SPOTLIGHT – HISTORY pages 30-31 Milestones in the history of India

A)Hinduism, the oldest religion in the world

Hinduism is a way of life. They abstain from meat, beef is forbidden. Karma – the culmination o all the actions of a person in his life – affects the form his next life will take. Millions of pilgrims from all over India gather in many holy places.

B)The jewel in the crown

1)Colonial India was regarded as the jewel in the crown of the British empire because of its valuable resources/ raw materials. India was the most important source of wealth for the British Empire in the 19th century.

2)The British established a trading company in Indi in 1600. The British East India company traded mainly in «cotton, silk, indigo dye, tea, spices.» But in 1857, the Company’s native soldiers rose up against their British commanders: the «sepoys», who were mostly Hindu and Muslim, refused to be supplied with cartridges greased with pig and cow fat. It was the beginning of the Indian Mutiny which spread rapidly throughout British India. However, India remained under British control and Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1877.

C)Towards independence

When the British left in 1947, in order to avoid further religious tension, two separate states were created: a Hindu state , India, and a Muslim state, Pakistan (East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971).

D)The world’s largest democracy

With 1.2 billion inhabitants, India is one of the most populous countries in the world. Its population represents 17.5% of the world’s population. Even though the country’s stability has been shaken several times over the years (Indira Gandhi’s assassination, tension with Pakistan, internal conflicts) it has remained a democratic country with women elected twice as head of state (Indira Gandhi, first female Prime Minister) and Pratibha Patil, first female president.

WEBQUEST From Bombay to Mumbai

1a) Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1995 under the rule of the right-wing nationalist party which had won the local elections. The main reason was that Bombay was a corrupted version of Mumbai in English and an unwanted legacy of British colonial rule.

1b) Several islands originally constituted the site of Bombay. They were connected through land reclamation projects to form the area of today’s modern city of Mumbai. Mumbai is located on Salsette island which lies at the mouth of Ulhas River off the western coast of India.

1c) National geographic website (Must dos)

1d) Lonely planet (website): Mumbai is the country’s financial powerhouse and its vogue centre of fashion.»