India Today

2. In your bellwork journal, discuss the ideas of an eye for an eye, compared to turn the other cheek….which one do you choose to respond out of? Why? Which one is a better choice? India Today Golden Temple, Amritsar

3. Kashmir • Relations with USA • Overpopulation

4. India’s Population • India has the second largest population in the world behind China • India’s total population is 1,080,264,388 as of July 2005 • In March of 2001, India became the 2nd nation to cross the one billion mark in total population • China was the first to cross this mark

5. What are their Strengths? • World's tenth biggest industrial country; • It has the 3rd largest scientific and technical work force in the world • It is already 2nd only to the US in producing computer software. • Economic liberalization has opened up the country and given a boost to some of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the world. Businesses have geared up for international competition. Exports have gone up, investments have poured in. Armed forces that are modernized and well equipped, and with a nuclear capability, the country is also a military giant.

6. What are the problems? • Half of its people live on less than $1 a day. • 48% of the adult population and 62% of adult women are illiterate • women are severely discriminated against • 53% of children under five are malnourished; • 71% have no access to sanitation; • 37% have no access to safe water; • Around 100 million child laborers • 20% of the world's maternal deaths and 25% of its child deaths occur in India. • Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are three of the world's ten most polluted cities. • Fifteen million people in Bombay have sidewalks for beds • 25% of the population is below the poverty line

7. How do you Change this? • A widespread population policy was implemented • - Late 1970s: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suspended the constitution, and people were forcibly sterilized. • This terrified ordinary people so much that the country's population policy stagnated for decades. • India's fertility rate has dropped in 50 years from 6 to 3.4 children per woman. • 30 million people want to use contraceptives--but have no access to them.

8. India’s Population Density • India is one of the most densely populated nations in the world • India’s population density is 324 people per square kilometer as of July 2004 • India’s population makes up 15% of the world population

9. Kashmir • A territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, the northwestern most region of South Asia. • India and Pakistan have fought at least three wars over Kashmir, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1999.

10. Why the Disagreement? • In 1947, British rule in India ended with the creation of two new nations: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. • According to the Indian Independence Act 1947, the states were left to choose whether to join India or Pakistan or to remain independent. Jammu and Kashmir, the largest states, had a predominantly Muslim population, while having a Hindu ruler (MaharajaHari Singh.) Pakistan expected Kashmir to be annexed to it. • In October 1947, Muslim revolutionaries in western Kashmir and Pakistani tribals from Dir entered Kashmir, intending to liberate it from Dogra rule. Unable to withstand the invasion, the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 25 October 1947that was accepted by the government of India on 27 October 1947.

11. Pakistan's claims to the disputed region are based on the rejection of Indian claims to Kashmir, namely the Instrument of Accession. • Pakistan insists that the Maharaja was not a popular leader, and was regarded as a tyrant. • Since he had fled Kashmir due to Pakistani invasion, Pakistan asserts that the Maharaja held no authority in determining Kashmir's future. Pakistan argues that even if the Maharaja had any authority in determining the plight of Kashmir, he signed the Instrument of Accession under duress, thus invalidating the legitimacy of his actions. • In a 'Letter to American People' written by Osama bin Laden in 2002, he stated that one of the reasons he was fighting America is because of its support of India on the Kashmir issue.

12. Another reason for the dispute over Kashmir is water. Kashmir is the origin point for many rivers and tributaries of the Indus River basin. • The Boundary Award of 1947 meant that the headwaters of Pakistani irrigation systems were in Indian territory. • Pakistan fears that in a dire need, India (under whose portion of Kashmir lies the origins and passage of these rivers) would withhold the flow and thus choke the agrarian economy of Pakistan. • The Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 resolved most of the disputes over water, calling for mutual cooperation in this regard. But the treaty faced issues raised by Pakistan over the construction of dams on the Indian side which limit water flow to the Pakistani side.

13. Relationship with the United States • As was the case with many other countries U.S.-Indian relations during the Cold War was strained. India tended to lean towards more populist/socialist policies, creating tension with the United States. • In the early 1990's, India moved towards an open market approach. The United States offered India support in its economic transformation by reducing protectionist policies and opening up the country for foreign investment. India has since become one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a major American trading partner.