India And Pakistan : Lands And People (1956)

[Applause] thank you [Applause] Calcutta is one of the largest cities on the huge subcontinent of India daily raw materials pour into the City by Ox cart and truck by air and by rail to be processed in factories in the factories cotton is woven into cloth tea is packaged for export jute fiber is processed for many uses in the various factories of other large cities hides are tanned into leather and chemicals are mixed to produce fertilizer here are vast resources of coal and other minerals used in growing Industries yes the resources and products of the subcontinent of India have long been a source of great wealth yet side by side with this wealth there is Extreme poverty many villages face problems of Sanitation and disease on the land in areas where the soil is most fertile overcrowding makes living difficult in some places the tropical jungle makes farming impossible still other areas are made up of desert land the lack of suitable Farmland is one important reason for the poverty we find most people live in villages in homes made of clay and straw in the poorer Villages life is difficult how can we explain such poverty along with the wealth we've seen we may find some answers by studying the geography of the subcontinent we see that it is bounded on three sides by water on the North the Himalaya Mountains help isolate it from other countries the subcontinent consists of two Nations the union of India primarily a Hindu country and Pakistan primarily a Muslim country geographically we can separate the subcontinent into four regions the northern Highlands the Indus Valley the North Indian plain and the Deccan Plateau perhaps the most productive region is the North Indian plain where the Ganges and brahmaputra rivers join a flat Delta of rich soil has been built up here on the North Indian plain a variety of crops can be grown rice is widely grown on this plain where the growing season continues the year around sugarcane is another important crop raised and so are beans peas and other legumes although crop yields are generally large individual Farms are small because there is not enough land for all the people to work this Farm belongs to Krishna Singh Krishna Singh attends his small farm much as his forefathers did centuries ago using a light wooden plow to work the land although his methods are simple the soil is made to produce but fertile soil and favorable climate are not enough to overcome the problem of small overcrowded farms and primitive methods redressing the youngest of the family asks if the land will always be worked this way his father tells him he has heard that some farmers are using modern methods introduced by the government although the government is trying to provide new machinery for larger Farms most Farmers cultivate plots too small for costly machinery so farming remains a tedious job for Krishna Singh and his neighbors on the North Indian plain while father and son sow their flooded rice paddy mother and daughter are busy in the village one of Mother's regular tasks is taking stalks of sugarcane to her uncle's Mill he crushes the stocks he places the stalks between two iron rollers as the Bullocks turn the rollers the sugar cane is squeezed mother Singh collects the sugar juice that oozes out of the mill later in the day mother and daughter walk through the narrow Village streets to their own home here it is inside mother Singh begins preparations for cooking dinner after changing her sari or dress she gathers her utensils and food mother Singh needs the dough daughter cleans the rice for the evening meal and when the skies grow dark Krishna and rudra Singh leave the fields and return to the Village much as Farmers have done for centuries on the North Indian Plains although most of the North Indian plain lies within the union of India a portion of it extends into Eastern Pakistan the climate here is generally warm and moist ideal for growing jute Pakistan is the world's Chief producer of jute a tall fibrous plant from which burlap and many other products are made once the crop is cut the plants are tied into bundles and carry two nearby streams or pools here they are thoroughly soaked soaking loosens the outer bark which will later be stripped from the stem then the fibers are bailed and sent to the Mills in the Mills the jute fiber is cleaned processed and woven mainly into burlap cloth much jute milling and weaving is done in Calcutta located in the union of India Calcutta is the largest city on the North Indian plain along the brahmaputra river in the north of this region we can see another crop for which this area is noted in the foothills of the brahmaputra valley we find many plantations on which tea is grown the plantation day starts early as the workers leave for the tea fields in the fields they work among the plants picking the young tea leaves tea from the North Indian plain is purchased in large quantities by Great Britain the United States and other countries of the world the North Indian plain is one of the most fertile and heavily populated agricultural regions in the world another fertile region on the Indian subcontinent is the Indus Valley the greater portion of this Valley lies in Western Pakistan the Indus Valley is a drier region than the North Indian plain Farmers here grow large crops of wheat the Indus Valley is sometimes called The Granary of the subcontinent north of this grain producing region the land is rougher and the climate cooler there is less rainfall but enough grass to raise sheep and Cattle grazing is the main occupation of the northern Highlands the northern Highlands are located in the foothills of the Towering Himalaya Mountains south of the Highlands and the two great valleys lies the Deccan Plateau a triangle-shaped region that extends down to the tip of the subcontinent the Deccan is generally a dry region except during the summer when monsoons bring some rain inland dams are being constructed to develop new sources of water for the Deccan farmers even without a steady supply of water deck and farmers raise Millet and cotton crops needing little moisture cotton is the chief money crop of the Deccan Plateau hand labor is used in producing Cotton On The Deccan from harvesting the crop to loading the crude cotton onto carts ox-driven carts are sometimes used to transport the cotton to Railroad Depots Mills and even into the cities themselves a central collecting Center is Delhi a city of Commerce and the largest rail Center on the subcontinent largest port on the subcontinent is Bombay an important city on the west coast from which many of the products grown and manufactured on the subcontinent are shipped today these products of the rich subcontinent are being shipped by two Nations the union of India and Pakistan this Muslim Mosque reminds us that the people of Pakistan are mostly Muslims and these modern government buildings in the capital city of Karachi tell us that Pakistan is a new nation east of Karachi is New Delhi the capital city of the Union of India in New Delhi government officials are striving to solve the problems of their country the union of India is primarily a Hindu Nation today the peoples of the Union of India and Pakistan are working to overcome many problems both countries are striving to increase the general welfare of the people they are building better schools for public education Hospitals and Clinics for the sick and more modern housing facilities for growing populations for such construction projects heavy Industries such as steel making are needed today plants on the subcontinent of India are producing more steel than ever before steel and iron for a variety of products radios for better communication and trucks and cars for better transportation both countries are improving their lengths of transportation and communication necessary for the development of the vast subcontinent we first saw the subcontinent as a source of many products a source of wealth along with this wealth we found problems of age-old methods and lack of land we saw some of the land first an overpopulated farming region the fertile North Indian plain then we saw a second farming region in the Indus Valley a third region the rugged and hilly country of the northern Highlands and the fourth region of little rainfall the Deccan Plateau we saw that life on the subcontinent of India is hard but that a new era is approaching an era in which two nations are developing their agricultural wealth and Industrial power the nations of the Indian subcontinent the union of India and Pakistan foreign