268
Modern IndIa
India is one of the most industrialized countries
in asia, with a wide range of engineering,
electronic, and manufacturing industries. Its
railroad system is one of the world’s biggest.
Traditional costumes and ways of life, however,
coexist with modern industries.TexTIles
The production of textiles, carpets,
and clothing is one of the major
industries in India. Millions of people
work at spinning, weaving, and
finishing a wide range of cotton
and other goods, often printed
with designs that have been
in use for centuries. Many
of these products are
exported. There are large
factories, but some people
also work in their
own homes.India, Pakistan, nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh, and sri lanka occupy
the Indian subcontinent. China
is to the north, and to the east lie
the jungles of southeast asia. The
Indian ocean washes the southern
shores; the mountains and deserts
of Iran and afghanistan enclose
the subcontinent on the west.Tea
In 1824, tea plants were discovered
in the hills along the frontier
between Burma and the Indian
state of assam. The British first
introduced tea culture to India in
1836 and sri lanka in 1867, and
today most of the world’s tea comes
from the Indian subcontinent.
The low tea bushes grow well
on the sheltered, well-drained
foothills of the Himalayas.
only the leaves near the tip
of the plant are picked; they
are then dried, rolled, and
heated to produce the final
product. Tea also grows in
southern India and sri lanka.a T raveler In IndIa would need to speak more than
1,000 languages to understand conversations in every part of
the country. Hindi and english are the two official
languages, and 14 other languages are spoken nationwide.
Many people, however, speak a local language as well. The
majority of Indians are Hindu in religion, but there are
many Muslims, sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists. Geographically, the country
is very varied, too. The north is mountainous, and in the center the Ganges
river waters a rich plain of productive farmland. In the south, a hot and
fertile coastal region surrounds a dry inland plateau. With a population of
more than 1.25 billion, India is the second most populated country in the
world (China is the first). about 70 percent of the people live in small,
often very poor villages, and work on the land. The rest live in big cities,
where some work in modern factories and offices. recent advances in
farming have made
the land more
productive, and
after many years
of famine,
India can now
feed itself.Picking tea is laborious
and often painful work.
Most tea pickers are
women. They spend
long days picking
the crop by hand.KaraKoraM MounTaIns
a high mountain range separates the Indian subcontinent from
China to the north. Most of the range is part of the Himalayas.
at its western end, the Himalayas continue as the Karakoram
range, which forms Pakistan’s northern border. Few
people have their homes in these mountainous regions.
nevertheless, the mountains have a great influence on
people living thousands of miles away. Most of the
rivers that irrigate the fertile plains of the Indian
subcontinent begin in the Himalayas.PrInTInG BloCKs
Traditional wooden
printing blocks are still
used in the production
of colorful textiles.IndIa
268- India and subcontinent
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