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Narayan, R. K.   R. K. Narayan (born 1906) is one of the best-known of the Indo-English writers. He created the imaginary town of Malgudi, where realistic characters in a typically Indian setting lived amid unpredictable events. Rasipuram Krishnaswami Nara... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 1 Summary, 1 Essay, 43 Criticisms About 347 pages (104,162 words) in 46 products

Tagore, Rabindranath   Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was a Bengali poet, philosopher, social reformer, and dramatist who came into international prominence when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Rabindranath Tagore or simply Rabindranath a... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 3 Summaries, 9 Criticisms About 228 pages (68,323 words) in 13 products

Radioactive Waste and Contamination—Central Asia   Accidents happen, which is exactly what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear plant within the former Soviet Union. The scientists at this plant were conducting illegal tests on nuclear reactors, and the reactor within the plant bagan to boil a... Study Pack: 10 Summaries, 1 Essay About 94 pages (28,308 words) in 11 products

Raga The raga is the basic ingredient of Indian classical music. In simplest terms, it can be defined as a combination of notes in an octave, expressing a distinct "melody type." Different ragas consist of different note combinati... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 5 pages (1,594 words) in 1 product

Raipur (2002 est. pop. 617,000). Raipur is the capital of the new state of Chhattisgarh, created in 2000 from territory formerly in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The city, which is also the headquarters of the Raipur district, was founded in the f... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 8 pages (2,502 words) in 1 product

White Rajas The White Rajas of Sarawak were British adventurers who ruled as enlightened paternal despots for more than a century, from 1841 to 1946. Three generations of the Brooke family maintained Sarawak as a multiethnic, agrarian state until they... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 7 pages (2,076 words) in 1 product

Rao, Raja   (b. 1909), Indian novelist. Raja Rao was born in Hassan, a provincial town of Karnataka, India. He graduated from the University of Madras and continued his studies at Montpellier and the Sorbonne. His remarkable literary reputation is bas... Study Pack: 1 Summary, 10 Criticisms About 39 pages (11,561 words) in 11 products

Rajasthan (2002 est. pop. 57.6 million). Home of the inhospitable Thar Desert and with an overall arid climate, site of nuclear tests, and defender of a politically sensitive border with Pakistan, Rajasthan is nonetheless regarded as the major touri... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 15 pages (4,552 words) in 1 product

Rajkot (2001 est. pop. 654,000). Rajkot is a city in Gujarat state, India. It was once the capital of the princely state of Rajkot, and is now the headquarters of Rajkot District. It is located in the middle of the peninsula of Kathiawar, some 70... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 18 pages (5,311 words) in 1 product

Rajput Rajput is a category of Indian warrior castes that is widespread across northwestern India, some neighboring Himalayan valleys, the Ganges plains, and Madhya Pradesh. Following India's independence in 1947, twenty-three small Rajput... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 67 pages (20,164 words) in 1 product

Rakhine State (2002 est. pop. 3.0 million). Rakhine (formerly Arakan) State is located in western Myanmar (Burma), bounded by Bangladesh to the northwest; Chin State to the north; the Irrawaddy, Magwe, and Pegu Divisions to the east; and the Bay of Beng... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 6 pages (1,797 words) in 1 product

Roy, Rammohan Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833) was a Bengali social and religious reformer thoroughly identified with the cultural self-image of the people. He has been called the father of modern India. Ram Mohun Roy was born to a Kulin Brahmin family at Radh... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 2 Summaries About 13 pages (3,899 words) in 3 products

Ramakien The Ramakien is the Thai version of the Indian literary epic the Ramayana. Essentially, the story portrays the abduction of Rama's wife, Sida, to Langka by the demon king Thotsakan and her subsequent rescue by Rama and a monkey army... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 6 pages (1,803 words) in 1 product

Ramakrishna   Sri Ramakrishna (1833-1886) was an Indian mystic, reformer, and saint who, in his own lifetime, came to be revered by people of all classes as a spiritual incarnation of God. Born in a rural Bengal village, Ramakrishna was the fourth of fi... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 2 Summaries About 49 pages (14,645 words) in 3 products

Ramanuja   Nearly a millennium has past since Ramanuja (ca. 1017-1137) wandered the roads of southern India, yet his legacy as theologian, teacher and philosopher remains alive. His many followers consider him to be a saint and one of the greatest te... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 2 Summaries About 26 pages (7,705 words) in 3 products

Rama Tibodi I (1312–1369), founder of Ayutthaya. In 1350 CE Rama Tibodi I (U Thong) founded the kingdom of Ayutthaya in central Siam (present-day Thailand), which dominated Siamese power and culture for four centuries. The adventurous Rama Tibodi... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 2 pages (692 words) in 1 product

Ramayana   Rama and Sita's Relationship Outline I. Introduction   A. A story of virtues and deeds   B. Divine love, faith and total commitment II. Body   A. Vishnu and Lakshmi incarnated   B. Rama, Lakshm... Study Pack: 2 Summaries, 3 Essays, 11 Criticisms About 340 pages (102,000 words) in 16 products

Rama Khamheng (1239–1298), Thai monarch. Rama Khamheng or Rama the Great was one of the greatest Siamese monarchs. The third son of Indraditya of Sukhothai ascended the throne in 1275 and at the time of his death left a vast empire. His domain i... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (993 words) in 1 product

Magsaysay, Ramon Ramon Magsaysay (1907-1957) was the third Philippine president. Credited with restoring peace, law, and order during the Philippine crisis of the 1950s and the Hukbalahap rebellion, he was the first Philippine president from the landless l... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 1 Summary About 6 pages (1,677 words) in 2 products

Randai Randai is a form of traditional theater originating in what is now West Sumatra, Indonesia, home of the Minangkabau people. Randai consists of a number of actors who act their roles in full costume in the center of a ring of chorus members... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 2 pages (450 words) in 1 product

Laxmibai   Lakshmi Bai (c. 1835-1858), the Rani of Jhansi, is a national hero in India for her fight against the injustices of the British Raj. As the reigning queen (Rani) of the Jhansi province of India, Bai was killed in a battle during the Indian... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 1 Summary, 1 Essay About 15 pages (4,513 words) in 3 products

Rann of Kachchh The Rann of Kachchh (Cutch, or Kutch) is the name of a great low-lying salt marsh on the coast of the western Indian state of Gujarat, lying between the Gulf of Kachchh and the India/Pakistan border. Flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west,... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (1,010 words) in 1 product

Rasa Rasa, the final outcome of the various constituents of an artistic or theatrical performance, has been a central concept in Indian art and aesthetics from ancient times. It is enshrined in the Indian theory of aesthetic pleasure the same w... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 1 pages (411 words) in 1 product

Ravi River The Ravi River is one of five rivers in the northwestern region of India that give the Punjab ("five rivers") province its name. It rises in the southeast of the Pir Panjal Range in the Himalayas and to the south of Srinagar ... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (757 words) in 1 product

Raziyya (d. 1240), Delhi sultanate ruler. Daughter of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, who ruled Delhi for a quarter of a century, Sultana Raziyya was the third major ruler of the Delhi sultanate (1192–1526). After the brief and ineffectual rule of ... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 1 pages (210 words) in 1 product

Recruit Scandal The Recruit scandal lifted the lid on the shockingly pervasive corruption in Japanese politics and caused a profound loss of public confidence in Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rule. It came to light when a local newspaper reported that so... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 2 pages (702 words) in 1 product

Red Guard Organizations An important factor in the Cultural Revolution, particularly from 1966 to 1968, the Red Guards were groups formed from junior and senior high school students and university students, who made it their cause to be the personal guards of Mao... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (788 words) in 1 product

Red River and Delta The Red River (Song Hong), beginning in China's Yunnan province and flowing through northern Vietnam, runs about 1,200 kilometers to where it empties into the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. The river system is composed of t... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (797 words) in 1 product

Christianity—Myanmar Christians are estimated to constitute only 5 percent of the population of Myanmar (Burma), but the religion is dominant in a number of communities, especially among the ethnic minority Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Karenni peoples. The first W... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 4 pages (1,099 words) in 1 product

Religion, Folk—Japan   Like many other ethnic groups throughout the world, the earliest inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago constructed and lived in a religious world of meaning. To them the whole world was permeated by sacred power, authenticated by myths. ... Study Pack: 3 Summaries About 128 pages (38,527 words) in 3 products

Confucianism—China The system of thought known as Confucianism derives its name from the highly esteemed teacher and sage Confucius (551–479 BCE), or Kong Fuzi (Grand Master Kong). Confucianism includes the complete literature, practices, and teaching... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 13 pages (3,738 words) in 1 product

Hinduism—India   Hinduism, possibly the oldest surviving religion in the world, began well over three thousand years ago in India. A product of a variety of peoples and cultures, it evolved out of the varying faiths in different regions, assimilating all t... Study Pack: 2 Summaries About 17 pages (4,953 words) in 2 products

Remittances In the field of international labor migration, a distinction usually is made between two types of financial flow from emigrants to the country of origin. Unrequited transfers, whether for consumption or for investment, are termed "r... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 6 pages (1,815 words) in 1 product

Rendra, W. S. (b. 1936), Indonesian poet, playwright, actor, director. Born in Solo, Central Java, in 1936, Rendra was influenced by naturalism, the movement of realism in art and literature, as is evident in plays such as Bunga Semerah Darah (A Blood-R... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 1 pages (206 words) in 1 product

Three and Five Antis Campaigns In the early years after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched two political campaigns, with the purpose of reinforcing party control over rural and urban China. Both camp... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 42 pages (12,549 words) in 1 product

Republican People's Party—Turkey Founded in 1922 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881–1938), the Republican People's Party (RPP) was the ruling party of the Turkish Republic from 1923 to 1950 and held power in coalition governments in the 1960s and 1970s. After th... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 4 pages (1,061 words) in 1 product

Fretilin Fretilin is an acronym derived from the Portuguese Frente Revolucionária do Timor Leste Independente (the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor). It is the most important political movement in East Timor and enjoys stron... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (999 words) in 1 product

Riantiarno, Nano (b. 1949), Indonesian playwright, actor, stage director. One of Indonesia's leading playwrights and cultural figures, Nano Riantiarno was born in 1949. He began as a dramatist in the realist tradition, writing plays such as Pelangi ... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 1 pages (148 words) in 1 product

Rice and Rice Agriculture   Rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple food for nearly half of the world's population. Rice is a member of the grass family, which also includes wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, and rye. Unlike other grains, rice is well adapted to aqua... Study Pack: 2 Summaries About 39 pages (11,718 words) in 2 products

Nixon Shock   Although Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) successfully served as a member of the House of Representatives and of the Senate and was vice president under Dwight Eisenhower, the thirty-seventh president of the United States will probably be... Study Pack: 2 Biographies, 3 Summaries, 3 Essays About 119 pages (35,807 words) in 8 products

Emakimono Emakimono (emaki), meaning literally "pictures rolled," is a uniquely Japanese painting format in which a narrative is presented in both words and pictures through a long horizontal handscroll. Emakimono illustrate texts that... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 3 pages (867 words) in 1 product

Ringi System The ringi system is a collective process of decision making by circular letter (ringisho) that is known to be specific to large bureaucratic organizations and companies in Japan. The ringi system of sharing authority is a practice that dat... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 1 pages (408 words) in 1 product

Rize (2002 pop. 82,000). Rize, the largest Turkish town east of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast, is the capital of Rize Province (2002 pop. 363,300) and the center of Turkish tea cultivation. Its ancient name was Rhizaion; a fortress east of the... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 5 pages (1,374 words) in 1 product

Hart, Robert (1835–1911), head of Chinese Maritime Customs Service. Born in Northern Ireland, Robert Hart went to China in 1854. He served in British consulates in Ningbo and Guangzhou (Canton) for several years before he became the second head ... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 4 pages (1,103 words) in 1 product

Bun Bang Fai The Bun Bang Fai Festival is one of twelve lowland Lao religious customs and celebrates the oncoming of the rainy season and fertility. The two-day festival is held in lowland Laos and neighboring Thailand during late May or early June. Th... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 10 pages (3,068 words) in 1 product

Roh Tae Woo After serving as a rather obscure military leader for many years, Roh Tae Woo (born 1932) became active in the South Korean government following the coup by Chun Doo Hwan. It was his part in this coup which landed him with a 17-year prison... Study Pack: 1 Biography, 1 Summary About 8 pages (2,302 words) in 2 products

Rohingya The Rohingyas are the Muslim minority of the Rakhine (formerly Arakan) State of Myanmar (Burma); although they number in the hundreds of thousands, available statistics are unreliable. Traditions hold that the Rohingyas have been settled i... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 5 pages (1,338 words) in 1 product

Rohtas Fort Built as a strategic northwestern outpost and named after a similar stronghold in Bihar, India, Rohtas Fort is located about 100 kilometers south of Islamabad, the capital of modern Pakistan, off the Grand Trunk Road. Sher Shah Suri (reign... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 17 pages (4,982 words) in 1 product

Puppetry, Water Vietnamese water puppets, in Vietnamese mua roi nuoc (puppets that dance on water), have a long and unique history. The earliest reference to the water puppets is on a stele commemorating King Ly Nan Thong found in Nam Ha province (1121 CE... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 4 pages (1,100 words) in 1 product

Catholicism, Roman—Vietnam Although an estimated 80 percent of Vietnam's population practice Buddhism to some extent, there are an estimated 3 million Roman Catholics in Vietnam, approximately 3.75 percent of the nation's population. Catholicism first ... Study Pack: 1 Summary About 15 pages (4,397 words) in 1 product