India: A Subcontinent?
July 20th 2008 02:03
India is shaped like a triangle. It juts out from the bottom of Asia into the Indian Ocean. India is sometimes called a subcontinent. Is this because India is big? Not really. Six countries—including Russia, Canada, and the United States—are bigger.
India is a subcontinent because it is cut off from the rest of Asia. Mountains, jungles, and the Indian Ocean form barriers that make India a world apart—a subcontinent.
India’s neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh also form part of the Indian subcontinent. These lands were once part of India.
More than 1 billion people live in India, a country in southern Asia. Only China has more people. The people of India speak more than 100 different languages.
CITIES AND VILLAGES
Kolkata (also spelled Calcutta) is India’s largest city. Mumbai (also called Bombay) is the country’s most populated urban area. They rank among the world’s largest cities, too. New Delhi is the capital of India.
More than 16 million people live in or near the port city of Mumbai. Mumbai is a center of trade and the center of India’s movie business. India makes about 800 movies a year, more than any other country in the world.
In spite of its large cities, India is primarily a country of villages. Most of India’s people make their living by farming. Many of them are extremely poor.
More and more people are moving from rural areas of India to cities. They hope to find better-paying jobs in the cities. India’s cities have become very crowded as a result.
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