Overview
India is a large, diverse country undergoing rapid changes. Over the last 20 years, it has experienced huge economic growth and become a leading world economy. The increase in wealth has improved standards of living, but not for everyone; many Indians continue to live in extreme poverty. The gap between rich and poor remains large, and economic development has put great pressure on India's environments. As India faces the future, its greatest challenges are to maintain political and economic stability while protecting the environment and reducing inequality.About the Author:
Rob Bowden is a writer and photographer specializing in environmental and development issues
About the Author:
Darryl Humble is a social sciences researcher who is currently working with community development organizations in South India
Synopsis
India is a large, diverse country undergoing rapid changes. Over the last 20 years, it has experienced huge economic growth and become a leading world economy. The increase in wealth has improved standards of living, but not for everyone; many Indians continue to live in extreme poverty. The gap between rich and poor remains large, and economic development has put great pressure on India's environments. As India faces the future, its greatest challenges are to maintain political and economic stability while protecting the environment and reducing inequality.
About the Author:
Rob Bowden is a writer and photographer specializing in environmental and development issues
About the Author:
Darryl Humble is a social sciences researcher who is currently working with community development organizations in South India
Children's Literature
This title is part of the publisher's "Changing World" series that focuses on countries in a state of political, economic and social transformation. Both the benefits and the stresses of change come under consideration here. Other titles in the series include China, Iran and Israel. The opening chapter provides a competent overview of the geography of India and the historical antecedents to modern India, including a map and a sidebar on geographic statistics. Chapters that follow include information on history, social changes including population growth and urbanization, economic changes, environmental changes, changing relationships with the rest of the world and projections of future challenges. The text is complemented by full-color photographs, graphs, tables and flow-charts. Sidebars offer material on questions that the main body of text might raise, on subjects that include the 1947 partition of India, indices to compare the social development of countries, the Green Revolution and India's inclusion in the quartet of nations with rapid economic development known as BRIC. Back matter includes a timeline, glossary, additional print and Internet resources and an index. Reviewer: Uma Krishnaswami