CHINA AND INDIA Two Giants of Asia CHINA

CHINA AND INDIA: Two Giants of Asia

CHINA REFORMS ITS ECONOMY BUT LIMITS FREEDOM • After Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping comes to power • Wanted to reform the economy but didn’t care about the people • • Many experienced an increased standard of living but many lived in poverty Tiananmen Square Massacre • • Thousands of demonstrators call for political reform Government calls in the military • • • Thousands killed and wounded Many others arrested and tortured Showed China’s communist leaders would go to any length to preserve order

CHINA FACES CONTINUING CHALLENGES • 1980 s: To limit the population, the government developed the one child policy • Rapid urbanization occurred as many rural workers flocked to the cities • Growing travel and trade helped to spread AIDS across China • Human rights activists condemned the use of prison labor and the lack of free speech

INDIA BUILDS ITS ECONOMY • India used modern technology to expand agriculture and industry • Adopted elements of command economy • Lacked some important natural resources such as oil and natural gas • Green Revolution • New farming techniques • Favored richer farmers • India eventually shifted toward free-market system

INDIA BUILDS ITS ECONOMY • India’s population growth hurts living conditions • More than one third of Indians lived below poverty line • Millions of rural families migrate to cities • Overcrowded cities couldn’t support everyone • Mother Theresa • Founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta • Provided food and medical care to thousands of poor Indians

REFORMING INDIAN SOCIETY • Confronting Caste Discrimination • India’s Constitution ended discrimination against dalits, or the people of the lowest caste • Higher caste Hindus generally receive better schooling and jobs • Sometimes blocked government plans to open more jobs to dalits • Women Make Progress • Under the Constitution, Indian women were granted equal rights • Well to do girls are educated in the cities • Girls from poor families often received little to no education • Women from rural areas are expected to do unpaid work in household industries or farms • Indian women have begun taking political action and setting up self help organizations to improve their lives

TRADITIONAL CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA • The caste one born into determines his place in society • One is not allowed to change castes • One must marry someone within his or her own cast • There are five castes, or jatis one can be born into • Brahman—Priest • Kshatriya—Ruler, Warrior, Landowner • Vaisya—Merchants • Sudra—Artisans, Agriculturalists • Harijan—Outside the Caste System Source: http: //www. csuchico. edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst 001/spring 98/i ndia. htm

CURRENT EVENT • Wealth inequalities in China have been one of the most politically sensitive issues in China • Like the US, China’s wealth inequality keeps widening as its economy matures, and wealth accumulates within households overtime • Last year, one of the country’s top institutions, Peking University released the first comprehensive measure of wealth inequality. • This is still a result of Deng Xiaoping’s decision of implementing the Four Modernizations ( Agriculture, industry, science, and defense).

CURRENT EVENT