1-10-07 Ganges

Nizam of Deccan Brahmaputra

Sukkur Deccan
Chiropoonji Vindhya
Hindi Gnat
Mark Twain Tamil
Urdu Soan
Bengali Madras
Himalayans Amri-Nal
Khyber I.V.C. (2700-1200 b.c.)
Indus

India
 Many religions. Has given birth to the most religions.
 More deep rooted ethnic groups that are established than any other country.
 1947 gained independence from Britian
o at that time, only 18% were literate
o now, literacy rate has tripled…52%
 Hard to survive w/o speaking 3-4 languages
o Many know multi languages w/o stepping foot into a school (street smarts)
 Level of poverty slowly disappearing
o 25% are severely poor
o Has the world’s largest middle class.
 Nizam of Deccan (Indian Prince): Richest man in the world (1945-ish)
 Sukkur: driest part in the world. > 1 inch of rain (last 70 years)
 Assan: Chirapoonji: Tiny village; world’s wettest spot
o 90ft of rain fell in 3 month in 1995
 Himalayans have the most snowfall
 In 1947, India wrote a constitution
o National lanhuage is Hindi.
 Spoken by only 30%
 Mostly in the north
 Declared 13 other languages as official
 Very old languages where some date back before Christ
 30 other minor languages
 800 dialects and sub-dialects and growing
 Survial of India’s entity
o Pride in common history/heritage
o Inadian way of life
 Hinduism: not just a religion but a way of life for the people
• It’s the ‘glue’ of India
o Geographical set-up
 Mark Twain: “India is a land of dreams, romance, ….” (had a very good quote that
describe India. Hard to find a good one but Mr. Twain nailed it)
 Pakistan: In 2001, had a population of 144 million
o 97% Muslim
o 3% Hindu/Christian
o Urdu is the official language
 Bangladesh: In 2001, had a population of 131 million
o 83% Muslim
o 16% Hindu
o 1% Buddhist
o Bengali is the official language