Culture and its impacts

Background
Flag & Emblem

Geography
Area: 3,287,590 sq km
World 7th largest
Land use:
arable land: 54.4%
permanent crops: 2.74%
other: 42.86% (2001)
Natural hazards:
Droughts
flash floods
widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains
severe thunderstorms
earthquakes

People
Population:1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)
World second largest
Population growth rate:1.44% (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:2.85 children born/woman (2004 est.)

People
Ethnic groups:
Indo-Aryan 72%,
Dravidian 25%,
Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
Religions:
Hindu 81.3%
Muslim 12%
Christian 2.3%
Sikh 1.9
Buddhist, Jain, Parsi 2.5% (2000)

People
Languages:
English
Hindi (the national language )
14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit
Hindustani
Literacy:
total population: 59.5%
male: 70.2%
female: 48.3% (2003 est.)

Government
Government type: federal republic
Capital: New Delhi
Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day, 26 January (1950)

Economy
GDP - per capita: $2,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 23.6%
industry: 28.4%
services: 48% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
25% (2002 est.)
Agricultural products
Industries

History
over 4000 years
never seriously took to documenting their history
Indian history come from three sources:
Literature
Archeology
Foreigner's Accounts

The Indus Valley Civilization (2500 BCE-1600 BCE)
Mohen-jodaro
Harappa
sati (suttee)

The Vedic Age: The Aryans and Alexander the Great (1500 BCE-332 BCE)
religion
classical language of Sanskrit
architecture
civilization
Hinduism
Warriors
Priests
Commoners
The caste system
Buddhism
Jainism

The Vedic Age: The Aryans and Alexander the Great (1500 BCE-332 BCE)
Alexander the Great defeated Porus in 326 B.C.E
boosted trade contacts outside India

The Gupta Dynasty: The Golden Age of Indian Classicism (320-647 CE)
Chandragupta II
Literature
Arts
Sciences
Poetry
Romantic comedies
Drama
Fables
Fairy tales
e.g. Panchatantra
“A Thousand and One Nights”
“Aesop’s Fables”

The South Indian Kingdoms: Dynasties and Temple Culture (100 BCE-1565 CE)
Cholas
Pandyas
Cheras
Home to temples
?Meenakshi Amman
Temple
Nellaiappar Temple
Nellaiappar
Temple ?

The Rajput Era: Clans, Campaigns and Chivalry (647-1296 CE)
Warrior Rajput clans
chivalry
bravery
passion
devotion
to war
“Dark Age of India”
rigid caste system
child marriage
polygamy
persecution of Buddhists
glorification of sati

Turkish Invasion and Rule: The Rise of Islam (997-1526 CE)
Mahmud of Ghazni
ISLAM
Persian
new literary genre:
Persian literature
New architecture:
Mosques
Mausoleums
geometric
floral

The Moghul Dynasty: Political Ambitious and the Impact of Islam (1526-1858 CE)
Taj Mahal
Red Fort
City of Fatehpur Sikri
7 extraordinary rulers

The Moghul Dynasty: Political Ambitious and the Impact of Islam (1526-1858 CE)
landscaped gardens, dress, food, and customs based on the teachings of the Koran
E.g. pork and alcohol were forbidden
surplus food always was to be shared with the poor.

Early European Voyages: Leading to British Rule (1500-1885 CE)
EUROPEANS
Portuguese, French, Dutch, Danish, British
Spices
The Portuguese king commissioned Francis Xavier to India to christianize Indians and went about converting thousands with zealous evangelism
The East India Company arrived India in 1608

The British Raj: From Trade to Dominion
Mission schools and hospitals
Missionaries study Indian languages
Bible printed in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Marathi
Grammar books and dictionaries
in local language flourished
official language - English
vanishing of local languages
Westernization
spread of education
Schools, universities, museums, libraries

The British Raj: From Trade to Dominion
Delhi, new capital in 1911, still houses the government today.
Laws regulating inheritance, divorce, marriage and law of contracts were uniformly applied to all citizens of India.
Sati was prohibited in 1829
Act of 1856 permitted widows to remarry, which was otherwise forbidden by Hindu law
These somehow raised the social status of Indian women.

The Indian Nationalist Movement: The Road to Freedom and Democracy (1885 CE-PRESENT)
The Indian National Congress
formed in 1885
establish national unity
seek economic freedom from the British
INDEPENDANCE from
Britain in 1947
Mahatma Gandhi

The Indian Nationalist Movement: The Road to Freedom and Democracy (1885 CE-PRESENT)
Hindu-Muslim partition
India
Pakistan
Migration
Indo-Pakistani War
terrorist attacks

India Today: Continuity and Technology
Launched space satellites
Economic liberalization
Democracy has survived
A country of unrealized potential
Challenges:
poverty
oppression of women
illiteracy

Impact on Culture
Non-violent Religion
never invaded any country in her history
The British influence inspired western education and thoughts:
Created a new educated class.
Created a common language – English
Inspired freedom and exchange of ideas
Religious tolerance and freedom of worship

Impact on Culture
Religious tolerance and freedom of worship
Hindus and Muslims live side by side but inter-religious marriages are rare
Gandhi’s non-violence movement for freedom appealed to the civilized world
Caste System
almost all Indians are associated--are ranked

Introduction of India Culture
Clothing
Religion
Food
Customs
Family
Visual Arts
Performing arts
Recreation and Sports

Clothing
related to local culture, religion and climate
Men
dhoti
kurta
sherwani
Salwar kameez
lungi
kurta-paijama
jeans

Women
women’s clothing
Sari/ Saree/ Shari
Salwar kameez
Muslim dress
wearing pants and tee-shirts
(influence of westernization)

Religion
-Multi-religion
Hinduism (80.5%)
Islam (13.4%)
Christianity (2.3%)
Sikhism (1.9%)
Buddhism
Jainism

Varies from region to region
Hindus do not eat beef
Muslims do not eat pork or drink alcohol
Vegetarian cuisine
Meat for the non-vegetarians
(mainly lamb, chicken, and fish)
Meal, drink & snack

Ingredients: mainly use herbs and spices
Curry – “Pan -Asian” dish
in favor of tea (most famous: Chai)
Snack & appetizers
Meal, drink& snack

Custom
Respect elderly and touch their feet for blessing
Eat with fingers
Always use right hand to eat
Wash hands immediately after and
before eating a meal
Removes footwear while entering a private residence or temple
Can't Say No
Shaking hands

Family
About joy and sharing, love and patience
Strong bonds with family members as well as
relatives (Respect for elders)
Sons are always more preferred over daughters
Arranged marriages by parents
Extremely low divorce rate with only 1.1%
Most women do not own any property in their names

Women Status
Have fraction of freedom
Sends husband to the grocery store
No freedom to pursue leisure activities
Low participation in sports, music and arts
Home maker

Visual arts
Painting
Rock paintings
Cave paintings
New era of Indian art with Indian classical styles

Sculpture
Indus Valley civilization
Unique bronzes and temple carvings
Gupta period : a very high standard in execution and delicacy in modeling

Performing arts
Music
Multiples varieties of religious, folk, popular, pop,
and classical music
Carnatic (South India) and Hindustani music (North India)
heavily influenced by Hindu texts
Diverse traditions of folk music from different parts of the country

Dance
Dance and ceremonies ? chief mode of entertainment
Folk and classical forms
Folk dance e.g. the bhangraFolk dance e.g. the bhangra of the PunjabFolk dance e.g. the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihuFolk dance e.g. the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of AssamFolk dance e.g. the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhauFolk dance e.g. the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhau of JharkhandFolk dance e.g. the bhangra of the Punjab, the bihu of Assam, the chhau of Jharkhand and Orissa
Eight dance forms, many with narrative forms and mythological, devotional and spiritual elements.

What is India famous for?
The palatial palaces, fantastic forts, impressive art and architecture, frescoes Havelis, magnificent temples
amazing diversified culture

Domes
Islamic design
(arch)

Religious belief
Indian color
Let more tourists know about Indian arts
Attract folk artist

Tourism

People travel to explore the India culture and heritage
e.g. visit the temples

Mountaineering
e.g. The Mighty Himalayan Mountains of India

Wildlife in India

Camel Safari

Join the festivals
e.g. the Dussehra Festival

Medical Tourism

Business traveling

Night life: cultural shows
No alcohol

Casino in GOA
culture restriction?

Dress code of the women travelers: as proper as you can
Respect the senior travelers ( India respect the elderly)

Impact of Culture on
India Food and beverage business
What to eat when traveling to India?
Spicy
combat the flu virus
healing and magical qualities
more valuable than gold or precious stones
trade of spices : an extraordinarily influential factor in history
add flavor and nutrients to dishes without fat or calories
offer significant health benefits

Indian Chai
spiced milk tea
made up of rich black tea and spices including whole cardamom pods pieces of stick cinnamon ginger cloves and pepper
Herbal teas
the oldest and most reliable
form of supplementation soothing
liquids provide hydration and
a fresh herbal taste

Filtered coffee
a favorite among South Indians
very sweet, milky version of coffee
Herbs
used for medicines, perfumes and rituals