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India
India Landforms
► Mountain
Ranges:
 Himalayas: Highest mountain range in the world.
 Two low lying mountain ranges on the coastline
 Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats
► Rivers:
► The
Ganges River: Starts in the high Himalayas as
runoff from the snow and glaciers. This river is a
holy site for followers of Hinduism.
History
► The
Aryans arrived around 1500 B.C.
► Hinduism and Buddhism developed
► Muslims invaded and formed kingdom at
Delhi in 1200’s.
► Mughal Empire established in 1520s.
European Influence
► Traders
arrived in 1490s- first Portuguese,
then Dutch, French, and British.
► Britain defeated France and controlled India.
► British built infrastructure; taught English;
influenced education, law, and government.
► Britain partitioned India at independence.
Bollywood
► http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=LbvP7dT3
Dx0
► http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=vewp4vJoj
ac
► Located
in Mumbai,
India.
► Is referred to as Hindu
cinema
► Influenced by:



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Indian epics
Traditional folk theater
Hollywood
Musical televison
Hinduism
Origins of Hinduism
► Hinduism,
unlike most major religions, does not
have a central figure upon whom it is founded.
Rather, it is a complex faith with roots stemming
back 5,000 years to the people of the Indus Valley.
When the Aryan tribes of Persia invaded the Indus
Valley around 1700 B.C., the groups’ beliefs
merged and Hinduism began to form.
► Hinduism is one of the oldest known organized
religions. It has about 800,000,000 followers
today, most of whom are in India.
What Hindus Believe
The Eternal Soul
Hindus believe in an eternal spiritual truth, called Brahman, from whom all
existence comes.
► The soul passes through many kinds of life, but only human life offers the
chance of learning this truth.
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Reincarnation
Reincarnation is the belief that the soul is eternal and lives many lifetimes,
in one body after another. The soul is sometimes born in a human body,
sometimes in an animal body and sometimes in a plant body, such as that
of a tree. All forms of life contain a soul, and all souls have the chance to
experience life in different forms.
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Karma
Karma is the Sanskrit word for action. Actions are important because they
bring reactions. Hindus believe every experience, pleasant or unpleasant, is
linked to past actions, in this lifetime or in some previous lifetime. This does
not rule out free choice, because by practicing yoga, or spiritual discipline,
one can change one’s actions and so change one’s future. Belief in karma
teaches people to accept responsibility for their behavior, and learn from
their mistakes.
The Hindu Gods
►
Hinduism is a polytheistic
religion, meaning that its
followers believe in more than
one god. In fact, worshippers
commonly devote themselves to
one god, their personal deity.
Household shrines feature
pictures and statues of the
chosen gods. Individuals may
choose this god for its special
attributes. For example,
Ganesh, the god with the head
of an elephant, is known for
overcoming obstacles and
bringing success.
The Hindu Trinity
► The
foremost of the Hindu gods are
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Although each
of these deities possess special attributes,
many Hindus believe they represent three
properties of one god. Together they form
the Hindu Trinity.
Brahma: The Creator
►
Brahma is considered the
mystical creator, the supreme
presence, or God. Many Hindus
believe that all other gods
originate from Brahma. His four
faces stand for the four corners
of the universe. He holds a
sacrificial ladle, the four Vedas
(sacred writings), a jar of holy
water from the Ganges, and a
necklace of prayer beads. Like
all Hindu gods, he sits upon a
lotus throne.
Vishnu: The Preserver
►
Followers of Vishnu
worship him as the
preserver, greatest of the
gods. His role is to
maintain a balance
between good and evil
powers in the universe. In
order to do this, Vishnu
returns to earth in
different forms, both
animal and human.
Shiva: The Destroyer
Shiva is worshipped as the
destroyer or purifier. Like Vishnu,
Shiva appears in many different
forms throughout Hindu legends.
► Shiva dances in a halo of fire,
representing the cycle of birth and
death. As he dances, he crushes
the dwarf, the demon of ignorance.
In his right hand, he keeps rhythm
beating a drum, while in his left
hand he holds the flame of
destruction, purification, and
renewal. Around his arms and neck
he wears deadly snakes. The
snakes symbolize Shiva’s power
over evil forces.
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Hindu Daily Duties
►
Almost all Hindus keep a shrine in their home,
regardless of their caste or economic status. These
shrines, dedicated to a particular god, vary in size.
Hindus attend to five religious duties:
►
1. Worshipping God: Hindus must devote
part of their day to worship. This ensures
spiritual contact.
2. Reciting scripture: By reciting from a
sacred text, the faithful learn the lessons of
worldly and religious life.
3. Honoring parents and elders: Hindus are
very loyal family members. Parents and
elders are honored for their wisdom and selfsacrifice.
4. Helping the poor: Even the less fortunate
try to obey this commandment. Guests, in
particular, are given special attention in a
Hindu home.
5. Feeding animals: Because Hindus
consider all life a sacred part of one God,
animals are respected and cared for.
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Other Religions
► Islam-
largest minority religion, 11-14% of
the population, mainly in the north.
► Christianity- some 20 million follower
► Buddhism- orginally form India, now
followed by less than 1% of the population.
► Sikhism- combines Muslim and Hindu beliefs
► Jainism- strict moral code based on
preserving life.
Culture
► More
than 1,000 languages and dialect
 Hindi is national language; English is widely
used.
► Typical
clothing for hot weather- sari, choli,
lungi, turbans (Sikhs)
► Food- curry made of many spices; variety
based on climate, crops, regions
► Festivals- many holidays, including Holi,
pongal
Mohandas Gandhi
“Control over the mind alone is necessary, and when it is attained, man
Is free like the king of the forest, …his very glance withers the enemy.”
“Mahatma”
►
The people called Gandhi the
Mahatma, which means “Great
Soul”. He was considered one
of the foremost spiritual,
political, moral, and cultural
leaders of the 1900’s. He
helped free India from British
control by using a unique
method of nonviolent resistance.
Gandhi is honored by the
people of India as the father of
their nation. He was slight in
build, but had great physical and
moral strength.
Gandhi’s Beliefs
►
Gandhi’s life was guided by a
search for truth. He believed
truth could be known only
through tolerance and concern
for others and that finding a
truthful way to solutions required
constant testing. He called his
autobiography My Experiments
with Truth. Gandhi overcame
fear and taught others to master
fear. He believed in nonviolence
and taught that to be truly
nonviolent required courage. He
lived a simple life and thought it
was wrong to kill animals for
food or clothing.
Gandhi’s Independence Campaign
►
In 1914, Gandhi returned to India after
practicing law in South Africa for
several years. Within five years, he
became the leader of the Indian
nationalist movement.
► In 1919, the British imperial
government introduced the Rowlatt
bills to make it unlawful to organize
opposition to the government. Gandhi
led a campaign that succeeded in
preventing passage of one of these
bills. The other was never enforced.
Gandhi called off the campaign when
riots broke out. He then fasted to
impress the people with the need to be
nonviolent.
► His belief in the cruelty of imperial rule
was demonstrated by the Amritsar
Massacre of April 13, 1919. A British
general ordered his men to fire on an
unarmed crowd, and almost 400
Indians were killed. This made Gandhi
even more determined to develop
Satyagraha (courage, non-violence,
and truth) and to win independence
through nonviolent resistance.
The Great Salt March
►
In 1930, Gandhi led hundreds of
followers on a 240-mile march to the
sea, where they made salt from
seawater. This was a protest against
the Salt Acts, which made it a crime to
possess salt not bought from the
British government. Gandhi’s journey
lasted 23 days and hundreds of
followers joined him in a procession
that stretched for two miles.
► During World War II (1939-1945),
Gandhi continued his struggle for
India's freedom through nonviolent
disobedience to British rule. He was
jailed for the last time in 1942.
Altogether, he spent seven years in
prison for political activity. He believed
that it is honorable to go to jail for a
good cause.
►
Freedom and Death
India was granted freedom in 1947.
But the partition of India into India and
Pakistan grieved Gandhi. He was
saddened also by the rioting between
Hindus and Muslims that followed.
Gandhi had worked for a united
country, and he had urged Hindus and
Muslims to live together in peace.
► On Jan. 13, 1948, at the age of 78,
Gandhi began his last fast. His
purpose was to end the bloodshed
among Hindu, Muslim, and other
groups. On January 18, their leaders
pledged to stop fighting and Gandhi
broke his fast. Twelve days later, in
New Delhi, while on his way to a
prayer meeting, Gandhi was
assassinated. Nathuram Godse, a
Hindu fanatic who opposed Gandhi's
program of tolerance for all creeds and
religions, shot him three times.
► A shocked India and a saddened world
mourned Gandhi's death.
► The great scientist Albert Einstein said
of Gandhi: "Generations to come will
scarcely believe that such a one as
this walked the earth in flesh and
blood."