Working on India project and what not

okay so today we worked on our India project.  Over the weekend me and Sarah learned the entire jai ho dance and she just had to go put it on her blog.  Mr. Schick just had to show it to the class... great.  He will only give us extra credit if we put it on the jc tv news.  Seriously Mr. Schick?

I must say Sarah and I can do the Jai Ho quite well. (:

What We Have Learned About India

During our human geography class, we have learned a lot about India and what it is like living there.  We have studied the large population, India’s problem with human trafficking, poverty, and the slums.  We have also been watching the movie Slum dog Millionaire.  In this movie we really see what life is like living in the slums of India.  The main characters are Jamal, Salim, and Latika.  They have to run away from their home in the slums because of the Bombay Riots.  The movie shows their story of survival and how they got to where they are now.  I think it really portrays life in India well. 

India’s population is 1,173,108,118.  It is the second largest country in the whole world behind China.  I think this is one reason why India is stricken with such bad poverty.  They have so many people and not enough supplies to support everyone living there.  That is why some people live in slums or shantytowns.   Slums/ Shantytowns are makeshift living arrangements made out of scraps of material.  Life in the slums is very difficult.  In the movie we see what they really look like.  Everything is so crowded and packed together I don’t understand how anyone could live like that.  The “buildings” they make are small and uncomfortable.    There is trash piled up everywhere because there are no garbage trucks to take it away.  People will just throw it where they can’t see it.  Often people go long periods of time without food.

Another result of India’s poverty is human trafficking and child labor.  Human trafficking is basically modern day slavery.  People become desperate for money and put innocent people to work for them.  In the movie, a man makes the children look as if they are desperate and pathetic by making them blind and going on the streets begging for money.  Then, he kept the money for himself.  Isn’t that awful?  That is unfortunately a sad part of India and what actually goes on and it’s not only children.  It can be people of any age.   Another problem similar to this is child labor.  People will put children to dangerous and strenuous work not fit for a small child, for little to no pay.  I think this is completely wrong because children should be getting a good education for the future.  If people want India to thrive they should educate their children.  Instead, they put them to work and don’t teach them anything.    There are about 50 million child laborers in India.

Fortunately, India is not all bad.  They have the largest film industry in the world.  India’s film industry is located in Mumbai and is commonly referred to as “Bollywood”.  The name is derived from Bombay, what is now Mumbai, and Hollywood the center on America’s film industry.  Bollywood consists of mostly musicals.  India makes about a thousand movies a year.  That is twice as many as America. 

                

Class of 12/6/10

Today we discovered we have a 500 word paper to do on India.  I have 170 so far.  This could take a while.

Problems India Faces

Although India may seem great on the surface, it is not all it's cracked up to be...

There are three main problems in India, human traficking, child exploitation, and forced labor.  Human traficking is the modern day slavery, or taking people by threat, abduction, or force, for the purpose of exploiting them.  India has been on the Tier 2 Watch list for the fifth year in a row due to the fact that they don't make enough efforts to try and stop this horrible issue.  Government authorities rescued victims, but failed to put the human trafickers in jail.  1.2 million children in India are caught up in human traficking.  Child exploitation is when children are forced to do dangerous work.  According to the Indian government, there are 20 million child exploiters in India, but according to other agencies, there are 50 million. Along with human traficking, child exploitation is completely wrong and does not follow human right laws.  Children deserve a good education and a joyful childhood. Forced labor is pretty much slavery.  Its when a person or people make people work in dangerous conditions with hardly any breaks for minimal to no pay.  I think all of these problems are caused from poverty.  When people become very poor, it seems they will do anything to get more money, such force people to do unfair work and put them in danger.  It also could be from having a poor education system, and since people aren't educated enough to work, they forced to do manual labor jobs to stay alive.

Movie Questions

1. Compare the motion picture industry in India to the United States.  India is the biggest film industry in the world and America is the oldest.  In the U.S, most film industries are located in california, and in India most film industries are located in Mumbai of Bollywood, as it is commonly referred to.
2. What are the names of the main characters? Jamal, Salim, Latika
3. What is a chai wallah? a chai wallah is someone that makes tea.
4. tell us five things you know about Taj Mahal. built in 1631, took 22 years to make, built by the emperor, completed in 1653, Located in Agra, India

First Day of December

Today we watched more of Slum dog Millionaire.  I think its a very good movie.  It really shows how life is like in the slums of Mumbai.

Bombay riots- The Bombay Riots took place between December 1992 and January 1993.  Over 900 people died.  On March 12 1993 there were the Bombay Bombings, in which 250 people (mostly Hindus) died.  The Bombay Riots were between the Muslims and the Hindus.