ISSB Presentation (Draft)

Transcript

1. Manabendra Saharia International Student Speakers Bureau (ISSB) University of Oklahoma Political System, Languages of India and Assam April 8, 2015 1
2. This presentation will cover three things from India 2 • The political system and elections • Linguistic diversity • Assam, a state in the eastern part of the country
3. Preamble of the constitution 3 Republic of India is •Sovereign •Socialist •Secular •Democratic
4. 4 •29 states •7 union territories •The Constitution adopted in 1950 is the supreme law of India
5. India’s Parliamentary System • s VOTERS State Assemblies Rajya Sabha (Upper house) President (Head of state) Lok Sabha (Lower house) Prime Minister (Head of government) Cabinet Ministers (From Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) Elect 543 members Selects Appoints Elects Appoints 2 members Elect 238 members Elects Appoints 12 members 5
6. In 2014, India had elections for its 16th National Parliament •815 Million Voters •1.8 million Electronic Voting Machines •830,000 polling stations •66% election turnout 6
7. 1,000+ Parties and Symbols 7
8. First time, a government has won absolute majority on its own since 1984 8 •New Prime Minister: Mr. Narendra Modi •Primary election issues: Economic Growth and Corruption
9. Contrary to popular perceptions… India does not have a national language (Just like United States of America) 9
10. India has multitude of official languages Federal Level: English and Hindi State Level: 22 scheduled languages (e.g. Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu etc.) 10
11. Method in madness? 11 • 122 major languages • 1599 other languages • 66 different scripts • 30 languages with more than a million native speakers
12. Assam - my native state 12
13. Traditional Dresses of Assam (Mekhela Sador, Dokhona etc) 13
14. Traditional Dances of Assam (Bihu, Xottriya etc.) 14
15. Any tea aficionados? 15 • World’s largest tea growing region • Strong bright colored black tea • Works best with breakfast
16. Kaziranga National Park has the largest concentration of the one-horned rhino in the world 16 •More than 2000 rhinos in last census •Poaching is a big issue even though rhino population is steadily increasing
17. Kaziranga National Park also has the world’s highest density of Tigers 17 •32 tigers per 100 sq km •Has roughly 100 of Asia’s 2000 tigers •Numbers are steadily increasing •Shoot-at-sight orders to kill poachers
18. Thank You ধন্যবাদ 18