India

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India

• People and Religion

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Religious Life

• Hinduism is the major religion in India
• It is polytheistic they believe in many gods
• The Gods make up the universal spirit called
  Brahma the creator
• All living things have a spirit or soul
• All animals are treated with respect especially
  cows which is the sacred animal
• Other religions in India are Islam, Christianity,
  Sikhism, and Jainism

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Religious Life

• Hindus believe in Reincarnation
• Ultimate goal is to find unity with Brahma
• They reach this goal by being reborn or
  reincarnated
• Ganges River is their Sacred River
• Drinking the water of the Ganges or bathing in
  the river purifies the soul
• Hindus believe in a caste system
• It is a social hierarchy in which people are born
• One can not change castes until the next life

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Religious Life

• The Hindu caste system
• Brahmans the highest case is priests, teachers
  and judges
• Kshatriyas warriors
• Vaisyas farmers and merchants
• Sudras craft workers and laborers
• Untouchables or outcastes street sweepers,
  garbage collectors, and tanners

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Village Life

• Seven out of ten people live in villages
• Two types of living based on how prosperous a
  family is
• Poor people live in mud houses with earth floors
• More prosperous have brick houses with a tiled
  roof and cement floors
• Most Indians are primarily vegetarians
• Some eat pork, fish and chicken
• Almost no one eats cows because they are the
  sacred animal

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Village Life

• Clothing
• Typically light and loose due to warm climate
• Many women cover their faces in public
• Hindus live in joint family systems
• Husbands take their new wives to live with his
  family
• Households include the extended family
• Each person in the family has their own job
• Technology is starting to be seen in the villages
• Electricity and television
• Movies

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Towns and Cities

• Cities and towns are growing
• There is mass migration to the cities
• More jobs in cities and better opportunity
• Varanasi is a holy city in India because it is
  located on the Ganges river

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Economic Improvements

• Challenges
• Only a small percentage of farmers make enough
  food to sell
• Most farmers are subsistence farmers
• They have improved agricultural life
• Improved types of wheat and rice have increased
  production
• Redistributed the land so poorer farmers can
  produce more
• Education has increased

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Economic Improvements

• India is one of the worlds leading industrial
  nation
• Increases in computers and space technology
• Increases in consumer goods such as TVs and VCRs
• All this has resulted in a growing middle class
• General health has increased in India
• Life expectancy went up from 32 to 61
• Water supplies have been cleaned up
• Medical practices have improved