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Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

(Encyclopedia)Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand gänˈdē [key], 1869–1948, Indian political and spiritual leader, b. Porbandar. In 1942, after rejection of his offer to cooperate with Great Britain in World War II ...

Jainism

(Encyclopedia)Jainism jīˈnĭzəm [key] [i.e., the religion of Jina], religious system of India practiced by about 5,000,000 persons. Jainism, Ajivika, and Buddhism arose in the 6th cent. b.c. as protests against ...

Tagore, Sir Rabindranath

(Encyclopedia)Tagore, Sir Rabindranath rəbĭnˈdrənät təgôrˈ, täko͝orˈ [key], 1861–1941, Indian author and guru, b. Calcutta (now Kolkata). Tagore came from a wealthy Bengali family. He went abroad in 18...

parlement

(Encyclopedia)parlement pärˈləmənt, Fr. pärləmäNˈ [key], in French history, the chief judicial body under the ancien régime. The parlement consisted of a number of separate chambers: the central pleading c...

termite

(Encyclopedia)termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the infraorder Isoptera. Originally classified in as a separate order, termites are genetically related to cockroaches and are now ...

Etruscan civilization

(Encyclopedia)Etruscan civilization, highest civilization in Italy before the rise of Rome. The core of the territory of the Etruscans, known as Etruria to the Latins, was northwest of the Tiber River, now in moder...

costume

(Encyclopedia)costume, distinctive forms of clothing, including official or ceremonial attire such as ecclesiastical vestments, coronation robes, academic gowns, armor, and theatrical dress. The use of ornament pre...

Nepal

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Nepal nəpôlˈ [key], officially Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, republic (2015 est. pop. 28,656,000), c.54,000 sq mi (139,860 sq km), central Asia. Landlocked and isolated by the Himala...

guilds

(Encyclopedia)guilds or gilds, economic and social associations of persons engaging in the same business or craft, typical of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Membership was by profession or craft, and the primar...

Bhutan

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bhutan bo͞otänˈ [key], officially Kingdom of Bhutan, kingdom (2020 est. pop. 771,612), ...

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