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Web Gleanings: India: Past, Present, and Future

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INDIA: PAST

Indian History

URL: http://tinyurl.com/m79fltp

This is the first page of many devoted to the history of India. The history begins with the Indus Valley civilization and continues chronologically on succeeding pages of the site. It is a bit tedious to navigate this history section, as one must click continuously to travel through time periods. The links are at the bottom of each page.

Internet Indian History Sourcebook

URL: http://tinyurl.com/opg7ods

This compendium of primary sources on India’s history is compiled from three major collections: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Internet Modern History Sourcebook.

Manas: History and Politics

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2n4oo

Vinay Lal, a professor at UCLA, has created an extensive site about India. These pages refer to the history and politics; in the section below (India: Present) is a link to the entire site. Here one can easily navigate through topics on Indian history, presented in chronological order. Within each major topic are links to pertinent subtopics.

An Outline of the Religious Literature of India

URL: http://tinyurl.com/oybu4t6

Published in 1920 by Oxford University Press, this book is over 400 pages in length and is offered in its entirety online or can be downloaded in a variety of formats. (The links to the download options are on the right side of the website.) The book begins with a description of the Vedic religion and then Theism. The majority of the book discusses Hinduism through the years, including philosophies and literature.

History of Indian Mathematics (video)

URL: http://tinyurl.com/pvpqopa

The BBC has produced a fascinating look at the development of certain mathematical concepts and theories in India. It was in India that the concept of zero was projected, as well as the calculation of pi, the use of trigonometry especially for astronomical calculations, and other significant mathematical discoveries.

Lost Treasure of the Ancient World: Ancient India (video)

Sculpture of a face

 

 

 

 

URL: http://tinyurl.com/os2epvd

This video is more than forty-five minutes in length. It looks at the very earliest years of Indian civilization and uses ancient monuments, sculpture, jewelry, fabrics, paintings, and buildings to illustrate the details of ancient India.

Modern India

URL: http://tinyurl.com/q6rfugh

Despite the title, this book, offered in its entirety by Project Gutenberg, was written by William Eleroy Curtis in 1903–1904. The book consists of a fascinating series of letters, twenty-three of them, written for publication by the Chicago Record-Herald. The chapters are accompanied by several illustrations, including photographs, statistical charts, and maps.

Indian Art History

URL: http://tinyurl.com/qz7uhhm

This is a lengthy introduction to a collection of essays about the art history of India. In this introduction, the author considers the relation between art and society, as well as aspects of the history of painting in India. Although the entire book is not presented here, the introduction is sufficiently informative to make a visit to the website worthwhile.

INDIA: PRESENT

Census of India

URL: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/

For those who like statistics, there is an abundance of them on this site. In addition to the census, which includes population data, age data, marital status, and data on workers, there are linguistic surveys, maps and atlases, and a digital library where one can see data from previous years.

Hindi Language and Literature

URL: http://tinyurl.com/2veuv5d

The dialects, the regions, and the history of Hindi are presented on this site. There are links to the Hindi-speaking regions in India, as well as those in other areas such as Fiji. The links to the Hindi dialects are accompanied by maps that delineate the region where each is spoken. There is also a brief timeline of the development of Hindi, beginning in 750 BCE.

Indology

URL: http://indology.info/

This site is replete with papers, texts, and other scholarly materials on classical Indian studies, dating back to 1990. One can search for Indic texts, find e-texts, and read papers and articles pertaining to the subject. There are links to other sites that have resources of interest. There is a link to the home page of John Smith, where a number of texts, such as the Mahabharata, and their associated fonts can be accessed.

Producing Bollywood

URL: http://tinyurl.com/pvxpfs2

This excerpt from the book Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry, provides only selected pages. However, the introduction alone, most of which is included here, offers many interesting insights to the reader.

Understanding Modern India

URL: http://tinyurl.com/ouf2r25

This concise reading from the Asia Society covers five salient features of modern India. After reading this article, one would hope that it would stimulate a student’s interest in learning more about present-day India.

Indian Literature

URL: http://tinyurl.com/pv426do

This lengthy article consists of accounts of the literatures of India and their corresponding languages. The sections include: Sanskrit literature, Urdu literature, Hindi literature, and many others. Both the historical development and current state of literature are examined.

National Portal of India

URL: http://india.gov.in/sitemap

This is the site map for the portal produced by the government of India. The site is organized by topics such as Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Foreign Affairs, Industries, and so forth. These topics are arranged alphabetically, allowing for easy navigation. Within each topic are links to pertinent subtopics.

Manas

URL: http://tinyurl.com/qcorfo9

This is the complete site prepared by Professor Vinay Lal and referred to in the prior section India: Past. The site has abundant information on culture, cinema, music, and architecture, and includes many lengthy and detailed articles. In addition to the aforementioned history section, there are sections on religion and the Indian diaspora.

Districts of India

URL: http://knowindia.gov.in/knowindia/districts.php

The Indian government provides links to the states and territories of India. Each district has its own website, where one can find information about the government, the population, and the local towns and villages.

Modern Indian Architecture (images)

URL: http://tinyurl.com/nrtqy9b

This is the results page of a Google search for images of modern India. These images include maps, buildings, people, environmental features, and food. By following the links beyond the images to the associated articles, additional information will be available to the reader.

INDIA: FUTURE

Building for the Future—Next Generation Architecture in India (video)

Image of a bridge front the buildings

 

 

 

URL: http://tinyurl.com/nebufcx

This 2013 thirteen-minute documentary produced by the builders of India’s tallest residential structure is a step-by-step view of the
construction of the Palais Royale in Mumbai. Beginning with the
excavation and followed by explanations of the efforts of the architects, engineers, environmental consultants, earthquake specialists and others, one cannot help but be impressed by the care and expertise involved in this construction.

BBC: The Indian Miracle (video)

Image of Indian woman smiling on the phone

 

 

 

 

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3y142jvarE

This 2012 forty-eight minute documentary delves into the dichotomy between the booming high tech industry and other economic powerhouses versus those mired in acute poverty such as the small farmers who are committing suicide at an alarming rate. For some there are higher salaries, materialism, shopping at fashionable stores; for others there is no work, no housing and no hope.

Why India Will Soon Outpace China

URL: http://tinyurl.com/ot4vfjf

This article by James Gruber appeared in the May 4, 2014 edition of Forbes Asia and originally was published by Asia Confidential. The author looks at the economies of China and India. He cites the fact that although China’s economy is not growing as quickly as in the past, it is growing faster than that of India. However, he also says that all of this may change in the near future.

Future of India: The Winning Leap

Chart for Future of India: The Winning Leap

 

 

 

 

URL: http://www.pwc.in/future-of-india.html

PricewaterhouseCoopers produced an extensive set of interviews and research into the future of India. There is a webcast on this page and links to reports for disparate groups including government leaders and entrepreneurs. The list of interviewees and a quote from each appears here as well. Beneath the list of interviewees are several videos on the future of India. The entire report can be downloaded via a link on the right side of the home page.