WORDPLAYIndia region in S Asia, south of the Himalayas, including a
large peninsula between the Arabian Sea & the Bay of Bengal: it contains
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, & Bhutan republic in
central & S India: established by Act of British Parliament (1947), became
a republic (1950): member of the Commonwealth: 1,269,000 sq. mi. (3,287,590 sq.
km); pop. 783,940,000 (circa 1995); cap. New Delhi
FAST FACTS
Ajanta, India, village in Maharashtra state; noted for
fresco-decorated cave dwellings and halls, dating back to 200 BC; pop.
Aryan, one of the peoples believed to have migrated
into Europe and India from central Asia; parent stock of the Hindus, Persians,
Greeks, Latins, Celts, Anglo-Saxons, etc.
Bengali language, modern dialect of India, akin to Uriya,
Assamese, Bihari, and Hindustani; word of English origin, derived from Bengal
in which province it is spoken; makes free use of Sanskrit words; literature
known in Western world through works of Tagore
Bhopal, India, capital of Madhya Pradesh state; formerly a
Muslim state; ruled 1844-1926 by women (begums, or princesses); Sultan Jahan
Begum (1858-1930) did much to advance position of women, education, and medical
aid; in 1926 abdicated in favour of son; state acceded to India 1947; disaster
in 1984 caused by leak of deadly gas from Union Carbide Corp. plant; pop.
309,285
Candra Gupta I (about 4th century AD), ruler of India,
founder of the Gupta Dynasty
Caste, hereditary division of society according to
family, religion, wealth, occupation, etc.
Charan Singh, (1902-87), prime minister of India July
28-Aug. 20, 1979
China (or People's Republic of China), country in
e. Asia; area 3,692,000 sq mi (9,561,000 sq km); cap. Beijing; pop.
1,165,888,000
Green Revolution, spectacular world development, largely since
World War II, in producing high-yielding strains of wheat, rice, corn,
potatoes, and other crops
Hyderabad, former state of India; area 82,168 sq mi
(212,814 sq km)
Morarji Desai, (born 1896), Indian political leader, born
in Gujarat; prime minister 1977-79
Myanmar (originally Burma, officially Union of
Myanmar), republic in north west. Indochina, on e. side of Bay of Bengal;
261,228 sq mi (676,577 sq km); cap. Rangoon; pop. 43,466,000
Punjab (or Land of the Five Rivers Sutlej, Beas,
Chenab, Jhelum, and Ravi), agricultural and industrial region; wheat, textiles;
formerly a province of north west. British India; in 1947 divided, on religious
lines, between Pakistan and India
Punjab, state in north
west. India,
formed from e. part of former province of Punjab, India; area about 20,000 sq
mi (51,800 sq km); cap. Chandigarh; wheat, cotton; pop. 13,551,060
Rajiv Gandhi, (1944-91), Indian public official, born in
Bombay; son of Indira Gandhi; persuaded by his mother to leave jet pilot career
to enter politics; became representative from Amethi constituency in Uttar
Pradesh in special elections 1981; became 1 of Congress party's 4 general
secretaries 1983; installed as party leader and prime minister after his
mother's assassination 1984; praised for liberal economic programs, but later
accused of government corruption; lost re-election 1989; assassinated at climax
of campaign to regain prime minister position 1991
Rama, one of incarnations of Vishnu in Hindu
mythology; hero of Hindu epic 'Ramayana'
Reincarnation, belief that souls of the dead return to
Earth in another form or body, especially in a new human body
Sanskrit, ancient sacred and literary language of
India, first found in Veda religious texts; Indo-Aryan language; because it is
so regular, some think it was never a language of the common people
Satyajit Ray, (1921-92), Indian film director
('Charulata'; 'Jana Aranya')
Sharecropping (or tenant farming), the operation of a farm
in exchange for a share of the crop; in U.S., sharecropping arose after Civil
War in the South
Stafford Cripps, (1889-1952), British lawyer and statesman;
ambassador to U.S.S.R. 1940-42; lord privy seal and leader of House of Commons
1942; minister of aircraft production 1942-45; president of Board of Trade
1945-47; minister of economic affairs 1947; chancellor of exchequer 1947-50
Stupa, Buddhist temple, cylindrical mound made of
earth, brick, or stone and containing relics of Buddha; sometimes carved
elaborately
Thar Desert (or Great Indian Desert), divided between
Sind region, Pakistan, and Rajasthan State, India; yields salt and gypsum
Union Carbide Corporation, third largest U.S. chemical firm; producer
of first dry cell battery and originator of Eveready trademark; founded 1886;
dry cell battery marketed 1890; one of first industrial research laboratories
established 1894; name Union Carbide adopted 1898; consumer products include
Prestone antifreeze, Glad Wrap, Simoniz car wax, as well as batteries; most
products sold to industry; became a multinational conglomerate after 1950;
massive industrial accident at Bhopal, India, in Dec. 1984 killed about 2,500
people, seriously damaged company reputation, and brought massive litigation
problems
Vishwanath Pratap Singh, (born 1931), prime minister of India,
elected in 1989; previously defence minister in Rajiv Gandhi's Cabinet; has a
reputation as an honest man determined to rid India of corruption
Yamuna River (or Jumna River), tributary of the Ganges
River, n. India; rises in Himalayas, flows 860 mi (1,385 km) s. and s.e. to
Ganges River
Nearly one sixth of all
the human beings on Earth live in India, the world's most populous democracy.
Its borders encompass a vast variety of peoples, practicing most of the world's
major religions, speaking scores of different languages, divided into thousands
of socially exclusive castes, and combining the physical traits of several
major racial groups. A civilized, urban society has existed in India for well
over 4,000 years, and there have been periods when its culture was as brilliant
and creative as any in history.
India's leaders have
played a prominent role in world affairs since the country became independent
in 1947. Nevertheless, the standard of living of most of its citizens is low.
The huge population strains the nation's limited resources. Fertile, cultivable
land is scarce, yet more than two thirds of the people depend directly on
agriculture for their livelihood. Many millions of Indians are inadequately
nourished, poorly housed, and lacking in basic educational, medical, and
sanitary services.
The modern nation of
India (also known by its ancient Hindi name, Bharat) is smaller than the Indian
Empire formerly ruled by Britain. Burma (now Myanmar), a mainly Buddhist
country lying to the east, was administratively detached from India in 1937.
Ten years later, when Britain granted independence to the peoples of the Indian
subcontinent, two regions with Muslim majorities a large one in the northwest
(West Pakistan) and a smaller one in the northeast (East Pakistan) were
partitioned from the predominantly Hindu areas and became the separate nation
of Pakistan. East Pakistan broke away from Pakistan in 1971 to form the independent
nation of Bangladesh. Also bordering India on its long northern frontier are
the People's Republic of China and the relatively small kingdoms of Nepal and
Bhutan. The island republic of Sri Lanka lies just off India's southern
tip.
LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Much of India's area of
almost 1.3 million square miles (3.3 million square kilometres including the
Pakistani-held part of Jammu and Kashmir) is a peninsula jutting into the
Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the
east. There are three distinct physiographic regions. In the north the high
peaks of the Himalayas lie partly in India but mostly just beyond its borders
in Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. South of the mountains, the low-lying
Indo-Gangetic Plain, shared with Pakistan and Bangladesh, extends more than
1,500 miles (2,400 kilometres) from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal.
Finally, the peninsular tableland, largely the Deccan, together with its
adjacent coastal plains, makes up more than half of the nation's area.
The Himalayas. The northern mountain wall consists of three
parallel ranges. The highest of these ranges is the Greater Himalayas, which
include several peaks that rise above 25,000 feet (7,600 meters). Even the
passes through these mountains are farther above sea level than the highest
summits of the Alps. India has the world's largest area under snow and glaciers
outside the Polar Regions.
Lower mountain ranges
branch off from both ends of the Himalayan system, running along the border
with Myanmar toward the Bay of Bengal in the east and mainly through Pakistan
toward the Arabian Sea in the west. Thus, the low-lying country to the south is
relatively isolated from the rest of Asia. This accounts for its recognition as
a subcontinent.
The Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Indo-Gangetic Plain, with an area of
about 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometres), varies in width by
several hundred miles. It is the world's most extensive tract of uninterrupted
alluvium. These deep, river-deposited sediments give rise to fertile soils. In
addition, they are rich in groundwater for well irrigation. The flat terrain
also makes the area ideal for canal irrigation.
The greater part of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain is drained by the Ganges River, which rises in the southern
Himalayas and flows in a generally south to southeast direction to the Bay of
Bengal. Its principal tributary, the Yamuna, or Jumna, flows past New Delhi,
the capital of India, to join the Ganges near Allahabad. North of Goalundo Ghat
in Bangladesh, the Ganges is joined by the Brahmaputra. The Indus and its
tributaries drain the western and south western parts of the plain. The
northern part of this area, now divided between India and Pakistan, is
traditionally known as the Punjab, or Land of the Five Rivers, for the five
major tributaries of the Indus the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas. Also
on the India-Pakistan border and considered part of the plain is the arid Thar,
or Great Indian, Desert.
The Deccan. The so-called tableland of India is actually
a more complex landform region than that word suggests. Most of the 735,000
square miles (1.9 million square kilometres) of the Deccan are relatively flat,
with elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 feet (300 to 600 meters) above sea
level. However, the terrain also includes numerous ranges of hills, as well as
several long, prominent escarpments. Anai Mudi (8,842 feet, 2,695 meters), in
the Southern Ghats, is the highest peak in peninsular India.
The coastal plains
flanking the Deccan are relatively narrow, ranging from 6 to 80 miles (10 to
130 kilometres). The eastern plain is drained by several large deltas,
including, from north to south, those of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and
Kaveri rivers.
India is rich in non
energy mineral resources and moderately well endowed with coal, but it is poor
in proven reserves of petroleum and natural gas. The principal mineral deposits
lie south of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Foremost among mineral-rich regions is
the Chota Nagpur Plateau. This area contains India's main coal deposits as well
as large quantities of high-grade iron ore, copper, bauxite, limestone, mica,
and chromite. At more than 100 billion tons, the country's coal reserves are
the fifth largest in the world. However, most of the coal is of poor quality
because of its high ash and moisture content. Proven on-land petroleum reserves
are insufficient to meet current demand. There has been some success with
offshore exploration. Many of India's rivers are potential sources of
hydroelectric power.
CLIMATE, VEGETATION, ANIMAL LIFE
In general, India's
climate is governed by the monsoon, or seasonal, rain-bearing wind. Most of the
country has three seasons: hot, wet, and cool. During the hot season, which
usually lasts from early March to mid-June, very high temperatures are
accompanied by intermittent winds and occasional dust storms.
Strong, humid winds from
the southwest and south usually bringing very heavy rains that fall almost
daily in the middle or late afternoon the "burst of the monsoon"
herald the start of the wet season. It may begin as early as late May in the
south. Eventually, the rains taper off, and by late October cool, dry,
northerly air has replaced the humid marine air over all of India except the
south eastern third of the peninsula. This "retreat of the monsoon"
marks the start of the cool season.
Average annual precipitation
varies widely. Cherrapunji in the Shillong Plateau just north of Bangladesh
receives 450 inches (1,143 centimetres), making it the second rainiest place on
Earth, after Mount Waialeale in Hawaii (460 inches, 1,168 centimetres). At the
other extreme, the western Thar Desert averages only 4 inches (10 centimetres).
In the driest parts of India, however, the rainfall is highly variable.
Temperature varies as
does rainfall in different parts of India. Hill stations in the Himalayan
region, such as Darjeeling and Simla, record the lowest temperatures, with
annual averages of between about 54° and
57° F (12° and 14°
C). In the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Delhi and Allahabad register an average
of 79° F (26° C).
Plant and Animal Life
Most of the far northeast
(north and east of Bangladesh), northern West Bengal, and the west coast from
Cochin to somewhat north of Bombay get more than 80 inches (200 centimetres) of
rainfall annually. This is usually enough to keep the soil moist throughout the
year. The natural vegetation associated with these regions is an exceedingly
varied, broadleaf, evergreen rain forest, typically tall and dense. Much of the
rain forest, however, is in hilly regions that have been repeatedly burned over
and cleared for slash-and-burn agriculture, a type of farming particularly
associated with India's tribal population. As a result, the soil has become
less fertile. Where the forest has grown again, it is generally lower and less
open than the original vegetation.
Areas with from 40 to 80
inches (100 to 200 centimetres) of rainfall (enough to grow at least one crop
of rice) include almost the whole north eastern peninsular region, the eastern
Gangetic Plain, a narrow belt on the plains and hills just south of the
Himalayas as far west as Kashmir, another belt just east of the crest of the
Western Ghats, and most of the south eastern, or Coromandel, coast. In these
areas, as average rainfall declines the forests become progressively shorter,
less dense, and less varied.
In addition, as rainfall
declines from 80 to 60 inches (200 to 150 centimetres) evergreens gradually
give way to deciduous species, which in these regions lose their leaves during
the cool, dry season. Where government protection from slash-and-burn
agriculture has kept forests intact, they include good stands of teak, sal, and
other excellent timber species.
Most of the rest of India
averages from 20 to 40 inches (50 to 100 centimetres), enough to grow one crop
of grain other than rice. The natural vegetation consists of low, open forests,
intermixed with thorny shrubs and grasses. Little of the original vegetative
cover remains.
A wide variety of
distinctive vegetation types occur as a result of special ecological
conditions. Tall grass savannas, with scattered acacias, grow on the moist
soils of the Terai, the fringe of plains bordering the northern mountains.
Mangrove forests are found in the brackish deltas of the east coast, and many
types of palms grow in sandy or salty soils. Often impenetrable stands of
bamboo sprout up in fields formerly given over to slash-and-burn
cultivation.
The alterations in
India's vegetation over the centuries have brought about many changes in the
animal life. Today the dominant forms are cattle, goats, buffalo, sheep, and,
in the drier regions, camels. While cattle are essential to the nation's
economy, there is a religious taboo against their slaughter.
In the forests and the
high, rugged areas where wild species are still dominant, the array of animals
remains rich. Among large mammals are the Indian elephant, still regularly
rounded up and domesticated in several areas; the rhinoceros, living almost
exclusively in game sanctuaries; over a dozen species of deer and antelope; and
wild cattle, sheep, goats, and boars.
Carnivores, or meat
eaters, include tigers and leopards; lions, once wide-ranging but now confined
to the Gir Forest on the Kathiawar Peninsula; the nearly extinct cheetah; and a
variety of bears. Monkeys, especially langurs and rhesuses, are common even in
cities. The cobra is the best-known reptile. Three species of crocodiles are
found. There are about 1,200 species of birds, among them vultures, parrots,
mynas, quail, and bustards.
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
It is not certain which
racial group first occupied India. The assumption is often made that the first
inhabitants had characteristics in common with the small-stature, dark,
aboriginal population of Australia, as well as with other tribal groups still
found in isolated, forested regions of Southeast Asia. Therefore, the term
proto-Australoid has been applied to the racial type represented by a number of
tribes still living in India, mainly in the states of Bihar, Orissa, and Madhya
Pradesh. Other early arrivals were the ancestors of the peoples, now living
mainly in southern India, who speak languages of the Dravidian family. The
Mongoloid peoples have also been in India a long time. Their present-day
descendants include several tribal groups living along the frontiers with
Myanmar, China (Tibet), Bhutan, and Nepal.
Not later than the middle
of the 2nd millennium BC, a wave of migrants of inner Eurasian origin began to
filter into India through passes on the north western frontier of the country.
These invaders, known as Aryans, had relatively light skin and spoke languages
of the Indo-European family.
Throughout recorded
history new groups have continued to penetrate India, mainly from the
northwest: Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Afghans, and, since the 16th
century, small numbers of Western Europeans. Over the millennia all these
peoples have interbred in varying degrees. The resulting mixture is so highly
complex that it is virtually impossible to draw clear racial distinctions among
the people of India today.
Continuing … 'INDIA (Part
2 of 4)'
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