Chapter 25/1: India Section  Lecture Notes Physical Geography

        

Vocabulary Key Term: teak

 

I. Landforms (p. 550)

A. Three main landform regions—Himalayas, Gangetic Plain, Deccan

 

B.Himalayas

1. Run along country’s northern border

2. Created when two tectonic plates collided, pushed up Earth’s crust

 

C. Gangetic (gan-JE-tik) Plain

1. Lies south of the Himalayas; vast region

2. Home to about half of population

 

D.Deccan (DE-kuhn)

1. South of Gangetic Plain; triangular peninsula

2. Mostly plateau, divided by many hills and valleys

3. Plateau’s edges—Eastern Ghats (GAWTS),Western Ghats—low mountain ranges

                   that separate plateau’s eastern and western edges from narrow coastal plains

 

 

Question:

What are India’s three main landform regions?

 

Himalayas, Gangetic Plain, Deccan

 

 

II. Rivers (p. 550)

A. Ganges (GAN-jeez)—India’s most important river

1. Hindus call Ganges “Mother River”; consider it sacred

2. Leaves rich silt; has made Gangetic Plain India’s farming heartland

 

B. Brahmaputra (brahm-uh-POO-truh) River—starts in Plateau of Tibet; empties into

    Ganges Delta

 

C. Narmada (nuhr-MUH-duh),

 

 

Question:

 What are the major rivers in India? Which river do Hindus consider sacred?

 

               Ganges, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna; Ganges

 

III. Climate (p. 551)

A.Variety of climate types

1. Himalayas—areas have highland climates with snow and glaciers

2. Thar Desert—hot and dry year-round

3. Gangetic Plain—humid tropical climate

4. Deccan—tropical savanna and steppe climates

 

B.Monsoons—tropical winds

1. Summer—wind brings moist air from Indian Ocean

2. Winter—wind brings dry air from Asian interior

3. Timing of monsoons important; summer rains that come too early or too late

                   can hurt farming

 

 

Question:

               What types of climate are found in India?

 

               highland, desert, humid tropical, tropical savanna, steppe

 

IV. Resources (p. 551)

A. Fertile farmlands; most people work in agriculture

 

B. Cash crops for export—cashew nuts, cotton, jute, spices, sugarcane, tea, tobacco

 

C. Mineral resources—iron ore, bauxite, uranium, coal, gemstones

 

D. Oil reserves—some but not enough to meet country’s needs

 

E. Forests—important resource and home to wildlife; teak—strong and durable

            wood used to make ships and furniture—valuable type of wood

 

 

 

Question:

What are some of India’s important natural resources?

 

fertile farmland, minerals, some oil, forest products

 

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Chapter 25 India :SECTION 2 Lecture Notes: India’s History

 

Key Vocabulary terms:

Sanskrit, sepoys, boycott

 

I. Early Indian Civilizations (Objective 1, pp. 552–553)

 

 A.Harappan civilization—first urban civilization on Indian Subcontinent; centered

             around Indus River Valley

1. 2500 B.C.—Living in large, well-planned cities

2. May have traded by sea with Mesopotamians

3. System of writing, but unreadable now

 

B. 1500 B.C.—Indo-Aryans arrived in northern India

1. Language—early form of Sanskrit; still used today in religious ceremonies

2. Mixed with Indian groups; mixed beliefs and customs formed early Hinduism

 

C. A.D. 1000—raids by Muslim armies

 

D. Early 1200S—Muslim kingdom established at Delhi; called Delhi sultanate

 

E. Early 1500s—invaders from Central Asia; began Mughal (moo-guhl) Empire

 

 

Questions:

What groups of people affected the early history of India?

Indo-Aryans, Muslim armies, Central Asians

 

 

II. The Mughal Empire (Objective 2, pp. 553, 555)

 

A. Founder—Babur, “the Tiger”; descended from Mongol emperor Genghis Khan

1. Brilliant general and gifted poet

2. Took over most of northern India; lands divided after his death

 

B. Akbar—Babur’s grandson—reunited Mughal Empire

1. Reorganized government and tax system; created wealthy and powerful empire

2. Reign of Akbar and successors—golden age

3. Akbar—Muslim, but tolerant and curious about other religions

 

C. Shah Jahan—Akbar’s grandson—built Taj Mahal, other buildings and monuments

 

D. 1600s and 1700s—empire became weaker; Europeans became important in India

India, Section 2, continued

 

 

Question

How would you describe the Mughal Empire?

wealthy and powerful; efficient government; golden age; religious tolerance

 

 

III. The British (Objective 3, pp. 555–556)

 

A. 1600s—English East India Company won rights to trade in India

 

B. British East India Company—expanded power as Mughal Empire weakened

1. Built up an army; mostly sepoys, Indian troops commanded by British officers

2. Mid-1800s—company controlled more than half of India

3. Changed Indian economy to benefit British industry

 

C. 1857—sepoys revolted in Indian Mutiny; British government began to rule India

 

D. Late 1800s—Indian nationalist movement led by educated middle class

 

E. 1885—nationalists created Indian Nation Congress; asked for fairer treatment

 

F. After World War I—movement to end British rule led by Mohandas K. Gandhi

1. Used nonviolent mass protest

2. Led protest marches; urged Indians to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods

3. Pressure grew on Britain to leave India

 

 

Question:

How was Britain able to gain control over India?

slowly took control in 1700s and 1800s; took complete control after Indian  Mutiny; ruled India as British colony

 

 

IV. Independence and Division (Objective 4, p. 557)

 

A. After World War II—Britain decided to give India independence

1. British government and Indian National Congress—wanted one country

2. India’s Muslims—wanted separate Muslim state; India on verge of civil war

 

B. 1947—India divided into independent countries of India and Pakistan

1. India—mostly Hindu; Pakistan—mostly Muslim

2. New boundary—left millions of Hindus in Pakistan, millions of Muslims in India

3. Many killed in rioting and panic trying to cross border

 

 

Question:

Why did the British government divide India into two independent countries?

Muslims and Hindus on verge of civil war

 

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SECTION 22/3 Lecture Notes: India Today

 

Vocabulary terms:

reincarnation, karma, nirvana, caste system, Dalits, green revolution

 

I. Religions of India (Objective 1, pp. 558–560)

A. Religion—important part of Indian culture

1. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism—originated in India

2. People mostly Hindu

 

B.Hinduism—one of world’s oldest religions

1. Many gods; all gods and all living beings part of single spirit

2. Reincarnation—belief that the soul is reborn again and again in   

    different forms

3. Karma—positive or negative force caused by a person’s actions

 

C. Buddhism—founded in 500s B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama; known as  

     Buddha

1. Avoid sorrow by following certain rules of living

2. Nirvana—escape from suffering

 

D. Jainism—founded at about same time as Buddhism

1. All things in nature have souls

2. Rejects violence against any living thing

 

E. Sikhism—founded in late 1400s—combines elements of Hinduism and Islam

 

Question:

What are the four major religions that originated in India?

 

Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism

 

II. Castes (Objective 2, pp. 560–561)

A. Caste system—system in which people’s position in society is determined by their birth in a particular caste or group; castes—ranked in status, highest to lowest

1. People from higher caste cannot marry or touch those of lower 

   castes

2. Dalits—lowest caste; do work that higher castes consider unclean

 

B. After independence—government ended caste system; still a strong  

    force in society

 

C. Dalits—some now educated with good jobs; most still poor

           India, Section 3, continued

 

Question:

How would you describe India’s caste system?

 

A system in which people’s position in society determined by birth in particular castes

 

III. Languages (Objective 3, p. 561)

A. 24 languages with a million or more speakers; hundreds of other 

    languages

 

B. Official national language—Hindi; southern states have resisted adopting 

     it

 

C. English—commonly used in government, business, and higher 

     education

 

 

Question:

What is India’s official language? What language is used in India’s government?

 

Hindi; English

 

IV. Government and Economy (Objective 4, pp. 561–563)

 

A. Economic progress since independence but country still poor

 

B. Democratic government; world’s largest democracy

1. Based on Britain’s parliamentary system

2. Central government shares power with state governments

 

C. Politics sometimes marked by violence and assassinations; religious

     violence

 

D. India and Pakistan—both claim region called Kashmir; conflict  

     sometimes violent

 

E. Mixture of traditional and modern economies

 

F. Farming—nearly 60 percent of workforce; about 25 percent of GDP

1. Farmers—mostly small farms; subsistence farming

2. Government—worked to promote commercial farming

 

G Crops—rice, wheat, cotton, tea, sugarcane, jute; animals—cattle, water buffalo

 

H.1960s—government began green revolution, or agricultural programs

1. Encouraged farmers to adopt more modern methods

2. Promoted greater use of fertilizers, pesticides, new varieties of wheat and rice

 

3. Now self-sufficient in food in years with good weather; exports farm

    products

 

I. Among world’s top 10 industrial countries; industries—textiles, jewelry, 

   cars, bicycles, oil products, chemicals, food processing, electronics,

   movies

 

Question:

How would you describe India’s economy?

 

mixture of traditional and modern; among world’s top 10 industrial countries

 

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