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Traditional India - 1-10-07
Traditional India - 1-10-07
Traditional India - 1-10-07
India
Many religions. Has given birth to the most religions.
More deep rooted ethnic groups that are established than any other country.
1947 gained independence from Britian
o at that time, only 18% were literate
o now, literacy rate has tripled…52%
Hard to survive w/o speaking 3-4 languages
o Many know multi languages w/o stepping foot into a school (street smarts)
Level of poverty slowly disappearing
o 25% are severely poor
o Has the world’s largest middle class.
Nizam of Deccan (Indian Prince): Richest man in the world (1945-ish)
Sukkur: driest part in the world. > 1 inch of rain (last 70 years)
Assan: Chirapoonji: Tiny village; world’s wettest spot
o 90ft of rain fell in 3 month in 1995
Himalayans have the most snowfall
In 1947, India wrote a constitution
o National lanhuage is Hindi.
Spoken by only 30%
Mostly in the north
Declared 13 other languages as official
Very old languages where some date back before Christ
30 other minor languages
800 dialects and sub-dialects and growing
Survial of India’s entity
o Pride in common history/heritage
o Inadian way of life
Hinduism: not just a religion but a way of life for the people
• It’s the ‘glue’ of India
o Geographical set-up
Mark Twain: “India is a land of dreams, romance, ….” (had a very good quote that
describe India. Hard to find a good one but Mr. Twain nailed it)
Pakistan: In 2001, had a population of 144 million
o 97% Muslim
o 3% Hindu/Christian
o Urdu is the official language
Bangladesh: In 2001, had a population of 131 million
o 83% Muslim
o 16% Hindu
o 1% Buddhist
o Bengali is the official language