India
For historical and other uses of India, see India (disambiguation). India, officially the
The Republic of India, is a country in
South Asia. It is the
seventh-largest country by geographical area, the
second most populous country, and the most populous
democracy in the world. India has a coastline of over seven thousand kilometres,
and borders
Pakistan[The Government of India considers the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir to be a part of India including the portion bordering Afghanistan. A ceasefire sponsored by the United Nations in 1948 freezes the positions of Indian and Pakistani held territory. As a consequence, the region bordering Afghanistan is in Pakistani-administered territory.] to the west,
Nepal, the
People's Republic of China and
Bhutan to the north-east, and
Bangladesh and
Myanmar to the east. In the
Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the
island nations of
Sri Lanka,
Maldives and
Indonesia.
Home to the
Indus Valley Civilization, a centre of important trade routes and vast empires, India has long played a major role in human history.
Hinduism,
Sikhism,
Buddhism and
Jainism all have their origins in India, while
Islam and
Christianity enjoy a strong cultural heritage having arrived through trade even before foreign invasions. Colonised as part of the
British Empire in the nineteenth century, India gained independence in 1947 as a unified nation after an intense
struggle for independence. The country's population, wildlife, geographical terrain and climate system are among the most diverse in the world.
The name
India // is derived from
Indus, which is derived from the
Old Persian word
Hindu, from
Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the
Indus River. The
Constitution of India and common usage recognise
Bharat (), as an official name, India is also recognized as an equal status. A third name,
Hindustan () (
Persian:
Land of the Hindus < Old Persian
Hindu, India / land of the
Indus < Sanskrit
Sindhu, any river/the
Indus) has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied.
Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at
Bhimbetka in the state of
Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago and gradually developed into the
Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to 3300 BCE in western India. It was followed by the
Vedic Civilization which laid the foundations of
Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the
Mahajanapadas were established across the country laying the foundations of ancient India.
The empire built by the
Maurya dynasty under Emperor
Ashoka the Great united most of modern
Southern Asia except the
Dravidian kingdoms in the south. From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from
Central Asia followed including the
Indo-Greeks,
Indo-Scythians,
Indo-Parthians and
Kushans in the north-western
Indian Subcontinent. From the third century CE, the
Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age." While the north had larger, fewer kingdoms, in the south there were several dynasties such as the
Chalukyas,
Rashtrakutas,
Hoysalas,
Cheras,
Cholas,
Pallavas and
Pandyas, overlapping in time and space.
Science, engineering,
art,
literature,
mathematics,
astronomy,
religion and
philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.
Following the invasions from Central Asia, between the tenth to the twelfth centuries, much of north India came under the rule of the
Delhi Sultanate, and later the
Mughal dynasty, who gradually expanded their reign through most of the Indian subcontinent. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms flourished, especially in the south, such as the
Vijayanagara Empire. From the sixteenth century onwards, several
European countries, including
Portugal,
Netherlands,
France and the
United Kingdom, started arriving as traders, later taking advantage of the fractious nature of relations between the kingdoms, to establish
colonies in the country. By 1856, most of India came under control of the
British East India Company. A year later, a failed nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, known locally as the
First War of Indian Independence (known as the Sepoy Mutiny elsewhere) broke out, leading to India being under the direct control of the
British Crown as a colony of the British Empire.
In the early twentieth century, a nationwide
struggle for independence was launched by the
Indian National Congress, and various revolutionary groups. The movement was largely led by
Mahatma Gandhi, with
Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,
Jawaharlal Nehru, and
Subhash Chandra Bose playing important roles. Millions of protestors would engage in mass campaigns of
civil disobedience with a commitment to
ahimsa or non-violence. Finally, on
15 August,
1947, India gained independence from British rule. Three years later, on
26 January,
1950, India chose to be a republic, and a new
Constitution came into effect.
Since independence, India has seen sectarian violence and
insurgencies in various parts of the country, but has maintained its unity and democracy. It has unresolved territorial disputes with China, which escalated into the brief
Sino-Indian War in 1962; and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in
1947,
1965,
1971 and in 1999 in
Kargil. India is a founding member of the
Non-Aligned Movement and the
United Nations (as part of British India). In 1974, India conducted an underground
nuclear test. This was followed by
five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The 1996 poverty rate of 50% fell to 22% by 2006.
India is referred to as the largest democracy in the world, by virtue of the fact that it has the largest
electing population among
democratic countries. The country has a federal form of government and a
bicameral parliament operating under a
Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has three branches of governance: the
Legislature,
Executive and
Judiciary. The
President is the
head of state, though he has a largely ceremonial role to play. He is also the Supreme Commander of
India's armed forces. The President is elected indirectly by an
electoral college for five-year terms. Presidential assent is needed for a Bill or Ordinance passed by the Parliament to come into force. The
Prime Minister is the de facto
head of government, and has most executive powers. He or she is appointed by the President, with the requirement that he or she enjoy the support of the party or coalition having more than 50% seats in the lower house. The Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister aids and advises the President on governance matters.
The legislature of India is the bicameral
Parliament, which consists of the upper house called the
Rajya Sabha (Council of States), and the lower house called the
Lok Sabha (House of People). The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through the state Legislative Assemblies, and has a staggered six-year term. Each state sends members to the Rajya Sabha in a proportion of its population. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected (Some seats are reserved for Caste based system) by popular vote for a five-year term (except two nominated Anglo-Indian members), and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. Universal adulthood suffrage is guaranteed by the Constitution for citizens above 18 years of age. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President, and the
Council of Ministers (the
Cabinet being its executive committee) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature.
India's independent judiciary consists of the
Supreme Court, headed by the
Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the eighteen
High Courts of India, and additionally, the power to declare Union and state laws null and void if in conflict with the Constitution.
 |
Map of India [The black line is the boundary as recognised by the government of India. The northern region of Kashmir is currently administered by India, Pakistan, and China (and coloured in as such). The delimiting of the three administered regions is not the international boundary but a ceasefire line demarcated in red. The boundary separating India and Pakistan is known as the Line of Control, that separating India and China as the 'Line of Actual Control'. Most of the state of Arunachal Pradesh is still claimed by China.]. |
For most of its independent history, India has been ruled by the
Indian National Congress. The party enjoyed a parliamentary majority barring two brief periods during the 1970s and late 1980s. This rule was interrupted between 1977 to 1980, when the
Janata Party coalition won the election owing to public discontent with the
"Emergency" declared by the then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. The
Janata Dal won elections in 1989, but its government managed to hold on to power for only two years. Between 1996 and 1998, there was a period of political flux with the government being formed first by the right-of-centre, nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by a left-leaning
United Front coalition. In 1998, the BJP formed the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with smaller regional parties, and became the first non-Congress and coalition government to complete a full five-year term. The
2004 Indian elections saw the left-leaning Congress party winning the largest number of seats to form a government by leading the
United Progressive Alliance, and supported by communist parties and those opposed to the BJP.
Since independence, India has maintained cordial relationships with most nations. It took a lead in the 1950s in advocating the independence of European colonies in Africa and Asia. During the
Cold War, India tried to maintain its neutrality and was one of the founding members of the
Non-Aligned Movement. After the
Sino-Indian War and the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, India's relationship with the
Soviet Union warmed at the expense of ties with the
United States and continued to remain so until the end of the Cold War. India has consistently refused to sign the
CTBT and the
NPT to maintain sovereignty over its nuclear program despite criticism and military sanctions. Recent overtures by the Indian government have strengthened India's relations with United States, China and Pakistan. In the economic sphere, India has close relationships with other developing nations of
South America,
Asia and
Africa. In recent years, India has played an influential role in the
SAARC. India has been a long time supporter of the
United Nations, with over 55,000
Indian military and police personnel having served in 35 UN peace keeping operations over four continents
. Since the 1990s, India has been considered a
great or major power on the global stage, meaning it has considerable influence on international affairs. The status of
emerging superpower has also improved relations with the
United States, as some political observers believe the United States will support India's growth in order to counter
China's authoritarian regime.
[ The Trailing Edge India as a future superpower ]Administratively, India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into
districts), and seven
union territories (or territories owned by the Central Government). All states and the union territories of Delhi and Pondicherry have elected governments. The remaining five union territories have centrally-appointed administrators. The states and territories are further divided into 602 districts.
See also: Districts of India, List of Indian districtsThe territory of India constitutes a major portion of the
Indian subcontinent, situated on the
Indian Plate, the northerly portion of the
Indo-Australian Plate, in
southern Asia. India's northern and northeastern states are partially situated in the
Himalayan Mountain Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile
Indo-Gangetic plain. In the west, bordering southeast
Pakistan, lies the
Thar Desert. The
southern Indian Peninsula is almost entirely composed of the
Deccan plateau, which is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the
Western Ghats and
Eastern Ghats.
India is home to several major rivers, including the
Ganga,
Brahmaputra,
Yamuna,
Godavari,
Kaveri,
Narmada, and
Krishna. India has three archipelagos –
Lakshadweep off the southwest coast, the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands-volcanic island chain to the southeast, and the
Sunderbans in the Gangetic delta in West Bengal.
Climate in India varies from
tropical in the south to more
temperate in the Himalayan north, with elevated regions in the north receiving sustained snowfall in winters. India's climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert. The Himalayas, along with the
Hindu Kush mountains in Pakistan, provide a barrier to the cold winds from Central Asia. This keeps most of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations in similar latitudes. The
Thar Desert is responsible for attracting the moisture laden
southwest monsoon winds that provide most of India's rainfall between June and September.
The economy of India is the
fourth largest in the world as measured by
purchasing power parity (PPP), with a
GDP of US $3.63
trillion. When measured in
USD exchange-rate terms, it is the
twelfth largest in the world, with a GDP of $785.47 billion or Rs 35,34,615 crore in 2005, as calculated by the World Bank.
[ ] India is the second fastest growing major economy in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 9.1%, as of the
first quarter of 2006.
Wealth distribution in India, a
developing country, is fairly uneven, with the top 10% of income groups earning 33% of all income.
["IN PICTURES - Middle Class, or Upper Class? ". India Together. Civil Society Information Exchange Pvt. Ltd.. August 2003] India's
per capita income (PPP) of US$ 3,400
is ranked
122nd in the world.
For most of its independent history, India adhered to a
quasi-
socialist approach, with strict government control over
private sector participation,
foreign trade, and
foreign direct investment. Starting from 1991, India has gradually opened up its markets through
economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment.
Privatisation of public-owned industries and some sectors to private and foreign players has continued amid political debate.
India has a
labour force of 496.4 million of which 60% is employed in agriculture or agriculture-related industries, 17% in mainstream industry and 23% in service industries. India's agricultural produce includes rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes. Major industries include textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum and machinery.
India's large
English speaking middle-class has contributed to the country's growth in
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). It is becoming a major base for US tech companies for future targeted research & development, including the likes of Google, IBM, Microsoft and so on. All this has helped the services sector to increase its share of the economy to approximately 50%.
India is also a major exporter of
financial,
research and technology services. India's most important trading partners are the
United States,
China,
UK,
Singapore,
Hong Kong, the
United Arab Emirates,
Switzerland and
Belgium.
India is the second-most populous country in the world with an estimated 1.1 billion people in 2006.
Language,
caste and religion are determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse population. Although 80.5% of the people are
Hindus, India is also home to the
second-largest population of
Muslims in the world (16.2%), after
Indonesia. Other religious groups include
Sikhs (2%),
Christians (2.43%),
Buddhists (0.76%),
Jains (0.40%),
Jews,
Zoroastrians,
Ahmadis, and
Bahá'Ãs.
The national average literacy rate is around 64.4%(with males-75.6% and females-54.2%). The state of
Kerala leads the country with a literacy rate of approximately 94%.
India has three main
ethnic groups. Seventy-Two percent of the population is
Indo-Aryan, twenty-five percent of the population is
Dravidian, and three percent of the rest of the population is primarily
Mongoloid or part of another minority ethnic group.[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html]
India's biggest
metropolitan agglomerations are
Mumbai (formerly
Bombay),
Delhi,
Kolkata (formerly
Calcutta),
Chennai (formerly
Madras),
Bangalore and
Hyderabad. The national
sex ratio is 933 females per 1,000 males and median age is 24.66. India's birth rate is 22.32 births per 1,000.
The total
fertility rate (TFR) for India is above the world average, however the growth rate is showing signs of decrease in
South India.
India is home to two major
linguistic families:
Indo-Aryan (spoken by about 74% of the population) and
Dravidian (spoken by about 24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the
Austro-Asiatic and
Tibeto-Burman linguistic families. The Indian constitution recognises 23 official languages.
and
English are used by the
Union Government of India for official purposes, wherein Hindi has a
de jure priority. The
classical languages native to the land are
Sanskrit and
Tamil. The number of
dialects in India is as high as 1,652.
[ ] |
The Taj Mahal in Agra is India's most popular tourist destination. |
India has a rich and unique cultural heritage, and has managed to preserve its established traditions throughout history whilst absorbing customs, traditions and ideas from both invaders and immigrants. Many cultural practices, languages, customs and monuments are examples of this co-mingling over centuries. Famous monuments, such as the
Taj Mahal and other examples of
Islamic-inspired architecture have been inherited from the Mughal dynasty. These are the result of a syncretic tradition that combined elements from all parts of the country.
Indian music is represented in a wide variety of forms. The two main forms of
classical music are
Carnatic from
South India, and
Hindustani from
North India, each of which has several popular sub classes. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being
Filmi music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of
folk music from different parts of the country. Many
classical dance forms exist, including the
Bharatanatyam,
Kathakali,
Kathak,
Kuchipudi, and
Manipuri. They often have a narrative form and are usually infused with devotional and spiritual elements.
The earliest
literary traditions in India were mostly oral, and were later transcribed. Most of these are represented by sacred works like the
Vedas and the epics of the
Mahabharata and
Ramayana.
Sangam literature from Tamil Nadu represents some of India's oldest traditions. There have been many notable modern Indian writers, both in Indian languages and
in English. Millions of ancient handwritten manuscripts have been identified and classified. India's only
Nobel laureate in literature was the
Bengali writer
Rabindranath Tagore. India is the third largest newspaper market in Asia with an estimated circulation of at least 66 million copies daily in 2003.
The nation also produces the world's second largest number of motion pictures every year. The most recognisable face is that of cinema production based in Mumbai, which produces mainly commercial Hindi films, often referred to as "
Bollywood". There are also strong cinema industries based on the
Bengali,
Malayalam,
Kannada,
Tamil and
Telugu languages.
India has had five
Miss World winners, a record for any country as of 2005.
|
Varanasi, the religious and cultural center of India for thousands of years is the oldest living city in the world and is considered as one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage for Hindus irrespective of denomination.["Oldest Holy city"] |
Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Religion in India is a very public affair, with many practices imbued with pomp and vitality accompanying their underlying spiritual qualities. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. Traditional Indian family values are highly respected, and considered sacred, although urban families have grown to prefer a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional
joint family system.
The
cuisine of India is diverse, as ingredients, spices and cooking methods vary from region to region. Rice and wheat are the staple foods in the country. The country is notable for its wide variety of
vegetarian and non-vegetarian
cuisine. Spicy food and sweets are popular in India.
Traditional dress in India greatly varies across the regions in its colours and styles, and depend on various factors, including climate. Popular styles of dress include the traditional
sari for women and the traditional
dhoti for men.
India's national sport is
field hockey, although
cricket is now the
de facto national game. In some states, particularly in the northeast,
football (soccer) is the most popular sport and is widely watched. In recent times,
tennis has gained popularity in India.
Chess is also gaining popularity with the rise of the number of recognised
grandmasters. The most commonly held view is that chess originated in India. Traditional indigenous sports include
kabaddi,
Kho Kho and
gilli-danda, which are played in most parts of the country.
India is also known as a land of festivals. A melting pot of many religions, India has a rich diversity of
festivals, many of which are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. The most widely known and popular celebrations include the Hindu festivals of
Diwali,
Holi,
Pongal and
Dussehra and the Muslim celebration of
Eid.
A number of festivals are common to most parts of India; however, they may be called by different names in the various parts of the country or may be celebrated in a different fashion and style. India has three National Holidays. Other sets of holidays, varying from nine to twelve, pertain to festivals, religious holidays and births of leaders which are legislated by the individual states.
Government
* Official portal of the Government of India
* Government of India Directory â€" Directory of Central and State government websites
* Lok Sabha (Lower House)
* Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
* Supreme Court
* Office of the Prime Minister
* Office of the President
; Other*
Encyclopaedia Britannica, India - Country Page*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html CIA World Factbook article on India]
*
BBC Country Profile on Indiaroa-rup:Indiafiu-vro:Indiazh-yue:å°åº¦
