Today in class... (December 15)

We all sat together, and had a class discussion on India. We basically covered India head to toe, from the 27-story house in Mumbai, to work wages in India. We all participated equally for the most part. :) Joe, Clark, Madi, and I finished our prezi yesterday, and are ready to present it.

December 13th!

(Sorry for the lateness)

Today in class... we worked on our projects on India. Joe, Madi, Clark, and I are working on a prezi, and covering the economy, dharavi, mumbia, colleges/education, and construction in India. 

December 9th, In class. (sorry for the lateness of this post)

In class we finished watch Slumdog Millionaire, and Jamal finished the game show, and walked away with 20 million rupees.  Him and Latika were re-united, and Salim (Jamal's brother) was killed.  He was shot by the host, while sitting in a bathtub full of money.

Revised Paper

Human Trafficking in India is a major problem. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children suffer from human trafficking each year. The sad thing, government officials lack the knowledge of this horrible act, and do not pursue punishment for the cruel men who force trafficking onto people. The government over time has started to lay down the law, and not make it acceptable for woman and children to be humanly trafficked. For example, in 1986 The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act or PITA, originally called the All India Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act (SITA), was enacted so as to limit and eventually abolish prostitution in India by criminalizing various aspects of sex work. Included in those are punishments specifically designed for victims under the age of 18. Although, that does not stop these men from doing it. Every day, little girls and woman are being put out on the street, waiting to be picked up and taken as a prostitute.  Of the 2.8 million sex workers in India, approximately 36% of them enter the trade before the age of 18.

Billions of dollars are made each year in India as a result of human trafficking.  Since nearly 27% of India lives below the poverty line, families consider the sex trade as their only means of income since it's such a lucrative trade. For example, a couple sold their child in sex trafficking for a car. In a survey done by All Bengal Women's Union in 1988, 23 out of 160 sex workers claimed to have entered the trade willingly for money.  However, the remaining 137 women were introduced or forced into the sex trade.  

India is the world second largest country, with a population of 1,173,108,018 people.  The unemployment rate in 2009 was 10.7%.  India contains the largest concentration of poor people in the world.  Approximately 27% of India's population make a $1.25 or less each day. Clearly, $1.25 a day will not sustain a family; thus, parents may feel compelled to give their children, to what they think would be a better life.  However, they unknowingly sell their children into the sex trade.

Human trafficking, particularly, that of children, combined with a high rate of poverty and an overpopulated society, has, and will continue to wreak havoc on India. A cycle is created whereby the overpopulation creates a high rate of unemployment, which in turn creates and causes increased poverty, and victimizes the helpless and uneducated through the exploitation of the sex trade.  Greater awareness of this deplorable practice will bring more attention and hopefully, more relief for the children and people involved.

Homework for 12~2~10

1.) Compare the motion picture industry in India and the United States. 

Bollywood made a revenue of $1.75 Billion in 2006(estimated to rise to $3.4 Billion in 2010) which is only half the revenue of what one Hollywood studio, Walt Disney made in 2006 – and that is saying a lot. However, while Hollywood’s market inside the US has almost saturated, India’s 500 million population under the age of 20 will ensure that the market inside India will grow exponentially in the coming years.

Although Hollywood produces only a fraction of the number of films made all over the world, it garners a staggering 75% of total revenues. Also, 50% of its earnings(expected to grow to 80% in the next 20 years) come from the foreign market whereas for Bollywood it is 20%.

Hollywood has an overwhelming domination among the top grossers worldwide – almost all of the top 50 movies are made in Hollywood. It has virtually eclipsed all other film industries except Bollywood – for instance, the European film industry cut down to 1/10th of its size since 1910

2.) What are the names of the three main characters in Slumdog Millionaire?
 - Latika, Jamal, Salim


3.) What is a Chaiwallah?
A wallah is one who performs a specific task. A rickshaw wallah drives the rickshaw, a dhobi wallah washes clothes and chai wallahs, you guessed it, they make chai. Chai wallahs are everywhere in India. Everywhere. From busy urban street corners to hidden alleyways, at bus depots and railway platforms and walking through the train car, along riversides and on footpaths that lead to pilgrimage sites in the middle of nowhere — when you need a fresh cup of tea, the chai wallah is always near.
4.) 5 things about Tjamahal?  
- It was started in 1631, and construction was completed in 1653.
- It was built by Shah Jahan 
- The cost of construction was 32 crore rupees
- It is one of the seven wonders of the world
- There was approximately 20,000 workers. 

December 2nd!

Today in class we discussed the burning down of the mosque.  We watched a short video of the actually fire, and it burning down.  We then continued to watch Slumdog Millionaire.

Mumbai Riots - 4 Facts [Homework]

• The riots are between Muslims and Hindu. 
• It started in December of 1992 & the second one was in January of '93. 
• Approximately 900 people died in the first riot.
• About 575 Muslims and 275 Hindus and 2,000 people died in the riots.

December 1st!

Today in class we continued watching Slumdog Millionaire, and we went over the questions from the homework due last night.