Chapter 5 Sec 1
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Transcript of Chapter 5 Sec 1
Chapter 5 Sec 1
India
Land
• India and several other countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives) make up the South Asian Subcontinent.
• A subcontinent- is a large landmass that is part of another continent but distinct from it.
• India is bordered in the North by two mountain ranges. The Karakoram range and the Himalayas.
• The Himalayas are the largest mountain in the world with an average peak height of 5 miles tall.
• There are also mountain in the southern part of India.
• Most of India is warm or hot all year long because the Himalayas keep cold northern air from reaching the country.
• Monsoons- or seasonal winds that blow steadily from the same direction for months, also influence the climate.
• May through October the monsoons bring rains from the Indian Ocean.
Green Revolution
• India raises most of the foods it needs today.• During the Bengal Famine, in 1943, 4 million
people died of starvation.• When India won its independence from Great
Britain in 1947, Indian officials improved India’s farm land.
• The Green Revolution- was an effort to use modern techniques and science to increase production of food.
Green Revolution Cont.
• The government built dams to collect water and spread this water to the farms through irrigation.
• This allowed the farmers to plant more than once a year and they could plant multiple crops.
• Today’s India grows rice, wheat, cotton, tea, sugarcane, and jute- a plant fiber used to make rope, burlap bags and carpet backing.
• Huge factories in India’s cities turn out cotton textiles and produce iron and steel.
• They also have oil and sugar refineries.• Recently American computer companies have
opened offices in India to make software.• India also has cottage industry- or a home or
village-based industry in which family members, including children, supply their own equipment to make goods.
Government
• Like the U.S., India is a democracy.• It has two houses of parliament or congress.• The Council of States, like our senate, and the
House of the People which is like our house of representatives.
• The prime minister- an official who heads the government in a parliamentary democracy, is elected by the party with the most votes and does the job of a president.
Environment
• India’s economic growth has brought challenges of pollution.
• Some of the problems are Deforestation.• The pollution of water and land from burning
coal, industrial waste, and pesticides- or chemicals used to kill insects that destroy crops.
• The main river the Ganges is considered one of the most polluted in the world.
India’s History
• About 4,000 years ago the 1st Indian civilization was along the Indus River Valley in present day Pakistan.
• Later Aryans came and blended their beliefs into the local customs and the religion eventually became Hinduism.
• Under Hinduism the people created castes. A caste- was a social class based on a persons ancestry.
• You were not allowed to do anything out of your caste.
• Islam influenced India through the Mogul Empire. They ruled India for 200 years in the 1500s.
• The British were the last of India’s conquerors, they ruled from 1700s-1900s.
• Mohandas Gandhi led a non violent resistance in the mid 1900s. Eventually India gained its freedom in 1947.
• East and West Pakistan, one on each side of India, were created as Muslim homelands. East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971.
Religion
• About 80% of India follow Hinduism.• They believe in Reincarnation- this is the belief
that after the body dies the soul is reborn, often in human or animal form, until they reach perfection.
• Many Hindu's believe it is wrong to kill any living creature for this reason.
• Cows are believed to be sacred and are allowed to roam freely.
Religion cont.
• Diwali is a major holiday in India. It is the festival of lights and celebrates the coming of winter and the victory of good over evil.
• Sikhs is a religion that believes in one god like Christians but shares Hindu beliefs too. They want to create their own state apart from India.
Daily Life
• There are around 1.2 billion people in India today.
• There are 18 official languages• Hindi is the most common but English is used
in business and government.• About 70% of the population live in a rural
environment.