Land and People
The specialty of India is that traces of the
different races are found in India. The
Dravidians were considered to be the most
ancient people of India but the modern
researchers of linguistics and
anthropology have proved that even before the
Dravidians came and settled in India six more
tribes were also found form different lands.
They also contributed to our culture diversity.
These people can be described as under:
(1) Negroid (Habsi People) : Some historians
believe that Negrate or Negros (Habsi) are the
most ancient in Habitants of India. They came
from Africa and via Baluchistan to India. They
are black, having height of 4 to 5 feet and
curly hair.
(2) Australoid (Nishad People) :
This tribe of people from South-East Asia. Their
physical characteristics were : black skin, with
broad head, flat nose short in height etc. The
Aryans who came later on to India call them
Nishad. The origins of the tribes like Kol and
Munda, Khashi tribe of Assam the tribes of
Nicobar and Myanmar have similarities to the
Australoids. Their contributed in the
development of India culture and civilization is
immense.
(3) The Dravidians :
Before the Aryans the Dravidians used to live in
India and they used to speak Dravidan-
language. The Dravidians were the direct
decendants of stone Age civilization and the
creator of Mohanjo-Daro culture The Indian
culture is greatly indebted to the Dravidians just
like the Aryans is many respects. The Dravidians
gave the thought of mother as a Goddess and
father as a God; So the thought of parvati and
shiva or mother and father developed.
Moreover the tradition of worshipping nature is
the gift of the Dravidians. The tradition of
worshipping with Dhup (incense stick) Deep
(lamp) and Aarti (worship with Aarti) are
considered to be the gifts Dravidians.
(4) Other tribes : A part from this Alpine Dinarik
and Armenoid tribes are the tribes who
migrated from central Asia. All those three
tribes have some similarities. The origins
(genes) of those tribes are found in a large
number in Gujarat Saurashtra, Maharashtra
Bengal and in Orissa.
(5) Mongoloid (Kirat) :
People possessed the physical characteristics
like yellow complexion flat face chubby cheeks
almond shaped eyes etc. They came to India
from North East chia via Tibet and settled down
at north Assam East Bengal sikkim Bhutan and
they gradually Indianized themselves.
(6) The Aryans : The Aryans were more
developed people then any other contemporary
tribes. They loves prayed and worshipped the
trees, rivers, mountains, the sun, wind and rain.
They had composed hymns (mantras) for
praying various natural elements. In due course
of time, some religious ceremonies were
originated out of them the Yagnayagaadi
(related of Yajna) which observe the influence
of the Aryans on Indian culture. The Nordic -
Aryans were the makers of Aryan culture in
India. Excepting the distinguishing features
of different tribes which came earlier in India
and created a harmonious culture in India with
passage of time all these tribes which came to
India and settled there were amalgamated
through inter tribe marriages. This process
helped in the merging of all those tribes into
one.
Birth of the Republic of India
On January 26, 1950, the Indian constitution
takes effect, making the Republic of India the
most populous democracy in the world.
Mohandas Gandhi struggled through decades
of passive resistance before Britain finally
accepted Indian independence. Self-rule had
been promised during World War II, but after
the war triangular negotiations between
Gandhi, the British, and the Muslim League
stalled over whether to partition India along
religious lines.
Of Gandhi’s death, Indian Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru said, “The light has gone out
of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere.”
universal adult franchise, Nehru hoped to
overcome India’s “caste-ridden” society and
promote greater gender equality.
The first president was Rajendra Prasad.
As a great believer in pluralism, socialism and
democracy, Jawahar Lal Nehru was one of the
central figures of Indian politics during India’s
struggle for independence and the first Prime
Minister of India who developed the nation as a
secular nation true to its thousand years old
cultural heritage. He had immense love for
children and his birthday, November 14, is
celebrated as Children's day in
India. Chacha Nehru;, as he was fondly called by
children, was amongst the prominent names
behind the establishment of the Non Aligned
Movement (NAM).
Pakistan was brought into being at the time of
the partition of British India, in response to the
demands of Islamic nationalists: as articulated
by the All India Muslim League under the
leadership of Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Pakistan (both de facto and in law) consisted of
two regions—West Pakistan, and East Pakistan
Pakistan has struggled to define itself.
Established as a parliamentary
democracy that espoused secular ideas, the
country has experienced repeated military
coups, and religion—that is to say, adherence to
the values of Sunni Islam—has increasingly
become a standard by which political leaders
are measured. In addition, northern Pakistan—
particularly the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas—has become a haven for members of
neighbouring Afghanistan’s ousted
FAST REVIEW
OFFICIAL NAME
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
federal republic with two legislative houses
(Senate [104]; National Assembly [342])
HEAD OF STATE
President: Arif Alvi
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT
Prime Minister: Imran Khan
CAPITAL
Islamabad
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
English; Urdu
OFFICIAL RELIGION
Islam
MONETARY UNIT
Pakistani rupee (PKR)
CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE
1 USD equals 168.249 Pakistani rupee
In far northern Pakistan the Hindu Kush
branches off southwestward from the nodal
orogenic uplift known as the Pamir Knot.
BANGLADESH
the Awami League under the leadership of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (generally known as
Sheikh Mujib) won practically all of East
Pakistan’s seats and thus achieved a majority in
the Pakistan National Assembly.
Tensions were eased in July, 1972, when
President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan (who
assumed power after the fall of the Yahya Khan
government) and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
of India agreed to peacefully settle the
differences between their countries. Pakistan
officially recognized Bangladesh in Feb., 1974.
Subsequently, India and Pakistan reached
consensus on the release of Pakistani prisoners
of war and the exchange of hostage
populations.
Zia was himself assassinated in a failed coup
attempt; his successor was replaced (1982) in a
bloodless coup by Lt. Gen. Hussain Mohammad
Ershad, who assumed the presidency.
Elections held in Feb., 1991, brought the
Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) to power,
and Khaleda Zia ur-Rahman , the widow of Zia
ur-Rahman, became prime minister.
resulted in a victory for the opposition Awami
League, led by Hasina Wazed, daughter of
Bangladesh’s first prime minister.
The Awami League is characterized as a centre-
left, secular-democratic political party, drawing
support from minorities such as Shiite Muslims
and Bangladeshi Hindus.
Sri Lanka is governed under the constitution of
1978. The president, who is both head of state
and head of government, is popularly elected for
a five-year term, and may be reelected once.
Members of the 225-seat unicameral
Parliament are elected by popular vote for six-
year terms. Administratively, the country is
divided into nine provinces.
President Kumaratunga was injured when a
suicide bomber detonated explosives at an
election rally
ISRAEL, GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE
Palestine, considered a holy land by Jews,
Muslims, and Christians, and homeland of the
modern state of Israel, was known as Canaan to
the ancient Hebrews.
Jews persecuted by the Hitler regime poured The prime minister is head of government and
into Palestine. must be a member and have the confidence of
the House of Representatives (Dewan Ra’ayat).

Egypt’s president Anwar Sadat
Prime Minister Menachem
Iraq’s only outlet to the sea is a short stretch of
coast on the northwestern end of the Persian
Gulf, including the Shatt al Arab waterway.
Basra and Umm Qasr are the main ports. Iraq is
approximately coextensive with ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was the land between the rivers
Tigris and Euphrates, a fertile oasis in an
otherwise inhospitable land the size of modern
Iraq.
The first prime minister was Tunku (Prince)
Abdul Rahman , the leader of the Alliance Party,
Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew
Mahathir bin Mohamad , of the United Malays
National Organization (UMNO), became
prime minister.
The Republic of Singapore consists of the main
island of Singapore, off the southern tip of the
Malay Peninsula between the South China Sea
and the Indian Ocean, and 58 nearby islands.
Government
Parliamentary republic.

During the Bronze age 2000BC, known as the

Old Babylonian Era, Babylon became the
Principle city of the kingdom.

The Wallace Line does not actually exist in

reality. It is an imaginary line that intersects the
Lombok Strait between the Indonesian islands
of Bali and Lombok to the south, and extends
north through the Makassar Strait between
Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sulawesi.

Malaysia consists of two parts: West Malaysia,

also called Peninsular Malaysia or Malaya (1990
est. pop. 14,400,000), 50,700 sq mi (131,313 sq
km), on the Malay Peninsula and coextensive
with the former Federation of Malaya,
comprising the states of Perlis , Kedah , Pinang ,
Perak , Kelantan , Terengganu , Pahang ,
Selangor , Negeri Sembilan , Melaka (Malacca),
and Johor , and two federal territories (the cities
of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya); and East
Malaysia (1990 est. pop. 3,410,000), 77,730 sq
mi (201,320 sq km), comprising the states of
Sabah and Sarawak (the former British
colonies of North Borneo and Northwest
Borneo) on the island of Borneo and one federal
territory, the island of Labuan . The two parts
are separated by c.400 mi (640 km) of the South
China Sea.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and is

governed under the constitution of 1957 as
amended. The sovereign (the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong) is a largely ceremonial head of state,
and is elected every five years