CHAPTER XXXI
BRITISH INDIA AND THE EAST INDIES
These countries are in tropical latitudes and in the main are regions of great productivity. A few native states that have resisted annexation and conquest excepted, almost the entire area is divided among Great Britain, Holland, and France.
INDIA
British India.—The Empire of India comprises an area half as large as the United States, situated on the southern slope of Asia. It covers the same latitude as the span between the Venezuelan coast and the Ohio River; from the Indus to the Siam frontier the distance is about two thousand miles. It includes also settlements in the Malay peninsula.
Excepting the plateau of the Dekkan, and the slopes of the Himalayan ranges, most of the surface consists of plains and low, rolling land covered with a great depth of soil. Through these rich lands flow four large rivers—the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Irawadi, which afford a great deal of internal communication. The Himalaya Mountains on the north and the Hindu Kush on the northwest practically shut off communication from the northward, so that all communication in this direction is concentrated at Khaibar and Bolan Passes, the most important gateways by land approach.
British India is one of the most populous regions of the world; the average population per square mile is about one hundred and eighty, a density considerably greater than that of New York State. The entire population is about three times that of the United States. Nearly all the food-stuffs grown are required for home consumption; indeed, dry years are apt to be followed by a shortage of food-stuffs. Years ago famines followed any considerable deficiency of crops, but since the completion of the admirable railway systems the necessary food-stuffs are quickly shipped to the district where the shortage occurs.
The Hindus constitute about three-fourths of the population. Along the northern border there are many peoples of Afghan and Turkic descent; in Burma there is a considerable admixture of Mongol blood. An elaborate system of social castes imposed by the teachings of Brahmanism has made the introduction of western methods of education and civilization somewhat difficult to carry out. The educational system of the dominating Brahmanic caste, although of a very high order, does not fit the people to cope with the commercialism of western civilization.
Five-sevenths of the population are engaged in agricultural labor. Rice, wheat, millet, meat, and sugar are the chief food-crops. Of these, rice and wheat[78] only are exported; the others are required for home consumption.