HISTORY

The fascination of India lies in her ancient heritage which, unlike that of most other countries, continues to be a part of her contemporary culture. The continuity of traditions, age-old customs and artistic legacy alongside the modem world gives Indian life and society richness, colour and depth. Variety and diversity are the keynotes of all that is Indian. This is amply reflected by the landscape. To the north, the earth's ancient landmass crushed continental plates to create the world's youngest and highest mountain system. The deserts of western India, inhabited by people dressed in resplendent hues, are balanced by the wetlands of the east, with their profusion of forests and trees. The chequered landscape of beautiful beaches and emerald islands, snow and desert dunes, forests and pasture land has given rise to rich, unique and diverse cultural experimentation. Each region of India has its own language, music, dance, architecture, painting, costume and food, with gods or goddesses to suit every human need and mood. The antiquity of the land is reaffirmed only by the continuity of Indian culture: the bullock cart designed 5,000 years ago wends its way even as jet planes fly overhead polluting the atmosphere.

THE LAND

India's physical features and geographical character have served both to segregate her from and integrate her with other world cultures. The north is bounded by the gigantic Himalayan mountain system that still safeguards Indian territory, while the famous passes of Jelep La and Nathu La on the Tibet-India route and the western Khyber pass on the Central Asia-Pakistan road provided restricted gateways into the subcontinent for travellers, traders and conquerors through the centuries.

CLIMATE

With geographical diversity comes a variety of climatic conditions in different parts of the country. There is snow in the Himalayan region, above 5,500 metres (18,000 feet). In the southern, city of Madras, temperatures range between 20° to 40 °C (70° to 100°F), from hot, to hotter, to hottest. Broadly speaking, India is said to have a tropical monsoon type of climate. In the northern and central regions there are four seasons. Winter lasts between November and March when it is cool and pleasant to travel, even in the desert regions of Rajasthan, and the brief springtime which follows brings blossoms and wild flowers to the foothills of Himalayas.

PEOPLE

India is home to over 900 million people. In 1901 the population was around 240 million. When India attained Independence, it was more than 520 million. Today, more than 25 per cent of India's population is below the age of 15, and in a few years these children will be adults, giving birth to children of their own. Much has been said about India's population problem. Despite high birth-rates, large-scale population control programmes have been initiated by the government and voluntary agencies. Most poor families that earn less than a dollar a day often have more than three children. The older ones support the family by looking after their siblings, carrying water, collecting wood and assisting in farm work. An extra pair of hands means help, not merely another mouth to feed. Until related economic, social and educational challenges are addressed, little will be achieved in maintaining the balance of resources and population. Within this nation, the largest democracy in the world, there are people of several racial groups, religions and cultural backgrounds.

LANGUAGES

The multitude of languages spoken in India provides some indication of the complexity of Indian society. There are over 225 different dialects, derived from four main sources. Sanskrit, like Latin, an ancient classical language that is now no longer spoken, is the basis of several north Indian languages as diverse as Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati. The Dravidian family of languages has four ancient branches from which stem Tamil (spoken in Tamil Nadu), Telugu (now spoken in Andhra Pradesh), Kannada (of Karnataka) and Malayalam (of Kerala). The tribal dialects of Orissa and Bihar do not belong to any of these root languages. There are also popular hybrids such as the poetic Urdu language which has its roots in the intermingling of Hindi and Persian in the army camps of the medieval period and is spoken in northern India, Bihar and the Deccan.

WILDLIFE

With climatic conditions that range from arctic to tropical, India's wildlife is both rich and varied. India can be divided into eight ecological zones—the western Himalayas, the eastern Himalayas, Assam, the desert, the Gangetic plain, the Deccan, the Malabar Coast in the south-west and the Andaman Islands—each of which has its own distinct species of plant, animal and bird life.

The most endangered species are the majestic Asian Elephant, the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and, in the cat family, the regal Asiatic Lion, the Tiger and the Snow Leopard. There are several bird species, such as the Great Indian Bustard, Whitewinged Wood Duck, Blacknecked Crane and the Great Indian Hornbill, that also face extinction with the destruction of their natural habitat. Thousands of migratory birds from Siberia and Europe seek sanctuary in India during the fierce winter months and, with environmental change, cranes, pelicans and many other species are finding it increasingly difficult to locate undisturbed resting places.

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