All About
India
by years 3 and 4
Contents
Discover India
Landscape and Climate
Culture
Religion and Beliefs
Jobs and Trade
Food and Farming
Images of children
working to go in here.
Discover
India
India is in the continent of Asia. The area of India is
3,287,263 sq km. This is more than one third the
size of America. India became independent from
Great Britain in 1947 with its capital in New Delhi.
India chose its new flag when it became independent. The saffron (orange) colour is
a symbol of courage. The white represents peace and honesty whilst green represents
hope, joy, fertility and love. The blue wheel is called dharma chakra which means the
wheel of law and it has 24 spokes. The blue represents vigilance, truth and loyalty.
The Indian flag (left) also represents its
diverse people and religions with the
orange for Hindus and the green for
Muslims. The white stands for Muslims
and Hindus living together in harmony.
The Bengal Tiger is the
national animal of India
India Factfile
An Asian giant
India is part of the continent of Asia. It
has a long coastline and is surrounded by
the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and
the Bay of Bengal. Its nearby countries
include Pakistan, China, Nepal and
Bangladesh. India is the seventh largest
country in the world and has over 1.18
billion people living there. With so many
people, it is the worlds largest democracy even bigger than the USA.
India is divided into lots of different states
which are ruled over by different groups of people, although there is a central
government. It is a diverse country with
some people very rich and some very poor.
Wealthier Indians enjoying a
coffee in a modern cafe.
This map shows the states of India, its
surrounding countries and the seas and oceans.
Capital city: New Delhi Currency: Rupee and Paise
Government type: Federal Main religion: Hinduism Main languages: Hindi (41%), Bengali (8.1%), Telugu (2.2%)
Marathi (7%), Tamil (5.9%), Urdu (5%)
Schools in India
India has made good progress since independence in expanding school attendance for
both boys and girls. Attendance can still be a problem for some families though, even
if school is free. This is because some families do not have enough money for school
supplies and books. Poor families may also need boys to help them work and in some
places girls stay home and look after the younger children.
Landscape
and Climate
Landscapes
The Ganges, or Ganga, is one of the world’s
great rivers. Its wide valley stretches across
northern India from the Himalayas to the Bay
of Bengal. It is one of the most fertile of all
agricultural regions producing rice and other
crops to feed hundreds of millions of people in
India and Bangladesh.
Introducing climate
Climate is the average weather conditins over
a long period of time in a certain place. India
has a different climates in different regions.
These vary from wet subtropical in the north
to semi-arid dry climate in the south with a
rainy tropical climate on the west coast.
India’s puzzleboard of 26 states holds virtually
every kind of landscape imaginable. From
arid mountains in the far north to lakes and forests near Srinigar and Jammu. Falling
south along the Indus river valley, the land becomes flatter and more hospitable with
the fertile plains of Punjab in the west and the Himalayan foothills of Uttar Pradesh
and the Ganges river valley in the east. Cramped between these 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”
Mountains
India is a very mountainous place with many famous mountains including Ananud,
Arganglas and Bambad. The Himalayas is a group of mountains in the north and
has some of the highest mountains in the world. The Himalayas are characterized
by great height, snow-capped peaks, large valleys, deep river gorges and rich
vegetation. Kangchenjunga (below) is located on the boundary between Nepal and
the Indian state of Sikkim. It is the third highest mountain in the world and rises with
an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft).
The Thar Desert in the north west of India has
a dry climate with little rain.
Seasons
India is largely subject to four seasons.
Winter is from January to February, summer
lasts from March to May. The monsoon is the
main rainy season (see box) and is from June
to September. This is followed by a postmonsoon period from October to December.
The south-western state of Kerala has a
rainy tropical climate - good for growing rice.
These graphs show the temperature (top)
and rainfall in New Delhi in a normal year.
Rainfall and the Monsoon
The Indian summer monsoon
lasts from June to September
in large areas of India. A
monsoon is a seasonal shift that
brings different weather. The
monsoon brings most of India’s
rainfall. The Indian monsoon
forecast was first issued in
1886. In the last 135 years
the monsoon has been normal
94 times. This means rainfall
was 10 per cent above or below
average.
Culture
India’s culture is very different throughout the country and
is unlike any other culture in the world. Culture means the
way people live and the things they enjoy doing. In India this
includes dance, music, art and architecture.
Bollywood
Bollywood is the name used for the Hindi –
language films made in Mumbai. It is one of
the biggest film industries in the world and
over 1000 films are made each year. A lot of
the story in the film is told though singing
and dancing.
Dancing and singing is a main
ingredient of Bollywood films.
Taj Mahal
Clothing
The Taj Mahal was built in 1631 and
was finished in 1653, taking a total of
22 years to complete. It was built by
Shah Jahan in the city of Agra and tokk
more than 20,000 workers to finish
building it. The building is an Islamic
tomb and was built in memory of the
Shah’s wife.
The Taj Mahal is today open to the
public between sunrise and sunset
everyday, but is closed on Fridays.
A sari is the second best Indian dress that woman wear. Young girls
also wear saris to look beautiful for parties and special occasions.
Saris may be multi-colored or have interesting patterns on them
including pictures of flowers.
Jubbah’s are what most Indian men wear because it is fancy. It is
especially worn for weddings because it has a very lovely design.
Sports
Cricket is the most popular sport in India. The national team have
won major events such as the 1983 and 2011 cricket world cups
and the 2007 ICC world Twenty 20. Football is the most popular sport after Cricket
even though the national sport of India is field hockey and they have won 8 Olympic
gold medals.
Keralan dance tells stories from the past. In this
one two servants are fanning a goddess.
Henna
Henna is a
plant that
is used for
temporary
tattooing. It is
also known as
Mehndi and
is drawn as beautiful patterns usually
on hands and feet. In Kerala it is
called Mialange.
Religion
and Beliefs
Islam
India is a country with many different religions. The
main religions are Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and
Sikhism. Although Indian religions are connected
through the history of India, they make up a wide
range of religious communities and they are not
confined to the Indian subcontinent.
Christianity is the largest religion in the world
but in India it is one of the smaller religions with
only about 25 million followers. However this is
still about the same as the entire population of
Australia and New Zealand together!
This Christian Church of St. Francis is
in the south Indian state of Kerala .
Islam is the world’s second biggest religion
and is followed by Muslims. India has many
Muslims who pray in its many Mosques. To
pray they must take off their shoes because
they believe it is unclean to wear them. A
mosque is also not allowed to have pictures
with people in them.
Muslim beliefs
Muslims believe in one god called Allah.
They believe that he was the one that
created all people. Muslims study their
religion by reading their holy book which is
called the Qu’ran.
These clothes are typical of those
worn by girls and women who follow
the Islamic faith.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the third most popular
religion in the world. The word Hindu
comes from a Sanskrit word for the
river Indus. Hinduism is a religion
based on a matter of practice rather
than of one central set of beliefs.
There is no single founder of Hinduism
and there are many different gods
(left). Hindu’s share a set of sacred
scriptures called the Vedas.
Five pillars of Islam
Shahadah - declaration of
faith
Salat - prayer
Zakat - donation to others
Sawm - fasting
Hajj - going to pray in
Mecca
Hindu burial traditions
Death is very important time for Hindus.
The Hindu scriptures tell that when
someone dies their soul is on its way
to the next level of existence. Many
rituals are performed to help them pass
peacefully to the next level.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a another important religion in India. It is known as a very
peaceful religion that helps people to find happiness through meditation.
Buddhists follow the teachings of Buddha who is also known as ‘the awakened
one’.
Jobs and
Trade
Fairtrade in India
Many Indian farmers grow and sell rice, tea, cotton and other
products to other countries, like Britain. Where these products
are sold at a fair price, it is known as a Fairtrade product. This
means more of the money goes to the producers that have
grown or made the product. Fairtrade products are labelled
using the Fairtrade mark (left) so that people buying them know
that they are helping farmers to support their families, send their
children to school, and improve their communities.
Many jobs in India are in small scale businesses and
trade. At the other extreme, large-scale businesses
employ a large number of individuals and have a
considerable impact on the economy.
Big business
A fruit seller is typical of many
India has many industries including agriculture, textiles,
small scale businesses in India.
chemicals, food processing, steel, cement, mining,
petroleum and software. Agriculture plays a significant
role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India. The Indian textile industry is also
important.
As India’s economy is changing and becoming richer new jobs in industries such
as information technology have appeared. India provides many skilled workers to
companies that outsource jobs to India. This is where factories, call centres or other
offices are located in India because the wages for workers are much lower.
Looking after working elephants is
one of India’s more unusual jobs.
In the UK, Fairtrade products include honey, chocolate, coffee, sugar, tea, bananas
and many more. Many of these products come through the Fairtrade system from
India, including tea, cotton and rice. All of these directly help farmers in India to have
a better life.
Child Labour
When children work either part-time or full-time
they can miss out on parts of their childhood.
Poverty and a lack of good schools are two
reasons that children work in India. In parts of
rural India people believe that girls education is
less important than that of boys. Many girls work
in the home or leave school early to get married.
Even very young children may have
to work in some parts of India.
An organisation called Action Aid is trying to reduce
child labour in India. They sat that 114 million
children are working, with most of these (80 per cent) having jobs in farming. Many
children work in the cotton fields which can be dangerous. Recently, a 13 year old
boy, Mallesh Harijana, ate a mango after working to spray pesticides on a cotton
farm. He had some of the chemicals on his hands and this poisoned and killed him.
Fairtrade (above) does not allow child labour, and as India develops more children will
perhaps attend school rather than work in the fields.
Retail in India
As people become richer in India, the retail
industry (shops and restaurants) is growing
very fast. In cities, new shopping centres
(left) are providing new jobs, but India still
has far fewer of these type of jobs than in
other parts of the world.
Food and Farming
Farming is very important in India. Millions of people have their own farms or grow
food for others to eat or to export to other countries. Most people in India are
vegetarians and so they grow mostly crops. Some animals are kept for meat and
others such as cows are kept for dairy products or to help work on the farmland.
Crops
Some of the main agricultural crops
grown in India include tea, rice,
wheat, coffee and many fruits such as
mangoes and bananas. Rice is India’s
main crop and is the staple food of
people in the eastern and southern
parts of the country. Another main
food crop is wheat which is widely
used for making Indian breads such as
chapatis.
Farming Factfile
Farming area: 1,697,000 sq km Farm machinery: 1.5 million tractors
Farm output: 2nd in world Tea is an India bush and is something India has a lot of pride in. The tea leaves are
used to make a hot drink that helps to promote positive health. In India it is called
‘chai’ and is enjoyed by people throughout the day. Tea is also one of India’s main
export crops. Coffee is also grown for export in the Indian highlands and especially in
the state of Karnataka.
These women are weeding rice paddies.
Rice is the most important crop in India.
Traditional food of India
Indian food varies across different regions,
and may also depend on the cultural group
and religion that a person belongs to.
Indian food is often celebrated for its good
health effects: many spices used in Indian
cooking are said to protect against cancer
and heart disease, for example.
Indian foods are rich in whole grains
including lentils and dried beans such as
A ‘thali’ is a popular meal out with lots
kidney beans. Many Indian people are
of small tasters of different curries.
vegetarians. The main meal in India is rice
with some form of curry. This is often
vegetarian, but could also be meat curry. The main types of meat eaten are chicken,
pork, beef and mutton.
Eating out in India
Indian Drinks
Masala chai is a
mixed spice tea.
It is a traditional
spice drink brewed
with different
proportions of
warming spices.
The spice mixture,
called karha, is
made from ground ginger and
green cardamom pods. Other
spices are usually added to this
base karha. Sweet lassi (right)
is another traditional drink,
made from sugar and flavoured
yoghurt.
From roadside cafes called ‘dhabas’ to
modern fast food chains, India has a lot of
food on offer for people eating out. Shack
establishments serve a great variety of food
cheaply. In the cities the most popular
international cuisines are Chinese, Italian,
‘Continental’/European and Thai. Lasagne,
pizza, chop suey and Thai curry are readily
available on menus. The mostPopular Indian
foods are definitely Mughlai and South Indian.
Mughlai cuisine relies on aromatic spices, and
tender meats curried or roasted in a tandoor.
South Indian food is mostly vegetarian, light
and tangy.
New western ‘fast foods’ like McDonalds are becoming
more common in India as it becomes a wealthier country,
This book was made by the pupils in years 3 and 4
of St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Stoke on Trent
It was made on 18-21 March 2013 with help from
Lifeworlds Learning