  Welcome to India Welcome to India  Since the mid-1700s, Britain controlled India  Changes that benefitted India  Ending slavery, improving schools, building railroads  Changes that hurt India  Imported the Indian cotton for their own profit  Only British officials in power positions  Mohandas Gandhi – led India to independence  Believed in nonviolent resistance such as boycotts  British eventually agreed to establish provinces in 1935 that were governed entirely by Indians Indian Independence

  Hindus vs. Muslims  Muslims generally poorer workers  Hindus often landowners  Britain agreed to give independence to India  Created mostly Hindu Republic of India  Northern part formed nation of Pakistan where most Muslims lived  Violent Partition  Hindus in the north moved south, Muslims in the south moved north to Pakistan  India and Pakistan have had 3 wars since independence  India Pakistan Border India Pakistan Border Religious Conflict

  Newly independent Pakistan had two regions, West and East Pakistan  West – different ethnic groups, spoke Urdu  East – Bengali ethnic group  West Pakistan contained factories while East Pakistan was mostly agricultural  East Pakistan felt that they were being treated unfairly  Fighting between East and West started and India joined the side of the East Pakistanis  East Pakistan became the country of Bangladesh Bangladesh

  Majority of people practice Hinduism  The Caste System – social hierarchy  People can improve their position in the next life by carrying out their duties Religion of India

  About 70% of Indians live in villages and farm  Rural Housing  The quality of house depends on your status  Food – Indians follow a mostly vegetarian diet  Hindus don’t eat meat, Muslims do not eat pork  Clothing – light and loose clothing because so humid  Some Indian women cover their faces  Family Life – Families in India are generally large  Signs of Change – Most villages have electricity  Television reaches 75% of all Indians  Indian film industry is very big Village Life

  Life in Towns  Most people live in small or medium-sized towns  Life in Cities  Mumbai (Bombay) is the country’s busiest port, financial center, and more crowded than NYC  Mumbai Mumbai  Chennai and Kolkata are east coast centers of commerce and shipping industry  New Delhi is India’s capital Urbanization

  Advances in Farming  India’s main goal is to feed its growing population  Better farming methods, increased irrigation, and higher quality seeds have helped  Expanded Industry  One of the world’s leading industrial nations  Education  Literacy rate has continued to increase  Children fail to complete school to help in the fields  Health Care  Many Indians cannot afford basic medical care  Unhealthy water is a problem in rural areas Economic Improvements

  Irrigation and Electricity  Indus River basin contains most of the country’s agricultural areas and hydroelectric power stations  Tarbela Dam built to control Indus River  National Challenges  Most Pakistanis speak Punjabi but the official language is Urdu  Pakistan has been involved in recent conflicts  Allowed U.S. troops to use Pakistan as a base  Pakistan Pakistan

  Ethnic Diversity  Many different ethnic groups with conflicting opinions about Islamic beliefs and practices  Buffer State  Britain and Russia failed to conquer Afghanistan  It became a buffer state between these two powers  Terrorism and War  Soviets withdrew in 1989, Taliban began its control  Post 9-11, U.S. launches attack that removes Taliban  Tried to establish a democratic government  Aftermath of Afghanistan War Aftermath of Afghanistan War Afghanistan

  Challenging Climate – primarily tropical wet  Pros – abundant water supply and fertile soil enable farmers to plant and harvest year round  Cons – rivers overflow, fierce tropical storms sweep in and submerge the land  Overpopulation  Top 10 in terms of population  As many people as Mexico and Canada combined  Because of the overpopulation and natural disasters, hunger has been an issue  Preparing for Disasters Preparing for Disasters Bangladesh

  Nepal  Mount Everest is located in Nepal  Southern lowlands are hot and humid  Tropical crops flourish – citrus fruits, sugar cane, rice  90% Hindu  Allows tourists to come climb its mountains  Mount Everest Mount Everest  Bhutan  Climate similar to Nepal  75% Buddhist  Stricter on who they allow into their country  Bhutan Bhutan Nepal and Bhutan

  Referred to as “a tear dropped off the subcontinent of India” – means Magnificent Island  Environmental Change – tropical climate  Heaviest rains fall in the SW part  Major crop is tea, Sri Lanka produces about 1/8 of the world’s tea  Much of the rain forest has been removed for farming and development  Social Unrest  ¾ of Sri Lankans are Sinhalese, rest Tamils  Religion and language split the groups  Sinhalese practice Buddhism, Tamils practice Hinduism  Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lanka