India Geography and Population

India (Geography)

The Indian landscape can naturally be divided into four areas: the Himalayas to the north, the Ganges plain, which stretches over most of northern India, the Deccan plateau, which forms the core of India south of the Ganges, and the coastal plains.

The Himalayas have a major impact on the climate in most of India, as the mountains shield from the cold of Central Asia. The over 8 km high mountain range is the highest in the world; it is at the same time among the youngest and constantly changing. The geological activity means that many areas in northern India are regularly affected by earthquakes. See also Himalayas.

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Climate

With the exception of the Himalayas, all of India is in the tropical zone and is dominated by monsoons. From June to September, the SW monsoon blows over the subcontinent. Over the warm ocean, the air has absorbed large amounts of water vapor, which is emitted as rain when the winds are forced up over the coastal mountains. Most regions receive at least 80% of the annual rainfall during the summer monsoon. Precipitation varies greatly from the desert areas in the NW, which are most often outside the range of the monsoon winds, to the coastal plains and mountain slopes. The village of Cherrapunji in the state of Meghalaya is located on such a slope and receives more rainfall than anywhere else on Earth; on average over 11,000 mm per year. At the same time, there are large differences in summer precipitation from year to year.

In the Himalayas, the rain washes away large amounts of soil and gravel into the rivers. During the annual floods, the Ganges and its tributaries leave fertile deposits on the plain. For millennia, these deposits have created the basis for intensive agriculture, but they also create problems for irrigation and hydropower plants.

During the summer monsoon, the coasts of India are hit at intervals by violent storms and tidal waves. It is especially the low-lying areas on the east coast that are affected.

In January and February, the winter monsoon blows from the NE; it causes only small amounts of precipitation and provides a cool period. Spring and autumn between the two rainy periods are characterized by dry and hot weather. Throughout India south of the Himalayas, spring, summer and autumn are very hot; temperatures above 50 °C occur every year. Especially in the humid air of the Ganges plain, the climate can feel very uncomfortable. In winter, it is still quite warm in southern India, albeit cooler on the Deccan plateau, while in northern India it can get down to 0 °C.

The natural vegetation is in most places deciduous or evergreen tropical forest. The agricultural culture of the centuries has reduced the forest area to 13%, and large areas, e.g. Gangessletten, are largely forestless.

Population

India has the world's second largest population (after China). With 324 residents per. km² is the country at the same time among the most densely populated. The population density varies from 13 residents per km² in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh to 9294 in the federal territory of Delhi.

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Every ten years an all-encompassing and very detailed census is held; the most recent was held in 2001. Only 48% women, which is almost unique in the world; it reflects the harsh living conditions of women and the population's preference for boys. Many births and deaths take place without being registered, but the birth rate was calculated at the census to be 3% and the life expectancy at 63 years (2003). In the decade up to 1991, the annual population growth was 2.1% against 1.8% in the following decade. Since independence, changing governments have seen population growth as one of the country's major problems, and family planning programs have been widely sought. The idea of ​​child restraint is not fundamentally contrary to Hindu rules of living, but the programs have, in turn, proved difficult to implement in poor peasant families, who have often had strong desires to increase the family's workforce and thus income opportunities. In the mid-1970's, the reactions to an almost militarily organized sterilization campaign among poor agricultural workers in northern India contributed to the government imposing a state of emergency and subsequently having to resign. There has been a growing recognition that the country's population growth is first and foremost a poverty problem, and with a rapidly growing middle class, the overall birth rate is steadily declining, especially in South India. that the government imposed a state of emergency and subsequently had to resign. There has been a growing recognition that the country's population growth is first and foremost a poverty problem, and with a rapidly growing middle class, the overall birth rate is steadily declining, especially in South India. that the government imposed a state of emergency and subsequently had to resign. There has been a growing recognition that the country's population growth is first and foremost a poverty problem, and with a rapidly growing middle class, the overall birth rate is steadily declining, especially in South India.

72% of Indians live in the countryside and an increasing proportion live in the 35 cities with more than 1 million. residents; among them are some of the world's largest cities. The three largest cities, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi together have more than 42 million. more than DKK 15 million Indians live outside the country's borders; many have close contact with the parent country and contribute with investments and transfers significantly to the Indian foreign exchange.

With an annual gnsntl. income of approximately DKK 2,800, the Indian population in 2003 is no longer among the absolute poorest in the world. The figure covers very large differences, as 270 mill. live below the official Indian poverty line, while up to 300 million. has a standard of living comparable to that of Europeans. The proportion of the population below the Indian poverty line has fallen from 54% in 1972 to 26% in 2006.

Industries

Agriculture employs three quarters of the Indian workforce and contributes 25% of GDP. The urban industries, industry and service, contribute with resp. 24% and 51% of GDP. The figures reflect large differences in productivity in the various sectors and at the same time the priorities that the government has set in economic policy since independence. As early as the late 1940's, ambitious economic plans were launched. Through active state control of the economy, one would industrialize India, break the economic dependence on Britain, create economic growth and thus fight the widespread poverty. Since the 1990's, the gradual economic liberalization has meant that there has been less one-sided focus on industrial production.

Agriculture. approximately 55% of the area is cultivated. Since independence, the cultivated area has grown by 38%. The main crop is rice, followed by wheat, millet and a variety of legumes. The main sales crops are oilseeds, sugar, cotton, jute, tobacco, tea and potatoes.

In the 1960's, the "green revolution" was launched. The government supported the development and use of high-yielding cereals, primarily wheat, which became widespread in the northwestern state of Punjab. Later, other parts of the country joined the program, which was also expanded to include rice and other crops. The use of the high-yielding cereals requires abundant water supply, and very extensive expansion of irrigation systems has been a central part of the green revolution. This also applies to a large growth in the production of fertilizers and increased use of pesticides. All in all, the new forms of cultivation require a certain capital base among the peasants, and the conversion was in the beginning especially a success in the richest regions and among the already most prosperous peasants. In the 1990's, approximately

Despite the new techniques, productivity in most of agriculture remains low and poverty is widespread in rural areas. One main reason is the skewed land distribution. 30% of the rural population does not own land, and a further 30% own less than 2 ha. The average farm size is approximately 1.7 ha and declining. This group of millions of poor peasants and farm workers poses a colossal and present poverty problem in India.

Livestock breeding is an important supplementary source of income for many, especially smaller farmers. It's about. 185 million cows and buffaloes; they are used as draft animals, both on fields and country roads, and the coccyxes are used both as fertilizer and in dried form as fuel. In contrast, the cows give very little milk. The state supports the development of the dairy farm with research, processing and advice. Cooperative dairies with almost DKK 9 million have been established. members who have an increasing sales in the middle class of the cities. In contrast, slaughter cattle are not bred, as an overwhelming majority of the Indian population does not eat beef. The country's 185 million. goats and sheep supply partly milk and wool, partly meat to the Indians who are not vegetarians. They also eat chicken and eggs from approximately 490 million chickens.

Fishing is only a modest part of the economy. Fishermen belong to the lower castes and are traditionally among the poorest. There is fishing from small boats along the entire 7000 km long coast and in rivers and lakes. The government supports both the development of fish farms and of commercial high seas fishing, and catches are increasing.

Mining. India has 7% of the world's known coal reserves and is among the world's largest producers. Half come from fields in Bihar and West Bengal. Oil production is increasing, but rather small. The fields are located in Assam and offshore off Mumbai. In addition, there are several other minerals, including iron, copper, gold, zinc and lead.

Industry contributes 24% of GDP. The industrial sector has been subject to very far-reaching government regulation, and a number of key industries are directly state-owned. The purpose of the policy has been to develop an industrial sector that can supply the country with all essential industrial goods, and a tool has been strict rules for both foreign trade, investment and production. Since 1991, there has been a significant liberalization of the rules. This has happened in the light of the collapse of the close partner of the Soviet Union and the increasing liberalization of foreign trade worldwide. Production has long been dominated by heavy industry, machinery and raw material production, but the consumer goods industry is on the rise. India today occupies a key position when it comes to the global market foroutsourcing, i.e. those parts of the work areas of international companies which can be handled by subcontractors with financial advantage. It is estimated that the area contributes 5% of GDP (2006) and the potential is far greater. The area includes call centerwhich, for example, handles telephone calls from customers in, for example, the USA, bookkeeping tasks, transcripts from doctors' dictaphones, etc. and in general the tasks where IT technology has broken down the boundaries for where a work task is handled. A prerequisite for India's position in the field is the relatively low wages, a high technological level and the presence of highly educated English-speaking young people. The success of the outsourcing industry has created a new phenomenon with young people having relatively high disposable incomes without breaking the traditional Indian maneuvers where young people only move away from home when they get married. The change in the consumption pattern of young people is part of the explanation for the strong growth in the number of shopping malls, which are seen in all major Indian cities. The textile industry traditionally formed the core of Indian industry,

In addition to the actual industrial sector, there are millions of families both in the cities and in the countryside, who supplement their income with small crafts such as spinning, weaving, carpentry and pottery. In addition, there is a widespread use of the publishing system, ie. ordered homework with the production of eg matches, small cigarettes, bidies, and fireworks, often as child labor and under very poor conditions.

Service. Both the public and private service sectors are large and growing. Together, they employ 24% of the workforce and contribute 51% of GDP. Many companies in the major industries are state-owned. This applies to virtually all banks and significant parts of the wholesale trade in agricultural products, just as the state regulates the prices of a number of agricultural products, e.g. the major fertilizer industry. The railways and a large part of the bus transport are also in the public sector. The health care and school system is predominantly public, but there are a significant number of private hospitals, schools and universities.

Transport and communication

The Indian road network includes approximately 3.2 million km roads. 1971-2005, the road network has more than tripled. In the period 2000-05, road traffic has increased by 7-10% annually, and the number of vehicles has increased by 12% per year during the same period. The increased prosperity of the large Indian middle class, together with the liberalization of the economy, has led to a large growth in the number of passenger cars, from 682,000 in 1971 to 8.2 million. in 2003. In addition, more than DKK 50 million. several two- and three-wheel two-strokes, especially small motorcycles and scooters. This development continues with traffic collapses, deteriorating road safety and extensive urban air pollution as a result. In some cities, such as Delhi, natural gas has therefore been introduced as a mandatory fuel for buses and rickshaws. As part of the improvements to the road network, extensive motorway works have been launched,

However, the backbone of the Indian transport system is the railways. The first Indian locomotive ran the 34 km from Mumbai to Thane in 1853. In 2002, the route network was 63,100 km and the number of passengers was 51 million, and new railways are still being built. Trains are generally slow, but big cities are connected by an increasing number of express connections. In total, the Indian railways have over 1 million. employees.

The Indian merchant navy is considerable; approximately half of the tonnage is owned by the State Shipping Corporation of India. The main port cities are Mumbai, Kochi-Ernakulam, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata all with shipyards. Canal and river traffic are important in the Ganges and Brahmaputra systems as well as in an extensive network of coastal lakes in the southern Indian state of Kerala, The Kerala Backwaters.

Indian domestic air traffic is among the fastest growing in the world with an annual increase in passenger numbers of over 20% (2006). On certain routes, airlines compete directly with the railways, especially after the introduction of low-cost airlines. The state-owned airlines Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) and Air India will be merged in 2007. Foreign air traffic is also growing, aided by the government's "open skies" policy, which will increase the international route network considerably, especially from 2007. The chronically congested airports will continue to be a significant bottleneck for a number of years, but in almost every Indian metropolis, new airports or upgrades to existing ones are planned.

In the first decades after independence, communication with the outside world was handled by more than 23,000 post and telegraph offices. Today there are 155,000 post offices, and they are supplemented by a rapidly growing mobile network with approximately 5 mio. new users per month as well as widespread internet access in all major cities.

India (Plant Life)

Throughout India, the native vegetation is heavily affected by deforestation and cultivation. Along the Malabar coast, however, there are still large areas with mangrove vegetation and tropical rainforest with palms, bamboo and fig species. Most of the subcontinent south of the Ganges plain was originally covered by monsoon forest with teak, mahogany, sandalwood and Dipterocarpus species. In NW India there is open, deciduous forest and savannah; the arid areas of Rajasthan have a flora with several species of Arab-African distribution. In Assam and on the lower slopes of the eastern Himalayas there is dense mountain rainforest, higher up coniferous forest and shrubs of Rhododendron. In Sikkim between Bhutan and Nepal, the tree line is approximately 4200 m; the alpine vegetation is dominated by holarctic genera such as cowslip, stonecrop and buttercup.

India - wildlife

Along with Bagindia and surrounding islands, India forms the Oriental region. The border with the Palaearctic region, which is formed by most of Asia and Europe, is fluid in some places, but is sharply drawn up along the Himalayas. Several of India's animals are closely related to African species, such as Indian rhinoceros, Indian elephant and many species of sunbirds and rhinoceros birds. Others are just subspecies, leopard and Asian lion (in Gir Forest). In forested reserves, several rare species have survived, including the Bengal tiger that hunts the many deer species.

Near and in the cities, many monkey species are seen, hulmanaben, and many scavenger birds, kites and vultures. Birds associated with wetlands are also common, such as storks, herons, ibises and waders. In total, approximately 1200 bird species from India.

One fifth of the country's almost 400 snake species are poisonous, eg the cobras (spectacled snakes). Among other things. in the Ganges and Brahmaputra live the gavial (or gharial), a long-nosed crocodile species.

India (Ethnography)

The Indian subcontinent has for millennia seen immigrants of different peoples who have merged over time. India was first united with British colonization, and the Indian state has made a strenuous effort to cultivate a common Indian identity. But Indian society is still very divided, partly through language and religion (see these sections), partly through the caste system.

The casting system

Hinduism has been a unifying force for the country, but its connection to the caste system has also laid the groundwork for a division of peoples. The system has existed for more than 2000 years and has spread to other of the country's denominations.

There are two types of casts, varna and jati. Varna refers to the ancient four-part Hindu hierarchy: priests (Brahmins); warriors; farmers, traders and artisans; as well as slaves and servants. Jati are the local groups that people identify with and live with. There are more than 3000 of these types of throws. In scope, they range from a few hundred members to several million. Casting affiliation matters to a person's entire life situation, whether it's marriage, work, way of life, social circle, diet or status. A member of a high caste must, for example, be a vegetarian and must not support himself by physical work.

The casteless (the immovable or the Dalits) are outside the varna model and thus lowest in the caste hierarchy. They have poorer jobs, lower income and lower status in Indian society; many of these groups are registered as Scheduled Castes, and as such enjoy the various privileges in the form of specially reserved seats at the higher education institutions, in political bodies and in jobs in the public sector. They make up approximately 16% (1991) of the population. Their way of life is often different from that of the casters; many eat meat, for example.

There is movement between the casters. This is done by people from one caste establishing connections with higher ranking castes, mimicking their way of life and getting others to do the dirty work. This process is called Sanskritization.

In the big cities, where the caste rules are not followed as slavishly as in the countryside, the system has softened. Marriages take place across castes, though that is still the exception. In the past, casting was most often associated with certain types of jobs. Although today there are many throw-neutral jobs (e.g. in administration) where lower throws are represented, the higher throws still dominate the highest positions. Economy, however, has had a greater impact on status. See also throw.

Tribal people

A third group completely outside the caste system are the tribal or indigenous peoples of India. A large proportion of these belong to what is administratively termed Scheduled Tribes; these make up approximately 8.6% (2011) of the population. A more neutral term is adivasi (Sanskrit 'the first residents'). These people are very different in appearance, language and way of life. Most live in a belt from the southern parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan as well as the northern Maharashtra over Madhya Pradesh and northern Andhra Pradesh as well as Orissa, where they constitute significant minorities, to the northeastern states, Nagaland, Mizoram etc. where they are in majority. In these areas, they most often live in and around the forests whose resources they live off.

Several groups are extinct with less than 100 members; one of the smallest is the öngegruppen (onge) in the Andamans with approximately 20 members. But there are also people who Bhil, Gond and santa players with more than 5 million. members each. While some of the groups still subsist as hunters and gatherers, others live off sweatshops or as ordinary peasants and farm workers. Some groups are nomads. As some have gradually been pushed away from their lands and forests, seasonal work in the cities has become a vital necessity for many. Despite this, they have retained much of their cultural distinctiveness.

As with Scheduled Castes, there is a reservation policy that caters for tribal people. In addition, areas dominated by these people are allocated additional resources. However, this relationship has not changed their position at the bottom of Indian society.

The tribal communities are generally more egalitarian than other Indian peoples. The position of women is better, and it is normal with bridal price and not dowry as with the caste Hindus. While some groups are slowly taking over the Hindu religion and traditions, others are struggling to preserve their particular identity.

India - language

India is home to approximately 200 different languages, but the majority are unwritten and only spoken by a few. The Indo-Aryan languages, which are numerically and culturally the most significant, are spoken by approximately ³/₄ of the population, while the Dravidian languages spoken by almost ¹/₄.

The most important language in India is Hindi, which is the official language of the state in line with English. The boundaries of the Indian states, established in 1953 and beyond, are largely determined by linguistic criteria, and 22 of the major regional languages ​​(including Hindi) are thus official state languages. Most recently, Maithili, Dogri, Bodo and Santali became official in 2003, and another 35 languages ​​are candidates for this status; many of these, however, are often considered dialects of Hindi.

To the Austro- Asiatic language clan belong the unwritten oral languages ​​spoken by the tribes of Chota Nagpur, in the highlands of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, and in the Mahadeo mountains of Madhya Pradesh; the most important of these languages ​​are santali and mundari. To the same language clan belong the mon-khmer language khasi and the languages ​​of the Nicobar archipelago. The Tibeto-Burmese language family is represented in India by approximately 80 languages ​​and dialects spoken in the mountainous regions along the northern and eastern borders of India. Andamanian languages, which are spoken by the indigenous people of the Andaman archipelago and are an independent language group, have included approximately 12 languages; the still existing ones are spoken by quite a few.

India (Religion)

A diversity of religions and religious directions characterizes modern Indian society. According to the Constitution, India has freedom of religion and no state religion. This does not mean, however, that religious communities always live side by side in peace and tolerance; Among other things, there are frequent violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims. It was also religious affiliation that, after India's independence in 1947, divided the country into Hindu-influenced India and the predominantly Islamic state of Pakistan, which originally also included present-day Bangladesh.

Hinduism is India's largest religious community and includes approximately 80% of the population. It is the common denominator of a wide variety of religious views and beliefs and has its origins in the religion of the indigenous Indian people and the ancient Vedic religion that Aryan tribes brought with them to India over 3500 years ago.

Islam came with Arab merchants to India as early as the 700's, but it was not until the Muslim conquests of northern and central India from the 1000's that Islam became a significant religious factor on the subcontinent. In the beginning, the Muslim community consisted mainly of the ruling upper class, but later it was especially people from the lower social classes who converted to Islam. The Muslims, who are almost all Sunnis, make up approximately 12% of the population.

Buddhism emerged as a reform movement in northern India around 500 BC, as the Buddha would neither recognize the clergy, ie. the Brahmins, as a privileged spiritual upper class or the Vedic scriptures as the supreme religious authority. For more than 1500 years, Buddhism flourished in India, but Hinduism and Islamic expansion eventually supplanted it from the motherland, and around 1200 it had largely disappeared from Indian territory. In recent times, however, Buddhism has experienced a renaissance in India, with millions of casteless Hindus converting to Buddhism, encouraged by BR Ambedkar's movement against social injustice against the casteless.

Jainism, which originated around the same time as Buddhism, was also originally a reform movement aimed at the Vedic ideals. It's about. 3 mio. Jainists in India.

Sikhism, which contains elements from both Hinduism and Islam, was founded in the 1500's. of the religious preacher Nanak of Punjab. The religion today has approximately 13 mio. followers.

In the Bombay area there are approximately 120,000 Parsis who are adherents of a contemporary version of Zarathustraism. A number of population groups are difficult to classify in religious terms. They are called tribal people or animists, but often they practice a popular Hinduism.

Christianity, which is mainly prevalent in South and Northeast India, comprises almost 3% of the population of India.