1. Our Trip ended back at JFK after a stop in Delhi
Our Trip started at JFK to Mumbai
Next we took at train to Orissa & was there 4 days before driving back to Calcutta
We then flew to Kerala; spent 3 days there
From there we flew to Calcutta; spent 3 days there

2. Inhabited for over 5000 years
Small principalities prior to British rule
Formed only 60 years British Departure
East & West Pakistan were carved out of the partitioning of the India sub continent…
E. Pakistan became Bangladesh which to this day contributes to the Pakistan-India friction
28 states & 7 territories set mostly along language lines

3. Major Indian Religions
Hindu
80.5%
Muslim
13.4%
other
1.8%
Sikh
1.9%
Christian
2.4%
12th largest
3rd largest

4. India factoids 12th largest economy 7th largest country (area)
~ 1/3 USA
25% live below poverty line-
and its NOT the USA definition!!

5. More India factoids 1,166,000,000 people Over 1600 dialects!!
2nd to China
Over 1600 dialects!!
61% literate
Life expectancy 69.9 yrs
(145 th ranking)

6. Major Indian Languages
Hindi
41.2%
Bengali
8.1%
Telugu
7.2%
Urdu
5.0%
other
5.5%
Maithili
1.2%
Gujarati
4.5%
Malayalam
3.2%
Punjabi
2.8%
Assamese
1.3%
Oriya
Kannada
3.7%
Marathi
7.0%
Tamil
5.9% 13
The state languages we visited are circled in RED

7. Kerala 32 Million people – slightly less than California
15,000 sq-mi Slightly larger than Maryland
highest literate rate 91% & life expectancy at 73 years, but lowest birth rate
Malayalam is main language
Jewish settlements in 573 BC
St. Thomas visited around 52 AD
Portuguese, then Dutch controlled area
Most Christians follow the Syrian (Orthodox) Catholic rite
Poverty rate is 10%

8. Changanacherry is ~2 hour ride from Airport in Kochi
Portions of Vembanadu Lake reclaimed for rice paddies & is called Venice of the East
Nehru Boat races held annually on the lake

9. West Bengal
Pop.: 80.2 Mil  (Top 3 US states –CA,TX, NY total 81.5 million)
34,267 sq mi --slightly smaller than Maine
Hinduism 72% Muslims 23%; Sikh & Christians 2.5% each
Literacy – 69%
32% below poverty line
Bengal was divided in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities, W. Bengal -a state of India, and E. Bengal, part of new nation of E. Pakistan (now Bangladesh)
borders were only agreed in 1960

10. Formed in 1936
37 Million  people – slightly more than California
60,000 sq-mi Slightly larger than Georgia
63% literate
47% live below poverty line
Oriya is main language
22% of population is“Tribal”
infant mortality rate of 6.5%
Orissa
Mogul Empire was a Persian, Islamic imperial power that ruled the Indian subcontinent until the British arrival in the 1700’s

11. But the drive back was even more “FUN”!!
Train ride from Calcutta (Kolkata) to Belasore (Balashwar): 3.5 long hours!
But the drive back was even more “FUN”!!

12. Orissa Religious Strife: 2008
According to All India Christian Council, the 2008 violence affected in 14 districts out of 30 and 300 Villages, 4,400 Houses burnt, 50,000 Homeless, 59 People killed including at least 2 pastors, 10 Priests/Pastors/Nuns injured, 18,000 Men, women, children injured, 2 women gang-raped including a nun, 151 Churches destroyed and 13 Schools and colleges damaged
Hindu nationalist groups have blamed the violence on the issue of religious conversion. clashes are long-simmering tensions between equally impoverished groups: the Kandha tribe, who are 80% of the poor, and the Pana The Panas have converted to Christianity in large numbers and prospered financially
Conversions have been legislated by the provisions of the Freedom of Religion Acts, replicated in some of the states in India. Orissa was the first state of independent India to enact legislation on religious conversions. The Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967, stipulates that no person shall “convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person from one religious faith to another by the use of force or by inducement or by any fraudulent means
-from Wikipedia