Background: The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.
July 26th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh Due to our bargaining and pure tightness over the last three months we are left with a few spare rupee's in our pocket to blow lavishly in our final few weeks so Chandigarh was left in the dust of our ... 12 photos[full story]
July 11th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh 1. The Lady on the Bus
My sis Lib and I were on our way south, from the current exiled-Tibetan centre of life, McLeod Gang, to one of the most "forward thinking" cities in India, Chandigarh (pictur ... [full story]
July 11th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh I'm going to start with a story from my first week...in New York City. Brooklyn to be more precise. I was on a city bus, going from my home to the mall (every so often I will venture into a mall for ... [full story]
June 23rd 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh
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Gift from friends Nina and Jemim ... [full story]
June 19th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh My stay in Rishikesh, which turned out to be considerably longer than I had originally planned, has come to an end. Tomorrow I leave for Pathnakot on train to get a bus to Amritsar to see the Golden ... [full story]
June 19th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh Whilst this blog seeks to entertain its main purpose is to be informative for those thinking of heading up to Ganagotri to trek to Gamukh and further beyond. There is a few things worth knowing that a ... [full story]
June 10th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh Yep, finally put a few pictures up yesterday, enjoy. My weeklong Yoga class starts tomorrow. I think I'll have to suck up some serious soreness. ... [full story]
June 8th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh
Follow the journey of books around the world and leave your own location and thoughts. For more information and to see the index of other books on this blog go to:
Book Shop - Mcleod Ganj
Having ... [full story]
May 30th 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh It's been a while!
Dan - So we were on the train chatting away when a small girl no older than 11 came cartwheeling down the train aisle and then back doing some crappy dance and jumping through a ... 12 photos[full story]
June 3rd 2008Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh There is a familiar saying that goes ‘Life is what happens when you have other plans’. I’ve found this to be particular true in India, a country in which the main lesson seems to be ... 10 photos[full story]
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