Followers of Hinduism believe that dying on the banks of the Ganges River and having one's ashes cast on its waters is the way to a happy afterlife. One of the world's great rivers, the Ganges flows across the plain of northern India for most of its course. In India the river is popularly and officially called the Ganga. Course and physical featuresThe Ganges has a length of 1,560 miles (2,510 kilometers). The general direction of its flow is from north-northwest to southeast. It begins in the southern Himalayas, near India's border with the Chinese region of Tibet. The river emerges from the mountains at a sacred site called Rishikesh and then flows onto the plain. The main tributary of the Ganges is the Yamuna (Jumna), which flows past the city of Delhi. The Yamuna and the Ganges flow in the same direction for hundreds of miles before they merge near the city of Allahabad. The river then flows into Bangladesh, where it is joined by the mighty Brahmaputra. The combined stream, called the Padma, empties into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges-Brahmaputra river system has the largest delta in the world. Beginning more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the Bay of Bengal, the delta lies mostly in Bangladesh. The most westerly channel of the delta, the Hooghly, is in India. The large city of Kolkata (Calcutta) stands on its eastern bank. The water supply of the Ganges varies according to the season and the conditions in the regions through which it flows. From April to June melting snows in the Himalayas feed the river. In the rainy season, from July to September, rain-bearing winds called monsoons cause floods. The river's volume also increases significantly as it receives more tributaries and enters a region of heavier rainfall. Plants and animalsHundreds of years ago, the Ganges-Yamuna area was a thick forest. Wild elephants, buffalo, bison, rhinoceroses, lions, and tigers roamed the land. Since then, however, most of the land has been cleared for farming and much of the wildlife has disappeared. The remaining animals include deer, boars, and wildcats as well as a few wolves, jackals, and foxes. Bengal tigers, crocodiles, and marsh deer survive in only one part of the delta. Fish thrive in all the rivers of the area, however, especially in the delta. Among the many birds of the region are parrots, crows, kites, and partridges. In winter, duck and snipe migrate southward from the high Himalayas, settling in large numbers in water-covered areas. PeopleThe Ganges flows through one of the most densely populated regions in the world. The people of the Ganges basin are of mixed ethnic origin. In the west and center of the basin they were originally descended from Aryans, a people who settled in Iran and northern India in prehistoric times. Later, Turks, Mongols, Afghans, Persians, and Arabs came from the west and mixed with them. A mixture of Tibetan, Burman, and various hill people resides to the east and south. - A ship carrying cremation ashes travels along the Ganges River at the city of Varanasi, India. …
Hindus make religious pilgrimages to many places along the Ganges. They believe that bathing in its waters washes away sin. Among the pilgrimage places is the meeting point of the Ganges and the Yamuna, where a bathing festival is held in January and February. Other places considered holy for bathing are at Varanasi (also called Benares) and Haridwar. Many temples for cremating, or burning, the dead have been built on the banks of the Ganges. The Hindus cast the ashes upon the river, believing that the dead will then go straight to heaven. EconomyWater from the Ganges has been used for irrigation for more than 2,000 years. Canals were built to carry the river water to fields. Irrigation became more highly developed during the period of Muslim rule in India, beginning in the 12th century. Later, the British further enlarged the canal system. Irrigation has increased the production of such crops as sugarcane, cotton, and oilseeds in the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Rice and other crops grown in the Ganges basin feed most of India and Bangladesh. Boats have traveled along the Ganges since ancient times. By the 19th century canals were used for navigation as well as irrigation. Paddle steamers ran from Kolkata (Calcutta) up the Ganges to Allahabad and far beyond, as well as to Agra on the Yamuna and up the Brahmaputra River. After the construction of railways began during the mid–19th century, river traffic decreased in economic importance. Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, however, continue to rely on the waterways to transport jute, tea, grain, and other agricultural and rural products. HistoryThe plain across which the Ganges flows has supported many civilizations. In the 3rd century BC the empire led by the great Indian ruler Asoka centered on Patna, standing on the banks of the Ganges in what is now the state of Bihar. The city of Kannauj on the river was the center of the ruler Harsa's empire, which covered most of northern India in the mid–7th century. During the Muslim era, Muslim rule extended over the plain and beyond. The centers of the great Mughal Empire, dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries, were at Delhi and Agra, on the western edge of the Ganges basin. The British ruled India from Kolkata (Calcutta) on the banks of the Hooghly from 1772 to 1912. Then they moved their capital up the valley of the Ganges to Delhi. Delhi remained the capital after India gained its independence from Britain in the mid–20th century. |