India

Introduces the geography, economics, and social structure of a country whose history dates back at least 4,500 years.

Children's Literature

Part of the publisher's "We Come From" series, this volume focuses on a ten year old, Harjinder, who lives in a Punjab village. Through her, we encounter the land, people, food, school, and leisure occupations. Alas, a few stereotypical errors have managed to creep in (e.g., all Hindus don't eat meat; the colors in the flag stand for Hindus and Muslims). And would a rural Punjabi girl really claim Hindi is "our language?" In linguistically sensitive India, this is the stuff of ethnic unrest! A little fact-checking would go a long way toward preventing misrepresentation.