Category Social Sciences

          Africa is the oldest inhabited territory on Earth; human beings originated here! The continent was home to many ancient civilizations including those of Egypt, Congo and the Ashanti people, which flourished before Arab or European contact. Africa is noted for its jarring ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity. It’s the second largest and the second most-populous continent.

          Africa has a bloody history. The continent has 54 countries and almost all of them were colonized by European powers up until 75 years ago. The colonizers became rich through mining and farming the colonies. The natives were treated like animals; they had to suffer the ills of colonization and slave trade. By the 1960s, African countries started gaining independence. Many of the white settlers refused to leave the continent which further led to complicated social evils like apartheid. Many countries had to go through long years of dictatorship, wars and natural calamities like drought and famine. Though major developments took place, Africa is still hampered by instability, violence, corruption and authoritarianism.

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          Let’s talk about our motherland now. Apart from its history, what is special about our country? Here are some interesting facts about India.

         India holds one of the largest populations in the world. India saw the birth of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The concept of Zero originated in India: some branches of mathematics like calculus, trigonometry and algebra too.

         The human calculator Shakuntala Devi who did a calculation of a random thirteen digit number is an Indian! Seems like India has a mathematic genius. The presence of water on the moon was detected by Chandrayaan I, an Indian lunar probe. Science Day in Switzerland is celebrated in the honour of our ex-President Dr. Kalam.

         Shampooing is an Indian concept: in fact, the word has a Sanskrit origin. Diamonds were first mined in India. India is also credited with the development of that most popular board game Snakes and ladder. The game was developed to teach kids the concept of karma. Our country is a land of architectural marvels. Apart from the Taj Mahal and the Iron Pillar, we also have living root bridges in the northeast. India has more than 122 major languages. These are a few of the fascinating aspects about our country. The list is endless!

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          Before communism took shape, China was ruled by empires after empires for at least 2000 years, the last of them being the Qing dynasty. China established itself as a great power in the 18th century.

          By the end of the 19th century, its glory began to wane; China lost the Opium Wars to Britain, and the Treaty of Nanking gave the island of Hong Kong to Britain while unrest prevailed in the country. After the Boxer Revolution in the 1900s, Sun Yat-sen led the Republican Revolution in which the Qing Dynasty was overthrown by the People’s Republic.

          This could not bring in peace. China was invaded by Japan and war followed. In addition to it, the communists and nationalists struggled for power. Mao Zedong came to power in this situation. Mao spread communist ideas and influenced thousands of Chinese. After a series of campaigns, he established the People’s Republic of China, overthrowing the Kuomintang government. Since then, China is a communist country.

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          Cambodia and Vietnam have one thing in common; both the countries were ruled by the French for almost a hundred years. Though Cambodia tried to remain neutral during the Vietnam War, the country was in trouble as the war spread across the borders. The country’s peace was affected by the bitter fighting between the US troops and the Vietnamese communists.

          After years of fighting, a new dictatorship took over the country in 1975. Khmer Rouge, a political party led by Pol Pot came into power causing considerable damage to the country. Both industry and agriculture collapsed as he forced town dwellers to farm the land; thousands died of hunger and diseases. Many were murdered as well. This is largely referred to as the Cambodian Genocide. Years of tyranny came to an end when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978; the Khmer Rouge was overthrown and a new Vietnamese-backed government was established. The monarchy was restored later.

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           Vietnam was colonized and ruled by the French for almost a century until the 1950s. The French rule came to an end when the communists took over the northern part of the country in 1954.

          The country was soon split into North and South Vietnam with communists ruling the North. They wanted to gain control over the South as well. The anti-communists in the South rose against the communist guerrillas when they tried to take over the government. The conflict later turned to a twenty-year-long war. During the war, the North was supported by Russia and China while the South was backed by the US. The fighting got worse and in the end, the North won defeating the US troops. After the US troops left, Vietnam became one again in 1976. 

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          Years ago, North and South Korea were a single country. World War II divided the country into two. How did this happen?

         Japan occupied Korea from 1910-45. This came to an end with Japan’s defeat in World War II. After the war, the northern half of Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union while the southern half was controlled by the US. The political differences in the two halves led to a horrible war; North Korea attacked South Korea. The war started in 1950 and ended three years later, killing millions.

        North Korea is still ruled by a communist government, headed by Kim Jong-un. South Korea is now one of the fastest growing economies, and their cultural inputs are famous all over the world. Korea exports TV dramas, Pop music and movies to the world. The rise of Korean entertainment industry is known as the Korean wave and it contributes significantly to the country’s economy.

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