India and Gandhi

India

Geography
The subcontinent of India is in south Asia. Its boundaries
are the 1 I _ _ _ _ n Ocean to the south, the Arabian Sea
to the 2 w_ _ _ and the Bay of 3 B_ _ _ _ I to the east.
It borders 4 P _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to the north-west, 5 Ch _ _
_,
6
N _ _ _ _ and 7 Bh _ _ _ _ to the north-east and
8
B _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and Burma (9 My_ _ _ _ _ ) to the
east. To the north it is bordered by the world's highest
mountain chain, the 10 Hi _ _ _ _ y _ s. Further south,
plateaus, tropical rain forests and sandy deserts are
close to beaches with palm trees. Its lush jungles are
home to exotic wildlife. Draw the map of India with its boundaries
India is a 11 f_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of 25 states; it
gained independence from Britain in1947.
The capital of India is N 12_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, but the biggest city is 13 _ _ _ _ _ _ .

The past

British Rule
In 1857 all political power in India was transferred to the British Crown. In 1876 Queen Victoria became
the Empress of India. However Indian people did not like the oppressive British rule. As a result of
Gandhi's efforts Britain gave independence to India in 1947 and, to solve the problem of hostility
between Muslims and Hindus, formed two new independent states: India and Pakistan. India was
predominantly Hindu while Pakistan was Muslim. This was called partition.
India became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1950.

The present

India is the seventh largest country, the second most populous country, and the most populous
democracy in the world. It has a multilingual and multiethnic society. English is still the major language of
trade and politics, but there are fourteen official languages in all. Twenty-four languages and lots of other
dialects are spoken. It is a beautiful and ancient country with great geographical, cultural and economic
diversity.
India's history goes back to 3200 BC (when Hinduism was first founded).
Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all exist within the country today and make
its culture very varied.
Modern India is home both to the very poor and to the sophisticated urban jet-setter.
The country suffers from high levels of extreme poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition, but its mountains and
beaches have superb sports facilities for the rich.
Economic reforms have transformed the country into the second fastest growing large economy in the
world, and industrial development has brought the country to be one of the world's top ten nations, where
technology is advanced and nuclear power is produced.
However 25% of the population live below the poverty line.

Bollywood
Bollywood is the name given to the Indian film industry and the name is a play on the word Hollywood.
Bollywood grew during the 1990s and they make about 800 films a year, nearly twice as many as
Hollywood. About 14 million Indian people go to the cinema everyday. Bollywood films are colourful.
They have singing, dancing and lots of costumes changes. The films usually last three and half hours
with an intermission

Himalayas (range) /Bhutan /Indian / Federal Republic / Bangladesh / Mubai / Myanmar / China / West / New Delhy / Pakistan /
Bengal / Nepal
Mohands Karamchand Gandhi
He was not interested in material wealth. He ate semply and
slept on the ground. In 1931 he went to London to press for
India’s independence. Instead of staying in an expencive
hotel, he slept on the floor of a community centre. His only
Mohands Karamchand Gandhi (1869 1948), was a clothes were a simple garment that he made himself and a
political and spiritual leader in India, where he was pair of sandals.
born.
He was called Mahatma, which means ‘Great Soul’. He was the pioneer of the non-violent resistence.
He went to London to study law and then he worked in South Africa as a lawyer. He was shocked at the
treatment of Indian immigrants in South Africa. He took part in passive protests because he wanted to
defend the rights of Indian people. (He himself was told to get off a train so that a white European could sit
down ).He was arrested several times.
After twenty years, he returned to India, where he led campains to help poverty, women’s rights and to end
the fifth group of the caste system of Untouchables. Most of all he wanted independence for India, which
was part of the British Empire. He encouraged the people to oppose British oppression by refusing to use
British goods or institutions, but he taught them never to use violence. He had enormous influence even from
prison, where he stayed two years. Gandhi opposed British whenever he could. He led the famous Salt
March: it was a campaign of non-violent protest against the British Salt Tax. Britain had a monopoly on salt
production in India and Gandhi thought it was wrong. (The march influenced the civil rights activist Martin
Luther King).
In 1947 he collaborated with Lord Mountbatten, who was the last viceroy of India, to take India to
independence.
Gandhi worked for peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims and he opposed to the partition (=
creation of another state, as it happened later, Pakistan). The belief that Muslims had equal value to Hindu
cost Gandhi his life. He was assassinated by a Hindu Fanatic.

Questions:
1. What is the Indian word for “Great soul” ?
2. What is the meaning of “ passive protest?” Explain in English
3. Who was a non –violent leader like Gandhi?
4. What great protest was Gandhi famous for?
5. Where did he live his life?
6. Which religion do the Untouchable believe in?
7. Who did he fight agaist in his life?
8. Was the English Navy Admiral Lord Mountbatten viceroy in India after the I World War?
9. What did a Hindu Fanatic do in 1948?

A Sari (also written as scree) is a

traditional clothing worn by many women in
Indian as well as other Asian countries. It is
made up of a long strip of cloth which can be
wrapped in various styles. The most
common style is wrapped around the
waist, then one end is draped over the
shoulder. It is generally five to six yards of
unstitched cloth worn over a blouse

TAJMAHAL means "Crown Palace". Built between 1631-1653, it is the most well-preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in i world. The Taj Mahal
is a dome-shaped building made completely from marble. It was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor, Shan Jahan as a mausoleum for his deceased
wife, it was built symbol of his love and a promise he made to her before she died