India

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This article is about the Republic of India. For other uses, see India (disambiguation).

Republic of India
भारत गणराज्य*
Bhārat Ganarājya

Flag Emblem

Motto: "Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit)

सत्यमेव जयते  (Devanāgarī)
"Truth Alone Triumphs"[1]

Anthem: 

Jana Gana Mana

[2]
Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people

National Song[4]
Vande Mataram
[3]
I bow to thee, Mother
 Area controlled by India in dark green;

Claimed but uncontrolled territories in light green

Capital New Delhi

Largest city Mumbai

Official language(s) Hindi, English[show]

Recognised
8th Schedule:[show]
regional languages

None defined by the

National languages
constitution.[8]

Demonym Indian

Federal parliamentary
Government
constitutional republic[9]

 -  President Pratibha Patil

 -  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (INC)

 -  Speaker of the House Meira Kumar (INC)

 -  Chief Justice S. H. Kapadia

Legislature Sansad

 -  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 ‡
  (7th)
 - 
1,269,219 sq mi 

 -  Water (%) 9.56

Population

 -  2011 estimate 1,193,247,000[10] (2nd)

 -  2001 census 1,028,610,328[11] 

363/km2 (31st)
 -  Density
940.1/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate

 -  Total $4.001 trillion[12] (4th)

 -  Per capita $3,290[12] (127th)

 GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate

 -  Total $1.430 trillion[12] (11th)

 -  Per capita $1,176[12] (137th)

Gini (2004) 36.8[13] (79th)

HDI (2010) 0.519[14] (medium) (119th)

Currency Indian rupee ( ) (INR)

Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)

 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+5:30)

Date formats dd/mm/yyyy (AD)

Drives on the left

ISO 3166 code IN

Internet TLD .in

Calling code 91

Non-numbered Footnotes:[show]

India ( i /ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Hindi: भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya;
see also official names of India), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by
geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most
populous democracy in the world.[16] Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the
south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east; and it is bordered by
Pakistan to the west;[note 1] Bhutan, the People's Republic of China and Nepal to the north; and
Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, mainland India and the Lakshadweep
Islands are in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while India's Andaman and Nicobar
Islands share maritime border with Thailand and the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the
Andaman Sea.[17] India has a coastline of 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi).[18]
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast
empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much
of its long history.[19] Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and
Sikhism—originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the
first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture.[citation needed] Gradually annexed by the
British East India Company from the early 18th century and colonised by the United Kingdom
from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for
independence which was marked by a non-violent resistance led by Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi.

India is a federal constitutional republic with a parliamentary democracy consisting of 28 states

and seven union territories. A pluralistic, multilingual and multiethnic society where more than
400[20] languages are spoken, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected
habitats. The Indian economy is the world's eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and the
fourth largest by purchasing power parity. Since the introduction of market-based economic
reforms in 1991, India has become one of the fastest growing major economies in the world;[21]
however, the country continues to face several poverty, illiteracy, corruption and public health
related challenges. India is classified as a newly industrialised country and is one of the four
BRIC nations.[22][23] It is the world's sixth de facto recognised nuclear weapons state and has the
third-largest standing armed force in the world, while its military expenditure ranks tenth in the
world.[24] India is a regional power in South Asia.[25]

It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the World Trade
Organization, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the East Asia Summit, the
G20 and the G8+5; a member of the Commonwealth of Nations; and an observer state in the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Etymology
 2 History
 3 Geography
o 3.1 Climate
o 3.2 Biodiversity
 4 Politics
o 4.1 Government
o 4.2 Judiciary
o 4.3 Administrative divisions
o 4.4 Foreign relations
o 4.5 Military
 5 Economy
 6 Demographics
o 6.1 Languages
  7 Culture
o 7.1 Society and traditions
o 7.2 Music, dance, theatre and cinema
o 7.3 Cuisine
o 7.4 Sport
 8 See also
 9 Notes
 10 References
 11 External links

Etymology
Main article: Names of India

The name India is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from
Sanskrit सिन्धु Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River.[26] The ancient Greeks
referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), the people of the Indus.[27] The Constitution of India and
common usage in various Indian languages also recognise Bharat (pronounced [ˈbʱaːrət̪ ]  (
listen)) as an official name of equal status.[28] The name Bharat is derived from the name of the
legendary king Bharata in Hindu scriptures. Hindustan ([ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪ aːn]  ( listen)), originally a
Persian word for “Land of the Hindus” referring to northern India and Pakistan before 1947, is
also occasionally used as a synonym for all of India.[29]

History
The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.
Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (February 2011)
Main articles: History of India and History of the Republic of India

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh are the
earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared
about 8,500 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation,[30] dating back
to 3400 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic period, which laid the foundations
of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society, and ended in the 500s BCE. From
around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were
established across the country.[31]
Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, sixth century

In the third century BCE, most of South Asia was united into the Maurya Empire by
Chandragupta Maurya and flourished under Ashoka the Great.[32] From the third century CE, the
Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient "India's Golden Age".[33][34] Empires in
southern India included those of the Chalukyas, the Cholas and the Vijayanagara Empire.
Science, technology, engineering, art, logic, language, literature, mathematics, astronomy,
religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.

Following invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 12th centuries, much of northern
India came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire. Under the rule of
Akbar the Great, India enjoyed much cultural and economic progress as well as religious
harmony.[35][36] Mughal emperors gradually expanded their empires to cover large parts of the
subcontinent. However, in northeastern India, the dominant power was the Ahom kingdom of
Assam, among the few kingdoms to have resisted Mughal subjugation. The first major threat to
Mughal imperial power came from a Hindu Rajput king Maha Rana Pratap of Mewar in the 16th
century and later from a Hindu state known as the Maratha confederacy, that ruled much of India
in the mid-18th century.[37]

From the 16th century, European powers such as Portugal, the Netherlands, France, and Great
Britain established trading posts and later took advantage of internal conflicts to establish
colonies. By 1856, most of India had come under the control of the British East India Company.
[38]
A year later, a nationwide insurrection of rebelling military units and kingdoms, known as
India's First War of Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny, seriously challenged the Company's
control but eventually failed. As a result of the instability, India was brought under the direct rule
of the British Crown.
Mahatma Gandhi (right) with Jawaharlal Nehru, 1937. Nehru would go on to become India's first
prime minister in 1947.

In the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National
Congress and other political organisations.[39] A large part of the movement for independence
was led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, which led millions of people in
several national campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience.[40]

On 15 August 1947, India gained independence from British rule, but at the same time the
Muslim-majority areas were partitioned to form a separate state of Pakistan.[41] On 26 January
1950, India became a republic and a new constitution came into effect.[42]

Since independence, India has faced challenges from religious violence, casteism, naxalism,
terrorism and regional separatist insurgencies, especially in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast
India. Since the 1990s terrorist attacks have affected many Indian cities. India has unresolved
territorial disputes with the People's Republic of China, which, in 1962, escalated into the Sino-
Indian War, and with Pakistan, which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. India is a
founding member of the United Nations (as British India) and the Non-Aligned Movement.

India is a state armed with nuclear weapons; having conducted its first nuclear test in 1974,[43]
followed by another five tests in 1998.[43] Beginning 1991, significant economic reforms[44] have
transformed India into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, increasing its global
clout.[21]

Geography
Main article: Geography of India
See also: Geological history of India
Topographic map of India.

The territory controlled by India, the major portion of the Indian subcontinent, lies between
latitudes 6° and 36° N, and longitudes 68° and 98° E. The country sits atop the Indian tectonic
plate, a minor plate within the Indo-Australian Plate.[45]

India's defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when the
Indian subcontinent, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a northeastwards
drift—lasting fifty million years—across the then unformed Indian Ocean.[45] The subcontinent's
subsequent collision with the Eurasian Plate and subduction under it, gave rise to the Himalayas,
the planet's highest mountains, which now abut India in the north and the north-east.[45] In the
former seabed immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast
trough, which, having gradually been filled with river-borne sediment,[46] now forms the Indo-
Gangetic Plain.[47] To the west of this plain, and cut off from it by the Aravalli Range, lies the
Thar Desert