Asia Project
The Kashmir Conflict (Charlotte)
A territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region.
The territorial land that they are fighting over is called “Kashmir”. Kashmir was a lake that was drained and ever since there has been conflict on who will settle and live on the land.
Palestine and India were split and through the middle of this split was the drained lake and this region is called "Kashmir" this land is extremely fertile and gives many economic advantages leaving a conflict between Plaestiine and India. The two countries had three wars over this land and the conflict still isn't settled today
The Caste System (Shane)
A way to categorize some people in India, people usually marry within the same caste and you are born into a certain caste, you don’t get to choose
Connected to the Hindu concept of the four varnas, which is the order and rank based upon your spiritual purity
The highest varna is the Brahmins, or priests. Next comes the Kshatriyas, the warriors, and then the Vaishyas, the merchants. The lowest varna is the Shudras, consisting of labourers, artisans and servants who do work that is ritually unclean.
Contact between varnas, like sharing food and water is limited to try to avoid the lower more unclean people have a similar lifestyle to the higher and so called “better” people
More and more people believe the caste system is a discriminatory and unjust system
They made a group called the untouchables whom are the lowest of the low, they are supposed to be left alone and on the other end of the spectrum there is the Dalits who are the top people in the system and have great success
China’s rise economically and growing influence around the world! (Charlotte)
Growing influence: “As corporations of all sizes increasingly choose to monitor and report on their social and environmental impacts, a growing number of mostly small and medium-sized companies are going even further: they are volunteering to be held publicly accountable to a new triple bottom line—prioritizing people and the planet as well as profits.”
China is becoming more aware of the countries around it and is starting to change the way they have done things in the past. By them doing this, it is showing other countries that they can trust China, therefore China has more influence on the other countries surrounding it.
China’s 1 child per family policy (Shane)
A way to control population growth in china
Tells urban couples can only have one child
Allows people to have multiple kids in some cases like twins, rural couples, ethnic minorities and couples who are both only children themselves
As of 2007 approximately 35.9% of population we under the one child policy
Introduced in 1978 and applied in 1979
Authorities say that this policy has stopped 250 millions births between 1980 and 2000 and 400 millions births as of 2011
Pew Research Center reported that 76% of china approve of this policy
In 2008 they said the policy wouldn’t get changed until 2015, but in 2011 they started to consider allowing couples to have a second child
Policy says that they will fine couples who break the rule but its based on families income and other factors
Despite this policy many couples continue to have more than one child
Foreigners are exempt from this policy
Even with the policy they have 1.9 million more births than deaths every 5 weeks
Some couples use medication to help increase the chance of having multiple kids at a time
Hinduism vs. Buddhism (Charlotte)
Hinduism:
- Founder- No found leader
- Place of Origin- Most of India
- Scriptures- Vedas, Upanishad, Puranas, Gita
- Practices- Meditation, Yoga, contemplation, yagna (communal worship), offerings in the temple
- Place of worship- temple(Mandir)
- Definiton- The word Hindu has geographical significance and was used originally for those people who lived beyond the river Sindhu or the region watered by the river Indus. Hindus themselves, call their religion "Sanatana Dharma, " meaning "Eternal Law."
Buddhism:
- Founder- Buddah
- Place of Origin- Nepal, India
- Scriptures- Tipitaka
- Practices- Donation, Morality, Vipassana (insight) (or meditation) Donation leads one to gain richness, morality to be long-lived, healthy, free from illnesses, etc. and meditation to attain nirvana.
- Place of worship- Pagodas, Monasteries, etc. Buddhists do not worship but they do obeisance to the Three Jewels
- Definition- Teachings of Buddah
Conflict between North and South Korea (Shane)
Conflict has been around for a while, it ended in 1953 but is going on again
Korean peninsula was under japanese control in 1945
End of WWII started the beginning of the conflict between the two countries
North Korea is communist and South Korea is democratic
In 1968 North Korea attempted to assassinate south korea's president
Many attacks have been done between the 2, ex. bombings because governments are trying to unify the peninsula
After a South Korean warship was sunk in 2010 and that made tensions really high
Most recently in 2010, North Korea launched an artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong and North Korea said that South Korea was planning an attack, but South Korea said they were doing military drills
South Korea began to practice military drills so if North Korea attacks they will be ready
- North Korea is a dictator led Communist State. South Korea is Republic with a vibrant economy and a strong Capitalistic structure. The two concepts are incompatible.