Proud to Be an Indian Essay Example for Free

Proud to Be an Indian Essay India, a country with a culture having more than ten thousand years has enriched the global scientific, educational, economic and cultural scenario significantly. That is the reason why mark Twain has stated â€Å"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition.† Being born in such a great country, you have millions of reasons to feel proud as an Indian. Some of them are : 1 . Indian culture is the best in the world The very word culture started from the country India. When the people of today’s developed nations were wandering like nomadic, Indians built Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, the first ever planned city of the world. India is the home to four major religions of the world. The first epic of the world was written in India. Sanskrit, according to a major group of linguistics is considered as the mother of all European languages. Forbes magazine has rated Sanskrit as the most suitable language for software applications. 2. First university of the world was established in Takshila(in Modern Bihar) in the year 700BC. More than 60 subjects were taught here to near about 10,500 students who came from different parts of the world. 3. We have never invaded any country in the entire history of 5000 years. Rather, Buddha and Gandhi taught the world the power of non-violence and truth. Recently, American president Barak Obama has openly admitted that Gandhi is an ideal for him. 4. Till 1896, India was the only known source of diamond in the world. Tremendous wealth of India attracted several invaders and traders. Till the invasion of British East India Company, India was the richest country of the world. 5. Number system is the greatest contribution of India to science in general and mathematics in particular. Indian Mathematician Aryabhatta invented zero. Bhaskaracharya, in fifth century, calculated the time taken by earth to rotate around sun exactly. Budhayana calculated the value of pi. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus had their origin India during sixth century. 6. Ayurveda, the earliest school of medicine has its origin in India. Surgery was done for the first time India by Sushruta 2600 years back. 7. India taught the art of navigation to the world on River Sind 6000 years back. Proof to it is the derivation of the very word navigation from NAVGATIH (a Sanskrit word). 8. Just like Indian culture and lifestyle of India , Indian Food has also been influenced by various civilizations and Regional Cultures. Traditional Indian food is not only famous worldwide for its spicy and lip-smacking taste, but also popular for its importance in the direction of maintaining a healthy life style. Indian food is both delicious and good for health. It matches to the requirements and taste of both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Indians like hot, fresh and nutritious food in their daily diet. However, each part of India has its own unique cuisine and way of preparing recipes. In North India, Roti is proffered over rice. Use of cheese, curd, milk and vegetables in preparing different dishes is primarily marked in North-India. Tandoori is one of the most important dishes of North India which has a pan -Indian acceptance. Use of oil in preparing tandoori is minimal and only selected Indian spices are added while preparing any tandoori recipe. In south India, use of tamarind and pepper while preparing recipes is common. Here, people prefer to eat rice over Roti. Use of coconut oil in preparing dishes is marked in several south Indian states. Dosa is one of the most popular South Indian foods that have a pan-Indian appeal. In eastern part of India, people are generally fond of rice and fish. This is due to the availability of fish in abundance. Fish recipes of several types are vital aspects of East Indian food. In the western-part of India, spicy food is the first preference of people. Here also you can mark dominance of cheese while preparing dishes. Both rice and roti are popular in western India. 9. Family is the longest surviving institution of India irrespective of the ages, transformations, religious and political views compared to any other country and it shows how rich is our Indian culture. 10. I am proud to be Indian because of our country’s achievements in space and missile technology. India has launched a number of satellites in space for helping us in weather forecast, communications, medical research, and education. The missiles such as Agni, Prithvi strengthened our nation’s security and ensured a place in the elite group of the world’s powerful countries. Moreover, our scientists have lifted India’s pride by placing our Tri-colour on the moon and are now looking for landing in the planet Mars. 11. India is a country where people respect elders live in peace and harmony. India is the only country where there are people of different languages, religions and race, but all of them live together in harmony. There are 22 official languages a nd over 1600 dialects spoken. Nearly 650 different recognised tribes reside across the country. 12. India is the largest democracy in the world. It has a civilisation that is more than 5000 years old and boasts of multiple cultural origins. There is an emerging global, scientific and technological superpower. 13. It is a land of holy rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Cauvery,Mahanadi etc and beautiful mountains spread densely in north and eastern india and dense forests scattered all over india . We find many seas in the South of India. There is natural beauty in our country. 14. My country with its rich heritage and tradition I say is the most beautiful nation. We are also recognised for being the world’s second largest in population. But unity in diversity is the main reason for my pride in being an Indian. We have different languages, different cultures, food, clothes, and traditions and yet we stand united. Non violence, democracy, intelligence based on our high standards of education, our natural wealth, harmony, festivals, family, system, caring for the aged, service and sacrifice are some of the things that I am proud of our land. 15. Among the finest institutions this country has produced are the Indian Armed Forces. It is the world’s third largest standing army comprising over 1.1 million men in uniform. 16. I am proud also of the education provided by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs) which can boast of standards equal to the best in the world at far less cost. Products of these institutions now head global organizations and play a major role in organizations like NASA. Indians are familiar as doctors and scientists in many developed countries. 17. We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America , even faring better than the whites and the natives. There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). YET, 38% of doctors in USA are Indians. 12% scientists in USA are Indians. 36% of NASA scientists are Indians. 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians. 28% of IBM employees are Indians. 17% of INTEL scientists are Indians. 13% of XEROX employees are! Indians. 18. Chess and Hockey was invented in India. I have got tons of reasons to love my country, but the most important thing is I love my country and I need no reason for it. Jai Hind! I am proud to be an Indian !

Animal Testing is Unnecessary and Cruel Essay -- Animal Testing, Anima

Carrots the rabbit has been under experimentations for almost all of his life. He has to suffer so someone can wash his or her hair. The makers of Dove shampoo are probably going to shove shampoo down his throat his reaction to it. Even if the rabbit lives through the experiment, there still going to kill him to see what happened to his organs. If this were a human being experimented on, people would be mesmerized. Scientist are debating whether shoving shampoo down a rabbits throat is effective. Testing on animals is a highly disagreeable process that should not be allowed. An animal is a living thing and so is a human. They eat, sleep, and live their life. Animals have rights. Why is it allowed that animals have to suffer so a human can use Windex? It has been proven that animals are s...

Analyze the Role of Religion in American Culture and Politics Since the Beginning of the 20th Century Essay

The first amendment of the constitution of the United States of America states â€Å"Congress shall make no law, respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof†. This law has given the United States of America the status of a secular state since 1791, meaning that its states have to be official neutral in matters of religion. However, many factors strongly contradict its values; Especially in the 20th century, where there have been many cases where citizens weren’t treated equally regardless of religion. In effect, Jefferson’s â€Å"wall of separation† as a metaphor for the separation of church and state promotes free exercise of religion yet its concept has proven to be difficult because the USA governs with a Federal system and today, there is 900 different denominations in the country. The establishment clause hasn’t been equally respected within the states of the country; for example, the constitution of Arkansas states â€Å" No person who denies the being of God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this state, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court†, this heavily contradicts the USA’s secularity. It has always been a very difficult task for the country to separate religion and government; how has religion played a major role in American culture and politics since the beginning of the 20th century? From the colonial period through the current day, European visitors to the United States have commented on the powerful current of religiousness that appears to affect all aspects of American life. Surveys of American opinion document that religious belief is widespread: nearly all Americans profess a belief in God, anticipate an afterlife, and report that religion is important in their lives. In 2010, the Pew Research Center published a pie-graph illustrating religious denominations among people in the United States of America. The graph gives us a clear understanding of the religious pluralism of the country. Among the many religious belief systems co-existing in the American society, we can see a domination of the Christian religion, with an average of 80 % of the people living in America. Also, there are many other religious beliefs in the country such as Buddhism, Judaism etc. This document shows that religion is a very important factor of the image on the United States of America. Effectively, the American Dollar, the world’s currency, proudly states â€Å"In God we trust†. This is one of the many factors contradicting the establishment of religion clause. The constitution of the United States of America clearly states that religion should not interfere with the government because if it does, it will show a clear preference of the government, eventually contradicting free exercise. However religious beliefs have always had an impact politically on the country. Absence of state religion does not guarantee that a state is secular state; many people believe that the USA is a Christian State. This belief is understanding because many elements contradict the secularity of the country, for example, the congress and state congresses, one of the main institutions in the heart of American politics, have to begin with a prayer, children in publics schools begin the day by swearing allegiance to â€Å"One nation under God† and most importantly, elected officials have to swear an oath on a Christian Bible. Also, the recent presidential candidate Mitt Romney attracted many of his voters because he himself is a deeply religious man, an alleged Mormon. Consequently, electoral statistics of 2012 demonstrated an interesting pattern: most religious states, usually situated in inner America, voted for candidate Mitt Romney. These aspects among many others show that religion does have an impact culturally and politically in the United States of America. The extract for Time Magazine titled â€Å"Are we sliding backward on teaching evolution? published in April 2012 shows that the Scopes trial is still a hot topic even 87 years after the controversy. Effectively, in July 1925, the state of Tennessee passed the butler law, which forbade teachers in public schools from denying the biblical account of creation, therefore forbidding them to teach Darwin’s theory of Evolution. John T. Scopes, a young science teacher and football coach thought evolution in his class and got arrested for disob eying the Butler Law. Due to catholic pressure, this was the 1st case to be broadcasted by the media all over the world, giving the â€Å"monkey trial† immense proportions. This case strongly opposed the fundamentalist opinion of William J. Bryan who was completely against the ideas of evolution and Clarence Darrow, an evolutionist who wanted to â€Å"put Bryan in his place as a bigot†. During a fiery debate, Bryan admitted that some parts of the bible were not to be taken literally, completely overthrowing his beliefs. Many thought Darrow would win the case, yet the court assessed that Scopes was guilty of violating a state law. However, after the Scopes Trial, a 1958 Act stressed the importance of evolution as the unifying principle of biology. Nevertheless, the Time Magazine article demonstrates that anti-evolution forces have prevailed in Tennessee and a new law was enacted in 2012 giving school teachers the right to question the validity of evolution and to teach students creationism. This article helps realize that religion strongly influences human actions. It states that â€Å"13% of biology teachers across the country are currently teaching creationism†. This is an alarming situation because it shows that there hasn’t been much progress even more than three quarters of a century after the Scopes trial and that religion is at the heart of American culture and politics. However, us readers will not have full knowledge of the situation; since it is impossible to report everything, selectivity is inevitable. Usually a journalist gives us a widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the perspective of an individual journalist or article. In all, the article shows its readers that we are taking a step backward on teaching evolution, demonstrating that religion, still today, plays a major role in American culture and politics. In the 20th century, other controversies gathering the ideas of separation of state and church existed. Effectively, many political crises were linked with the role of Religion in the United States of America. The Ku Klux Klan movement that first started after the American civil war in 1865 and continues marginally today. The members of the clan preferred the antebellum period where blacks were not free men and were slaves to whites and strongly opposed the passage of the three Reconstruction-era amendments. The 13th Amendment (1865) that banned slavery. The 14th Amendment (1868) that guaranteed equal rights of citizenship to all Americans, with the special intention of protecting the rights of former slaves. The 15th Amendment (1870) provided that voting rights of citizens â€Å"shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Theses acts brought fire to a racist fraternity that attempted to intimidate the black freedmen during nightly activities dressed as ghosts and posing a flamed cross where they stood. Progressively, they became more inclined to the idea that they are superior to all people of other colors and religions. They believe in a philosophy of exclusion and claim that whites must maintain control of the United States and keep all people of other races and religions from gaining power. As so called â€Å"defenders of white American Protestantism†, they heavily target African–Americans, Catholics, Jews and Immigrants. Today there are only minorities of the Ku Klux Klan yet the right of freedom of speech in the United States of America allows them to demonstrate their beliefs freely. Hundreds of individuals were lynched and murdered by the clan because of their religious beliefs and origins. The belief of white supremacy was strongly suggested by the Bible according to the KKK. They believed that the bible supports separatism, in effect, many extracts prove that god favored the whites and avoided miscegenation. For example, the bible once says, â€Å"God forbad intermarriage between Israel and other nations†, showing that the mixity of races should be forbidden. This shows how Religion can affect the country; many were condemned to suffer because they did not conform to what the church believed. In addition, another crisis began in 1969 when a woman named Norma McCorvey found herself pregnant without wanting to infant this child her whole life. She wanted an abortion but Texas law would only allow one if her life was in danger. She used the name of Jane Roe and brought her story to court. She declared that the laws prohibiting abortion violated a woman’s constitutional right to privacy implied in the Bill of Rights. Her case was brought to the Supreme Court and it finally agreed that the Texas law was unconstitutional. However, in March 1970, Henry B. Wade, a district attorney in Texas went against the court and stated that the state has a duty to protect prenatal life, most religious individuals believe that life begins at conception. There was an evident split in the USA between the â€Å"Pro-life† and the â€Å"Pro-choice†; Religion is again the main source of the conflict. On January 1973, the Supreme Court gave women the rights of abortion. However abortion is conditional: during the first trimester of pregnancy women can abort without interference of state, during the second trimester states can regulation an abortion only according to circumstances and during the third trimester state can regulate or forbid abortion usually if the mother’s life is at stake. This crisis has involved the United States of America politically because electoral candidates have to choose wisely about their opinions on pro-life and pro-choice. For example, 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney was pro-choice as the former governor of Massachusetts but became pro-life while running for president. In addition, the states of Wyoming and Georgia both regard women as live stock meaning they have to carry their child, even if dead, until it comes out of her. Although this crisis in mainly about the right of privacy under due process clause in the 14th amendment, religion has been a major factor of the debate since religious believers usually tend to believe that only god can choose when you die, therefore an abortion goes against this ideology. These many crises have shown that religion plays a major role in American culture and politics. In conclusion, Religion has always been an important factor in the United States of America showing that the country has difficulties holding its secular status. The 20th century has demonstrated many conflicts between the church and the state. Effectively, the country being a federal republic does not ease the complication, as many states prefer to base their values on religion. USA is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. A majority of Americans report that religion plays a â€Å"very important† role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed nations. Consequently, religion does play a major role in American Culture and Politics; however, in August 2010, 67% of Americans said religion is losing influence.

Analysis of the Skeleton Character in the Film Black...

The skeleton character in the film Black Orpheus is Death, who personifies the immortal concept of death which eventually claims Eurydice before her time and kills her. This character is very important to this movie, which offered a modern day update of the myth (a legend or story used to explain things such as nature or aspects of gods) of Orpheus when this film was initially created in 1959 (No author, 1958), because he serves as the antagonist. An antagonist is an adversary. It is due to the pursuit and the machinations of the skeleton character that Eurydice even travels to Brazil. And, it is due to the skeleton characters relentless pursuit that Eurydice is eventually destroyed by Orpheus, although she compromises her safety by hanging from a power line in order to escape from Death. In this regard, the skeleton character is important because he not only antagonizes Eurydice by chasing her between countries, but he also antagonizes Orpheus, the protagonist (the main character in a work) and the hero (a man of great courage and ability) of this tale, by taking away that which Orpheus most desires his lover Eurydice. An anti-hero is someone with qualities that are the opposite of a traditional hero, but who manages to achieve heroic deeds. It is due to Deaths actions that Orpheus descends into the depths of the morgue which symbolize Hades and attempts to bring Eurydice back. This descent and his subsequent ascent (due to his wonderful musical ability) function