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India
A Developing Force in the World
Abhishek Gandhi
Professor Walter Barwick
Sociology 300
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Abstract
India is a very diverse country in terms of its society, culture, religions and
economy. Since its economic reforms were instituted in the early 1990s,
with many societal differences from the past, such as its caste system,
and recently emerging issues with terrorism. India also has to deal with
way in which these concerns are dealt with will have a major impact on
Introduction
The name India is derived from the ancient Persian name for the Indus
River. The Harappan culture developed in the Indus River valley more than
5,000 years ago. It is one of the world's oldest civilizations. Modern Indian
surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. India
takes up 2.4% of the world's land area, but sustains over 15% of the earth's
population. India's population is the second largest in the world behind China.
Buddhism and Sikhism. Further, Islam and Christianity also have deep roots in
this country. India became a British colony in the 1800's, and gained its freedom
progressed but has still been plagued with different social issues, such as
language and ethnic barriers, gender inequality, high rates of poverty, severe
problems include border conflicts with Pakistan and China, and clashes
the US and Japan. This is due to India’s emergent economy, stable government
and its secure political relationships with the rest of the world.
Indian Society
world's great civilizations. The intricacies of the Indian social structure have
been challenging to academics over many centuries. Living within the Indian
nation are vast numbers of different regional, social, and economic groups each
Ancient Indian society was organized into the caste system. The four
major castes are Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The Brahmins were
the priests and the philosophers. They were the specialists in the spiritual life of
the society, and played an advisory role. The Kshatriyas were the nobility of
feudal India, including the kings, their vassals, and the warriors. Their general
function was to guard and preserve society. The Vaishyas were the
businessmen and merchants, and their function was to drive the economy of
the Indian states. The Shudras were the farmers from the Indian villages and
countryside. Their function was to provide enough food to sustain the entire
population of the Indian states. Living outside the caste system were the
"Untouchables" who would be responsible for handling waste and dead bodies
as well as working with the skin of dead animals to turn into leather (considered
caste since 1948, shortly after independence, but caste discrimination is still
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success. The growth of the Indian economy has done more than anything to
eliminate caste discrimination in the cities, as those of every caste get more
opportunities for education and skilled jobs and prosperity spreads throughout
the society.
Education in India
India's literacy rate is still only 61% (U.S. Dept of State, 2009). This is in
large part due to the poor educational facilities in the rural areas of the country,
where most of the population lives. Gender inequality also plays a factor, as
girls have lesser access to education than boys in the rural areas. Societal
expectations on "appropriate" gender roles for boys and girls lead to a greater
emphasis on boys going to school so they can support their family and girls
This grim educational picture from the rural villages of India contrasts
sharply with the status of education found in India's cities and urban centers,
where about 30% of the population lives. In the cities, any family that can afford
it will send both their boys and girls to school and college. Education is seen as
the best path to a future of prosperity for not only these children, but for the
urban areas. Recently released surveys state that India produces more
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Healthcare in India
care models. The first is run by the government in order to provide access to
care for all, especially in the rural areas. Access to government run health
These are located mostly in urban areas. For those who can afford it, the
private hospitals provide a high level of care that is comparable to the care
healthcare needs in the rural areas. In 1991, India had about 22,400
government-run health centers, mostly in the rural areas, and 11,200 hospitals,
located mostly in urban areas. By 2005, the number of primary health centers
more than doubled to 52,700 and the number of hospitals increased to 25,900,
with the largest increase in the remote, rural areas (BBC, 2007). Government-
run health care attempts to redirect more difficult cases to the urban hospitals,
while providing routine medical care to the vast majority in the countryside
through its health centers. The primary health centers face many challenges
working with the rural population. The patients tend to overlook preventive
care, while this is a major focus of the primary health center. Also, in trying to
primary health centers sometimes alienate the local population, who still prefer
large families. A range of studies have shown that in both cities and villages,
people would rather pay and seek the more sophisticated services provided by
India, 2005).
Religions in India
Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, which make up the other 6.2% (U.S.
Dept of State, 2009). Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism are major
also had great influence in India since their introduction to the subcontinent
(Reddy, 2003). The Indian government is decidedly secular, honoring all faiths
Despite the Hindu majority, there is a great deal of tolerance for those of
other faiths, but there are ongoing tensions between Muslims and Hindus.
These tensions have persisted for centuries and were only exacerbated when
British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan at independence in 1947.
Religious extremism is very prevalent on both sides, with riots breaking out in
different parts of the country from time to time. The religious tensions between
Hindus and Muslims are rooted deep in the past, but they are having a big
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negative impact on the present and on the future of India. Economic growth
has been negatively affected by these occasional riots which are propagated by
religious fundamentalist groups. Despite the many strides forward India has
made in the last few decades, development has still been hampered by
religious extremism.
democratic republic. Like the United States, India has a federal form of
The President is the head of state, but the Prime Minister is the head of the
which consists of the upper house called the Council of States and the lower
control, and health. The end of the Cold War dramatically affected India's
foreign policy. India had a close relationship with the USSR, but the fall of the
Soviet Union led to a shift in alliances between India and other world powers.
India and the US are now fostering diplomatic and economic ties. India remains
since independence in 1947. The northeast border with China is still in dispute
and led to war with China in 1961. As of now, India and China are attempting to
resolve this border issue through diplomacy and talks. The issue of Kashmir
emerged with the partition of the subcontinent based on a "two nation's theory"
at the time of independence. The king in Kashmir at that time was Hindu and he
decided to merge his state with the Republic of India, although the majority
defense of India from foreign invasion. This dispute over Kashmir has triggered
two wars between India and Pakistan in 1947 and 1965, and the Kargil conflict
in 1999 (U.S. Dept of State, 2009). Since losing these wars, Pakistan has
instituted a policy of proxy war against India, including training and supplying
Muslim militants in Kashmir, and even encouraging terrorist activities in the rest
of India (Dikshit and Schwartzberg, 2007). Since the 1980s, India has faced a
rising tide of terrorist activities, including attacks on the Indian Parliament and
the Mumbai attacks of 2008. The dispute over Kashmir has taken on greater
significance since India and Pakistan both became nuclear powers in 1998
(Strategic Security Project, 2002). India maintains that its nuclear arsenal is for
defense purposes only (Pakistan has not agreed to any similar policy), (India
Profile, 2003). So far, this has held true, but if the Kashmir dispute once again
the world.
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foreign investments and exchange regimes. These reforms also reduced tariffs
and other trade barriers, opened and modernized the financial sector, made
an average growth of 8 percent per year starting 2004. India attained 9.6%
GDP growth in 2006, 9.0% in 2007, and 6.6% in 2008. Current growth for the
fiscal year 2009 was lower than expected due to global economic downturn, but
is still greater than 7% (US Dept of State, 2009). The growth of the economy of
India in general is closely behind the US and the Republic of China. Currently,
the US is India's largest investment and trading partner with a 13% share, and
bilateral merchandise trade topped nearly $50 billion. India's total inflow of US
direct investment was estimated at more than $16 billion through 2008 (US
increased drastically along with salaries of educated and skilled workers. This
and investment has resulted in greater prosperity for many educated Indians in
urban areas, but this prosperity has not spread very far into the rural areas yet.
Government policies have had to focus on not just large scale industries in the
cities and their effect on economic development, but also on small scale
industries as well. Small scale industries are very prevalent in India, especially
in the rural areas, and government support (through bank financing and loans)
of these industries will bring about much of the prosperity seen with large scale
corruption could help speed up the spread of prosperity to rural India. The
World Bank plans to double aid to India to almost $3 billion a year to improve
Conclusion
India is a country that is living in three different centuries - the 19th, the
20th and the 21st century, all at the same time. Due to rapid pace of economic
development, there are now two different Indian societies in existence. One is a
society that lives in the cities and is educated and westernized, with a higher
standard of living and with a global outlook. The second is a society that lives in
more traditional Indian society, lower standard of living and with a more
provincial outlook. The gap between these two societies in India is very large
seeping into the rural areas, and hopefully one day the gap between these two
However, for India to achieve these advances, there are many disputes
and issues which need to be resolved. Indian society will need to move past
system will have to be augmented and expanded to include all its population.
hopefully through diplomacy rather than war. India's size, population, and
strategic location give it a prominent say in the international community, and its
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References