INDIA - Country SNAPSHOT
"Unity in Diversity" was the slogan chosen when India celebrated fifty years of Independence in 1997, a declaration replete with as much optimism as pride. Stretching from the frozen barrier of the Himalayas to the tropical greenery of Kerala, and from the sacred Ganges to the sands of the Thar desert, the country's boundaries encompass incomparable variety. Walk the streets of any Indian city and you'll rub shoulders with representatives of several of the world's great faiths, a multitude of castes and outcastes, fair-skinned, turbanned Punjabis and dark-skinned Tamils. You'll also encounter temple rituals that have been performed since the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs, onion-domed mosques erected centuries before the Taj Mahal was ever dreamt of, and quirky echoes of the British Raj on virtually every corner.
That so much of India's past remains discernible today is all the more astonishing given the pace of change since Independence in 1947. Spurred by the free-market reforms of the early 1990s, the economic revolution started by Rajiv Gandhi has transformed the country with new consumer goods, technologies and ways of life. Now the land where the Buddha lived and taught, whose religious festivals are as old as the rivers that sustain them, is the second-largest producer of computer software in the world, with its own satellites and nuclear weapons.
However, the presence in even the most far-flung market towns of internet cafés and Japanese hatchbacks has thrown into sharp relief the problems that have bedevilled the subcontinent since long before it became the world's largest secular democracy. Rooted in the monolithic hierarchy of caste, poverty remains a harsh fact of life for around forty percent of India's inhabitants. No other nation on earth has slum settlements on the scale of those in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta, nor so many malnourished children, uneducated women and homes without access to clean water and waste disposal.
Many first-time visitors find themselves unable to see past such glaring disparities. Others come expecting a timeless ascetic wonderland and are surprised to encounter one of the most materialistic societies on the planet. Still more find themselves intimidated by what may seem, initially, an incomprehensible and bewildering continent. But for all its jarring juxtapositions, intractable paradoxes and frustrations, India remains an utterly compelling destination. Intricate and worn, its distinctive patina - the stream of life in its crowded bazaars, the ubiquitous filmi music, the pungent melange of beedi smoke, cooking spices, dust and cow dung - casts a spell that few forget from the moment they step off a plane. Love it or hate it - and most travellers oscillate between the two - India will shift the way you see the world.
INDIA - Agra - The Taj Mahal mosque
The Taj Mahal, designed as a tomb for the wife of a 17th-century Mughal emperor, was constructed by about 20,000 workers from 1631 to 1648 in Agra, a city in northern India. The massive domed structure was constructed in the Indo-Islamic style, using white marble and inlaid gems. At each corner is a minaret (prayer tower), and passages from the Koran, the Muslim holy book, adorn the outside walls. The bodies of the emperor and his wife remain in a vault below the building. On either side of the Taj Mahal are buildings of red sandstone. The one to the west is a Mosque. It faces towards Mecca and is used for prayer. Before we have a look at the mosque, let us take note of a small stone enclosure along the western boundary wall where the well of the Mosque is located.This greenery shaded structure, measuring 19 ft. by 6.5 ft. marks the site where the remains of Mumtaz Mahal were deposited when first brought to Agra. From this temporary grave they were removed to their present place of internment in the mausoleum. On the outside the Mosque has pietra dura work twining across its spandrels. The platform in front of the Mosque is of red sandstone. A highly polished small marble piece is so fitted that it serves as a mirror and one can see the mausoleum reflected in it. The floor is of material which is exceedingly fine and sparkling and appears velvet red in shade. On that 539 prayer carpets have been neatly marked out with black marble. All over there is exquisite calligraphy and the name Allah and quotations from scriptures inscribed. The ceiling is painted in a strange, hypnotic design. The roof supports four octagonal towers and three elegant domes. On either side of the Mosque, to the north and south, and set along and upon the enclosure wall, there are two towers.
INDIA - Agra - The red fort in Agra
Built principally as a military establishment by Akbar in 1565, the red sandstone Agra fort was partially converted into a palace during Shah Jahan's time. Though the principal structure was built by Akbar, many more additions were made by his grandsons. This massive fort is 2.5 kilometers long and is considered as the predecessor of the Delhi Red fort. The colossal walls are 20 feet high and the whole fort is encircled by a fetid moat. Amar Singh gate towards the south is the only entry point in the fort. The building and structures inside the fort gives an impression of a city within the city. Many of the building inside the fort is now closed for the public. The marble pearl mosque inside the fort is one of the most stunningly beautiful mosques in India.
INDIA - Jhansi & Orchha - With a medieval majesty
Jhansi, city in India, at the state Uttar Pradesh, capital of the district Jhansi. The city is railway junction, industry and center of commerce with steel and mills. Brass goods, carpets, rubbers and silk products are set up. The city developed around fort Rajput that constructs 1613 was. A stand-alone state resulted around 1770 here. A massacre occurred here in 1857 during mutiny of the Sepoys at the British population. The number of inhabitants is about 300 000.
Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi (1835-1858), leader in Indian revolt against expanding British domination of 1857th Lakshmibai was borne in Varanasi in northern India and Rao, the ruler of Jhansi, was married to Gangadhar. The Radscha died in 1853 without direct masculine heir; but he had adopted a son - without approval of the British East Indian company -. James Dalhousie, the governor of India, refused the claim of the adoted son to the throne, annexed Jhansi and in this way, conjured up the enmity of the Rani. During the outbreak of revolt 1857, the Rani incorporated the command over the rebels into Jhansi and could defend it against the Britons for Jhansi a year nearly long. According to the case of Jhansi, she followed the rebel leader Tantia Tope and further fought in Kalpi. After Kalpi had also fallen to the Britons, the rebellious 1858 conquered fort Gwalior. With the relief of the troops of Gwalior, she continued her fight against the Britons until she was shot to death in a battle near the fort. She was 23 years old.Orchha was the capital of the Bundela Rajputs between 1531 and 1783. Built by an 11th century king of the Bundela dynasty, now a ghost city containing the remains of what must have been once spectacularly lovely monuments which combine Hindu and Muslim architectural traditions. The palaces and temples built by them retain much of their pristine perfection.
INDIA - Bombay (Mumbai) - Capital of the state Maharashtra
Bombay (city, India), city in the western India, capital of the state Maharashtra, of port on the Arabian sea which is on the islands Bombay, Trombay and Salsette. The leading finance center is Bombay from India. It has great importance beyond for the market, transport and the production. The port of Bombay is between the city and the mainland and one is of the biggest natural ports of the world. Most imports reach over this port into the country, he is simultaneously a loading point for goods which are produced in the western India. Two meaning railway tracks with which all important areas can be achieved in India end in Bombay. The large international airport is on the island Salsette.
One of the most important centers is Bombay for production of cotton dry goods in India. Other leading branches of industry are printing industry, publisher being, ship building and repair and the production of chemicals, machines, metal, metal products and fertilizers. Importance also has Bombay as a center of India film industry. Constructed nuclear power plant is in the district Trombay in a 1957.The main subject fields and living districts concentrate on the southern part of the island Bombay. Several sandy beaches are found on the western coast along the Arabian sea. In the east, at the port, a district finds itself with the most important public buildings. Meaning parks are the Victoria gardens in which a zoo is also and the Hajiali park with a race track and a sport stage. Industry concentrates on Salsette. Hut cities also find themselves here. The population of Bombay is stratified. Educational facilities of the city are by Bombay who was set up in 1857 the university an institute for technology and a university for social sciences and architecture. The big Prince is of Wales museum equally of importance from 1905. through continuous to excursion enlarge itself the population number continuous parts Bombays are regarded as overpopulated already today. Wood carvings of Kanheri from the 2nd 9th century in the caves which are on Salsette and the temples from the 7th century on the island Elephanta near been engage the early settlement of this place.
Area 1348 passed to the kingdom Gujarat. 1534 was Bombay occupied by Portuguese, that the port Bom Bahia („ beautiful bay") mentioned. 1661 was the city resigned to English finally deliver 1668 to the British East Wind India Company the 1672 here their headquarters constructed. In the 18th 19th century, projects were begun for new territory extraction. The industrial evolution began with the building of the first railway and the furnishings of the first cotton spinning mill in the fifties of the 19th century. Cotton industry had an upswing during the American civil war from 1861 to 1865 when the cotton industries of United States were disturbed to Great Britain. The aperture of Suezkanal 1869 increased the importance of the port. To 1960 the city was capital of the state Bombay, she then became capital of the state set up again Maharashtra. The number of inhabitants conducts about 13 million (!), in the agglomeration round 20 million!
