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Republic of India
Bhrat Ga arjya
Flag
Emblem
Motto:
"Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)
(Devangar)
[1]
Anthem:
Jana Gana Mana
"Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People"
[2]
National song:[a]
Vande Mataram
"I Bow to Thee, Mother"
[1]
Capital
and largest city
Official languages
Recognised
regional languages
National languages
New Delhi
2836.8N 7712.5E
Hindi, English[show]
8th Schedule:[show]
None defined by the
Constitution[3]
Demonym
Indian
Federal parliamentary
Government
constitutional republic[1]
- President
Pranab Mukherjee
- Prime Minister
Narendra Modi (NDA)
- Speaker of the House Sumitra Mahajan (NDA)
- Chief Justice
H L Dattu
Legislature
Parliament of India
- Upper house
Rajya Sabha
- Lower house
Lok Sabha
Independence from the United Kingdom
- Declared
15 August 1947
- Republic
26 January 1950
Area
3,287,263 km2[upper-alpha 1] (7th)
- Total
1,269,219 sq mi
- Water (%)
9.56
Population
- 2011 census
1,210,193,422[4] (2nd)
383.9/km2 (31st)
- Density
994.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2011 estimate
- Total
$4.469 trillion[5] (3rd)
- Per capita
$3,703[5]
GDP (nominal)
2011 estimate
- Total
$1.996 trillion[5] (9th)
- Per capita
$1,527[5]
36.8[6]
Gini (2004)
medium 79th
0.641[7]
HDI (2011)
medium 79th
Currency
Indian rupee ( ) (INR)
Time zone
IST (UTC+05:30)
- Summer (DST)
not observed (UTC+05:30)
Date format
dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the
left
Calling code
91
.in
Internet TLD
Other TLDs[show]
Footnotes[show]
India is the largest democracy in the world by population.[9] The capital of India is New Delhi.
India is a peninsula, bound by the Indian Ocean in the south, the Arabian Sea on the west and
Bay of Bengal in the east. The coastline of India is of about 7,517 km (4,671 mi) long.[10] India
has the third largest army in the world[11][12] and nuclear weapons.[13]
India gets its name from the Greek word, Indus. It means "the people who live near the Indus
River."
India is a growing economy, regarded as the fastest growing country in the world along with
China.[14] In terms of Literacy and wealth, India has done a good job.[15] Although it's regarded as
the 83rd most corrupt nation out of 174 most recognized countries,[16] as per Corruption
Perceptions Index, Indian government has faced thousands of protests since April 2011, where
people have demanded many major politicians to resign, and give up all the money which they
have earned through corruption.[17]
India is a founding member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and has signed the Kyoto
Protocol.
India has the largest number of spoken languages per country in the world. Many people of
different religions live there.
Contents
2 History
3 Defence
4 Government
6 Indian states
8 Economy
9 People
10 Languages
11 Culture
12 Technology
13 Sports
14 Notes
15 References
16 Other websites
The National emblem of India shows four lions standing back-to-back. The lions symbolise
power, pride, confidence, and courage (bravery). Only the government can use this emblem,
according to the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005.
History
History
The Taj Mahal in Agra was built by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is thought to be of "outstanding universal value".[18]
Main page: History of India
Two of the main Classical languages of the world Sanskrit and Tamil, were born in India. Both
of these languages are more than 3000 years old. The country founded a religion called
Hinduism, which most Indians still follow. Later, a king called Ashoka built an empire called the
Maurya dynasty in 300 BC. It made most of South Asia into one whole country.[19] From 180 BC,
many other countries invaded India. Even later (100 BC AD 1100), other Indian dynasties
(empires) came, including the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas.[20] South India at that
time was famous for its very good science, art, and writing.
Many dynasties ruled India around the year 1000. Some of these were the Mughal, Vijayanagara,
and the Maratha empires. In the 1600s, European countries invaded India, and the British
controlled most of India by 1856.[21]
In the early 1900s, millions of people peacefully started to protest. One of the people who were
leading the freedom movement was Mahatma Gandhi, who only used peaceful tactics, including
a way called "ahinsa", which means "non-violence".[22] On 15 August 1947, India peacefully
became free and independent from the British Empire. India's constitution was founded on 26
January 1950. Every year, on this day, Indians celebrate Republic Day. The first official leader
(Prime Minister) of India was Jawaharlal Nehru.
After 1947, India has had a socialist planned economy. It is one founding member of the NonAligned Movement and the United Nations. It has fought many wars since independence from
Britain, including in 1947-48, 1965, 1971, and 1999 with Pakistan and in 1962 with China. It
also fought a war to capture Goa, a Portuguese-built port and city which was not a part of India
until 1961. The Portuguese refused to give it to the country, and so India had to use force and the
Portuguese were defeated. India has also done nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998, and it is one of the
few countries that has nuclear bombs.[23] Since 1991, India has been one of the fastest-growing
economies in the world.[24]
The first in India
Title
Oscar for Lifetime Achievement
Man who conquered Mt. Everest
Woman who conquered Mt. Everest
Name of person
Satyajit Ray
Tenzing Norgay
Bachendri Pal
Defence
India's Gurkha soldiers are famous around the world for their bravery.
Government
Year
1992
1953
1984
Parliament of India.
India is the largest democracy in the world.[9]
India's government is divided into three parts: the Legislative (the one that makes the laws, the
Parliament), the Executive (the government), and the Judiciary (the one that makes sure that the
laws are obeyed, the supreme court).
The legislative branch is made up of the Parliament of India, which is in New Delhi, the capital
of India. The Parliament of India is divided into two groups: the upper house, Rajya Sabha
(Council of States); and the lower house, Lok Sabha (House of People). The Rajya Sabha has
250 members,[25] and the Lok Sabha has 552 members.[25]
The executive branch is made up of the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, and the
Council of Ministers. The President of India is elected for five years. The President can choose
the Prime Minister, who has most of the power. The Council of Ministers, such as the Minister of
Defence, help the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India on May
16, 2014. He is the 19th Prime Minister of India.
The judicial branch is made up of the courts of India, including the Supreme Court. The Chief
Justice of India is the head of the Supreme Court. Supreme Court members have the power to
stop a law being passed by Parliament if they think that the law is illegal and contradicts
(opposes) the Constitution of India.[26] In India, there are also 21 High Courts.
Rivers of India
India is the seventh largest country in the world. It is the main part of the Indian subcontinent.
The countries next to India are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Bhutan, and Nepal. It is
also near Sri Lanka, an island country.
India is a peninsula, which means that it is surrounded on three sides by water. One of the seven
wonders of the world is located in Agra the Taj Mahal. In the west is the Arabian Sea, in the
south is the Indian Ocean, and in the east is the Bay of Bengal. The northern part of India has
many mountains. The most famous mountain range in India is the Himalayas, which have some
of the tallest mountains in the world. There are many rivers in India. The main rivers are the
Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, the Kaveri, the Narmada, and the Krishna.
India has different climates.[27] In the South, the climate is mainly tropical, which means it can
get very hot in summer and cool in winter.[27] The northern part, though, has a cooler climate,
called sub-tropical, and even alpine in mountainous regions.[27] The Himalayas, in the alpine
climate region, can get extremely cold. There is very heavy rainfall along the west coast and in
the Eastern Himalayan foothills. The west, though, is drier. Because of some of the deserts of
India, all of India gets rain for four months of the year. That time is called the monsoon. That is
because the deserts attract water-filled winds from the Indian Ocean, which give rain when they
come into India. When the monsoon rains come late or not so heavily, droughts (when the land
dries out because there is less rain) are possible.
Indian states
For administration purposes, India has been divided into smaller pieces. Most of these pieces are
called states, some are called union territories. States and union territories are different in the
way they are represented. Most union territories are ruled by administrators sent by the central
government. All the states, and the territories of Dehli, and Puducherry elect their local
government themselves. In total, there are twenty-nine states, and seven union territories.[28]
States:
States
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Capitals
Hyderabad
Itanagar
Dispur
Patna
Raipur
Panaji
Gandhi nagar
Chandigarh
Shimla
Srinagar (summer)
Jammu (winter)
Ranchi
Bangalore
Tiruvanananthapuram
Bhopal
Mumbai
Imphal
Shillong
Aizawl
Kohima
Bhubaneshwar
Code
AP
AR
AS
BR
CT
GA
GJ
HR
HP
JK
JH
KA
KL
MP
MH
MN
ML
MZ
NL
OR
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Telangana
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Chandigarh
Jaipur
Gangtok
Chennai
Hyderabad
Agartala
Lucknow
Dehra Dun
Kolkatta
PB
RJ
SK
TN
TG
TR
UP
UT
WB
Union territories:
Union territory
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Daman and Diu
Delhi
Lakshadweep
Puducherry
Capital
Port Blair
Chandigarh
Silvassa
Daman
Delhi
Kavaratti
Puducherry
Economy
Main page: Economy of India
The economy of the country is among world's fastest growing. The economy of India is the 3rd
largest in the world with a GDP of $4798 billion. In terms of PPP, the economy is 3rd largest
(worth $4.798 trillion U.S.). The growth rate is 8.25% for fiscal 2010. However, that is still
$3678 (considering PPP) per person per year. India's economy is based mainly on service
sector=43%, Industries=41%, I.T=7%, farming=7%, Outsourcing=2%.
India's economy is diverse. Major industries include automobiles, cement, chemicals, consumer
electronics, food processing, machinery, mining, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, steel,
transportation equipment, and textiles.[31]
However, despite economic growth, India suffers from poverty. 27.5% of the population was
living in poverty in 20042005.[32] In addition, 80.4% of the population live on less than USD $2
a day,[33] which was lowered to 68% by 2009.[34]
People
Languages
There are many different languages and cultures in India. The only geographical place with more
different languages and cultures is the African continent.[28] There are two main language
families in India, the Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages. About 69% of Indians speak an
Indo-Arayan language, about 26% speak a Dravidian language. Other languages spoken in India
come from the Austro-Asiatic group. Around 5% of the people speak a Tibeto-Burman language.
Hindi is the official language in India with the largest number of speakers.[40] It is the official
language of the union.[41] Native speakers of Hindi represent about 41% of the Indian population
(2001 Indian census). English is also used, mostly for business and in the administration. It has
the status of a 'subsidiary official language'.[42] The constitution also recognises 21 other
languages. Either many people speak those languages, or they have been recognised to be very
important for Indian culture. The number of dialects in India is as high as 1,652.[39]
In the south of India, many people speak Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. In the north,
many people speak Chhattisgarhi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi, Oriya, and Bihari.[43]
[44]
India has 23 official languages. Its constitution lists the name of the country in each of the
languages.[45] Hindi and English (listed in boldface) are the "official languages of the union"
(Union meaning the Federal Government in Delhi);[46] Tamil and Sanskrit kannada are officially
the "classical languages of India."
Language
Long form
English
Pronunciation
Short form
Assamese
Bhrt Gn rj
Bharot
Bengali
Brt Gn rj
Bharot
Republic of India
India
Bhartiya Prajasattak
Bhrata Gan arjya Bhrat
Bhrata Gan arjya Bhrat
Bodo
Dogri
English[31]
Gujarati
Rajasthani
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Malayalam
Manipuri (also Meitei or
Meithei)
Marathi
Nepali
Oriya
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Santhali
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
Culture
Bhratam
Bhratam
Bhartiya Prajasattak
Brat Gan arya
Bharata
Bhrat Gantantar
Bhrata
Gan arjyam
Bhrat
Brat
Bharata
Bhrat
Bhrata
Indiyak-Kudiyarasu
India/Bharadham
Brata Gan a
Bhrath
Rjyamu
Jumhryat-e Bhrat Bhrat
Religion in India[47]
Religion
Percent
Hinduism
81.0%
Islam
12.8%
Christianity
2.9%
Sikhism
1.9%
Buddhism
0.8%
Jainism
0.4%
Others
0.7%
Cave paintings from the Stone Age are found across India. They show dances and rituals and
suggest there was a prehistoric religion. During the Epic and Puranic periods, the earliest
versions of the epic poems Ramayana and Mahabharata were written from about 500100 BCE,
[48]
although these were orally transmitted for centuries before this period.[49] Other South Asian
Stone Age sites apart from Pakistan are in modern India, such as the Bhimbetka rock shelters in
central Madhya Pradesh and the Kupgal petroglyphs of eastern Karnataka, contain rock art
showing religious rites and evidence of possible ritualised music.[50]
practices are very similar. These similarities mainly come from the fact that these religions have
a common history and common origins. They also influenced each other.
The religion of Hinduism is the main faith followed by 81.0% of people in the Republic of India;
Islam 12.8%; Christianity 2.9%; Sikhism 1.9%; Buddhism 0.8% and Jainism 0.4%.[52]
Technology
India has sent a space shuttle to Mars for the first time in 2014. It was called the Mars Orbiter
Mission. It took lesser money compared to the Hollywood movie, Gravity.
Sports
A 2008 Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket match being played between the Chennai Super
Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders
Main page: Sports in India
India's official national sport is field hockey which is controlled by the Indian Hockey
Federation. The Indian field hockey team won the 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup. They have
also won eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the Olympic games. However, cricket
is the most popular sport in India. The India cricket team won the 1983 and 2011 Cricket World
Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. They shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy with Sri
Lanka. Cricket in India is controlled by the Board of Control for Cricket in India or BCCI.
Domestic tournaments are the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, the Irani
Trophy and the Challenger Series. There is also the Indian cricket league and Indian premier
league Twenty20 competitions.
Tennis has become popular due to the victories of the India Davis Cup team. Association football
is also a popular sport in northeast India, West Bengal, Goa and Kerala.[53] The Indian national
football team has won the South Asian Football Federation Cup many times. Chess, which comes
from India, is also becoming popular. This is with the increase in the number of Indian
Grandmasters.[54] Traditional sports include kabaddi, kho kho, and gilli-danda, which are played
throughout India.
Notes
1.
"[...] Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations
in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande
Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be
honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it." (Constituent
Assembly of India 1950).
2.
"The countrys exact size is subject to debate because some borders are disputed.
The Indian government lists the total area as 3,287,260 km2 (1,269,220 sq mi) and the
total land area as 3,060,500 km2 (1,181,700 sq mi); the United Nations lists the total area
as 3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi) and total land area as 2,973,190 km2
(1,147,960 sq mi)." (Library of Congress 2004).
References
1.
2.
Wolpert 2003, p. 1.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/indiaatglance.html
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
http://thebricspost.com/china-india-to-grow-fastest-in-world-imf/
15.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-economic-wealth-literacy-rising-courtcases-report-india-today/1/242401.html
16.
http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/
17.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-21/indians-divide-over-policing-awatchdog-world-view.html
18.
"Taj Mahal". World Heritage List. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 28
September 2007. "The World Heritage List includes 851 properties forming part of the
cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having
outstanding universal value."
19.
20.
21.
22.
Concise Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersly Limited. 1997. pp. p. 455. ISBN 07513-5911-4 .
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
Concise Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersly Limited. 1997. pp. p. 333. ISBN 07513-5911-4 .
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html
35.
36.
Concise Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersly Limited. 1997. pp. p. 332. ISBN 07513-5911-4 .
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
Religious Composition
48.
49.
50.
"Ancient Indians made 'rock music'". BBC News. 19 March 2004. Retrieved
2007-08-07.
51.
52.
"Census of India 2001, Data on Religion". Census of India. Retrieved April 12,
2007.
53.
54.
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