India
India is about a third the size of the U.S., with nearly four times the population. From jungle treks to business ventures, India is a huge and exciting land, to be braved only by the adventurous. To the southwest, Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is the bustling economic capital of India, home to Bollywood, which is exactly what it sounds like – the center for the Indian film industry. In Bengal, to the northeast, lie the Ganges and some of the richest croplands in the world. In central India, the sprawling city of Delhi hides the remnants of the great Mughals. Not in just Delhi, but in fact almost everywhere, the land is suffused with ancient ways, and a developing modernity lives side by side with the eerie, haunting ruins of a great civilization. Hidden in the jungles and cities, are temples, shrines, and mosques, with some of the most otherworldly architecture on the planet, contrasting with the sprawling, official buildings and marble edifices of the British colonizers at the height of their power.
The nation of India, as the second most populous in the world, has a rich and intricate history and culture of extremes. India has had a civilization for thousands of years, and was once one of the richest agricultural countries in the world. This ended when the empire declined and fell apart late in the Mughal dynasty, allowing it to be swallowed up piecemeal from 1757 to 1857 by the British East India Company. Describing this process, Mahatma Gandhi once wrote in his book Hind Swaraj, “When our Princes fought among themselves, they sought the assistance of Company Bahadur [The East India Company]. That corporation was versed alike in commerce and war… The Hindus and the Mohammedans [Muslims] were at daggers drawn. This, too, gave the Company its opportunity and thus we created the circumstances that gave the Company its control over India.”
After WWII, civil leaders including Gandhi and Nehru led India to independence in 1947, but this divided the country into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India, which remains the world’s most populous democracy.
Indian culture is known for being a pluralistic mix of the various cultures that have arrived in India over the years. Yet it is very foreign to Westerners. Family, marriage, and loyalty are powerful ideas in traditional culture.
India is a developing country. The country has seen strong growth in recent years, but it faces problems of illiteracy, pollution, and overpopulation, so that a large proportion of the nation lives in poverty, especially in the villages and rural hamlets where the majority of the population work as subsistence farmers. On the other hand, India’s rich, populous cities, such as Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, and Hyderabad hum with life, and its numerous excellent technical, medical, and law universities train Indians and foreign students alike to enter the job market.
Climate
Due to its size, India boasts great variety in climate and geography. Most of India can be considered tropical in climate. To the north are the cold, mountainous, alpine regions of the Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountains. To the northwest are arid deserts. In the interior mountains, a dry, semi-arid tropical climate with sporadic monsoon prevails. Central India has a subtropical climate while the south is tropical.
Health and Safety
From June to September the monsoon rains inundate much of India and sometimes cause flooding.
Visit the CDC’s India page for updated information on health conditions in India.
Religion and Festivals
The predominant religion of India is Hinduism, with over 900 million Indians practicing various beliefs of Hinduism. Other religions of India are Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism.
Transportation
India’s major airports are located at Delhi, Calcutta, and Mumbai (Bombay), and flying within India is not too expensive. Rail travel is very popular. Bus accommodations are not known for comfort. Cars and motorcycles are dangerous to drive, especially in the crowded streets of the cities.
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