Answers?
This is another major idea. A Social Science student should not simply accept every claim.
They should ask:
“How do we know?”
Suppose somebody says:
“The population of this city has increased because many people migrated here.”
Should we immediately accept it? No. We should look for evidence. For example:
- census information
- population records
- migration data
- historical documents
- surveys
- maps
- interviews
- photographs
- government records
Then we analyse the evidence.
14 Observation
The first step can be observation. Look carefully at what is happening.
You observe that a neighbourhood has changed dramatically over ten years. You might notice:
- new buildings
- more vehicles
- new shops
- fewer open spaces
- more people
Now you have something to investigate.
15 Asking Questions
Observation leads to questions. For example:
- Why did the neighbourhood change?
- Why did the population increase?
- Why were new roads constructed?
- Why did shops increase?
- Where did the new residents come from?
Good Social Science begins with good questions.