Name: Greta Oliver
                                                                                        Homeroom Teacher: Ayoko Dogbe
                                                                                        Date: May 23, 2011   Grade: 7th
India                                                                 

                                         
Located in South Asia, India is a rather large country.  It's home to the worlds largest mountain range, the snow-covered Himalayas, which include Mt. Everest and several of the world's other tallest mountains.  On the other extreme, India also includes a rather large desert located on the western half of the country.  This desert is called the Akshi Desert.  India is also home to the Ganges river, which supplies water to millions of people who live along the edge of the river. 

Many people make a pilgrimage to the Ganges river to bathe in it, because the water is believed to be sacred.  Unfortunately, the river has become very polluted over the years and is now very dangerous to bathe in or drink from.  This is because of factory runoff and the local sewage plants dump 20 million liters of untreated waste into the river daily.  It is estimated that 80% of illnesses in India are water related and 1/3 of the deaths in India are believed to originate from water-borne diseases.  So now even coming in contact with water from the Ganges river poses a high risk of infection.  A group called The Ganga Action Plan have tried to clean up the river in recent years.  Sadly, this plan was widely recognized as a failure, and did nothing to improve the quality of the water.

India has a federal republic government and an open-market economy, which the government has worked hard to maintain.  Its main exports are oil, natural gas, machinery, software, vehicles, iron and steel. It also produces apparel, precious stones, and chemicals.

The country of India also has a very rich culture and many customs and traditions.  An interesting custom is that people in India will clasp their hands together and say Namaste in greeting.  It is also used at a time of saying goodbye.  Young people will prostate before their parents and elders by touching their feet.  The parent or elder will then place their hand on the other person's head and bless them. Weddings will go on for a long time in India. Some even last 3-4 days or longer. 

The first ever known civilization existed in the Indus River Valley. It began sometime around 2300 B.C. and was extremely advanced for its time.  The Indus River Valley had brick lined streets, houses, and even plumbing.  They also invented some of the first irrigation systems, and their crops flourished and grew very well.  Barley, wheat, sesame, melon seeds and dates were some of the things that they were believed to have grown.  There is also evidence that they domesticated dogs, cats, cattle and buffalo.  The people of the Indus River Valley Civilization may have also domesticated donkeys, horses, and camels and possibly pigs.  Many excavations have taken place as to discover the ancient artifacts of the Indus River Valley.  It is because of these excavations that we know anything about this civilization. 

Although India has been involved in many wars, it has never invaded another country itself in its 10,000 years of history.  India has fought in many wars with Pakistan, China, and in World War II, but as a colony of Britain.  India was a British colony for almost 200 years, since 1858 and ending in 1947.  Since then India has been an independent nation.