Millets
Also called: Shree Anna · Topic: India, That Is Bharat: Names of India and Unity in Diversity · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 6 "The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation"; Class 6, Ch 8 "Unity in Diversity, or 'Many in the One'"
Meaning
Millets are hardy, small-grained cereal crops. They grow well in dry areas and poor soil, and they need little water. The main Indian millets are bajra (pearl millet), jowar (sorghum) and ragi (finger millet). People in India have grown millets since Harappan times. With rice, wheat, barley and pulses, they are staple grains eaten in almost every region of India. The grains are the same everywhere, but the dishes made from them are endless, which makes millets a good example of unity in diversity.
Example
Ragi is made into ragi mudde (balls) in Karnataka. Bajra is eaten as bajre ki roti in Rajasthan, and jowar as bhakri in Maharashtra. Because of India's proposal, the United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets, and India began calling millets Shree Anna.
Don't confuse with
- Pulses: these are seeds of plants of the pea and bean family, like dals and grams. Millets are grasses grown for their grain.