India Chapter 25 Section 1 Hannah, Amber, Trevor, Cristina

Early History Indian civilization began in the Indus valley around 2500 B.C. Invaders would cross the Hindu Kush mountains and spread across Northern India Persian and Greek invaders occupied the Indus valley The Aryans established created small kingdoms on the Ganges plain Two great Indian empires were Mauryan and Mughal empires Gandhi began the nonviolent resistance Raj lasted for nearly 90 years Nonviolent Resistance – a protest movement that didn’t use violence Raj – The period India was in direct British control

Governing the worlds largest democracy India became a democratic republic in 1950 Reflects elements from American and British democratic systems Many ethnic, cultural, and religious factors influence Indian politics India is strongly Hindu but around 150 million of its people are Muslim The Sikhs and the Tamils also play a big part in Indian politics

Economic challenges 2/3 of India's people are farmers Land reform distributed land more evenly between land owners Usually produce very crops Families struggle on what they can grow Growing Industry Industries began to developed 1940 for cotton, iron, chemical, machinery, and food products Today Mumbai is India's most prosperous city and leading commercial center in the country

Life in modern India Daily Life -Marriage and family remain at the center of Indian culture -Largely vegetarian diet -Enjoy sports, music, and movies -Popular sports are soccer, field hockey, and cricket

Life in modern India cont. Education - Most Indians work on farms -More people are finding work in factories and offices -In middle class towns and cities students attend school and learn how to read and write -The ability to read in India has steadily increased since the 50’s -In the slums, school attendance is irregular and literacy rates are low in these areas

Indian Culture Many Languages 18 major language groups More then 1,000 different languages and dialects Hindi and English is widely spoken as the most common languages Hinduism Hinduism is complex region with roots in Aryan culture Hindus believe in reincarnation the rebirth after death Moral consequences of a persons actions, known as karma

Indian Culture Con. Caste System The Aryan system of social classes Its one of the cornerstones of Hinduism Four basic castes, the Brahmans ( priests and scholars ), the Kshatriyas ( rulers and warriors ), Vaisyas ( farmers and merchants ), and Sudras (artisans and laborers )

Other Religions Other faiths play a rule in Indian life Those are Jainism, Christianity, Sikhism, and Buddhism-which originated in northern India Millions of Muslims left india after it gained its independence in 1947 They chose to move and create new states called Pakistan and Bangladesh