The Indian The Indian SubcontinentSubcontinentThe Indian The Indian

SubcontinentSubcontinent

India• Religion- Hinduism, Muslim, Christian• Population- > 1 billion people (3x USA)• Size: 1/3 the size of the USA• Literacy- 65% men 37% women• Per capita GNP- $2500

Early History• Began in Indus Valley (now Pakistan)• In the 5th century AD, invaders from

Central and SW Asia conquered the area

• By 1500 the Mughal Empire was firmly established throughout India

• Muslim (Islamic) rule brought new customs that conflicted with those of the native Hindus

Europeans Arrive• Europeans began arriving around 1500

looking for spices, cloth and other goods not available in Europe

• The British set up the British East India Company and gained control of the trade in India by 1757

• In 1857 Britain gained direct rule over India, lasting until 1947, called the raj. The “raj” was Britain’s rule over India!

Resistance

• Most Indians did not like Britain’s colonization

• Gandhi emerged as the leader of the opposition movement based on nonviolent resistance/civil disobedience

• August 1947 - India became an independent democratic nation

India divides up…

• Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh were divided up from the original India.

• Why did Pakistan and Bangladesh want to leave India? Check the answer to # 23!

• About 1 million people died in the conflict

• 10 million people moved across borders to get with their own kind of people

Economic Challenges

• About ½ of India’s population lives in poverty.

• 2/3 farm but only enough for family

Modern India

• Blend of traditional and new ways

• Arranged marriages, male dominated, divorce rare.

• Most middle class children go to school, but in city slums and rural areas school attendance is irregular and literacy rates are low

Indian Culture

• Hindu is the official language

• The major force in most lives is Hinduism

• 80% of population is Hindu!

• More about Hinduism later!

What is Bollywood?• Mumbai, India

(previously called Bombay), is the world’s movie capital

• The entertainment industry produces 5 times as many films as Hollywood

Map of South Asia

HinduismHinduismHinduismHinduism

HinduismHinduism may be the world's oldest religion. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism has no

single founder and no single set of beliefs.

Hinduism is a way of life as well as a set of religious teachings

Hindus can worship just one single god (like Christians, Jews, and Muslims), or many gods, or no gods at all.

To Hindus, religion includes everything from one's outlook on life and worship to one's daily life and social status.

Many Hindus invoke Ganesha, the god who can overcome any

obstacle, before beginning any undertaking.

ReincarnationHindus believe that, after a person

dies, his or her soul is reborn into a new life.

This happens over and over again in a seemingly endless cycle.

KarmaThe form into which a soul is reborn

depends upon the karma that the soul acquired in its previous life.

If a soul lives a very bad life, it gathers lots of bad karma and will be reborn into a lower form.

If you live a good life, you collects good karma and will be reborn in a higher form.

A murderer collects bad karma. If enough bad karma is accumulated, and the soul might come back in its next life as a demon, a tiger, or even a worm.

A poor person who lives a very good life might be reborn as a rich person or even a god.

By leading a good life and accumulating enough good karma, the individual soul may eventually escape from the cycle of rebirth and achieve union with Brahman, the Universal Soul.

An ancient Hindu epic describes the timeless war between good

and evil.

Way of Life

Hinduism states that one worships the gods simply by living the way prescribed for the status into which he or she is born. Thus, someone born to the working caste accumulates good karma by working hard and respecting those of a higher station.

A good Hindu obeys his or her family priest, performs daily religious rituals, and respects the gods. Most important, though, is living according to one's caste obligations and doing good deeds.

Dharma

• Each person is born into a caste and has a certain moral duty (dharma) that is specific to that caste

• A person can move into a different caste only through reincarnation

• Limits ability of people to improve their lives

BONUS SLIDES• INDIA used to be divided into 5

castes (levels of people)

• Check ‘em out below!

What’s a Caste System?

• Cornerstone of Hinduism

• System of social classes

• Four basic castes made up original system but over time they were divided into smaller groupings

How does India’s Caste System work?

Consist of 4 categories: Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaisyas (merchants) and Sudras (servants)

• People outside caste system are considered untouchables

• You caste dictates not only your profession, but also whom you can marry & all other aspects of life

Brahman – priest, teacher, judge

Kshatriyas – warrior, police, soldier

Vaishya – shopkeeper, landowner

Shudra – Carpenter, service providers

• Within the caste of Shudra there are many different groups.  Each one of these groups performs a service.  Their specific service is a birthright and is somewhat similar to unions in the U.S.  Duties range from making furniture to building houses.

Harijan - untouchables• These little girls are members

of the lowest caste in the heirarchy.  They are a part of what used to be known as the untouchables.  They were called untouchables because people belived that they were so dirty that they were not fit to be touched by other people in higher castes.  Their jobs involve cleaning, or what we might call "dirty work." 

• In this picture the girls are making dung patties.  The dung from cows are taken and made into patties and set out to dry (as you can see the rows of them), these patties are then used to be burned as fuel or for heat. 

Does India have a population control program similar to

China?

• It doesn’t limit births to one child per family

• It has one of the oldest population programs in the world

• Since the 1950s, India encourages birth control and family planning

• The Indian Government provides grants (money) to people who undergo sterilization surgeries

What is the Taj Mahal• Built by Shah Jahan for

his Wife (Mahal) who died after giving birth to their 14th child.

• Construction began in 1631 and took 22 years and 20,000 workers to complete.

• It is located in Agra, India.

Taj Mahal