Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
For most Americans, especially those of the recent generation, think of India in terms of outsourcing, lost jobs, and movie production. For these generations, the world of Rudyard Kipling, Riki-Tiki-Tavi, British colonialism, and the caste system may be totally foreign concepts. If they have young children, the may have shown them “The Jungle Book”, but it is just like other stories from the Disney Studios.
These generations don’t realize that from the mid-1800s these lands of India were “star” of that empire. It was the land that practiced “weird” religious practices and had many strange customs. There was the caste system by which people’s fate in life was determined by their happenstance of birth. And when a man died, his wife was expected to throw herself on the funeral pyre!
This is the world that entered into the 20th century. On the surface, the society was seemingly ordered under the care of the British military. But under the surface revolution was brewing. For some, like Gandhi, this was a non-violent protest. But under other activists, this involved violent confrontations. In the end, when India and Pakistan were given separate lands in 1947 for the Hindu and Muslim populations, respectively, It would be left to leaders such as Gandhi, Nehru, and Prasad.
We hope that once you have read this post that you will have a better appreciation of ths wonderful country. We need to remind ourselves that much of the Eastern knowledge from China to Western Europe came to us by way of India.
So, let’s proceed with our exploration of this topic… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 4144 Words ]
Quotations Related to INDIA:
“Europe is merely powerful; India is beautiful.”
— Savitri Devi
“I am always fascinated by India.”
— Gary Ackerman
“Cinema in India is like brushing your teeth in the morning. You can’t escape it.”
— Shahrukh Khan