Background
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The people of India have had a continuous recorded civilization since 7,000 B.C., and recent archaeological data suggests that this civilization existed for thousands of years before that. Those who, “wear cotton clothes, use the decimal system, enjoy the taste of curry, play chess, roll dice, and/or seek peace of mind or tranquility through meditation," writes historian Stanley Wolpert, "are indebted to India."
With a population topping 1 billion people, India is the world’s largest democracy and the seventh most industrialized nation on the globe. And in 2004, 406 children were adopted by Americans from India.
In India, extreme poverty and the stigma of unwed motherhood often force young women to abandon their children at birth. Many of the babies and children in Indian orphanages are abandoned by parents who are unable to provide for them. Only agencies approved by India’s central government may place children, and only agencies accredited by CARA may receive children for their applicant families.
Credits: The International Adoption Guidebook, © Mary M. Strickert
