South Asia
Monsoon
 Seasonal winds that bring rain in the summer
 Necessary to water crops
 Too much= flooding
 Too little=drought and crop failure
Hinduism
 Main religion of India
 Major beliefs:
 Many gods
 Reincarnation
 Caste system
 Karma and dharma
 Goal to reach Moksha
Caste System
 Social class system based
on birth
 Caste determines
occupation [job]
 Caste cannot be changed
in this lifetime
 Based on karma[actions]
and dharma [duties]
Buddhism
 Religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama
 Four Noble Truths
 Eightfold Path
 Goal to reach Nirvana
Sepoy Mutiny 1857
 Rebellion by Indian soldiers [Sepoys] against the
British East India Company
 Started because of rumor that gun cartridges were
greased with animal fat
 Result- British government took direct control of India
Gupta Empire
 Golden Age of India
 Advances in science, mathematics, art and literature
Civil Disobedience
 Not following laws one thinks are unjust
 Method used by Mohandas Gandhi to gain
independence from Great Britain
Salt March
 Example of civil disobedience
 Gandhi led march to sea to protest British tax on salt
Partition
 British India was divided into India and Pakistan upon
independence
 Partition was due to religious difference
 India-Hindu
 Pakistan [West and East]- Muslim
Indian National Congress
 Created to fight for independence from Great Britain
 Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru famous
leaders
 Party which lead India upon independence
Nonalignment
 Foreign policy of India under Nehru
 India would not take sides in the Cold War- no alliance
with U.S. or USSR
Siddhartha Gautama
 Hindu Prince who became the Buddha
Mohandas Gandhi
 Nationalists- fought for independence from Great
Britain
 Methods- non violence, passive resistance, civil
disobedience
Jawaharlal Nehru
 First Prime Minister of independent India
 Set up a mixed economy- government owned major
industries; private ownership of small businesses
 Policy of non-alignment