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Travel Plan India

We are here

Osher Course, January 2021 John Hooker

The new Mumbai

Dharavi slum, Mumbai Featured in the film Slumdog Millionaire About 60% of the Mumbai population lives in slums

The new Mumbai

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Electronics City, near Bangalore Elevated highway to Electronics City 200 companies

Kohlkata in monsoon season Women in saris at Red Fort, New Delhi

Street scenes

Taj Mahal, Agra

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Parliament Building, New Delhi

Lotus Temple (Bahá’í faith), Delhi

Two civilizations

 Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization (3000 bce)  Aryans (1500 bce)  Vedic literature, Sanskrit language.  Hindu religion, caste system.

Bride & groom at wedding ceremony

Two civilizations Two civilizations

 Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization  Harappan culture thrived for 1500 (3000 bce) years.  Rediscovered  Indoor in 1920s. plumbing.  100s of cities.  No  Script remains weapons. undeciphered.

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Two civilizations Two civilizations

 Traces of Indus Valley culture  Rise of Aryan culture, 1500 bce. persist.  From what is now Iran  Aryan = noble people  Iran = Aryan = Ireland Swastika  Nomadic, pastoral people. Dravidian languages  Warlike, chariot-riding. of the south

A bit of history A bit of history  Indo-European migration Germanic Baltic Slavic  Common roots with the West. German, English, Dutch, Latvian, Russian, Polish,  India seems alien to Westerners, but it Danish, Swedish, Icelandic Lithuanian Czech, etc. is culturally closer than most of Asia. Celtic  Indo-European language. Gaelic Irish Tocharian  Emphasis on rationality. Welsh  Greek/Hindu philosophy. Breton Sanskrit  Aristotelian/Jainist logic. Hindi,  Eleatic/Indian mathematics. Spanish Punjabi, French Gujarati, Catalan Bengali Latin Greek Hittite Persian Italian Farsi, Kurdish, Pashto

A bit of history A bit of history

 Hindu literature (written in Sanskrit)  Muslim invasions (1200 ce)  Vedas  Mughals (1600 ce)  Rigveda, etc.  Upanishads  Today’s Hindu/Muslim conflict is a  Puranas legacy of this period.  Mahabharata  Bhagavad Gita  Ramayana

DVD for TV dramatization of the Mahabharata

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A bit of history A bit of history

 British Raj (ca 1760)  Creation of Pakistan (1947)  Independence  Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1947)

 Mohandas Gandhi

 Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st prime minister  Creation of Bangladesh (1971).

South Asia today A bit of history

 Partition of India set stage for today’s tension.  Ethnic cleansing  25 million migrated  Half a million died in “communal” violence.

A bit of history A bit of history  Congress Party Dynasty • Economic Reform  Jawaharlal Nehru – Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao,  Indira Gandhi (Nehru’s daughter) 1991-1996.  Rajiv Gandhi (Indira’s son) – Congress Party  Sonia Gandhi (Rajiv’s widow) – 180º turn in the economy

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A bit of history A bit of history

 Rise of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) • Return of Congress Party  A. B. Vajpayee (BJP), 1998-2004. – Manmohan Singh,  Rajiv’s secretary. 2004-2014.  Hindu nationalism. •Intellectual with PhD (Oxford)  Corruption in Congress Party •Oversaw economic reform  Ayodhya incident. under Narasimha Rao.

A bit of history Demographics

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, – Population (est. July 2020): 1.38 billion 2014- – Annual growth rate (2020): 1.0% – BJP – Will overtake China before 2030? •Business-friendly policies. •Criticized for handling of 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. •Part of a trend toward “populist” strongmen?

Economic Background Economic Background

 Strong on intellectual capital.  Poverty remains a problem.  Not expected to overtake China in  But the top 10% (= population of GDP, but: France) are affluent, sophisticated and  Strong in information technology and exercise considerable purchasing software. power.  Top-flight universities (e.g., IITs).  6% admitted to Harvard, 7% to Stanford, 9% to MIT – 2% to IITs.

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Economic Background Cultural Background

 The strength of the economy is the  India is a high-context society. reservoir of highly trained workers.  Rely on Indians for advice and  Important assistance both in business and high-tech everyday life. centers are Bangalore and near Mumbai.

Training center at Electronics City, near Bangalore

Cultural Background Cultural Background

• Indians are the world’s  Some factors make it a little consummate networkers. easier for foreigners. – Work through family and friends.  The affluent class is highly globalized.  English spoken.  Rationality-based decisions.  Tradition of hospitality

Cultural Background Cultural Background

 Everyone has a place.  Government quotas for “scheduled”  “Caste” is from Sanskrit for “color.” castes & classes (less privileged).  Traditional castes: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (soldiers), Vaisyas (merchants and farmers), Sudras (laborers and servants), outcastes.  Some 4635 jatis (occupations, ethnic/linguistic groups, religious sects).  134 jatis consist of dalits (untouchables) Dalits (untouchables) in Varanasi

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Cultural Background Cultural Background  The Indian movie industry (“Bollywood”), perhaps the world’s largest  Underlying philosophy has practical  Emphasizes importance of family. consequences.  Stories of family conflict and resolution.  Mysticism:  Religious epics (e.g. from Mahabharata). underlying, unified reality (Brahman).  Mystical  supernatural

 Yoga = mental training The syllable Aum (Om) symbolizes Brahman

Cultural Background Cultural Background

 Cope by mental discipline.  Rather than by engineering the  High-end technology can be environment. adapted to Indian society  Mobile phones, etc.  Today, yoga = studying for the exam  But no Western-style organized environment  It takes time to get things done.

Taking college entrance exam

Cultural Background Religions in India

 Indians are comfortable with  Major religions: travel and relocation.  Hindu (80%)  They don’t require a supportive or  Muslim (13%) familiar external environment.  Christian (2.3%)  Sikh (1.8%) - blend of Hindu & Muslim  Buddhist (0.8%) - exported to rest of Asia  Jains (0.4%) - pioneers in math & logic

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Hindus Hindus  330 million gods (according to  Hindu faith scripture) defines the  They are avatars of underlying reality. basic worldview  Gods may of Indian culture. be avatars  Shaped by of other Vedic tradition. gods.  It is adapted to all levels of understanding. Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, New Delhi World’s largest Hindu temple (2005) Temple relief sculpture

Hindus Hindus

Ganesha, Overcomer Rama, Hero of Ramayana Vishnu, the Creator Shiva, the Destroyer of Obstacles 7th avatar of Vishnu

Hindus Hindus

Indra, War God Krishna, the Playboy Taxi shrine Sai Baba of Shirdi, Ganesha

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Hindus Hindus

 Basic ceremony is the puja.  Takes place in temple or at home.  May involve mantra (recitation), mandala (symbols), music, flowers, fruits, offerings.

Puja thali (puja tray) Shop shrine

Hindus Hindus

 Samsara (wandering) is the endless cycle of death and rebirth (reincarnation).  First clearly appears in Upanishads.  We don’t know why.  Also occurs in writings of Plato, among some native Americans, India’s largest pilgrimage, to Sabarimala Temple, Kerala State. Trobriand Islanders, etc. Attracts 5 crore (50 million) a year to worship Ayyappan. Pilgrims wear bags containing ghee and other offerings

Hindus Hindus  Moksha (liberation) through  Karma = action asceticism.  What goes around comes around.  Practice persists  Karma is not fate or luck. today  Our destiny is a result of our actions.  The sadhu  In particular, our form in the next and incarnation. yogi.

Sadhus

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Hindus Hindus

 Mysticism = underlying unity  Brahman-Atman.  Brahman--Tat Tvam Asi  What we see is maya (illusion).  तत् म् अिस (“you are it.”)  Confusion is due to  From dialog between Uddalaka and his confused thought. son in Upanishads.  The reality underneath makes sense.  Reflected in Plato, modern science. Adi Shankara exponent of Vedanta

Jains Jains  Two lifestyles  Jains have profound respect for life.  Monastic.  May drink or breathe  Aiming for salvation after this life. through filters, avoid farming.  Strict observance  Pioneers in formal  Extreme nonviolence and logic and mathematics. respect for life, truthfulness, no stealing, celibacy,  About 3 or 4 million in no possessions India. (no clothes in Digambara  Founded by Mahavira. order).

Jains Jains  Two lifestyles  Household.  More practical observance.  Nonviolence (pacifist, vegan), truthfulness, honest labor, chastity,

Jain monks, Shvetambara Order

Jain family

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Jains Jains  Jain householders  Honest in business.  Non-exploitive occupations.  No farmers.  Pacifists.

Sky clad monks at Jain festival in Kundalpur, 2006, to celebrate 50 women becoming Jain nuns. These nuns pulled out their own hair. Jains praying for peace

Jains Jains  Small in number, but large in influence.  Origin of vegetarianism in India.  Inspiration for Mohandas Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance.

Jain meal Strictly vegetarian No roots, tubers (potatoes, turnips, squash, carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic) Perhaps no foods with many seeds (figs, pomegranates, tomatoes)

Sikhs Sikhs

 Sihks strive to reconcile Hinduism and Islam.  Sikh men often wear turban,  Founded in 15-16th century by Guru Nanak in Punjab. steel bracelet (kara).  “God is neither Hindu nor Muslim.” May carry small sword (kirpan)  Teachings of 10 gurus are collected in Guru Granth Sahib.

Sikh family

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Sikhs Sikhs

Guru Granth Sahib  Sikh men often adopt Khalsa (baptismal) name inside a gurdwara Singh (= lion) (gateway to the guru)  Women may use name Kaur (= princess)  Monotheistic  Reject caste and gender inequality  Avoid alcohol (some avoid beef, pork, or all meat)

Worshipers Manmohar Singh, remove shoes Previous Indian prime minister Sikh family and cover head

Parsis Muslims

 Zoroastrianism is ancient religion of  Muslims came to north India as Moghul Persia. invaders, to south as traders.  Survives among a few Parsis in India.  About 13% of  Tata family is population Parsi. (almost as many as in Pakistan).  India’s most prominent  Communal strife business family. between Hindu and  Reputation for Muslim is a basic social responsibility. fact of life.

Tata Auto plant Pearl Mosque

Christians Buddhists  Buddhism is India’s main  Christians have lived in India since the contribution to world spirituality. earliest days of the faith.  Rarely practiced  2-3% of population, in India 1/4 of Kerala, today. 1/3 of Goa.  Except  Roman Catholic among schools. followers of B. R. Ambedkar.

St. Thomas Basilica

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Cultural Background Cultural Background

 The society is highly polychronic.  Massive polychronic bureaucracy.  Organizations move slowly.  The country is run by network of  Like watching a tree grow. family and other relationships.  The key tools are  To get something done, call on a patience and persistence. family member or friend.  This provides stability.

Attire Respect

 Men:  Important to  Business attire is often long-sleeved shirt and respect elders. (perhaps) tie, but may vary.  Many use  More formal in government or high-level meetings. Namaste  Women:  Or touch  Dress in parent’s feet. conservative Western manner.  The weather can be HOT.

Names Money

 Indian names can be  Indian have their long and complex. own terms for numbers.  People are often addressed by a nickname.  Lakh is 100,000  Titles may be prefixed to  Crore is given name. 10,000,000. M. Vidyasagar  When in doubt about (short for Mathukumalli what name to use, just Vidyasagar) Addressed as: ask. Dr. Vidyasagar, Dr. Sagar, Sagar

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Social life Social life

 If invited to a private home,  Indians tend to be well-informed arrive late. and conversant on many topics.  Dinner tends to be last,  Enjoy it. maybe 10-11 pm.  They may speak  It is unnecessary but acceptable critically of their to bring a small gift. own country;  Servants and family members will don't join in. keep offering you servings.

Social life Language  Indians speak  Editorial comment: South Indian English, "Hindish," vegetarian thali – don’t miss it. and local languages.  24 languages, each spoken by over 1 million people.

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