Chapter 25

Indian Independence

August 14, 1957

Invasions

• Indus Valley Civilization 2500 BCE• Aryans 1500 BCE

– Invaded through Hindu Kush– Pushed dark skinned Dravidians south

• Persians, Greeks– Unsuccessful invasions

• Muslims– 1500 CE established Mughal Empire

Khyber Pass

Europeans

• Traders from Europe– French, Dutch, Portuguese

• British – 1757 - gain control through East India Tea Company

• 1857 Indians revolt, put down by British gov’t• Raj lasts almost 100 years

Mohandas Gandhi leads nonviolent resistance

Government

• Democracy• Difficult with many

languages, cultures, religions

Economy

• Subsistence farming• Land reform

– 5% hold 25% of land

• Green Revolution– “new” agricultural

practices– Crop yields went up, but

are now declining– Many reverting to

organic practices

Industry

• Textiles, clothing• Iron ore, steel• High tech centers in

Mumbai, Bangalore

Marriage and Family

• Arranged marriages • Bride price (dowry)

– Female children not wanted

– Son takes care of parents

• Vegetarian• Education valued

Hinduism• 4 Main Varnas

– Brahmans• Priests, scholars

– Kshatriyas• Rulers, warriors

– Vaisyas• Farmers, merchants

– Sudras• Peasants, laborers

– Untouchables

• Preparing and sharing of food reveals how castes are ranked.

– Food cooked in oil and prepared by a Brahmin can be accepted and eaten by any caste below it.

– Food cooked in water can generally be accepted by one’s own caste members or inferior castes.

– Leftover, uneaten food almost always is taken only by the very low castes.

– Food that can be eaten raw is the most freely distributed and can be accepted by any caste from any caste.

– In addition, prasad, blessed food that is left over from religious offerings, is given to anyone regardless of caste.

• There is also a range of pure and impure foods.– Vegetables and grains are purer than meat and

eggs. – Fish is the purest of the non-vegetarian foods,

followed by chicken, goats, pork, and water buffalo;

– the most impure is beef. – Sweet pastries, fried in deep fat, are among the

most widely acceptable foods from any caste. • By observing how food is prepared and with whom it is

shared, one can begin to determine the ranking on a purity-pollution scale of the caste groups involved.

Reincarnation• The four goals in Hindu thought

– duty (dharma)– pleasure (kama)– wealth and power (artha)– release from samsara (moksha) or liberation from

the cycle of death and rebirth and all of the suffering and limitation of worldly existence

• God is in 3 parts: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva

Pakistan and Bangladesh

• Indus Valley civilization– Very advanced in2500 BCE

• Partition– British split country along religious lines– Forced migrations of thousands– Left lasting enmity and violence

Government

• Pakistan– Elected military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf – Benazir Bhutto opposition leader, calling for

elections

• Bangladesh– 2 former Prime Ministers in jail for corruption

Kashmir

Economy

• High population growth• Subsistence farming• Irrigated lands – Indus valley• Flooding in Bangladesh• Textiles, clothing• Microcredit – small ($25) loans

Islamic culture, many ethnic groups

Nepal and Bhutan

Isolation

• Mountain barrier • Landlocked• Constitutional

monarchies• Limited resources• Subsistence farming• Timber and

deforestation• Tourism

• Tourism good/bad– Brings income– Leaves environmental

problems• Trash• Pollution• Environmental

degradation

Image courtesy Binod Joshi/Associated Press

Trash, especially from abandoned equipment like oxygen cylinders, is a huge problem at Mount Everest. Here Appa Sherpa, who has climbed Everest 11 times, looks at some cylinders collected by the Nepalese government.

Culture• Many ethnic groups

– Sherpas famous guides

• Nepalese mainly Hindu• Bhutanese mainly

Buddhist

Islands

• Sri Lanka– Sinhalese 500 BCE

• Buddhists• 74% of population

– Tamils 300 BCE• Dravidian Hindus driven

south by Aryan invaders• 18% of population

• Intense fighting over resources between groups– Tamils defeated, 2009

• Maldives– 500 BCE settled by

various groups from India

– Arab traders brought Islam

– Muslim sultans ruled – 1968 became republic– Only 300,000 people

Economy

• Sri Lanka– Agriculture, including

tea and rice– Large plantations

• Maldives– No arable land– Tourism– Fishing

• Challenges– Global warming