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Women in India

Name of the State

Description

  Delhi

Delhi, capital of India,  forms an enclave inside the eastern frontier of Haryana in North India. Extreme dryness with an intensely hot summer and cold winter is the characteristics of the climate. 

Delhi is the largest commercial hub in northern India. It is also the largest center of small industries manufacturing TV sets, musical systems, electrical goods, light engineering machines, automobile parts, sports goods, bicycles, plastics and PVC goods, textiles, fertilizers, medicines, hosiery, leather goods, soft drinks, etc.  There are also units for metal forging, casting, galvanizing, electro plating, printing and warehousing.

Since Delhi has been the capital of India for centuries, it is full of rich monuments. Both the Delhis - the old city of the Mughals, established by Shah Jehan and the new city constructed by the British in 1931 - preserve centers of tourist interest.  Among them are Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mughal Gardens, Parliament Buildings, Chandni Chauk, Red Fort, Juma Masjid, Purana Kila (Indraprastham), Humayun’s Tomb, Lodi Tomb, Qutb Minar, Haus Khas, Safdarjung’s Tombs, Jantar Mantar and India Gate.  The Zoological Garden Kashmiri Gate, Birla Mandir, Vigyan Bhavan, National Museum Connaught Circus, Buddha Jayanthi Park, Rabindra Rangsala and Nehru Memorial Museum are also of importance.
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  Goa

Goa is the smallest state of the Indian Union.  Situated between Karnataka and Maharashtra, Goa is bounded on the north by the Terekhol river, surrounded on the south and east by Karnataka while on the west is the Arabian Sea.

On its eastern sector Goa’s terrain is hilly forming the northern edge of the Sahyadri mountain ranges.  The major west-flowing rivers that pass through the territory are: Mandovi, Zuari, Terekhol, Chapora and Betul.  The total navigable length of these rivers, which form the waterways by which Goa’s main export commodity iron and manganese ore in transported to the Marmagao harbor, is 253 km.  The Marmagao harbor is virtually the confluence of the Mandovi and Zuari rivers.

Paddy is the main agricultural crop, followed by ragi, cashew and coconut.  The state has a rich forest cover.  Fishing sustains a work force of 40,000 people.  Goa has rich iron ore and manganese deposits. Goa is linked with Mumbai, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram through the Konkan railway.  

Old Goa has the Basilica of Bom Jesus, where the casket containing the incorruptible body of St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of Goa, is housed.  Other famous shrines are the Se Cathedral and the Assissi Church.  A few km away is Ponda, where the Mangueshi Siva Temple, the Santha Durga Temple and the Nagueshi Temple are situated. Dona Paula, overlooking the confluence of the Mandovi river, (in Panaji), the Aravelam waterfalls, the Mayem lake, the Dudsagar waterfalls, the Bondla sanctuary, the Mormugao harbour and the Aguada Fort are some of the other tourist attractions.
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  Gujarat

Gujarat is bounded on the north-west by Pakistan, on the north by Rajasthan, on the east by MP and on the south and south-east by Maharashtra.  The State of Gujarat occupies the northern extremity of the western sea-board of India.  The state comprises three geographical regions: (1) The peninsula, traditionally known as Saurashtra.  It is essentially a hilly tract sprinkled with low mountains. (2) Kutch on the north-east is barren and rocky, and contains the famous Rann (desert) of Kutch, the big Rann in the north and the little Rann in the east. (3) The mainland extending from the Rann of Kutch and the Aravalli Hills to the river Damanganga is on the whole a level plain of alluvial soil.

The plains of Gujarat are watered by big rivers like Sabarmati, Mahi, Narmada, and Tapti and by smaller river like Banas, Saraswati and Damanganga.  The rainfall in the state, except in the arid zones of Surendranagar and north Gujarat, varies between 65 and 127 cm.  As the Tropic of Cancer passes through the northern border of Gujarat, the state has an intensely hot or cold climate.  However, the Arabian sea and the Gulf of Cambay in the west and the forest-covered hills in the east soften the climate extremes.  Gujarat has the longest coastline (1920 km) among Indian States.

Gujarat ranks first in the country in the production of cotton and groundnut and second in the production of tobacco.  Other important cash crops are isabgul, cumin, sugarcane, mangoes, and bananas.  The chief food crops of the state are paddy, wheat and bajra.  Gujarat has 1.966 m hectares of land under forest.  It has a dominant electronics industry and is a major producer of inorganic chemicals such as soda-ash and caustic soda as well as chemical fertilizers.  It has the largest petro-chemical complex in the country.  In milk production, Gujarat is first in India. The State also accounts for 60% of the country’s salt output.

Ahmedabad, the twin-city of Gandhinagar, has an international airport.  Gujarat has 40 ports, of which, Kandla is a major one.  The first expressway of the nation is in Gujarat between Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

Gujarat has 4 national parks and 11 sanctuaries.  The game sanctuary at Gir (the world’s last habitat of the Asiatic Lion), the sacred temples of Dwaraka and Somnath, Palitana, the picturesque mountain city of Jain Templeson about 2000 feet high Shetrynjaya hills, Upwada, the oldest place of the Fire temple of Parses in India, the 5000-year-old archaelogical finds at Lotal, the 11th century Sun Temples at Modhera, bird sanctuary at Nal Sarovar, architectural monuments of Indo-Saracenic style at Ahmedabad and the national shrine of Gandiji at Sabarmati, are a few of the varied attractions.

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  Haryana

The state is bounded UP in the east, Punjab in the west, Himachal Pradesh in the north and Rajasthan in the south.  The Union Territory of Delhi juts into Haryana and is encompassed by it on three sides.  The south west of Haryana is dry, sandy and barren.  Haryana has no perennial rivers.  The only river which flows through Haryana is the Ghaggar, which passes through the northern fringes of the state.  Rainfall is meager, particularly in the districts of Mahendragarh and Hissar.

Since its creation in 1966, Haryana has become India’s fastest growing state, offering its citizens the third highest per capita income.  Agricultural development in Haryana has been tremendous.  Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 75% of the people. Haryana was the first state to introduce crop insurance scheme in north India.  The State is proverbially known as the ‘Milk-pail of India’, as the per capita per day availability of milk is 579 grams as against the Indian average of 180 grams.

Haryana produces the largest number of tractors in the country.  Gurgaon is a fast growing industrial hub where Maruti Udyog is the central piece. Haryana has a large industrial base with more than 1,200 large and medium and 75,000 small-scale units. Haryana is the first state to have electrified all of its villages.  The Indian Army has 11.2% of its soldiers from Haryana.

Prominent tourist centers are Raj Hans, Badhkal Lake, Surajkund, Dabchik, Sultanpur, Barbet, Sohna and Pinjore.  Haryana has a network of 44 tourist complexes.  Tourists number 700,000. In 1993 tourism was declared an industry.
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