Find the Content and Exercises with Solution
Lesson Objectives
- Enhance Critical Thinking Skills: Engage students in group discussions to analyze images and answer thought-provoking questions.
- Develop Historical Awareness: Help students understand the impact of the Kaptai Dam on indigenous communities in Bangladesh.
- Improve Reading Comprehension: Enable students to extract key information from a historical narrative.
- Expand Vocabulary: Introduce and reinforce new words through contextual learning.
- Strengthen Analytical Skills: Encourage students to interpret the consequences of displacement on affected families.
- Practice Answering Multiple-Choice and Short Questions: Test students’ comprehension through structured questions.
- Enhance Writing and Grammar Skills: Develop students’ ability to construct meaningful responses in fill-in-the-blank and short-answer exercises.
- Foster Empathy and Social Awareness: Encourage students to reflect on the hardships faced by displaced communities.
Unit 5, Lesson 5: We Lost Our Home
A. Look at the image and discuss in groups the possible answers to the questions.
- What do you see in this picture?
- Do you think this lake is natural? Explain.
- What are the things that you know about Kaptai Lake situated in Rangamati, Bangladesh?
Hakkonchandra village was situated to the east of Kaptai dam, in the Rangamati district of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). A family in that village who belonged to the Boro Hambc clan had a son who was an ivory craftsman and was later recognized and appreciated as one of the very first craftsmen among the Jumma population in the CHT region. His niece is the mother whose story is given here.
It is difficult to say exactly when she was born, but she thinks she is over eighty years old now. She is my grandmother and one of the eyewitnesses of the discussed episode in the history of CHT. Her family was relatively affluent. She had six siblings—three brothers and three sisters. Their family was well-respected in the neighborhood since their father was a schoolteacher. Sushama Chakma was not acquainted with paucity and poverty in the early years of her life. When the northern parts of CHT were submerged permanently due to Kaptai dam, not just the Chakma population but some Hajong, Manna, and Adi-Bangali residents who had lived for long among us also lost all their possessions. The wealthiest families became displaced people. They had to constantly move from one place to the other. About 50,000 Chakma, Hajong, and Tripuri people had to leave the country and migrate permanently.
Like many others, she lost a secure life and her homeland with her relatives. Her husband had to leave his public service to live like a refugee. Her only possessions were memories of better times and the determination to survive. While moving from one location to another for resettlement in the reserve forest, they spent countless sleepless nights thinking about their uncertain future. Despite the constant struggle to find happiness in pain, the sun never shone for her family.
(The Bangladesh Environmental Humanities Reader)
Vocabulary List
| Word | Word | Word |
|---|---|---|
| Obfuscate | Surreptitious | Recalcitrant |
| Ubiquitous | Esoteric | Quintessential |
| Inscrutable | Pernicious | Fastidious |
| Magnanimous | Obstreperous | Discombobulate |
Multiple Choice Questions
- What was the primary cause of displacement for the Chakma people in the story?
- a) A devastating earthquake
- c) A prolonged drought
- d) Government-imposed relocation
- b) The construction of the Kaptai Dam
- How did the grandmother feel about her early life before displacement?
- a) She experienced extreme poverty
- b) She was well-respected and lived comfortably
- c) She traveled frequently due to instability
- d) She struggled to get an education
- What profession did the grandmother’s father have?
- b) Schoolteacher
- a) Fisherman
- c) Carpenter
- d) Trader
- What happened to the wealthiest families after the dam construction?
- a) They were given new land to settle
- c) They moved to the capital
- b) They became displaced people
- d) They formed a new independent community
- How many Chakma, Hajong, and Tripuri people had to migrate permanently?
- a) 10,000
- b) 25,000
- c) 50,000
- d) 75,000
- What was the grandmother’s husband's occupation before displacement?
- b) Public service employee
- a) Farmer
- c) Merchant
- d) Craftsman
- What were the grandmother’s only possessions after displacement?
- a) Land and livestock
- b) A large sum of money
- c) Memories and the determination to survive
- d) Gold and family heirlooms
Short Questions
- Why did the Chakma people have to leave their homeland?
- How did the grandmother describe her life before displacement?
- What was the main consequence of the Kaptai Dam's construction?
- How did the grandmother’s husband earn a living before displacement?
- What were the only things the grandmother had left after losing her home?
Fill in the Blanks
The construction of the __________ dam led to the displacement of thousands of indigenous people. Many families, including the Chakma, Hajong, and Tripuri, lost their __________ and had to migrate to other regions. The grandmother in the story recalled her early life as being __________ and free from poverty. However, after the dam's construction, her family was forced to move from place to place, living like __________. Her husband had to leave his __________ job and struggle to provide for the family. Despite their hardships, they held onto their __________ and memories of a better past.
Answers
Word Details
| Word | Definition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Obfuscate (Verb) | To deliberately make something unclear or difficult to understand | Bengali: বিভ্রান্ত করা | IPA: /ˈɒbfʌsˌkeɪt/ | The lawyer tried to obfuscate the truth with complex jargon. |
| Surreptitious (Adjective) | Kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of | Bengali: গোপন | IPA: /ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs/ | He cast a surreptitious glance at the confidential document. |
| Recalcitrant (Adjective) | Resisting authority or control; stubbornly uncooperative | Bengali: অবাধ্য | IPA: /rɪˈkælsɪtrənt/ | The recalcitrant student refused to follow the teacher’s instructions. |
| Ubiquitous (Adjective) | Present or found everywhere | Bengali: সর্বত্র বিদ্যমান | IPA: /juˈbɪkwɪtəs/ | Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society. |
| Esoteric (Adjective) | Intended for or understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge | Bengali: রহস্যময় | IPA: /ˌɛsəˈtɛrɪk/ | The professor’s lecture on quantum mechanics was highly esoteric. |
| Quintessential (Adjective) | Representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class | Bengali: পরিপূর্ণরূপে আদর্শ | IPA: /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəl/ | Paris is the quintessential romantic city. |
| Inscrutable (Adjective) | Impossible to understand or interpret | Bengali: দুর্বোধ্য | IPA: /ɪnˈskruːtəbəl/ | Her expression was inscrutable, making it hard to tell what she was thinking. |
| Pernicious (Adjective) | Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way | Bengali: ক্ষতিকারক | IPA: /pɚˈnɪʃəs/ | Social media can have a pernicious influence on teenagers. |
| Fastidious (Adjective) | Very attentive to detail and concerned with accuracy | Bengali: খুঁতখুঁতে | IPA: /fæˈstɪdiəs/ | She was fastidious about keeping her room clean. |
| Magnanimous (Adjective) | Generous and forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person | Bengali: উদার | IPA: /mæɡˈnænɪməs/ | Despite losing the competition, he was magnanimous in congratulating the winner. |
| Obstreperous (Adjective) | Noisy and difficult to control | Bengali: বেয়াদব | IPA: /əbˈstrɛpərəs/ | The obstreperous crowd made it hard to hear the speaker. |
| Discombobulate (Verb) | To confuse or disorient someone | Bengali: বিভ্রান্ত করা | IPA: /ˌdɪskəmˈbɒbjʊleɪt/ | The unexpected turn of events completely discombobulated the team. |
Multiple Choice Questions
- What was the primary cause of displacement for the Chakma people in the story?
- a) A devastating earthquake
- c) A prolonged drought
- d) Government-imposed relocation
- b) The construction of the Kaptai Dam ✅
- How did the grandmother feel about her early life before displacement?
- a) She experienced extreme poverty
- b) She was well-respected and lived comfortably ✅
- c) She traveled frequently due to instability
- d) She struggled to get an education
- What profession did the grandmother’s father have?
- b) Schoolteacher ✅
- a) Fisherman
- c) Carpenter
- d) Trader
- What happened to the wealthiest families after the dam construction?
- a) They were given new land to settle
- c) They moved to the capital
- b) They became displaced people ✅
- d) They formed a new independent community
- How many Chakma, Hajong, and Tripuri people had to migrate permanently?
- a) 10,000
- b) 25,000
- c) 50,000 ✅
- d) 75,000
- What was the grandmother’s husband's occupation before displacement?
- b) Public service employee ✅
- a) Farmer
- c) Merchant
- d) Craftsman
- What were the grandmother’s only possessions after displacement?
- a) Land and livestock
- b) A large sum of money
- c) Memories and the determination to survive ✅
- d) Gold and family heirlooms
Short Questions with Answers
-
Why did the Chakma people have to leave their homeland?
They had to leave because the construction of the Kaptai Dam submerged their land. -
How did the grandmother describe her life before displacement?
She described it as secure and affluent, with no experience of poverty. -
What was the main consequence of the Kaptai Dam's construction?
It permanently submerged large parts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, displacing thousands of people. -
How did the grandmother’s husband earn a living before displacement?
He worked in public service before losing his job due to displacement. -
What were the only things the grandmother had left after losing her home?
She was left with memories of better times and the determination to survive.
Fill in the Blanks - Answer Key
The construction of the Kaptai dam led to the displacement of thousands of indigenous people. Many families, including the Chakma, Hajong, and Tripuri, lost their homes and had to migrate to other regions. The grandmother in the story recalled her early life as being affluent and free from poverty. However, after the dam's construction, her family was forced to move from place to place, living like refugees. Her husband had to leave his public service job and struggle to provide for the family. Despite their hardships, they held onto their memories and memories of a better past.
📖 Key Features
- 📌 Format: Reading Text
- 📌Content: Class VIII – Unit Five, Lesson 5: We Lost Our Home (Page 57)
- 📌 Cmposition Number: 1
- 📌 Clarity and Concise: Class VIII
- 📌 Visual Appeal:High Quality Graphics
- 📌 Content: Class VIII – Unit Five, Lesson 5: We Lost Our Home (Page 57)
- 📌 Exercise: Multiple Choice Questions, Short Questions, Fill-in-the-Blanks, and 10 words with IPA transcription, word class, Bengali and English meanings, and example sentences
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