Republic of India

Capital
• New Delhi
Area
• 1,269,000 mi²
Population
• 1.3 billion
Terrain
• Plains in northeast,
central, & south
• Desert in

northwest
• Himalayas in north

Climate
• Tropical in south
• Arid in northwest

• Cold tundra in the

high mountains
Currency
• Indian rupee (INR)

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 Republic of India

Navy Center for Language, Regional Expertise & Culture (CLREC):

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 Republic of India
Ethnic Diversity
• Indo-Aryan (72%)
• Dravidian (25%)
• Other (3%)

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 Republic of India
Relations with U.S. & USN
• Located in the U.S. 7th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR)
• Major U.S. defense partner
• U.S. & Indian navies work to promote cooperation and
stronger ties
• Major ports/operational areas:
• Chennai
• Goa
• Mumbai (Bombay)
• Visakhapatnam
• Joint exercises/engagements:
• Subject matter expert exchanges
• Cooperative deployments
• Exercise Malabar

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 Republic of India
Social Norms & Customs
• Family is fundamental
• Hierarchal society - respect for age and rank is important
• Patriarchal society - men hold more power than women
• Same-sex couples protected by law - still face discrimination
• PDA is inappropriate for all couples
• Hinduism, Islam & Christianity are influential on culture and
society
• Many national holidays are either Hindu, Islamic, or
Christian, and vary by region

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 Republic of India
Meeting & Greeting Etiquette
• Relaxed sense of punctuality in social settings
• Eye contact with individuals of same sex
• Individuals of same sex may stand closer together
• Appropriate to shake hands with men, but wait for women to
initiate a greeting
• Use titles and honorifics:
• “Mr.” and “Mrs.” as in the U.S.
• “Shri” [shree] and “Shrimati” [shree-mah-tee], for men
and women, respectively

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 Republic of India
Conversational Etiquette
• Appropriate to discuss family, work, hobbies, or interests
• Men should not initiate a conversation with a woman
• DO NOT discuss Hindu-Muslim relations, India-Pakistan
conflict, or critique India
• AVOID yes or no questions, or being direct when saying no
• AVOID challenging the decisions of senior-ranking
individuals

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 Republic of India
Dining/Social Etiquette
• Always accept food or drink
• Eat with the first three fingers on your right hand
• Leave a little on your plate
• Follow DOD ethics guidelines for paying bill
• Be aware of dietary laws
• Leave 10% tip if no service charge is included
• DO NOT use your left hand to pick up or serve food
• DO NOT offer beef to Hindus
• DO NOT offer pork to Muslims

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 Republic of India
Do
✔ Show respect to elders and higher-ranking individuals

✔ Use titles & honorifics

✔ Shake hands with men

✔ Wait for a woman to initiate the greeting

✔ Build rapport & connect on a personal level

✔ Remove shoes at mosques and temples

✔ Respect religious figures and artifacts

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 Republic of India
Don’t
X Challenge decisions of senior-ranking individuals
X Ask yes or no questions
X Be direct or frank when giving negative response
X Show the soles of your feet or use your left hand to eat or
shake hands
X Wear leather or harm a cow
X Touch someone of the opposite sex unnecessarily
X Discuss Hindu-Muslim relations or India-Pakistan conflict

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 Republic of India
Military Culture
• Branches of the Indian Armed Forces:
• Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force
• Voluntary membership only - eligibility determined by age,
education level, and marital status
• Women only allowed to join as officers; may serve in select
combat roles
• Indian service members salute with their palms facing out
• Customary to greet (salute, if applicable) senior-ranking
individuals first

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 Republic of India
Ranks & Insignia

Rear Admiral Lt. Commander Master Chief P.O. 2nd

Commodore Lieutenant Chief Petty Officer

Captain Sub-Lieutenant Petty Officer

Commander Master Chief P.O. 1st Leading Seaman

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 Republic of India
Language
• 22 official languages
• Indo-European languages
• Hindi, Bengali, Konkani
• Dravidian languages
• Telugu, Tamil

Religion
• Hindu (80%)
• Muslim (14%)
• Christian (2.3%)
• Sikh (1.7%)
• Other/unspecified (2%)

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 Republic of India
Common Polite Phrases
English Hindi
(Pronunciation)
हाँ
Yes hah

ना
No nah

कृ पया
Please krip-ah-yah

धन्यवाद
Thank you dhan-yah-wahd

नमस्ते/ नमस्कार
Hello nah-mah-stay/ nah-mah-skar

अलमवदा
Goodbye al-vee-dah

सुनये
Excuse me soon-yay

क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते ह�?

Do you speak English? kyā āhp aṅg-rēzī bowl-teh haṅe

आप सेममल कर ख़ुशी हुई

Pleased to meet you ahp-say mil-kar
khoo-shee huwee

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