Border Issues
Border disputes with Pakistan disrupt into violence and have been the root cause of wars since Independence from Britain was attained in 1947. When Independence was granted Pakistan became a separate country, but there have continually been disputes over which country claims ownership over the area called Jammu & Kashmir. This issue is still a source of friction between the neighbouring nations. Watch your newspaper for the current state of this issue.
Pollution
Pollution problems are a serious concern in India. With factory emissions and cars polluting the air, farming chemicals affecting the soil and water, and garbage from over a billion people who are increasingly using "disposable" products, the issue of pollution is growing bigger and bigger. New Delhi is considered one of the most polluted cities in the world.
Languages
One of the main political issues in Indian politics is connected to the language problem. After India's independence the government decided the official language of India was to be Hindi.
Among the other language speakers of India, the decision to choose Hindi as the official language was seen as an attempt to erase their cultures. After political, and violent struggles, the central government decided to allow the state governments to pick their official languages and recognized constitutionally other languages of India. For now the Indian constitution recognizes 18 Indian languages. The Indian constitution also declares that English can be used for official purposes.
Women in India
With a firmly entrenched patriarchy in place, gains in the status of women have often been slow in coming and painful in achieving.
A major source of concern in India is the failure to create strong social sanctions against violent men. A recent survey showed that a big percentage of Indian women believed wife beating to be justified in certain circumstances. Aside from physical and sexual violence, emotional and economic violence are also prevalent.
Poverty
Poverty in India is a very real and very complex issue, 26% of India's population was living below their national poverty line. While this is an improvement from the 1950's figure of over 50% living in poverty, there are still well over 250 million people for whom poverty is a way of life in India.
Children in particular are detrimentally affected by poverty. For those affected by poverty, problems such as malnutrition, child labor and high mortality rates are very real issues faced daily. Although India contains fewer than 20% of the world child population, more than 40% of the world's malnourished children are found there.
Child labor is a significant problem in India where it is estimated that between 75 and 90 million children under 14 are working. The jobs they perform are often difficult and low-paying, but their wages are needed to help provide food or shelter for their families.
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