An Overview of Modern India (and China)
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Transcript An Overview of Modern India (and China)
An Overview of Modern India (and
China)
Historical Background for TheWhite Tiger
India’s Geography
Located in Southern
Asia
Northern India defined
by the Indo-Gangetic
plain
Southern India defined
by the Deccan Plateau
Dhanbad
India’s History
Ancient Civilizations- developed along the Indus and Ganges
river valleys
Empires- united from time to time under various (often foreign)
empires- Greek, Persian, Maurya, Gupta, Mughal, British
Colonial Rule- British East India Company gradually gained
control of India beginning in the 1600s, directly ruled by the
British from 1857-1947
Independence- achieved in 1947, British India partitioned into
Muslim (Pakistan) and Hindu (India) states
Continued Conflict- East Bengal (part of Pakistan) became the
independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971, Pakistan and India
still fighting over Kashmir
India’s Partition and Political Boundaries
India’s Population
Home to 1.2 billion people
(17.5% of the world’s
population)
2nd largest country- will
surpass China as most populous
country by 2025
50% of population is under the
age of 25
Great ethnic, religious,
linguistic, and economic
diversity
Language in India
Hundreds of languages
spoken
Hindi, Bengali, Telugu,
Marathi, Tamil, Urdu most
widely spoken
11% of Indians (125 million)
speak English, most as a
second language
Official languages- English
and Hindi, also 14 regional
official languages
Adult literacy rate- 74%
Religion in India
Majority identify as Hindus, but a large variety of religions are
practiced
81% Hindu
13% Muslim
2.3% Christian
1.9% Sikh
0.8% Buddhist
Hinduism
One of the world's oldest, most complex, and largest religions
Different versions of Hinduism, but share overarching beliefs
Belief in Brahman- the unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force of
the universe to which everything belongs
Belief in many gods that are manifestations
of Brahman:
Brahma (Created of the world)
Shiva (Destroys of the world)
Vishnu (Preserver of the world)
Hinduism (continued)
Goal to unites one’s individual soul (atman) with Brahman to
achieve a state of understanding and liberation from desires and
suffering (moksha)
One’s soul is reborn many times until moksha is achieved- achieved
by following determined path (dharma) and performing good acts
and deeds (karma)
The level of society (caste) one is born into is determined by how
well he/she followed his/her dharma and karma in the previous life
Caste and Social Class
Social class in India is linked to a caste system that developed
over thousands of years
Initially an indictor of one’s occupation
Seen as a reflection of one’s previous life- based on birth
Affects one’s job, where and how one lives, dress, who one
interacts with and marries, and social and political power, and one’s
treatment
Technically outlawed in 1947 but still has a large influence today,
especially in more rural areas
Intercaste relations limited
A highly hierarchical society
Great social interdependence
India’s Economy
4th largest economy in the world and rapidly growing
Major industries- telecommunications, textiles, chemicals,
agriculture, food processing, steel, mining, petroleum,
machinery, information technology-enabled services and
pharmaceuticals.
Highly regulated by govt.
Becoming more developed (57.2% GDP services, 28.6%
industry), but over half of the population still works in
agriculture
Growing gross national income but 76.2% live on under $2/day
and 41.6% live under international poverty line of $1.25/day
Many lack access to clean water and sanitation
Indian Cities vs. Rural Area
30% live in cities
70% live in villages
Over 40 cities with over a million
Over 500,000 villages, most are
people- largest are Delhi, Mumbai,
Calcutta, Chennai, and Bangalore
Experiencing great growth
Home of growing middle class
Densely populated with congestion,
noise, and great inequities
small but dense
Complex social structure- one or
two castes control the land have
power
Most villagers work in agriculture
Interdependence of residents
Often lack improved water source
and modern sanitation
Servants in India
Most middle class and upper class families have servants because
they can afford it and view doing work manual work as
undignified
Servants are sually young men and women from rural areas and
of lower castes
Always on call
Generally paid $25-150 a month
Often overworked, exploited, and blamed for crimes committed
nearby
Second-class member of the family for which they work
Outsourcing to India
Part of the larger trend of globalization with workers competing on a
flattened playing field
The practice in which part of a multinational company’s labor (usually
manufacturing or services) is completed in an area in which costs are
cheaper
75% of US and European multinationals outsource some of their
services
Largest outsourcing sector in India- IT
Workers paid 10-20% of American
salaries for a given job
India’s Government
Established after independence in 1947
Secular republic of 28 states and 7 territories
Has executive, legislative, and judicial branches
Socialist with use of government regulation and subsidies
Problems of inefficiency and corruption
Most spending doesn’t reach recipients
High absence rate of govt. workers
Corruption defines govt. actions
India and China
The most populous countries on Earth experiencing high rates
of population and economic growth
But have very different social, political, and economic structures
Consider:
China has higher rates of education and literacy, life expectancy,
vaccination rates, economic growth, higher GNP and energy
consumption, and is more politically stable
India has greater access to free press and Internet, less reliance on
international markets, greater wealth, greater numbers of English
speakers, and is democratic
China’s Government
The People’s Republic of China (since 1949)
Communist- the Communist Party controls the govt. and govt.
decisions, authoritarian
Primary organs of state power- National People’s Congress
(highest govt. body), President (head of state), and State Council
Continued political repression and limits on personal freedom
to maintain party rule
Wen Jiabo
Premier (head of State Council)-
leading figure behind economic
policy- since 2003
3rd highest member of Standing
Committee (body with most
power)
Oversaw Beijing Olympics,
repression of Tibetans,
decreased inflation, recovery
from Sichuan Earthquake, great
economic growth, and wants to
bring China onto the world
stage
Seen as the “popular premier”
China’s Economy
In transition toward an industrialized, market economy
“a semi-planned economy”
“transformation from a rural to an urban society”
“an economy that is neither socialist nor properly capitalist, run by a
party that is neither revolutionary nor subject to the normal
constitutional checks and balances of even China’s own Confucian past,
let alone the Asian or western present.”
Economic issues facing China:
Growing economic freedom with limited personal and political freedom
Population growth
Aging population
Growing need for resources
Urbanization and migrant workers
Environment
Corruption
China in the Future