India and Brazil - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 164

The Indus River, which gave the subcontinent its name, has been mostly
within the boundaries of Pakistan since the division of that country from
India in 1947. Its source is in the Kailas Mountains in western Tibet,
where it flows west across Jammu and Kashmir, India, then into Pakistan.
Water for irrigation is disputed between the two countries. The Ganges
River rises from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas in northeast India,
and flows southeast to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. This is the most
densely populated part of the country and contributes much pollution.
The Brahmaputra River rises in southwest Tibet and flows through north-
east India to join with the Ganges River in central Bangladesh to form a
vast delta. The interior south is arid, rainfall being blocked by mountains.
The coastal littoral is moist and tropical, famous for growing spices. Each
June monsoon rains bring water from the south to all parts to India. These
monsoons are heavy, even violent. In September, the smaller northeast
monsoon brings rain to the south.
Areas of what is now called India were first united as the Maurya Empire
in the third century BC. The population was estimated at fifty million
people, stratified as slaves, farmers, herdsmen, soldiers, and artisans. The
government encouraged clearing the forests by remitting taxes. Wars
were avoided, and the empire enjoyed a golden age. The government was
benign and tolerant. Although Hinduism was widespread, the emperor
personally favored Buddhism, with its pacifism and admonitions to not
kill animals. After the Mauryan regime began to decline in 184 BC the
empire fragmented into regional kingdoms. In AD 320 the Gupta dynasty
established an empire, which in various forms lasted until after 467. Once
more, a number of small kingdoms existed. Buddhism gave way to the
older Hinduism. Following invasions from central Asia between the 10th
and 12th centuries, much of north India came under the rule of the Delhi
Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire. Although the rulers were Muslims,
they were few in number, hence did not do much to impose their religion
or culture on the native Indians. Under the rule of Akbar the Great, India
enjoyed cultural and economic progress as well as religious harmony.
The dynasty continued until the mid-18th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, as Portuguese, Dutch, English, and
French ships explored the Indian coast and elsewhere around the Indian
Ocean, they investigated the natural environment as well as navigation
and commerce. The Portuguese first engaged in trade in Goa in 1510.
All the Europeans reported on the wonders, natural and human, that
they encountered. In 1666 the British Royal Society issued instructions