Thread: India

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." --Mark Twain, from Following the Equator It is impossible not to be astonished by India. Nowhere on Earth does humanity present itself in such a dizzying, creative burst of cultures and religions, races and tongues. Every aspect of the country presents itself on a massive, exaggerated scale, worthy in comparison only to the superlative mountains that overshadow it. Perhaps the only thing more difficult than to be indifferent to India would be to describe or understand India completely.

Location, Geography, & Climate

Set apart from the rest of Asia by the supreme continental wall of the Himalayas, the Indian subcontinent touches three large bodies of water and is immediately recognizable on any world map. It is the huge, terrestrial beak between Africa and Indonesia. This thick, roughly triangular peninsula defines the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Arabian sea to the west, and the India Ocean to the south.

India's puzzleboard of 26 states holds virtually every kind of landscape imaginable. An abundance of mountain ranges and national parks provide ample opportunity for eco-tourism and trekking, and its sheer size promises something for everyone. From its northernmost point on the Chinese border, India extends a good 2000 miles (3200 km) to its southern tip, where the island nation of Sri Lanka seems to be squeezed out of India like a great tear, the synapse forming the Gulf of Mannar. India's northern border is dominated mostly by Nepal and the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain chain. Following the sweeping mountains to the northeast, its borders narrow to a small channel that passes between Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, then spreads out again to meet Burma in area called the "eastern triangle." Apart from the Arabian sea, its western border is defined exclusively by Pakistan.

India can be organized along the compass points. North India, shaped like a throat and two lungs, is the country's largest region. It begins with the panhandle of Jammu and Kashmir, a dynamic area with terrain varying from arid mountains in the far north to the lake country and forests near Sringar and Jammu. Falling south along the Indus river valley, the North becomes flatter and more hospitable, widening into the fertile plains of Punjab to the west and the Himalayan foothills of Uttar Pradesh and the Ganges river valley to the East. Cramped between these two states is the capital city, Delhi. The southwestern extremity of the North is the large state of Rajastan, whose principal features are the Thar Desert and the stunning "pink city" of Jaipur. To the southeast is southern Uttar Pradesh and Agra, home of the famous Taj Mahal.

West India contains the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, and part of the massive, central state of Madhya Pradesh. The west coast extends from the Gujarat peninsula down to Goa, and it is lined with some of India's best beaches. The land along the coast is typically lush, with rainforests reaching southward from Bombay all the way to into Goa. A long mountain chain, the Western Ghats, separates the verdant coast from the Vindya mountains and the dry Deccan plateau further inland.

Home of the sacred Ganges river and the majority of Himalayan foothills, East India begins with the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, which comprise the westernmost part of the region. East India also contains an area known as the eastern triangle, which is entirely distinct. This is the last gulp of land that extends beyond Bangladesh, culminating in the Naga Hills along the Burmese border.

India reaches its peninsular tip with South India, which begins with the Deccan in the north and ends with Cape Comorin, where Hindus believe that bathing in the waters of the three oceans will wash away their sins. The states in South India are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, a favorite leisure destination. The southeast coast, mirroring the west, also rests snugly beneath a mountain range---the Eastern Ghats.

Because of India's size, its climate depends not only on the time of year, but also the location. In general, temperatures tend to be cooler in the north, especially between September and March. The south is coolest between November to January. In June, winds and warm surface currents begin to move northwards and westwards, heading out of the Indian Ocean and into the Arabian Gulf. This creates a phenomenon known as the south-west monsoon, and it brings heavy rains to the west coast. Between October and December, a similar climatic pattern called the north-east monsoon appears in the Bay of Bengal, bringing rains to the east coast. In addition to the two monsoons, there are two other seasons, spring and autumn.

Though the word "monsoon" often brings to mind images of torrential floods and landslides, the monsoon seasons are not bad times to come to India. Though it rains nearly every day, the downpour tends to come and go quickly, leaving behind a clean, glistening landscape.

Culture & People

With nearly 1 billion citizens, India is the second most populous nation in the world. It is impossible to speak of any one Indian culture, although there are deep cultural continuities that tie its people together. English is the major language of trade and politics, but there are fourteen official languages in all. There are twenty-four languages that are spoken by a million people or more, and countless other dialects. India has seven major religions and many minor ones, six main ethnic groups, and countless holidays.

Religion is central to Indian culture, and its practice can be seen in virtually every aspect of life in the country. Hinduism is the dominant faith of India, serving about 80 percent of the population. Ten percent worship Islam, and 5 perscent are Sikhs and Christians; the rest (a good 45 million) are Buddhists, Jains, Bahai, and more.

History

India's extraordinary history is intimately tied to its geography. A meeting ground between the East and the West, it has always been an invader's paradise, while at the same time its natural isolation and magnetic religions allowed it to adapt to and absorb many of the peoples who penetrated its mountain passes. No matter how many Persians, Greeks, Chinese nomads, Arabs, Portuguese, British and other raiders had their way with the land, local Hindu kingdoms invariably survived their depradations, living out their own sagas of conquest and collapse. All the while, these local dynasties built upon the roots of a culture well established since the time of the first invaders, the Aryans. In short, India has always been simply too big, too complicated, and too culturally subtle to let any one empire dominate it for long.

True to the haphazard ambiance of the country, the discovery of India's most ancient civilization literally happened by accident. British engineers in the mid-1800's, busy constructing a railway line between Karachi and Punjab, found ancient, kiln-baked bricks along the path of the track. This discovery was treated at the time as little more than a curiosity, but archaeologists later revisited the site in the 1920's and determined that the bricks were over 5000 years old. Soon afterward, two important cities were discovered: Harappa on the Ravi river, and Mohenjodaro on the Indus.

The civilization that laid the bricks, one of the world's oldest, was known as the Indus. They had a written language and were highly sophisticated. Dating back to 3000 BC, they originated in the south and moved north, building complex, mathematically-planned cities. Some of these towns were almost three miles in diameter and contained as many as 30,000 residents. These ancient municipalities had granaries, citadels, and even household toilets. In Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal connected the city to the sea, and trading ships sailed as far as Mesopotamia. At its height, the Indus civilization extended over half a million square miles across the Indus river valley, and though it existed at the same time as the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Sumer, it far outlasted them.

The first group to invade India were the Aryans, who came out of the north in about 1500 BC. The Aryans brought with them strong cultural traditions that, miraculously, still remain in force today. They spoke and wrote in a language called Sanskrit, which was later used in the first documentation of the Vedas. Though warriors and conquerors, the Aryans lived alongside Indus, introducing them to the caste system and establishing the basis of the Indian religions. The Aryans inhabited the northern regions for about 700 years, then moved further south and east when they developed iron tools and weapons. They eventually settled the Ganges valley and built large kingdoms throughout much of northern India.

The second great invasion into India occurred around 500 BC, when the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, pushing their empire eastward, conquered the ever-prized Indus Valley. Compared to the Aryans, the Persian influence was marginal, perhaps because they were only able to occupy the region for a relatively brief period of about 150 years. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who swept through the country as far as the Beas River, where he defeated king Porus and an army of 200 elephants in 326 BC. The tireless, charismatic conqueror wanted to extend his empire even further eastward, but his own troops (undoubtedly exhausted) refused to continue. Alexander returned home, leaving behind garrisons to keep the trade routes open.

While the Persians and Greeks subdued the Indus Valley and the northwest, Aryan-based kingdoms continued developing in the East. In the 5th century BC, Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism, a profoundly influential work of human thought still espoused by much of the world. As the overextended Hellenistic sphere declined, a king known as Chandragupta swept back through the country from Magadha (Bihar) and conquered his way well into Afghanistan. This was the beginning of one India's greatest dynasties, the Maurya. Under the great king Ashoka (268-31 BC), the Mauryan empire conquered nearly the entire subcontinent, extending itself as far south as Mysore. When Ashoka conquered Orissa, however, his army shed so much blood that the repentant king gave up warfare forever and converted to Buddhism. Proving to be as tireless a missionary as he had been as conqueror, Asoka brought Buddhism to much of central Asia. His rule marked the height of the Maurya empire, and it collapsed only 100 years after his death. After the demise of the Maurya dynasty, the regions it had conquered fragmented into a mosaic of kingdoms and smaller dynasties. The Greeks returned briefly in 150 BC and conquered the Punjab, and by this time Buddhism was becoming so influential that the Greek king Menander forsook the Hellenistic pantheon and became a Buddhist himself. The local kingdoms enjoyed relative autonomy for the next few hundred years, occasionally fighting (and often losing to) invaders from the north and China, who seemed to come and go like the monsoons. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans never made it to India, preferring to expand west instead.

In AD 319, Chandragupta II founded the Imperial Guptas dynasty, which conquered and consolidated the entire north and extended as far south as the Vindya mountains. When the Guptas diminished, a golden age of six thriving and separate kingdoms ensued, and at this time some of the most incredible temples in India were constructed in Bhubaneshwar, Konarak, and Khahurajo. It was time of relative stability, and cultural developments progressed on all fronts for hundreds of years, until the dawn of the Muslim era.

Arab traders had visited the western coast since 712, but it wasn't until 1001 that the Muslim world began to make itself keenly felt. In that year, Arab armies swept down the Khyber pass and hit like a storm. Led by Mahmud of Ghazi, they raided just about every other year for 26 years straight. They returned home each time, leaving behind them ruined cities, decimated armies, and probably a very edgy native population. Then they more or less vanished behind the mountains again for nearly 150 years, and India once again went on its way.

But the Muslims knew India was still there, waiting with all its riches. They returned in 1192 under Mohammed of Ghor, and this time they meant to stay. Ghor's armies laid waste to the Buddhist temples of Bihar, and by 1202 he had conquered the most powerful Hindu kingdoms along the Ganges. When Ghor died in 1206, one of his generals, Qutb-ud-din, ruled the far north from the Sultanate of Delhi, while the southern majority of India was free from the invaders. Turkish kings ruled the Muslim acquisition until 1397, when the Mongols invaded under Timur Lang (Tamerlane) and ravaged the entire region. One historian wrote that the lightning speed with which Tamerlane's armies struck Delhi was prompted by their desire to escape the stench of rotting corpses they were leaving behind them.

Islamic India fragmented after the brutal devastation Timur Lang left in Delhi, and it was every Muslim strongman for himself. This would change in 1527, however, when the Mughal (Persian for Mongol) monarch Babur came into power. Babur was a complicated, enlightened ruler from Kabul who loved poetry, gardening, and books. He even wrote cultural treatises on the Hindus he conquered, and took notes on local flora and fauna. Afghan princes in India asked for his help in 1526, and he conquered the Punjab and quickly asserted his own claim over them by taking Delhi. This was the foundation of the Mughal dynasty, whose six emperors would comprise most influential of all the Muslim dynasties in India.

Babur died in 1530, leaving behind a harried and ineffective son, Humayun. Humayun's own son, Akbar, however, would be the greatest Mughal ruler of all. Unlike his grandfather, Akbar was more warrior than scholar, and he extended the empire as far south as the Krishna river. Akbar tolerated local religions and married a Hindu princess, establishing a tradition of cultural acceptance that would contribute greatly to the success of the Mughal rule. In 1605, Akbar was succeed by his son Jahangir, who passed the expanding empire along to his own son Shah Jahan in 1627.

Though he spent much of his time subduing Hindu kingdoms to the south, Shah Jahan left behind the colossal monuments of the Mughal empire, including the Taj Majal (his favorite wife's tomb), the Pearl Mosque, the Royal Mosque, and the Red Fort. Jahan's campaigns in the south and his flare for extravagant architecture necessitated increased taxes and distressed his subjects, and under this scenario his son Aurungzebe imprisoned him, seeking power for himself in 1658.

Unlike his predecessors, Aurungzebe wished to eradicate indigenous traditions, and his intolerance prompted fierce local resistance. Though he expanded the empire to include nearly the entire subcontinent, he could never totally subdue the Mahrattas of the Deccan, who resisted him until his death in 1707. Out of the Mahrattas' doggedness arose the legendary figure of Shivagi, a symbol Hindu resistance and nationalism. Aurungzebe's three sons disputed over succession, and the Mughal empire crumbled, just as the Europeans were beginning to flex their own imperialistic muscles.

The Portuguese had traded in Goa as early as 1510, and later founded three other colonies on the west coast in Diu, Bassein, and Mangalore. In 1610, the British chased away a Portuguese naval squadron, and the East India Company created its own outpost at Surat. This small outpost marked the beginning of a remarkable presence that would last over 300 years and eventually dominate the entire subcontinent. Once in India, the British began to compete with the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. Through a combination of outright combat and deft alliances with local princes, the East India Company gained control of all European trade in India by 1769.

How a tiny island nation, thousands of miles away, came to administer a huge territory of 300 million people is one of history's great spectacles. A seemingly impossible task, it was done through a highly effective and organized system called the Raj. Treaties and agreements were signed with native princes, and the Company gradually increased its role in local affairs. The Raj helped build infrastructure and trained natives for its own military, though in theory they were for India's own defense. In 1784, after financial scandals in the Company alarmed British politicians, the Crown assumed half-control of the Company, beginning the transfer of power to royal hands.

In 1858, a rumor spread among Hindu soldiers that the British were greasing their bullets with the fat of cows and pigs, the former sacred animals to Hindus and the latter unclean animals to Muslims. A year-long rebellion against the British ensued. Although the Indian Mutiny was unsuccessful, it prompted the British government to seize total control of all British interests in India in 1858, finally establishing a seamless imperialism. Claiming to be only interested in trade, the Raj steadily expanded its influence until the princes ruled in name only.

The Raj's demise was partially a result of its remarkable success. It had gained control of the country by viewing it as a source of profit. Infrastructure had been developed, administration established, and an entire structure of governance erected. India had become a profitable venture, and the British were loath to allow the Indian population any power in a system that they viewed as their own accomplishment. The Indians didn't appreciate this much, and as the 20th century dawned there were increasing movements towards self-rule.

Along with the desire for independence, tensions between Hindus and Muslims had also been developing over the years. The Muslims had always been a minority, and the prospect of an exclusively Hindu government made them wary of independence; they were as inclined to mistrust Hindu rule as they were to resist the Raj. In 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi came onto the scene, calling for unity between the two groups in an astonishing display of leadership that would eventually lead the country to independence.

The profound impact Gandhi had on India and his ability to gain independence through a totally non-violent mass movement made him one of the most remarkable leaders the world has ever known. He led by example, wearing homespun clothes to weaken the British textile industry and orchestrating a march to the sea, where demonstrators proceeded to make their own salt in protest against the British monopoly. Indians gave him the name Mahatma, or Great Soul. The British promised that they would leave India by 1947.

Independence came at great cost. While Gandhi was leading a largely Hindu movement, Mohammed Ali Jinnah was fronting a Muslim one through a group called the Muslim League. Jinnah advocated the division of India into two separate states: Muslim and Hindu, and he was able to achieve his goal. When the British left, they created the separate states of Pakistan and Bangladesh (known at that time as East Pakistan), and violence erupted when stranded Muslims and Hindu minorities in the areas fled in opposite directions. Within a few weeks, half a million people had died in the course of the greatest migration of human beings in the world's history. The aging Gandhi vowed to fast until the violence stopped, which it did when his health was seriously threatened. At the same time, the British returned and helped restore order. Excepting Kashmir, which is still a disputed area (and currently unsafe for tourists), the division reached stability.

India's history since independence has been marked by disunity and intermittent periods of virtual chaos. In 1948, on the eve of independence, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic. His right-hand man, Jawarhalal Nehru, became India's first Prime Minister. Nehru was a successful leader, steering the young nation through a period of peace that was contrasted by the rule of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who fought Pakistan after it invaded two regions of India. Shastri died in 1966 after only 20 months in power, and he was succeeded by Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi.

With the name Gandhi (though no relation to Mahatma), Indira was a powerful, unchallenged leader, and opposition remained negligible until she abused her power by trying to suppress the press. When the rising opposition began to threaten her power, she called a state of emergency and continued to reform the nation, actually making some positive economic and political changes despite her questionable tactics. Her most unpopular policy was forced sterilization, and she was eventually defeated at the polls in 1977 by Morarji Desai of the Jenata party. She won back power in '79, however, but was later assassinated in 1984 by a Sikh terrorist. Although India's political climate remains divisive, the country has attained apparent stability in recent years. Today, India seems poised to realize its potential as an international economic power.

Trekking in the Indian Himalayas

For the adventurous mountain trekker, few destinations are more magnetic than the Himalayas. Their towering peaks and glaciers represent the ultimate experience in mountaineering, and for many a journey into the Himalayas is really more like a pilgrimage.

Three major regions of India penetrate the Himalayas, all of them exceptionally beautiful. In the far northwest there is the province of Jammu and Kashmir, and a gorgeous region known as Ladakh; in the northeast are the provinces of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. More than destinations for just mountain climbers, these regions are culturally rich, often dotted with temples and monasteries.

Those traveling to the Himalayas should keep in mind that they will generally be at very high elevations, and therefore prone to the dangers of altitude sickness. The rule of thumb is to always allow time to adjust to the heights, taking it slow. Warm clothes are also necessary.

Trekking in Ladakh

One of the most remote and mythical regions of India, Ladakh is a landscape of unearthly beauty. Carved through its center by the headwaters of the Indus River, Ladakh sits high in a Himalayan valley between the Ladakh and Zaskar ranges, close to the Chinese border. The wall of the Himalayas blocks precipitation, and the resulting terrain is dry, barren, and poetically austere. Life here has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

Ladakh's biggest attraction are its ancient gompas, or Buddhist monasteries, which contain some of Asia's greatest wonders of gold and tapestry work. It is possible to stay overnight in some, making a trek in Ladakh curiously like a sort of pilgrimage. The people of Ladakh, many of whom are Tibetan refugees, are famous for their friendliness and hospitality.

For the mountaineer, the nearby Zaskar range offers some fantastic and challenging hiking opportunities. A variety of long, mid, and short range treks, which follow rough trails and pass through some spectacular high-altitude mountain passes, connect the region's gompas and villages.

It is important to note that visitors to Ladakh should take time to adjust to the high altitude. Altitude sickness here is very common, and the best way to avoid it is to do very little for the first couple of days in the region. Summer is the best time to come, as heavy winter snows make make it very difficult even to get to Ladakh.

Trekking in Darjeeling

Darjeeling sits at the crossroads of the eastern triangle corridor, a hidden stage of foothills in a geographical amphitheater that looks up into the mountainous wonderlands of Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan. Darjeeling's name is a variation of Darje Ling, which means "place of the thunderbolt" in Hindi. According to the Lamaist religion, this is the site where the god Indra's scepter (a lightning bolt) fell to earth.

While Darjeeling is a place of mythical significance to its people, its value was primarily practical to the British as the strategic gateway to Nepal and Tibet. Darjeeling also offers a cool escape from the dust and sun of the plains below, and the British started to develop the region as a summer retreat shortly after they arrived there in 1828. Darjeeling soon became a haven for tea growing as well, and its cool and misty tea plantations are among the most idyllic attractions in India.

The city of Darjeeling offers one of the most dynamic mixes of culture on the subcontinent. Tibetan Lamas can be seen climbing the steep streets in their yellow robes, alongside Sherpas, Gorkhas, Gurung farmers, and people from a host of other cultures and regions.

The high-quality trails surrounding Darjeeling and its tremendous views make it an ideal locale for hiking. A leisurely four day hike to the top of Mount Sandakphu (3536 meters) is rewarded with an astounding vista of the Kanchenjunga Mountains and the highest mountain in the world, Everest. Alpine meadows and wildflowers can be seen on this trek, and there are bungalows and field camps en route.

Thar Desert & Camel Safaris Powerful Rapjut princes once ruled this desert region, which no foreign invader was ever able to dominate. The natural adversary of the environment provided the adaptable Rapjut with their best defense, though they supplemented it by building magnificent fortress palaces on the wind-blown sands. The desert ruins of the Rapjut can still be visited, as can the Thar's remote temples, village oases, and hyponotic, swirling sands.

The Thar is best experienced by camel safaris, which leave from Khuri village. There are day treks that leave in the morning and return at night, or arrangements can be made for longer trips. Because of the immensity and harshness of the desert, all those who voyage into it are required by law to have a guide.

Taj Mahal

Many assert that the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful structure in the world. Resting like a rose and ivory dream on the banks of the River Yamuna, the Taj is a gigantic monument inspired by love. It was built for the Mughal emperor Jehangir, who vowed to create an incomparable memorial to his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died after they had been married for 19 years.

Built by Shehajehan, son of Jehangir; the Taj took 20 years and 20,000 workers to build. To house all the workers, an entire community rose up around it, and the descendants of those workers still live in the shadow of the Taj today. The main structure, with its perfect spires and domes, is made of white marble and sits on a red sandstone ramparts circled by reflecting pools and gardens. Inside the building is an astoundingly ornate burial chamber where Mahal and Jehangir now rest, surrounded by jewels inlaid in white marble and craftsmanship of unrivaled detail and intricacy.

National Parks Corbett National Park

Founded in 1935 by the British, Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India. One of two tiger reserves in Uttar Pradesh, this breathtaking park rests along the Ramganga river and clutches the Himalayan foothills. Though it is most famous for the tigers it harbors, it is also an excellent place to see elephant and is home to an enormous variety of bird species.

Bandhavgarh National Park

One of the India's best parks, Bandhavgarh is located in Madhya Pradesh in an area which once inspired the setting for Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. Bandhavgarh is one of the best places to see tiger--at one time, before the park was enlarged, it had the highest density of tigers anywhere. The park also holds panthers, and an abundance of bird species flit through the rainforest.


Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary

The Kaziranga first came into being in 1908, when the local one-horned rhinoceros was so depleted by big game hunters that the animals were thought to be near extinction. Depradation is still a threat, as the rhinos are still poached for their much fetishized horns. Thanks to preservation efforts, there are now almost 900 rhino roaming the park, which rests on the banks of the Brahmaputra river in the eastern triangle state of Assam.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Situated around a lake in the Western Ghats of Kerala, the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is one of India's largest. Its 299 square miles (777 sq. km) of protected rainforest and hill country is home to gaur, tiger, wild pig, cheetal, sambar deer, and elephant. The lake, which is 24 square kilometers in area, provides a refreshing way to view the wildlife; visitors ride in boats, watching the animals as they lounge and drink on the shoreline. The best time to take a boat tour is during the early morning, when most the animals come to drink.

Kanha National Park

One of the most prized parks in India and Asia, Kanha became one of the early success stories of Project Tiger when it brought about a significant boost in the local population. In addition to increasing its tiger population, the park was also able to bring back the Central Indian swamp deer.

Keoladeo Ghana National Park

Situated in a swampy region of Rajasthan, Keoladeo Ghana is a wetland of avian wonders. During monsoons, much of its twenty-nine square kilometers flood, providing a home to India's largest native population of waterfowl. Beginning in October, flocks of migratory birds arrive from all over Asia, some of them coming from as far away as Siberia to escape the frigid northern winter.