Sunday, August 1, 2010

Truth about India's People, Caste, Inequality, Economics, Maoists and War

Map of India
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers (4,700 mi). It is bordered by Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

Home to the Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by the British East India Company from the early eighteenth century and colonised by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread non-violent resistance.

India is a federal constitutional republic consisting of 28 states and seven union territories with a parliamentary system of democracy. The Indian economy is the world's eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity. Economic reforms since 1991 have transformed it into one of the fastest growing economies in the world; however, it still suffers from poverty, illiteracy, corruption, disease, and malnutrition. India is a nuclear weapon state and has the third-largest standing army in the world. India's is considered a potential superpower, having a rapidly growing economy and growing political clout. A pluralistic, multilingual and multiethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

India Demographics
With an estimated population of 1.2 billion, India is the world's second most populous country. The last 50 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to medical advances and massive increase in agricultural productivity due to the "green revolution". India's urban population increased 11-fold during the twentieth century and is increasingly concentrated in large cities. By 2001 there were 35 million-plus population cities in India, with the largest cities, with a population of over 10 million each, being Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. However, as of 2001, more than 70% of India's population continues to reside in rural areas.

India is the world's most culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse geographical entity after the African continent. India is home to two major linguistic families: Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the population) and Dravidian (spoken by about 24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman linguistic families. Neither the Constitution of India, nor any Indian law defines any national language. Hindi, with the largest number of speakers, is the official language of the union. English is used extensively in business and administration and has the status of a 'subsidiary official language;' it is also important in education, especially as a medium of higher education. However, except Hindi no language is spoken by more than 10% of the population of the country. In addition, every state and union territory has its own official languages, and the constitution also recognises in particular 21 "scheduled languages".

As per the 2001 census, over 800 million Indians (80.5%) were Hindu. Other religious groups include Muslims (13.4%), Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.9%), Buddhists (0.8%), Jains (0.4%), Jews, Zoroastrians and Bahá'ís. Tribals constitute 8.1% of the population. India has the third-highest Muslim population in the world and has the highest population of Muslims for a non-Muslim majority country.

India's literacy rate is 64.8% (53.7% for females and 75.3% for males). The state of Kerala has the highest literacy rate at 91% while Bihar has the lowest at 47%. The national human sex ratio is 944 females per 1,000 males. India's median age is 24.9, and the population growth rate of 1.38% per annum; there are 22.01 births per 1,000 people per year. According to the World Health Organization 900,000 Indians die each year from drinking contaminated water and breathing in polluted air. Malaria is endemic in India. Half of children in India are underweight, one of the highest rates in the world and nearly same as Sub-Saharan Africa. Many women are malnourished, too. There are about 60 physicians per 100,000 people in India



Unreported World India
:
Reporter Ramita Navai and producer Siobhan Sinnerton travel through India exposing the horrific plight of the country's 170 million Dalits: literally "the broken people", and previously called "the untouchables"; who are at the bottom of India's caste system and are some of the most oppressed people on Earth. Economic growth has done little to improve the Dalits' lot; despite legislation, they still form 60 per cent of all those below the poverty line. Now, as Unreported World reports, Dalits are starting to fight for political power in an Indian civil rights movement.why is no one talking about this we were all up in arms about shilpa shetty the muslims got upset over a book and a cartoon and are always screaming about kashmir & palestine , the sikhs got upset over a play, but what about the plight of the dalits no one has said anyting.

The broken people Part 1 of 3


The broken people Part 2 of 3


The broken people Part 3 of 3



India National Emblem

Unreported World
:
The Killing of Kashmir 1 of 5



The Killing of Kashmir 2 of 5



The Killing of Kashmir 3 of 5


The Killing of Kashmir 4 of 5


The Killing of Kashmir 5 of 5




The Cafe - India's great expectations 
on Sep 3, 2011
Indians debate if their country can overcome corruption and a widening wealth gap to become a 21st century superpower.


Maoist
Maoism, officially known as Mao Zedong Thought (mao zedong sixiang), is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Wade-Giles Romanization: "Mao Tse-tung"), widely applied as the political and military guiding ideology in the Communist Party of China (CPC) from Mao's ascendancy to its leadership until the inception of Deng Xiaoping Theory and Chinese economic reforms in 1978. It is also applied internationally in contemporary times. Maoist parties and groups exist throughout the world, with notable groups in Peru, India, and Nepal. Notably, in Nepal the party won the elections in 2008.

Mao directly bases his teaching on the writings of Marx, Engels and Lenin. Philosophically, his most important reflections emerge on the concept "contradiction". These are contained in two major essays: “On contradiction” and “Contradictions of the people”

Arundhati Roy joins Avi Lewis on Fault Lines
29 Aug 2010


Inside India's Maoist heartland
AlJazeeraEnglish May 26, 2010
Suspected Maoist rebels in central India have set fire to trucks and earth-moving equipment for a road construction project. This is the latest in a series of attacks blamed on the fighters, known as Naxals, who say that they are defending the rights of India's poor. The Indian government describes the Maoists as the "single biggest threat to India's internal security" and has launched an offensive to crush the rebels. Al Jazeera travelled to the heart of the conflict zone where ordinary citizens are caught in the crossfire between rebels and security forces. Kamal Kumar reports.


Displacement fuels India rebellion
AlJazeeraEnglish May 26, 2010
For the last four decades, India has been fighting against a rebellion by some of its poorest citizens. The Naxal movement is believed to have more than 20,000 fighters, and more than a million followers. Many of them are the victims of official corruption and land grabs by governments. Every development project, from roads to dams and industrial plants, have meant that poor tribals living in the rural interiors have had to move out of their land. The displaced millions are justifiably angry and now they form the backbone of the rebel movement. Kamal Kumar reports on their fight for land.


NASUS and Maoists
AlJazeeraEnglish May 28, 2010
India's government says Maoist rebels represent the country's greatest internal security threat. To fight the so-called Naxalites, the government relies on the support of local village groups, who fight at a huge personal risk, but with no official recognition. Now, many of these local groups are calling on the government to do more to look after those willing to fight and die on its behalf. Al Jazeera's Kamal Kumar has the latest report in our exclusive series on the Naxal movement.



India's costly war against Naxals
, Maoist
AlJazeeraEnglish May 29, 2010
India's government says Maoist rebels represent the country's greatest internal security threat. They have waged war against the government for more than 40 years.

More than 6000 people have been killed, and many more maimed and injured. At least 50,000 federal paramilitaries are fighting the insurgents. That figure sits alongside police and special government task forces, all at huge financial cost. In the last four years, almost $30 million in extra defence money has gone to states where Naxals have the heaviest presence.

But this expensive strategy appears to be getting the government nowhere. In our fourth exclusive report on the Naxal movement, Al Jazeera's Kamal Kumar discovers the dangers of policing the front line.





Child Labour

Unreported world- India Land of Missing Children:
Documentary about human trafficking and kidnapping underage girls and thrown in to the prostitute business.

India Land of Missing Children - 1 of 3


India Land of missing children - 2 of 3


India Land of Missing Children - 3 of 3



India Caste System

journeymanpictures March 1999
In the eastern Indian province of Bihar, hundreds of villagers have been butchered as an army of lower caste Dalits unleash their fury on their feudal rulers and as the upper castes retaliate.

In the village of Narayanpur the brutalized bodies of men, women and children lie slumped where they were slain. They were victims of the Ranvir Sena, a private upper caste army. For the Sena this is a fight to preserve the centuries old way of life they believe is their birthright. "We kill whomever we see," Sena's young fighters tell us. The local landlord is unflinching in his support. "When we kill the men, their wives and children lead more miserable lives, so it is better to relieve them of their miseries too." In this state where caste hatred infects everything, Dalit election successes may deliver more spilt blood rather than progress.

Produced by ABC Australia. Distributed by Journeyman Pictures.

India Caste System







India Untouchables- The Movie - Part 1




India Widows



India's City Mumbai / Bombay - 12 Apr 09




Hindu and Muslim in India







Women Inequality




Toxic Trade - India - Nov 21, 2011
Watch on: Youtube
A Film By ABC Australia
Distributed By Journeyman Pictures

Asbestos illness is a largely unrecognised health issue in India, but with a booming industry and growing imports an epidemic is imminent. This report reveals why this deadly product is making a comeback.

"Asbestos has become a dirty word in the West". However, in India, factory workers often operate in a fog of carcinogenic dust and their children play in "toxic playgrounds". Unsurprisingly, respiratory diseases plague those that grow up in the shadows of these factories. Although the Indian government is subsidising the use of asbestos in the building industry, they are not the main culprits in this morbid tale. The majority of asbestos is supplied by Canada, a country that refuses to use the product themselves. "It amounts to Canada being a purveyor of death around the world". Selling Asbestos is big business and the Canadians may be opening a new mine which will triple their profits. The human costs of this move will also be huge, bringing the morality of their actions into question: "it is such double standards", says environmental activist Madhumita Dutta.

3 comments:

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Anonymous said...

earlier in the article it said that dalit election did more bad than good. That is not true.