The name India is derived from Sindhu, the local name for the river Indus. The Hindi word for India is Bharat (pronounced as bhaarat), derived from the Sanskrit Bharatam, meaning land of Bharata (a wise and pious king of ancient times). India was also known as Hindustan (the land of the Hindus), but this name was depopularised after independence in 1947 as India chose to be a secular country.
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| National motto: Satyameva Jayate (Sanskrit: Truth Alone Triumphs) | |||||
| Official language | Hindi (+17 other national languages) | ||||
| Capital | New Delhi | ||||
| Largest City | Mumbai | ||||
| President | APJ Abdul Kalam | ||||
| Prime Minister | Atal Behari Vajpayee | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 7th 3,287,590 kmē 9.5% | ||||
| Population - Total - Density | Ranked 2nd
1,049,700,118 319.3/km² | ||||
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GDP
- Total - GDP/head | Ranked 4th
2,66 trillions $ 2,540 $ | ||||
| Independence | August 15, 1947 | ||||
| Currency | Indian Rupee (INR) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +5.30 | ||||
| National anthem | Jana-Gana-Mana | ||||
| National song | Vande Mataram | ||||
| Internet TLD | .IN | ||||
| Calling Code | 91 | ||||
| Table of contents |
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2 Politics 3 States and territories 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External links |
The rock art tradition of India has been traced to about 40,000 years ago in the paleolithic at Bhimbetaka in Central India and other sites. The first permanent settlements in South Asia appeared about 9,000 years ago. This indigenous culture developed into the Indus Valley civilization (also referred to by some as the Sindhu-Sarasvati Tradition), which was at its height from around 2600 BC to 1900 BC and was one of the earliest civilisations.
Around 1500 BC, the influx of Aryan tribes from the northwest of India and to some extent their merger with the earlier inhabitants resulted in the classical Vedic culture. The earlier, more widely known, viewpoint was that this influx was through a sudden and violent invasion. However, recent thinking tends to favor the idea that there may have been a more gradual migration. (See Aryan invasion theory.) Eventually, Aryan culture, language, and religion became predominant in the region.
Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkic in the 12th were followed by incursions by European traders beginning in the late 15th century.
By subjugating the Mughal empire in the 19th century, the British Empire had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Mostly nonviolent resistance to British colonialism under Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru led to independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. Pakistan occupied two noncontiguous areas, and a civil war between West and East Pakistan in 1971, in which India eventually intervened, resulted in the sedition of East Pakistan to form the separate nation of Bangladesh.
Fundamental concerns in India include the ongoing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, massive overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife, all this despite impressive gains in economic investment and output.
India is a Union of states with an increasingly federal structure. Officially it is declared as The Republic of India. India has as head of state a president, whose duties are largely ceremonial. The president and vice president are elected indirectly for 5-year terms by a special electoral college. Their terms are staggered, and the vice president does not automatically become president following the death or removal from office of the president.
Executive power is centred in the Council of Ministers (cabinet), led by the prime minister. The president appoints the prime minister, who is designated by legislators of the political party or coalition commanding a parliamentary majority. The president then appoints subordinate ministers on the advice of the prime minister.
India's bicameral parliament consists of the upper house called 'The Council of States' (Rajya Sabha) and the lower House called 'The House of the People' (Lok Sabha), both of which were established by the Constitution of India. The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha. The legislatures of the states and union territories elect 233 members to the Rajya Sabha, and the president appoints another 12. The elected members of the Rajya Sabha serve 6-year terms, with one-third up for election every 2 years. The Lok Sabha consists of 545 members; 543 are directly elected to 5-year terms. The other two are appointed by the president.
India is subdivided into 28 states, 6 union territories (marked by a *) and the national capital territory of Delhi:
History
Main article: History of IndiaPolitics
Main article: Politics of IndiaStates and territories
Main article: States and territories of India
| Map shows parts of Kashmir claimed by India, but controlled by Pakistan, as part of Pakistan. |
Located on the Indian subcontinent, India consists roughly of three major parts; in the north the massive Himalayas mountain range (with the highest point being the Kanchenjunga at 8,598 m) and the Indo-Gangetic plain (with deserts in the western end), and in the south the extensive Deccan plateau. The latter is part of a large peninsula in between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west, with both being part of the greater Indian Ocean.
India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari and the Krishna. A small part of the upper course of the name-giving Indus lies within Indian territory. The Indian climate varies from tropical monsoons in the south to more temperate climate in the north.
India's economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services, including software. In fact, India's software exports alone are around $10 billion(2003). However, a quarter of the population is still too poor to be able to afford an adequate diet. India's international payments position remained strong in 2001 with adequate foreign exchange reserves, and moderately depreciating nominal exchange rates.
As measured by GDP in US Dollars, India's 2002 output of $481 billion ranked it 12th in the world. As measured by GDP on Purchasing Power Parity basis, India's 2002 figure of $2.66 trillion makes it the fourth largest in the world.
Growth in manufacturing output has slowed, and electricity shortages continue in many regions. India has large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language; India is a major exporter of software services and software workers.
See also List of software companies, List of Indian companies
India is the second-most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today.
Hindi, in the Devanagari script, is the only official federal language and individual states and territories have adopted 17 other co-official languages. These are the Dravidian languages of Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu, and the Indo-Aryan languages of Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Nepali, Konkani and the classical language of Sanskrit. Many other languages belonging to both groups are spoken as well. English, classified as a "official associate language", is still widely in use in law and government, particularly in the higher echelons. It enjoys a quasi-official status in the national government, and according to the Constitution, this status is to be periodically reviewed. However, its popularity in business and government affairs and its favourability as a "national language" by certain non-Hindi speaking states have led to its continued patronage.
Although 83% of the people are Hindus, India is home to the world's second largest Muslim population. Other smaller religious minorities include Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, jews and Parsis.
The caste system once reflected Indian occupational and religiously defined hierarchies. Traditionally, there were four broad categories of castes (varnas), though they consisted of thousands of castes and subcastes, whose relative status varied from region to region. The caste system was an important social factor for most Indians till the early 1900's. The embracement of the lower castes into the mainstream community was brought about by Mahatma Gandhi who called them "Harijans" (people of God). Presently, India has tough laws against discrimination on the basis of caste. There is a policy for the socio-economic upliftment of the erstwhile lower castes, by the provision of free education till graduation, reservation of admission seats in institutions for higher education, a 50% quota in government jobs and faster promotions. However, caste remains a significant factor in the political life of the country as well as in some social customs such as marriage.
See also Religion in India, Religions of India, Indian family name
Indian culture is an expression of the numerous and successive waves of influences in the sub-continent with the Northern part of India being subjected to this more than the South.
In Indian music, two main forms are the Carnatic and the Hindustani, the former from South India, a much purer form and the latter from North India deriving a lot from Muslim infuences. (See Indian classical music)
In Indian literature, oral and written forms prevail. Apart from the Vedas which are a sacred form of knowledge, there are other works such as the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharatha, treatises such as Vaastu Shastra in architecture and town planning and Artha Shastra in political science. Urdu poetry is an example of a linguistic synthesis. The literature of the Sangam period in Tamil is renowned.
Many dance forms exist in India - Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Kathakali, etc., mostly they have a narrative form, telling stories. Other forms such as street theatre and puppetry are also found. (See Indian classical dance and Indian folk music and dance)
There are many festivals in India - Diwali, Vijayadasami, Pongal, etc. Many are not only religion-based but also involve glorifying important stages in a person's life, seasonal cycles, etc.
Indian science was advanced in ancient times - Aryabhatta and Bhaskara were important scientists who studied planetary motion. The Arabic numerals were an Indian invention.
Traditional dresses in India include the Sari (Saree), Salwar Kameez, Dhoti and Kurta.
In Indian cuisine, rice and wheat form the staple diet. Some popular dishes include Thali- a full fledged meal, Dosa, Idli and Chapati.
Movies are an integral part of everyday life in India, most notably the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu for their commercial bases, and Bengali and Malayalam for its artistic leanings. Also see Cinema of India.
Though each region has a specific culture, in recent times there is a growing tendency to merge boundaries and imbibe aspects from other regions. Also, with increasing globalization, and due to the liberalization of the Indian economy in the early 1990s, there has been influence of Western culture. So there is Indi-pop in music , Hinglish or Tanglish- English flavoured with terms from local language used most prominently in fields such as advertising, pizzas with indigenous spices, experimental dance and theatre forms, and so on. The invasion of cable TV has spawned an entirely new popular culture.
Apart from these historical and context specific forms, what an Indian sees as important in Indian culture are abstract qualities such as hospitality, family values, acceptance and toleration of differences, resilience and co-existence.
India's official national sport is field hockey, although some would assert that it is, in fact, cricket, that has become the unofficial national game. In fact, so popular is cricket that it has made India the game's financial powerhouse, even to the point that, as some observers claim, it has become India's fastest growing industry. Some other popular sports are tennis, badminton and chess (chess is supposed to have originated in India). Some traditional indigenous games are kabaddi, gilli-danda, polo and, indeed, badminton, which was invented in a British club in Pune in the 16th century.
See also: Indian architecture
Economy
Main article Economy of IndiaDemographics
Main article: Demographics of IndiaCulture
Main article: Culture of IndiaMiscellaneous topics
External links
Official
Other
India is also the letter I in the NATO phonetic alphabet