india sport& religion

India, the land of spirituality and philosophy considers religion as an integral part of its entire tradition. The worship of various religions and its rituals play a significant role in every aspect of human life in the country.

India is the birthplace of two great religions of the world, namely, Hinduism and Buddhism. It is also the birthplace of one of the oldest religions of the world, Zoroastrianism, and home to an ancient religion, Jainism. Sikhism is another very recognizable religion which began here bringing together the best aspects of Hinduism and Islam. Followers of religions originated in other countries such as Islam, Christianity, Bahaism and Judaism also form a part of the population of secular nation, India.

Hinduism is the dominant faith. According to 2001 Census, 80.5% of the population of the country are designated 'Hindu'. It is one of the ancient religions in the world,which began about 6000 years ago. Besides Hindus, Muslims are the most prominent religious group and are an integral part of Indian society. There are approximately13.4% Muslims (over 100 million), 2.3% Christians (over 20 million), 1.9 % Sikhs (18 million) and others including Buddhists (6 million), Jains, Parsis (Zoroastrians), Jews, and Bahais, less than 2 percent.

Hindus and Muslims are spread throughout the country. Muslims are found mostly in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. They represent a majority in Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep. Christian concentrations are found in the northeastern states like Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya and the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Goa. Sikhs are a majority in the state of Punjab whereas Buddhists are found in large numbers in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Bengal and Sikkim. Though a tiny minority, Jains are found all over India. Majority of Jains live in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat.

India has been a major seat of learning for centuries. Its current state presents a much varied picture. While the country has some of the best Universities (ISB, IITs, IISc, IIMs, AIIMS) in the world, it is also dealing with challenges in its primary education and strives to reach 100% literacy. Universal Primary Education, with its challenges of keeping poor children in school and maintaining quality of education in rural areas, has been difficult to achieve (Kerala is the only Indian state to reach this goal so far). All levels of education, from primary to higher education, are heavily subsidized by the Indian government.

Structure

The system is divided into preprimary, primary, middle, secondary (or high school), and higher levels. Preprimary is usually composed of Lower Kindergarten and Higher Kindergarten, where primary reading and writing skills are developed. Primary school includes children of ages six to eleven, organized into classes one through five. Middle school pupils aged eleven through fourteen are organized into classes six through eight, and high school students ages fourteen through eighteen are enrolled in classes nine through twelve. Higher Education in India provides an opportunity to specialize in a field and includes technical schools (such as the Indian Institutes of Technology), colleges, and universities. In India, the main types of schools are those controlled by: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board, The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board, The state government and "International schools." These schools mimic the schools in the West in pattern and syllabi and mainly comprise children of immigrants and rich Indians who can afford it. The exams conducted have the syllabus of anyone of the above Counsils/ Boards. [edit]

Elementary Education

During the eighth five-year plan, the target of "universalizing" elementary education was divided into three broad parameters: Universal Access, Universal Retention and Universal Achievement i.e., making education accessible to children, making sure that they continue education and finally, achieving goals. As a result of education programs, by the end of 2000, 94% of India's rural population had primary schools within one km and 84% had upper primary schools within 3 km. Special efforts have made to enroll SC/ST and girls. The enrollment in primary and upper-primary schools has gone up considerably since the first five-year plan. So has the number of primary and upper-primary schools. In 1950-51, only 3.1 million students had enrolled for primary education. In 1997-98, this figure was 39.5 million. The number of primary and upper-primary schools was 0.223 million in 1950-51. This figure was 0.775 million in 1996-97. In 2002/2003, an estimated 82% of children in the age group of 6-14 were enrolled in school. The Government of India aims to increase this to 100% by the end of the decade. To achieve this the Government launched Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The strategies adopted by the Government to check drop-out rate are: creating parental awareness community mobilization economic incentives Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL) District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (Mid-day Meals Scheme) The 83rd Constitutional Amendment Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha to make the Right to Elementary Education a fundamental right and a fundamental duty. National Elementary Education Mission A National Committee of State Education Ministers has been set up with the Minister of Human Resource Development as the Chairperson of the committee. Media publicity and advocacy plans. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Hockey, in which India has an impressive record with eight Olympic gold medals, is officially the national sport. Other popular games are football, cricket, basketball, volleyball and badminton. Cricket has become a very popular game and India, once one-day cricket champions, staged the World Cup in 1987 and co-hosted it with Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 1996.

Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 test centuries remains unbeaten though his aggregate of 10,122 test runs was surpassed by Allan Border of Australia. Many argue that Sachin Tendulkar is today's best batsman with his flamboyant stroke play and heap of runs he has accumulated in all forms of the game

In games like tennis and billiards, which are played by a very small percentage of the population, Indians have nevertheless made a mark in the international arena. At the young age of 17, Vishwanathan Anand became an international chess grandmaster. Today he is seen as the only tough challenger of the world champion, Gary Kasparov. Following Anand, a large number of pre-teen Indians have emerged with a lot of promise. Geet Sethi has won both the world amateur and professional billiard championships, while in 1990 Leander Paes became the third Indian Wimbledon junior champion. Leander Paes won the bronze medal at the tennis singles competition in the 1996 Olympics. The recently held Commonwealth Games at Manchester, UK, produced many new sports stars in shooting, weightlifting, athletics, and Women's field hockey.

After the IX Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982, the capital city now boasts of some very modern sports facilities. Such facilities are also being developed in other parts of the country. With the introduction of new equipment and techniques of coaching and training, there is hope that India will show a marked improvement in various disciplines of sports. Besides sports and games included in the international sporting agenda, there are many other that have developed indigenously and are played by people in the villages. Among these is wrestling, a sport that has developed many local styles and schools. It is taught for the most part in traditional gymnasia with packed mud floors. There are also several indigenous systems of martial arts.

Among the indigenously developed games, the most popular are kabaddi and kho-kho. National competitions are held in these two games. Among equestrian sports, tent-pegging has a uniquely Indian flavour. Camel races and elephant races are also uniquely Indian. Among the indigenous water sports, the snake-boat race, which takes place in the backwaters of Kerala during the Onam festival, has now become an international tourist attraction.