Description
LIBRARY OF NATIONS
INDIA
In a country with its own space programme and
the third highest number of science graduates
of any nation, holy cows roam at will through
the streets and government officials consult
astrologers on the timing of state occasions.
Fast-spreading cities accommodate modern
business towers and glittering hotels close to
the corrugated-iron and tarpaulin hovels ofthe
poor. A landscape whose productivity has been
revolutionized by miracle strains of wheat and
rice still shelters naked tribal peoples living a
stone-age existence of hunting and gathering.
India is a land of paradoxes and the starkest
contrasts, a country that lives in several
centuries at once.
In the decades since 1947 when it gained
independence from the British, India has
developed strong basic industries and become
very largely self-sufficient in manufactured
goods. A prosperous upper-middle class is
spending its new wealth on luxurious housing
and lavish entertaining, televisions and videos.
At the same time, India has made great strides
in relieving the appalling condition of the poor;
life expectancy has risen by more than 20 years
since Independence. It has embraced whole-
heartedly the challenge of free government,
and today India is the largest democratic
country in the world.
But for all its progress, India is still rooted in
an ancient tradition which circumscribes lives
and stabilizes society. The caste system is an
inextricable part of the Hindu religion to which
82 per cent of the people adhere. In village
India, caste still determines occupation, and
everywhere-even among sophisticated city-
dwellers-marriage partners are chosen from
within the closed circle. Hundreds of thou-
sands make a pilgrimage each year to the
beautiful old city ofVaranasi and plunge into
the sacred River Ganges to purify their souls.
This book sets India’s bizarre and perplex-
ing ways in the context of an ancient civiliza-
tion. An expert team of photographers and
writers illuminates age-old mysteries and new
developments. Through their insights, you will
come to feel at home in one of the most magical
lands on earth.
160 pages
Hardcover
In excellent preloved condition. Stunning photography.