5 Things to know on India, the World’s largest Democracy

India' incredible diversity is most precious and that is the beauty of democracy, not always harmonious. But the tolerance over a thousand year heritage where this diversity has existed is just astounding!

Here are the first three things to know about India, culture, travel, business & technology

(1) Multi-Ethnic Culture of India, far more so than USA
Language is a good place to know cultural diversity, 74% speak a language based on Indo-European family of languages. Among these Indo-European speakers, Hindi, the largest ethnic group. But the other languages within this family, though related are not understandable fully by other language speaker, such as Bengali or Marathi, who may be culturally similar but distinct from others within this linguistic family.

The other major language group is the Dravidian language speakers, mostly in South India, consist of approximately 24%. Again, same distinction applies here as with Indo-European speakers. But these two language groups are very different. The tribals are also different from these two majors. There are more than 300 languages spoken in India, a dazzling diversity!

In fact, English or French, both classified as Indo-European languages, are more similar say to Hindi, than to Tamil, spoken in a state in south.

You ask about religion? yes, dazzling diversity, 80% are Hindu, not all same, of course, many traditions and variations existing, within Hinduism, all developed over thousands years, as different people came into India, were absorbed into Hinduism. There are also other major religious faiths existing, including Muslims that consists of 13% of the population. Sikhs, in the North, a relatively recent development, in the 16th century. Jains & Zoroastrians (Parsi), Christians from ancient time, and Hebrews, small but distinct community. Each has lived far more peacefully here for centuries than most other nations in Europe or Asia.

India is the meeting place of the religions and among these Hinduism alone is by itself a vast and complex thing, not so much a religion as a great diversified and yet subtly unified mass of spiritual thought, realization and aspiration.
Sri Aurobindo

(2) Historic Places to Travel

2.1 Bombay to Goa: I have been to Bombay and it's a large and historic place. I stayed at the YWCA, an inexpensive,pleasant place to stay if you are on a limited budget. There are much choices depends on your reason for going to India. Your travel agent or airlines of choice can help with options. Because I had friends going from Kolkata to Bombay, who introduced me to a film producer. This artist invited me to dinner that is still a wonderful memory.

Also, is a meal at a quaint restaurant, Khyber, where I met a interesting local family who gave me an tntro to a business link at Bombay, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. With luck, they had an event that was scheduled for next day to whiich I was welcomed to attend !

I haven't been to Goa yet personally, but hope to go on my next trip to India. It's Portuguese heritage and location by the sea makes it a good place to make a stop as a resort.

2.2 Delhi and gateway to the Himalayas

Been to Delhi many times. Love the bazaars at Delhi with colorful vendors and lot of diversity. Have to be careful about food though as your digestive system is tuned to America, and not India's climate and process. Eating an unpeeled banana or drinking a freshly opened green coconut has been a good eating habit while in India, kept me out of trouble. On the next trip to India, like to take the train to the Himalayas to the spiritual centers on the Himalayas, perhaps crossing the international border to Nepal if time and schedule permits. Nepal has a diverse population, where life is dominated by Hindu & Buddhist spiritual traditions culturally & breathtaking natural beauty of the Himalayas. A trip to a nearby wildlife sanctuary in India/Nepal border would be a wonderful side visit from the hill station near here likely reachable by train and bus.

(3) Business & Technology India

3.1 Film Industry & Computer software/hardware

India has a thriving technology and business community. The film industry in Bombay is large and has a thriving export market elsewhere mostly in Asia. Also, Bangalore has become a thriving software capital of India, with much software and computer related expertise. I am developing some links in software development in the health related topics for example, as a professional pursuit.

3.2 Plant Tissue Culture for Reforestation

A second topic of interest is in India's expertise in plant tissue culture, for reforestation and agriculture. This is a wonderful expertise and need in the world today, as reforestation and agriculture, such as fruit and ornamental trees are served by this expertise of plant tissue culture.

3.3. Engineering & Construction

India has a talented pool of engineers & construction capabilities. In fact, some of the construction in the Middle East, for example, uses India's expertise in building hotels, office buildings an apartments, etc. There may be some opportunities to leverage India's expertise in this field, to develop projects in East Asia , Eastern Europe & Africa where there is cultural links to India in centuries past via the long existing Silk Road in the centuries past.

3.4 Biotechnology & Bioinformatics

This is a rapidly growing field and India's capabilities and its large numbers of medical doctors and nurses provide an emerging field health innovation needs in biology and medical topics where this frontier of knowledge economy is important both to USA & India. I am working to develop some collaboration in this field, via the process encouraged by U.S. government Stimulus Package (SP) grants now on the table One way to seek further cooperation on this topic is to link via existing university to university cooperation process that already exist, that often seek a business link in the process of developing biotechnology products and processes.

(4) Wildlife Sanctuaries

When I first started research India's wildlife sanctuaries In the context of a community tv show I was planning to do, I was rather surprised that India appear to be succeeded in establishing large number of wildlife sanctuaries throughout the country. The sanctuaries in the Himalaya region and in southern coastal area, such as in the State of Kerala where the ancient port of Cochin is located is a goal for a next visit to India, that perhaps can combine a stop at Goa, then to Bombay, and then point South to Kerala.

Mogul invasions of India prior to the British Raj, in the 16th-17th Century never reached this part of India, and thus has a much better preserved heritage of the old Hindu-Buddhist cultures that are worthy of visit to combine with wildlife sanctuary visits.

(5) Cultural & Heritage links between India & USA

There is a long existing cultural and historical link between India and USA gong back to the Colonial times. It's a recent discovery for me that when Lord Cornwallis, the British commander defeated at Yorktown by George Washington's forces in the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, with military help from France. Cornwallis was an able general and in the service of His Majesty the King of England. Cornwallis was released to return to England. He was then reassigned to India as Vice Roy in British India. The main street in old Calcutta (modern Kolkata) used to be called Cornwallis Sq. Today Cornwallis lay buried in India, in the North, died in India the military service of the King of England.

For me the most important link between USA & India is through Henry David Thoreau, the scientist-poet philosopher of America who died as the American Civil War was starting in full force in 1862. Thoreau's philosophy lay dormant for half a century until it was rediscovered in the 20th Century by such notable leaders of both America and India as Professor B.F. Skinner (behaviorist, author of "Walden Two', Martin Luther King Jr., In India, Mohan Das Gandhi, and poet philosopher of modern India, R.Tagore, and Nobelist in Literature, and author of "Gitanjali"). This topic I have discussed in the context of my community tv shows of the past and my future endeavors in both arts and science, via my social network called waldenthree.net.

As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
Henry David Thoreau