India

History

Stone age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in 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 5000 BCE in western India. From the third century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age."

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 large parts of the Indian subcontinent. By 1856, most of India came under control of the British East India Company. As a consequence, India came under the direct control of the British Crown as a colony of the British Empire. Finally, on 15 August 1947, India gained independence from British rule not before losing its Muslim-majority areas which were carved out into a separate nation-state of Pakistan. 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. The suppression and ethnic cleansing by Pakistan in East Bengal led to another war between India and Pakistan in 1971 which resulted in the creation of a new nation called Bangladesh after the surrender of Pakistan. In 1999 there was a border skirmish between India and Pakistan due to an intrusion by Pakistani Soldiers under cover in the hills of Kashmir Kargil.

India is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations (as part of British India). Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest-growing economies and an emerging superpower in the world, and added to its global and regional clout.

Government

The Consitution of India declares India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India has a federal form of government and a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system.

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).

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.

Politics

For most of its independent history, India has been ruled by the Indian National Congress.

Since independence, India has maintained cordial relationships with most nations. 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. In the economic sphere, India has close relationships with other developing nations in South America, Asia, and Africa. In recent years, India has played an influential role in the ASEAN, SAARC, and the WTO. 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 deployed across four continents.

Administrative divisions

India is divided into twenty-nine states and six federally-governed union territories.

States:

Union Territories:

All states and union territories are subdivided into districts.

Geography

India constitutes the major portion of the Indian subcontinent, which sits atop the Indian Plate and the northwesterly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. India's northern and northeastern states are partially situated in the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central, and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain.

India is home to several major rivers, including the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, the Kaveri, the Narmada, and the Krishna.

The climate in India varies from tropical in the south to more temperate in the Himalayan north, where elevated regions receive sustained winters snowfall.

Economy

For most of its democratic history, India adhered to a quasi-socialist approach, with strict government control over private sector participation, foreign trade, and foreign direct investment. Since 1991, India has gradually opened up its markets through economic reforms by reducing government controls on foreign trade and investment. Wealth distribution in India, a developing country, is fairly uneven, with the top 10% of income groups earning 33% of all income. India's per capita income of US$3,400 is ranked 122nd in the world.

India has a labour force of 496.4 million, 60% of which is employed in agriculture or agriculture-related industries. More recently, India has capitalised on its large pool of educated, English-speaking people to become an important outsourcing destination for multinational corporations. India has also become a major exporter of software as well as financial, research, and technology services. India's most important trading partners are the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, and the United Arab Emirates.

Also see Investing in India

Demographics

With an estimated population of 1.1 billion, India is the world's second most populous country.

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. Hindi and English are used by the Union Government of India for official purposes, wherein Hindi has a de jure priority. Sanskrit and Tamil enjoy classical language status in India. The number of dialects in India is as high as 1,652.

Although 80.5% of Indians report themselves as Hindus, India's Muslim population is the world's second largest;

At the time of India's independence in 1947, India's literacy rate was 11%. India's median age is 24.66, and the population growth rate of 1.38% per annum;

Culture

India's culture is marked by a high degree of syncretism; The earliest literary traditions in India were mostly oral, and were only later transcribed.

The cuisine of India is extremely diverse, as ingredients, spices and cooking methods vary from region to region.

India's national sport is field hockey, although cricket is now the de facto national game. India has three national holidays.