INDIA/People

Population. About 16 percent of all the world's people live in India. Only China, which has a population of about 1 1/4 billion, has more people than India. India has approximately 931 million people. It has an average of 733 persons per square mile (283 per square kilometer), making it more densely populated than most other countries.

About 73 percent of India's people live in rural areas. Most of the country's 557,000 farm villages have less than 1,000 people. About 27 percent of the people live in urban areas. India has about 4,000 cities and towns. Only about 300 cities have populations over 100,000. Six cities have more than 3 million people. These cities, in order of population size, are Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. Calcutta has the greatest population density, with an average of more than 100,000 persons per square mile (42,000 per square kilometer).

Since the early 1900's, India's population has grown by several million a year. By the early 1990's, India's population was increasing by about 17 million a year. The main reason for this "population explosion" is that improved sanitation and health care have caused the death rate to fall more rapidly than the birth rate. Population growth in the country has led to serious overcrowding and has increased the problem of raising India's low standard of living. Many villagers leave the heavily populated rural areas to look for work in the cities, where wages are higher. As a result, India's city population grows about twice as fast as the population of the country as a whole.

Ancestry. India's people belong to a variety of ethnic groups. The two largest groups are the light-skinned Indo-Aryans and the dark-skinned Dravidians. Most Indo-Aryans live in northern India, and a majority of the Dravidians live in southern parts of the country.

The Dravidians were among India's earliest known inhabitants. About 2500 B.C., they created an advanced civilization in the Indus Valley in the area that is now Pakistan and western India. About 1500 B.C., central Asian peoples called Aryans invaded the Indus Valley and drove the Dravidians south.

Beginning about A.D. 1000, central Asian Islamic peoples, mainly from the area that is now Afghanistan and Iran, settled in India. Many of their descendants live in the northeast, especially in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Mongoloid peoples live in the Himalayan region along India's northeastern border and in the states that border Burma. Most members of such minority groups as the Bhils, Gonds, Khasis, Nagas, Oraons, and Santals live in remote hills and forests.

Languages. The people of India speak 16 major languages and more than 1,000 minor languages and dialects. The major languages of India belong to two language families--Indo-European and Dravidian. Indo-European languages are spoken by about 73 percent of the people, mainly in the northern and central regions. They include Hindi--India's most widely spoken language--and its closely related form Urdu. They also include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, and Rajasthani. These languages come from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language with many words similar to words in European tongues. Dravidian languages are spoken by about 24 percent of the population, mainly in the southern part of the country. They include Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. People in the northern Himalayan region and near the Burmese border speak Sino-Tibetan languages. Some ethnic groups in eastern India speak Mon-Khmer languages.

Hindi is the principal official language of India. Sanskrit and 13 regional languages are also official languages. English is considered an "associate" national language. Hindi is the native language of about a third of India's people, but many speak Hindi as a second language. Only about 2 percent speak English, but it serves as a common language among most educated Indians.

The Indian government has at times promoted Hindi as a national language. But many Indians who cannot speak Hindi did not want it to become their nation's only official language. They claimed the best jobs in government and industry would go to those who speak Hindi. Also, many Indians take pride in their regional languages, many of which have old and honored literatures. They fear these writings would someday be lost if everyone spoke Hindi. In response to these concerns, the Indian government now recognizes 13 regional languages as official languages. Children in elementary and high schools study in their regional languages and learn Hindi as a second language. In most colleges and universities, classes are taught in regional languages, but English is widely used.

Generally, Indians who speak the same language live in the same state. At least one major language is spoken in each state. Some states have been created from parts of others to unite members of a language group. In 1956, the government reorganized the states for this reason, reducing their number from 27 to 14. But the people of the new state of Bombay still included two large language groups--people who spoke Gujarati and those who spoke Marathi. Each group was dissatisfied and wanted its own state. So the government in 1960 divided Bombay into two new states, Gujarat and Maharashtra. In 1966, two states were formed from Punjab because of language differences. The states are Punjab, where Punjabi is spoken, and Haryana, where Hindi is spoken. Several minority groups in northeastern India have also been given their own states.

INDIA/Way of Life

Although a great deal of modernization has taken place in India, many people still follow traditional ways of life. Indians do many things in public that people of the Western world do in private. For example, they may sit on the sidewalk for a haircut or shave, or to make and sell various articles.

Family Life. Family ties have great importance in India. Indians regard marriage as more of a relationship between two families than between two people. Young Indians generally are not allowed to have dates, and parents arrange most marriages. However, many young people have the right to reject any arrangement made by the parents. Many Indian households include not only parents and children, but also the sons' wives and their children.

Village Life. Most Indian villages consist of mud-and-straw huts crowded together. A few richer villagers live in brick homes. Indian farmers do not live on their land. The farmland lies near their villages, and farmers go out to the fields to grow food for their families.

Village homes have mud floors and only one or two rooms. The people sit and sleep on cots of woven string. The few household articles include brass pots for cooking and clay pots for carrying water and storing food.

Many village homes have no running water or electricity. The women get water from the one or two village wells. They pour it into pots, which they carry home on their heads. Village life centers around the wells. About half of India's villages have access to electricity, though individual homes may not use it. Many Indian families have kerosene lanterns.

Most Indian villages have a one- or two-room schoolhouse but no post office or shops. The villagers trade at a nearby market town, or at a roadside spot where they meet once a week. Most villages are governed by panchayats (councils of elders elected by all adults).

Rapid economic growth has greatly improved some parts of village life. For example, the Indian government has increased agricultural production in such states as Haryana and Punjab. In these areas, many villages have electricity, improved drinking water and sanitation, and more schools and paved roads.

City Life. As in most countries, India's larger cities are centers of business, political, and university activities. But many city dwellers keep their ties with the village from which they or their ancestors came.

Varanasi and certain other Indian cities were commercial, political, and religious centers in ancient times. Some had sacred temples that attracted pilgrims from all over the country. By the early 1800's, however, three ports founded by Europeans--Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras--had become the country's major cities. Many Indian cities developed two different areas, a British section and an Indian section. Rich Indians and Indians of high military or political rank now live in the former British sections. These areas show a strong Western influence. They have modern buildings, shopping districts with large stores, and wide, tree-lined streets. The people live mostly in pleasant one- or two-story bungalows.

In the Indian sections of the cities, buildings cover almost all of the land. A jumble of bicycles, carts, animals, and people fills the narrow, twisting streets. Small shops with open fronts line the streets. Families live behind and above the shops. These families include not only the very poor, but also some rich people who prefer the older ways of life.

The cities of India have terrible slums. Thousands of slum dwellers sleep in the streets because they have no homes. Others live in shelters made of scraps of wood or metal. Most Indian slum buildings have at least one whole family, and often more, living in a small room. The women cook on the floor. Many slum dwellings have no chimneys or even windows to remove the smoke. The slum areas have poor water supplies and sanitation. Many of these areas have no public sanitation at all. Since the early 1970's, the Indian government has replaced many slum buildings with low-cost public housing.

Even the better sections of the cities have frequent electric power failures, and water stoppages often occur for hours. Many homes have a reserve water tank on the roof for the dry hours.

Religion. About 83 percent of the Indian people are Hindus, and about 11 percent are Muslims. The next largest religious groups, in order of size, are Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains.

Religion plays a vital role in the Indian way of life. Religious laws of the Hindus and Muslims govern the people's clothing, food, and marriage. They also strongly influence the type of occupation among persons who strictly follow the laws. Violence between Hindus and Muslims led to the division of India into two nations, India and Pakistan. Many thousands of Indians have died in fighting between Hindus and Muslims. The bloodshed still occurs from time to time.

Hinduism. Hindus believe that the soul never dies. After the body dies, the soul is reborn in another life form. This process is repeated many times until the soul reaches spiritual perfection. Then, the soul enters a higher state of existence from which it never returns.

Hindus follow the principle of ahimsa, noninjury to living creatures. This principle especially applies to cows, which Hindus believe are sacred animals. As a result, hardly any Hindus eat beef, and many do not eat any kind of meat.

Hindus worship many divinities (gods and goddesses). The three most important ones are Brahma, the creator of the universe; Vishnu, its preserver; and Shiva, its destroyer. Hinduism has a number of sacred writings that outline how its followers should conduct their lives. These writings include the Mahabharata and its famous section, the Bhagavad-Gita.

Hindus are divided into a large number of social groups called castes. The castes are grouped into four main categories. These categories, from the highest to the lowest, are Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. Each caste has a traditional occupation, such as priest, artist, or farmer. A Hindu is born into a caste and can never become a member of a different caste. Within a community, a person's social status usually depends on the caste to which he or she belongs.

Each caste has its own rules of behavior. These rules limit social contacts with members of other castes. Marriage between people of different castes seldom occurs. Each caste also has rules concerning who may cook the food its members eat. For example, people of a high caste may eat only food that is prepared by members of the same caste. Most Hindus will eat food prepared by members of a higher caste. Each caste also has customs regarding the type of food its members may eat. Some castes eat meat, and others eat fish but not meat. Some eat neither meat nor fish, but do eat eggs. Still others do not eat eggs. Generally, the higher castes have more restricted diets than the lower castes.

Education and modern industrial life have weakened many caste barriers. Today, Hindus of various castes mix in factories, offices, and public places. But few Indians want the caste system to die out completely. Many castes provide welfare and educational benefits to their needy members. Castes also help to pass on various skills in arts and crafts from generation to generation.

For thousands of years, a group called the untouchables has existed outside the four main categories of castes and has ranked below the lowest Sudra caste. Untouchables make up about 15 per cent of the Indian population. Traditionally they have held the lowest jobs, such as street sweeper and leather worker. The 1950 Indian constitution, however, outlawed discrimination against untouchables and all lower castes and gave these people equal rights as full citizens. The government has provided scholarships, jobs, and other kinds of assistance for them. Seats are reserved for them in Parliament and the state assemblies. But many Hindus still believe in the old rules that keep these people in their low positions. These rules included restrictions that prevented untouchables from entering temples and drawing water from public wells.

Islam, the religion of the Muslims, is India's second largest religion. India has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. Most Indian Muslims live in the northern part of the country. Some are descendants of Islamic peoples from western and central Asia. But most are descendants of Hindus who converted to Islam. Some continue many Hindu practices. Others follow the same practices as Muslims in Middle Eastern countries. The Muslims have been a powerful political and economic group in India for centuries.

Other Religions. Christians total about 3 per cent of India's population. Many live in the state of Kerala, where they make up about a fifth of the population. Many of the peoples in the areas along India's northeastern border are Christians.

Sikhism began in about 1500 as a movement to combine Hinduism and Islam. Sikhs make up about 2 per cent of India's population. Most live in the north. They are the country's leading wheat farmers. Sikhs also form one of the largest groups in the army.

Buddhism ranked as India's chief religion in ancient times. Today, less than 1 per cent of the people practice Buddhism.

Jainism began in the 500's B.C. Jains consider all life sacred and eat no meat. Some priests wear cloths over their mouths to keep from breathing in an insect and killing it. About half of 1 per cent of all Indians practice Jainism. Most Jains live on the west coast. Many hold high jobs in business and industry.

Clothing worn by Indians varies greatly by region. Members of the various religious groups also may dress differently. But most Indians wear light, loose clothing because of the hot climate. Bright colors and white are common. Some Indians, especially in the cities, wear Western-style clothing. But the clothing of many Indians consists of a long piece of cloth draped around the body. Many men wear a dhoti (a simple white garment wrapped between the legs). The dhoti forms a sort of loose trousers. Some men wrap the garment around themselves like a skirt. In southern India, poor men often wear only a loincloth (a piece of cloth wrapped around the hips and between the thighs). In northern India, some men wear long, tight coats with trousers. The trousers are wide at the top, and fit tightly from knee to ankle. Many Indian men wear turbans.

Most Indian women wear a sari (a straight piece of cloth draped around the body as a long dress). They place its loose end over the head or shoulder. Wealthy women may wear saris made of silk, with borders of gold thread. Many of the women of northern India wear full trousers with a long blouse and a veil. Indian women usually wear some jewelry, especially earrings and bracelets. Many women also wear a kumkum (round dot) in the middle of the forehead. The kumkum, which is usually made of a red or black powder, is considered a mark of beauty.

Food. The chief foods of India include such grains as rice, wheat, millet, and pulses. Pulses are the seeds of such pod vegetables as beans, chickpeas, pigeon peas, and lentils. A typical meal consists of rice and dal, a porridge made of pulses. Indians also enjoy wheat-flour chapatties, thin flat baked breads that resemble soft tortillas. Some other breads are made from rice or pulse flour. Samosas, deep-fried pastries stuffed with potatoes, vegetables, or meat, are popular snacks. A fancy meal might include chicken or lamb roasted in a clay oven called a tandoor. For special events, such as weddings, Indians may wrap elegant foods in a layer of silver so thin that it can be eaten.

Most Hindus do not eat beef, and some eat no meat at all. Muslims eat no pork. Indians enjoy carefully spiced vegetable dishes. They use many different spices and blend special mixtures for each dish. Indians eat many kinds of curries, which consist of vegetables, seafood, eggs, or meat cooked in a spicy sauce. One or more kinds of chutneys accompany many meals. Chutneys are relishes of spices and fruits, especially mangoes. As a cool contrast to spicy foods, Indians often serve raita, a mixture of yogurt with fruits and vegetables. Sweet desserts are made from milk, yogurt, fruits, and nuts. Fresh fruits and fruit drinks are popular. Tea is a favorite beverage in India, but many southern Indians prefer coffee.

Health. The health of Indians is generally poor compared with that of Americans and Europeans. The country has a high death rate, partly because of poor diet and living conditions. India has done much to control the spread of such diseases as cholera and malaria. Since the 1950's, the government has been setting up nationwide public health services. It has built many new hospitals and clinics. Since 1950, the average life expectancy of Indians has risen by about 25 years.

Education. About a third of India's adults can read and write. This figure is more than double the percentage that could read and write during the early years of the nation's independence. The rising literacy rate has resulted from government education programs that began in 1951. The government has spent much money to build schools, train teachers, and provide books and other educational materials. School attendance among all age groups has increased substantially since 1951.

The Indian constitution provides for free education for children from age 6 through 14. About 85 per cent of all children attend the first five grades. But school attendance for grades 6 through 10 totals only about 35 per cent. The rural areas have fewer schools and a lower attendance than the cities. Many children drop out of school and get jobs to help support their families. Throughout India, schools are overcrowded.

India has more than 4,850 colleges and universities. About 4 per cent of its young people from age 18 through 23 attend institutions of higher education. This figure for college and university attendance is higher than that of most other developing countries.