India


 * India**

The colors of the flag all represent something. The top color is saffron, and it means courage and selflessness. The middle color, white, means peace and truth and the bottom color, green, means prosperity and fertility. The blue chakra in the middle symbolizes the wheel of life in movement and death in stagnation.
 * __The Flag of India__**


 * General Facts About India**
 * India is the second most populated country in the world. It's estimated population as of July, 2010 is 1,173,108,018.
 * It has 28 different states and 7 different regions.
 * The official language in India is Hindi.
 * The currency is the Indian rupee. The GPD as of 2010 was $3,400.
 * It is parlimentary republic and works under a multi-party system.
 * India has the third largest military in the world.
 * The main religions in India are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh.

Castes means classes.
 * The Caste System**

Varna caste ( four groups were formed from the body of the god Purusha)
 * Reality: considerable social change in ancient India
 * Frequent conflict between Brahmin and Kshatriya groups
 * Absorption of 'tribal peoples' withing Aryan groups
 * Vaisya varna evolved into business class
 * Sudra varna became peasant famers
 * Emergence of untouchables below Sudras.

Jati caste (social distinctions based on specific occupations, organized as guilds)
 * Clearly defined social position
 * Marriage and eating together only permitted within an individual's jati
 * Each jati has particular duties, rules, and obligations
 * Ideas of ritual purity and pollution applied to caste groups
 * inherent inequality supported by idea of karma, dharma, and rebirth
 * Birth into a caste is determined by good or bad deeds (karma) of a previous life
 * Rebirth in a higher caste is determined by performance of present caste duties (dharma)
 * Subdue the relentless demands of the ego
 * Threat of social ostracism for violatign rules of the jati
 * Individuals couldn't raise social status, but whole jatis could improve their social standing

media type="youtube" key="x9vzR4j2uwg?rel=0" height="390" width="480" This video shows you the national anthem of India.

This is the Taj Mahal, a famous mausoleum in Agra, India. It is one of the finest representations of Mughal architecture, which combines Persian, Islamic, and Indian elements of architectural style.

This is an example of Indian food, which is known for being spicey and having many herbs and vegetables involved.

This is an example of traditional Indian clothing made for men.

This is an example of a traditional Indian woman's clothing. It is called a sari, and it is a dress that wraps around the body and is made from fine silk.


 * Geography**
 * They have a mostly warm climate.
 * In the south it has a tropical monsoon and in the north it is usually temperate.
 * There can be droughts, flash floods, widespread and destructive flooding from the monsoon rains.
 * There can also be severe thunderstorms, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

media type="youtube" key="kclBrqO1LI8?rel=0" height="390" width="480" This is a video about the geography in India. It gives a general overveiw of what it is like.

This is a video about the red light district in India. It says that it's for mature audiences, but it has a lot of very good information on the topic, so I would suggest watching it anyways. The video covers things such as the amount of prositution in India alone and it has many pictures and videos on what it looks like.
 * Red Light District**
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The capital of the Indian state West Bengal and it is located on the bank of the Hooghly river. Kolkata is mainly known for it's incredibly large red light district, which is a district that involves massive amounts of prositution. The main red light district there is called Sonagachi, which has hundreds of multi-story brothels and over 10,000 sex workers. It is unknown exactly how many prostitues in Kolkata there are, but the current estimate is that there are more than 60,000 women and girls who live in brothels working as prostitutes. There are some people, especially in Sonagachi trying to at the very least get condoms around in order to help prevent AIDS. About 5.17 % of all 13,000 prostitutes in Sonagachi (not all of Kolkata)are HIV positive. The problem is that at least three quarters of the clients refuse to use a condom if asked, and if someone insists that they do, then they can simply go next door. Sex workers are so afraid of loosing customers that they usually don't insist. Sometimes, HIV positive prostitutes are not even told about their results after being tested and live with it without even knowing because apparently, DMSC is worried that HIV positive women will be ostracized.
 * Kolkata (Calcutta) and Sonagachi**

As of 2007, 2.4 million people were living with HIV/AIDs. However, HIV emerged later in India than in other countries.

media type="youtube" key="OLAqYT0QjUo?rel=0" height="390" width="640" This is a video about child prostitution in India. It gives you a close-up, short look of what is happening.

Done by: Molly Armstrong, Sam Barry, Marla Beyer, and Maribel Leddy